It's enough

“It's enough for me to be sure that you and I exist at this moment.” ― Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez. One-Hundred Years of Solitude

(That's nice.)

Loving It

Lately I've been loving...

1. Thomas's two little bottom teeth (can you see them?). Not loving: the pain that comes with teething. Poor baby!

2. Hiking to waterfalls with my handsome husband.

3. We bring along our baby on the hikes thanks to our awesome hiking backpack!

4. Mountain sunsets.

5. Thomas bonding with his cousins.

6. Little kid river wading.

Beauty

Sometimes beauty is easy.

Sometimes you don't have to try at all.

Sometimes you can hear the wind blow in a handshake.

Sometimes there's poetry written right on the bathroom wall. 

-- Ani DiFranco

Dreams

"Be open to your dreams, people. Embrace that distant shore. Because our mortal journey is over all too soon." -- Chris Stevens from Northern Exposure

Oh the wisdom of Dr. Seuss

"Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!" -- Dr. Seuss

Snow Day!

We had our first snow day! Really, it was more of an ice day, but we'll take what we can get!

I know some people are 8-feet deep in snow, and this probably looks comical to them, but, hey, we're enjoying it! It's Thomas's first snowy experience, and he seemed pretty into it.

I was pretty into his awesome thrifted (by my parents -- where do you think I get it from?) red snow fleece hooded romper situation. How cute is that kid? Snow gnome!

Snow days are not free to teachers. We lose work days and eventually spring break days if there are enough, but whatever. I needed a day off! The three of us have been sharing a cold (I'm resigned to the fact that we're all just going to have colds all winter. As long as we don't get another flu-type situation, it's going to be okay!), and I was happy to get some rest!

I wore those boots because they have really great tread. You don't want to trip on the ice when you're holding a sweet and precious baby! Happy ice day to all!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I think Valentine's Day is pretty stupid, but cherishing your love is not! When I worked in an office, I felt like there was a weird competitive vibe about who got flowers and how big they were and blah blah blah, which is so lame.

Since getting with Robert (Yep. I decided "getting with" was the best way to describe the beginning of my relationship with the man I married/had a baby with/will adore forever.), we started an awesome tradition of not going out and not buying flowers/jewelry/whatever and instead buying art. Art is the best! This tradition has turned us into official art collectors, which is awesome.

Anyway, this year we bought this rooster, and he is an amazing rooster. ("You're getting the chicken? I'm so glad someone is buying the chicken!" the guy who checked us out said.)

We too were glad to buy the chicken. Happy Valentine's Day!

Healthy

Because January is the month of extreme dieting, I give you this quote (and this pretty picture of Marilyn):

"Healthy emotions come in all sizes. Healthy minds come in all sizes. And healthy bodies come in all sizes." -- Cheri K. Erdman

Happy Halloween!

This sweet little pumpkin wishes you a Happy Halloween!

(I had a friend in college whose only reason for wanting a baby was to dress him or her up in a pumpkin outfit. She planned to dress this baby like a pumpkin year round as babies dresses as pumpkins are the best. They really, really are the best, but I think we're going to keep this look Halloween-specific for Thomas!)

Not dealing

This baby!

He is so cute!

I can't even deal.

I mean, just look at that face!

(Baby's jammies: thrifted. Awesome chair: gifted by Robert's mom, upholstery is definitely circa 1980-something.)

Misty mountains

We made a visit to the mountains to see the fall colors. It was very misty/cloudy/occasionally full-on rainy, and it was totally beautiful.

Thomas wore some really amazing overalls. Babies in overalls are the best.

The leaves were beautiful both on the trees and fallen on the ground. Those are some new-to-me shoes. They are my walking shoes. A girl needs a pair of walking shoes if she does a lot of walking, which I do.

Look! A picture from a walk! That's my niece, nephew and dog having a grand old time.

And here's a really picturesque horse. He eventually wandered down to see if we had any treats for him. Sadly, we did not, but next time we will plan ahead!

The little town my parents' house is in is so cute. It even has one of those "take-one-leave-one" libraries outside the local coffee shop. I love it!

Something I love even more? Hanging with family (that's my husband and kid and brother and niece and nephew). Also those cows behind us. Man how I love those giant cows.(Also love those horizontal bar/stripe J Crew shirts courtesy of eBay. Super comfy. Perfect for fall-tastic fun.)

Audrey's pet deer

Did you know Audrey Hepburn had a deer as a pet?

