Thursday 28 February 2013

Last day of February.

Before I took them down, I had to snap a picture of Dani's little heart garlands and Cupid wings, hanging over the place where she has yet to spend more than two minutes in. Maybe in another couple of months. Maybe. 

Maybe when she stops being so delicious and isn't such a warm little fireplug that's the most completely perfect size for snuggling.
And this was the year I discovered the book, Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch. It's our new favorite and from now on will be read every Valentine's Day. I love a good children's book and this one is beautiful. Read it!

p.s. The corner of our living room looks ever so lonely without the piñata there. And re-reading that post I realize I wrote the words gold and heart an obnoxious number of times. Sorry! 
 
 


Wednesday 27 February 2013

Wanting to explore.

The weather has been so beautiful lately (hello spring!) and we're starting to feel more settled. We're getting excited to start doing fun things with our weekends. More ambitious things. Time to explore a little bit...there's a lot of Florida that I've seen very little of (hello west coast!) and I'm looking forward to adventuring with our kiddos. Instilling in them a sense of pride about where they live, and an eagerness to seek out things. What things I don't know. I'm sure they'll show me, as is often the case.

We set a very tentative goal of trying to get out of town at least one time a month. That was Steve's idea; I think he's being optimistic but a little of that never hurt, right? A few days ago when casually talking about a few needed errands we both kind of had a forehead-slapping moment that lately it has all become a bunch of errands. What can we squeeze in before naptime or how can we divide and conquer so it all gets done (it never does). And I want to turn that around. So here's to exploring more in 2013, and seeing Florida with fresh eyes.





Some pictures from a few recent, very local adventures.

Also. 
Top Chef live finale!!
And.
I crammed in the last of my CEU's for my Florida OT license with two whole days to spare! A record for me. Must celebrate!





Wednesday 20 February 2013

Valentine's Day (and my first piñata)














I know everyone is so over Vday 2013 (didn't I just write this a month ago, talking about Christmas?) but my piñata had to be blogged. It's from a new-to-me favorite blog, Studio DIY--go and get excited over all of her glittery, sparkly, fringe-y DIYs like I did. Kelly celebrates everything and I love that. This piñata was such a labor of happy excited love--we all could use a little fringe-y gold in our lives, don't you think? My me-time these days are few, precious hours when both toddler and babe agree to sleep at the same time, but in the week before Valentine's I set aside time each night to work on it. And now that it's done and hung (that's right people! it's staying up 'till the 28th!) I miss working on that pretty sparkly gigantosaurus

Oh, and about that whole filling of the piñata; I just couldn't bear to break it, you see. Maybe next year? Or could this be a yearly thing? Bust-out-the-heart-piñata-'cause-it's-February sort of thing? So that is most definitely a gaping hole at the bottom for when I eventually fill and we -sob- destroy our beloved gold heart piñata. Obviously Wugs hasn't a clue that she's been cheated out of the whole smashing experience. She just thinks that once in awhile, in the middle of February, it's normal to wake up with a giant heart dangling from the ceiling, shining down from the heavens ceiling as you eat your heart-shaped pancakes with rainbow sprinkles. But not to worry--if you're in the Vero area and are planning on attending either of my childrens' birthday parties this year, expect a piñata. This one was so fun! Don't try to stop me! My love affair with pom-poms and garlands isn't over, but I may be cheating on them for a bit.

Other favorite Valentine moments...Mila waking up to her trail of paper hearts on her bed and bedroom floor...pinky pie milk at breakfast in fairy-dust rimmed glasses (thanks to The Alison Show)...surprising Marmousch with balloons although I still wish we had managed to make it to the church parking lot on time...Steve baked, yes he baked, which is totally out of his comfort zone. For the love of the women in his life. Seeing hearts all over our apartment...wine after the girls were sleeping...giving them their love presents at breakfast (beneath an -ahem- gold heart piñata ;)









Friday 15 February 2013

Our 2013 Valentines


But seriously, I had this lollipop idea squirreled away in my back pocket ever since I saw it on Design Mom years ago. For the life of her Wugs wouldn't/couldn't keep her hand any way but that adorable pronated position you see here, but when the pictures were developed Steve and I both agreed that it's priceless that way. That's my nutsky. Dani Lu is the most awesome little babe ever and that's the truth of it. I'm so lucky to have these babes to love on every day. Some moments are rocky but I'm going to miss every drop of it when this season passes. May that be a long long time from now.

