Monday, November 22, 2010

Sunday, November 21, 2010

The Return of the Blog!

Wow! So it has been almost 3 months since we left New York and almost 3 months since I have written... Why? I am not quite sure. Somehow, now that things are easier, and I have so much more time to myself, blogging has fallen to the wayside. Maybe I was more stressed in NY and needed the outlet more than I do here? Maybe I just needed to get settled. Now, I am ready to continue my online journal here. I am definitely ready to start shooting more.

For a brief re-cap of the last few months:

-We now live in a beautiful cabin in the woods in Tennessee.
-Smooshie now goes to daycare AKA "child development school" 5 days a week and LOVES it! More about that soon.
-I can now drive to the store and bring home as many groceries as I want - and at half the price. :)

We are feeling a little isolated and friend-deprived out here, but all-in-all we are getting so much work done and are very very happy. :)

Enjoying a fall festival last month...

Monday, August 23, 2010

Birthday Invite :-)



The party is next weekend, then we leave! So excited!

This is going to be one of the craziest weeks EVER. We can't decide if this is crazier than last year when I gave birth, DH started teaching, and had to play a festival in Bristol the same week.

Today I must :

1. Call our lawyer to get a rider written for the lease
2. Go to lease signing with new (hopefully) tenants
3. Call freezer repair to come AGAIN because it still isn't working
4. Book a strorage space in TN
5. Bring more things to Goodwill
6. Pay bills
7. Pack
8. Do laundry
9. Work
10. Oh yeah, take care of my now-running child

Well, better get to it.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

I think I am falling apart..

Just a little bit. And not in a dangerous mental breakdown kind of way, just in a "wow, I haven't looked in the mirror in months" kind of way.

It kind of clicked the other day when my best friend was telling me how she admires what a great mother I am, and how "selfless" raising a child is. As she sat there in her cute new dress with her recently cut hair, perfectly manicured nails and tales of this and that dance party/fabulous event I realized that I, #1. Haven't been dancing in years (not counting baby music class), and #2. basically look like crap, and this was her subtle way of telling me.
p.s. this is the same bff who stopped me from wearing a frumpy empire waist dress to my wedding because "she would look hotter than me on my wedding day" and coaxed me into a fabulous mermaid silhouette dream gown (which thank God I wore because I will never have that body again).

Then I read this post over at the818.com where the blogger actually passed out from dehydration - nursing, sweating, running around. Crap, this could be me. My spare moments when Smoosh is asleep are spent working or researching toys and birthday party themes. I haven't had my hair cut in a year and the spit ends are reaching 3 and 4 prongs. My nails.. I can't even talk about. I am gaining weight again and love handles are spilling over the tops of my jean shorts. :( And now, with the lovely AF coming back, I have having those little neck break out bumps again.

DH tells me every day that I look gorgeous, but I know the stress of the move is getting to us, and I am looking a little worse-for-wear. But what to do? No extra time, no extra money right now. I think I will initiate a simple plan. Here are my new rules:

1. Stretch every morning first thing. This makes me more aware of my body and what I put in it and decreases stress.
2. Make a natural scrub with some sea salt and olive oil and give myself 5 minutes at the end of my shower to exfoliate.
3. Take the bag of clothes I don't want to the exchange shop and get one new outfit for myself with the money.
4. Have DH give me a little trim, for now.
5. Drink MORE water!!

Namaste ;)

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Walking!

Mr. Man is walking full speed ahead all of a sudden - crazyness! You know, it just almost doesn't look possible, walking on those fat little feet. Kind of like a worm walking upright.. Know what I mean?
There is the LOUDEST freaking jackhammering going on outside right now, just in time for Smooshie's nap. I am SO ready to get out of here.
We did have a nice night out with friends last night though. Austrian beer hall then Brazilian bar with watermelon vodka! Won't be getting much of that down in Tennessee.

I have been looking for the perfect birthday gift to have delivered to the Tennessee house. Most of the suggestions on websites seem a little bit off. An exersaucer for a 1 year old? Yeah right, we got rid of that months and months ago. I was thinking the Plan Toys drum set, but now I am thinking bigger. What he REALLY loves to do is go through daddy's desk, open and close things, ound on things, and make a big mess. What about a work bench?



This one is Melissa and Doug and gets great reviews on Amazon.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Party Planning!!

