It may not be here to stay, but we’re enjoying it while it lasts; and spending tons of time in our beautiful backyard before the mosquitos replenish their ranks. Snapped these today. Thanks for the cute outfits, Grandma!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thefriscokid/sets/72157629394359719/
ps: tonight is the FIRST night of June being in her big-girl crib in the Big-Girls Room. Both of my children are sleeping right now. It’s a miracle.
Some new pictures!
At 5 months, June is sitting up all by herself for short periods of time. She babbles and coos. More often, she shrieks; and I affectionately call her my “baby pterodactyl” … she loves to chew on everything, and enjoys her johnny-jumper a LOT. She is sooooo long that the nurse measured her twice to confirm that yes! she is 27 1/2 inches long, which places her in the 97% for her length. She weighs 15 lb 5 oz. She absolutely loves being held and subsequently spends a good deal of time every day in the sling. She continues to be the opposite of easy-going, which I’m beginning to understand as demanding and uniquely June. She is very, very loving and would happily spend all day in my lap!
Eleanor has adjusted well to school and really loves her teacher, Miss Sarah. The structure and stimulation has been great for her and our evenings and in-between days are much more calm and relaxed than before. She’s getting SO good at her letters, she continually is reading off the letters of whatever she’s looking at. Like, the other day I bought a pack of Lifesavers because it was way past nap time and I still had shopping to do (bad mommy). She read out “L. I. F. E. S. A. V. E. R. S.” and I said “What does that spell, Eleanor?” and she announced, “Eleanor’s Candy!!” She is so smart. She has memorized her favorite books and can recite the entire page when prompted with the first few words. I am working with her to memorize Robert Frost’s Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening, because that’s what my dad did with me and I was always proud to know it by heart. I love talking to her about her day, her dreams, her friends, as her horizons expand and she is so full of wonderful little details.
In other news, it looks like Jeff and I are going to be moving into an office in downtown Saint Augustine. We are SO EXCITED to have our own brick-and-mortar studio. Can’t wait to get there, decorate, set up shop. It’s still unclear how much time I’ll be spending there for now, but having Jeff for an extra few hours a week as a result of avoiding the long commute to Jacksonville will be great. The building we’ll be in is historic, and nestled in the quaint downtown we’ve come to love. The view of the bay is spectacular. We’re so blessed to be becoming the creative team we always dreamed of, with all the trimmings of success that we’d hoped for.
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They are SO delicious. June’s hands are irresistible. I love Eleanor’s too, don’t get me wrong. But June’s are so fresh and tender. Like a hot yeast roll, sweet and soft and steamy. If I’m holding her, chances are I’ve got one hand wrapped around my finger and the other hand pressed to my face. It’s all I can do to keep from gobbling them up.
This obsession is nothing new. I remember intentionally stepping on my little brother’s hands when we were little kids. I love the feeling of his mushy palm beneath the bridge of my foot. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.
Speaking of Devan, he gets home from his tour in Afghanistan TOMORROW. That’s right, tomorrow morning he will land on U.S. soil and stay for at least a year and a half I think. We are all so glad he’s going to be home. Jeff and the girls and I are going to Nashville next month to visit him and Erin, and we cannot WAIT. June is really the most excited, as you can see. She’s never gotten to meet her Uncle Devan before!
June's signature, humongous, toothless smile. This is all her.
No, not really. But he did get on the news this morning:
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/video/1438045863001/1/CoWork-Jax
Filed under videos
I MADE A CHANDELIER. I am pretty pleased with myself. I couldn’t have done it without the flea-market prowess of Channi, the adept decorating skills of Danielle, some deft hack-sawing by my friend and neighbor Jim, and the most manliest wiring excellence of Jeff. And, thanks to Kara Paslay for posting some very good DIY directions here.
Yep, those are Mason Jars. I knew I’d been collecting them for something other than ironic glassware, I just didn’t know what that was until I saw one of these Mason Jar Chandeliers on Etsy for a few hundred dollars. I made mine for about $35. It only took a 3 or 4 hours to make, and then about an hour to install it with Jeff’s help. That light switch already had a dimmer on it, and it looks SO awesome in a dark room on a super dim setting. I’ve been waiting and waiting to change the fan out in the dining room, but it had to be for just the right thing. So glad I could do it with my own two hands.
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Eleanor insisted that June wear the Snow White costume.
Then she put on her princess dress, too!
The other day, Eleanor woke me up saying that she “had a good feeling this morning” … when I asked her why, she said “Because I had good dreams last night!” When I inquired further, she elaborated for me.
“I dreamed about my children.”
“How many did you have?”
“One-two-three-four-five-six. Six children. They love me.”
(Just to clarify:) “Are the mommy and daddy’s children or Eleanor’s children?”
“Eleanor’s children! I the mommy!”
“And they love you!”
“Yes yes. It’d be so wonderful.”
This morning on the marsh:
This is a special week. It’s Jeff’s last week at his office job. Next week, he comes home to work for himself again. Over the last year, he has worked hard to transform his business (our studio, We Are Charette) from a hobbling fledgeling to a sure-footed adolescent — not without growing pains but certainly on its way to maturity. It only took a few weeks for him to realize he didn’t want to work for someone else. It took about 6 months to figure out what to do about it. And it took about 3 months of working double-time (his 40-hour workweek plus nights and weekends developing our business) to get We Are Charette up and running while still getting consistent checks from work. It’s been exhilarating, it’s been exhausting. I know the road ahead of us will not be easy, but I also know it will be made much easier by having a spouse that is not completely consumed by work. I got so used to handling 98% of the childcare that yesterday — when he came home early and took June for a couple hours — it was a revelation, I was shocked and elated to experience the real help of another parent. When he came home, I threw my arms around him and thanked him, and I think he was just as shocked to experience real appreciation. Not that I haven’t appreciated his work over the last months. Well, correction: I have NOT appreciated it. I’ve resented it, I’ve begrudged it, I’ve rolled my eyes and sighed on many nights when our dinners got cold, when I held a crying June while trying to get Eleanor to bed, when I got up for the umpteenth time to put Eleanor back in bed, etc etc etc. But the entire time, I’ve definitely admired him. That’s made it all pretty effortless. When I would look up from my grindstone, there he’d be, with his nose placed firmly against his own. His commitment to a future that he’d be closer and more present made the tough time getting there worthwhile. And that future starts this Friday at quittin’ time.
Here’s what Eleanor had to say about her first day:
(The first few seconds are the tail end of a song I tried to catch, it went “OH the first day of school, the first day of school, on the first day of school!”)
(After watching the video of herself, she proclaimed, “Mom, I want to go another day!” and I said, “You want to go back to school on another day?” and she said “YES!”)
Pre-School that is. Nevertheless, it’s a big day. She was SO excited this morning as Jeff loaded her up in the car to go. Here are some pics I snapped to commemorate the moment.
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Already! Time really flies lately. Also new: Eleanor starts pre-school next week. I think she’s been craving a more stimulating environment and I know I’ll benefit from getting a bit of time away from her. Big steps!
More photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/thefriscokid/sets/72157628800312855/
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