But I digress. Happy Love Day (may it be Valentine's all year long).




Thursday 14 February 2013

Happy Valentine's Day!

from us! to you. May you be as saturated in glitter, chocolate, and love 

("...and the greatest of these is love" says my favorite Bible verse) 

My Cupid!





...as we are over here.

Saturday 9 February 2013

This week.

It's Saturday night and I'm walking around with Miss Kitty My Love. She's this weighted baby of Mila's who is usually her one and only but lately she's been rekindling little love affairs with other dolls. And she gives them these crazy adorable names--Dimmi, Bee, Needee. It's awesome. Both of my real babies are sleeping so Miss Kitty My Love graciously agreed to guinea pig different carries on my new woven wrap (it's gorgeous!). Thanks MKML. 

What else. We've been in potty training jail these last few days and I'll be honest, I'm ready to throw in the towel. Again. We had tried to go cold turkey around Mila's 24th month and I had quit on day 4 or 5 as she didn't seem ready. It was stressing me out and I chalked it up to pregnancy hormones...but now I'm thinking the whole mess just sucks no matter what. Ugh. I'm hoping for some kind of breakthrough in the next couple days to buoy me through, otherwise I may just take a break. For both of our sakes'. Mila feels it too, of course. I know she's probably sick of everyone's pee pee pee blah blah blah big girl blah blah talk too. 

And then there's my sweetling who turned 3 months old today. Quarter of a year. She's perfect. I can't get over how exquisite she is. Her eyelashes are long, her cheeks full, and the drool never stops. Her smiles are some of my favorite moments of the day. I took quickie 3 month pictures (I do it each month, as with M her first year) of our blue-gray eyed beauty and my heart was in my throat the entire time. Not just because Mila was dancing around shrieking how she wanted her turn to draw with the chalk--but I'm just so grateful for the blessing to experience this all again. It's familiar and all so new at the same time.

I can't wait to wear her in church tomorrow with my lovely new wrap :)

Other happy moments (what were your happys and what were your sads today? as Mila would say.)

We picnicked 3 times this week. One was indoors (see potty-training jail above) but it still counts. 

Lots and lots of candy hearts after Mila's in bed for the night. 

I'm making my first ever pinata for Valentine's Day. Loving the process so far!















Oh and the girls' Valentines! I can't stop looking at them. If I post only once next week, it'll be of those.

I love our newest tradition of buying flowers on Friday to enjoy all weekend long. I think it will stay.

We got out in the sunshine a lot this week. Wugs can already identify mangroves. Makes me happy.  

This morning Wugs and I set to work making our homemade Valentines. The girl loves glitter and glue...just like her Mama.











Sunday 3 February 2013

0-3.

Slowly and not so willingly I'm starting to phase out Dani's 0-3 teeny tiny clothes and replace them with the 3-6's. And of course it breaks my heart a little every time I put each item away, or when our good friend stops by and keeps exclaiming how she's so big compared to his 2-week old son. She is. I know this, but it still is a sad realization that my girl's newborn stage is whizzing by. She's filling out now, wrinkles are being replaced by cheeks, honest-to-goodness thighs where there were scrawny legs. 







I know there are so many good things ahead, I know this because I have a Mila, but I still love all of Dani's moments now. Her slow-motion kicks and orchestra conducting with flailing arms. Her grunts, her horse sounds in the early morning, her lip-smacking when she's hungry, the sounds of her hungry nursing, the look of her phantom nursing when she's asleep. That total trust when she'll just curl up against me in my arms or in the sling. And the smiles--the smiles have started and they're wonderful. There's something about those gummy smiles that make me stop in my tracks. Life with her is so full.

Pictures from last week.









Finding our new normal. We're in week...2? 3? since moving into our apartment and I'm starting to breathe a little easier. Starting to think, okay. I can do this. A word of advice...I do not recommend having a baby and moving cross-country within weeks of each other. Add to that a new job for Steve doing a different type of nursing and the death of one of our beloved cats--can we pile on any more changes? I think our little family's weathering the whole thing fairly well, though. I'm proud of us. I'm proud of our girls. I try to remember that they're following our lead and when I'm stressed, they feel it too and will quickly push back. That's not to say that there aren't crazy moments daily, sometimes hourly--moments where I'm talking to myself or find myself desperately saying to Mila, wait, let's think about this! or where Dani becomes inconsolable just as I'm shampooing Mila's hair. Those are rough moments but there are always beautiful ones. Lead with grace. I'm trying.