It looks like we are already going to be in Tennessee for Smooshie's birthday, but we are going to have a party here right before we leave. And since I have nothing else to do (haha like pack up the house, get it rented, care for the child, oh and work) I now get to obsessively plan the first birthday party I have been dreaming of!
The in laws have moved into a fancy new building in the neighborhood and they were able to reserve the rec room for the party which is AWESOME. At first I was worried it was going to be ugly and tacky, but it is actually done quite well - modern in muted colors. It has a big kitchen, bar stools, big grey wrap around sofa, low table for the cake, a cool pool table (grey and wood!) 2 big flatscreens (And yes, even though it is kind of obnoxious, I think I am going to have to do the photo slide show of Smooshie's first year on those), an i pod dock with surround sound. It also opens up onto a huge roof deck with a grill and cool furniture. It is also pretty much totally baby-proofed which is awesome.
Still, it needs a lot of work to give it the country - vibe I am going for. Luckily, I still have the gorgeous flags my mom made for my baby shower which will look great. Then, I think I will try the tissue paper puffs in white and blue. There is one ugly painting I will need to cover with some kind of banner.
This might sound a little crazy, but I am SO happy that all the parties that have to be thrown for me are over I can finally execute the control I like! Haha. Seriously though, it has been the wedding, the bridal shower, bachelorette party, baby shower. All paid for by someone else (for the most part) and considered in bad taste for the guest of honor to say too much. NOW, I finally have ALL the control mwah hahahaha!! :-)

SO, I love this bandana idea. I am going to look for bandana paper for hats I think.

Some kind of banner would be good..

And the famous puffs see to give good bang-for-your-buck!


There is also a wonderful organic cake baker in the hood who we can order from. Now these are the things I will miss when we leave NY.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

First Steps...

Smooshie took his first steps yesterday, and we are taking our first steps in leaving New York. This photo taken this morning sums up how I feel about the daunting task of packing up our life. Overwhelmed.



As for Smooshie's first steps, he was standing by the lamp, holding on. Then he let go of the lamp and was just standing there for quite awhile... then, two little steps over to the sofa! So cute and I am so glad DH and I were there to see it. I don't think he is super interested in taking off into full time walking quite yet, but he is close. :-)

We decided on a Sept. 1st move date so we are selling furniture we don't care about and renting a trailer to bring the rest to store in Tennessee. We somehow have to simultaneously pack up everything, and get the place looking good enough to show renters. I would look better to show empty and with a new coat of paint, but I don't see how that is possible since we can't keep everything in a trailer out on the streets of Brooklyn for 2 weeks! I am really looking forward to taking this as an opportunity to rid myself of excess baggage - clothes, books, trinkets and other things I have dragging around for years and years. I am trying to be Zen, but I guess I am a bit of a hoarder deep down. I have a serious case of "I may need this some day for a shoot!" and I always have.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

10 months!

Mr.Smoosh is 10 months! He celebrated by standing up from sitting without holding on to anything, and stayed standing for about 20 seconds. Of course, when I started freaking out and yaying and clapping he quickly sat back down and crawled away. ;-)
I must say, I am looking forward to him learning to walk, so I can hold his little hand and walk up the 5 flights of stairs together. It is HOT and he is HEAVY!
We saw the DR on Friday and M is holding strong on size - 75th % for weight (23lbs) and 95th % for height. Unfortunately DH had to take him in because he woke up in the middle of the night with a horrible cough. Turns out it is the croup, yuck. :-( He got some medicine and is feeling OK but it is so sad!
We have a lot going on right now and we are making some really big decisions.
Namely, we may actually be leaving NYC. I know I love to complain, but I will really miss our friends and my wonderful play group which has become almost my entire social life and kept me sane. I will miss the precious babies I have known since birth who are now Mason's best friends.
However, this life is ceasing to make sense. We pay a crazy mortgage and live in the most expensive city in the country and why? So DH can play music and adjunct teach for peanuts while he tries to finish his dissertation in between all this craziness in our cramped apartment?
My parents have a summer house in Tennessee that is open to us - plenty of bedrooms, fireplaces, a swimming hole, trails. Even an extra car. DH could write looking over the river in complete serenity while Mr.Man and I go on walks in the woods, swimming at the amazing community center. I also have some family and friends there. I could still work from home, I would just need to come to the city every few months.
Another major factor, we could rent our place here and more than cover the mortgage while it hopefully goes up in value until DH gets a job and we are ready to really settle somewhere and buy a house.
I am nervous, sad. excited... We are thinking of going in late September. Will I be able to find organic food? Will I get fat? ;-) I must say, the thought of another winter in NYC is DE. PRES. ING. OK, enough angst. Here is a first - a video! Smoosh thinks playing catch is pretty funny..




Friday, July 9, 2010

4th of July



I remember last 4th of July weekend - 8 months pregnant. hot. no margaritas. no sangria. We went to a BBQ and watched the random fireworks coming from the projects since we couldn't see the Hudson river ones from the roof in Clinton Hill. It's sometimes so mind blowing that we have this little person now who was just pulling on my leg and rubbing his little eyes, ready for his morning nap.

