Any fun weekend plans? I'm making-over our daughter's bedroom/playroom this weekend! It feels like a never ending process, one that has been evolving over the last month. We stopped co-sleeping and moved her to a crib in our spare room... but then we soon realized it can't be both her room and our "study" so some major furniture is going to be rearranged, some painted, and more artwork hung to make this little space all her very own baby-proofed room! There is a lot to be done, but I thought I would share a little sliver of what's to come in a future Before and After post!
Above is a framed vintage illustration from a book of my mother's when she was a girl. I love how imaginative it is, plus the colors are really rich. And best of all it was very cheap! The illustration was something we had and the frame was about $9 at michael's (maybe less)! On either side we hung these darling little bird plates from Anthropologie. They were my birthday gift from my mom back in January. It feels like they were destined to all be together!
You can check out some of my inspiration for this project on my board "Enchanting Kid's Room" on pinterest!
Well, have a great weekend! And I'll report back sometime in the near future with a complete post of her bedroom!
Hey all. How's your week going? mine has been chaotic! all good stuff, just more revelations on my first year of motherhood. The husbo has been doing the school and work thing non stop and it's been two straight days that he hasn't seen our daughter, pretty sad... so that's just a little glimpse into our week ; / But the babe and I have a play date today, maybe going for a walk to the zoo- weather permitting! And we are sure to get out and about this weekend with more fall activities. I'll report back on our adventures. In the meantime, here is this week's Links and Such, just some things I've been pinning and gathering from around the inter webs!
As I mentioned in Yesterday's post I now have one month to plan our daughter's first birthday party. First let me say that I am well aware that her first birthday is really for her parents... she doesn't know about cake, blowing out candles, etc etc. I know I have plenty of epic birthdays in her future full of fun themes, costumes, and adventures, but that being said I don't want to drop the ball and miss out on some of the fun stuff, after all- the fun is in the details. So I thought I would blog about some ideas I've been thinking about for her big day. Feel free to let me know in the comments what you think!?!
So back to the SHOUT OUT! Today's blog goes to StephLovesBen, a Florida based etsy shop that specializes in party and wedding decorations with customized options- all full of fun and color! I love the idea of having handmade decorations that you can reuse every year- by mixing in new pieces or simply using them in a different way. I would also love to make my own but my "to make" list for our daughter is pretty long this year, so I am being realistic about the littler things! Here are just a few of my favorites from her shop! I suggest you peruse her collection of decorations and find something for your own celebration, they are so darling AND very affordable!
Well this post is a little late in the day, sorry about that! My computer has been on the fritz (hence why these are all pics and videos from my cell phone) plus today was crazy and also one of the nights I have class until 9:30... and so I'm just getting to it now! anywho... here it is, her 11 month blog post.
COUNTDOWN to the big birthday has begun! I now have one month to get my act together, yikes. I have a few gifts for her but my ideas for her party are still up in the air. I'll muse more about that in a future blog post, for now here are some new milestones and videos!
Above: a cell phone shot from this Saturday. We went on a little sticky/humid hike and used the hand-me-down back pack from my brother. She loved sitting up high and looking around. She would bounce and sway so regally it looked like she was riding her personal elephant across the desert with a long caravan behind her.
Here is the little miss playing with the a glass music box I had as a girl. It's really sweet how the bird flies in and out of the house. She loves all music and music boxes are a big draw at the moment. We have our second music class tomorrow and I'm excited to see how she will warm up to it. She has been bouncing to music for a while and this past week she has begun to turn from side to side- from her hips with her arms out on either side turning them around... picture "the twist" from the 60's. I have yet to capture it on video, it's pretty cute though.
And a video of a fussier moment. (warning there is one loud shriek) But it's a good example of how having a dog can be a big advantage when you have a baby. I often use Millie's appeal to distract Cordelia, and here is an example of my tricky ways. Plus it's also a cute example of how fast she can crawl.
And this little gem. (sorry it's dark more cellphone action) This tiny clip was one of those random moments captured and it reminds me of a silent movie... it just worked out!
As far as more millstones this month... I'm drawing a bit of a blank. As you can see she is getting really fast. Today was one of those days where she was getting into EVERYTHING. The diapers, the bathroom closet and all its goodies. I feel like the last month and a half I have been growing a new callus of stamina, of physical strength.. I have a new level of tiredness as well as more food on my clothes. Yes I'm the one in class with banana all over her pants and collar. As a result I'm not sure I can call her a "baby" anymore. When does this officially change? And what do I call her, a toddler? YUP.
Her language continues to increase, she talks to us about "stuff" all the time. And she really understands us. Maybe after closely watching the dog all the time- she has learned the word "no", or at least she seems to know it some of the time ; ) ALSO she growls at the stuffed tiger in her room and when she sees a lion or some sort of beast in her Eric Carle book- too funny. I guess that's it for now. Glad I was able to remember some milestones!
