Where Did the Time Go...2012 Year End Round Out...

Hello everyone! Wow what a wild 6 months this has been. 6 months? Did I really just say 6 months?

I hardly know where to begin but I know I must or we'll never get anywhere will we.

First let me say that I've missed you greatly. I've wanted to keep in touch, I truly have. Thankfully now the app I want/need to use has upgraded is now easier to use than a few months ago.

I know pictures are more interesting than a long winded commentary so let's begin...

After bringing Saige home from the hospital and after my mother left to go back to Ohio we lost power and in the summer heat that was NOT fun, especially with a one week old. We were forced to leave the house in search of food and cooler temperatures.

Saige was a trooper but by her 2 week Dr. check up she had lost 2lbs and was admitted into the NICU at Children's Hospital in DC. Que major parental freak out.

After more blood draws than an adult could handle, what seemed like hundreds of tests, a weeks worth of sleepless nights not leaving her side Saige was finally given the all clear by her Dr.'s and was able to return home to the utter delight of her parents, family and friends. During her hospital stay she was the concern of people across the country and even internationally. This little darling is loved far and wide. We will NEVER forget the love that we received in this thankfully short lived time of need.

We returned home and settled into a comfy routine.

Our little Monkey! After being called Button for nine months it seems that Monkey is now a term of endearment used most often. So is Miss Wiggle Pants McGee!

 

In September I took Saige for her first trip to Ohio. I couldn't think of a better Birthday present for my mother than some quality time with her first Grandchild. Saige was 3mths at this point and it only seemed appropriate to give her her first Carmen Miranda Headpiece. I'm jealous of the fabulous way she pulls off this look!

 

After our trip to Ohio we were off to Ocean City MD for her first ever beach trip. Bear needed to go for a Surveying Conference so we tagged along. I know she won't remember this trip but I'll have fun telling her all about it some day.

I wasn't about to leave without getting this "toes in the sand" picture.

I had this in mind the day I made the hotel reservation.

This next picture is a milestone and one that I missed!

I laid her on the blanket on her back as I had done umpteen times before and I walked into the kitchen for a drink of water. Upon my return this is the site I was greeted with.

SHE'D ROLLED OVER AND I MISSED IT!!

So proud of herself. And she hasn't stopped being on the go ever since.

I've discovered that this little Monkey is one independent woman. The moment I bought handles for her bottle and gave it to her she no longer needed me. Que sad mommy face.

This pic was taken 2 minutes after handing it to her for the first time.

"I don't need help mom, I can do it all on my own"

Finally at the end of September she was starting to nap longer and I was able to take that time to go into my still trashed, never unpacked studio space and begin to clean, paint and organize. Slllllloooooooowwwwly it's coming along. It's still in pieces but much much closer to being useful. 2013 is going to be the year of the studio so watch out!

Apart from being independent this girl is tech savvy. She LOVES anything iPad, smartphone etc. I still have a hard time thinking about how she'll never know a world without iPads, iPhones etc. CRAZY! I still remember our first computer, a comador 64!

The studio was starting to come along by the end of October and I had completed a dream of mine to have one whole wall painted with chalkboard paint. Bear couldn't wait to christen it.

Come November things were settling down into a nice routine family wise but then one day I woke up to some new friends in my backyard.

The neighbor behind my house is Grape Creek Farm LLC and she raises heritage turkeys. I LOVE these turkeys. I love listening to them gobble, how they run up to the fence when I walk outside, how everything seems so fun to them. Well it seems that they love my yard as well. And I wouldn't have tattled on them but well you see, the pic below is of them crossing my fence into my front yard! Yep, they were about to make a break for the great free unknown. So I had to tattle and help toss them back over their fence. Sorry turkeys.

Thanksgiving found us supporting the neighbors farm and purchasing a turkey for our Thanksgiving meal.

Oh how delicious it was.

This is one of my favorite pics. Saige is always giggling, being a ham and making me laugh.

Yes, her feet are this blurry in person as well. She NEVER stops moving, NEVER.

After Turkey Day it was time to get ready for our first Christmas Season as a family.

We Decked the Halls and though friends and family are spread far and wide we brought them a little closer to us by making a batch of Famous Daddy Mac Deth Nog or as I like to call it...

MacGrog Nog!

(Bear says it's like a cookie you can drink)

Here in MD we rarely ever get snow for Christmas. Normally the snow holds off till late January and February when it unloads on us in blizzard after blizzard.

But this year we has a Christmas Miracle! SNOW on Christmas Eve! It was gorgeous!!

The next morning found me up in the dark and outside photographing.

Narnia!

After everyone was up we settled in to unwrap prezzies! I carefully photographed Saige unwrapping each gift she got from relatives then emailed them the pics in order to help them feel a little closer to us than hundreds of miles that separated us.

She enjoyed every crinkle of the wrapping paper.

And of course toys that light up and make noise!

Finally, despite the chaos of my studio/office, year end paperwork for the accountant and a teething 6 month old I was able with the help of a wonderfully supportive husband to finish a painting! The painting I had imagined for my annual Holiday Card.

THe cards may have been late but I got them out before New Years so that counts right?

This year has been a wild ride.

I can't wait to see what 2013 has in store.

It's gonna be awesome!

 

 

Does Absence Make the Heart Grow Fonder???

This year is only days away from closing out and sadly I have been away from you dear readers for some time. For that I do apologize but I promise, it was for a good reason.

You see, I have been working on what is my largest handmade project to date...

A BABY!!!