We went to the Hamptons for the weekend with my BFF and stayed at her parents house who are in total Grandparent-biological-clock mode. They wanted to hold Smoosh and keep him all weekend - except for when he woke up at 5AM. Then I was on my own. Anyway, we had a nice time and went to the outlets and Montauk for the day which was awesome. However, we really learned that we are truly our own family now and we really prefer to be in control of our own surroundings. i.e. not stay with people! It is hard having him in our room, trying to keep him quiet in the morning, find him things to eat (like explaining that we only give him organic things without seeming like a psycho)! I guess if things stayed too comfortable we would all live with our parents forever and not have the drive to push ourselves so we can someday buy or own beach house. :-)

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

All Joy and No Fun

All Joy and No Fun

Super interesting article in NYMag about happiness and parenting. Here are my highlights...

Not only did they find that couples’ overall marital satisfaction went down if they had kids; they found that every successive generation was more put out by having them than the last—our current one most of all. Even more surprisingly, they found that parents’ dissatisfaction only grew the more money they had, even though they had the purchasing power to buy more child care. “And my hypothesis about why this is, in both cases, is the same,” says Twenge. “They become parents later in life. There’s a loss of freedom, a loss of autonomy. It’s totally different from going from your parents’ house to immediately having a baby. Now you know what you’re giving up.”

One hates to invoke Scandinavia in stories about child-rearing, but it can’t be an accident that the one superbly designed study that said, unambiguously, that having kids makes you happier was done with Danish subjects. The researcher, Hans-Peter Kohler, a sociology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, says he originally studied this question because he was intrigued by the declining fertility rates in Europe. One of the things he noticed is that countries with stronger welfare systems produce more children—and happier parents.
Of course, this should not be a surprise. If you are no longer fretting about spending too little time with your children after they’re born (because you have a year of paid maternity leave), if you’re no longer anxious about finding affordable child care once you go back to work (because the state subsidizes it), if you’re no longer wondering how to pay for your children’s education and health care (because they’re free)—well, it stands to reason that your own mental health would improve. When Kahneman and his colleagues did another version of his survey of working women, this time comparing those in Columbus, Ohio, to those in Rennes, France, the French sample enjoyed child care a good deal more than its American counterpart. “We’ve put all this energy into being perfect parents,” says Judith Warner, author of Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety, “instead of political change that would make family life better.”

Amen! I am going to look into Warner's book, she sounds like a voice of reason to me. Why are we the biggest and best industrialized nation in the world, yet the most unhealthy and most miserable?? Come ON health care!

This article really hit home with me as I found DH and myself last night on a crash course from "having a baby" into full-on "PARENTING", all centered around Smooshie's inability to clap. Yes, he is only 9.5 months and he is progressing quite wonderfully, but I have tried and tried to teach him to clap and he isn't having it. I told DH that most of the other babies can clap (Have I really become that person? Did that really come out of my mouth?) and so he decided to teach him. Well, Mr.Man wasn't having it at ALL. This is sounding even crazier as I write it, but it really brought up a lot of issues on how we want to deal with discipline, and how we want to relate to this little person. We decided to let the clapping go and just focus on his strengths ;-) but I can see we are at the beginning of a lonng and winding road.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Summertime :-)





These photos are actually from St.Thomas last month but I just got around to editing them. I made Smooshie a baby pool out of one of the big white coolers we bought for our wedding almost 3 years ago! It worked great with just a few a few inches of water in it and he splashed around with some kitchen utensils.

Tomorrow we go to the Hamptons for the weekend. Can't wait to get my little baby beluga back in the water!

Friday, June 25, 2010

9 1/2 months




How cute are the Dwell Owls? Once the bumpers came off the crib was looking too sad. Luckily, the new Dwell Owls collection totally matches the Charlotte so it looks awesome with the quilt (which is on the rocker) and the crib skirt (which I had to take off too now that the mattress is at the lowest setting). My mom also gave me my old baby quilt which I have up on the wall. I need a wide angle lens to shoot the room, it is too small to get anything in the frame otherwise!

