30 September 2009

a boy and his mama

another sweet one from marisa.

yesterday i had one of those dreaded store experiences with noah. i was 'that' mom with 'that' screaming child. not only was he screaming (for no apparent reason) he was contorting his body around so that he could reach the items in the basket and then he would throw them on the floor with force and intention. so what do i do? i pacify him with some earth's best cookies. food generally works to calm the crazy kid. i pull out the lidded cup of cookies that i always keep on hand and start handing them to him. being the independent little thing he is, he wants to get them out of the cup himself, so while i'm holding the cup, i let him reach into the container to get his own cookie. in the meantime, i'm hurriedly looking through fabric and not paying as much attention to the amount and rate at which he is eating his snack. next thing i know, he is spitting out a mouthful of soggy, half eaten cookies, and clumps of them fall onto his shirt, and then onto the floor. i stop what i'm doing, dig for wet-wipes and napkins and clean him and the floor up as best as possible. first of course i put the lid back on the cookies and set them down. after the clean up, he begins his "get me out of here" screaming and arching of the back routine, and so i hand him the lidded cup of cookies. another lame attempt at pacifying him. he grabs it, and hurls it towards the floor. cookies, along with the bottom-of-the-box crumbs go flying. apparently, i did not secure the lid on well enough. i was so frustrated. i just didn't say anything to noah (what would that have done?). instead, i once again pull out the wipes and napkins, clean up as best as possible and head for the cut counter. a better mom probably would have just left the full buggy of goods, grabbed the child and left. but i have one and a half weeks left to my next festival, and Hancock Fabric is 25 minutes away from where we live. excuses, excuses, i know. i had to get the fabric! at the cut counter, several sweet people entertained noah while we waited, and he stayed relatively calm...sort of. he wanted to climb on the counter, eat a package of elastic and cry a bit, but at least there was no wailing and screaming. i was dying to get back to the jeep, make him a bottle and head home. i put him in his car seat and start digging for the goods to make his bottle, but i couldn't find the actual bottle. the formula i had, the bottle i didn't. i quickly remembered that the bottle was on the counter at home. great. i dump the formula in his sippy cup that was full of water, hand it to him, and hope for the best. i was finally on my way home. he fell asleep on the drive, and exhausted, i fell asleep too as soon as we got home. what a day!

28 September 2009

little man in a scarf

my lovely friend marisa wanted to "practice" her photography skills on our family, and we are soooo grateful she did. she sent me this teaser last night, and it blows my socks off. i'm in love! i can't thank you enough marisa!

26 September 2009

what noah's doing...

tonight, noah sang while matt rocked him. a couple of days ago, he stood on top of his new chair and walked right off of it like he was superman. then he laughed. this morning, he snagged one of my markers and hid behind one of the columns to play with it. i caught him before any damage was done. recently when we get to the elevator in our loft, he points to the buttons with his index finger. speaking of his index finger, have i written about it before?

he uses that little finger for EVERYTHING. he scratches his head with it, he sucks on it, he sticks it in my mouth, he shoves his food around with it, we touch fingers like ET, he points at the ceiling with it, he points to teag with it, he hesitantly tries out new toys with it...oh my goodness, that little finger must be exhausted by the end of the day!

anyway, to continue...yesterday, he found the mouthwash bottle under our sink and he walked around with it for the longest time. last week, i was sewing and he grabbed two handfuls of batting and took off down the hallway, laughing. he drops food down to teagan from his high chair. he got his first spanking two days ago. it broke my heart. he nuzzles into my shoulder before i put him to bed. yesterday, when i got him out of his crib after a nap, he grabbed both sides of my face and smiled. he babbles ALL the time. he's so confident, like he knows exactly what he's saying. he's walking, and almost running. he says, "OK".

he makes me laugh everyday. he'll be 13 months in a couple of days. i think i'm just going to tell people he's one rather than go into the months. anyone have an opinion about that? when do you start saying years rather than months? is there a cutoff?

24 September 2009

new blog

i just finished working on the new blog for my dear london line. i explain the name change on my first post. now that i have an outlet for my young business and hobbies, i'll be focusing exclusively on my family in this blog.

little noah is growing up so fast. he's walking, jibber-jabbering up a storm, and giving me attitude. don't know where he gets his sass. he is the sweetest mess i know. love this boy to pieces.

21 September 2009

waves of peace

1. i wish that was me.
2. this brings me peace.
3. why don't i live by the ocean?

(photo credit: Blue Bird Vintage)

Cider Days Success

After all of the anticipation and effort and late nights, Cider Days has finally come and gone, and despite the rainy weather, it was an absolute success. The festival was in Springfield, so Matt and I drove down with a packed jeep Thursday night. Friday, Sarah and I completed last minute preparations, and Saturday morning we arrived really early to set up. Sarah and Jay had the idea to use some of their furniture as the displays, and they were a gorgeous backdrop to Sarah's amazing baby clothes and my accessories. We won the "Award of Excellence" for our booth, and it seemed that people really responded to our products. We even had five or six wholesalers and shop owners ask us to consider placing our products in their stores. Some customers came back multiple times, and others brought back friends or family members. The energy people had when they were in our booth was such a high! It made my heart happy. I can't wait to make more and to participate in other festivals.
Here are some of the pictures from the weekend, and there will be more information on where you can get items soon! Thanks to everyone who supported us by attending or keeping us in prayer.











10 September 2009

Blog Hiatus

I have been absent from my dear blog because of a busy busy couple of weeks, and I'm afraid this post in and of itself will be entirely inadequate. I have much to record...Noah's birthday, my parents' visit, Lula and London's upcoming debut...however, time is short until Cider Days and every free moment I have is being spent on preparation for it. It's crunch time!

But, I do have a few pictures I can't wait to share...




More where this came from. I'll be back after Cider Days!