rainy day optimism

babies

2012-01-25T12:24:00.000-08:00

19 weeks 5 days, but i'm going to refer this as my 20 week picture. friday is the big gender reveal!

hollyhock seedlings coming in slowly. hurry up!

the lupine seedlings are looking bushy.

pansies, alyssums & nasturtiums.

what i found after i asked her to get her shoes because we were going to the grocery store. look at her little toes. she's going to raid my closet when she's in high school, i know it!

my morning sunny spot.

ooh blog....

2012-01-04T19:33:00.001-08:00

what should i do with you?

zzzzzzzzz

2011-11-19T16:52:00.001-08:00

2011-11-14T16:54:00.001-08:00

i've been happier reading than blogging lately. apologies. life's been moving though, my sister came to stay for a week, (which was wonderful!) audrey's baker costume was a hit on halloween and other developments.

enough of that, it's craft time! we're hosting thanksgiving again this year and i wanted to add some cheap decorations that i could leave up for christmas too. so i decided to make some festive flags!

step 1: i bought four patterns of 12x12 inch scrapbooking paper at .79 cents each (big spender!) and cut them in half lengthwise.

step 2: i then measured out 4" and 8" on the bottom side of one sheet and 2", 6" and 10" inches on the top. then i connected the dots, doing that on each sheet.

step 3: then the big task of cutting out all the flags!

step 4: hole punch the two top corners of each flag.

step 5: audrey woke up from her nap so i took a little break. so we ate some red pepper crackers and watched the neighbor fix his sprinkler across the street.

step 6: measure the width of where you want to hang your flags and add 5" inches to allow for a little droop. i added only 2" for the strings over the doorways for those unfortunate tall people that walk into my house.

step 7: string your flags and enjoy. :)

yes, i watered the poor plant on the top shelf after this photo was taken.

notice the fireplace as well :)

the part i like least about being a mother is....

2011-10-26T10:30:00.000-07:00

....lately i feel like the world's biggest bully. i avoid conflict by nature but it's getting harder these days.

"no jumping on the couch. if you don't stop you'll have to play by yourself on the floor. 1.... 2.... 3.... okay, sorry. no more couch!" (whining)

"joey! no barking! you bark again during audrey's nap and your voicebox is mine!" (sulking)

"audrey, get your hand out of your pants. no nakeds today. i said no babe (grabs hands) we don't do that." (whining)

"no, i already settled on making this for supper. i don't have time to make that." (sulking)

"we don't play with mama's stove, it's not a toy. no climbing. if you don't stop you'll have to leave the kitchen." (whining)

oh, goodness

2011-10-08T18:51:00.000-07:00

saw rocky votolato on wednesday with michael. still thinking about it :)

refreshed

2011-10-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

i love those rainy autumn days when time seems to grow heavy. those days when you continue to wear your pajamas a little later in the morning, put a little extra honey on your toast and buy the five dollar latte to prolong the feeling.

blanket for baby elijah

2011-10-05T12:06:00.000-07:00

our good friends (and audrey's Godparents) matt and teri just welcomed their first baby boy last week. many years to matt, teri, big sister madeline & new baby boy elijah!

i forgot to snap a photo of the reverse side, it's a white furry fabric i had leftover from another project. perfect for new baby snuggles :)

2011-10-04T13:36:00.000-07:00

tuesday breakfast

2011-09-27T16:08:00.000-07:00

sourdough bread with raspberry jam, blueberries and veggie sausage. coffee for me, chocolate milk for audrey.

no hummingbird, sorry. they move too fast.

chip in one of my favorite coffee mugs = :(

succulent cuttings i collected from my grandmother's garden while i was in oregon. so glad they're doing well.

most of the veggie garden is rotting in ye olde wheelbarrow cemetery.

i said most.

plundered!

reaching chic

2011-08-09T21:46:00.000-07:00

i stumbled on this website today. i do enjoy a good pair of tights :)

you wanna say that to mah face??

2011-07-28T17:13:00.001-07:00

audrey's aviary?

2011-07-27T12:33:00.000-07:00

i'm pretty obsessed with audrey's room lately. even before she was born i've been fiddling with accessories, moving furniture, "window" shopping online and yes, even fogging up joann's with my indecisive pacing. i've very nearly decided on what i want for her comforter on her big-girl bed.... big. fuzzy. oh yes, it's all up in my brainstems. gotta get in here to see the vision. i find i have to get an idea, tell everyone i know what i'm going to do and then back out and go with another idea in the end. i have half an idea to paint a giant tree on the wall in the corner with fabric leaves but let's not get too crazy here.

so instead, i decided to paint some mini birdhouses. i was in joann's, pacing foggly, and saw these wooden birdhouses for $1.00. boom! bam! i slapped my husband's hard earned money on the table and drove home with a plan. i bought some sheets from target a few months ago and wanted to carry that feeling elsewhere in the room.

golly, it was sure nice of audrey to take a longer nap today :)

target sheets. i'll add more photos of the room later.

jumpstart

2011-07-25T20:59:00.000-07:00

i was walking around joann's today with a foggy idea of a project to make. i kept walking through the same aisles again and again. touching fabrics. matching up colors and patterns in my mind. i still can't decide if i want to make throw pillows for the living room, a huge floor pillow for audrey (to someday sit and read on, but meantime jump on) or a comforter for her big-girl bed. i stumbled and was humbled by this crazy talent on etsy today. i love the texture she gives to these pillows. i don't have the talent or time to make anything like this, but the little poppy pillow looks feasible.

peaches are ripe....

