christmas 2010

Our busy holiday weekend included hosting a small family christmas eve gathering at our house, a small post-christmas gathering with friends, enjoying christmas morning just the four of us, and a brief celebration with my dad's family on christmas day. Here are a few photos from our down time, the moments in between the busyness:

{View from our front door}



{You know santa brought the right toys when you find them already played with and strewn about the house, like in the bathroom sink, within an hour of receiving them}

 

{A perfect gift for me...this Lisa Leonard necklace}

 

{Lydia and mama enjoying the early morning light}

 

happy solstice

Warm wishes to you and yours on this cold, dark, and snowy winter's eve

{Photo not posed. I put Lydia down on the floor near the christmas tree so that I could grab something and Miles inched up next to her just as you see here. Too sweet.}

 

the start of something

If you haven't already guessed it, I'm over-the-moon in love with baby. I have to admit that when things get challenging with Miles (which they do frequently these days), I like being able to switch gears and go back to the cuddling and nurturing of a new babe. Sometimes the silence of loving that little one is enough to calm even the most intense emotions.

beachy in december

I finally found a way to display some of our photos and momentos from our beach vacation this summer. This tray from Archiver's was just the thing. I did buy a few extra and might be making a couple of different displays and giving them as christmas gifts this year.

milestones

At almost 4 months old, Lydia is holding her head up like a pro, starting to roll over, blowing lots of bubbles and giggling when I tickle her (or whenever the mood strikes her). Love this girl! We've already decided that she's going to be the extrovert in the family, and therefore the designated spokesperson. Feel free to contact her directly.

blizzard

We've been snowed-in, literally, for two days now. The 15 - 20 inches of snow that was dumped on us yesterday have made our unusually long and hilly urban driveway impassable. We had to wait for David's brother to come over and dig us out with his snowblower (you'd think everyone here in MN owns one, but we don't). David and his brother are out there throwing snow, in sub zero temps, as I type this. Two days in a small house with a three year old has made me a bit stir crazy and I'm hoping that we'll be able to get out on the roads tomorrow. We did have a chance to go outside today, but only until our cheeks froze, which took about 5 minutes.

This is the response he gave when I tried to show him how to make a snow angel. He'll come around...he's a Minnesotan.

So what else have we been doing while huddled up in our warm and cozy house? Making paper snowflakes...

Playing in large cardboard boxes...

and making pom-pom ornaments for the tree (hey, when you've got the time and the materials, why not?)

It's definitely going to be a white christmas, and new year's, and easter, and...

a tour of the upper level

Remember this space? Our unfinished upper level?

Well, it is now finished (only a year and a half later). We actually finished all of the construction and most of the painting last March and have been using it to store furniture and as a family room until a few weeks ago. Now, our plan is to use the space as Lydia's bedroom and as a playroom for both the kids. The space is not that big, maybe a little more than several hundred square feet, but when you have an old house the size of a postage stamp, that kind of space makes a BIG difference. I think we've maximized what can be done with it, and wouldn't try to squeeze anything more up there. I'll give you a quick tour...

The north end - a nursery for Lydia

Because the space is just one big room, I had to figure out a way to separate the nursery from the play area. I used some bookshelves that we use to hold toys, as well as area rugs and some of the accent pieces to create the feel of a distinct area within the larger room.

A note about the walls: One of the most challenging things about decorating a space with angled, and in some places, very low ceilings is that there is hardly any place to hang art. The walls look so bare to me, but we can really only hang a few very small pieces. I'm hoping to order some children's prints from etsy in the near future. We used some decals to decorate and went with brightly colored rugs to contrast against the pale yellow walls. Another challenge is that there is little head room for adults. This is one of the reasons we decided to dedicate this space to the kids, and not make it our bedroom.

A note about the floors: We really wanted to put hardwood in, but didn't have the money to buy and install a new floor. David's brother, a contractor, was working at another site at the same time he was working on our house. He happened to be ripping out the hardwood floors from the other house and proposed the idea of using the wood for our place and installing it ourselves. I love how it ended up looking - definitely a used, rustic look. Anyway, the floor was free, but ended up taking at least a month or two to install as we did it ourselves.

I wanted to place a visual  for Lydia to look at near her crib. I was thinking a mobile, but each one that I liked was $60 or more and hung too low from the ceiling. So, I decided to make something myself. A quick trip to Michael's for $5 worth of supplies and I ended up with a butterfly grapevine wreath. Not bad for the cost and the 15 minutes it took to put together.

