Just Write : Teething Sucks

by

Hand in her mouth, her little fingers come out all red and slimy. Drooling since she was three months old, we thought her teeth would come in quickly. But here we are almost ten months old and no teeth. But they are certainly coming. Tonight was rough. You could tell she was tired, blood shot eyes, yawning, her body wanting to let go and fall asleep, but those gums were just so sore. She would grab my face and gnaw on my jaw. Her gums were hurting her and even my jaw bone was not helping. I brought my sleepy girl back downstairs and tried to rub some teething gel onto her sore gums. She doesn’t want anyone else’s fingers in her mouth but her own so she turns away and the gel spreads to her lips instead. She’s fussy and fidgety and I try my best to be patient and calm as I try to get her to sleep hours after her regular bedtime. We nurse, we rock, we walk around the house. She wants so badly to fall asleep but she’s focusing on those sore gums and flips around in my arms. I hold her and hum a quiet song, rubbing her legs and trying to get her little nine month old body to relax. I sit in the rocker and offer her milk. She cuddles into my body, the body that once held her inside so safe. I’m still her safe, cozy place. I hum her sleepy song and she nurses, fading quickly this time. I pet her warm head, stroking the little threads of baby hair off her forehead. Her body relaxes and as she nurses she rests her hand on my breast. It breaks my heart to see her uncomfortable or in pain. But this is part of growing and so I try to help her by being there. I fear this tough teething night is only the beginning of teeth time woes. There will be more late nights and sore gummy tears, but Mama will be here to hold her when she needs it, to help her get to sleep again and again. I am her safe place. She’s sleeping now. Her head on my chest and her hand on my heart.

*joining Heather and many other writers for Just Write.

Weekending!

by

yellow flowers

fun work

neat wish plants

yum

coleslaw

picnic fun

picnicing

yummy food

record music time

listening

dancing to sinatra

strawberry festival

hay!

fsetival

The weather was beautiful this weekend and we wanted to get out as much as possible to enjoy it! We enjoyed a wonderful picnic in the park with new friends on saturday. Ellie got to play with baby friends while Mama and Daddy chatted and enjoyed yummy picnic food (these new friends of ours can sure cook)! I got lots of time to work on Cory’s fun peacock sampler. I’m learning all sorts of new stitches thanks to you tube. Jeff and I had a little impromptu date of farmers market cherries,  lemon quartz cheese and the final episode of The Office (while Ellie took a very long nap in Mama’s arms). And Saturday evening ended with the record player on and Daddy and Ellie dancing to Sinatra, Elvis and the 5th Dimension. Sunday we wanted to check out the California Strawberry Festival which was in the next town over. Besides an adorable sun hat we found for Ellie, the festival was a big disappointment. More money pit and less festival. After a very pricey, not so good lunch, we made our exit and enjoyed the rest of  sunday at home, gardening a little bit, cleaning a little bit and relaxing a little bit. How was your weekend?

*joining Amanda for Weekending.

Portrait Project

by

20/52

sleeper kitten

eloise: I realized I hadn’t captured you sleeping yet in any of these portraits. You’ve spent so many hours in my arms or lying next to me napping. I love gazing down at this little person I’ve made. You are slowly beginning to transition to napping on your own, in your own bed  and I know I’m going to miss you cradled in my arms fast asleep. You are growing quickly my dear and I dare say, I’m already seeing less of a baby and more of a little girl each new day.

-joining Jodi for the lovely 52 project

Make + Listen

by

letter fun

still working

steve and edie

I’m joining Simple Things Notebook today with the Make and Listen Along. It’s a good way to keep me motivated on working on these projects and getting them done. And music is just such a special, wonderful thing. I think it will be neat for Ellie to look back one day and see what we were listening too when she was just a wee one. :)

MAKING: I have decided to start making Ellie some fabric letters inspired by Meg’s Montessori Letters from her book Sew Liberated. I’m thinking it’s going to be a long, drawn out project… something I will try to complete before her first birthday. (I can’t believe that’s only about three months away)!

I’m still working on a Softie bear for a friend’s baby. It’s been slow going as well.

+

LISTENING: My Dad let us borrow this great new Steve Martin/ Edie Brickell c.d.  I am a big fan of the banjo and Steve Martin. I once spotted Steve Martin at an art show at UCLA. He was alone and kept smiling at me. Who knows, if I was brave enough I could have had a date with the guy. I saw Martin again years later in Orange County at one of the most fantastic concerts ever. This man can not only get a whole crowd hysterically laughing but he can play the banjo… really well! Can you tell I have a little crush? This c.d. is nice to have on in the background, preferably on a sunny spring day with all the windows open. Ellie liked the first song the  best and it seems she’s fond of Steve Martin too. She liked checking out the pictures of him on the c.d. case.

Just Write: Our evening walk

by

It’s five o’clock.

Daddy is done with work. The dogs can sense the end of the day. They peel themselves off the couch, stretch, yawn and shake off the long naps they take every day. They know it’s time for a walk. A “W”, as we call it. Don’t say the “w” word too loud or Linus will start getting too excited.

Daddy puts his shoes on. He smiles at us and asks about our day. He asks but he really already knows most of what our day entailed. He sits at his desk peeking out at us through the baby gate. We can hear him take his calls. We can see him writing and thinking hard. We like him home with us. Even if he’s in that back office most of the day. He’s accessible and we like that.

He straps the Ergo carrier to his chest as I get the dogs leashes on. Charlotte the french bulldog prances around as I jingle the leash closer to her. She runs away in excitement and I yell at her to come. I end up walking over to her… always. Linus the shepherd comes right over. This afternoon walk is the highlight of his day. The morning walk is just for sniffing and leaving his scent every which way, but this one is usually longer and faster paced. He starts panting at the thought of getting out. I pat him on the head as I clip his leash into place, knowing how much he enjoys getting out. Both dogs move quickly to the door. Ellie is loaded into the carrier. She kicks her legs in amusement at the regular scene. I give her a quick kiss. I give Daddy a quick kiss. We head out.

We walk. We talk. We talk about our days. We talk about finances. We talk about my parents and his. We talk about us as new parents. We talk about weekend plans and gardening and dreams of owning a farm. We talk and relate. Ellie listens to her parents enjoying each others company. She hears us discuss important topics every night and she hears us chat about the day-to-day. Sometimes we tickle her feet and play peekaboo. Sometimes we talk just to her, tell her what we see as we walk by the big park. The neighborhood dogs are off leash chasing balls. We point out the doggies and wave to our neighbors. Sometimes we walk so far and talk so much, Ellie cuddles in close to Daddy’s chest and drifts off to sleep for the remainder of the walk. While she sleeps we talk about how beautiful she is and how lucky we are to have her as our own.

The air is cool and a little bit salty. It’s breezy and it’s getting close to dinner time. We make our way home. Linus is reluctant to head back. He could walk for miles. Charlotte is eager for her dog food dinner.   We make it back home. I take the leashes off the dogs and set them on the rack in the laundry room. They settle in for the night. Daddy unbuckles the carrier and sits quietly down in the big chair. A sleeping baby still on his chest. It was a good walk… our evening walk.

- linking up with Heather for JUST WRITE.