the kind of mother...

Hello again. So, in this book I am currently reading I came across a passage which reminded me of this series I wanted to create on the blog: 'the kind of mother.' Remember when I talked about having fresh smelling sheets... :) I know it can come off as cheesy, but I like the idea of putting out there intentions for my child, it serves as a reminder in those impatient, flustered moments that we should act/react according to how it may affect our future. Thus the passage states:

' Once your children are grown, what kind of mother will you have been? How will your children describe you? A martyr? Patient? Crabby? Demanding? Easy-going? What effect will our words and actions have had on our children? And what kind of model will we have provided?'
-Sarah Napthali

Isn't that so poignant? It really sat with me. And yes, I would like my child to describe me as funny, smart, patient, loving, spontaneous and all those other qualities...but I also want my child to remember the actions I took to show him those things, even if mundane such as always having fresh, clean sheets that smell of rose and lavender, or the fact that I will always have on hand the ingredients for soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies to help cheer him up or celebrate a victory! It is those moments that I hope my child will remember, that he is loved and provided a warm, nurturing home!

What about you? What do you think about as a mother/father?

The other day I made chocolate chip cookies for no reason, and thought about how fun it will be when Eli is old enough to partake in the making and tasting of them. Here is a photo of the cookies with Eli napping in the background, which can you see on the monitor. :) He is in his favorite position of sleeping; butt in the air!

skater chic

black t-shirts, converse, hoodies, skinny jeans, striped shirts and board shorts...you know the drill?!

you know you're a mom...

when you accidentally dress just like your baby, honest...it's not intentional!

Hey, this series has been M.I.A. for awhile, mostly because I (honestly) haven't done too many dumb things, ha! Well...maybe I have and just am not aware of them. But anyway, the other day I got Eli dressed and then we had breakfast and played and then he napped, so while he napped I got myself dressed and when he woke up I realized I put the same type of thing on that I put on him. Hmmm... Then I remembered a few comments from folks about how 'cute' we were in our matching stripes or gray and black, and it got me thinking that maybe we dress our babies as extensions of ourselves so it's no wonder that Eli is usually wearing stripes, black or converse. ;) At least I don't have him in high-waisted skirts, hahahaha!

And then later today I did actually do a stupid thing... I went to the grocery store and forgot my wallet. Thankfully, I caught it before I went in so I was able to turn around grab my wallet and start over. Oh memory-when will you ever return????

Our trip to Yosemite

So we had a great time on our trip to Oakhurst/Yosemite. Yosemite is absolutely beautiful, wow! That was my first time there and Scott and I both agreed that we need to go back and spend a few days just in the park to really explore and see it all, trying to see it with a baby is a little tough. ;) So when Eli is older a family camping trip will definitely be happening. We went there for a wedding and of course I took no pictures of that because we were too busy distracting Eli from a meltdown during the ceremony and then Scott and Eli went back to the hotel and I stayed and danced to the awesome band 'FeatherWitch.' But, here are a few fun pictures of our shenanigans....

Oh, just taking a break from the road...crawling around this grass here.

say what? we're going swimming?

this is how i take my breakfast, hotel style.

hold on...i need to make a call.

one of the magnificent water-falls in yosemite

Happy Fathers Day Scott!

Eli and I are so lucky to have you! Love you!

Almost 1 ! 11 months...

So here we are, one month away from the big 1st bday, can you believe it? This time last year I was going to pre-natal yoga classes and the pool to swim, starting to purchase some clothes for Eli (in fact the shorts he's wearing above are one of the 1st things I ever bought for him) finishing up the nursery and looking forward to the last 3months of my pregnancy. Little did I know then that a month later my baby would arrive 2 months early!

Eli has been such a joy to watch and since I didn't write much at 10 months I'll catch you up over the past 2months. So, over the past two months Eli...

