antiques

My great-grandmother Onedia made this slip and dress when she was pregnant in the 1920's. The baby she hoped was girl, however, turned out to be a boy, and these were tucked away. She died without having any more children, and my grandfather kept these in a scrapbook until my mom found them a few weeks ago. She sent them to us so that one of Oneida's (great-great-grand...) daughters could finally wear her beautiful handiwork.















And from a slightly more recent era, this is a sweatshirt that I wore when I was a baby. I love the zipper up the back. It was so easy to put on Anna and there wasn't a gap at a closure in the front where cold air could come in. Anna wore the hoodie all day long. I never thought I would put frilly, girly, cutesie (look at those teddy bear's eyes!), or super pink clothes on my kids since I was never a girly girl, but they are just SO adorable!

baby vs. wild

Over a cool November weekend, we took Anna camping at Stephen F. Austin State Park with our friends the Mercers (follow the link for their account and pictures-- love the penguin suits to stay warm). That made 3 babies and 4 adults-- well, once the men arrived. Alisa and I set up the tent, hammock, and entertained/fed the babies in the afternoon beneath the trees. I'll admit it was a little less leisurely than most other camping trips I've been on, but we fun nonetheless.

Three car seats squeezed into the back seat of the truck

Anna was not too sure about being between two other babies, but she and Maya sure looked cute in their matching onesies. And I can never get enough of Max's smile.

Our fire was a little slow in coming with some damp wood, but it eventually came to life and we enjoyed some quiet time to talk around it while the babies were bundled into their pack and plays. Of course, Sam did have to chase away the fearless raccoons several times during the night as they climbed on the cabin walls, or slipped under our chairs or into the truck bed.

I'm pretty sure Anna didn't actually sleep, but rather lie awake too cold to cry all night. When, at 5:30, she started making some noises and I picked her up to feed her, her hands were freezing and her eyes were WIDE open. Once I fed her and we all played a bit, Sam snuggled her back into his sleeping bag and she fell deeply asleep. Nothing better than snuggling.

Not such a happy morning at first

But it got better

We enjoyed a nice little walk through the woods and along the Brazos river in the early afternoon the next day. Anna got a little sunburned and I felt terrible about it, but otherwise I think the trip was a success, and I have to say I feel a twinge of pride whenever I tell anyone we took three six-month-old babies camping.

trick or treat...or vote

I know Halloween is long past, but it was such an eventful week, I can't help but blog about it.

A week before Halloween, Sam, Anna, and I went to a pumpkin patch run by our local Methodist church. It was perfect for our needs: free, small, simple, shady, and full of pumpkins and fall decor for documenting Anna's first Halloween. Still, the cars and people were pretty distracting to Anna, so it was all we could do to get her looking in the direction of the camera, let alone smile, but she looks cute nearly all the time, so we still got some good pictures. And they accurately capture her bewilderment at being dressed in a hot, orange, fuzzy thing.








Afterwards, we had to pick some things up at Walmart and Anna had her first experience riding in the shopping cart seat. Since the camera was in my bag, I had to document the occasion.



The day before Halloween was the Halloween party at infant story time at the library. We brought a plate of cupcakes to share and went to sing songs and see all the other adorable costumes on our baby friends. Amber and Alisa have some great pictures and descriptions of the event as well. Anna's friends from church were dressed as twin chickens, twin penguins, a lion, a ladybug, and a cowboy (with homemade chaps no less! check them out). We sang our songs, read stories, and then ate yummy treats. There was so much food that no one ate any of my cupcakes, so I decided to take them to the workers at the early voting location that was my next stop.

why we love story time

Anna with buddies Maya and Max

I'm a huge fan of early voting. It was a beautiful day to drive out to George Bush Park with the windows down. I took Anna, still in costume, and the cupcakes with me. As we walked up to the building, we were approached by a woman and a man handing out brochures for Texas State Senate candidates Chris Bell and Joan Huffman,respectively. The woman said, "Since you're voting for Obama [I had an Obama button on my diaper bag] you're obviously going to vote for Chris Bell," and was about to continue when the man jumped in and said, "Well, hold on now. She's got a plate of cupcakes, and you know that's a Republican thing."

Now, I consider myself an independent, and voted for Democrat, Republican, and Libertarian candidates this election, but I can tell you one thing. The Democrat worker declined my cupcake offer and the Republican accepted. ("I love food almost as much as I love Joan Huffman's commitment to border control.") I'm just sayin' is all.

Between my adorable, pumpkin-clad baby and a plate of cupcakes, I was easily the most popular voter at the polls. I got lots of smiles and thank you's and compliments on my baking/frosting abilities. By the time I left, I decided cupcakes must bring out strong feelings in people especially when the middle aged man who gave me my voting pin number said, knowingly, after a fellow worker informed him I was the one who brought the treats, "Aaaah, you're a cupcake mom."

I have no idea what he meant by that, but I've decided to embrace that as part of my identity: a socially-minded, diaper-changing, travel-loving, baby-wearing, la leche league-attending, ice cream-loving, book-reading, tree-hugging, church-going, independent, stay-at-home cupcake mom.

That night, over a delicious, candle- and jack o' lantern-lit dinner in a pumpkin (inspired by Amy's mom and yeswecarve.com), I rehashed the days events. Alisa brought a yummy, warm pumpkin ginger soup, and four friends and three babies had a marvelous Halloween. If I had to guess, I'd say a tradition was born.

quirky

Laska tagged me. I'm supposed to tell you 7 quirky or weird things about me.

1) I like to make up dances to go along with whatever activity I might be doing at the moment. I'll tell Sam, "This is my 'brushing my teeth' dance," or "This is my 'listening to NPR while I make dinner' dance." It keeps everyone in the house pretty well entertained.

2) I love cereal, and I mean really love it. A day is not complete without a bowl of cereal.

3) I consider our many half-gallons of ice cream part of our food storage.

4) I like the dishes loaded in the dishwasher and then put away in the cabinets in just the right way. I even have a little map inside the cupboard door to show Sam where everything goes. Can you say OCD?

5) I love public radio. Riding public transportation makes me happy. I think we should have universal healthcare for minors and pregnant women (Go Prevention!). I can't help it. It's in my blood. My great-grandmother Anna Holmquist marched with the socialists in Sweden.

6) I really like this video. (Thanks, Luke!)



7) My daughter is only 6-months-old and I'm already spying on her. The first time I saw her roll over, I had to peek between the bumper and mattress and between two crib slats because she got distracted every time she saw me. I'm fear I'm forming some bad parenting habits.

I tag anyone who wants to share with the world what makes them weird.

yes we can

I love being inspired. This gave me tingles.

And moving from idealism to materialism, I want this.

rollin'

She finally did it!

ribbit

Awesomest home-made Halloween costume ever.



Tropical Tree Frog Costume Giveaway

for steve