5 Month Notes

Dear Isabel,

You are now 5 months + 1 week. You haven't pooped in 3 days {I called the pediatrician this morning, all will be right ;) } You like to eat oatmeal, sweet potatoes, carrots and bananas-- although the carrots were a tough sell. As seen here:

We're going to be trying yellow squash and avocado this week.

Last week, you made me and your grandmother {Hubbard}laugh hysterically with your newly discovered big belly laughs {i tried to take a video on my phone but alas, mixed up the stop/record function... exactly what I made fun of my mother for doing last month... the lesson here being, don't make fun  too much fun  of your mother!! }

You've recently started sleeping in 9 and 10 hour stretches, sporadically.  Yay you!!!! The first time it happened, I woke up thinking that surely, it was midnight and I was delirious, but no!! You did it! We are very proud of you for this development :)

Sometimes you yell-- out of boredom, frustration, not wanting to take your nap, losing your pacifier behind the crib, rolling over onto your stomach and being stuck {but I've seen you roll back the other way! you can do it!} or just because you're amused with the sound of your voice.  Your yelling amuses me too. 

Here's a picture of you yelling because you're tired, hungry... and probably bored with playing airplane :)

You love helping me make the bed.  You lie there, while I fluff the sheets over you.  This makes you laugh and squeal and kick your legs. You'll also do this if I wave a shirt or something else over top of  you.  It is WAY  fun for both of us.  You make me look forward to making the bed!!!!!

And here is a video of your precious little fun little face while I wave a shirt over you.

Last Sunday, I took you to church for the first time.

You were so good, and made it all the way up to communion.  At that point, you made it clear that you needed your nap in your bed, not a church pew.  You made a friend that day in the back of the church - Sophie.  She's also 5 months old, and was there with her parents. The 2 of you talked a little bit, and she held your hand.  It was such a sweet moment, it brought tears to my hormonal, sleep-deprived eyes.

And here you are with your sweet daycare buddy.  The 2 of you started daycare at the same time and have hit it off from the beginning. 

You love to swing. And talking {loudly!!}while you swing is your favorite. 

This is your new favorite toy, which I learned about thanks to a very sweet bloggy here {www.lifeofcharmings.com}.  While you're in this thing, I can push you into the kitchen, into your bedroom, into our bedroom, into the entry way...And you can be part of all the action while I try to get a few boring grown up chores finished.  I swore I would not get us into the pink princess stuff, and I won't, except for this one teensy, minimal, adorable little item. Mainly because you loved it so much when you tried it out in the store.

So Isabel, you're the sweetest, sassiest, silliest, smartest, prettiest little girl I've ever known and it is way too much fun being your mommy.   I could go on and on and on and on, but will stop embarrassing us both. :)

XO!

Cassie

{Mommy!!}

Mais Oui

I don't know if it was the rain, or the music on the radio, but this morning I felt like I was playing a part in a French movie { 3 parts sad, 1 part pensive, 2 parts love}.

Just as I got into the car, my phone buzzed with an email.  It was somebody wanting to buy my bookcase {yes! excitement!}// Then I read further// This person wants to buy it so that they can strip the paint and refinish the wood.....Yes, you read that correctly....

But moving on. 

The drive to daycare was particularly gloomy, listening to the classical station {because that will make Izzie smart, non?} // AND it was a Monday morning, which is even more triste than others-- without the heavy gray blanket of Fall clouds, and of course without the arrival of a dream-crushing email { it helps if you let yourself really wallow in the gloom ;) }

Then, just as we pulled up to daycare, the clouds decided to open up and start pouring.  Raining. Heavily.  Buckets. And in those few moments where I sat there in the car, with the music playing, and Isabel in the back seat making her quiet little baby noises... It felt like time stood still for a minute.  I pictured driving off into the sunset, saying bon voyage to you much too hectic city life... But that wouldn't happen, not even in a movie//not even in a French movie. 

So I got myself out of the car {cue the soaking of the clothes & hair }  to carry Izzie in her heavy-as-a-bag-of-bricks carseat // her bag of milk-blankets-bottles// and her ginormous bouncy chair.

