My First Consecutive Child

I'm still tripping on this new baby o' mine. Totally on a trip - high as the hills when I look, and I mean really look at her sweet face. Though, to be quite honest, it's not nearly as often as I'd like to believe it is. I'm slowly getting stuck in the grind of the "second child" thing... It's not so much that it's hard to have two, but that I'm finding it difficult to remember she's even here! I'm totally embarrassed to say that, but it's the straight-up truth. Whilst Freida is in middle of learning how to be 3 and a half (i.e. whining and defying the daylight out of me), and taking up so much of my attention and energy (I feel like I'm constantly trying to avoid a meltdown - it's like tiptoeing around mines!), it's hard to remember there's a sweet little babe who needs some face-time as well...

Of course, thankfully (since my SIL Esther is the greatest!!) I  have a whole morning with Freida in school, at which point I should be intensely bonding with my consecutive daughter - and I would be! - if it weren't for her 9am nap. And so, life goes about, and while I know she is getting heaps of loving tender care and attention (I do nurse and cuddle her every 3 hours after all!), it's the feeling of bonding with just her alone that I feel I'm missing out on. It's just hard when you can feed a baby and put them down to play (peacefully!), and your 3 year old is trying desperately to captivate you with her genius discoveries of tea parties, toadstools, and elbow scabs... I feel forced to veer toward the genius, and leave the baby - to swat at toys solo.

But boy, do I miss her! As the day winds down; dinner has been served, baths administered, jammies are on, and story books are being bartered for, I find myself wishing I could keep Hudi up just a little bit longer after Freida is down. Just a little while longer, anyway. To smile at and sing with, and squeeze and tickle, and gaze at and gobble - without worrying a nary little bit about making Freida jealous or sparking a tantrum. Just for a little while...

In The Motherhood

Mother's Day simply forces me to reckon just how much I love the concept of raising children; making people. It is, by far, the most satisfying and gratifying occupation on earth. Thank you, dear girls, for being my daughters.

Thank you Freida for making me a mother...

And thank you Hudi for giving me another dose... :)

I love you with a love so intense - you'll never even discover it until you enter the motherhood yourselves, and I wish I could convey to you how much you encourage me to grow as a person and to unearth my strengths as a women...

Calling Mommies & Babies!

I posted previously about Babyccino when I was first launching the Monday morning "Mommy & Me". Now that we're starting up our 3rd series, I figured I'd let you all in on how it's been going...

The whole concept of getting together with local fellow mothers was really at the crux of the entire birth of Babyccino. The women in this community wanted a time and place where they can all get together, provide some interactive time for their children, while sharing motherhood with other women, and catching up with friends...

I figured I'd share these photos with you and hopefully inspire those of you in other communities to start up something of this nature as well. Having recently given birth, I'm constantly reminded of the dire need a new mother has to interact with other moms and simply get out of the house. It can be as simple as getting a few ladies together in a living room to share a pot of coffee while the kids play with toys on the rug! The point is to get out with your baby, meet with other mothers, and share the many trial and error stories of motherhood as well as share the many laughs that come along with raising children. Not to mention knowing your kids are benefitting from a social morning out along the way!

I also want to give you local women who haven't yet made the trek out to check it out a little kick in the pants! :) Come and join us for this next series as we help the little ones explore and discover the living world around them through 8 growth-themed Spring sessions! Come for the coffee; stay for the fun! Sharing motherhood is one of those things that really are priceless...

Also, I wanted to give a huge shout-out of thanks to all attending moms who have seriously made this whole experiment super-fun and successful!! Thank you all for joining in and bringing along your adorable and smart little people each week!! This could never have happened without you!

Trend Watch: Mix-match!

Been seeing the 'mix n' match' concept popping up all over the kids at the LA parks! Seems to be a trend of sorts... Here's 3 adorable ways to execute this pint-size fashion statement:

1. Blind Mice Socks

2. Trumpette Silly Soles

3. Polkadot What Leggings

Baby Gym Beauties

No baby item has got itself as bad a rap as the "baby gym". (Well, maybe the exersaucer. But that's for another post.) Gnarly colors, awful illustrations, and cheap synthetics all amount to a pile of yuckiness for a price that isn't quite on the low-ball end of things anyways! Well, this morning I'd love to share a few baby gyms that are not at all an eyesore to your overall design aesthetics, and are even quite living room worthy (high and low):

Finn + Emma Wooden Play Gym - comes in chocolate and birch, $135

Natural Wood Baby Gym - handmade of VOC-free Baltic Birch $90

Ikea Leka Baby Gym - bentwood design on the cheap! $25

Mid-Century Modern Baby Gym DIY - craftiness + power tools + $25!!

(Shoutout of thanks to our Babyccino models Sara Leah and Chana!! :))