Archive | friends

a baby shower for a baby boy

September 24, 2012 at 10:30 am

From the moment my friend Sarah learned I was pregnant with my second baby, she wanted to throw me a baby shower. During the course of planning the shower, I sent her a few ideas (“This invitation is cute!” or “Can I bring something Italian-themed for the food?”) and she turned them into something more wonderful than I could have ever imagined. The invitations were adorable, the food was a vibrantly fresh and deliciously cheesy Italian spread, and the cupcakes and strawberry gelato (!) were to die for. And we did a book theme! Children’s books, friends, and Italian food… could it be more wonderful?

Sarah also planned the sweetest craft. She printed off pages that each had one letter of the alphabet. Each guest took a page and drew an object that started with the letter on their page. They would then write the name of the object and sign their name. When we had all 26 letters, we put them into a scrapbook and I took home an ABC book for my baby boy. I discovered we have some amazing artists in our midst (I am not one of them… my watermelon is lopsided and has purple seeds) and completely love this darling little book!

Enjoy the eye candy of a gorgeous baby shower. I love these photographs, the memories, and the joy captured here. Thank you, sweet friends!

Heather gave me Peek-a Who and thoroughly enjoyed it when I read it aloud to the group!

Can you tell someone is a fabulous 1st Grade teacher?

Just in case you book lovers are curious, these are the books my guests gave my baby boy. See any favorites of yours? I can’t wait to share them with our little bambino… and our little bambina Lena, too!

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein (someone was reading my blog this week)
Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey (make that two people!)
Harold and the Purple Crayon and Harold’s Trip to the Sky by Crockett Johnson
Blue Hat, Green Hat and Doggies by Sandra Boynton
The Elephant’s Pillow by Diana Reynolds Roome
Peek-a Who by Nina Laden
Only One Woof by James Herriot
Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Go Dog Go by P.D. Eastman
Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss
Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young by Jack Prelutsky

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Check back later today for Making Room’s first blog giveaway!!!

12 :: in Baby Numero Due, friends, motherhood, Virginia

a picture an hour

September 14, 2012 at 10:21 pm

I took a picture an hour (or almost) last week, the same day that I filmed Lena “discovering” she was going to have a baby brother by mixing up blue frosting. I realized as I put this post together what a fun record this is of an ordinary day in our home. Well, okay, it’s not every day that you are celebrating that you are going to have a son! But in other ways this day was completely ordinary and filled with things that make up the pattern of our lives right now, like Lena’s Raisin Bran in the morning (3 bowls, please, with extra raisins), playtime with her new IKEA stacking toy, her nap times while I work on projects around the house, summer afternoons on the porch splashing in her little pool, and lots of play time and meals with our beloved Arthur family. Someday I will look back on this post and say, “Oh, there is Elliott in his Army PT clothes… back when he was still in the Army!” (although will I say this in 5 years or 20, I don’t know) or, “Did that toy really once look that new?”or, “Wow, their kids have grown up since then! I’m glad we still know and love them.” (Because I truly hope we do.)

Funny to think of the future. Sweet to savor the present.

Enjoy a few snapshots of the rest of the day, including some more behind the scenes about how those cupcakes came into being… and then were rapidly consumed (by me).

7 o’clock

8 o’clock

9 o’clock (welcome home from running a 5K, Daddy!)

10 o’clock (time for a nap)

11 o’clock (putting together my new Home Management Binder, more about this in a later post)

12 o’clock

1 o’clock (want to share some frosting with me?)

2 o’clock

3 o’clock

4 o’clock (admiring my baby boy)

5 o’clock (playtime with friends)

6 o’clock onwards (homemade Indian spice chicken burgers and chocolate cupcakes with friends)

(otherwise known as: I struggle to participate in conversation as I stuff my face with cupcake… s)

Happy Friday, everyone!

5 :: in a picture an hour, family, friends, home sweet home, thoughts

a picture an hour

September 14, 2012 at 9:21 pm

Funny to think of the future. Sweet to savor the present.

Enjoy a few snapshots of the rest of the day, including some more behind the scenes about how those cupcakes came into being… and then were rapidly consumed (by me).

7 o’clock

8 o’clock

9 o’clock (welcome home from running a 5K, Daddy!)

10 o’clock (time for a nap)

11 o’clock (putting together my new Home Management Binder, more about this in a later post)

12 o’clock

1 o’clock (want to share some frosting with me?)

2 o’clock

3 o’clock

4 o’clock (admiring my baby boy)

5 o’clock (playtime with friends)

6 o’clock onwards (homemade Indian spice chicken burgers and chocolate cupcakes with friends)

(otherwise known as: I struggle to participate in conversation as I stuff my face with cupcake… s)

Happy Friday, everyone!

5 :: in a picture an hour, family, friends, home sweet home, thoughts

last granite of this Sicilian summer

September 12, 2012 at 11:48 am

Yesterday my friend Becca commented that our favorite biscotteria in town would stop selling granite (previously mentioned here and here) at the end of the week, so we ought to hie ourselves over there for one last granite date before the end of the summer.

This morning over our cereal I made the mistake of telling Lena that we were going on a walk to get granite with Miss Becca, all exciting buzzwords for my little girl. She decided she was done with breakfast right then and there. She ran to get both her shoes and mine.

Since we had awhile to kill before our granite date, Lena and I wandered through our town, enjoying the fresh morning air and taking a few photos of our favorite scenes. Enjoy!

street signs on a corner

& the steep hills of our town

a book helps when the walks get long

& how I love my cinquecenti

parents and grandparents stop for an espresso at the drink kiosk (“chiosco”) after dropping their kids off at school

& I wish I could grow a vine like that over our doorway

we love Miss Becca!

& “fragola e limone, per favore” (strawberry and lemon, please)

all gone! (can you see the faded marks of those horrible mosquito bites on her arms… 3 weeks later?)

& “it’s okay when the adults talk because Miss Becca lets me play with her phone”

We stopped in our town’s pet store on the way home to admire lizards & mice…

… and birds & whole buckets full of tiny little turtles!

We love you, Italy.

6 :: in friends, home sweet home, Sicily