New niece!

This weekend we took a very quick trip up to Asheville. It's only a 3-hour drive, so I have NO idea why we don't go more often. The mountains to me are home. I didn't grow up there. But I did go to college there, met Kevin there, and spent 4 very important years of my life there. And now it's home. When I go back I breathe in deep and it makes me feel at ease. When I graduated from college, my first interview was here near Charlotte, and I got offered the job and took it without researching the area. I wish, wish, wish I had searched harder to find a job back "home". I only hope that someday (sooner rather than later) the stars will align so that my little family can relocate. For now, though, quick trips are what holds me over.

BUT! The reason for this weekend's trip was my sister-in-law's new baby girl! Alice Grace was born February 2nd, and we waited a few weeks to give them time to settle in to life with a new baby. It's their first, and Adelaide's 3rd cousin, but the only other girl. They are only 13 months apart, so I can't wait to see what life brings them.








It already seems Adelaide and Alice have a deep connection. Obviously Adelaide barely paid mind to the little baby during our visit, but they both seem to share the same temperament and gas problems (sorry Meaghann and Paul!). And Alice, apparently, is a derivitive of the name Adelaide... something they did not know until after they came home from the hospital.





I got to hold Alice for a few minutes, and oh! I forgot how tiny newborns are (and she wasn't a tiny newborn at all! 9 1/2 pounds!) She smelled like milk and her hair was so silky smooth and she was just a lump in my arms. I loved it (and missed it).

Even though they were the ones with a newborn, Meag and Paul played perfect hosts: serving us delicious kale/quinoa soup that even Adelaide loved, delicious oven-warmed bread, and not allowing me to clean anything other than sweeping their floors. How amazing are they? I love those people. Family. They fill my soul with warmth. I feel so connected to them, and wish we lived closer... I want many playdates in our futures!





Anyhow, we were back home at an amazing 9:45 Sunday morning. I felt so accomplished yesterday! A 3-hour drive under our belt, grocery shopping before we even got home, all the laundry got done, kitchen stayed clean (!), playing out on the deck, and I even got to snuggle with Kevin during a movie after Adelaide went to bed (Contagion - not really a snuggle movie, but worked fine for us!).

Here's hoping for more amazing weekends to come. Full of family, love, babies, warm weather, and good food.

Watching the world.

Sometimes I watch Adelaide watching the world and I wonder what it's like to see everything for the first time. I know everyone has this experience growing up, but somewhere along the way we forget to look with fresh eyes at the world around us. Things become so mundane and normal and we don't notice the small wonders among the hustle and bustle of daily life.



Until you have a kid. Then geese are so cool. These quacking floating things in the water. And then all of a sudden they open their wings and can you imagine the amazement Adelaide must feel when she's been studying these creatures and suddenly they're so different looking?



She watched them so intently. And I had to get down on her level to see with her eyes the world around her. The park was so full of people due to the wonderful 65-degree weather. Lots of people with their kids and babies and dogs. "Dah! Dah!" Lots of pointing and staring at the dogs. There was even a HUGE great dane that towered over her as he passed. Kids throwing crackers at the geese and she just stared at them snapping up the treats.



We ran into friends, Kevin drummed a little (a lot), she danced, and we played in the cool/warm weather. It was such an invigorating stretch of time. I was reluctant to go at first because this park is a good half-hour from home and it was nearing naptime. But Adelaide slept in the car the way there and then another half-hour while I caught up on some reading. So it ended up being a refreshing day out with my little family.

I should grab those opportunities when I can!

Our Valentine's Day (cute lunches, and baby valentine art!)

Last year: this and this.

Happy belated Valentine's Day. What a difference a year makes. Last year I was home with a sweet little babe and got to do something super crafty and call it a day. This year, I had to fit in the craftiness (which I did, of course!) and cute Valentine's stuff among the usual day-to-day work, work prep, cleaning, and crazy-baby.

