Thursday 31 March 2011

Guess who's ready for baseball season

Her papa, that's who. The rest of us are just along for the ride (I'm just happy they don't make a Mets romper in my size).

Tuesday 29 March 2011

Bearded lady

I like this thing they call avocado.


Monday 28 March 2011

Our weekend





We had a sweet and relaxing weekend. I went running (twice! and with my ipod, a rare luxury these days), we spent lots of time driving around trying to get Wugs to nap (she didn't), we discovered a wonderful French bakery in our corner of the world, there was a Mama + Wugs bubble bath, Mila finally fit (sort of) in the bucket swings at the park, and there was a foodie adventure. Yes, we still go on our foodie adventures with a baby in tow, just not the high-end ones. It sometimes means scarfing down your lemon-and-gingerbread pancakes while your husband walks around with the baby. 

check out the chubby little hand to the right.
So on Sunday we headed to South San Francisco for Outside in X, basically a street-food party with local carts/trucks dishing up their food. My favorites were the ones I got seconds on: the belphuri from Soul Cocina and the white chocolate and beet cupcake with saffron frosting from Les Elements. I did indeed say beets and cupcake in the same sentence and it was amazeballs. I'm going to try to recreate the belphuri at home but the cupcakes I will leave to the pros...I'll just have to get them at the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market one Saturday. Poor Wugs got lots of my crumbs as apparently I'm not good at eating when wearing her in the ergo. Good times.

Wednesday 23 March 2011

Mila's sleep sack.

Notice Hoodes in the background. Jealous.
 Speaking of sleep, I forgot to post pictures of Mila's new sleep sack (we finally weaned the swaddle at nearly 5 months!). Marmousch made it, isn't it beautiful? Thank you Marmousch. The pattern is from Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings: 24 Sewing Projects to Welcome Baby. When I bought the book last year, this was the first project I bookmarked. It's the patchwork that reeled me in. I love patchwork.

For the squares we used all existing fabrics from our stash (repurposing makes me happy). Reds and blues with a soft pink flannel back. Marm made it big for lots of room to grow into. So that Mila can spend many more nights not sleeping while still looking adorable.

Sleep

Our Woogwam hasn't been sleeping very well lately. Call it sleep regression, teething, growth spurt, awareness of this new place...the list goes on and on. We have called it all of these things and more on any given night in some desperate attempt to figure out why our sweet through-the-night sleeper is no more*. Sleep issues seem so much more difficult now than when she was a newborn. Back then the focus was just to get Mila to sleep, any way we could. Bounce to sleep. Hairdryer to sleep. Womb sounds to sleep. Sleep in our arms, sleep in our bed, sleep in the car, just sleep any way you can, little girl.

Now it's different. Now there's suddenly talk of habits and patterns and it's all very daunting, particularly at 3 am when you realize you've only had 1 1/2 hours of sleep so far and no, it wasn't all in one stretch.


On a happy note, here is one of the songs from the playlist we used when Mila was a newborn. My favorite from the album is Edelweiss, though. I heard it the other night and started sobbing, it brought back all those late nights with just me and this little soul, gettting to know her and feeling my heart just grow, grow, grow. 

*Although I know I will miss this part of babyhood when she is older.

Thursday 17 March 2011

Kiss me...



...I'm 1/16ths Irish. Or something like that.

Happy St. Patty's!

p.s. So did you know...a drop of Karo syrup makes the little hair accessories stick to even the baldest of baldies! Thanks sussy.

Wednesday 16 March 2011

Quite possibly the most awesome scenery while nursing.

Golden Gate Park, between the Conservatory of Flowers and the dahlia garden


The highlight of our weekend.





A very important first.
Her first carousel ride.
She wanted to lick the pole.

Tuesday 15 March 2011

Just a short walk from our apartment.



It's not the Atlantic but it'll do.
For now.

p.s. So happy I made this hat. It gets worn nearly every day.

Thursday 10 March 2011

Southern Utah, June 2007

Goblin Valley State Park
Someday we're bringing our kids here to play hide and go seek.



