One, Uno, Un, Ein, Um

Lola turned 1 a few days back and I still can't believe it has been a year already. I still remember meeting her for the first time -- they wheeled me still in bed to meet her, maybe it was in the NICU maybe in a dream, I can't be certain. A nurse placed her on my chest and I did my best to hold onto her. Both of us drifting in and out of sleep and I knew I would never be the same.

In the past year she has made us laugh, made us nervous, made us swell up with pride, made a big brother out of Riley and honestly made us a family.

Eating is high on the list of her favorite things to do. She *loves* to eat. Tops on the list are blueberries, hummus/pita and pretty much anything you put down in front of her. She is standing, but not quite ready to walk. Crawling is so much faster and efficient, you know. She can sign our version of the word "more", says "duck, duck, duck", "hi", "bye-bye", night-night is a backwards wave and blows kisses when you say you love her.

She had a great weekend -- it was perfect. We had a lovely time with our visitors from St. Louis. Thank you to all those that made the trip.

It's hard to believe the panic and fear that surrounded her birth has given way to such a calm, funny and genuinely sweet little girl. We are so blessed. Happy Birthday, baby girl!

the kids are alright

We have been busy around these parts fancying up the house for out of town guests for Lola's birthday party. It was fantastic...we had such a lovely time. Pictures to follow on her actual birthday tomorrow! In the meantime, here are some shots from R's first ever soccer game. So what if the score was 10 to 0 in favor of those other kids in the orange shirts?!

It was so great to watch them all. It was almost as if they were playing dodge ball instead of soccer -- a huge clump of 7 and 8 year olds would chase the ball in any number of directions and then run away from it when they caught up to it. Too funny. They had much more success at their second game this weekend.

Hope your week is off to a good start. This week marks the beginning of working part time and keeping Lola home 3 days a week. We are loving it! We went for a long, long walk this morning and now she is snoozing with the sweetest little smile on her face. I couldn't be happier!

yes, please

Just doing a little window shopping at Supermarket.

Birch Top from Little Houses
Leaf Garden Wrap from Ahpeele
Small Ab Imo Pectore Pendant from Melanie Favreau

snaps

That's Riley on a recent trip to Powell Gardens. And L is just happy to be alive. Her new favorite toys are those that belong to big brother.

alive and well

I adore blogs with daily/weekly updates with features, inspirations and general on-goings, don't you? It is sometimes such a high to see what so and so will do next. You girls (and guys) are amazing! This is not one of those blogs. Sorry, kids! I am lucky if I update once or twice a month. I always promise to be better, but yeah...

So here is the latest in photo form. With inspiration drawn from Sugar City Journal, I have been elevating the mundane. I've also really been enjoying the trend of brightly colored remakes of bad "came with the house" chandeliers. I have pretty much been painting and/or decoupaging anything that will stand still.

Oh, and we also installed a new floor in the make-shift kitchen. For those who do not know, we are slowly but surely remodeling the first floor to include a new kitchen. We are lucky to have a full kitchen upstairs to use during this process. In a previous attempt I painted the upstairs kitchen floor with outdoor paint. It looked great for about 10 minutes and then disaster. So, a year later enter another temporary but so beautiful solution.

The house is in random states of disorganization with a million projects in the works on all three floors. Aside from that, we are all doing well. Riley is really enjoying first grade and the new school. He has also started playing soccer through the Y. Action shots to follow after tonight's practice. And Miss Lola is so lovely. She is growing and learning everyday. She will be 1 at the end of the month and we are gearing up for family to visit from St. Louis to celebrate. I can hardly wait.

More soon my lovelies. xo

Bring on the hot dogs!

This article from the New York Times eased 10 of my fears. Though it is a long list...perhaps they should do a regular feature.

Grosgrain Giveaway - So lovely!!!

Fields of Gold Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

My daily dose of beauty. Sigh. Kathleen is so talented.