I can't quite believe it, but it has been 8 weeks since I have written anything here, and really the only way to start after so much time away is with the very serious fact (in case there is anyone reading this who doesn't already know) that I have spent the last 7 of those weeks staring at this:
So you see, how on Earth can I do anything else when I have that to stare at, and snuggle with, and dance to sleep between the fan in the kitchen and the (blaring) motown Pandora station?
Annie was born on January 24th and I haven't stopped smiling since. Well, I will be honest, there are some times, late at night or early in the morning (or mid-afternoon when a nap would really hit the spot), when the smile isn't quite so big, but I know every second how lucky I am and how much my life is filled with love, even more than it was before. Kyle took six weeks off! And believe me, we both know how unbelievably lucky that was for all of us. I really could go off on an enormous, "in Europe..." rant about paternity leave, but really, preaching to the choir here on that one, I am pretty sure. So I will just leave it at how lucky we are, here, for him to have been able to take that much time off, and how lucky I am to have such an amazing and supportive husband, and how lucky Annie is to have such an amazing, loving, dancing fool of a dad.
Of those six weeks, two were spent here in San Diego with the incredible love, help and support of Nanny. Not entirely sure we would have made it through without her.
A few days we got to have Grampy here too!
And a weekend visit from Grandma and Poppy. And meeting lots of our San Diego friends. How lucky this little girl is to have so many people who love her already. Lots of cuddling and dancing were done, lots of laundry loads of diapers were done and LOTS of pictures were taken.
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| Cuddling with Dad and Lacey dog! |
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Duna cover I made out of amazing soft
and fluffy Nani Iro Double Gauze |
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Resting on her bean bag full body pillow knit and sewn
by Nanny - we are trying to put in requests for
two adult size ones! |
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Beautiful snuggly blanket and hat knit
by Nanny, standing in front
of her brand new curtains (sewn by Nanny too,
Mom couldn't quite pull it together to get
those done before she was born) |
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The first of what I'm sure will be many Fun Little Things
modeling sessions!
My little Valentine |
And many, many more! The paparazzi have nothing on this family!
But eventually, we were left on our own. Ahh! Just kidding, well, a little bit...
We did get to spend her three week birthday playing in the sunshine on Coronado dog beach. We learned how to eat dinner with her in the Ergo (that sun cover works wonders as a head protector from dripping food!) We took lots of dog walks. Danced to more motown. Hung out in the sunshine with the chickens (or hickeys, as they are known in some circles.) Walked to our favorite neighborhood restaurant for a little sunny Saturday afternoon happy hour (and to meet our much loved yoga teachers).
Did some yoga on Valentine's Day. She is clearly already a master of supta baddha konasana, maybe my favorite pose. Good job, baby cakes!
And decided that there was really no reason to sit around in our house by ourselves as long as Kyle was off work, so we should really just get in the car and drive up to Aptos for a week. And then a week turned into eight days, then nine, then ten, then we stopped lying to ourselves and stayed for two whole weeks!
She got to meet (and snuzzle and dance with and get loved on by) her Aunties, Uncle and Cousin Jack.
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Sharing binkies on the way to
the Monterey Bay Aquarium
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She also met lots more Aptos/ Santa Cruz friends, hiked in the woods, went to a few new beaches and did everything else fun Camp Fun is known for!
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| A little sunbath on the front porch. |
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5 week birthday spent on Pajaro Dunes beach,
playing with Nanny, Jack, Zeus, Lacey and
Mom and Dad |
Eventually, sadly, we did have to come back home to San Diego and spend a week figuring out how to do this on our own before Kyle had to go back to work. Again, there were dog beaches, lots of walks, dance parties, laundry loads, chicken watching, taking turns going on runs (Kyle going on runs, running is not so much a thing I do) and finally getting back to yoga. We have managed to get to farmer's markets, the grocery store and to cook and eat healthy meals. Annie has learned that her bouncy chair is lots of fun during Mom and Dad's dinner time. And we have, amazingly, gotten a pretty good sleep schedule going on.
And very importantly for my attempt to make this business real, I have learned how to embroider while feeding her, cut and pin sewing projects while standing with her in the ergo, blog while bouncing her in her chair (for short periods of time, I will be honest, it has taken me so long to write this post that she is now almost 8 weeks old!) but also how to relax about what needs to be done for the business. To know that what needs to be done will be done, but much more important is having fun with her, smiling at her beautiful little face, walking all around so she can see everything there is to see and start to learn what the world around her is about. She has gotten so much stronger and more alert in the last few weeks and I can not believe it, but she has already outgrown a whole pile of tiny outfits!
So, thank you, thank you, thank you everyone out there who has loved and supported us, and who continues to do that every day, lots more pictures and life adventures to come, and even some actually Fun Little Things sewing/embroidering/logo and sew-in tags related posts coming soon!
(Sneak Peak: Apparently you can not make your own logo using powerpoint, save it as a JPeg and expect a real, professional company to turn that into real, professional looking sew-in tags for your bibs, blankets and diaper bags, oh the things I am learning!)
