six months, again!

it is with a luke warm cup of coffee at hand and a baby, who keeps playing bongos with the keyboard, on my lap that i sit here again, staring at blank screen and the occasional luhjklhjb that needs deleting. this is my third fourth draft. i'm rusty. as akward as it feels though, it's good be back. between a new baby, a move, and a new house, i had all but abandoned this space. 

we were all piled up in bed together this morning; maebell and i were nursing while andy lay next to us and august was at the helm captaining our bed/boat through treacherous crocodile-infested waters. the skies were overcast, but the spring birds happily sang outside the window anyway. it was such a simple, maybe even mundane moment, but i've been holding on to it all day. i took a mental picture, then i took actual pictures, and now here i am writing about it, which makes me wonder why i even feel compelled to share it. or share any moment, especially the intimate ones such as this. 

it's been bothering me for a little while now though: for all the stories we have of august, maebelle has precious few. with six months already gone, it's become more pressing that i capture what's left of her fleeting babyhood. and so, i find myself here again. i don't know what this space will hold; how often i will write or what i will share. my intentions don't go much further than wanting a place to document this season. so i guess this is for maebelle. 

on slowing down

 

sometime around thanksgiving it hit me just how fast time has gone since maebelle's birth and i got in a cold sweat about it. i should know well enough by now about the fleeting nature of babyhood with how quickly august has grown up, but it's catching me by surprise all over again. it's a fitting time of year for these sort of emotions, i suppose, because nothing captures that ephemeral feeling better than the holidays season. halloween comes and goes and then it's a mad dash to the new year. then just like that, it's gone. it all needs to slow down.

an advent calendar seems contradictory to slowing down - what with the counting down of days - but it actually has encouraged the mindful passing of time. inspired by dozens of other sites and posts, i came up with a list of activities to help string out the month. yesterday we made edible gifts for the birds; a simple project i remember making as a kid myself. the best thing about it was that it didn't require a run to the store, as we found all the supplies we needed in and around our home. we started off by hunting for pinecones in the yard, then brought them indoors to the table where we assembled our gifts with peanut butter and bird feed. and when we hung them up on the trees outside, august wished the birds a "merry christmas tree" and i can't think of a truer sentiment. "merry christmas tree" to all!

It's a girl!

maebelle anne 

born 09.25.15 @ 12:20 am

she was born swiftly and auspiciously still in her sac, or in the caul. folklore says that "caul bearers" are born with a gift; they are said to be seers, messengers, and healers. they possess a sensitivity and ability to understand people and the world on innate level. the legend is fascinating and i'm curious to discover whether or not these traits will emerge in our sweet little girl, but "gifted" or not, she's a gift to us and we are beyond the moon.