Le Petit Prince

'Look mama, I skateboard too!'

I know they're a lot of the same picture over and over, but Austin was having a great time with the crown he had made in school last month. I finally got a box to store all his projects in and when they all resurfaced he took favor with this one. I just love his imagination these days and all the art work he creates at school and at home. He could spend the entire day painting and coloring if I let him. I'm looking forward to it getting less messy at this point, but I am really amazed with the things he creates and all on his own.

He's really getting so big. The other day at the Farmer's Market he saw a little girl (maybe 5 or 6) zooming around on her Heelys, you know the sneakers with the wheels in the soles. Well he wanted to skate so very bad, just like the girl and he would run, run, run! and stop short and say 'Look at me mom, I skateboard too!' Now I ask myself, at what age do I introduce him to a skateboard or Heelys? I think we should stick with skiing and swimming, then work our way to the less gentle fall, more bone breaking, hard surface hitting sports.

P.S. His rash seems to be getting a little better. He has a follow up appointment Tuesday, we'll see how it goes.

We Caught the Sun

Caught him taking a breather

SO!!! Excited to have the sun out.

Ready to slide

'Yummy big, big carrots and juicy 'matoes...'

Still has that sweet little face, always my baby.

Austin and I caught the sun being warm Monday. On our way back from the dry cleaners we decided to make a pit stop at the neighborhood park. It was nice to just be outside for more than 5 minutes, the air wash fresh and clean and Austin was having a great time playing. Then we headed home for lunch on the back deck. I even broke out the bubbles and buckets of water to play with. He made mud pies in the back of his Tonka trucks from the potting soil left in the planters on our deck. The day was so pleasant I didn't even mind so much cleaning up the muddy mucky mess when it was time for him to take a nap.

Since then the weather has been gray, cold, dismal and quite frankly plain depressing. Hey little man, at least we had Monday. Hopefully the sun will show us its warmth again soon.

I hope you all enjoy the pictures. If you hadn't noticed, Austin's got a little funky rash going on. It's unfortunately continued to get worse since Monday and the doctors are not quite sure what it is. Come Friday if it hasn't started to clear up we'll have to take him in to see a specialist. No worries though, Austin feels just fine, just a little itchy that's all. Still keep him in your thoughts, hopefully this thing will clear up soon.
I hope this blog finds you all well.

With love, Liz

Solo in San Fran

Fidel - a.k.a Deli-boy

my ladies

Leah in the hat

Going to market

The Bay Bridge (not the Golden Gate ;o)

Leah, the hat and some coffee

us

again

China Town

China Town Dim Sum - yum!

I can't believe I was there

My favorite picture from the trip

Muir Woods

Big Tree

love this shot

us in a big tree

Abba and Geo in the same big tree

Us so cute! Fatty in the middle :o)

Ab' and Geo at Sunset

Heaven - the perfect ending to a perfect trip

With two wonderful ladies of course. I enjoyed a quick weekend getaway without my guys in San Francisco last week. Thanks to my lovely hosts Abbey, Geo & Fidel, I was able to get a very good taste of the Bay Area. And yes, by that I mean that I ate half the city while I was there. I'm a little tired and just relieved to be getting a post up for you all to enjoy. I don't feel that I could do any justice to just how tremendous and wonderful this trip was for me by writing right now. So I will spare the details and allow for the photographs to speak for themselves.

I hope you are all well. Thanks, as always, for checking in on us.

Love, Liz

Not worth much of anything

Yes that's me, not worth a whole lot right now. I am exhausted. Had a fabulous trip to San Francisco and since I've returned I can barely justify rolling out of bed in the morning especially since Austin has begun telling me to go away when I try to wake him up. His new big boy room is THAT cozy.

I know I've failed to reach my 30 pictures in 30 days project, but I do have some great shots for you all. I should have them posted by the weekend. Then I'll try to pick up where I left off. Hopefully we can reach 30 pictures before the baby arrives. Hang in there with me, I have the motivation, just not as much energy as I would like. Not that I'm complaining, I do love having an excuse to take naps and sleep in :o)

Love to all. Liz

I owe you

She really loves her baby, no matter what she tells you.