Firstly, here's what I whipped up for Adelaide for her big Valentine's day lunch. I'm so super inspired by this blog, but I have to wait until little miss is older for her to be able to appreciate the time and effort and inspiration it would take to make lunches like that for her. But cutting a slice of whole wheat bread (she's never had white) into hearts? Sure! Quartering some on-hand red grapes? Yep! And throwing in mashed potatoes even though they in no way tie into Valentine's Day because I knew that's the one thing of the whole lunch she'd probably eat? Definitely!



And last week, her teacher asked if I wanted to take part in a Valentine's exchange. I said sure! An excuse to help Adelaide create her first batch of sweet love notes? Yes, please! Again, this is something I can't wait until she's older for, because I have SO many ideas of adorable handmade valentines to do with her (thank you, Pinterest!).

Since Adelaide loves finger painting, it was a natural decision to use that skill to paint some V-day hearts. I cut some little hearts from white paper, and gave her a lid of red paint and a lid of blue paint. It was AMAZING to watch her. Before, and even just her last session which was about 6 weeks ago, she'd just smear her hands around and think it was pretty cool to make a smudgy mess. NOW, she actually PICKED UP the paint and PLACED IT ON THE PAPER. It was so cool. Of course, my art teacher side swelled with pride!









After they dried, I glued them to corresponding sheets of construction paper, used funky scissors to cut a border, and wrote a special note on the back. I made sure to give her two teachers the cutest hearts (well, after I claimed a couple (a few?) for myself and her scrapbook!).








Tada! I thought they were super cute. I was able to make 10 of them (after they dried) while watching the Bachelor this week. Well, those, and 14 little hearts in which I wrote 14 things I loved about the hubs. On Valentine's morning, while he was in the bathroom, Adelaide and I ran around the house and hid them in various places. He loved finding them all around the house! And I got some special-made hair sticks that he turned on his lathe, and a foot rub!

It was a pretty awesome Valentine's Day. I could have done without the full day of work, but it was great nonetheless!

Supermom.

I have a hard time staying positive. I think I was born a pessimist. In fact, even in middle school, I recognized this quality of mine. My friend and I had an ongoing joke that I was the pessimist and she was the optimist in our friendship.

I get way too stressed out with the daily to-dos. I often put spending time with Adelaide on hold so that I can get my chores done (you know... I-have-to-get-this-done-or-my-brain-will-explode-and-then-we-can-hang out). I mean, I sit her on the counter while I prep her milk and food for the next day so yes, we're together, but I'm focused on something else. (Speaking of, this awesome hang out on the counter while mommy preps your stuff is coming to an end. She's a little too mobile and exploratory now... getting unsafe.) Diapers, laundry, tidying up, dusting, vacuuming, dishes (oh, the never-ending dishes). I just have this list that I need to tick off before I can breathe a sigh of relief. But I don't really feel the relief, because there's always SO MUCH TO DO and I can never get it all done.

And I always feel really bummed on Sunday nights, usually having a big cry about the injustice of my having to work and not being able to stay home with Adelaide. It's depressing. Sundays suck.

But yesterday, Monday, I decided that there's nothing I can do about it. This is my life, at least for now. I have no real choice in the matter. Bills need to be paid, food needs to be bought, debt needs to be slowly chipped at. So I work. And I spend my nights prepping for the next day of work and missing Adelaide.

I decided to be Supermom yesterday. I decided that I would get everything done and still (still!) have a lot of time to focus on Adelaide instead of thinking about that next thing that was on my to-do list. I decided to use my minutes wisely. I put my phone away. I kept the TV off. I turned on music, plopped Adelaide on the counter and very busily fixed her stuff for tomorrow. I started the diapers in the wash.



And then we went on a walk. Where we weren't "getting anything done" but spending time together. Giggling in the breeze, pointing to mailboxes, starely oh-so-intently as we passed the barking dogs, babbling and hair whipping around. It was nice. And we played. We read so many books, laughed and tickled, chased each other, tried to pull the cat's tail off (that was Adelaide, not me).