Hey all! Well it's the first official Monday of Autumn and we have local apple cider in our fridge, skeins of fresh wool in our stash and cooler temperatures on the horizon... so even though this gross sticky humidity seems to be very un-fall-like we are working our way into the spirit of my favorite season. I hope this week's Love Letter to Fall gets you in the spirit!
It occurred to me a few months ago that I do not say "I love you" to our baby daughter. I'll admit I was surprised by this realization, but I understood why... I never really said it to her because this whole time I felt that my actions, my daily care, my constant presence, was how I showed my love for her... My love for her was bigger than those three words and was felt on so many levels- through the process of her coming into our lives, starting with our vows and continuing all the way up to the countless hugs, the pecking and slobbery kisses that find themselves planted on her toes, her neck, her back... through the squeezes I give her chunky baby thighs... through our sacrifice, the late night feedings, my new role as a human pacifier... my love for her is felt every time I look at her, and how I find myself missing her during nap time (insane). yadda yadda- you get the picture. This was an interesting concept I found myself pondering.
But I realized, even though she understands this form of love, it was important that she hear the words, that she learn what they mean. And so with these kisses often come these three words. I remember the first time I consciously said it to her, I made eye contact and whispered "I love you" in her ear and then gave a kiss to that big baby cheek, to which she turned her gaze to meet mine and gave me a little contented happy smile. And thus the light bulb went off above my head, saying: YES this is something you should teach her, that even though she can't say it, she can understand the words... she needed to hear "I Love you" like she will need to hear everything ... to know not just the feeling that is felt ... but to know the language of what we feel for her, of what we share...
...our daughter is becoming a toddler. Last Saturday morning I was in the kitchen fixing myself breakfast and someone decided to help herself to the cereal cabinet! Of course I watched from afar as this little explorer opened the cabinet, pulled out the box and dumped the cheerios on the floor and then promptly ate them. If you have ever taken care of a toddler- eating off the floor is no longer a faux pas, it's now one of those things I choose not to sweat. Hell, she's busy and happy! my work here is done.
so I snapped these little pictures with my cell phone. Our dog Millie looks pleased with the situation! I hope this will improve their relationship ; )
In other news, I just finished my second week of night classes. I am taking web site related classes to beef up my freelance skills, ultimately allowing me to build and design websites in the hope of making more money, enough to support us while the husbo goes back to school in the next year or so. eep.
This pretty much sums up my attention span at the moment!
ALSO- this week, the little miss and I started a toddler music class on Wednesday mornings. It's pretty hilarious to see all of these babies/toddlers bouncing about, some of them running for the door, or giving each other hugs, while the rest just sit there stunned. It's nice to get out of the house and mingle with other moms. Plus Cordelia is big on music lately so I am encouraging this interest.
Here she is "singing" to Piano Man while my Dad plays the player piano. My Mom has also been playing the accordion for her, and she is captivated. I have fond memories of my grandfather playing it for us... so the accordion is a sweet tradition.
And I started knitting this hat in purple for the little miss from the book Vintage Knits for Modern Babies. It's fast and easy, which is the perfect knitting project for me at the moment!
And we saw this guy riding around last weekend, nice ride!
consider yourself mildly caught up with us... yes in an artificial way, but here it is.
I do this to inanimate objects all the time... primarily when I am struggling to move awkward furniture by myself. Flipping it off makes me feel better, mostly because the object can't flip me off in return and also because the realization of how stupid and funny I look brings a smile to my face and gratitude to my heart that no one saw me just flip off that stupid f-ing table. ; ) Do you do this too?
Here is this week's handmade shout out, just some recent etsy favs of mine! I love them all, each shop is worth spending some time in, so check 'em out!
I mentioned back in August how we gave my twin brother and his wife a can of One Of A Kind- Cameron and Abigail Elbow grease for a housewarming present, and here is one of the projects we helped them with (so far). The happy home owners have this coffee table that once belonged to my grandparents. My Grandmother's family room (where the table once resided) had a subtle French country theme to it and so the table with it's rustic finish and hand painted corners was right at home and fit her decor. But since inheriting the table, my sister-in-law wanted to clean up some dings and ultimately paint it, making it her own. Here is a little visual journey of their coffee table makeover. (click on the pictures to view them larger and in greater detail)
Happy Monday! How was your weekend? Ours was good, our huge yard sale went really well and now I've been carefully calculating what I can purchase with my earnings! ; ) It really began to feel like fall this weekend and that got me really excited to celebrate my favorite season. And since it has been nice and chilly we slept with the windows open all weekend and now my knitting to do list is growing! (more on that later) In the meantime, enjoy this week's Love Letter to Fall!
Happy Thursday and happy Links and Such. How's your week going? Mine has been more active in some ways. I started my night classes to beef up my web design skills. I can already tell I am going to learn a lot! This means my mom has been taking care of little "ponce" two nights a week and it's been a fun adjustment for the baby. And P.S. the co-sleeping to crib transition has been going on for a week now and despite some hiccups the first few days, we are all learning new skills and it's going REALLY well! yeah! (more on that in a future post).
