Ok, so it wasn’t too bad in retrospect, however it could have definitely been better.
Featured in these photos:
Elena’s outfit
Nursing top:Â Boob Design
Skirt:Â Victoria’s Secret
Sparkly flats: Yosi Samra from MyHabit
Tree of Life  Bracelet: Tal Jewelry from Gilt
***
Stroller:Â Mutsy 4Rider
Carrier:Â Boba Soho
Alexis’ onesie:Â Boob Mama and Baby twin set
Challenge #1: Mommy’s “brilliant” idea to drive 40 minutes to the Botanical Gardens to see the Bunny and walk around and take pictures.
Result:
The gardens were absolutely beautiful and Alexis was initially very interested in surroundings (clue #1: overstimulated baby). By the time we got there, the Bunny was waving goodbye (which was fine, because I wasn’t crazy about putting Alexis in his paws anyways).
I really wanted Alexis to wear this cute dress that my friend Olga from France sent her, but my little girl had other plans, which were “pretending” to be falling asleep when we arrived, so we let her wear her owl onesie rather than change her into the cute Easter dress.
After a quick very distracted on Lexi’s part nursing, we strapped Alexis into her Mutsy stroller and went to enjoy the gardens, or so we thought…
A few minutes later, she started fussing because she couldn’t see anything due to the cover we had to put on the stroller, since it was very sunny. I figured I could get her into my Boba carrier with a hat and carry her so that she could look around.
That’s when everything started breaking down.
Challenge #2: Fussy baby who needs to sleep hourly and doesn’t just fall asleep, because there’s just WAAAAY too much stuff to look at (girly girl, how did you grow up so fast that you are already having problems sleeping due to being afraid of missing out on stuff?)
Result: Me having to rock and shush and try to calm Alexis down after she missed her nap time and had a meltdown.
After what seemed like an eternity and what, I am sure, were a few incredulous looks from people around ( I didn’t pay attention and I don’t really care, but before Lexi, I remember always thinking “Why did they bring such a young baby to a place the baby can’t enjoy?” Silly me thinking Lexi would just go along with it. So lesson learned. I tried. I failed. I’ll wait until she CAN enjoy it. Until then I’ll put my life on hold, what else is new? )
Challenge #3: Â Florida heat of 90 degrees, eternal sunshine and no shade to speak of.
Calming a overtired baby in the 90 degree heat – not an easy task. Finally I found some shade and calmed her down. We put her back in the stroller with the cover and tried to pretend to enjoy ourselves and look at some plants. I don’t know how Andrew and my mom felt, but all I could think of is how upset Lexi was (I hate it when she cries!).
Pretty cool statue, huh?
So we finally got to an area with some chairs and a nice shade and we camped out there for a bit.
Soon Lexi woke up and we hung out taking pictures.
Do you see how cute she is post-nap, clinging to her mommy? 🙂
After a nap and a boobie, Alexis seemed to be  in a pretty good mood and pretty co-operative. We finally got ourselves some pictures with all three girls.
I really couldn’t resist posting all of these “daddy and Lexi” photos. They’re just too adorable together.
I thought this photo was hilarious. Andrew looks mad and Alexis looks scared 🙂 He was just goofing around for the camera, he wasn’t really mad and Alexis wasn’t really scared, of course.
We also had a lot of mommy snuggles, along with a stretch session. She loooves a good stretch and makes the funniest monkey face.
Once we were headed back, and had to cover the stroller again, Alexis started crying, so I had to race to the entrance, so that I could find some shade and pick her up. *sigh* It’s really not easy being out with a 2 months old in these conditions.
I love the distance you have to yourself! Lexi is a cutie cutie 🙂
Have you recalled why not giving her vit. D, since you’re not exposing her to sun? Just curious, since I also live in a sunny climate.
We live in Florida, so she ends up getting sun exposure no matter what I do.
Your life won’t be on hold forever. I was blessed with the friendliest newborn alive, and at 8 months he still is wonderful when we go out. He loves people, and looking around, so at times he did seem to be overstimulated. However, you still miss out on a lot for the first few months. After all, only mom can feed him, and babies do only last a little while on outings. You seem to be making the adjustment well. It is wonderful to see the daddy/daughter relationship. My husband can’t wait to have a little girl. And it is great you have your mom with you as well. I think if you keep up with regular, predictable outings, Lexi will learn to love them. Of course it may take a while.
