Mr. and Mrs. Murrell

Last weekend we headed down to Louisville for Courtney and Jeremy's wedding and it was so much fun. It was Zoe's first overnight trip and she did pretty well. She slept through the night there and didn't wear out her babysitters (my parents) too badly. My parents made the 7-hour trek from Ann Arbor to take care of Zoe, so Jody and I could enjoy the wedding to the fullest. Huge thank you to my parents. That was above and beyond the grandparent/parent duty! It's been a little rough for Zoe getting back this week, with a few nights of 4 a.m. wake-ups. So we're hoping that ends soon.

The weekend was so much fun. The rehersal dinner was at Courtney and Jeremy's new condo, which located downtown. It's a gorgeous place and the food was amazing. Jeremy's parents cooked up a storm and we were all stuffed to perfection. I am still craving more of that mac-n-cheese. It was a great way to catch up with everyone and to get to know some of Jeremy's friends and family in a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere.

The wedding the next day was awesome. It was outside at a historic mansion with beautiful grounds. The rain let up just in time so they could still hold the ceremony and reception outside. Courtney was a beautiful bride and the two of them were so happy and adorable together. The band was really fun and we got in some good dancing.

Mostly though I was just thrilled being there and seeing Courtney get married. She is like a sister to me, and I couldn't be more excited for her to start married life with the perfect guy for her. They really are a special couple. I was the matron of honor at the wedding, so I had to give a speech at the reception. I was totally nervous and just hoping to hold it together. At my sister's wedding I cried my way through the entire speech, so I was determined to get through this one. It was rocky at the start, but I made it through.

I could go on and on about how happy I am for Courtney and Jeremy, but I'll spare you all the mushy stuff. For now, I'll just say congratulations you two! Can't wait to see you again soon!

Road Rage

Zoe flipping us the bird, showing us exactly how she feels about car rides.

After her first road trip this weekend (we went down to Louisville), it's offficial: Zoe hates the car. I spoke way too soon when I boasted of Zoe's car calmness when updating my Facebook status. After about 45 minutes on the road, Zoe had a major meltdown. Once I jumped into the backseat, she calmed down and slept the second half of the drive. On the way home, same thing. She lost it at the beginning, I jumped in the back and we were good to go. As long as she saw Mommy's face every time she woke up, we were in good shape. But, it definitely made the drive a bit stressful. I wish someone would invent a safe infant carseat that faces forward. Our girl would be a much happier camper and we would be less of a road hazard.

Stay tuned for happier post to come about the wedding weekend, which was so much fun.

Our First 100 Days

Much like all the media outlets made such a big deal over Obama's first 100 days in office, Jody and I decided to evaluate our first 100 days in Zoe-land. And we're giving ourselves pretty good marks. It's definitely tougher than we imagined, but it's also more wonderful than we imagined. It's crazy how much she's changed in just three months and I know by next month she'll probably be a whole new baby yet again and on and on it will go.

So, here are some random thoughts so far:

1. Nothing really grosses me out anymore. I'm so used to being pooped on, peed on and puked on these days, that none of it shocks me anymore.

2. Sleep is good. If you figure out a good way for your baby to sleep, then stick with it. All the baby books say put your baby to sleep "sleepy but awake." Yes, very good in theory. But that doesn't work with Zoe. Once we rock her to sleep, she's pretty much out for 8 hours and she's been consistently sleeping through the nights since she was about 6 weeks, so I'm not messing with our system.

3. Everyone has an opinion. I'm trying as hard as I can to just roll with this one, but it can be tough. True, new parents need advice and guidance, but I don't have any problem asking for advice/help/etc. when needed. Really, I don't. Just ask my sister who gets calls from me at all times of day. It's the unsolicted advice/commentary that kills me. I know it's part of the whole process, but definitely not my favorite part.

4. I've never been so proud of weight gain. I work hard to chunk up Zoe to a perfect plumpness and when we go to the doctor I get so excited to see how much she grows. Our chica has no neck, multiple chins, rolls all over the place and the chubbiest cheeks I've ever seen--and I couldn't be happier.

