North Hampton's Next Top Model?

A bout of cousin kookiness broke out in the strawberry fields. Encouraged by the superfast shutter speed of Craig's camera, the rows of strawberries morphed into the glittering runways of Milan and the cousins took the catwalk by storm. Hana's sideways glance steals the show, but Mira is the only one that looks like she might actually have a chance at stardom. Sarah looks like she is at cheerleader tryouts.

Strawberry Fields Forever

On Saturday we packed up the little one and headed off to North Hampton to visit Aunt Mira who just started an MSW program at Smith. Hana and Niko were also coming from NY for the rendezvous so it was a real cousin/Auntie fest. We arrived around 11:30 and kicked off the visit with a picnic in the yard of the lovely house Mira is renting for the summer. Fueled by beets, garlic scapes and swiss chard, we headed off to Herrel's Ice Cream parlor to meet Hana and Niko and gorge on ice cream sundaes. After everyone felt sufficiently sick we decided to cure the fructose overdose with some some fresh air and exercise (sort of) and headed off for some berry picking. The strawberry season was coming to an end and the raspberry season was just kicking off, so we hit it at just the right time. The photos below document the fun we had frolicking in the fields and basking in the cousin love. Two flats of strawberries and 6 pints of raspberries later, we ended the day with another eating orgy, this time at Bub's BBQ in Sunderland.

I am 6 months old today (well, in about 26 hours from this photo)!

Recent stats from the 6 month visit:

20 pounds on the nose ("slimming" down from the 98th percentile to the 90th)
28 inches (holding steady at 89% percentile)
2 shots; no tears
rolling over in both directions
coming close to sitting
still dancing like a maniac
laughing often and convulsively (still trying to figure out how to upload videos to demonstrate this endearing trait)
loving "solids": sweet potatoes and carrots are a big hit; avocados and pears are not...huh?

More and more delicious every passing day.

True Love

Enough said.

A Steamy Afternoon

It hit 85 degrees today and Maceo, mom and dad were ready for some relief. Since he has been tiny (which truthfully was a very short period in his life), Maceo has loved to take showers. Not only does he like the idea of the shower, but he actually loves putting his face right into the water stream. He is beginning to emerge as quite a fearless little boy, so we decided that he was ready for the water park down the street. Or perhaps better described as the permanent sprinklers at the playground. Here is some evidence of the fun we had. While it took him a moment to acclimate to the cold water, once he adjusted his thermostat there was no stopping him. Please note that while I have been literally praying for him to have curly hair like his dad, this look is not exactly what I had in mind.

Upholstery Update

Some recent shots of the progress I have been making in my upholstery class...I keep forgetting to take my camera to class so I don't have any documentation of the the "internal" work that went on. Even if I did, it would not really be a good representation of all the various steps I completed to shore up the infrastructure as many were quite small, painstaking and invisible to the naked eye.

Choosing a fabric was excruciating, but I waited until the very last possible second so I had to make the choice last Saturday. I bought that fabric at a store called Zimman's in Lynn, MA.

For those of you that have ANY interest in fabric, this place is nirvana. Truth be told, I couldn't actually make the choice between two fabrics while I was at the store so I bought them both. The one I did not go with for the rocking chair is going to turn into four cushions for the chairs in the dining room. At least that is what I am telling myself. While I doubt I would have selected this fabric for any other project, my goal was to find something that was traditional enough to work on a Victorian rocking chair but still retained some funk/flair. The color is what really sealed the deal for me.

Making Friends

Although hardly great photos, I loved the sweetness of these iamges of Maceo and Noah at the early stages of showing affection. Noah is almost a year old and reaches out for hugs and snuggles. Maceo was tentative at first but then seemed to get the idea.

In Case You Think My Secret Killed Me...

So, clearly I have been pretty out of contact in the blog-o-sphere. I can't exactly name what it was that has kept me from updating...I think after my last post I went to Philadelphia to visit my family, them came back for Craig's 37th birthday celebration, and from there the other tasks compounded...leaving me with limited time or energy to get back into the habit. Because to keep up with this thing, it really does need to become a habit/ritual. And since I have several other habits and rituals that are more long standing (crafting or dreaming of crafting, obsessively cleaning the house, trying to FINALLY get to the end of Six Feet Under, drinking wine after Maceo is asleep, trying to read the New Yorkers that are piling up, trying to read my cooking magazines so that I can clip the recipes that actually have some possibility of getting cooked and filing them away, giving myself pedicures, making quick bread late at night...) the blog needs to get more regularly into the rotation for it to not become the task that takes the hit. So anyway.

Lindy won the prize on the mystery post. Lindy - please name your prize. We can discuss options off line.

Although I must have drafted 20 possible entries in my head about how to break the news, my lapse in communication requires me to get to the point. At the ripe old age of 35, I got my drivers licence. For those of you that know me well, this is pretty remarkable. The experience was memorable to say the least. Because Craig had to be my "sponsor" and ride in the car with me, and Maceo was not allowed to accompany us during the test, we had to arrange a babysitter. That meant that Uncle Marc went on a field trip with us. The test took place at the Dorchester DMV, which is not a DMV at all but a satellite office in some bizarre Army/National Guard Bunker. So once we drove around for 15 minutes trying to find the DMV, we located the TINY sign that read "for DMV road test park here" . At this point I could take the time to explain a tremendous amount of superfluous detail that is indeed amusing, but I will get to the heart of the story. When it came time for the actual road test, Marc and Maceo were escorted to stand under an overhang of the bunker in a monsoon while mommy tried to pass the test.

