Last weekend Teenie and I went on a long weekend trip to visit Karyn in California. Teenie flew in from NYC for the week, we rented a car, and drove to California so we could see baby Estelle before she got any bigger. It was pretty nice having two 3-day weekends in a row and even though we left pretty late on Friday afternoon, we still made it there around 2 a.m.
All I can say is the short trip was well worth the long drive! Oh man, I think I can speak for both of us by saying, we had a great time. It was relaxing, fun, and there were no expectations--which was exactly what I needed. We just hung around and caught up with each other, and mostly played with the most beautiful baby ever (seriously, she is one of the most beautiful babies I have ever seen, not to mention how good she is--I seriously only heard her cry once the entire weekend).

Oh man. Those cheeks and that face...

What struck me most from the visit is that while I have so many friends that have kids, I've never really seen any of them be parents. That may sound weird, but it's different when you get to see someone interact with their child for longer than a few hours. It gives you a different perspective of a person and for me it was actually really special and amazing to see someone I've known for a long time in this role.
Karyn is hands down one of the best mothers I've ever seen. She is so loving, careful, and intuitive, yet relaxed and fun too. It made me excited to have children one day and I seriously hope I am can be half the mother she is. I hate to be all cheesy, but I was seriously so impressed by the example that Karyn and Kevin set for Estelle. I know she is still a baby, but they are some of the most hard-working, nice, and down-right respectable people I know and I am so very blessed to have them as friends.
I loved spending time with Teenie, Karyn and Estelle, it was so fun to talk and listen to them; we had some great conversation and I took some very positive things away from the weekend, which was far from what I was expecting, but really something I needed. I don't get to see some friends nearly as often as I would like, but it's so nice when I do.
I didn't take many pictures because I was feeling kind of lazy. I think I took more on my phone than I did with my camera. Anyhow, I love these girls. Thank you for a great weekend all of you. And thank you for letting us sleep on your couch and cooking for us all weekend, Karyn!

At the beach.

Teenie and Estelle.

Teenie taking a photograph, with film hanging out of her swimsuit.

Love her.