If you know our history you know we move at relatively a snail's pace.

Bear / Bean

11yrs old/6yrs old (when we met. I moved in right next door)

22/17 (we decided we liked each other enough to start dating)

27/22 (yep, we liked each other well enough, so we married)

38/34 (after nearly 12yrs this marriage thing is perdy cool so why not try parenting)

On October 3rd 2011 we got the little "yep I think that's a baby" positive pregnancy test!

This is a picture of "Button" at 12 weeks and already a huge Thumb Sucker!

Here I am first at 11wks at Thanksgiving. Button is the size of a Lime. Then there I am at 15wks on Christmas morning. Button has graduated to a Navel Orange!

I think this is my favorite picture so far. A last minute hey lets hold the orange here, kind of shot. I'm loving every minute so far. All tests indicate that Button is healthy and growing well. I am doing wonderfully having had no morning sickness at all. My Dr. winked and told me not to tell that to anyone ;) The only symptom I had was EXTREME exhaustion. Bear said he knew I was pregnant even before the test because as he put it "No one over the age of 5 falls asleep at 7pm" There were whole months when I didn't even finish one TV show in the evening. There were days I slept 12hrs straight plus a nap in the afternoon, but I'll take that over morning sickness any day.

I'm happy to report that I've gotten most of my energy back, no naps and I can stay awake till nearly 10pm now!!

As this belly rounds out I just get happier and happier.

On January 24th we hopefully find out if Button is a boy or a girl! Feel free to weigh in in the comments section below wether you think Button's a He or a She. The votes have already started rolling in.

Button is tentatively due to be unwrapped June 15th 2012

(we all know how due dates are)

Green Eggs...

I dedicate this post to my lovies that are dancin their arses off today in Ireland!

In the words of my favorite Irishman...

"It's like Christmas Morning...but without the presents and turkey dinner"

So my dears I dedicate this all Green Post to you!

What's a girl to do when she finds herself home alone with some hard boiled eggs, food coloring and sunshine?

That's right! Let's make Green Eggs!

Oh you can't just make one kind of Green. We shall have three.

Soaking, soaking. Tick Tock Tick Tock.

What is your favorite thing to do on this glorious Patty's Day?

Missing my lovies somethin awful. Big Irish hugs go out across the pond.

Tomatoes, Pulled Pork and 10yrs of Marriage...

Today The Bear and I spent a lazy day doing what we like best, walking through a park with Wee The Wonder Dog. We drove over to Manassas and took a little stroll and Wee wandered and sniffed around. The weather was beautiful and everyone we encountered was in good spirits. This was the only photo I snapped because some days you're just having too good of a time to pause and *snap*. After the park we stopped at our favorite Farmer's Market and picked up some very delish tomatoes and a loaf of bread to make sandwiches later. Then on the way home we stopped at little road side place that's only open on the weekends and picked up some Carolina Pulled Pork and Ribs to bring home and dine on. What a delicious adventure. Wee kept licking her lips and staring at the pork container! Mmm, finger licking good.

When we got home we settled in and dove into our delicious food. Wee even got to nibble on a rib! After dinner I took Wee for a little stroll down the street and look what we found. I had to come in and get my camera to capture them. How adorable.

Today marks our 10 year Anniversary and we spent it just how we like it, together, out in nature and enjoying a great meal at home. Ya, we are an old married couple and we like it just fine!

(Sadly I have almost no pics of us in the same photo so this one is from June 2008 at our friend's wedding)

Beanie's Easter Egg From Mother Nature...

Beanie stepped out the door the other morning for her routine "wee" and discovered that Mother Nature left her a Spring Gift. Just off the patio some new mother mistook our mulch for a nice nesting spot.

We routinely throw out seed and nuts for our little feathered and furred friends. We get so much out of watching them every single day.

That little spot down on the right? Yepp, that's it. That tiny little itty bitty egg. So cute.

You never know what you'll find when you step outside the door.

The Awakening Of The Spring Blossoms...

We wait with baited breath, afraid that if we breathe too hard they will float away before we can have even a promise of a second date. At the very first sign of one fresh bud you can almost feel the collective sigh of relief from all those individuals that call our DC Metro area Home. The sun shines, the air turns warmer and everyone sheds their winter frocks for brightly colored outfits. Everyone smiles and actually looks forward to saying "Hello" to a stranger.

You can almost count the hours by how many blossoms have opened. Blink or stop to have a cup of coffee and you'll miss it. It will slip so easily through your fingers and before you know it you'll have to wait a full turn of the calendar to recapture the magic.

While out on one of my morning strolls I was engrossed in taking pictures. Nose in the air, camera to my eye and thoroughly enjoying the spell that Spring casts on me when a woman, a stranger, walked up, paused next to me and smiling, she sighed "If you pause while standing below and take the time to just look up, well, it's just plain MAGICAL". And like a petal on the wind, with a smile and a nod, she was gone. Lost in her own magical wonder land.

Only during this special season do you get that kind of random connection with a stranger. A moment in time where, despite your background, you know EXACTLY what the other is saying.

It almost feels like a slower pace around here. You notice everyone is smiling and actually strolling instead of rushing to that meeting, the bus stop, to run that errand.

When this is what awaits you just outside your door in the morning how can you not take the time to breathe it in? It would almost be a sin to not take time to pause, reflect and appreciate.

Please dear reader, every morning for a week, step outside your door and just take a moment to let the fresh air soak into you. Smile and say thank you to Mother Nature who has once again woken up from her Winter slumber and painted us a precious gift.