Well she did.

And it was awesome...

And ridiculous...

All at the same time.

Baby face

He's got the sweetest little baby face!

Thomas smiling is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. Truth. Sappy, sappy truth.

Love, roses and lavender

“There are some things, after all, that Sally Owens knows for certain: Always throw spilled salt over your left shoulder. Keep rosemary by your garden gate. Add pepper to your mashed potatoes. Plant roses and lavender, for luck. Fall in love whenever you can.” -- Alice Hoffman, Practical Magic 

(Advice for your Friday.)

So it goes

So... I still have a full-body rash resulting from the medication I took after being in that car accident, which means I am mostly wearing a tunic and no pants because pants make me itch. No outfit photos of this look! Instead, I will post another picture of my baby. His wardrobe is so so so superior to mine at the moment.

I realize most people who read this blog are not new moms, but in case you are or are interested in mom-dom or the "joys" of pregnancy, I'm accidentally following four blogs of new moms/pregnant ladies. These are all blogs I followed anyway, and then all of sudden everyone was pregnant! It clearly made me feel pretty connected to the writers! I want to especially suggest this post, which talks about the difficulty of the first days/weeks. (I struggled with breastfeeding so much I'm not even going to get into it. All I'll say is all my friends/doctors/family were nonjudgmental and supportive, and I beat myself up like crazy over it.) What I like about all four blogs is that no one's sugarcoating the experience. Yes it is wonderful and amazing and baby bumps are cute and actual babies are even cuter, but it's also an incredibly trying experience (with or without a full-body rash).

The blogs are:

Ramshackle Glam

The Clueless Girl

Healthy Tipping Point

These Are Modern Colors

I also want to link to a blog post that made me cry when we were trying to conceive. At the time, it felt like it was taking an eternity to get pregnant (actuality: 10 months), and I worried so much it would never happen. Jane from "Always with Yoo" wrote about infertility in such an eloquently heartbreaking way here.

Blogs are awesome because they provide connections. My two best friends are both mamas, but they also both live very far away from me (phone calls are your friend). My nearby friend circle is full of awesome women who are child-free mostly by choice. I am trying not be that lady who talks about her kid all the time (so far: not successful), but it's nice for me to be able to hop onto the Internet and read about women who are going through the same things I am. I didn't think I had unrealistic expectations going into motherhood, but I'm finding that it's different than I thought it would be, and I'm falling short in ways I didn't expect (coughbreastfeedingcough). Through my long-distance friends and these blogs, I'm learning that the experience is not full-on sunshine and rainbows for anyone, and that really keeps me from feeling alone and defeated. Instead, I can cherish all the perfect moments in this imperfect time. There is nothing better than singing to my son and seeing him smile. There is nothing better than snuggling up with his little hand holding my finger. There is really nothing better than this.

Style Icon: Mr. Rogers

Mr. Roger's Neighborhood was my very favorite show as a little kid. I loved him. I loved the Neighborhood of Make Believe. I loved the time they went to the crayon factory. I loved, loved, loved the opera episodes.

Mr. Rogers was so accepting and loving. I actually look to him as an adult too because he had such smart things to say about kids and about kindness. Mr. Rogers was all about us all being special in our own special way. It's so true! We all are! He was also all about learning, and the summer before I became a teacher I listened to this over and over:




It was my teaching mission statement. It still is! "There are so many things to learn about in this world and so many people who can help us learn."

Plus he had great style. He was a very consistent guy. Came home, put on his cardigan and his Keds and talked to his neighbors. Mr. Rogers, he just makes me happy.

Excellent danger

"I will meet you in the dirtiest city you can dream of. We will drink cocktails so sweet they pucker our cheeks, as we perch on cracked leather bar stools. I will buy you plates of calcium and protein and we will run through the streets in excellent danger." -- Michelle Tea, The Chelsea Whistle 

(I love Michelle Tea.)

Sweet baby face and stripes

The day before I met this precious face...

I wore this stripes-heavy outfit. If anyone told me I was "about to pop" while I was wearing this outfit, it would have been okay as it would have been entirely accurate. No arguments here!

In the middle of the night, eight hours after these pictures were taken, I woke up Robert and was like "SOMETHING IS UP." Now I'm a proud mama!

Baby boy is here!

He arrived a little bit early, but he is perfect! His name is Thomas, and he has such a sweet face.

Daddy is proud and in love!

Mommy is proud and in love! We are a happy, sleep-deprived family!