He had no idea I had stuck (using static) this balloon to his head.

I know, I owe three photos as of today. I hope to get one up there, though I'm preparing for a trip today and may not get around to it. No these darling photos don't count because I took them the same time I took Day 7's photo.

The weather is so crappy here. My dear husband spent (and I'm not kidding or exaggerating here) 4 hours and 14 minutes in the car last night trying to get home. If any of you have visited or lived in Annapolis, you know that the town is surrounded by bridges, all of which were CLOSED! last night due to icing. Not to mention that there were accidents on every road into and out of Washington D.C. Maryland and Virginia. It's cold and wet, frozen and messy. I can't wait to get to California.

Day :: 7

I heart my dog.

My Funny Valentine

He just loves to be messy. Austin had just woken up from him nap and wasn't in the best of moods. I tried a cupcake to cheer him up, which did the trick until I put the camera in his face... I get this look a lot and it's often followed by him telling me, "No more mom, all done, too bad!" Which translated means, "Please just cut it out already, I've had enough. Get that thing out of my face." Our poor children, I wonder if they'll ever appreciate all these pictures. I like to think they will.

Hope you're all well. Thanks for checking in on us. Lots of love, Liz

Day :: 6

Trader Joe's Vanilla Bean cup cakes topped with
sweetened crème fraîche and sprinkled with love.

Too few

There will never be too many moments like this. Chris and I were finished eating dinner and typically end up sitting at the table talking until the A-man has finished his plate. He's been a bit of a picky eater these days, putting up a fight when we feed him anythign other than chicken nuggets and pizza, and this night was no exception. Until Chris and I were done and our plates had been cleared, he surprised us and actually began eating the quesadillas I had made for him, dip, dipping them in the salsa and guac left behind from Chris and I.

Of course Chris and I never give Austin's little miraculous acts like this any attention only because we fear he may stop at once with any sort of acknowledgment. So we continue on our adult conversation paying him no mind, when he decides mid-meal, that he wants to cuddle on daddy's lap and climbed on over from his seat to Chris'. I couldn't grab my camera fast enough. It's just a little moment, but one that I know if you were a fly on the wall in our home you would have thought it was pretty darn cool too. I can't even tell you how fortunate we feel just knowing there will be twice as many moments as these in just 3 short months. So fortunate, so grateful, so blessed.

Day :: 5

Out for a spin

Such a sluff

I know, as of today I owe 3 days of photos. I have the pictures, just haven't had the time to post them. Will do today, at some point. We have Austin's 'big boy' room all set up though. I guess that's what's been keeping me so busy. It looks fantastic, I'll share pictures soon. He's so loving it too. I was trying to put him to bed last night and just as I thought he was sound asleep, no movement, no noises, just deep breathing, he'd ask me a pretty darn cute question, so i certainly couldn't get mad at him, I was just so proud that he wasn't more freaked out by the bed.

We bought him this turtle as a gift for transitioning into his bog boy room, actually I think it was more intended as bate to lure him into totally loving the new space we made for him.... regardless it worked out great. He adores his new constellation casting friend and has named him Happy.

Okay enough posting for now. Keep an eye out for the pics :o)

xo Liz xo

because he's cute...

...and because he just loves "Big giant carrots" more than baby carrots. what a stinker.

Day :: 4

In my free time...

Day :: 3

I was a total slacker yesterday and didn't post my pic of the day. Worry not, you'll get a double dose today. I went to bed at 8:30 with a book and a nice warm cup of tea, a real miracle considering I am typically up until at least 1am every night working on my business stuff. I did start a new book last night, not sure how I feel about it yet though, Friday Night Knitting Club. I know one thing, it makes me want to knit...

Day :: 2

Now that's one use for a classroom chair.

I should really start doing sit-ups

No that's not a basketball

So after sending out the notice of my personal assignment, I received several requests for photos of me. Here they are friends. Not all that great, I had been working all morning on the computer. I really need to work on the self portrait thing. In my own defense though, I had everything set up to take a few pictures hoping to not have to shoot into the mirror and between the dog and the Austin, my camera was knocked over twice (coming within inches of the fireplace hearth = scary for Liz) and the backdrop was pulled down 3 times so I gave up and headed into the bathroom to grab a shot of myself in the mirror.