And then I did a little bit of diaper washing and laundry tending, and then we played some more.



And then we did dinner and she ate like a champ and we played some more.



And then we took a bath and read a book and ate half a banana and screamed through teeth-brushing and then I got to lay down and nurse her to sleep.

When she was down, I folded laundry while eating a quickly made egg and avocado sandwich while watching The Bachelor (guilty pleasure) while spending time with my husband (yep, he watches too!).

I was Supermom. I didn't get everything done on my list, but I changed my attitude about my life. At least for yesterday, I didn't feel bogged down. My moments with Adelaide were clear and pure. I enjoyed her, and I didn't mind my chores. I got everything done that needed to be, but I showed Adelaide that she was important (honestly, I don't feel like I neglect her, but I always have a nagging list in the back of my mind that keeps me from being 100% there). And we had a great night. Pretty much fuss-free, which is rare these days, what with the independence growing and all.

So today? I'm Supermom again. I can't control my circumstances exactly, but I can control my attitude about them. I'm glad I recognized what made yesterday better, because now I can try to make that choice everyday. I know I won't always feel like Supermom, able to squeeze in most of the housework and focus on Adelaide and do it all with a smile.

But today... today I will try.

Park and Poptarts

Yesterday I had a really bad day. The night before I was feeling excited, for maybe the first time since starting back, to go to work. I had planned some really fun lessons that I was looking forward to starting with all my classes. It was nice! I had had a great day with Adelaide on my Monday off, and I was actually looking foward to work the next day.

But then work sucked. Nothing went just right. The lessons weren't as out-of-the-park as I thought they were. The kids were just... bratty, if I can say that. Then I started thinking about my little one, and by the time I got in my car to go pick her up I was crying. And had a pretty hard cry on the way to her daycare. I just worry that I'm going to regret everything and feel that I'm going to miss so much with Adelaide over these first few years as I work and she goes to her little school. I know she is having fun at daycare, but I'm not having as much fun at school as I think I should be. *sigh*

So, after picking her up, I decided that we were going to go to the park. I just wanted to do something. So I grabbed a poptart (organic toaster pastry, actually, we don't eat "poptarts"), my water, my camera, and we headed out. It's a 7-minute drive, and we spend almost half-an-hour eating our snack, watching the other kids play, and checking out the slides (which she loved). We would have stayed longer, but the wind kicked up and it got cold.

The rest of the night was tough, but Kevin took her outside and they collected "Feel Good" rocks in a bucket for me and we spent some fun time splashing in the tub. We started a new bedtime routine tonight that worked like a charm and I'm hoping will have her sleeping a little longer, at least initially. (I know that'd be a miracle. But I know that better sleep will probably help me feel better, too.)

Here's hoping your Tuesday was better than mine.

Teeny Tiny Cake Smashing!

Read about the theme and decorations for Adelaide's Teeny Tiny 1st birthday party here.

So, again, here's Adelaide's cake that I made:



It was a delicious vegan chocolate cake with a vegan buttercream frosting. It was a total hit and looked awesome too. I actually left the recipe at a friend's house (I had to go over there Friday after school because my oven is broken. BROKEN!) so I will try to get that and post it soon for those that are interested.



I made a regular circle cake and then used a circle cookie cutter as a guide to cut three small circles (though bigger than the cookie cutter) out of the cake. Those were the three layers of Adelaide's cake. And to stack them together, I just put the icing in a ziploc baggie, snipped the corner, and squeezed just a bit of icing around the edge to make the appearance that there was a ton of icing in between each layer without actually filling it all in. Does that make sense? And then I did completely frost the outside of the cake.





I used a small heart cookie cutter, placed it on top of the cake, and filled it in with green sprinkles. Lifted the cookie cutter, and voila! A perfect green heart. I used a small star cookie cutter to make the kiwi stars.