2011-07-07T10:00:00.000-07:00

....some may have a few thumb holes.

new garden boots

2011-07-06T16:30:00.001-07:00

finally found some garden boots! they aren't wellingtons or hunters, but i'm quite happy with them. just in time too 'cause i'm in the mood for some serious yard work :)

changes pending

2011-05-19T07:45:00.001-07:00

i am rethinking my blog and where i want to take it. when i was pregnant i told myself i would never just only talk about my baby and motherhood. being audrey's mom is an enjoyable part of my life but so is being michael's wife, so is being a crocheter of baby blankets, a lover of sushi, an admirer of super cute shoes and other such silliness. i'm still jenny with jenny's likes and dislikes. as audrey begins to detach her identity from mine and find her own individuality, so again must i. hopefully my blog will show that.

in the garden, lately

2011-05-10T14:12:00.000-07:00

i never thought of corn plants as beautiful before, but they are quite striking.

my helper :)

cuss boom bang! that used to be a zucchini flower!

i hate YOU....

berry-licious

2011-05-03T08:49:00.000-07:00

these little strawberries are a sign of delicious things to come. these are my first successes after ages of battling ants and pill bugs for the right to consume freely. i planted some strawberries two seasons ago, (ants!) and this year i planted them in a pot and set it on a plant stand only to seemingly serve the pill bugs. i got a little tip online however about slicing grapefruit and setting them a few inches from the plant to appease the bugs and divert their attention.

good news, i have a grapefruit tree! woot woot!

surprise! turns out audrey's favorite berries are blackberries, so we decided to plant a bush in the backyard. now i get to fight the songbirds!

chalky chalk chalk

2011-04-27T07:23:00.001-07:00

audrey's latest craze is sidewalk chalk. once outside, she runs to her little chalk tub & walks around marking her lines across the cement in true stylish fashion. i admit this post is very lucy romero, but chalk is easy to clean up & i'm not quite ready for this yet.

i'm proud to admit that this doesn't happen very often. she's learning chalk doesn't taste very good and chalk biting is growing rarer.

yeah, not too good.

i love baby squats. a terribly efficient & adorable way of exploring & chalking. the pincher grasp is pretty irresistible too. she's basically irresistible all around.

bright eyes & lollipops

2011-04-15T21:47:00.000-07:00

my baby girl is one year old! first official piece of candy on her first birthday :)

rosemary

2011-04-05T17:38:00.000-07:00

pear paired with a walk

2011-03-30T18:51:00.001-07:00

off she goes!

mmmmm so good

need more pears!

my little music enthusiast

2011-03-18T09:17:00.000-07:00

helping mama

2011-03-10T07:18:00.000-08:00

i love watching audrey as she discovers a new world outside, choosing what to look at and where to go next. i can't wait to buy her a mini watering can and gardening tools to use in her own patch of ground. that may be a little while off though :)

sunflower seedlings!

hello little guys!

checking the future corn patch for weeds

an evening with audrey

2011-03-08T07:35:00.000-08:00

every night the hour before audrey goes to bed she gets really energized and clumbsy. i thought i'd document a portion of her adventures.

act one:

le ballet avec la poussette de bébé

act two:

paused

act three:

the monster from behind the stroller

act four:

foiled!

act five:

bedtime :)

beautiful jasmine

2011-03-07T08:12:00.000-08:00

i've been enjoying springtime so far :)

sleepy

2011-03-05T20:15:00.000-08:00

audrey slept a three hour stretch today, very unusual for this spunky 10 1/2 month old. grandma eubs calls them "grow days." :) tooth number seven is peaking out of it's pink slumber and and this excited mama is planning for a birthday barbeque in april.

playground

2011-02-23T07:15:00.000-08:00

*wave*

"i could go for a swing..."

