IHWSH - A Funny Valentine

Happy day after Valentine's Day/Friday/Middle of February!

Our Valentine's Day was full of giggles and coos and diaper rash (sorry, NJ).  She was the sweetest little Valentine despite the rash, and we both got flowers from Henry - my favorite February 14th so far!  Also, the bug had a different Valentine's outfit every day this week...I think that's a sign that I may have a problem.  But it's an adorable problem, so I'm ok with it.

My American Life

I realize that I am waaaaaaaaaaaaay late to join this party, but I have recently become addicted to listening to "This American Life" on NPR.  I love Ira Glass and all of the interesting stories on the show.  I downloaded an app on my phone so I listen to them on my headphones while I'm working out (I'm trying the Couch to 5K workout again...) or doing dishes.  I think I've listened to 5 in the past 5 days.

If you've got 12 minutes, check out Act 3 of this recent episode on deception.  It's just David Sedaris reading an excerpt from one of my favorite books ever, "Me Talk Pretty One Day."  The book is truly hilarious.  Probably time for me to re-read it again.

Speaking of this American life, here are some recent scenes from mine (at least the fun parts - you will note that there are no pictures of me at work):

Big bear photo bomb.  We all love her flower chair from Grhonda and Grandbob.

She was really working the tutu last week at our friend Amy's house.

I super love our new wreath - on sale now at Target!

My funny Valentine.

Parenthood

Henry and I love the show Parenthood on NBC (no spoilers, we've still got 2 episodes left on our DVR!)  It's sweet and funny and sad and real (ok, sometimes it's a bit dramatic, but it's a TV show for pete's sake), and it's wonderful. I received the Parenthood soundtrack for Christmas (thanks Mia and Buddy!) and it's awesome!  I love all of the songs and all of the artists (including a new fav, The Swell Season).  I think the CD is only available through NBC's site, but it's worth checking out. The reason I was interested in the soundtrack in the first place was for what has quickly become one of my all-time favorite songs: "Forever Young" by Bob Dylan. The lyrics capture my wishes for Nora in a perfect way and I love the music too.

Forever Young

By: Bob Dylan

 

May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you
May you always be courageous
Stand upright and be strong
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift
May your heart always be joyful
And may your song always be sung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

 

 

 

Parenthood is pretty wonderful.

 

Kid President

In preschool, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, and I said "the President."  It was true, I really thought that would be the best job ever.  I loved presidential trivia books and dreamt of the White House.  That seemed like a good idea all the way through high school.  My friends were always claiming cabinet positions based on what they wanted to be when they grew up ("I'll be the Secretary of Music." "I'll be the Secretary of Art.")  Sorry guys, not going to happen.  But let's continue to dream big, eh?

Just in case you haven't seen this yet, it's awesome, and a great way to start your week:

We dropped Nora off at the nanny share for the first time this morning.  She's going to be with a wonderful nanny and new friend named Nick (he's 9 months old) during the weekdays - it's going to be great (she says while crying just a little bit).  We really do feel lucky to have found some people that we know will take great care of Nora and give us peace of mind while we're at work.  Hope we can all encourage Nora to have big dreams too.

Pop

Just popping in (I just accidentally typed "pooping in" but caught myself...then decided I had to tell you anyway) to say a quick hi and rave about the latest book I read:

On Amazon

Where'd You Go, Bernadette?  It's a fun, funny, interesting and engrossing novel about an eccentric and smart family who live in Seattle and really love each other.  The book is told through a series of emails, letters, faxes, and reports, and when all pieced together help to solve the mystery of where Bernadette went.  I loved it!

Hope 2013 is treating you well...we've been having a ball with this little goose:

(Maybe) be back soon - didn't mean to take a month away from the blog, but it happened, and it happened fast.  The new year is really on a roll!

The Monday Giddyup

My weekend in review, via Instagram:

My tiny Pilgrim.

What a turkey.

Speaking of turkeys...

Nora's 1st Thanksgiving dinner...the usual.  Tablecloth from IKEA, it's perfect.

The Goose.

The festive goose.

My friend Megan gifted me with 3 bunny ornaments (one is me, one is Henry, and one is Nora.)  I love them on the tree!  They are from Anthropologie (where everything ships for free today, no minimum!)



Cute Mara Mi holiday stuff at Target (can't find it online).

Sweet baby.

I think this makes me the Large Fry, but I also received suggestions that perhaps my Milkshake brings all the boys to the yard or that I am the ketchup to her fries.

Hope y'all have a great week!

Funny Girls

I love Mindy Kaling - her book, while a little random, was hilarious, and made me really want to be her best friend.  The opening scene from last week's episode of her show "The Mindy Project" was SO funny.  See this post from one of my favorite blogs, A Cup of Jo, to read more about Mindy (including an awesome quote) and find the link to watch last week's episode.

Source

And while we're on the topic of funny girls, this one is 19 weeks old today (on the 19th! Does that make it her golden birthday or something?):

This kid is the bomb.com.  What do you all think of that bow?  I don't feel the need to put a bow on her head so that people can tell she's a girl...I don't really care if people think she's a boy.  In fact, it might be good for her.  I was mistaken for a boy once in 7th grade (yes, that is late in the game).  Being 6 feet tall and 12 years old with a really bad boy haircut was clearly a winning combo.  It wasn't fun at the time, but I like to think of it as good character building.  Anyway, this really isn't about where my self-esteem comes from...are you a bow fan?  Does this just look like I'm trying too hard?  Do we all think NJ will be bald til she's 2 like I was?  This baby's got a lot to look forward to.

