{pretty, happy, funny, real}

** Capturing the contentment in everyday life**

Every Thursday at Like Mother, Like Daughter.

No words today (no time, haha), but wanted to share our little piece of contentment:

{pretty}

Fall is just... wonderful. 

{happy}

A boy and his bucket swing.

{funny}

A penguin for Halloween...if we can get him to keep the hat on. 

{real}.... ly love this 1 year old so much.

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

*Capturing the contentment in everyday life*

Hosted by: Like Mother, Like Daughter

{pretty}

Fall has fallen!  Out on a walk with little guy, I found myself picking up leaf after beautiful leaf.  Just another thing to love about this time of year. 

{happy}

Stephen is always a happy boy when we have something involving tomato sauce for dinner.   Clean-up?  Perhaps not so happy.... but it is still a joy to watch him relish his dinner so much.

{funny}

In my previous post about Stephen's birthday party, I forgot to include a picture of one of his "gifts" from some good friends.  (Those of you who know us know who these two are.)   What made it even funnier is that Stephen had cut a new tooth, literally, that very morning.  Disclaimer:  We did not use the "Tooth Reliever" quite as directed.  ;)

{real}

Again, my 'real' turns out to be a choir song.  Just yesterday we started rehearsing Faure's Requiem in preparation for the All Saint's Day Liturgy.  Every year I am reminded of how much I love this piece.  Listen to the "Sanctus" movement.  I truly think that, upstairs in heaven, the angel choir director managed to get his hands on this piece and now the heavenly hosts use this particular Sanctus to praise God.  Maybe.  In any case, if you give it a listen, PLEASE don't stop until you hear the unbelievable transformation that happens after minute 2:30.   Enjoy. 

A Birthday Bash

Yesterday was the coldest, dreariest day of the year thus far.   A chill air,  numbing rain, and grey skies dominated from morning to nightfall.

Not so in our household.  :)

What a blessed, warm, happy day we had... full of loving friends and family, delicious fall food (complete with mulled cider), laughter and kids running amok, and a very happy birthday boy.

Today my heart is overwhelmed with gratitude for all that we have--both in the blessing of our dear son, and in the blessing of our life here.  I am so, so very content.

In the busy-ness of providing for 30+ people, we really didn't take too many pictures.  But here are a few:

My mother's heart had been looking forward the entire year to giving Stephen a piece of birthday cake to smash.  He certainly did it justice--ate most of an enormous piece, and then proceeded to walk around the house with his little walker for the next couple of hours with impressive amounts of sugar energy.   Followed by a really bad night's sleep.  Oh well.  :)

A Happy 1st Birthday to you, my sweet boy.
Love, your Mommy.

Boy in a Basket

I think that the caption says it all.   :)

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

** ~ Capturing the contentment in everyday life ~ **

LOVE this concept from Like Mother, Like Daughter, and I think I'm going to try it out for a few weeks.

{pretty}

I am not a gardener by nature, but I do appreciate lovely plants when I see them.  This Monday, I got it in my head that I wanted to have mums in our front yard.  Over the summer, I planted a few marigolds by the front walk.  They brought me so much pleasure in the summer months that I wanted the same burst of color for fall.  I marched into Home Depot with my stroller and diaper bag and asked a poor, random worker to help me with mulch and plants and shifting hiking backpacks around in my trunk to make room.  Poor guy. It all was worth it though, and I now look out our front door many times a day to see my cheerful, yellow flowers.

{happy}

The simple joys.  

{funny}

While I do think the part where Stephen falls over is funny, my husband's commentary at the end really gets me.  "Don't look!  It's a bloodbath!"

{real}

My choir is singing Palestrina's "Super Flumina Babylonis" this Sunday for Mass.  Some pieces send chills down my back as we sing them in church--somehow the composer manages to capture the mystery and beauty of the Real Presence.    If you are not familiar with Palestrina's haunting, drifting harmonics, please listen.  This is as real as music gets.

11 Months

It's hard to believe that my little man is 11 months old today!  

I am surprised by how nostalgic I feel right now.  I kind of expected be like this when Stephen turned 1 year old.  You know, I'd remember what I was doing and how I felt a year ago and such.... and I'm sure I will.  It just feels like Stephen's development has exploded over the past month, and it's getting very easy to see the toddler coming out in him.   I mean, the other day, he took some steps.  STEPS.  I think walking is still a ways off, but he TRIED IT.  

