Habitat Kid

IMAGINE: Bravery

This beautiful image from mama of seven, Emma Wood, reminds me of a sweet moment I had with London this summer. We had gone to our friend's farm for the day and topped it off by a swim in the neighbor's pool. Because of all of our time in NYC and now being in Seattle where rain is frequent to say the least, she hadn't ever really gone in a swimming pool before. She was quite nervous for the first 15 minutes or so, but she gradually got more and more brave and soon was making her way across the pool on her own. I was so so proud of her because I knew how badly she wanted to do it but how much courage it took. Those moments make being a mommy so worth it and gives me hope that I too, can be brave.

IMAGINE: First Glimpses

Today we found out that our sweet growing baby is going to be a girl! For most of this pregnancy I thought for sure it was going to be a boy since I felt so different from my pregnancy with London, but the last few weeks got me thinking how nice it would be to have another girl. Wish granted! We are getting so excited and of course things are starting to feel more real. I'm a little worried about having another big one (see photo #2) since London was 9 lbs 13 oz and this baby is in the 96th percentile for size right now...yikes. But I'm much more on track with weight gain this time around, so I'm trying to stay positive. In the meantime I will be trying to constrain myself against buying too many new girly baby clothes and such! Oooo it's going to be hard.

IMAGINE: Downtime

This picture pretty much sums up how I've felt all day. London's been sick and I've been taking full advantage of the snuggle and rest time. :) Here's hoping the weekend will be slightly more productive...

via lotiekids on pinterest

IMAGINE: New Life in the Garden

We are all in awe as we watch our garden waking up to spring and admire the tiny miracles sprouting from the earth. As novice gardners, it took us a serious leap of faith to hack down so many perennial plants in the fall and just hope they would reappear when winter ended. They did not disappoint! These pictures were taken a few months ago, but everything has exploded since then and it looks like we are going to have a very lush backyard again this summer. The hard work has certainly paid off! I'll try to post some more recent pictures later this week... (p.s. Can you guess what London's favorite color is??)

IMAGINE: Paper Costumes

These paper costumes designed by none other than Charles and Ray Eames look like such a fun experiment. Large-scale masks and boxy full-body bird outfits? Genius. A little scary perhaps, but still genius. Have a happy weekend!

via Emily Forgot and Waanaki

IMAGINE: Spring on Parade

What started out as a rainy and gloomy day, became a temporary flurry of bright colors and sunshine during the Spring Parade at London's school. Kindergarteners and 1st graders participated, carrying cheerful flags of dyed silk and singing on their walk from the school to a nearby park. Us adults lined the path for them to pass through and we then all joined hands for a few verses and circle activities. Raisin buns (made beforehand by the children) and oranges were served and a special handmade treasure was given to each child from the spring fairies. I feel so lucky to be able to be able to be part of a school that encourages such community and simple seasonal activities like this. What a way to usher in spring!

IMAGINE: Twinkles the Kitty

I'm sure the first thing you think of when you see this face is Twinkles the Kitty. Well, I must have missed it because all I saw was a big fat headache coming on quickly. Permanent marker. Wow. Enjoy the weekend! Don't worry, I'll be scrubbing this off while you're having fun.

IMAGINE: Storybook Magic

We haven't really begun reading any fairy tales with "scary parts" yet, aside from Little Red Riding Hood, but I look forward to the day when we can explore all of the magical worlds found in storybooks. I love the quote by Albert Einstein: "If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales." These photos from Maxine Helfman bring some of this magic to life and show the adventure of these stories, especially the dangerous parts.

IMAGINE: First Pet

Today marks one full week of having a dog! Last Friday we rescued Winston, a small maltese/mini poodle, or "maltipoo" as Google tells me. According to the volunteers at the animal shelter, Winston wasn't a very happy guy when he first arrived. He suffered from some serious neglect and his hair had become badly matted. He hated for anyone to try to pet him because it pulled on the hair, so they shaved it all off and he turned into a little sweetie! He is so starved for love and we have been trying to make up for lost time this past week. London is in heaven of course, and calls herself a "big sister" now. *eye roll*

IMAGINE: Ink

It's practically a parental rite of passage to enter a room one day and see your child covered in marker tats. Permanent marker stories, anyone? Now I'm just waiting for the dreaded "Look-mom-I-gave-myself-a-haircut" day. Oy.

via FRÖKEN Ö