Snail Mail Your Email

We've professed our love for snail mail many, many times here, and it looks like there are some folks who took that love to a new level.  I just learned about an awesome project called "Snail Mail My Email."  Here's a quick description from the site:

"Snail Mail My Email is a worldwide collaborative art project where volunteers handwrite and artistically interpret strangers' emails and send these physical letters to the intended recipients, completely free of charge.

In 2011, 234 volunteers collectively sent 10,457 letters to over 70 countries, the content of which inspired 'Snail Mail My Email' - the book.

This project aims to reignite the lost art of letter writing, reminding us of the power of personal connection in a digital world."

Through Sunday, you can email your letter and the address of where you'd like it to go, and someone will send it, via snail mail, for free!  I just emailed mine to Nora, I think this project is so awesome.  If you visit the link, you can also see some examples of what has been sent, so fun.  I wish I'd thought of this!

The Monday List

• If you have a kid (or several kids, actually) to buy a small Christmas gift for, may I suggest this Mr. Men and Little Miss Christmas set?  You get 5 cute books (I haven't read them yet, but I think all of the Mr. Men/Little Miss books have a pretty good message), a holiday card, some cute cardboard ornaments, and some stickers in an awesome little box.  Right now it's about $9!  (It was actually only $7 when I got it last week, they must've realized what a treat this was):

To buy on Amazon

• I strained a muscle in my neck last Thursday night, to the point where I couldn't turn it to the left all weekend.  This injury occurred during an agressive game of peekaboo.
• It was 70 degrees here in DC yesterday, but last week it was pretty chilly, which resulted in this:

Hat from Boden.

• It's been exactly one year today since we found out we were having a baby...what a crazy year it's been!  I feel like a very lucky duck.
• I'm pretty excited to start listening to Christmas music in a week and a half!
• We had some friends over for dinner Saturday night and I made this awesome pear crisp from the Pioneer Woman.  I made it in four individual little dishes (so I baked them a little less than the recipe calls for) and with no pecans.  They were DELICIOUS and made a nice fall dessert:

• Do you watch Top Chef?  Henry and I love to watch it, and Top Chef Seattle started last week (one of my favorite cities!).  I didn't like the format of the first episode to decide who will be in the competition, but I guess it usually takes me a few episodes to be invested and care about the contestants.
• And last, but not least, Nora and her gang:

All of her friends are Jellycat animals - we love them!

Have a fun week!

The Best Baptism Gifts

Not only did Nora have a great ceremony and party for her baptism, she also got some special gifts.  She got some super cute new clothes and her first Bible.  She was also gifted with these lovely items:

On the left from Grhonda and Grandbob (Uncle Sam got a "Godfather" tee to match) and on the right from Aunt Jayne and Uncle Dac.

An ADORABLE quilt made from this fabric by a new friend of mine, from Tia Mia.

A tiny little cross necklace from Grhonda and Grandbob.

The first charm for her charm bracelet from Uncle Sam (the other side shows a Baptism).

...And this GORGEOUS print from Jayne and Dac and pillow that I love so much, embroidered by my awesome Aunt Carolyn!

 

We are lucky ducks.  And here are a few recent pics of my little duck:

She started rolling over (constantly) last week and this was taken one morning when I went in to get her out of bed -she was SO PROUD of herself for rolling over in her crib.

This is her special, handknit sweater from a great friend of mine (thank you Chris!)  It is so sweet and cozy on her.

Typical NJ.

Baptized Baby

Back to reality after Superstorm Sandy hit DC the past couple days - we are so thankful to be safe and warm.  Sending goodness up to those areas hit harder.

Before we came home to Sandy on Sunday, we had a WONDERFUL weekend in Indiana to celebrate Nora's baptism.  We are a lucky little family, to be so loved.  Grhonda and Grandbob hosted a fun and delicious brunch for us and the whole family before the ceremony.  Here are some highlights of that party:


I ordered a glitter garland from "The Flair Exchange" - LOVE IT.  I plan to use it at all of Nora's parties.

Cake from Joy Ann's bakery in Richmond, IN - our favorite!  I love that it said "Bless Her Little Heart" - something we actually say all the time.



My mom had framed tons of pictures of Nora and used them all over the place.  She also took pink and orange ribbon and pinned it into the top and bottom of white pumpkins for centerpieces.  She made it look really easy, and it turned out so cute for a Fall party!



I bought this beautiful garland at Paper Source - you can make it say whatever you want!  I also plan to use this again and again.

Party favors from Nora - smiley face cookies (again from Joy Ann's).

 

I used this little bow punch on the tags for the cookies and a little program at the church.  I also plan to use it on the Thank you cards I send out (later this week...?)

And the baby of honor:

This gown has been passed down in my family for over 60 years - my Dad was baptized in it, I was baptized in it, and now Nora was too.  The Chuck Taylors are new - but her Godfather, Uncle Sam wore Chucks when he was baptized (in this gown) too!

She wore this dress from Zara Baby when she wasn't in her gown - it was SO CUTE on her!

The ceremony was perfect.  My great uncle, Father John (who also married Henry and I) performed the baptism, Aunt Jayne read "On the Night You Were Born", and then  Aunt Jayne, Godmother Tia Mia and Godfather Uncle Sam led everyone in singing "Tell Me Why."  We are so thankful to everyone who was there to help make it such a special family gathering!