This belly is big, well actually it's huge... the scariest part for me is that this little sweetie has more than three months of growing left and quite a few pounds to gain...
I can't wait to see just how big it does get :o)

30 Days of Pictures - Day 1::30

Hello everyone! I am attempting to do a photo every day for the next 30 days and I am trying to experiment a little with my style. At the end of the thirty days I would like to continue posting a picture a day (or more) however I will not overextend commitments, lord knows I've already done that with my New Year's Resolutions :o)

So here's day one, craft time with Aussie-boy. He loves to draw and even better he loves it when we draw for him, little turkey.

count with me now!

Yes, we are counting. We are counting on two (1,2) very important things right now.

First of all we are counting the number of times Austin goes to the bathroom on the potty. Last night he made a #1 on the potty for the very first time. It didn't actually go into the potty, but he was sitting on the potty when he made it and that's what counts most! Then this morning he wore his big boy underware (which are actually so tiny and so adorable on him ;o) and went #1 again 3 times (count 1,2,3!). He's so awesome. i can't tell you how much of a battle this has been for us. before last night he was petrified to even sit on the toilette. I think his girlfriend Miss Ava had something to do with it though. After seeing her last night and hearing how big she is with no more diapers, he probably figured he could do it too.

I hope to be able to return the box of diapers I bought at Sam's Club yesterday. I know this probably isn't all that thrilling for those of you who do not have kids or those of you who do bit haven't had to touch on potty-training yet... sorry for the potty talk! But I'm just so darn proud of my little man.

The second thing we are now counting on, actually counting down, is the arrival of our little girl! Today marks 100 days until her due date. It's gone so fast as I only have 3 months and 8 days until she's due. Wish me luck on the final 100 days all. She's very active and absolutely loves it when her brother and daddy talk to her. Her nursery is slowly coming together. We've decided on a bird theme for her room, which will be painted a very soft green/blue (depending on the light in the room) with pink accents. The image in my mind is quite nice it just all has to come together now. We actually HIRED painters to paint the bedroom upstairs, which holy smokes is huge for us. We've always painted accept once when we were about to sell the house in Cheyenne. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you we've painted over 20 rooms together.

I have to run, actually to touch up some paint in our new powder room. Hope you're all well. I have a few pictures to post and will do so later, once they have downloaded.

A New Read

I just wanted to post on a few things I am reading right now. First off, for those who know me I think you'll be very proud to hear that I've finished a book and I'm actually almost through my second one of the year! I hope to read more than one a month this year, but would be happy with that.

I really enjoyed Eat, Pray, Love by, Elizabeth Gilbert. I did think that there were times where she explains things and she sounds crazy (and fully admits it) but didn't give enough information or back story on things for you to actually really feel her emotions. But for the most part it was a very good story and just one of those books that are so easy to read and follow and very entertaining and at the same time very informative on cultures and rituals... yes I really loved it.

The book I am reading right now is The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan. This book has consumed me in so many ways. It has brought me back to being daddy's little girl and has made me cry on more than a couple occasions. She tells her story, of how she as a mother of two, was diagnosed with breast cancer and just as she is recuperating from chemotherapy her father is diagnosed with cancer for the third time. She's stuck in the middle place, where she won't accept loosing her father as an option and steps up as a parent for her parent, but also is at a point in her life where she needs to be her mom and dad's little girl still because of the battle she's fighting with cancer. I do it no justice, really, it's fantastic and I urger you all to buy it and read it. Most of you will probably breeze through it in one night. I was lucky enough to meet Kelly at a special night out (one of my 'cultural' activities) book reading and signing of hers. One of my friends went to school with her and organized the whole get together. She read from the book and there wasn't a dry eye in the place.

The third read I have just discovered is my new favorite mommy's blog Soule Mama. She's a mom of three in Portland, ME and has a book being released in April on raising a creative family. I really just love her style of writing and her photography. I think I may copy her current project, 30 days of pictures.

Hopefully you look into these reads that have all in their own ways, brought a certain level of inspiration to me.