When everyone started singing Happy Birthday, Adelaide just leaned back in her seat, chilled out, and stared around at everyone. Then we all waited and watched as she dipped finger after finger into the icing and ate so petitely. She kept teasing us and making us think she was going to smash into it and/or pick it up, but she didn't. She did love it, however, and that's what mattered!

A Teeny Tiny Party! A post about the Decorations...

Adelaide had her very 1st birthday party Saturday afternoon. Her birthday was nearly a month ago (December 22nd), but that seemed too close to Christmas to throw a party. Plus, all the weekends leading up to Christmas were full of other babies' birthday parties (babies that attended her's, too!). From our birthing class to families I've met at a local babywearing group, it seems that we know A LOT of babies with mid-December birthdays. So we waited until the middle of January, when the holiday festivities have died down and people were available. And it worked out well, so we'll probably keep this tradition of celebrating with just us on her actual birthday and then throwing a party a month later.

Her theme: A Teeny Tiny Party!

I'd seen this idea around the web and I thought, what better birthday than the 1st to throw a Teeny Tiny Party? I mean, this is the teeniest tiniest she's ever going to be on her birthday (besides her actual birth day, of course)!

So, I made teeny tiny cupcakes, and a teeny tiny cake for her. All vegan, of course, since we're still iffy on dairy and haven't done eggs yet. They were a hit! Even my brother, who can live off of hot dogs and pepperoni pizza loved these dairy, egg, and butter-free goodies. Her cake is 3 tiny layers, chocolate, covered in icing, with a green star and little kiwi stars around it! I was very proud of that cake!



I also made a teeny tiny bunting that said happy birthday that I taped to the mirror in the living room... no picture but on the cake plate then night before.



I made some great green paper mobiles, that were just strips of paper sewn together with a running stitch through the machine. When hung, the separate strips kind of swirl around and it looks so great! It was cheap and easy, and honestly... they look so neat that they'll probably stay hanging up for a while!



I also made a circle bunting from paper to hang on the back of our white kitchen cabinets. It still looked a little plain, so I put three pictures that Adelaide had painted (at 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months) on the cabinets, too.

The table looked so nice! All the cupcakes with their teeny tiny toothpick flags, and all the teeny tiny foods! Mini graham crackers, mini triscuits, baby carrots, tiny tomatoes, baby pickles, mini nutter-butters, small bananas, mini pretzels, etc. Lots of finger foods for the babies, and plenty for the grown-ups!





I got teeny tiny bottles of Sprite and waters, and teeny tiny juice boxes for the kids. The Sharpie marker was for everyone to write their names on the lids, so we wouldn't mix up the bottles and there'd be less waste.



I was a bit nervous about it being crowded... we have a teeny tiny house (less than 1100 sq.ft), and we had 15 adults and 8 kids/babies... but it was great! People spread out in the living room, dining room, and nursery. The big kids (ages 7, 4, and 4) went outside to run around in the front yard some. It didn't feel stuffy at all and everyone seemed to have so much fun! We did clear the rooms as much as we could. Like, we took our big ole t.v. and moved it into our bedroom closet, and moved the coffee table to the side of the room, etc.

Up next post: the guests and the cake smashing!

Growing up, cutie pie.

Today was a beautiful day. It almost reached 70 degrees here in mid-North Carolina. In January. I love, love, love this weather, but it feels almost wrong to be loving it in January. It should be cold and freezing and cuddle-drink-hot-chocolate weather. And believe me, we had some chilly mornings this week (18 degrees one morning!), but the weekend has been wonderful.

Today felt so GOOD. We spent lots of time outside, walking in the leaves, hanging out on the porch. We got lots of chores done around the house (though by looking, you wouldn't know it). Tomorrow should be just as nice, but a little cooler. I plan on taking Adelaide to the park. I think she'll enjoy it a lot more now that she's really walking, crawling, and climbing. She's a little daredevil!