By the way, since you live in FL I am sure you have done a lot more research into infant sunscreen. What do you use? Living in MT and having my son in early fall I have not had to give much thought to that yet, but I am starting to look around now. For my son’s early months, I was just trying to make sure he was properly bundled without being overly warm.
Once Lexi is old enough to use sunscreen I’ll be using Lavanila baby block. I am happy with the Ingredients and the company is awesome. I also use their adult version on myself when I know Alexis might get in contact with it
You can use Blue Lizard Baby or other sunBLOCKS now. It’s just sunscreen that isn’t safe for babies.
The gardens look beautiful. Thanks for taking us on such an interesting adventure.
Even though sometimes I do get thoughts of living somewhere warm and tropical, on the other hand I enjoy me some cool weather and the season changes. See that’s why I love cold mOre than heat. When it’s cool out you just bungle up the baby and go. When it’s hot there’s nothing you can do to make the baby feel comfortable. I wonder, do you ever miss autumn or spring? I know you grew up in Russia so that’s why I’m asking.
Not all. I always hated cold and preferred heat personally. Now that Alexis is here, you’re right it’s easier to bundle a baby up. But I’m sure with time I will learn how to deal with heat. It’s only a big issue when they can’t regulate their own temp.
Otherwise I love love love living in a hot climate! We still get warm spring weather during the winter months and I’ve never been a fan of fall, so it’s perfect for me. 🙂
So sweet 🙂 My guy is almost 2.5 & he still cuddles and clings to me right after a nap, I love those moments!
This doesn’t sound like a failed outing…just a day out with a baby.
So true!
Good for you for getting out & about! Some moms fall into the trap of staying home because they’re terrified of meltdowns. Also, love the stretching – my daughter has done that from day one, too! I love her stretch expression, too cute.
PS – I should introduce myself, first time commenter but I’ve been reading since January. Love the photographs you take. This blog and your photography blog have inspired me to get out there and try to take better (and more!) pictures. Thank you! 😀
It will get easier and she will get used to go out. I was terrified of tamtrums and at the beggining I didn’t want to go out too much. Then I started to plan going out around her routine, and everything went fine.
I love Alexis’s stork bite on her forehead. (Though, you can’t see it in a lot of the pictures, maybe those are a little overexposed). My son has one that I just adore, his is on the back of his neck though.
With young babies (Alexis is only 2.5 months old) you have to realize that they get hot, and tired, so much faster than adults. Heck, even older children get tired and cranky. It’s not that you have to put your life on hold, you just need to make better choices about where you go, and when. Go out when it’s not her regular nap time (during her awake time). And go places that are shady and cool, so they don’t get hot and upset).
Also, that much sun, even with your stroller cover, isn’t really good for them to be out in. They can’t wear sunblock until they’re 6 months old at least, anyway, so you should try to keep her out of the sun as best as you can.
Her mark is slowly fading, so some days I can barely make it out in certain lighting and then others it’s dark again. And it gets really dark when she’s crying or straining somehow.
The problem with outings is her awake time is short nowadays. She’s so engaged when she’s awake, she needs a nap every hour. Not much can be done in an hour.
Actually, sunBLOCK can be worn even as a newborn. It’s sunSCREEN that cannot be worn (and now that I know the difference, I’ll likely never use sunscreen on her!).
I believe all sunblocks still say to discuss with your doctor before using on infants under 6 months
I live in FL too…do you mind sharing what botanical garden you went to? It looks beautiful and I’d love to visit if I’m in the area.
Lexi is so precious and looks so much like her daddy in those photos. You all are a lovely family.
How does a baby pretend to be asleep? That’s a new one for me.
Sarcasm that’s how. I’d think quotation marks would give it away.
people are so mean to you on here! Cheers for keeping it going!! She is a doll and I love her rolls. My babies were both 100% breastfed for a year and were big babies!!!! Now, they are healthy as ever!!!