I was given three chances - I like to think of them more as learning opportunities - to parallel park. I was also given about 8 opportunities to identify where on the dashboard the hazard lights were. The parting words of the test administrator were as follows: "So, you know you were given many chances today, right?" Large pause. "Yes, sir, thank you for that". Even larger pause while he looked repeatedly from his little score sheet into the whites of my eyes. "You passed. You were lucky". Indeed.

As my neighbor Lydia said after I came home triumphant (sort of), "well, now that you have your license you can start learning how to drive". So true.

A Red Letter Day: May 19, 2010

Anyone that guesses what this momentous photo represents will get a handmade gift of their choice. Contest ends tomorrow at 5pm. After that, the secret will be revealed.

Guest Post from Grandma Martha

What a wonderful visit! It encompassed both Mother’s Day and Sarah’s birthday which seemed very interrelated this year: her first Mother’s Day and her birthday which is always an opportunity for me to reflect on how her existence has shaped and transformed my life. And my first ‘Grandmother’s’ Day which celebrated my darling Maceo. What a wonderfully bright, alert, strong and engaging baby. The many photos on this blog demonstrate his personality. I shall very much miss our morning snuggles in bed, feeding him his cereal, taking walks with him and his mama, reading to him and all the jiggles and giggles along the way.

I am very impressed with the grace and confidence with which Sarah and Craig are managing parenthood. Maceo is one lucky baby to experience so much love seasoned with patience and common sense. What a beautiful family. I am so lucky to be part of the experience.

I’m so lucky that the next chapter will take place in Portland when Sarah, Craig and Maceo come to visit me in July. Something to look forward to!

Love, Grandma Martha

Happy Birthday to Me!

A Dairy Queen Waffle Sundae (newly featured on the menu) sounded like a good way to bring in my 35th year - after a Dim Sum lunch. It was good going down, but left me with a bit of an over-sweet stomach ache.

Worlds End Walking (and Sitting) Adventure

Some photos from a lovely walk through the World's End preserve in Hingham, MA.

Spending Time with Grandma

My mom arrived last Thursday in time to spend both Mother's Day and my birthday with us. What a special treat. The last time she was here, Maceo was just about 2 months old. Needless to say, he has changed a ton since then and she has loved being able to spend time with him now that he is blossoming into a super active, engaging and busy baby.

Grandma is the baby whisperer when it comes to baby food. While Maceo was pretty interested form the start, she has coached him into being a remarkably neat and efficient eater. From the moment she puts his bib on, he seems to know the program. She taps the spoon on the edge of the little bowl and he pops his mouth open like a little bird ready for the next bite. This little synchronized dance goes on from the first bite to the last. He has gone from boring rice cereal to seemingly tasty oat cereal and bananas. The oat cereal seems to be his favorite. If we used no discretion, I think he would eat until his tummy ruptured. I hope that when my mom leaves he will still maintain his fabulous skills in the eating department, although I fear that it has more to do with her being a skilled food conductor.

It has been wonderful to have another set of hands to help out during the day, especially since the broken washing machine saga continues (files that under COMPLAINING). Even without the obvious help with daily household chores, spending time with a baby and another person is a treat because often you don't get to observe as much when you are the primary care taker. So with Grandma holding him, reading to him, feeding him and generally keeping him happy, I have had the chance to study him and really see the ways that he is learning and growing.

Another very fun task that we accomplished was making a bunch of new summer pants for Maceo. Despite my proud post earlier about the "Jambo Pants", my mom guided me through a bit more sophisticated sewing process that rendered a much more professional product. While I initially resisted the ironing of seams and meticulous pinning, I was convinced of those extra steps in the the final product. Once we perfected our pattern, we turned the operation into a Ford Motor Companies inspired assembly line and did the cutting, ironing and pinning in shifts making the process MUCH faster. I don't have any photos of the little guy in the new and improved pants for this post, but no doubt they will be regularly featured in future posts as he has enough pants to wear a different version every day for a couple weeks.

The photos that accompany this post were taken at the Forest Hills Cemetery during an afternoon stroll. Despite being very enamoured of Craig's fancy camera, I truly have no idea how to use it and managed to change a bunch of settings (accidentally) which I fear screwed up the light. However, there are still some nice shots of Maceo and Grandma that are a testimony to the bond they have been developing.

Make Way for the Pirate, Matey

Or perhaps he looks more like a guy working out at Gold's Gym with his pewter rattle/dumbbell?

New Hampshire Part III: Relaxing with Uncle Niko

Maceo and Auntie Hana

I just found these photos from our week up in New Hampshire with the cousins - they were on another camera. More fun with Auntie Hana.

Some Nice Portraits

Visiting Great Grandma Peggy

Craig, Maceo and I took a road trip to Fort Lee, New Jersey the week before last to spend time with Great Grandma Peggy (Craig's mother's mother). As you can see from the photo, Maceo was VERY interested in getting to know his great grandmother. After some discussion about what a fitting name would be for Great Grandma, she decided on "Sadie". Maceo loved spending time in the warm yellow of Sadie's apartment.