"i don't want to leave!"

playroom

2011-02-21T15:47:00.000-08:00

i am loving this playroom and this blog

rainy day (& garden) boots

2011-02-07T11:33:00.000-08:00

i'm in the browsing market for some good boots. i love the idea of having something as outdoor use only. i raked leaves & watered flowers on saturday and my black flats had to dry on the porch all day. i could use flip flops but i'd rather keep my feets dry and then there's the whole risk of garden living bugs crawling on my toes. no thanks. i'd like some rubber boots. i love the low maintenance of hosing them off when you're done but no so much for the jadunk jadunk sound when you walk. so i'm looking for boots that aren't too clumsy, not too tall and minimal jadunking. please? thank you. veggie garden time is almost here! anyone happy with their rubber boots/garden shoes?

primary colors

2011-01-31T10:48:00.001-08:00

my kitchen

2011-01-26T10:39:00.000-08:00

i decided to redo my kitchen a month ago and i'm still getting ideas for it. i repainted the grassy green a calm cream color and am very happy with the change. (thanks lacey for the color!!!) i've begun a collection of nicknacks, that have so far cluttered up my countertops and sill, and soon plan on sweetening up my husband to build some shelves on the empty wall above the stove for display. husbands are such great tools for housewives to have :) maybe some apple cobbler will do the trick?

here's some of my clutter. the new paint color is to the left. i'm always on the look out for colorful pots for plants, fyi!

my sister got me these measuring cups last year and they became part of my inspiration for the kitchen.

i've also decided to start an herb garden. these are taking residence in a south facing window in the den, basil and sage respectively. i'd also like to get rosemary because lately i've been using it on everything!

meet allie

2011-01-24T14:43:00.001-08:00

this is audrey's new doll allie. i can't help but notice the resemblance to myself as i was five years ago: black hair and a camera. baby is asleep and what does mama do with her precious free time? hang out with allie, and blog it. oh and quilting, there's that too.

my little sunflower!

2011-01-18T10:49:00.001-08:00

"i love sunshine!"

"it brings out the highlights in my hair, which my mama is very jealous of"

"okay, enough of that. time for exploring!"

"i see grass!"

"ooh roughness..."

"grass!"

"... and holes"

"if all babies had grass..."

"...they'd all be as happy as me!"

"it's best when it's wet and clumpy"

"that makes it chewable"

"the end!"

happy new year!

2011-01-06T11:48:00.000-08:00

i apologize for no pictures, but our macbook had an untimely end with an 8 month old. we were able to save our files, thankfully, and we've been using michael's elderly powerbook from college since. we're shopping around for a desktop and are planning on setting up a simple desk in the den. we're hoping that will be more audrey-proof!

UPDATE: michael brought an extra mouse and keyboard from school and the macbook is working now! we call it our franken-computer or lil' frankie for short ;)

ben is #1!

2010-12-16T09:15:00.000-08:00

another day, another birthday! happy first birthday to my nephew benjamin!

little ben after his first haircut

my brother couldn't wait for his turn on the airplane :)

happy 28th birthday babe :)

2010-12-14T07:11:00.000-08:00

love you

what are you reading?

2010-12-09T08:09:00.000-08:00

i sometimes go on reading binges after a literary dry spell, i'm on my third book so far. i think it has something to do with the coziness of the season. i'd love to create a family reading nook, a nice cozy place to relax and maybe take a little nap. or i could make one for audrey with big pillows and quilts and make mama a separate one like this: (!!!)

walk in the park

2010-12-05T07:05:00.000-08:00

bubbly boy

2010-12-02T09:12:00.000-08:00

can't wait to see this little guy at christmas!!

a breath before the next plunge

2010-11-30T09:05:00.000-08:00

things have been busy these last few weeks. thanksgiving was shared at our house again this year, giving me a reason to clean the house from top to bottom. sometimes i really need good motivation like that to get some things cleaned and organized. i never could have done it without my mother-in-love though, best babysitter ever :)

audrey's been busy as well and is now the proud owner of a perfect pair of teeth. they came out at the same time and i'm so thankful they weren't too tough for her. mostly she was extra clingy & fussy, but nothing like the horror stories i've heard. its hard to believe she'll be eight months in less than two weeks!

i'm looking forward to lots of family visiting for christmas, especially my dad who i haven't seen in awhile. gosh, it's almost time to start cleaning again ;)

our little carters model

2010-11-15T07:51:00.000-08:00

it's (almost) the most wonderful time of the year

2010-11-12T08:50:00.000-08:00

its that time of year when i eagerly wait for my martha stewart special christmas issue in the mail. i mean, its that time of year when i begin marking off my christmas gift list. i mean, when i buy my christmas cards & round up the lucky addresses. i mean, when i wonder why we only bought one tiny space heater for the house and if i could find a similar one on sale. i mean, when i begin to mentally plan christmas dinner. i mean, begin to search for the most adorable christmas dress for my favorite sugarplum. i mean, find time and beg the inlaws to take new a new holiday family photo for us that we can all agree on. i mean, plant the cool weather spinach, lettuce and carrot crops i suddenly decided to try. i mean, begin to clean and redecorate the guest room for my lovely mum. i mean, find the most well thought and perfect birthday gift for the hubbs. i mean, all of the above?

please join me as i raise my cup of hot chocolate in honor of the busiest & cheeriest time of the year :)

family photo outtake

good morning

2010-11-03T08:10:00.000-07:00

uhm your fly's down

2010-11-01T10:52:00.000-07:00

in honor of election day tomorrow, this is a political cartoon from one of michael's journalism students. it reminds me of something my friends and i would come up with in my old journalism class :)

i'm excited

2010-10-27T10:41:00.001-07:00

we're having a halloween party/spooky movie night at our house on saturday and i'm making butterbeer. i found the recipe online and since the movies will probably go late, what's better on a chilly night than a hot cup of butterbeer??

