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!
