This is NOT what it looks like.

Because it looks like more gratuitous pictures of my babies.  

When actually this is photographic evidence that both kids were fed, dressed, and ready for errands at 8:30 a.m.

Huzzah! 

 

And while I'm talking about how things look...does anyone know how to reach the middle ground between freaky flash and a totally washed out image?

My Mama's Boy--10 months

Mothering Anton yanks at my heart. In a good way. Stella is independent and bold. She loves a thrill and any form of social interaction. Anton is, in every way, more subtle. He observes intently and is sensitive to his environment. New situations are often overwhelming. He is quick to call for help. And in a world slanted towards extroverts, I find myself fiercely protective of him. He has a shy smile and an endearing giggle. He loves avocados. His arms shake with excitement at the very sight of Stella. And, oh, my boy could cuddle all day long.  Just writing this makes me want to go snatch him up from his crib and kiss him a thousand times. 

One of my 2012 resolutions is to celebrate more. I'll save the details for my journal but suffice to say, Anton gives good cause for celebration. Aside from his early arrival to the planet, Anton's life pace is completely unrushed. While I anxiously waited to check off milestones (why is this part of my personality?), he took his time to push up on his arms, roll over, hold a sippy cup, crawl, etc. 

 

And so when he does anything new I die with excitement. It's almost embarrassing. If you could have seen me the first time waved bye-bye. 

Days before entering his tenth month, my little man started crawling. The sound of his pudgy hands smacking across the kitchen floor kills me. Speed is only a factor if he's after pompoms, the vacuum hose or Uncle Matt. (He loves Matt almost as much as he loves Stella.)

How To Have A Good Day

1. wake up around 7.  read books and watch maru videos in bed. 
 (search "maru the cat" on youtube. you will not be sorry.)
 
2. have an indoor tea party / picnic.  work on "cheers"ing when you drink and ignore babyzilla knocking over the china and gobbling up the kix.

3. if you're < 2 take a long nap between 10am-1pm.  if you're > 2 take advantage of the two hours overlap.  maybe even shower.  more importantly, take advantage of the one-on-one time with awake baby.  

4. be prepared. get organized.  hummus doesn't hurt. 

5.  collect sticks and pine cones. walk to the mail box.  look for airplanes.
or all of the above.

6. paint.  use the pine cones you collected. who really wants them hanging around anyway?  

and don't bother naming the colors over and over.  just make a mess. 

7.  take a destinationless train ride. 

(this step requires a grandmother who is willing to drop you off and pick you up a few towns over.) 
 
8. watch blues clues.
9. make a train with cardboard boxes.  < 2 hop in for a ride.  > 2 push it all over the house.

10. be exhausted.  < 2 act cranky for at least half an hour before bed.   > 2 remain calm, ignore the crankiness, and put the little people to sleep.

(some days are better than others.  today was great)

Halloween Happened.

Stella caught on to the whole "trick or treat" idea quickly.  Anton mostly went along for the ride.

The costume shoot was several weeks later.  Anton was starting into 4 weeks of respiratory infections on Halloween (see above).  He was a happier elephant in November. 

 I was planning a Goodnight, Gorilla themed Halloween.  It was Stella's first favorite book.  She talked about the keys constantly.  I was going to be Joe the Zookeeper and get Stella a set of keys to go with her Gymboree monkey.  Ta. Da.  But things got away from me.  

Funny that I can't remember what had me so busy in October. 

What Kind Of Mother Were You Going To Be?

Before Stella, I talked up what a minimalist mother I was going to be.  Who needs piles of toys?  My kids were going to collect sticks and play with spatulas and rolling pins.  If you want to get them gifts, books only please. 

But a swing is great for a fussy baby and a bouncer helps too.  Before long sitting in a Bumbo provides a different way to see the world.  Then all those excellent mothers I know swore by different baby products.  Then there was that steal on Craigslist and something we couldn't  pass up on the street ("Are they really throwing away that Hotwheels jeep?") and the gifts. 

And before I knew it we accumulated a lot of stuff.  Guess we'll just make a small fortune reselling it after our baby years are behind us. 

HACKED!

what the heck happened to our blog?  is someone playing a joke on me or did i accidentally make it look like this!?

i better get it back to my crisp, clean white background asap.

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving isn't ALL about the food.  But pretty close. 

This year we broke tradition (Thanksgiving at my parents' house) and went out my uncle's new house palace.  Dinner was FANTASTIC.  Ohhhhh, the food.  Jason said this was the best meal he's ever had...or something like that.  Here's a quick run down so I can read this and reminisce in March.  

- french onion soup (my favorite) or italian wedding soup (tough choice)

- fried turkeys (glad I finally got to try one but I may prefer traditional)

- mashed potatoes

- sweet potatoes (not in the usual sugary sauce but still sweet.  loved them!)

- sausage stuffing (i just started to salivate)

- creamed spinach

- artichoke casserole

- peas with onion and prosciutto (you didn't know peas could be this good)

- homemade rolls

- corn casserole (paula deen knows what she's doing.  this dish change you life.)

I regret dressing Anton in his Christmas outfit and not in our pink/blue color scheme.  I also regret not doing my hair.

We stayed over a few days which made it feel like a vacation.  We lounged around, went for a walk on the beach and Stella played with their patient Boston Terriers.  It was lovely.