Delicate Arch

Napa

We had a wonderful time in Napa last weekend. It felt completely surreal being back in the town we had said goodbye to only 1 1/2 years ago, with my six-month old daughter. See what I mean? I can barely write it all down. There was dim sum from an airstream trailer, lemon cookie ice cream, and yummy wine (don't say no when they ask if you want to try their dessert wine).All with wonderful Heather. For the first time since being here I felt like myself again and no, it wasn't the wine; it was the familiarity of being with a good friend. It gets lonely here sometimes...the husband works afternoon/evenings and while my lil' two-footer is the bee's knees, the I'm overwhelmed mama moments can get rough when you don't have a nearby friend. And all of your east-coast cohorts are sound asleep according to EST.

Wugs, meet Heather. Heather, meet Wugs.

Tuesday 8 March 2011

Fat Tuesday

Mila wants to wish you a good one. She will be up throughout the night celebrating...as she has been the last few evenings. Maybe she will give up such night-owl ways for lent.
A mama can dream anyways.

p.s. The jester hat is nonna-made, isn't it awesome?!

p.p.s. I know the link to the sound clip isn't working. I'll post when it is.

Sunday 6 March 2011

Mila is not a good napper.

But she is a great cuddler.




Friday 4 March 2011

It's Friday.

Our weekend has been a long time coming. We're heading to Napa to meet up with a dear friend, and we'll probably head to a couple wineries (when in Rome...). Should be interesting with a 6 month old. Cheers!

Thursday 3 March 2011

Pictures from the Alaska Highway, May 2006


Muncho Lake, British Columbia



Liard River Hot Springs

Signpost Forest, Watson Lake (Yukon Territory)

6 months (and 5, too).

First of all, here's five months. I didn't post it at the time because we were in the middle of a cross-country move and my USB cable happened to be on the wrong side of the country. But it happened:


And now six. A very merry half-birthday to you, Wugs. (Your actual half-birthday will only occur every 4 years. Leap years will never be the same again!) I cannot believe six months have passed. I cannot believe how better you have made us. I knew parenthood would be difficult, but I didn't think it would be this difficult. I knew I would worry, but I didn't know it was a worry capable of keeping me up at night even if I only had 3 hours' sleep. I knew I would be happy, but I didn't know what happy was before. I didn't realize that the joy and the worry would intermingle so that you didn't know where one ended and the other began. The heartache. I wasn't prepared for the heartache. That voice in my ear whispering that today will never come back so I'd better be present.

You are rolling everywhere and crawling is just around the corner. You laugh and babble all the time now...from me hopping towards you in your high chair to our peekaboo games to hearing the first line of 'This little piggy' or 'Ecco il treno.' You squeal and reach out at the sight of our kitties. You have a one-trillion kilowatt smile in the morning when I pick you up out of your crib. You take pause when you hear your Nonna's voice on the phone or on skype. You'll be engrossed in playing with your toys and will look up, tilt your head and this big smile will spread across your face like a Christmas tree lighting up. You bat your eyelashes coyly at your papa. Yes, already. You don't like the act of getting dressed. You don't like being buckled in. To anything. You are full on teething. One has already cut through and another is well on its way. The weekend before we left Florida I set you in the Indian River and you loved it. Such joy. I can't wait for those swim lessons. I carry you on my right hip most often and you always get this determined look on your face while we're walking, like you're saying just you and me mama, we'll take 'em on. 

We sure will, my darling girl.




Wednesday 2 March 2011

A doll for Wugs



I mentioned last year that I made something special for the Wugs' first Christmas. It was a doll. I wanted to be the one to give Mila her first doll...and when I saw this one and even cooler, accessories, I thought it was perfect. Simple, scrappy, quirky, easy to love and put through the ringer like I hope she will in the next few years. The doll doesn't have a name--yet; I'm sure Wugs will christen her in due time. Except for the muslin and brown felt for hair I used all fabrics which I already had on hand; this project is perfect for fabric scraps. The smile is crooked because when Mila was a baby (I mean a baby baby, a few days old) there was a moment in the middle of the night when she was screaming, nothing I was doing was helping, and finally she just abruptly stopped. And gave me this sideways glance with one corner of her mouth turned up. That's right, our newborn was smirking at me! So that moment is forever memorialized in this, her first doll.