4 cups cream soda
2-3 tbsp butter
2-3 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup cream
4 or 5 Werther's Originals

Put the cream soda in a pan to boil.
Melt the butter and sugar together until the sugar has dissolved.
Pour the butter and sugar mixture into the pan of boiling cream soda.
Add the cream.
Add the Werther's Originals and stir continuously until they melt.
Serve hot

a pop tart for my little pop tart

2010-10-21T09:07:00.000-07:00

the little boy in this commercial reminds me of a little chibi version of michael. i also just really like these pop tart commercials, i always notice something new in the background every time i watch them. ten points to the first person to spot the dancing strawberry heads!

of life and loves in bakerville

2010-10-18T09:01:00.000-07:00

while i may have been neglecting the blog lately, things have been pleasantly busy in bakerville. audrey and i went to see aunt brandi and cousin ben visiting from baton rouge last week. little ben isn't so little anymore at 10 months and has a nice head of hair now. it was so great to hear his squeaks and giggles again and he's so sweet with his younger cousin. can't wait to see that little family again at christmas!

audrey celebrated her 6th month on friday and is surprising everyone with her talents. she will pull herself up on anything taller than herself, including other babies and joey if he would let her. she's really helped tone my ninja reflexes since her determination is still ahead of her balancing abilities. i live for that triumphant grin she gives me when she pulls up all by herself though, that makes all the close calls and head bumps worth it. she's also discovered that she loves LOVES drinking water and would rather eat what we're eating instead of her socially approved allergenic-free baby food. she loves pasta pieces, ketchup and mild salsa.

today is cool and cloudy. i love having a reason to bundle my favorite girl up in sweaters! we're heading out to shop for aunt valerie's birthday and to the grocery store for cookies to bake for daddy. :)

sweet sweetness

baby benjamin's big browns!

cousins!

sweater weather

2010-10-06T09:43:00.000-07:00

rainy day sweaterfest!

always makes a b-line for the camera

it's a parrot cup sort of day

2010-09-28T08:44:00.000-07:00

big bear

2010-09-23T10:31:00.000-07:00

well i forgot to bring the nikon, but managed a few photos with my cell phone. the weather was pleasantly cooler than forecasted, and very breezy by the lake. we had lunch, sat by the lake and took a nice walk around the village. michael worked overtime everyday last week trying to get the school's paper out on time, so it was great to have him for the entire day and relax a little.

audrey & daddy

fascinated by ducks

mommy got her pumpkin spice latte :)

delicious pumpkin autumny scarfed goodness

2010-09-21T10:08:00.000-07:00

tomorrow michael's taking the day off work and we're driving up to big bear lake for audrey's first visit. i'm so excited because it's the first official day of autumn and i've been craving a pumpkin spice latte since the beginning of september! oh yum! it's been too hot lately for such an autumn brew. tomorrow it's only supposed to reach 65 degrees which means: jackets?! and scarves!? and an adorable bundled up baby!? and crunchy orange and yellow leaves!? and a wonderful hubbs to walk hand in hand with!? and delicious pumpkin autumny scarfed goodness.

g

2010-09-15T15:06:00.000-07:00

i've been thinking of the environment and responsibility a lot lately, mostly because i want to teach audrey the importance of such things in her everyday life. i finally bought some gdiapers today that i'd been wanting for awhile. they're hybrid pocket covers that can be used with cloth or biodegradable liners. i've been using cloth during the days at home with a bummis cover but found the cloth bunching too much from audrey's constant need to move. she really is moving, leaning, wiggling, wobbling, bouncing, crawling and kicking constantly these days.

we finally traded in my '96 suzuki last weekend and bought a new prius. we've been very happy with it :) my grandpa van corbach has a first generation prius and still loves to tell everyone about what all the on board computers can do. when i see the motor switch from gas to electric i smile and think of him. i'm off to hug some trees now :)

i also recycle my used plastic bottles as baby toys :) har har

it's beginning again and....

2010-09-09T09:22:00.000-07:00

....i'm feeling like it's time to bake something. autumn. i love autumn. i love the cool evenings, the fog, the smells, the crunch of dying leaves and yes, even the familiar itch of needing to bake. i think i've posted an "i love all things autumn" post every year since this blog's infancy. it usually happens after i get a little taste of cooler weather. yesterday was cool and cloudy all day. audrey was having a bad day & refusing her naps but i was left swooning over the weather and my fussy clingy baby. i saw halloween candy in vons, oh man that made my day too.

this picture is of laurelhurst park in portland, my favorite city park. i even love the name, laurelhurst. michael proposed to me on that hill two days before thanksgiving in 2005. i think he made me love autumn and thanksgiving even more, if that were possible.

i'm thinking brownies, peanut butter brownies.

made my night

2010-09-01T21:46:00.000-07:00

pat sajak was on celebrity jeopardy tonight, my mind was blown! he won, with over $55,000 for his charity. he has, my respect.

it counts, right?