A New Post

So I've gotten a few requests for an update on this here blog. Most days I'm not quite sure what to write about. Today is one of those days. Austin has one heck of a cold so we've been camping out inside all day just praying he gets better soon so maybe I can sleep at night again. I stay up not because I have to, but because I worry about our little man. The cough he has right now sounds so ferocious you might think that there is a hungry lion living within my darling little boy. Every time he coughs I wince because I know it can't feel good, not with a sound like that. So I stay up not because he's coughing all night but because if he might start to cough I want to be sure I'm right there to comfort him and let him know it's okay.... so I'm tired, but that's not unusual.

The docs say I'm anemic with this pregnancy, mildly anemic, so I'm only allowed to speak mildly about it I guess. I'm only permitted to be slightly freezing while wearing several layers of clothing and take short naps because that's what mildly anemic individuals are supposed to do.. I guess. Not that I'm complaining, God knows I am thankful for not being entirely anemic, I can't imagine being any more freezing, tired or light headed on a day-to-day basis than I already am. Really, I am thankful for only being mildly anemic.

Austin has this new thing that he says and I'm really not quite sure where he gets it from, Chris cannot figure it out either. If there's something he doesn't want or just feels very strongly about something he now says in a very strong tone "Too bad!" Did they teach him this at school? Like rather than just using 'NO' our son now says "Too bad!" completely out of context. Is there a book they read him that had every other line is "too bad!"? I just hope he's not trying to say stupid, which is not a word used in our home. Dumb is the preferred word when referring to something not so smart or not really to our liking... Not too sure about this all folks... if any of you know clue me in. I know he likes saying it because it's every other sentence out of his mouth and I hate to correct him because really he does sound so sweet and it's so much better that the "na" and "no" we had been receiving from him.

So I was thinking about my New Year's resolutions and was wondering if I've actually stuck to any of them. Here's an update for you all, I think I'm doing alright.

1. Become more culturally active in my communities (i.e. Annapolis, D.C. and Baltimore)
Week one I took Austin into D.C. to the National Natural history museum.
Week two I was away in Maine so didn't really stick to it that week
Last week I went to a book reading/signing for The Middle Place with some girlfriends downtown here in Annapolis
This week I intend to see the Ansel Adams exhibit at the Corcoran gallery


2. Become more active physically
Ummmm... yeah no. I've only been on a few walks since the New Year. I was supposed to go to the gym we're joining today to get all signed up but with Austin being sick I canceled the appointment. I will get to this.

3. Read more books (and finish them), watch less TV
Okay so I've completely stuck to this one and really enjoying my evenings so much more now. I'm just such a slow reader, I now have a stack of books to get to... I'm hoping to finish this one book before February rolls around.

4. Get my business fully functioning before little Miss arrives
Doing very well with this although the process only seems to get longer. I should have my site ready to go live in a week, will have a big announcement once that happens.

5. Live greener - walk a little lighter on this earth
yes, taking care of this one as best I can right now. It just made me sad that it costs so much to really be as responsible as you can be. I think because Chris and I want this badly enough for our family, it will happen, it's just going to take some time and financial readjustments... sad that it comes down to $

6. Spend less money - have less stuff
Yes spending less money and still in the process of having less stuff. Dropped off 2 bags of old jackets to Goodwill yesterday. May the purge continue.

7. Get organized
As I said, let the purge continue

8. Print, Frame and Hang
Maybe next week?

9. Less junk food, more fresh food, no fast food
Okay, so here's one that I've done very well with. I still have a sweet tooth for a little candy here or there, but hey, I'm pregnant what can I say? More fresh food yes, enjoying lots more fruit, salads and only had fast food when we were traveling up to Maine, a very long drive with very few alternatives to fast food.

10. Write more letters
Yes! Have written many relatives I don't have the chance to speak with on the phone very often. I even mailed some pictures to a few of them.

Alright, so Austin is now not keeping anything down, but his fever dropped from 103.1 to 100 degrees, so maybe he just had to hurl the sick out of him. Well wish me luck tonight and wish my little boy well. He wants so bad to play with his friends and go to school. Poor little guy.

Hope you're all doing well and get a wonderful night's sleep tonight... do it for me.