He looks at me with this hysterical, bored expression when I try to feed him purees.  He's pretty much saying to me "C'mon, Mom, what do you think I am... 6 months old? Give me some finger foods!" 

He's even....dare I say it... getting some hair!  Not much, but it's getting longer, and it's still that beautiful golden color that is such a delightful surprise to me.  I never expected, with Steve as his daddy, to have a blondie boy... but here he is. 

I'm having lots of fun thinking about and planning his first birthday party over Columbus Day weekend.  We're making it sort of "fall-themed," since the food and decorations are so yummy and pretty.  Plus, he's our "pumpkin boy," which is what Steve and I called him when we knew that we were having an October baby.   So I think I'll make some sort of pumpkin cake.  Anyways.  It's been fun to plan and I am really looking forward to it. 

So Happy Eleven Months, my sweet little boy.  I have treasured your baby year so very much, and I am so proud of the friendly and happy soul that you are.  You are a dear blessing to all who know you... your middle name, Stephen Benedict, is incredibly prophetic. 

The Annual Picking of the Apples

It's such a shame to wake a sleeping baby, even if you are in the middle of an apple orchard.  :)  Steve and I hung around outside the car for awhile, until our excitement for apples got the better of us.

Stephen, for the first time, actually LIKED the backpack carrier.  He seems to finally fit into it well, and he babbled away as Steve walked him into the orchard. 

This has to be one of my all-time favorite pictures of Stephen.  Sometimes he takes a picture where I think to myself, "Where on earth has my little baby gone?  And who is this boy?"  His unadulterated excitement about everything--apples included-- is so much fun to watch.  

"Whoa!  An APPLE!"

After he picked his apple, Stephen was very pleased with himself.  He was content to hold the apple, turn it, lick it, bite it, poke it, and inspect every inch of it while Steve and I filled up our bushel with Braeburns and Honeycrisps.

We packed a picnic, and found a tiny shady spot by the pond to spread out and enjoy lunch.  It was one of those moments where you catch yourself and realize how idyllic and precious the moment is.   I am so grateful to God for a year of moments like this: 

                                                                           And this:

                                                                         And this.

 :) ~ CEM.

A Comedy of Errors

Throwback to my college philosophy class and logic proofs.

A.  Our darling boy does not sleep well when teething.
B.  Two new teeth are coming through. 
THEREFORE:
C. Mom and Dad are walking around in a haze of sleeplessness. 

I think it works like that, from what I remember. 

Last night, Stephen got up at 9:00, 11:00, 1:00, and 4:30.   Visions of Stephen's newborn days were floating in front of my tired eyes.  We gave him a dose of Tylenol at 1:00 am, and Stephen promptly gagged, spat it all over himself, and drooled it all over dad's shirt.  

My poor husband.   I speak for all parents, when I assert that some nights are harder than others.  There's no rhyme or reason to it: some nights you wake up and are able to function decently well, and other nights every muscle in your body screams "UMM, EXCUSE ME? WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING?" 
This night just so happened to be one of those nights.

So my wonderful life partner, soul mate, and bestest friend gets.... a tiny bit ticked off.  He sighs, takes Stephen's dirty diaper that we just changed, and goes to throw it in the diaper pail.  Except that he throws it... just a bit too hard. 

I hear a bang.  There's a momentary pause, and then I see Steve stomp down the stairs, muttering incoherently, and come back with a broom.   I poke my head into the nursery to see what's going on, and there is layer of what looks like freshly fallen snow over everything.  Apparently, when diapers are thrown with force they explode into drifts and piles of white dust that smell like pee.  Who knew?

For the good of all involved, I stayed in the other room with Stephen, trying to get him sleepy again.  However, all the action has him really excited--he keeps craning to look out of the room. I think that in his opinion, this night was shaping up to be quite the stellar experience.  

Steve finishes his clean-up, and doesn't want to walk all the way back down to the basement to put the broom away.... so he tosses it down the stairs.  Unfortunately, his finger is in the way, and the wire gashes a cut into his skin.   Cue stomping into the bathroom and lots of faucet noises.  Stephen's night just got more interesting. 

After some time, the baby is settled, and Steve comes back to bed.  There has been no conversation AT ALL between us.... again, some things are best left until morning.  I turn the light off, roll over, and there is a momentary pause.  