2010-08-30T07:13:00.000-07:00

can i say audrey is crawling yet? i've been holding off on the official call until i see her hands start walking forward, but what if she's more of the tummy scoot-pull forward type? she's only 4 1/2 months so there's plenty of time for hand walking later?

it's 10 am and...!

2010-08-20T10:28:00.000-07:00

we've been watching the price is right together nearly every morning since we were in the hospital. i hope to groom her into a future champion :)

she's got mad skillz

2010-08-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

i've never seen such a small baby sitting in a cart before. she didn't want to sit in her sling and my arms were burning so i thought i'd sit her down to see what she'd do. she loved it! i think i'm going to get her one of those shopping cart buddies to sit in because the germ factor makes my skin crawl a little bit.

i snuck the peet's coffee in the shot just for you valerie :)

currently, we....

2010-08-13T08:29:00.000-07:00

6:30 - mommy wakes up early with intention to make coffee and read quietly but usually hits the snooze button at least twice

7:00-7:30 - daddy goes to work, audrey wakes up smiling and talking

7:00-8:00 - audrey eats breakfast and plays on her aqua mat with her toys and mommy while mommy watches the today show and drinks her coffee

9:00 - audrey takes her morning nap, mommy checks her email and facebook and drinks more delicious coffee

10:00 - audrey plays on aqua mat and practices crawling, mommy watches the price is right and gets dressed

11:00 - the girls take a walk with joey to the park and/or take a drive and do daily errands

11:00-1:00 - various activities depending on audrey's mood, mommy cleans up house (maybe)

1:00-2:00 - audrey (hopefully) takes another nap

3:00 - daddy's home!

3:30 - mommy washes dishes and/or takes a shower (maybe), audrey and daddy play

4:00-5:30 - various activities depending on audrey's mood, takes another nap

5:30 - mommy makes dinner, daddy reads audrey a book

6:00-6:30 - dinner

6:30-7:00 - audrey practices crawling/sitting and plays with mommy and/or daddy, evening walk to the park depending on audrey's mood

7:00-7:30 - mommy and daddy put on audrey's jammies and play with her piggie-toes

7:30-8:30 - audrey has dinner and falls asleep for the night, mommy and daddy watch tv together

9:00 - audrey is in bed, mommy picks up messes and gets ready for bed, daddy reads and plays records

9:30-10:30 - mommy reads in bed with joey

10:30 - bedtime!!

chew toy life

2010-08-11T09:27:00.000-07:00

what a difference a year makes

2010-08-07T11:15:00.000-07:00

about this time last year michael & i had just gotten back from our rejuvenating vacation in chicago a month after the news of a fourth miscarriage. it's also the same time i found out i was pregnant, again.

i was scared. i knew i was going to have another miscarriage. and why not? nothing had changed, i was still damaged. i was scared of the toll this was going to take on my body. two dead babies in two months. i was scared of the toll this was going to take on my faith.

as i type this, audrey is nursing in my arms and drifting off to sleep. she'll be four months old on the fifteenth. this little baby fought for her life. she won over the same affliction which took the lives of her brothers & sisters. she's our little survivor. our little miracle. our answer to tearful prayer.

we drove to the beach yesterday (audrey's first time!) and stopped at corner bakery in anaheim hills for breakfast. we ate breakfast every morning we were in downtown chicago at a corner bakery down the street from our hotel. i loved drinking my hazelnut cream coffee, (BEST cafe coffee ever,) watching business people hurry by with their briefcases and shooing pigeons away from my breakfast panini. mornings are still my favorite time of day.

i ate the other half of my breakfast panini already. oh yes, it's that good. :)

www.jennylynnbaker.blogspot.com/2009/07/and-so.html

working on our hand eye coordination

2010-07-28T15:05:00.000-07:00

pop ups

2010-07-18T17:53:00.000-07:00

pop ups with grandma!

three months

2010-07-13T09:25:00.000-07:00

life is fun and interesting when you're three months old, but also frustrating. our little lady has always been strong, (she began to stand on her own while i was burping her while in recovery in the hospital) and her inability to sit, stand and move on her own is obviously frustrating to her. she hates to be cradled and would rather observe everything and everyone. she's now begun to reach for daddy's bearded face and likes to reach out and hold mama's finger when she falls asleep. while its hard at times to try to communicate with my increasingly strong willed child, i love my curious little cuddle bug and her individualism.

audrey started teething shortly after her two month mark and the whole family has been feeling the pain. breastfeeding is uncomfortable for her at times, especially in the mornings and evenings when she's most hungry. she's still sleeping through the night though and is usually quite content to chew on her fingers while she sits in her bumbo. she's a happy baby who smiles often and is learning to laugh more frequently.