I don’t think people are mean. I think there are a few opinionated insecure a-holes, but otherwise I love most of my readers 🙂
Umm, insecure? Ok. I just asked a question because what you put made no sense. And still doesn’t. I don’t get how that is sarcasm. Was she really asleep and you didn’t want to wake her? Was she awake and you are making a quip about it? Where is the sarcasm?
And calling your readers a-holes maybe one reason you have so many negative comments. Just saying.
Hm that’s interesting that you took it personally. I wasn’t even talking about you or anyone in particular. Your comment was just a blip on the radar. Lol
And “aholes” aren’t my readers, my readers are awesome!
Oh and sarcasm was in the fact that a 2.5 months old baby can’t “pretend” to be asleep, hence the quotation marks.
And BTW, if you’re finding life with one child (between 3 adults) difficult, it would probably be a wise idea to stop with one then. Because life with 2 is twice as hard.
I’m not really sure what life you’re looking to get back to. This is your life now. Life will never be the same. Something you maybe should have thought about before having a child.
I never said it was difficult. In fact I find it pretty darn awesome. Probably BECAUSE I thought long and hard before having a kid!
Oh my goodness that baby is all Daddy, isn’t she!? Precious!
Have you looked at a battery powered stroller fan? Or an umbrella that folds up small to provide some shade. And really, this seems like a normal day out with a baby. When my son is hot and tired, he fusses. All babies do. Until you get used to toting a baby around, maybe you should stick to areas that get a good breeze (the beach) or air conditioned indoors.
you have to be careful with fans. If they blow directly on the face, the baby stops breathing. So if you use a fan make sure that it just blows on her body and not anywhere near her face.
I second the stroller fan. Works so well at that age.
I had a similar problem but my son was born in the winter (in IL). It was so hard to take him outside because the weather was so fridgid. I ended up giving up all together and waited till the spring. He was older and it was better for us. It’s not the way everyone would have done it, but it worked for us and that’s what matters. Maybe early mornings or late late afternoons for a while.
So you took your beautiful family, to a beautiful location, to enjoy a beautiful holiday and it is all a big failure because the baby was….a baby?
Girl. You are so so so so so so blessed.
Life isn’t about wearing the perfect dress and getting the perfect blog photo.
I hope you have a million more WONDERFUL memories, like your “failed” Easter outing.
Amen! 🙂
very true!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is my favorite entry of yours! The minute I read the first lines I laughed – not in a mean way, but in a uh-oh, we’ve all been there so know what’s coming way. You took a ton of beautiful photos and you’ll look back on the day as a special family adventure – at least I think you will 🙂
“life on hold”-too true, too true! I had a May baby and i remember everyone telling me how wonderful it will be b/c we’ll have the nice summer weather together….what summer!?!? i was stuck inside all summer! I’ve commented a few times before, but i just continues to amaze how similar my daughter was to your Alexis!! But is true, in a few months she’ll turn a corner and all of a sudden going out will be a breeze and she’ll love it!! my favorite part of the first year is definitely 6-12 months. Don’t get me wrong, I love tiny & snuggly newborns, but it is a lot of hard work-mentally and physically. I always start to see a lil “pay-off” once the 6 month mark comes around (haha….i sounds like i’ve done this a millions times-i haven’t-i’m only on my 2nd baby and she’s 5.5 months right now-so i guess i’m no expert 😉 ). Anyways-love the pictures!! and i also love her lil sun hat and her cute lil baby cheeks and beautiful blue eyes!!!!
LOVE the pictures, they are so intimate and sweet. The ones with your hubby and baby are the best, I can’t resist a father / baby picture. And I feel your pain when it comes to family outing with little ones. It took me a few kids, but I think I finally learned with my last baby to go into every outing with no expectations and plan for the worst. Kind of like that saying “hope for the best, expect the worst”..,.. that way I am not really as disappointed if something goes wrong. But it seems like you are the type to take life as it comes. And you are so fortunate to have your Mother staying with you for so long!