Our "book nook" -  in desperate need of artwork for the walls.

The south end - play area

Here is a view of the rest of the space from Lydia's "room". Basically it consists of a reading area, seating, toys and toy storage, and a table where Miles can do various things such as work on art projects or play with his trains.

A fun way to organize art supplies - group them together in tins and/or jars and make sure they are accessible to little hands.

The space in use, the big guy in action

sneak peek

See this little cutie?

Well, she now has her own bedroom. Sort of. It will be her bedroom and will double as a playroom for both the kids. That little pumpkin is still sleeping in our room, and probably will continue to do so for the next several months, but then we'll move her up to her own room. I'll share the details and lots of photos of the new space in my next post. This little home improvement project has long been in the works...can't wait to share! Here's a sneak peek...

miles' thanksgiving list

Miles and I worked on a thanksgiving project this month - 25 days of gratitude. We made a "thanksgiving tree" out of foam and decorative paper. Miles would say one thing he was thankful for each day. I'd write it on one of the 25 leaves we cut out and we'd "hang" it on the tree. We had several discussions about what it means to be thankful for something, but I think what it translated to in his mind was a list of things that he likes. So, I present to you Miles' list of the 25 things he is most thankful for this year...

1. toys
2. artwork
3. mommy
4. our house
5. lydia
6. a warm jacket
7. food
8. daddy
9. buildings
10. himself (miles)
11. water (that comes out of our faucet)
12. table and chairs
13. grandpa hector
14. felix
15. the trash can
16. stop signs
17. the oven
18. cousins
19. windows
20. room decor (the decals on his bedroom wall)
21. the rocking chair
22. rocks in our backyard
23. the mazda (my car)
24. chocolate milk
25. his classmates at school

And although Lydia isn't old enough to tell us what she's grateful for, I guess that her top five are (in order of importance)...

1. her swing
2. her thumb
3. milk
4. brother miles
5. those silly people that cart her around everyday (mom and dad)

Happy thanksgiving everyone! Here's to the start of a merry and joyful holiday season!

happy birthday, miles!

Dearest Miles,

Today you are three years old. I started writing a long, very wordy birthday letter to you, but then realized that what I'd really like to say to you today, my sweet boy, is this:

• You have, so far, been my greatest teacher - thank you. So many of my strengths and weaknesses have become crystal clear to me through the process of parenting you. You make me want to always try to do better, to be more engaged and more present in the moment. Hopefully, you'll benefit from all of this growing and learning that we're doing together.
• I need to remember that even though you are a growing-up boy, you are still so young and need a lot from your mom and dad. I look at you now as a big brother and my expectations of you have shifted slightly. I promise to try very hard to meet you where you are and not get frustrated if (heaven forbid) you act like a three year old.
• And finally, you are loved beyond measure. You light up my life. As you say "You like me mommy". Yes, baby boy, I like you. In fact, I love you very, very much. Happy birthday.

3 months

Our little girl is 3 months old. I remember turning a corner with Miles around the time he was this age and it's happening with Lydia as well. Sleeping and eating is a bit more routine, so I'm better rested and feeling like I'm coming out of that newborn haze. I've even had time to work on some projects around the house (like setting  up a nursery and playroom!) that I'll talk more about in another post. Even though I don't go back to work until after the holidays, I'm starting to prepare now - building up a frozen milk supply, meeting briefly with co-workers to discuss projects, and making sure we've got everything lined up for Lydia's childcare. She'll be attending the same school as Miles and will be in their infant room. We'll visit with the teachers closer to January and spend some with them before I have to go back to work. It will be interesting to see if it will be easier or more difficult to leave a baby and go back to work the second time around. We were lucky with Miles in that my mother-in-law watched him for a year before he started daycare, so I'm a bit nervous about Lydia going straight into a childcare center setting, but this time I know the teachers, know the school, and the community of parents there. So I'm more comfortable with it than when Miles transitioned. I'm so glad that I took an extra couple of months of maternity leave with Lydia. Now that I'm no longer in that post-partum fog, I can enjoy our time together even more.

Just like Miles, Lydia refuses to take a pacifier. Evidently when I'm not available, her thumb is an acceptable substitute.

 

 

 

 

 

snow

First snow, and a substantial one at that. A snow day at home...candles lit, cookies baking, holiday music playing, napping, time spent in the kitchen, and of course, some play time outside.