audrey attempting to sit on her own :)

lullabies

2010-06-24T08:51:00.000-07:00

audrey's favorite lullabies:

somewhere over the rainbow

que sera sera

moon river

scarborough fair

how do they put up with me? and a park day

2010-06-15T10:18:00.000-07:00

audrey is two months old today :) i decided yesterday that she was old enough to sleep in her own crib instead of the bassinet. she's been sleeping through the night regularly since she was four weeks old so there's no need for her to be in our room any longer, right? as i set her in her crib last night, she settled in and continued to sleep peacefully. as i went about getting ready for bed, i chatted to michael about how this was the best thing for her now and how we should have put her to sleep in the nursery weeks ago and how she should really start using her own room because that's why we bought her all that stuff to set it up and about how good i felt about my decision to leave her in the crib and have i mentioned she's sleeping through the night? i mean that's what you're supposed to do, right?

michael called my bluff pretty quickly thank goodness and i soon grabbed her out of that dangerous crib. i mean what if i didn't hear her when she needed me or she suddenly is able to SIT UP and PULL herself out of the crib or OMG what if she stirs in her sleep and the blankets cover her face?! the blankets?! its better if she sleeps with us because i would KNOW if anythings wrong and gosh she's awfully young isn't she? and i would keep those blankets far, far away and no where near her face. of course. because i would know. of course i would. anyway, audrey will be sleeping in her bassinet in our room for the foreseeable future. audrey may be ready for her crib, but for goodness sakes her mother is not.

here's a few pictures of the lil' pumpkin at the park last week:

lovely maria and audrey.

she loves looking up at trees. :)

napping on the drive back home.

headbands

2010-06-10T17:01:00.000-07:00

i made these little headbands out of ribbon this afternoon for audrey, while daddy & i watched funny people. :) they're super cheap and super easy to make, i'm hooked!

sunflowers

2010-06-08T10:20:00.000-07:00

my only surviving sunflower is doing really great! i'm planning to harvest the seeds soon, roasting some & saving the rest to plant later. i hope the birds don't harvest my seeds before i do!

baby coos

2010-06-05T15:59:00.000-07:00

junebug

2010-06-01T08:40:00.000-07:00

oh yes, we're fans

2010-05-24T16:14:00.000-07:00

audrey and i went to target and bought her this sweet set of wheels. here she is enjoying herself at the mall. mama also picked up some sweet new slippers for herself. :)

it is my favorite and my best

2010-05-22T08:52:00.001-07:00

thanks to lauren, hannah & phil and a trip to the downtown library, i'm really looking forward to when audrey starts showing interest in books. i know that's far down the road from now, but michael and i still plan on reading to audrey regularly and making it an important part of her early education.

a series i'm super excited about are the charlie and lola books by, possibly my favorite children's author, lauren child. not only are her illustrations adorable but i love that lola incredibly absolutely has a large vocabulary for a four year old. check out her other books at www.milkmonitor.com :)

there's also a television series that's shown on the disney channel. i'd rather buy it on dvd though to regulate audrey's tv time. enjoy!

let's have a picnic....

2010-05-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

i have no clothes that fit! with the lil' one i'm more limited on budget than ever, which is unfortunate because i'm a different shape now after giving birth. my maternity clothes are too big and my pre-pregnancy shirts and jackets are too tight for my chest, even my beloved trench coat that i've been hoping to fit back into. oh well, i'm just going to have to get creatively thrifty. accessories can go a long way you know!

i love anthropologie. if budget weren't an issue, i'd love to go crazy in there. so, here's my dream outfit for today:

a cute dress.... (perfect for picnics i think!)

with a flowery bag....

little yellow sandals....

& a bright scarf.

don't forget the perfume! i love flowery/citrus scents :)

baby dreams

2010-05-03T10:19:00.000-07:00

milk drunk

2010-04-24T16:53:00.000-07:00

oh yeah, baby

2010-04-21T10:53:00.001-07:00

audrey lynn baker

2010-04-17T14:59:00.000-07:00

born on april 15, 2010 at 11:35 at night. 7 lbs 2 oz & 21 inches.

i'll post our birth story soon, hopefully. we're completely devoted on learning how to breast feed right now. :)

oh, my cervix & i are still not on speaking terms, yet.

meltdown over

2010-04-13T11:04:00.000-07:00

okay so, after a few days my rainy day optimism is finally returning. in a hormonal meltdown to (a very understanding!) michael yesterday, i confessed that i'm really not a patient person. he didn't seem too shocked by the news actually haha! i probably just need to learn at least one more important lesson before audrey gets here.

i'm scheduled for a non-stress test appointment this afternoon to see how little audrey's doing and have my 3-day follow up and possible 2nd induction appointment tomorrow. we're just going to see how it goes this time. expecting life in general to perform in a timely and structured schedule is pretty arrogant really. if anything, at least i got to wear my maternity peacoat one more time for possibly the last rainy day of the year.

i still hate my cervix though ;)

unmovable

2010-04-11T18:56:00.000-07:00

imagine that after 23 hours at the hospital you come back home still pregnant. the reality is ten times worse. hopefully i can go into labor on my own in the next few days. i really hate my cervix right now.

my battered post IV swollen arm. more painfull than the contractions, actually.

it's d-day, go team!