5. Never say never. Before having a baby, we were reading the baby books and learning all the do's and don'ts. But as soon as she arrived, all that went out the window. Basically, I'd never want to limit the ways in which we keep Zoe happy and Jody and I sane.

6. Little things matter. Every day Zoe does something that surprises me and melts my heart. When she started cooing and smiling I about died. I just can't wait to see what's next...

Date Night

To celebrate Zoe's first three months of life, Jody and I had a date night. My mom was here for a few days last week, so she babysat Zoe and got in some quality Grandma time.

We hadn't had a date night in a while and it was really nice. We headed to Piccolo Sogno, which is at the Grand/Halstead/Milwaukee intersection and pretty close to our place. I had a bunch of gift certificates from there for a story I wrote so we decide to give it a try. We made an early reservation and when we got there the place was packed. After they tried seating us in the bar area, we waited for a little bit and finally got a table in the actual restaurant part. I always hate when you make reservations and they stick you at the worst table. Anyway, the service was kind of lacking in general....everyone working there was really intense and seemed to kind of hate their job. Aside from that, though, the setting was pretty nice--very hustle bustle, which we like--and the food was delish. The menu was really interesting and they a great selection of unique homemade pasta dishes. I had the farro pasta, and even though I still have no idea was farro is it was an awesome meal. Jody got a ravioli dish and cleaned his plate right nice.

We've gone out a couple times on our own, but this time probably felt the best. Zoe's definitely on a schedule at this point and we are both out of that zombie mode enough to really enjoy some couple time. Thanks for the help, Mom!

Breakin' the Law

Ah, the Boppy. Although I wasn't big on it at first, I am pretty obsessed with it now that Zoe's grown into it more. I only wish it were more portable so I could bring it around town with me if I need to nurse her somewhere.

Even though the label has a big NO SLEEPING warning, Zoe loves sleeping on it. And since our girl doesn't like to sleep much during the day, I'm not going to stop her from catching a few Zzzs on the Boppy. I mean just look how happy it makes her!

Weekend Whirlwind

With Courtney and Jeremy's wedding just a couple weeks away, the bridesmaids hosted her bachelorette party this past weekend. We'd been making plans for a couple of weeks and finally pulled it all together. I hadn't been out with the girls in a while, so Jody took on daddy duty and off I went.

We started out at Katie's place for dinner, drinks, gifts, etc. It was great getting to see everyone and catch up, all while celebrating one of my very favorite people: Courtney! Later on we hoped on a trolley for a little bar crawl. We had a few buzzkills through the evening with some people drinking a little too much and then some alcohol-induced drama setting in among some party goers. But, it ended up being a pretty good time. I stayed out later than I planned and it took a while to get Zoe back to sleep once I got home. But Jody did a great job with her during the day. She just needed some major mommy time when I got home.

On Sunday we celebrated Mother's Day with a much-needed low-key day. Jody got us breakfast. Zoe slept for a long time in the morning, so Jody and I got some time alone, which is so rare these days. Jody made my first Mother's Day really special with flowers, cookies and new jeans! We took a long family walk and then had Jody's family over for Chinese food. All in all, it was a great first Mother's Day!

I Asked, He Answered

Even though we're way behind in our DVR watching these days, I did manage to finish watching the 3rd season of Friday Night Lights. Still love the show and still think anyone not watching really should start. I'll even loan you my Season 1 DVDs. Anyway, I was thrilled when my dad told me that it got picked up for a 4th and 5th season. Hooray.

My big question though is what characters are they going to keep on there since most of them graduated. It just wouldn't be the same without a weekly Tim Riggins fix (see picture above). So, I decided to email Michael Ausiello, the TV guru at Entertainment Weekly. He has a weekly column called "Ask Ausiello" where he answers a bunch of readers' questions about TV shows. I have been a loyal reader of his column for years. I used to read him at TVGuide.com and I followed him to EW.com. (Yes, I am a geek.) I've never emailed him a question before but I figured I'd give it a shot, so I emailed yesterday. And in today's column, he answered my question! I am so excited--and I feel like a total loser at the same time. Whatever.

If you're interested in the column and to see my Ausiello debut question, click this link and scroll down about 12 questions:

http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/05/ask-ausiello-sp.html