Siena at 11 Months

Whoa, one more month until Sisi's birthday.  I'm seriously so weepy about it.  But technically, she's still a "baby" until her 2nd birthday, right?  I always told people I'm not a baby person, I'm a toddler person. But now I'm butt-crazy in love with THIS baby. 

The rest of her body has leaned up, but she's still got her chubby cheeks.

Sing it, Mariah Carey!

 

Yes, I'm tearing up right now just looking at these sweet images. Thank you Joe for taking these!

Siena at a glace: 

• her 3rd word  is "li li" (lion).  
• we've just made it out of the thick of Wonder Week 47- thank goodness!  Now we're seeing all the new things she can do, like...
• open and close containers (even tricky twist tops)
• change the dials on her play piano
• offer us pieces of her food (usually the veggies that she doesn't want)
• and help us dress her.  
• she's still a fabulous eater, and now we're introducing bits of citrus fruit, coconut manna, stew meat, and bone marrow.
• naps twice a day, puts herself to sleep by curling up in a ball, butt high in the air, and caressing her moo cow blanket.  
• still not sleeping through the night but I'm having a hard time caring. i've come so far!
• awesome at imitating sing-songy sounds, like "fa la la la la, la la la la." 
• her top lateral incisors just poked through the other day.  So she has 6 teeth! 

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Tiny Pig and Mouse

I suppose I could wait to show you these when I do Sisi's 11 month post, but I just can't.  These little guys are just too cute.  Sisi wore them to the mall today, and we got all sorts of compliments.  Too bad the inspiration for these guys didn't hit earlier, since they would have been perfect stocking stuffers.  Next year! 

I was on a roll, so I whipped up a few nerdy mice with button glasses.

More animals in the works!  Find pig and mouse in the etsy shop!

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How to transform a grocery store bouquet

Howdy! Real quick, stop by my Australian "pen pal" Lacey's blog, A Fruitful Life, to see me (in all my awkward glory) in a video tutorial about transforming a cheap grocery store bouquet into something more special.  It's my first vlog, and features a Siena cameo :) 

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Instafriday #2

Linking up with Life Rearranged for instafriday, where I can unload my cell phone pics.  I have a droid by the way, and use Retro Camera not Instagram, but it still counts.

A weekend road trip to San Jose that was supposed to take just 7 hours ended up taking 13 hours, with all the stops. The key to keeping baby happy on a road trip is being strategic and plan ahead- Joe had an itinerary that included pit stops at parks, wineries, and this candy shop, where we let her run loose.  

 Yeah, it's nasty that we let her crawl on the floor, but oh well.  That's what tubbies are for!

 No more raw milk to make chai?  Ok, I'll just use heavy whipping cream instead.  Joe says it's good for me.

 The dogs love to go on walks with me and the baby, but I look like a hot mess trying to keep everyone in line.

 Let me sleep!

 Thankful that our neighbor's lemon tree keeps showering our property with lemons.

Because this is what our lemon tree looks like.  Our soil is cursed!!!

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DIY Folded Fabric Necklace Tutorial

Ever since I learned to make kanzashi petals for my baby headbands, I thought the petals would be darling in a necklace. My first few attempts looked ridiculous, like Austin Power's crooked teeth.  But eventually I found a way to make the petals cooperate, and look all ladylike in a row.  I was so jazzed about this necklace, I whipped up this tutorial.  Thanks so much to my wonderful friend Trista Lerit for photographing the steps!

This would make a super special holiday gift, and you can scrounge up the materials from your own fabric and bauble stash. If you're not the DIY type or just can't be bothered, I recently listed two super cute fabric necklaces in the etsy shop.

Materials: 

• 2 strands of rope, each about 2 feet long
• 10 square fabric scraps around 3 to 4 inches in diameter
• lace or tulle squares of the same size for layering (optional)
• an extra 6" strip of scrap fabric
• dental floss
• needle
• fabric glue

Note on choosing fabric: Thicker fabrics hold the petal shape best. If using thinner, silkier fabric, double it up.  For this necklace, I used squares cut from some soft woolen material and lace I had around the house. 