2010-04-10T08:28:00.000-07:00

today i'm scheduled to be induced at the hospital where i'll later meet my little audrey. it feels a little odd to be so excited about willingly going to a place where i know i'm going to experience the worst pain of my life, but c'mon, it's going to be so worth it! michael and i have gone over our "game plan," packed every logical item we can think of (probably a few illogical ones too) and are expecting a long wait.

i've been telling myself all morning that i'm totally calm and cool, but i really can't ignore the little butterflies throwing up in my stomach. i remember this old familiar feeling from high school when i was getting ready for a big race in cross country. i remember my strong steady breaths as i walked up to the line with 25 other girls and my stomach churning a little as i waited for the bang of the starting pistol. i'm not nervous about the pain, just the endurance needed for my planned pitocin-induced natural birth. i'm hoping to think back to my cross country training today when my body starts to tire and my determination starts to waiver. the grueling "magic" workouts. the mud. running our regular 3 miles with a few sets of 8 sand hills after. the gusty winds. the hail. the confusion of long races. i'm hoping all this will give me an edge. that's what i'm telling the nauseous butterflies anyway. :)

i'm super happy that i finished my baby blanket in time :) it's not professional quality by any means, but it's so very soft.

bon appétit!!

2010-03-24T14:29:00.000-07:00

had breakfast and a movie with maria this morning. breakfast was mama ham's buttermilk waffles and we watched julie & julia while we crocheted our baby blankets. we both were craving brie and baguettes afterward!

julia child would be proud of all the butter i used

also,

it's a little belated but....

i found some luck while watering my plants this week :)

i got the Bell's!

2010-03-22T12:17:00.000-07:00

i always knew i was 1 in a 1,000,000!... or 2 in 10,000, medically speaking.

i caught bell's palsy on friday which causes your face to be partially paralyzed temporarily. it's caused by a virus that pinches a nerve in your forehead, causing partial paralysis on one side of the face for about 10 days to 3 weeks. just like the common cold it has no cure, so you just sort of let it run it's course. pregnant women are 4 times more likely to get it. thankfully i have a mild case.

audrey and i are fine as it's completely harmless, only just extremely odd looking. personally i think my smile is quite disarming, but the unblinking right eye and constant tearing, plus occasional drooling is sort of creepy. a doctor friend of ours said it helps to keep trying to use the affected muscles so i'm going to continue to smile my quasimodo smile. only if you see me at the grocery store or something, please don't react like my mother did when she saw me, ("hahaha look at her! she's not faking!!")

i'm supposing God has decided to teach me humility during these last few weeks of Lent, just in case the extra 30 pounds i'm packing just weren't doing it. :)

oh, and THIS!

it's sandal weather!

a happy saint patrick's day to you!

2010-03-17T12:33:00.000-07:00

be jealous. be very jealous of my lothlorien pin my dear mother gave to me for christmas one year. it's perfect to wear on saint patrick's day!

i've been very absent lately on the blogging front. i can't seem to focus on anything more than three minutes these days. i have a snuggly baby blanket i need to finish crocheting before my little snuggly baby arrives. i love to crochet but having a deadline makes it feel surprisingly like a homework project. a deadline that could come any time!

i wanted to share a few pictures of my exploding jasmine on the back porch. oh, you just can't imagine the sweet smell that waifs into my bedroom at night! so sweet! i'm trying to train it to climb the post, but i need to get garden ties and tie it up first. one step at a time i suppose.

my sister gave me these adorable measuring cups! thanks valerie!

photos from audrey's baby shower

2010-03-05T10:28:00.000-08:00

thanks to dionne, with help from maria and laura, the shower turned out beautiful! thank you girls!

we're getting excited!

2010-02-10T10:30:00.001-08:00

as spring has started to shine around here, we've been thinking of our remaining weeks as a family of two. our (unofficial) count is at nine weeks to go.

this is my last week at work. (for the next foreseeable years) i'll finally be a stay at home mom and housewife. i'm constantly thinking of all the things i need to do or get for the nursery before audrey arrives, but i guess that's what baby showers are for :) i've picked out a bassinet already and am deciding which kitchen cupboard would be best suited for binkies, bottles and bibs.

i've already planned out this year's vegetable garden and it should be planted in the next few weeks. i'm keeping it small and simple this year with green beans, cucumber and last year's vivacious tomato plants. i've already bought an assortment of sunflower and daisy seeds to plant in the remaining beds to brighten them up and i'm also going to pot some mint in a container for iced tea. maybe within five years everything will finally be completed and i can sit and relax in my maturing dream garden. :)

michael has been so understanding these last few months. he doesn't mind getting water or apples (or less healthy things) for me from the kitchen while i'm all propped up on the couch. he doesn't say anything about the dishes piling up in the sink or that the floors really needed to be swept days ago or about the sweatpants i've been wearing all week. instead he gives me kisses on the forehead and calls me "little mama" and rubs my tummy. how lucky am i? i honestly couldn't imagine anyone i'd rather have in the delivery room with me.

