baby nobbers

olive has had the misfortune of getting stuck with the nickname nobbers. so this is my precious little nobbers. she is convinced that she is already a big girl. :( i only get snuggles from her when a stranger gets too close or she is asleep. i cherish those moments of holding this sleeping little nobbers and pretending that she is still a baby.

a year in new york

we have been in new york for a whole year! i am still a little shocked by this. my baby girls are turning into big girls. parenting is bringing some new challenges our way. my new favorite source of encouragement and inspiration is handinhandparenting.org. peter is set to start his second year of teaching at suny, the girls are about to start daycare at the campus child development center, and i have started working for an agency that provides services to individuals with developemental disabilities.

we do love it here, it is beautiful, lush and green. the local produce is delicious. peter's coworkers are pretty awesome and the friends we have made in just a year are nothing short os awesome! of course-we miss texas-friends and family, the girls miss their grandparents like crazy. but it does look like we are here to stay! now we just have to get some of those texans to move here, too... ;)

my two favorite booties

time to get back into the swing of things

we are settled into our new home

we have settled into being a family of four

we have settled into a routine of making lots of delicious homemade meals

we are trying to watch less tv

we are trying to spend more time outside

we are trying to spend more time playing with our kids instead of looking for something to entertain then with

we are missing family and friends who live far away

we are quickly making new friends

we are so aware of how blessed and lucky we are to be happy and healthy and to have two such amazing daughters

the creative family

we are spending june and july living in someone else's house, with someone else's belongings. since we are adjusting to life without tv, i came across this book - the creative family, how to encourage imagination and nurture family connection. our friends, mollie and brian, who normally live in this house, seem to be already living the life described in this book. but the book looks untouched. it was likely a gift, and when you are already living a simple, creative, resourceful, grateful life, why read a book about how to do it? i, on the other, did need to read this book.
i am a creative person, i love making things, sewing, cooking, rummaging through thriftstores. how have i gotten into this rut of buying everything new, wasting food, eating out too much, watching tv? i really want to get back to a way of life that i had abandoned out of laziness and the draw of convenience.
i want my children to be bursting with creativity and a love for life and nature. i love the idea of having creative rituals that are a regular part of our daily lives, above and beyond having crayons and playdo on hand. i want to slow down and play with my little ones.

free loves school

we survived the first month!

it is beginning to feel normal around here again. the first two weeks were the hardest, frances was so emotional and clingy, olive was having a hard time breastfeeding, mama was overwhelmed, and we all kept poor daddy very busy. not to mention that peter accepted a job in new york the day after olive was born and then we put our house on the market and had to have it ready to show and tell family and friends that we are moving far, far away. it is still a little sad to think of the girls growing up far from their grandparents...

duty calls, more later.