See this guy? He is the best. The absolute best. The past three weeks have felt so insane, overwhelming, emotional and stressful. And if I'm being honest with myself, none of that is going to change anytime soon. We are busy getting estimates on our move. Chris is actually starting his new job in a week. We are trying to figure out how to rent an apartment/house from so stinkin' far away. I am starting to pack some boxes. We want to be sure to see all of our friends and maintain some sort of semblance of normalcy. We want to still be attentive parents. It feels like a whole lot. A whole, whole lot.

And yet, we've hardly fought. Like not at all. Our communication has been better than ever. We are learning quickly that we process things like this big move very differently. He wants to talk, talk, talk. I want to think, think, think. Normally, we'd fight over this issue of differences, but instead we've figured out how to allow both of us to have our needs met.

I've never felt so tired. Well, that might not be true considering I had a baby a year ago, but I am seriously tired. All the emotion (and allergies) are wearing me out. Chris is in the exact same boat (obviously) but he got up with Meredith this morning and took her for a walk so I could sleep an extra hour.

I just had to put it out in the universe. My husband is incredible. The fact that I get to go on this adventure with him and have my best friend by my side every step of the way makes it a whole lot less scary. I love you, baby.

love.

Chris was going through my iphone, looking at pictures of Meredith, when he came across this one of himself on our date night. He said something like, "Ugh. That's a weird picture of me," to which I replied, "Really? I love it. I set it as my phone background." He then smiled and said, "I like that you like me."  A statement as simple as that perfectly sums up so much of marriage and making it work.

I like hearing about his day at work, even though what he does, in itself, isn't one of my passions. I like going on walks with him and discovering the things that catch his eye. I like when we're having a conversation and I can tell he's not fully paying attention, but then he comes to and shares what's on his mind. I like watching him get excited about new gadgets or hobbies. I like watching him learn new things. I like him.

I like that he lets me be myself. I like that he listens to the rambles of my mostly uneventful day as if it were terribly interesting. I like that he tries new things I cook, even when I try to sneak in a vegetarian meal here and there. I like that he holds my hand and that he's still taller than me when I wear heels. I like that he tells me I look pretty when I've just woken up with smeared makeup from the day before and rats nest hair on the top of my head. I like that he hurries to do the dishes on evenings when I'm stressed. He likes me.

I like that I like him. He likes that I like him. I like that he likes me. He likes that he likes me. I think if we can keep that up, we'll be golden.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day, my dears. Hope today is treating you well. here in New England we are enjoying a genuinely gorgeous weather day. It's a glimpse at why people actually live here.

To celebrate the day, I'm listening to lots of lovey music. I thought I'd share. Proceed with caution, however, because I shamelessly love cheesy and makes no claims to be hip. If you share the same traits when it comes to music- Enjoy!

 photo: vintage us on valentine's day :)





   When You Say You Love Me      Josh Groban 
   Crazy Love      Ray Charles & Van Morrison       
   By Your Side       Sade    Lovers Rock    R&B/Soul          
   At Last (Single)       Etta James
    On a Night Like This       Dave Barnes  
    Love You Madly        Cake  
    Isn't She Lovely       Stevie Wonder 
    Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours     Stevie Wonder  
    Shower The People      James Taylor  
    Somewhere Out There - (An American Tail)    The Eden Symphony Orchestra    
    Cosmic Love        Florence + The Machine 
    When I Said I Do        Clint Black & Lisa Hartman Black   

   More Than Anyone       Gavin DeGraw   
   Fly Me to the Moon        Frank Sinatra
   How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)       James Taylor
   Once Upon a Time... Storybook Love (The Princess Bride)       Mark Knopfler      
   The Prayer     Charlotte Church & Josh Groban
   Main Title (From "Rudy")     Jerry Goldsmith      
   "Gabriel's Oboe" from The Mission     Ennio Morricone, Roma Sinfonietta & Yo-Yo Ma                 
   Once Upon a Time... Storybook Love (The Princess Bride)      Mark Knopfler
    Fairytale      Enya     


The bottom set are from our wedding and so will always be special to me.

What is your favorite love song? Or a wedding song that is special to you?

Honeymooning

This time 4 years ago we were up in the air en route to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. We spent a week laying in the sun, eating yummy foods, enjoying bottomless drinks and savoring the moments of our first week as a married couple. The thrill of waking up next to my husband combined with the surreal feeling that we had been doing so forever will remain one of my favorite parts of that week. It was a week in paradise with my very best friend. We got to explore, be lazy, talk, laugh. I think that's the first time I felt like an adult and I was so excited to have Chris has my partner. I really hope one day we make it back to that resort. It was such a special place to us- our first days a married couple.

just landed in cancun!

probably our favorite dinner of the trip

we ate well all week. all-inclusive is so fun!

we rented a jeep over on cozumel & spent the day exploring the island

our last breakfast. this is one of my favorite ever pics of my husband :)

sad to be heading home

Did you go on a honeymoon? Where did you go and would you want to go back? If you haven't honeymooned, where do you dream of going?

If I was made of money, I would love to go here one day:

 

A Little Video

If you didn't get enough of our wedding from my first post today, here is a quick wedding day recap video. I loved this video when we first got it, and while I still do, I now see the major cheesiness. So, pardon the neon shapes that will randomly encircle our faces throughout and try to just see the looooove :)

Wedding Clip from Claire Traganos on Vimeo.

4

Four years ago I married the man of my dreams, my best friend, my life partner and now, my parenting partner. I am a better person because of him. More confident, more laid back, quicker to laugh and more likely to be spontaneous. Chris is a hard worker and provider for our family. He loves our daughter selflessly and tirelessly. He loves me patiently and passionately. Watching him be a father has been one of the greatest joys in our marriage. Watching her adore his dad has been one of the greatest joys of being a mom. When I see the two of them together, I know that I picked the perfect man for me to live my life alongside.

And, because I'm not sure I've ever shared any before, here are some wedding pictures from our perfect, but simple day.

   

         

 

 

 

   

If those weren't enough, hop over to my flickr for the rest :)

Conversation

Have I told you the hubs has this week off? It has been heaven. We've been taking turns getting up with Meredith so one of us can sleep in. We've taken naps and lounged around reading. Every morning we've had something delicious for breakfast- hashbrown quiche, waffles, pancakes cinnamon rolls. We've laid on the floor playing with our girl watching her try to crawl, start saying "mamamama" and not "dadadada" much to the hubs' disappointment. We watched The Town and have generally been having one of the best weeks of my life. My favorite part of this week though has been the conversation.

Since Meredith's birth I have felt my brain get mushy. When Chris gets home from work sometimes all I have the energy for is a quick recap of the day and then I want to read or peruse the internet. But this week we have had great conversation. We have talked about friendships- those that have brought us joy this year and those that have left us feeling disappointed. We have talked about jobs, where Chris wants his career to go. We have discussed travel and the desire to be somewhere warm. We have talked about how we view my job of being a stay at home mom- while it's something we value greatly, many people have a different view. It's the first time we have sat on the couch or at our dining room table and just talked. And not just talked about the baby. I feel refreshed. And just like this picture suggests, I feel a little more color in my life.


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