The most difficult point of all of this being that moment when Izzie watches me walk out of the daycare room with her big blue eyes.... 

Knowing that I won't see her til midnight {for her late night milk party} is so hard, but knowing that she doesn't know or understand all of this coming and going, is even harder.  The hardest. 

I will become more accustomed to this, and it has already gotten much easier...

We're all okay, and doing what we should be doing....

I think it must've been the rain. 

{Cue the sad music..}

 

XO

Cassie

:

  

Crafty

When I started getting Isabel's nursery together, I loved being able to hand pick almost every item in the room// as opposed to other rooms in the house-- which are kind of a mash up between my stuff, Will's stuff, things we've been given, things we've found, things I would not mind l o s i n g.... ;)
It was great to be able to start fresh!!// new paint, new dresser, new rug, etc.... Of course, not everything in Izzie's  room ended up being NEW new, but it was new to us// and THAT is fun. Exhibit A: Will found the perfect changing table on Craigslist {DaVinci Jenny Lind-- & priced to move}!

And the dresser... After having looked around for one, and not really seeing one that was a) within our budget and b) worthy of going into Izzie's nursery // I decided to resurrect my former {not OLD-- don't you be callin' her old !} dresser, which was sitting waiting patiently in my parents' basement//
With a good smathering of Annie Sloan chalk paint, I was absolutely amazed at how she could be completely transformed from a slightly weary, yellowing, wistful but beautiful old gal, into who she is today// Extreme Makeover- Dresser Edition// Lord knows I love a good {ambush}makeover.
{and, as in all good makeovers, it helped that her bone structure is that of a natural beauty}

Allow me to elucidate...

Pre- Makeover:

And Post- Makeover: {please ignore the missing handle}

 She's BAAAaackK!
I love seeing her in Izzie's room, and I love the new life that she's been given! She 's got her sass back!! ;)

So, a friend and I have been toying with the idea of doing these makeovers regularly, and seeing if we could maybe just maybe make a little extra money doing it// This idea {Kelly's idea} seems to be the perfect pairing {in more ways than one!}// Welll.....I've just finished my first official Home & Sass makeover project. He's a handsome, cherry bookcase.  Solid wood. He stands around 5 feet tall// Has adjustable shelves// and looks like he could've lived in someone's nice old house, perhaps in their library {my grandparents had a room that they called the library// do people still do this?}

Here he is before:

 

And here he is in his painted glory:

 

I'll hate to see him go actually! 

{Really though, what's not to like about fresh flowers and a baby on a freshly painted bookshelf????}  

Next project: a sweet little vanity!!  

XO

Cassie

Saturday mornings

So, around the corner from our house {4ish blocks away} there is a farmers market every Saturday morning. We have lived here for almost 3 years now, and.... very shamefully.... we did not visit the farmers market until Isabel was born  {?!?!}

Why????.....I ask myself this question every Saturday!!! The farmers market is The Best.
Seasonal fruits and veggies! Local! Organic! Honey! Soap! Pastries and coffee! Happy babies
// A man playing the accordion {if you squint your eyes you can pretend you're in a Parisian market..}
 // A man playing guitar and singing {if you squint your eyes again, you can imagine he's Taj Mahal}
// scented oils// flavored nuts & nut butters {Gelstons, quiet down.}
// local creamery dairy things -- cheeses, ice cream, eggs
I feel wholesome just being surrounded by those things.

A few weeks ago, we decided to participate in this crop sharing subscription at a local organic farm, where you pay at the beginning of the season, and then come every week to pick up your goodies. 

So every Saturday, we walk up there {and when I mentioned this to a friend recently she said, "ok Gwyneth Paltrow"....yes sure, I'll take it}...and choose our 4 items {wild}// Swiss chard, kale, purple potatoes, broccoli, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, leeks... It's heavenly. 
 And the vegetable soup made from this stuff is what vegetable soup should taste like, always.

This weekend, Izzie will be sampling the sweet potatoes.
Very exciting stuff happening here.
Wait til next year, when we go for a whole share.
Wildness. 

XO

Cassie