My sweet baby is SO funny these days. He has his own little sense of humor and we really have the best time together. He is standing on his own now, but when I try to lure him to walk or get up from sitting he defaults to his highly effective super-speed crawling instead. He LOVES jamming to his LeapFrog table thing and pushing it around the apartment like a walker. He is eating more than ever, so much food! A typical day will go something like this

-wake up, nurse have a banana or a bagel
-play
-morning nap
-eat another banana or papaya, melon, apples, and a cream cheese sandwich cut into pieces
-play
-Daddy gets up, we all have bruch (where he eats more of whatever we are having - eggs, cheese cubes)
-play
-snack
-nurse
-NAP
-Snack on more fruit, veggies
-play (the park, music class, etc)
-dinner! A little meal I make him- Couscous, squash, chicken, pasta are all favorites
-naked playing and naked story time
-Bath
-coconut oil massage
-nurse
-bed at 7

Then DH and I have our dinner, a glass of wine and chill. :-)

Yesterday we went to The Little Mermaid sing-a-long at The Knitting Factory - amazing! "Part of Your World" is my jam and it was so nice to spend some time in the cold room on a hot Saturday singing with strangers.

Today we are going to see out friend's newborn -eek! So cute!

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Highchair Fail

So we had the lovely Svan High chair bought generously off our registry. It is gorgeous, but it is a piece of crap. The bolts fall off and the tray slopes. I have to re-configure everything every day and the tray is sloping down and the food is falling off AGAIN. It is also IMPOSSIBLE to clean. Gross food down in the grooves and bolts all the time, ugh. And for $300, not cool. So I decided to return it and go with the IKEA Antilop which has great reviews, easy to clean.. and $25! Unfortunately, I returned the Svan (yay Buy Buy Baby, you guys are awesome) but now IKEA has been out of stock of the Antilop all month at all locations anywhere near me. Hmm.. Isn't this what happened with the IKEA crib I was going to get, and that is how I ended up with the expensive Argington? (By the way, I LOVE the Argington crib and am so glad I didn't get the IKEA)
Now Smooshie is eating in his walker which has a tray, but he rolls around the apartment while he eats and gets food everywhere, so we need a new highchair STAT. We are also on a super limited budget right now. What to do?

1. Wait for IKEA highchair
2. Put credit toward Stokke Tripp trap (which we should have bought in the beginning) but is even more expensive with all the ad ons.
3. Get hideous other high chair that is less expensive.

The Svan, too good to be true..



The Stokke Tripp Trapp, tried and true but expensive (up to $400) - especially once you add the chair rail, cushions and tray.




Bloom Nano is cute and only $170, but the reviews are so-so..



The elusive IKEA Antilop


Any advice? I will mull this over.

Highchair Delima

Monday, June 14, 2010

Island Time

14

Well, we are down in the islands for another 2 days and I all but completely forgot about my blog. Things are going great, but I am looking forward to getting home. It is always like this on the last few days of vacation. Smooshie has slept through the night every night here once again, and I am REALLY hoping this carries over at home now that he has his own room. He turns 9 months tomorrow (!) and has been doing quite a bit of standing sans holding on to anything. I want to get him a nice push-cart when we get home. Yesterday we went boating and he loved that. He LOVES the ocean and the waves and getting splashed... More pics soon!

ONE LOVE

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Baby-Led Weaning ;-)







Haha, I am still making delicious purees as well, but Smooshie LOVES to eat things with his own hands. Banana, strawberries, pieces of squash and sweet potato, big hunks of crusty bread.. Luckily the farmers market is open so at least he is eating big hunks of locally made multigrain loaf with no preservatives! Also, the strawberries are in season!! Super exciting since they are one of the fruits that absorb the most pesticides so it is super important to buy organic.
Smoosh is LOVING his Leapfrog musical groove table thing - and now he pushes it around the apartment. I think it is time for one of those push toys! He is "cruising" and holding on to the wall with one hand...
We go away next week - St.Thomas again yay- he is going to be a handful!

Monday, May 17, 2010

More design Inspiration

With Mr.Man on the move, we are confronted with how horrible our wall of Ikea shelves are. He can pull everything down off the first 2 shelves so DVDs and books are up on the table. his travel crib is blocking the record collection. I won't even start on our bedroom which is too small for the shelving we had now that we converted the apartment into 2 bedrooms.

These are from NY Mag's design issue. This look is called Neo-Rustic I think? While I don't love everything in the rooms (not so much the modern chairs or the weird art over the mantle- I think we would put a flat screen), I LOVE the shelving and it would work perrrfectly here.



Sunday, May 16, 2010

Moi



They sent me a few shots from the thing I modeled for on Mother's Day... I highly suggest that all new mothers get some really nice photos taken at some point. Proof that you didn't ALWAYS wear sweatpants, a pony tail, have spit-up on you, and have your belly pooching out. Even if you really did ;-)

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Mother's Day First Tooth

After months and MONTHS of drooling, gnawing, and "he must be teething" excuses, Smoosh FINALLY cut his first tooth on Sunday! He had been up a few times shrieking so I could tell something was a little different, and there it was, his first little fang.

