Cheerio!

Ezra would like to share her Cheerios with you.

We Have Lift Off

Most of my mornings go like this: 7:30 my alarm sounds. I hop up, jump in the shower, and by the time I get out the baby is waking. I grab her, get her fed and dressed, and plop her down on a quilt in the middle of the living room where she gladly sits and plays in a basket full of toys while I finish getting ready for work. It's a routine that's worked great until practically the day Ezra turned 7 months.

That morning while I was making her bottles for the day when I heard CLANK CLANK CLANK from the end of the kitchen. I turn around to find the baby's got one of the dog's bowls in her hand and is banging it against the other one. She had followed me across the dining room and into the kitchen.

And each day since brings with it more speed and agility. And so goes my last little bit of freedom. And while I'm so happy to see the growth in my sweet baby girl, I don't know if I'm quite ready for the whirlwind that is sure to follow. The fall is always a busy time for us, and we've practically booked out every weekend for the rest of the year already. And I know what that means. It means before I know it, it's going to be February and Ezra will be a walking, talking one-year-old.

Ezra's crawling has provided Minnie with a full blown stalker. At present, Minnie's not too happy about this. And I don't really see that changing until Ezra learns to throw a tennis ball. This poor dog has no idea what's headed her way in the coming months: the loss of the freedom of a doggie door; no more food left out at her disposal; and no where left to hide. Bear down Minnie, it's going to be a wild ride.

Many Faces

I've Got a Stupid Question...

How do you dress a baby for fall and winter? I've found some stores with some winter clothes on sale and I'd love to go ahead and start picking up a few pieces here and there, but I'm not sure where to start. Now don't get me wrong, I have got some plans for the holiday season and they do include festive dresses, white tights and black patent mary janes. But what do you do for the normal everyday wardrobe? I imagine layers might work, because I'd want to keep baby warm, but be able to pull clothes off to keep her from overheating. And it really never gets too cold down here, so I know I won't need any heavy duty items. Of course convenience is a big deal too, I know the ladies at daycare aren't going to be too happy if I send Ezra to school in tights everyday. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

For the grandmas:

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch...

As the Labor Day weekend draws to a close the husband and I sit back exhausted, but very satisfied. We spent much of the weekend on home improvement projects around the house, I suppose ours was a Manual Labor Day. We painted our dining room the most delicious dove gray. It's dark and luxurious and really makes our white plantation blinds and light fixtures stand out. We arrived at this color only after I painted practically the entire room a very wrong color, and the hubs dragged me back to the home store and re-picked the color himself. And I must say, I love it. He knows what I wanted more than I did apparently.

After applying the last coat and replacing all the old yellowed outlets with spiffy new modern ones to match the room, baby-proofed of course, we felt compelled to rearrange some light fixtures. See, this is how it happens, one thing leads to another and the next thing you know you've dropped more money that you would have spent on a weekend in Vegas and they're calling you by your first name at Lowe's. But it was great fun. At least I thought so. I don't think the husband was too excited to repaint all the walls, but hey, a little extra exercise can only be good for you, right?

The finished dining room, (night shot), the room is FULL of light during the day.

The fixture that was in the hallway, now in the nook.

Grams' Dresses

Those of you who know my mother, know how talented she is. She's super resourceful, she's fantastic at planning and executing not only business projects, but swank suburban cocktail parties and huge holiday family dinners, she's creative, has great taste, and she's smarter than the average bear. Now that she has a grandbaby, she's dusted off the old sewing machine and has started churning out the cutest little numbers for our favorite chick.

Which brings me to the point of this post. She was laid off a while back, and has sent her resume out to a few people, but as the economy would have it, she's not having much luck finding what she wants. But I've got an idea! I think that she should just build on what she's practically already started...a homemade baby clothing and accessories shop from home. Come on Mom, do it. And this is why it would be pure awesomeness:

1. Websites like Etsy.com, Ebay, Craigslist, etc. make it super easy to upload your goods and spread the word.

2. I have a lot of friends having babies, and at work I meet a lot of families building homes because they're having babies. Hello!? Networking goldmine.