Almost at the same moment, he and I look at each other and burst into side-splitting laughter.   

CONCLUSION: Never, ever a dull moment with a baby. 

Out to the Farm!

This past weekend, Steve and I were blessed with an amazing getaway to the Virginian countryside.  Our dear friends (and Stephen's godparents, Liz and George) met us at their parent's beautiful farm which they've converted to a bed and breakfast.  We were spoiled with good food and great company.

Here's the back of their farmhouse.... we stayed in the upstairs suite connected to the screened in porch. What a beautiful view.... perfect for games of Carcassan.  Little George loved throwing his various toys  through the railings and onto the deck below. 

On Saturday afternoon, we went wine-tasting, and brought the fruits (har, har) of our labor out to a picnic.  The men went off to explore the land while Liz and I watched the babies--who were incredibly excited about being outside.  A quick-moving rain shower brought us scrambling indoors!

We hiked out to the pond on the property, and Stephen got his first shot at the hiking backpack.  It was.... hmm.... mildly successful.  I ended up carrying him back.  Steve was a tad crestfallen. 

Our beautiful godson.... look at this smile!

Godbrother playtime!  Stephen LOVED all the new toys, and I've got my eye out for some of the toys he particularly loved. 

Liz and I decided to give the boys a dual bath. (Otherwise known as blackmail photos for when they are teens.)  Stephen was VERY excited to have someone else in the bath, and set the house ringing with his shrieks.  Little George was highly skeptical of this arrangement.  Toward the end, he stood up, backed away from Stephen, pointed at him, and told him angrily in baby-talk exactly how he felt.  It was priceless. :)

Again, it was a true gift of a weekend, and we'll miss our friends dearly as they venture to Rome for a semester abroad.  We are looking forward to hearing all their adventures as they "Rome about!"  

I'm the Serious Type.....

I had one of those "Living Social" deals that I bought for a discounted photo shoot.  I thought it would be nice to have those typical "studio" baby shots of Stephen.  On the ride to the studio, he was such a happy camper in his carseat--I could hear him happily chirping his mama's, baba's, dada's, and the new favorite: nananana.   Awesome, I thought.  He'll be in such a great mood, and I'll get lots of cute photos.  


Alas, as soon as I plunked him down in front of the screen,  Mr. Serious showed up.  Nothing the lady said or did could get him to crack a smile.  I weighed in, squeaking his giraffe like a crazy lady and making all sorts of ridiculous sounds.  Nothing.   So here's what we got:

He's still so cute.  Love my kiddo with a mind of his own.  :)

8 Months!

Wanted to share some new photos, made crisp and oh-so-clear courtesy of my parents.  They gave us an amazing, schnazzy new camera for our anniversary (Thanks, Mom and Dad!) so now we are able to take pics of our son and not have a conniption because they are blurry.  ( Take a guess who was guilty of the photo conniptions.... haha love you Steve)

Here is my (almost) 8 month cutie pie.   I'm in love with that sweet face.... 

.... and that smile....

.... and those gorgeous eyes!   Still haven't figured out what color they are.

Chillin' with Grandma, Aunt Shan, and Uncle Pete. 

This has to be my favorite family photo.  There's just so much personality-- the two guys have the same smile!

At Tam's wedding.  Stephen loves a good spoon.  This was before he spilled fish soup all over Daddy's suit.

Hey!  Hi!

I don't know what it is, but Stephen is obsessed with beer bottle tops.  Makes us look like TERRIBLE parents, but hey, it keeps him occupied for like, 20 minutes.  We'll take it.  (Caveat--no beer actually goes into the baby. :)  )

Dumbarton Oaks

This past weekend we went with some good friends to a truly beautiful place called Dumbarton Oaks in Georgetown, DC. 

While the estate was gorgeous, it was not at all stroller friendly, so we ended up carting Mr. Stephen around in our arms the entire time.   He enjoyed all the attention... and so did Dad, apparently.   :) 

While not usually a fan of modern art, I thought this exibit was really neat.  The netting was strung with hundreds of sun-catching crystals.  I would have loved to see it on a sunny day. 

They smelled so good!

Dad and Stephen in a random twisty bunch of vines.   Stephen is highly skeptical of this arrangement.  

SO blessed by good friends and a relaxing weekend!