Some husbands seem to take this holiday as an opportunity to get something for their wives once they become a mother, but I will just wait for my first drawing or macaroni necklace from my sweet child himself. Not that I would have turned down a gift, but since we like to decide on all purchases together, it didn't really seem like a top priority.

Smooshie and I had quite a nice day together on a photo shoot that I was actually modeling in, not photographing! It has been AWHILE since I have been in front of the camera and it was fun getting my hair and make up done and lounging around drinking chardonnay instead of freaking out, metering, etc. Smoosh hung out in his travel crib and had a grand time being fawned over by the models. Then after bedtime routine, DH made a lovely candlelight dinner for us.

Monday I had to work, an all-day fashion shoot in the city so DH took Smoosh for the whole day. The first and last time we did this it didn't go well, but this time went perfectly. They had a great day hanging out, for a run at the park. He didn't take a bottle all day, just ate some food I made for him and LOTS of Puffs! I think he may be 99% Puff.

Yesterday we had a check-up, I guess it was his 8 month? He will be 8 months in a few days! He is doing great - in the 95th % for height and 75th for weight. Not as chubby as I thought haha.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

The Search for the Elusive White Baby Tee



I just don't understand why this is SO difficult to find. All I want are some white short sleeved kimono tees in a size 9 or 12 months. Organic would be nice, but I will settle for any cotton. I will even settle for plain tees, no side snap! WHY is it so hard to believe that I don't want my baby to look like a rainbow every day, or to be branded with a truck, dog, monkey or train every day of his little life?!

Maybe I am starting to loose it, but if anyone is out there and has any leads, I would appreciate it.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

The best baby

JT9X0101 1

I always say this when he is asleep, but he really is the best baby. ;) Here he is eating his sock (clearly a genius!). Maybe I should have wiped the food off his face before I took this?

It's 8 AM and Mr.Man is back asleep (nursed at 5:30) but I stayed up to get some solo work done.

Music class starts back today, and we might go to a Beatles sing-a-long!

I made my home made yogurt, and the home mad granola is in the oven baking.. Things are good. :)

Thursday, April 29, 2010

7.5 months

And my little crawl-monster is QUITE the handful. He is soo fast, pulls up on everything, pulls everything off the shelves, goes into the bathroom and tips over the trash.. He is a terror in his walker and zooms around the apartment pulling down more things. It is intense!

This week has been kind of rough with more teething (but still ZERO teeth) and horrible napping. He has only managed to sleep 15-20 min in my arms and scream when I put him in the crib. At night, not too bad. Waking twice to nurse then back to his room. But just as I was thinking "I have spoiled him! Where is the that sleep training book??!" .. this too has passed. He is sleeping happily in his room for morning nap as I type. And only 1 nurse last night, so it looks like we are back on track to STTN again. :)

I launched my photography website this week and so far I have 3 shoots set up for next month. My other business has picked up, but it looks like it is going to be another long summer completely devoid of shopping sprees. :( Luckily I will have warm weather and my little darling family which is really all I need anyway.




Saturday, April 24, 2010

Totally mobile..

Smoosh is ON. THE. GO. It happened so quickly! Here he is stuck inside the barstool..



We had to bring out the travel crib and put him in there when I am cooking. I pulled my back out from lurching after him, but now I have gotten used to it. He is pretty good at catching himself, but we need wayy more babyproofing supplies. And a new china cabinet.

We were also all down with a stomach bug last weekend and into the week a little. I got it the worst and couldn't keep anything down or eat for a few days. On the bright side, there go those 5 pounds I was trying to loose at least. ;)

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Inspiration..




Maybe it is the warmer weather and the the promise of trips upsate soon to come, but I am so in love with this aesthetic right now. These are from a NY Times piece on this wonderful house/farm/art gallery in rural Alabama. So inspiring!

Friday, April 16, 2010

7 months 1 day!

My little sweet pea is 7 months, and to commemorate the event he pulled himself up in his crib AND began crawling- like for-real crawling! He has been army crawling for awhile now, but this was a whole new crawl with his belly up and his arms sprawling out like a Clidesdale!
He is just getting more and more fun.. and more and more work. I pulled my back out from spazing around trying to catch him as he constantly pulls up on things, does downward dog, falls, crawls directly to dangerous areas and hurts himself.. exhausting!
Sleep has been pretty good. I am totally amazed that he is sleeping in his own room, in his own bed at all. He sleeps through the night most of time, getting up sometimes not till 7 or 8, sometimes around 6 to nurse and back to sleep (with us since I am too lazy to put him back). The last 2 nights he has nursed around 2 or 3 as well, but he has been doing a lot of extra work with these milestones so I understand he must need some extra late night milky. ;)
Yesterday was wonderul. We had our new class, Dancing Babies, then went for lunch with some friends from class/group at the most delicious new place Saltie - yum! Then meet up at the park for awhile, then a long walk to a cool bookstore in Greenpoint, Word, and all the way back home. Bedtime routine, some Lost, and a nice long sleep. Life is pretty awesome these days. :) Oh except we are out of money again. Oh well.