Instructions:

1. Prepare rope ties by making a simple knot at the end with a small loop.  Prepare your needle and thread- we used waxed dental floss because it's super sturdy.  
2. Fold the first square in half, corner to corner, forming a triangle.
3. Fold the two sides of triangle up to the point.
4. Turn it over, and fold the top point down 1/3 of the way. This step is really important, and makes the petal look a little different than the traditional kanzashi fold. 
   
   

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Lacking in Christmas Spirit

You can't say I'm not trying- the Christmas music plays, pine-scented candles burn (to make up for our fake tree's lack of scent), and I'm drinking a hot chai tea.  All the elements are there, but I'm just not feelin' it.  "It" being that warm, endorphin-filled holiday rush that I usually feel.  Being a psych major and a sorta reflective person, I just can't stop thinking about WHY this is happening.  After analyzing a little bit, here's my conclusion. (Sadly, I think this list reveals how superficial my "Christmas Spirit" has been in past years.)

1.  The Baby-  Every day is a whirlwind of feeding, nursing, cooking, and changing, and there hasn't been much time to veg out in front of "Elf", window shop, or bake Christmas cookies.  This is a pathetic excuse, since I know mommy's of 4 kids who do all this stuff, and much more.  I guess I'm just a wuss!

• then I realize, shouldn't having a baby fill me with even more Christmas spirit as I think about the story of baby Jesus, come to save sinners like me?  How helpless and innocent He was, yet filled with the power and glory of God?  Whoa, that's pretty crazy.

2.  Our Super Strict Budget-  which prevents me from enjoying all those little holiday splurges, like buying myself a new scarf and sparkly red nail polish just because, purchasing special ornaments for the tree, stopping by Coffee Bean for a daily dose of liquid sugar (aka Winter Dream Tea lattes).  I'm also being less extravagant with gifts, and that's no fun.

• then I realize, this gives me an excuse to be creative and resourceful with my splurges- make my own tea lattes, craft my own decor and gifts, and just borrow cute Winter clothes and nail polish from my rich friends (not really kidding here.)  And I just need to remember Chico and the goal. 

3.  The Paleo Diet- Christmas is all about the food, right?  Baked goods, peanut brittle, fudge, yummmm.  And although I'm no perfectionist when it comes to this diet, I can't go buck wild on this stuff without feeling really guilty and physically ill.  Yes, that's one things about the Paleo diet- my sugar tolerance has gone way down and my stomach immediately starts to cramp up if I eat a cupcake.   

• then I realize, there's nothing wrong with REAL FOOD.  How cool would it be to come up with healthy holiday treats that I can make every year?  I sometimes feel sorry for how "treat deprived" Siena is, but really she has no idea what she's missing and she loves absolutely everything under the sun, including beef hearts and cod liver oil. 

I guess Christmas has a deeper meaning beyond treats and sparkles and Tim Allen movies.  I always knew that, but I'm just now starting to get it.  Even if I'm not "feelin' it", it doesn't change what objectively happened that Christmas day long ago. Christ was sent to Earth as the long-awaited Savior, born to die for our sins.  This truth isn't warm and fuzzy, but it does fill my heart with true joy. The two don't always go hand in hand.

waiting for our friend to walk down the aisle

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Instafriday #1

Linking up with Jeannett at Life Rearranged for Instafriday!  This gives me the chance to unload all the warm fuzzy moments captured via cell phone pics from the week. I'll try to do this regularly, mostly because I've been awful at keeping my baby book (even though Angel gave me the most lovely album) and I figure I should at least store some memories here.  Hopefully the internetz will still be around when she's older :)

starbucks date with my big sis

 breakfast leftovers for lunch, with lots of gouda on top

the gorilla crawl- sisi's preferred mode of transport

 baby toes

 flip flops in december

another upcycling project- added ruffles to an otherwise blah baby shirt

 liver lips

 remembering when it was just the three of us

 baby's first balloon

 strollin'

 stopping to smell the flowers

pretty much getting used to how messy babies are

We're off on a mini road trip to Berkeley for a wedding.  We've stockpiled sardines, canned salmon, and hard boiled eggs and are hoping for the best!  Enjoy the weekend!

  

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