3. And this is the best one...you work at home, for yourself, for as much money as you want, and I'd say the hours would be flexible enough for you to still make plenty of time to drive to San Antonio to hang out with us. Besides, you'll be needing a fabulous young model for your frocks, and I think I know where you can find one!

4. Did you see how much that chic little boutique in downtown Corpus was asking for similar creations? I'll refresh your memory...$115!!! Now we all know that's just ridiculous. But I feel confident that you could put yours at a slightly more reasonable pricepoint and still make a pretty penny. The patterns that you have are very hip, and handmade is always better than store bought, but what mom of an infant has time to sew? Once you get going we can try selling in boutiques in Corpus and San Antonio and the world will soon be ours! Muah ha ha!

5. You've got nothing to lose. Make a few items, list them, see if you get any bites.

A sweet little dress that I commissioned for a friend

Her latest creation for Ezra

One of my favorites when paired with ruffled butt bloomers!

Hand stitched felted wool booties, these are truly delicious

Assorted baby blankets

These are great because they're lightweight and small enough to fold and fit into a diaper bag, but big enough to spread out for a play palette. I've also used mine draped over the stroller when it was raining.

6 Months

In the blink of an eye 6 months have passed. Ezra's growing strong, she's eating all sorts of baby food, she's sitting up on her own, and while she can't quite crawl, (she's trying her hardest, the arms just aren't there yet), she's perfectly content to just roll where she needs to go. And she's fast. Which brings us to the subject at hand.

We bought our first house last year and were super excited to find just exactly what we wanted...a 1957 ranch in the city, a bit of a fixer upper, but with potential. Some of the quirks are small obstacles, like the fact that the previous owner thought that it would be a good idea to wood glue and screw the towel hooks into the wall, so when we started to replace the bathroom fixtures we inadvertently peeled a big strip of drywall off too. And some of the quirks are rather disruptive, for instance the house did not have central air when we moved in, only old moldy window units...some mounted in the middle of walls, which left us with gaping holes in the house to patch.

Our latest project was more of a safety concern that required some immediate attention. Our family room was added in the 60s or 70s, I'm guessing, because it includes a rather hip conversation pit in front of a giant fireplace, which, I suppose would be pretty freaking magical if you lived anywhere that the temperature dropped below 50 degrees. I imagine you could gather 'round the pit with your loved ones and sip cocoa while your faces were lit only by the twinkling Christmas lights and the glowing fire before you while your husband lazily strums the guitar. But since we live on the face of the sun, and I currently have no memory of the temperature falling below 100 degrees, the pit/fireplace proves to be more of a nonfunctional area of the room, and here recently it's more like a giant gaping 2 foot deep crevasse of a hole in the floor, inviting baby to roll into it and crack her head on the terra cotta tile.

Enter my hero-handyman of a father-in-law and my hardworking husband. The two took matters into their own hands and built a cover for said pit. They toiled tirelessly and got it built in one Saturday, all that's left to do is to cover it with a flooring material. It's sturdy and well crafted and best of all it's keeping the baby from plummeting into a world of pain. My sincerest thanks to PaPaw and Dad.

Before

After

Okay, So I've Been Lazy

But I've been really busy, too. The husband is off for the summer and my stepdaughter is home, so we've been having lots of fun. Needless to say, I've been putting all my energy elsewhere. Here's a 30-second summery summary:

We celebrated Father's Day



Ezra met her big sister



We tried some baby food, she doesn't like peas.



On the way to Louisiana, Mady gave Ezra a stylish coiffure.

Ezra met her Aunt Janie

And Uncle George and cousin Courtney

Cousin Patrick took us sailing

We hung out with the Louisiana Whites.

Ezra got big.

We lounged around.

We went camping.

and hiking...

and spelunking.

We made some fig jam.

Ezra played PlayStation with Dad and Mady

We went swimming.

Uncle Nick changed his first diaper. (Note the gloves and the beer).

Whew.

We also took Mady to see The Phantom of the Opera in Houston for her birthday; we took both the girls to see our favorite cajun/zydeco band, Beausoleil; and we've got a trip to Schlitterbahn scheduled for next week. We're having a ton of fun, and we're so not ready for it to be over.

I promise to write again soon.