Today's mission is to exchange our latest 1 hideous piece of plastic baby gear -EXERSAUCER - for another - the WALKER. The former has been great, but he is totally sick of the toys, too big to do much jumping in it, and now that he is mobile it just isn't cutting it anymore. We need to try a new contraption to help me get my work emails and phone calls done a few times a day. Thanks to craig's list and mommy group, the switch should be done by the end of the day.

Here he is, QUITE pleased with himself :)



And yes, I have now removed the bumpers...

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Home Again

Wow, those 10 days in LA felt like forever, like another world kind of. We got ourselves totally immersed in the idea that we are moving to LA .. asap. We looked at some houses, found one we LOVED, and mentally sort of "moved" there already, we spent every day deciding how to make the leap. Then we got back home to our new walls. And 70-80 degree weather, meet ups in the park and all that is great about New York as soon as the weather gets nice. We will see. I don't want to spend another winter here! So we will plan and plot some more. Look at Craig's list for houses, look for jobs and other signs that we should move on along.

It was so nice having family around to help with the babe. We looked at the most amazing pre school in Bel Air and I think MIL even put Smoosh on the wait list. We saw the most adorable house right up the hill from the school and the ILs. Private, gorgeous views, big brick fireplace, wood beam ceilings..

ANYWAY, enough daydreaming We had a great trip all together. Passover was great, we ate tons of great food. DH and I got to go to the movies (Crazy Heart finally), out on the town, and relax a little. We saw my BF who now lives out at the beach and I photographed her son. :)

Smoosh's first Easter did not disappoint. We woke up to little felt Easter basket a trail of Easter Eggs and candy all the way into the house where there was a big basket with gifts for everyone (see why I want to live close to me MIL?). Smoosh got an adorable bunny and a set of Peter Rabbit plate, cup and bowl from Pottery Barn kids. So sweet!

The new Stella McCartney for Gap also happened to come out while we were there, so we got Smoosh the cutest Western shirt for Easter!

Here is Mr. Man (or Mr. Mannington as we now call him) on Easter morning. I know you can't see it here, but I swear he grew some hair while we were away!

Saturday, April 3, 2010

California Dreamin'

So, we have been in LA since last Friday, and we are loving it. Really loving it...


Monday, March 22, 2010

Parks and Recreation..

And a new look - for the blog. I just happened upon this and thought I could use a little make over around here. Never mind the squished heads over there on the side, I will fix that!

We had the most awesome weather EVER this weekend and spent Wednesday, Thursday Friday, Saturday and Sunday outside in various parks and walking all over. It was kind of a tour of NYC parks actually!

Wednesday I met some baby group friends at the East River PArk in Williamsburg/Greenpoint. It was so gorgeous being right on the water and not crowded since it was a weekday. Then DH met us and we walked to our 6 month dr appointment. Everything looks great. Smoosh though everything was hysterically funny - getting weighed, measured, poked, his ears checked, his tongue checked - all SO funny! I am somewhat relieved that he is now down to the 75th % in height and weight. The 97th was a little scary! I have to heave him up 3 flight of stairs for who knows how long and he is already 20 pounds!

Thursday I met more friends at McCarren park -gorgeous and so fun.

Friday we went to Clinton Hill to shoot our friends and their 2 month old. Now I know why no one does 2 month portraits. It's a pretty awkward age - lots of flailing and tongue thrusting. :{ I still got some good shots I think.. We went over to Fort Greene park which was just gorgeous with the huge old growth trees..

Saturday we went back to McCarren park for weekend meet up with the baby group + dads. We brought wine in Clean Kanteen bottles and lounged on blankets while the babes played and slept. DH brought his guitar and entertained the adoring fans - so cute!!

Sunday I decided to FINALLY take Smooshie on the subway into the city by myself, motivated by my 30% off Gap coupon. I didn't want to deal with stroller + stairs so I went with the Ergo. It was OK, but a bit exhausting. The F train wasn't running so I had to walk miles underground and up a million stairs. Smoosh didn't want to be in there anymore and was trying to escape - screeching and pushing away from me. We went to 34th street to the H&M with the kids department and got some cute things. Then DH called and was on his way to Central Park with his band, so he picked us up and we lounged at Central Park for a few hours while DH and his band filmed their new music video. :) Now the whole reason I went into the city was that GAP coupon, so I then made DH drive me around until we found one (Google maps is very unreliable) and I ran in and got some 6-12 month things which we desperately needed. All his PJs and onesies are stretching off his neck. I think he is kind of long waisted maybe?