Your life isn’t on hold, this IS your life now! 🙂
You guys are way too cute! Seriously 🙂
Pity for the heat, though I’d definitely enjoy some right now 🙂
And you missy look better PP than me on my bad days LOL
(remember that article about BFF Leo? kicking ass and inspiring by example? yeah 🙂
Hahaha! You flatter me! You look awesome and you know it :))))
Your little girl is a cutie! Love those chubby cheeks, and she looks just like her Dad! Enjoy taking pictures of her now, it just gets harder as they get older! My four month old loves to roll and move so much that every still shot is blurry – it’s all videos for us now! You may enjoy this: http://crappypictures.com/2011/09/smile-or-the-evolution-of-photos-of-my-child.html It’s so true!
Haha that is really funny! Can’t wait for those stages 🙂
Aww, our Easter last year was similar! At least you tried. 🙂 Your photos are gorgeous! Could you let me know what camera/lens you use? We’re in the market for a new camera 🙂 Thanks!!
alexis is beautiful! i am a florida girl myself, if you don’t mind my asking, WHERE IS THIS?! IT”S GORGEOUS & i might have to go, soon! if it’s not too far!
I found a quite brilliant invention called the Ray Shade for our stroller. I think it was about $15 and it attaches to the canopy with velcro straps.
She’s such a little sweetie!
She isn’t content not seeing anything though. But I might buy it for when she’s sleeping.
It basically extends the stroller’s canopy, so baby can still see everything that is going on. My boy was the same and would get upset if I hung a blanket over the canopy to give him some shade so the Ray Shade was a great alternative for us!
Our canopy is really big though. She usually fusses when I fully extend it because she can’t see things. But she’s also still in a semi-reclined position. Once she sits up, it’ll be better.
I know what this is like. I hated when I went out and kids didn’t enjoy it at all. and i felt like i failed and wasted time.
ahh yes……welcome to motherhood Elena. Your outing sounds like a typical outing with a 2.5 month old. You will (amazingly enough) when she is a bit older, be able to block out a crying baby in a store or a public place (not YOURS…..but the people who have crying babies?….yeah you wont even notice them) My sister (who has a 25 year old) said something about the “annoying crying baby” one time at Target and I asked her what she was talking about. I had to really listen and then I heard it. But then immediatly blocked it out. So ignore those looks you get…they arent from a mom of a youngish child.
I just feel bad for Alexis. I wanted to go there partially for us, but partially because I thought she’d “somehow enjoy it”… I have to keep reminding myself she’s only 2.5 months. It feel like she’s so much older. We’ll have plenty of time to go places when she can enjoy them.
until they start talking thats how they express themselves…..overstimulated? cry. Tired? cry. Hungry? cry. Not stimulated enough? cry. frustrated? cry. happy? why not laugh and then start crying (because babies like to keep us guessing).
We found a good solution when our daughter was an infant and we wanted to go out somewhere sunny… an umbrella. It works really well when you’re worried about using sunblock or are in a really sunny place. We managed to take our daughter to a day trip into the desert in May, and she came through just fine. Not even a bit sunburned, and when she got hot we just spritzed her with a little water to cool her off.
you and your baby are just adorable 🙂 I think that even at 2.5 mo babies can enjoy the surroundings – greenery, flowers, colors, etc. I try to not overstimulate my little girl but I think that showing her life gently is a good thing 🙂 By the way, I got a few black and white contrast objects at your recommendation and my child loves them! thank you! if you have a chance – where did you get the sun hat for A. that you wore to the Botanical Gardens? It seems to fit A. so well!!! It is 90+ in CA and the only hats I can find in stores and those I ordered on-line are super large… now, my baby does not have a small head according to her check ups 🙂 so it must be the hats. Appreciate the tip 🙂
You’re doing well, and good for you for getting out with her. Outings like that, when it feels like everything goes wrong, can be discouraging, but it will get easier. You’re figuring it out.
And look, I have three kids, and it was HARD when my first was a newborn. I was so unsure of myself and trying to figure everything out, and I didn’t understand what his cries meant, and I was afraid to take him anywhere because of situations like the one you described in the gardens. Anyone who tells you that you shouldn’t bother having more than one, just because you come across tough scenarios with your first – well, that’s just silly. It’s ALWAYS hard with your first. We’re novices with that first baby, and everything is a learning experience.