-moved to CA
-flew on an airplane for the first time
-met most of mommys extended family :)
-has been to the beach
-definitely has curly hair
-has been to San Francisco
-has finally got some teeth. he has two front bottom teeth and they're sure cute. not so cute coming in though. :( the top 2 are about to cut...
-is crawling, finally, but he only takes a few steps and then plops onto his tummy. he is getting the hang of it though! each day he gets better, it's so cool to watch! life as we know it is over, he is already getting into everything, cat-food, fans, whatever...
-shows interest in feeding himself, he has once fed himself some bread but that was a rare occasion. he does sometimes feed himself a bottle though and sort of likes a sippy cup, mostly to chew on right now. (I know, don't let your baby chew on the sippy cup! hahaha!)
-is now putting himself to sleep which is great!
-babbles, babbles, babbles and is starting to introduce some more vowel/consonant sounds but they are still unidentifiable, besides his ever present Fonz impersonation with 'heeeeey!' Our favorite!
-loves to eat (anything we give him,) read and take a bath, three of mommys favorite things...which shows that we truly are best friends. :)
-can make himself laugh, which is so awesome!

I've started planning his 1st bday party and it's so much fun! I can't wait to share that with you all next month. We also start music class and swim class this month,which I am really looking forward to, I hope Eli will enjoy them. We also plan to introduce a baby-sitter this month, which I am also looking forward to but then again not...yikes. I'm sure it will be harder for me then him, we'll see...so far Eli doesn't have 'stranger anxiety' but he does on occasion get separation anxiety from mommy.

Now we're off on our 1st family road trip to Yosemite to see a beautiful friend get married and to do some hiking/sight-seeing.

Till next time...

Our house: The living room area

Hi! So I wanted to share a little of our humble home here in Santa Cruz, things are coming along but there is also still plenty to do. And, it is a rental so we can't/don't want to invest too much, but we want it to feel like our home as well.

This front room area is tricky because it is one larger room that we have functioning as the living room and dining room. So we've made one side the tiny living area and the other the dining room which we are still working on...

Here are some photos of the steps I took to create the vision I had in mind. There are still little tweaks to be done here and there, etc..but we think it looks nice and we enjoy spending time in here, the couch is super comfy too!


Here it is before: the room with just a few pieces we brought with us and the cream colored walls. In fact this color is throughout the whole house floor to ceiling, which is nice because it is neutral and warm, but can also be monotonous.

So we decided to paint the two walls that make up the section of the living room this color from our local hardware store, honestly I don't know the color or who makes it...yikes! I can find out...

Then we finally received our new couch, at 10pm on a Saturday night (no joke, long story!) and I also added new curtains.

Then we added some art, a plant and accessories,one of my favorite accessories is a sleeping cat, and voila!

little surfer boy

just because...

'OK everyone, listen up! This is my room and the #1 rule is to have fun!!'

summer reading

With summer fast approaching, I've started thinking about a good summer read...

I just finished reading this:

Have you read Kingsolvers latest novel 'The Lacuna?' It's good. I am huge fan of her work and I have to admit this was not my favorite, but nonetheless interesting. It is very historically based and follows the lead character Harrison Shepard as a young boy in Mexico who becomes involved in the world of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, to his adulthood as a writer in North Carolina. Truth to be told, it took me 10 months to read this, but I have to give myself some slack because I bought this book when Eli was in the NICU and well reading for pleasure never really happened until recently. Yay!

Now I'm reading 'Bee Season' by Myla Goldberg. A friend gave me this to read (thanks jp) and I had never heard of it... I LOVE it. It is so well written and addicting, my favorite kind of book! When googling it today I discovered there was also a movie??? With Richard Gere and Juliette Binoche; interesting. I'm going to check it out after I finish.

Next on the list is 'The Carrie Diaries' by Candace Bushnell, and perhaps the sequel 'Summer in the City.' Cheesy I know, but will be a perfect, easy read when I take an afternoon to myself to sun-bathe on the beach while Scott and Eli play at home (or where ever, Ha!)

What is on your list to read this summer? Also, you mommas out there...are there any good parenting books I should be checking out? I just read 'Good Night, Sleep Tight' by Kim West to help us move forward with Eli learning how to put himself to sleep, and it was great! So helpful. In fact, tonight was his fourth night and NO CRYING! Yay for Eli!

blue jean baby