Quick day trip to the Sierra Buttes with my folks last week, where we explored Salmon Lake, picnicked at Lower Sardine and hiked to Upper Sardine. We packed a lunch of homemade sourdough, cheese, avocado, veggies, hummus, apricots, and potato chips. The girl had a blast, and it was fun showing my mom and dad a part of California they had never seen.
Read MoreYou woke around 4:30, just before first light, the stars shining in our eyes without the rain shell. You were too excited to go back to sleep—how cool to wake up in a tent with mom and dad and a bed for a floor and all of our things within reach!— so I strapped you to my back and we went for a walk in our pjs. It was still and calm and we had the world to ourselves. Just the birds in their trees, the light moving over water, your wide eyes. So pretty that I took mental notes and went back for the camera and we retraced our steps (or my steps, rather). After all, we had hours before anyone else would be awake.
Read MoreLast week was hot enough to fill up the steel tub for this water baby, and the joy was palpable. Jeffery has worked tirelessly growing our garden from seed, prepping the soil, laying drip, and almost everything is in, so I wanted to be sure to document it while the babies are still small. Everyone looks forward to evenings in the garden together—kitties included! We're going to be doing a lot more of this all summer long.
Read MoreEight months old!
Read MoreYesterday evening while daddy planted the vegetables, we sat in the shade of a cedar tree and observed our little backyard world—puffy white clouds against a blue blue sky; bees navigating the bristly petals of the bottlebrush; some flowers dropping petals, others on the edge of bloom; kitties coming and going—and as long as you had something to chew on, you were perfectly content in my lap for hours.
Read MoreFeeling pretty grateful for this life we’ve built together. This is only the beginning.
Read MoreGlorious, glorious child. What I didn't realize a couple months ago when I was feeling sad about time moving so fast, was that even though each stage comes to an end, it is replaced by something even more spectacular.
Read MoreThis post is all about baby sleep, so move along if the topic bores you to tears. When I took this photo on Sunday afternoon, I had no idea it would be the last time I would nurse her to sleep in our bed, but that night I decided to stop cold turkey.
Read MoreOn a rainy day last week, Ella and I were cuddling in bed after her nap and she was playing with my hands. Her dimpled, tiny, six-month-old hands against my almost 30-year-old hands. It got me thinking about the passage of time and the enormous growth that takes place over a decade.
In our first ten years we go from a tiny helpless babe to a freethinking, active, wiry, curious, fifth grader. We learn to smile. We learn to speak and to read, we learn the names for all things. We learn how to order off a menu, how to throw a ball, how to apologize. We learn about friendship and family. We learn about home and about the world. We learn to play and to laugh, to negotiate, to bake cookies, and to use our imaginations.
Read MoreHappy half birthday, sunshine girl.
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