Miss Future Bookworm

Reading Rainbow! Scholastic! Kids Books rule!

I am so delighted to rediscover so many wonderful books of my childhood, and after reading Madeline every night for the past week, I am ravenous to read new-to-me books with Miss Cassidy Sue.

Since Madeline won a Caldecott Medal in 1940, that is where I am beginning my search. Bemelmans's words connect in such an effortless lyrical quality, something that is not easy to achieve.

While I am all for letting Cassidy discover her own passions, it's apparent to me that children emulate their parents, not only out of love, but also due to an increased exposure to certain activities. For example, I apparently am in love with commas. My English teachers were always fussing with me to simplify and reduce sentence length!

I've struggled with reading to Baby Girl up until now, but it is becoming a huge part of our bedtime routine. She really is a fantastic sleeper. Life is so intense in the first few months, it's impossible to not worry about EVERYTHING... I've just got one of those babies that don't sleep longer than 3 hours... but the nighttime snuggles are pretty worth it!

We've already begun swim lessons...

Today we are headed to lesson #2. I'm going to have Travis handle her, I felt so nervous! I'm sure she felt that energy. This week I can smile and sing to her... probably no videos if we are in the water, but there will be many, many more.

Here are the Insta-Glamour Shots for baby Cassidy this month!

We are so in love...

3 MONTHS! Dear Baby

Oh my little wonder baby.

You are 25 inches long. (That's over 2 feet!)
You are 16 pounds.
Your head is 15 inches around.
Measuring in the 95th percentile of babies, you are ahead of the game! Daddy says it's because he cooks us mega-breakfast every morning. Mmmm bacon...
Wearing 6 month clothes!

Your daddy can make you grin like the whole world has shut down and nothing exists but his silly face, singing and dancing with you.

Sleep is touch and go, but you love to get a lot of it! Just sometimes in 1 hour increments, and that makes a very tired mommy. But somehow, thanks to the rhythms of the day and the special chemical high you give me, its all ok. We recently moved the mega space-pod swing into the bedroom, and last night you went down at 7:30pm... up at 11pm... 1am... 4am.. 7am. Believe me, that is fantastic for us! Naps are a definite need, sometimes in one big 3 hour spurt, and other times in smaller chunks. We just go with the flow!

Bathtime is the BEST. We can't wait to get you in some infant swim classes. You love the water, kicking your legs and floating around. You used to cry when bathtime was over, but now you know it's oil massage time afterwards, and we listed to lullabies and sing together before bed.

A couple days ago you let me read to you for nearly 5 minutes straight! What a great attention span my love!

Tummy time is not your favorite. But we hangout on the floor everyday, practicing kicks, side rolls, hand eating and grunting noises.

We are getting over a little cold this week, Mama got sick last weekend, and now you are fighting the sniffles but it's so very minor.

Speaking of songs... you LOVE to sing! Whenever mama sings a song I'm rewarded with a HUGE grin and if I'm lucky some sweet coos.

We are so ready for some mega adventures with you! Mama is trying to convince Dada that a snow-shoe hike would be awesome! We'll bundle you up and hit the trails. With Daddy carrying you we can go for miles & miles.

Girl, we can tell you are going to be a handful. Fortunately we have four big hands to help you on your way to becoming a truly bright star in our lives. You have no fear of strangers (yet?) and are so interested in the world around you. Getting to know you has been the adventure of my life, and we have so much time ahead of us!

Vancouver Explorations

delicious baguette from finch's tea & coffeehouse

my fantastic tour guide!

nood

i love lamp.

boneta from the street

Beauty and Love

After an amazing week of family, friends and deep emotional time, I am quite out of things to say. Of course I can't seem to hold onto my camera these days, so there are no pictures of mine. But thanks to facebook, I can share some here.

My sister, me, Sarah, Julie, Curran & Elizabeth. What lovely ladies!

Dancing with Grandmama at the Bridal Luncheon!

The beautiful bride Sarah, with her twin sister Julie, our cousin Elizabeth, and mother of the bride, my Aunt Kathleen.

Feminism

After reading the Yarn Harlot's post a couple days ago, her assertion has been strongly in mind:

"I am a feminist.  I can say that unequivocally, because I know the definition. Feminism is defined, in every dictionary you will look in, as something like "the  belief in the political, social and economic equality of the sexes." (It is worth noting that the word is equality. Not sameness, since the sexes are not the same, nor superiority, since that's not true either. Nor does it even define the gender of the person who would believe in this equality.)  Since we do not yet have any of those things, I'm still a feminist, and I feel like were I to say I was not, I would be saying that I don't believe in equality, which I do. Firmly. " -- yarnharlot blog

Hearing about cultures across the globe that demand women act/dress/behave within strict guidelines only increases my gratitude for being born into a society that enables freedom of expression. Gratitude for being born into a family of strong, silly women that use artistic outlets to express who they are, and how they see the world.

Spring is on its way! The crocus, daffodils, cherry blossoms... Oh, I live in a beautiful part of the country.

love rose love flower

Happy birthday baby sister! 25 years, making me feel old!

the life of the party

I hope I end up just like her :)

1. Mom & Sister

2. Mom & Me & Dad

3. Mom the Ceramist

28 years young

The peony my mom sent me for my birthday last year is growing fast this spring, but sure isn't going to have any blooms like this one in time for my bday!



This year I requested some home video DVDs from Dad. Ever the techie man in the family, always fixing grandma's VCR, he hauled around the massive video camera for family beach trips, holidays, birthdays, and regular ol' backyard shenanigans. Watching old home videos is one of my sister's and my favorite things to do when we all get together over the holidays.

 Dad's Pentax was a beaut... I love the rounded edges from the photographs, and the vintage colors. There is something lacking with the digital life of our photos... I suppose with technology such as iPads and iPhones making photos available at all times, digital photos are more accessible these days. But something about received a fat package of printed memories is so unique.

Oh and did you know I love skirts? Yup. Still do.

Now where did I put that awesome straw hat?

The Scenic Route

Travis and I headed up to Vancouver, BC this weekend for his niece Fiona's 1st birthday! We drove up the Olympic Peninsula and drank in the mountain views, verdant meadows, and made sure to pee outside as much as possible. Gas station bathrooms are so grody! When you commit to finding perfect hidden spots among the trees, think of all the fresh air and good stretching you can get! Travis and I marvelled at our amazing idea. I'm sure I am grossing out many of you, but we had a blast. Best adventure buddies ever.



Travis's binoculars have become one of our favorite accessories... We were able to see the elk grazing, napping and showing off thier huge white bums. What sweet, deliberate animals. All the male elk seemed to run off and hide when we showed up. I saw a couple fuzzy antlers at first but then couldn't find them again! Maybe some kind of territory thing. The ladies just plopped down and said "this is our spot, suckas. just try and come over here. see what happens." We declined the challenge.

When we finally arrived in Vancouver, it was party time!

Gramma's balloon was the best present all day!

Big sister love

Carson and Uncle Travis play ball... such stylish dudes!

Such a ham! 

Look at all those teefs!

explosions of color

Tomorrow morning I depart for Dallas to hug my momma, then road trip down to Austin with my Dad for a darling wedding with all my besties. A whirlwind weekend of too much fun to be sure.

I leave Portland when the city is exploding with color! As I rode downtown (for the final day of jury duty... whew!) birds were giddy with excitement, almost drunk with spring. Flitting in and out of trees, they would bounce on a wire for a split second before zooming off after some cute chickadee. I can't wait to see what else is in bloom when I get back!

Have a fantastic weekend!