cuteness

2010-01-26T07:37:00.000-08:00

baby benjamin at one month old :)

for me

2010-01-19T08:35:00.000-08:00

from anthropologie :)

mojito

2010-01-12T09:05:00.000-08:00

i have about 95 more days until i'm due to deliver. i don't know what it is, (the sunny pleasant weather, thoughts of soon starting another vegetable garden or lazy mornings spent reading on the porch?) but i've been craving a mojito for the past week. michael says we can stop by the yardhouse on the way home from the hospital and he'll buy me a crisp mojito. i love that man!

freedumb

2010-01-07T13:28:00.000-08:00

as i was driving to work today, i was listening to the diane rehm show on npr. her guest was elizabeth gilbert, author of 'eat, pray, love', and they were discussing independence and divorce.

why is it when most modern women think of independence, their next thought is divorce? do most women really feel held back by their husbands/families? can they really not see their own individuality within a partnership?

i ask to merely understand. i'm incredibly blessed to be married to a man that has always supported my interests and loves the person i am. since we've been married, i've grown more as a person than i ever did when i was single. his encouragement inspires me to accept each situation as another chance to learn something. unfortunately, this isn't always the case in all marriages. sadly, there are some circumstances that call for divorce and the breaking of a family.

however, as far as the shallow discussion on the diane rehm show this morning, i've never thought of marriage as 'an end to my individuality' or having a family as a 'hindrance to my creativity' or any sort of crap or excuses women can think of these days. honestly! this 'me' generation we live in has people blind to the fact that a search for independence outside of marriage often includes hurting people close to us and an unhealthy amount self-centered thoughts. men are often the center of mid-life crisis jokes, but i'm starting believe that it's indeed a problem for both sexes. how wonderful that our society allows the separation for such people without judgement, (even though it's literally a breaking of a lifelong legally recognized contract between two people, but whatever.) personally that doesn't sound like freedom to me, it just sounds selfish.

couldn't help it....

2010-01-05T08:36:00.000-08:00

i was on etsy.com this morning, and couldn't help but share these. baby girls are fun!

baby booties!

baby loafters! gush!

baby hats!

i think little audrey's going to love accessories just like her mom. :) i've already gotten some cute clothes from the grandmas but haven't really gushed over anything girly until now. i must have a thing for crochet.... kinda makes me want to go out and buy some yarn and make a cute baby blanket myself.

sending a little rainy day optimism your way....

2009-12-31T11:48:00.000-08:00

this morning is beautiful and sunny as all mornings are after a good rain. the sun seems to shine a little brighter, the dew a little shinier, and the air much fresher. how appropriate that the last day of the year seems to offer so much hope in such a beautiful and final way. sometimes you can only see the beauty of a storm once it's over, the strength of a hug after a good cry, or the renewal of hope after your soul has been bruised and wrung. though i do not have the talent or wisdom to pull you out of your dark storm, i am here with a little shelter and a little light.

i'm wishing you many beautiful dewy mornings.

new nephew :)

2009-12-20T21:24:00.000-08:00

benjamin elliot eubank

simple pleasures...

2009-12-09T10:57:00.000-08:00

...are enjoying yummy peppermint hot chocolate while at work, and streaming christmas music over the internet. (peppermint hot chocolate shown, christmas music not shown)

:D happy birthday to my momma too! love you! :D

drizzle & tinsel

2009-12-07T19:06:00.000-08:00

we woke up this morning to the beautiful sound of rain. mondays don't seem so bad on rainy mornings. :)

you'd be surprised how warm our house gets with this little guy.

christmastime.

our little apartment tree still works fine. :)

pregnancy tip:

2009-11-23T09:17:00.000-08:00

one sittin' & one kickin'

2009-11-11T15:38:00.000-08:00

i like to sit. i like to sit, put my feet up and maybe slouch a little. that's the best position for baby kicks. i'm addicted to baby kicks. that's why i sit.

new church

2009-11-04T11:02:00.000-08:00

today was the beginning of the final pouring of the foundation of our new church. it's going to be so beautiful! i left a little something to personalize the left top corner of the future chapel. :)

inns & outs

2009-10-14T15:51:00.000-07:00

i was downtown today running some errands for work and i was surprised to see that the mission inn had already started decorating for the festival of lights. i suppose it is about that time, the festival starts november 27 and more than 3 million lights must be strung up by then. i'm excited to show my parents how beautiful downtown riverside is for the holidays. :)

jack in the boxes!

yesterday i spent a good amount of time on the front porch reading and enjoying the fresh air. its so nice not to smell wildfires anymore!

cold morning, cold nose

2009-10-05T08:06:00.000-07:00