Ahh now today we are off to Hope Depot and Lowes to get paint for Smoosh's nursery and doors for the new wall!

my shoot :)



my guys :)

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Yes, another diaper bag..

Is on it's way. Can I just say how I love diapers.com and their next day shipping? It is dangerous though, so easy to add expensive goodies to the diaper order and have almost-instant gratification!

Sometime today, my 3rd diaper bag will be here. It is the new Dwell Sullivan, and I have high hopes. So far the Dwell tote and the Skip Hop Duo have struck out. I want simple, chic, not too big... An over the shoulder strap for when I have baby in a carrier.. Not such bulky material and I don't need THAT many pockets. Will let you know how it goes...



Little darling only woke up once last night, my sweet babe. :) Another glorious day today so off to a meeting and the park again I think..

Monday, March 15, 2010

6 months today!!



It's Smooshie's HALF-birthday! Woohoo!

Since I see how differently the babes in our playgroup are developing, I am not huge on the milestone touting thing.. BUT since I have failed to fill out the baby book, I guess this is the baby book.. SO here is what Smoosh is doing..

-Rolling both ways
-Sitting totally unassisted
-Rocking on hands and knees
-Scooting around, backward crawling, and somehow getting where he wants to go!
-Feeding himself veggies with his little spoon (very messy, but he gets it in there!)
-Picking up toys he wants, upset when I take something away
-Talking up a very LOUD storm! (Mamama Dadada Shriek!!)
-LOVES bathtime. We bathe together so he can go crazy with the kicking and splashing
-CRACKS himself up. This isn't really a milestone, but he is SO funny. He is super ticklish and we just all laugh so hard, he is such a little ham.
-Standing, he has been "standing" for quite awhile, now we only need to hold 1 of his hands, or he can hold on to something to stand by himself.
-Sleeping is better. He has slept through the night quite a few times, but still prefers to nurse once or twice. Not a big deal, but that will hopefully change when his own room is built. :)
-Eating is good, he loves EVERYTHING he has tried. Happily, he seems to like greens the most. Maybe he will have a sophisticated palette like his mommy. :)

I have to say, there was a bit of a rough patch there around 4-5 months but things are so amazing these days and we are just having such a great time treasuring every moment with our little Smoosh.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Slow down, were moving too fast..

We've got to let this feeling last.. lalala feeling groovy!! Or something like that. I cannot believe the big HALF year is coming up in a few days. I am so excited for the next stages, but I also want to slow down and enjoy every minute of Smoosh's squishy cuddly little self. He is up on all fours bouncing all the time and I know crawling is right around the corner. Terrifying!
Some wonderful news, we have gotten bids from a few contractors to build Smoosh his own real bedroom and they prices are under what I was afraid of. Now we just have to convince Grampski to fund this little project, and see if we can make it happen while we are in LA at the end of the month. Right now we have an atrocious maze of crappy Ikea bookcases making a treacherous kind of wall/room. It looks like crap and isn't sound proof at all. If it works out he will have a real room that I could actually paint and put little baby things on the wall! I think he will sleep much better too, although, last night he did STTN - 7:30 to 6AM or so - not bad! Tonight we are going out of the town and have a sitter so I hope he does a repeat performance. :)

We have had some awesome spring weather this week, so we were out in the park quite a bit with our friends. I am sooo looking forward more of that! Here is the little man lounging in the park on Monday..

Sunday, March 7, 2010

new toy, new tricks!

So, IKEA is the most amazing place ever. Especially the new shiny one in Red Hook, BK. Tons of parking, panoramic views of the statue of Liberty and the skyline. Fun playrooms, $1.99 for a plate of Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes, loganberry sauce and cornbread?!! YUM!! And the cutest little wooden toys! We got Smoosh a wooden bead toy ($7), a little wooden push cart ($25) and some adorable bowls .. and a $1 cinnammin bun on the way out. :)

Of course, like everything else, this has to go into the mouth..



Speaking of into the mouth, we have been having so much fun making him little purees of whatever we are eating. He LOVES food - bug surprise. SO far we have done avocado, carrot/banana, zucchini/pear, cauliflour/cucumber..Beastie loves them all.

And last night, Smoosh was hanging out naked on a towel in the bathroom and got so excited about his bath that he got up on all fours and did a little crawl! Eek!

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Goodbyes..