Today we went grocery shopping, and sitting in the cart isn't fun anymore for Adelaide. She wants to keep standing up and that makes mama nervous. Usually, I'll put her in the big part of the cart and let her stand, play around, whatever. But today was Super Doubles at Harris Teeter, and I needed to have my nice stack of coupons not get mangled.

So I opted to let her walk around the store with me. Grocery shopping has never been more tiring. She did really good though! Most of the time she stayed near me, didn't pull too many things off the shelves, and came when I asked her to. But sometimes she would give me a mischievous look and take off. And only towards the end of the shopping trip did she really start get defiant and forcing me to hold her even though she didn't want to be held. Next time, I'll bring my carrier in and plop her in it once she hits that point.



Getting ready to go out, I attempted to put a headband on her. This is usually a game of take it off, mama puts it back on, take it off, mama puts it back on... until mama gives up. This happened today, but she also decided to put it back on herself at one point. She seemed pretty proud to have done so and I snapped a picture just in the nick of time.

My big girl is growing up, and soon she'll be going to the grocery store in an outfit she chose all herself. And I'll let her go out with a backwards, crooked headband, mismatched clothes, and shoes on the wrong feet as long as she's happy with it herself. :)

Merry Christmas!

Here, have a peppermint!




Achoo!


I have something in my pocket. And I have a really cut tummy.


Moooommmmmm!!!!!!!!


See my tooth? I now have 3 more you can kind of see, if you're annoying like Momma and shove your fingers in my mouth and pull my lips away.


Ok, I'm done. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Adelaide is ONE YEAR OLD!

Dear Adelaide,

Happy birthday! Someone, please pinch me! Has it really been a year already since your sweet face joined our family?!? The saying is true: time flies. Probably because you keep us so busy and sleep-deprived, but still. It has been one amazing year. So full of life and love and adventures and fun discoveries... for you and for us!



One year ago, it was the winter solstice, and you were coming while the moon was orange and the day was short. It was the second day of winter when you arrived, strong lungs screaming and beautiful eyes alert and watching your dad within minutes of your life. Your head full of dark hair which just keeps getting lighter, and your limbs so thin that have filled out considerably (prompting everyone to say "Well, she hasn't missed a meal, has she?!").



While I read the books, and heard veteran moms say how much will change the first year, I never really knew until it happened. You went from being a helpless little ball of person in my arms 24/7 to a strong, independent toddler who wants to do everything herself. You went from drinking only my milk to eating nearly everything put in front of you (though you will still always drink my milk every time it's offered). You have become more confident and determined to explore... as long as you know momma is nearby, you aren't afraid to turn corners and walk down new hallways, roam around dance floors, and take off in the middle of a store.



You have taught your daddy and me patience, deep (DEEP) love, humor, to see the lighter side of things, to let the bad things go more easily. To realize what's really important: family. And that's you, little one. Life is brighter, warmer, more exciting, and faster. We love you so, so, SO SO SO much. Every day brings new adventures. I'm excited to see what will happen in your second year of life. It's all so amazing!



Love, Momma.

P.S. By the way, here's what new this past month! You:

• Can point out your belly button on cue
• Can point out momma's and daddy's noses (but not your own)
• Are infatuated with dogs, exclaiming "DAH" when you see one (picture or real)
• Have no problem lifting your sippy cup to drink
• Raise your arms when we say "All done!"
• Help get yourself undressed by lifting your legs out of pants, and putting your head down to take your shirt off
• Can get off the big bed by yourself by sliding down off the side
• Know what these words mean: Up, ball, dog, cat, cup, milk, hug, kiss, gentle, all done, diaper, brush hair, book, phone, dada, doorbell, hat, and many more!
• Know what a brush is for, and try to use one
• Go from hitting to rubbing and saying "Ooh" when we tell you to be gentle
• Have tried cat food, three times (didn't like it!)
• Love the bath more and more (content with just a cup to play with, too!)
• Can sit in our laps! This makes us so, so happy! Especially when you bring a book to read!