I blinked.... and you're 14 months

Happy 14-month birthday, Ben. 

You are becoming your own person. 

You're funny; you crack yourself up, you crack us up. Everything is a joke to you; you have a big personality. 

You are pensive. Whenever we take you somewhere, you initially stand back, take in your surroundings, assess all that is going on. You take your time, but once your mind is made up, you go for it. And you let nothing get in your way;).

You're confident. I love how comfortable you are in your own 14-month old skin. How can I ensure that you stay this way? That you'll never feel insecure; that you'll march to the beat of your own drum, that you'll stand for what you believe in...

You're sweet. You give kisses like it's your job. You are friendly to everyone, you welcome people into your world with a huge, large-toothed grin (though you are quite attached to your mama and dada).

You adore, aDORE, your dog. You go over to her blanket regularly to sit with her. You have a hard time saying Luna; you call her 'Lala'. You pet her, you're gentle with her (most of the time time), you give her cookies when she comes in from outside and call her 'good girl' (goo-gar). 

It's funny; you don't quite look like us. You still have blondish hair and blue eyes (WE still have no idea where those baby blues came from, but they seem like they're sticking around). You look a little like your grandpa Dave and resemble your own dad in ways. But it feels like we're really grasping at straws here to find physical similarities ('he definitely has my teeth (mama), your overbite (dada), the under portion of your eyes (dada), my toes and wide feet (mama)'.... see what I mean?)

Here are some of your favorites, at 14-months:

Favorite Activities:

- Playing with Luna

- Playing with/ talking about balls (soccer balls, tennis balls, baseballs, you don't discriminate)

- Climbing up the stairs and sliding back down on your belly (and I won't lie- this one terrifies me)

- Pulling your toy dog and train around the house (you walk backwards so you can see the activity)

- Helping with household chores (you carry wood, you help to push the wheelbarrow, you swiffer, you stir eggs)

- Pulling things out of cabinets... and putting them back upon our request (not quite as fun as taking them out)

- Saying cheers with your sippy cup (this is new over the past few days- you say 'cheees' repeatedly, though you haven't quite gotten the fact that you're supposed to have a sip after you give cheers:))

- Reading, alone or with an adult (you drop the book of choice into our laps and politely ask us to 'read-a, read-a')

- Dancing and playing the piano with dada

- Playing with the shapes sorter toy (you make a really funny grunt when you're trying to force a shape into it's slot; how did you learn to grunt? I don't think that your dad and I walk around grunting.... but you've mastered it:))

-Looking out the window at night for the moon

Favorite Foods:

Hands down: avocado, bananas, eggs, tomatoes, grapes (If you had it your way, you'd eat tomatoes for every meal. We tell you that, if you don't watch it, you're going to turn into one.....)

Favorite Books:

I am a Bunny (you call Nicholas 'Ko-lick-oh-la', it is so cute that we ask you to say it every time we turn the page)

Anything Sandra Boynton

Anything Eric Carle

Goodnight Moon

Dear Zoo

Most Commonly Used Words:

Mama, dada, Luna, more, please, milk, avocado, ball, car, train

You're starting to string words together, you are repeating anything and everything that we say. I have a feeling that you're going to be a little chatterbox, if we continue at this rate:).

You are an amazing sleeper. We put you down for bed at 7pm and don't hear from you again until 7am. You are down to one nap a day, about 1.5-2 hours. You sleep hard and you play hard. 

I feel so very privileged to be your mama. I am enjoying every second of your life, of seeing you grow, watching you learn, loving who you are. You are such a sweet little guy, so fun to be around, even on the days   when you completely wipe me out. You're a little gem and I can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring.

Cheees to 14 months and many more of them......

Love, mama

Photo Credit: Thanks to Alisa, Ben's girlfriend/ nanny, for taking photos 1, 4, 8, 9 and 11:). We don't know what we'd do without her loving, patient heart and photog capabilities:).

9 months ago.....

Nine months ago today, we thought we were going to have to wait another day to meet you.

Nine months ago today, the theme song from Angry Birds forever associated itself in my mind with the day you were born (great source of entertainment during those last hours though:)).

Nine months ago today, your mama and dada had a very trying and sleepless night, but the moment we saw you, we forgot all about it.

Nine months ago today, your grandparents (all four of them!!) showed up at the hospital thinking that they were just going to say hi to mama and dada, go home for the evening, then come back to meet you the next day (as they had already waited patiently for you for over a week). Little did they know that on their way to the hospital, you decided that you just couldn't wait to meet them.

Nine months ago today, we fell in love with our little boy 

(well.... 18 months ago, actually....).

Today, we continue to fall in love with you and the little person that you are becoming.

Happy first 9 months, sweet Benjamin... here's to many, many more.....

xoxo,

mama

morning still (and the tomato thief mystery)

I've been awake since 4am thinking of all of the things I could should be doing. Checking e-mail, writing work reports, folding that ever-growing pile of laundry that has taken over a fourth of my bedroom. You know those sleepless nights?

My husband looks so cute in his sleep, it takes all of the strength I can muster not to smoosh his face or wake him with my eyes. That would be mean:(. So, instead, I've gotten up to do the want-to-do's, which include stepping out with the camera for some fresh morning, summer air (I actually love this time of morning, when everything is so still, so dewy), browsing my favorite websites, choosing paint colors for our upcoming renovation.

The need-to-do's can wait.

After all, it's Wednesday, the ever-so-cleverly named 'hump day', which means only two-point-five more days until the weekend. This week has been just one of those weeks that crawls.... along..... at a snail's.... pace.

 

I'm looking forward to a very lazy home weekend with my husband and dog; something that we haven't really had in a while.