It has been awhile, things got sort of turned upside down the last 2 weeks.. We had a wonderful time on St.Thomas. We celebrated Mema's 102 birthday on Wednesday night. The next morning she and Smoosh watched cartoons while I packed for the airport. I put Smoosh down for his nap and went to do some laundry and heard what sounded like Mema choking. I called 911, called my parents to come home.. within 15 minutes she had passed on, in my arms.. We all laughed at her birthday wish to "not live another year".. She made it clear that she though it was "disgusting" to have lived for so long, but it was still so unexpected. She was sweet, gracious, and quipping funny remarks up to end. Needless to say, I extended my trip a few more days. I still can't believe it, but I am so happy that we got to spend more time with her and that I was with her in the end..

I got back to NY on Sunday night (NIGHTMARE flight because of the blizzard over the weekend, stuck on the runway for hours, NO upgrade, Smoosh screaming..) Worked Monday. Got sick on Tuesday, in bed with fever for 2 days.. Feeling better now.

On to the good news.. Putting Smooshie in his own room worked wonders, he slept through the night the 2nd night and EVERY night we were there! It was amazing. I would go get him in the AM and he would be playing and smiling and so happy all day. Now we are desperately trying to make another real room for him here ASAP. SO far, it is a catastrophe of Ikea Billy bookcases. Better, but not soundproof and no door. Contractor coming to Tuesday to do an estimate.

It is beautiful today. Sunny and warm-ish (40s). I cannot WAIT for summer. I have been daydreaming about heirloom tomatoes and watermelon already!

More good news.. I somehow lost 8 pounds. Weird, maybe I should have held off on buying the fat jeans! ;)

Sunday, February 21, 2010

At the beach...

So Smoosh and I are on our own down in the Caribbean at my parent's house. I was super nervous about the flight (I hate flying and cry for days before), but it was pretty good. I got upgraded to 1st class which definitely helped since we had plenty of space to get up and down and nurse and scatter toys around. Even though we got up at 3AM for the airport, he managed to only nap for about 20 minutes the entire day. He spent most of the flight making his pterodactyl shrieking noises and wanting to stand and jump. Oh well, everyone was nice and said he was wonderful anyway. It has been pretty rainy this weekend so I hope to get some better shots in the next few days...



Here he is at the beach yesterday, looking like such a big boy. He has a bunch of 9 month summer clothes that people bought him but they fit now so I am glad he has somewhere to wear them!

Sleep is still a massive problem so I am doing an experiment in sleep training tonight. :( The last week he has been up every hour or 2 to nurse. Last night he nursed for 20 minutes every hour! Even Dr.Sears says this is not normal at his age, and I can't have an all night milk bar going. He also manages to roll himself over to me and cries if I won't feed him. At this point, I feel like he is getting out of control. He is huge for his age and very willful. I feel like if I don't put my foot down now, he is going to be running ALL over me. Soon he will be crawling over and pulling my top off and helping himself whenever he wants! So, while I am here at my parent's, with an extra bedroom and concrete walls, I am letting him cry. It is hard, but at this point I know he is OK and I know I have to do something to get this under control. He went to bed at 7 so I will go get him and nurse him every 3 hours tonight. I am not about to leave him in there ALL night, that is not for me. I think this is reasonable. When I checked on him after an hour, he was awake fussing and took it up to full screaming when he saw me so I left. Now I just checked again (30 mins later) and he is fast asleep. YAYY. Tiny victory. It's going to be a long night, but I think it is all for the best.

Monday, February 15, 2010

5 months today!!


OMG, and that means he is almost 6 months eek!! I can't believe he is going to be eating solids soon.. and crawling, and talking and walking.. Sniff sniff. Last night I actually got in the crib with him to nurse - I figured it was easier than nursing him in our bed and having to move him. And I am less likely to fall asleep. It was cool seeing what he sees with the canopy and the ceiling, the stars from Twilight Turtle and the waved crashing coming from Sleep Sheep. I must say, it is very nice and relaxing in there. I think I figured out that the reason he has been having so much trouble at night lately is definitely teething.I gave him Sophie in the middle of the night when he wanted to nurse AGAIN, and he went to town gnawing on the legs. Poor little thing.

Our Valentine's Day was pretty awesome. I had big ideas about going to Marlow and Daughters and getting some amazing local meat, making molten chocolate cake and home made whipped cream but I didn't actually budget any time to do all these things. Instead, we went to visit our friends who had a baby a few weeks ago. Their house is always spotless (even a few weeks after a C section, come on!) which makes me feel like a big mess, so when I got home I ordered a Roomba! This will fix everything I am sure ;)

We ended up getting home in just enough time for Bedtime Routine, so Smoosh and I took a nice bath together (he discovered making huge splashes, very funny) while DH ordered fancy pizza. Smoosh sleeping in his crib, nice wine, truffle oil pizza..perfect.