Sympathy for the New Mom

Last weekend we took Ezra on her first boat ride around Lady Bird Lake in Austin. It was a perfect day to be out...warm sun and a cool breeze. The babe was perfectly content during the hour long drive and and the five minute walk down to the boat, but as soon as we boarded and pulled up a chair next to the grandparents, she started belting out the screams. She usually only cries if she needs something...a bottle, a burp, a nap. Seriously, she's mostly a very happy baby. But that afternoon she was completely inconsolable. The list of possible irritants ran through my mind over and over again, it couldn't have been the movement or the breeze. Like most babies she likes a gentle rocking and she's already spent more time outdoors than most of her school age cousins, so I knew it wasn't the breeze.

After much rocking and pacing back and forth, fretting that my screaming baby was disrupting the party, my mother-in-law's sister-in-law, (really I don't know how else to explain it), walked up to me and very sweetly insisted that I hand over the baby to her, saying that she remembers what it's like to be a new mom with an upset baby, and that I return to my table and finish eating my lunch. Before I knew it she and a couple of other ladies were passing Ezra around, rocking and playing with her, and she and I were both as happy as clams.

It's true, what they say, that once you're a mom it's like all of a sudden you're part of some secret club. And it is great. Ours is an ancient, world-wide club of strong, compassionate, and understanding women that I am so proud to be a part of. And I can't wait to help out the next mom.

One Funny Dog

It's official! Minnie, our jack russell terrier gets the baby's first laugh. If you're not at least smiling by the end of this movie then there is something wrong with you. {Please excuse the atrocious clash of color and pattern in this clip.}

Mother's Day

Okay, so I know it's like week overdue, but I had a fantastic Mom's Day. It started the evening before with Travis telling me to stay in bed if the baby gets up at night, that he'll take care of her. Yay, sleep! I woke up the next morning to him arriving home from the grocery store and starting breakfast in the kitchen. I wondered into the nursery to Ezra waking. This is my favorite time of day...she starts to fuss just a little bit, but as soon as I lean over her her crib and say good morning, her whole face lights up and she flashes the biggest smile of the day for me. I also notice on this particular morning that there is an envelope labeled "Mom" laying next to her with a gift certificate for a spa package inside. Just what I needed!

I scoop her up and head to the couch for some Sunday morning playtime and notice the beautiful bouquet of wildflowers. As soon as I sit down Dad delivers a plate full of smoked salmon, fresh fruit, and a mushroom omelette. I am completely wowed.

Saving the Galaxy

Here are the latest pictures of Miss E. We've been having an awful lot of fun lately, smiling and cooing. She can officially say "goo" and "oh" now...only on her terms of course. I can also see the beginnings of her discovering touch with relation to her own hands. She's also turning into a slobber monster. Enjoy the pictures.

Air Ezra

My friend Natalie made this picture, and it is awesome. I might start sending it around to all the major universities.

How Out of Shape Am I?

I've always prided myself of being a relatively fit person. I keep a very active lifestyle. I replaced the basketball and track in high school with hiking, mountain biking and walking in college. But trying to get activity started post partum is turning out to be harder than I could've imagined. I had to give up my regular power-walk routine when I was about 7 1/2 months pregnant due to back pain, and I just haven't had the time or energy the first couple of months after giving birth. But last week the hubs bought me a bitchin' new Schwinn for my birthday. Banana yellow with white trim. So today I decided to give it a little test run around the neighborhood...and I was pathetic. I only made it about a mile before I started seeing stars. My legs started burning and I was completely out of breath. I guess they don't call the neighborhood Alamo Heights for nothing. I barely made it home and now my head is spinning and I've got jello legs. Please excuse me while I retreat to the enjoyment of the feeling of the cold bathroom floor on my face.

Happy Earth Day!

"Treat the Earth well. It was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children."

--Kenyan proverb

I have an Earth Day resolution in lieu of a New Year's one. I will no longer use individual use plastic bottles. I have a metal reusable water bottle that I've had for several months, I've just been too lazy to carry it around with me, but no more! I will put forth real effort. And while I'm sure that my discontinued use of water bottles isn't going to save the planet, it's a start. What will you do?