On another note, there has been a smart (and admittedly, slightly obnoxious) little guy who goes into my garden and takes annoying little bites out of my tomatoes. He seems to really enjoy the Early Girls (one per day) and the sweetie baby girls (of which he prefers two per day).

At least eat the whole thing, so I don't have to know you even exist! But no, he takes a snippy little bite and leaves the rest for me. It's the game of twenty questions: What kind of little creature can get through chicken wire? What kind of creature likes to eat tomatoes? A creature that, maybe, only comes out at night? Can any of you dear readers help me solve this riddle??

Happy hump day to you all.

xoxo

wordless

hello lovelies,

I hope this post finds you all well:). I haven't had much to say on my sweet little blog this past week. I've had a busy week at work and by the time I get home, all I want to do is have a nice dinner and take a dreamful nap.

I'm very much looking forward to this weekend, which is slated to be filled with sunshine, open windows, the painting of a birdhouse, family walks and hopefully the re-emergence of bare feet. Wouldn't that be nice? :) I hope you all have a fabulous weekend. I leave you with a photo of Matt and me dancing the night away at our wedding.... just because (also, it ties in with the whole bare feet theme :)).

xoxo,
Blair

Dinner for 4

We’re having dinner guests over tonight. On the menu is teriyaki salmon (my husband grills a fantastically mean teriyaki salmon, which, let’s be truthful here, is one of the reasons why he is my husband;)), pearled basil couscous and green beans. For dessert, we’ll be having homemade blueberry apple crisp, served up warm with a scoop of vanilla gelato. I could hardly contain my excitement at the grocery store when I bought it!! We’ll also be having Trader Joe’s dark-chocolate covered blueberries. If you have a Trader Joe’s near you, I highly recommend trying these blueberries. They are so delicious:).

I got some fresh flowers for the occasion and pulled out my spring apron (which I got on sale last year at Williams Sonoma outlet), while my little monkey of a dog looked on with a quizzical stare. What a glorious Saturday;).


xoxo

L-O-V-E (pink~wedding~a wise skin horse)

No matter how hard I try to avoid it, the month of February fills my brain with thoughts of two of my favorite topics: pink and love. In honor of St. Valentine, I thought I’d share a few photos from our wedding (we’ll be married two years this coming June), as it was an occasion that was also filled with both pink and love.

May this Valentine’s Day find you all feeling loved (in the real sense), whether it be from a significant other, a secret admirer, a loyal four-legged monster;), a friend who has seen you through your best and worst times or a family member who has loved you inside & out during those best and worst times. Happy Valentine’s day, dear friends.


EXCERPT FROM THE VELVETEEN RABBIT
~ By Margery Williams ~

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but Really loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get all loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

xoxo,

Blair

The history of a bike basket, abridged

Matt and I have started a New England island summer-getaway tradition. After we married in 2008 we escaped to Nantucket for a week of relaxation. In 2009, we spent time on Martha’s Vineyard and this year we’re going to Block Island for the first time (dog-friendly island, so Miss Luna will be joining us). Each year we take our bikes with us on the ferry and spend the week exploring the chosen island (there’s always a photo or two of Matt’s departing back, as he’s usually biking along in front of me while I stop to take photos of every turtle and snail that I can find:)).

I’ve wanted an official, grown-up bike basket for as long as I remember. I made this my mission while on Martha’s Vineyard last summer. It took us a full day to find the right one, but I knew as soon as I saw it that we were meant to be together for a very long time. It’s proven quite handy, holding towels, wallets, cell phones; I’ll even throw the occasional flower in there if I'm feeling crazy;).

I couldn’t stand the thought of my lovely basket sitting in the basement this winter, so I’ve decided to put it to use in the house as a book basket. I must say that I quite like it and come summer I may have to find a new bike basket all over again.

xoxo,

Blair

SiMpLe ThInGs

Dear sweet friends,

As I was away, I was unable to partake in the Simple Things postings of late January. I thought it was such a lovely idea, so moving and inspiring, that I created my list, albeit a bit late. So, I welcome February with my list of simple things and hope that this month brings peace, love and health to those around the world, including you.



My SiMpLe ThInGs



My husband’s voice
Daily phone calls with my mom
Being my father's daughter
Friendships that have lasted and grown throughout the years
Having an older brother
Having a younger brother
**
Sand between my toes
Being a woman
Being healthy
Rosy cheeks and freckled faces
Good conversation
My dog’s rare and random bark
**
Old-fashioned street lamps and cobble-stoned roads
Being snowed in
The first sign of spring
Christmas Eve
Opening stockings
**
Gruyere Cheese
Beet & Goat Cheese Salad
A pretty glass of pink wine
The sound of my husband playing the piano
A book that I can’t stop reading
**
Naptime with hubby and Luna
My lovely new couches- just the perfect shade of pale blue
Classics and Jazz- a French radio station that we stream in our home- plays the perfect blend of music, no matter my mood
Hand-written letters
Leaving little notes for hubby
**
The blonde curls and big brown eyes of my lovely nephew
My nephews & nieces (and how they all call me auntie Blair:))
The long driveway leading to my sweet home
My husband’s singing voice
My husband’s dancing face
**
When Luna greets me as soon as I walk through the door, like I’m the most important thing on the planet
Filet Mignon and Lobster
Autumn in New England
Birds eating from my bird feeder
Composting
**
Fresh Flowers
Shades of Blues, Pinks, Whites
Flicking through Home Design and Garden magazines on a Saturday morning
Our Saturday morning routine of eating egg sandwiches, drinking big mugs of coffee and listening to NPR
A pair of shoes that is both cute AND comfy:)
**
Outdoor speakers
Outdoor showers
Canoe rides
Singing out loud to myself
Laughter
**
Watching my parents dance together
*
Dancing with hubby
*