i love...

making myself chocolate covered strawberries.

(even after valentines day)

talking to my baby.

taking a warm shower when she's finally sleeping.

breakfast for every meal.

friends who stop by to check in.

friends and neighbors who kindly offer to walk kingsley.

getting mail addressed to eleanor.

looking at photos of my husband as a baby and toddler.

singing songs with josh while our food bakes in the oven.

jimmy t's breakfast. and breakfast with friends.

a husband who calls his wife to say he's scheduled her a surprise massage.

phrases like "bill cosby. steve martin. 'charlie bit my finger.'

michael scott. then, todd packer."

all the faces this little girl makes during the day.

kingsley's patience with this new little addition.

how he curiously smells her diaper and his love for licking her feet.

baby girl and big bulldog. (and other thoughts for monday.)

here's my darling bulldog and baby girl helping mommy in the kitchen. kingsley sits ever so still beside my feet at the counter waiting for me to drop or spill something for him to devour and baby girl makes lots of cooing sounds as she watches me cook or clean up.

i realized the other night that eleanor really loves my singing. she is also the only person in this world who does, which makes me love her even more. i also realize that her love for my singing will definitely change in the coming years once she realizes how terrible my voice actually is, so i'm taking full advantage and singing nonstop while i can.

sometimes i think kingsley and eleanor scheme together before bedtime about which nights they're going to simultaneously be bad (kingsley) and awake all night (eleanor) to drive me crazy. in fact yesterday morning, after josh and i were up all night long, i told him, "that was the worst night of my life". then we both glanced over at sleeping eleanor who smiled bigger than she ever has. could it be? ;)

i drove by the hospital where eleanor was born on friday morning for the first time since her birth. and i got so emotional. so much went down there, my little girl took her first breath there, and my life changed forever as i held her for the first time there. i will always have a special place in my heart for that hospital, their staff, and my wonderful doctor.

i have a new found respect for women who have more than one baby. or a baby plus toddlers. or a baby plus any other children. having a baby plus a dog is hard enough work in my eyes. but will you believe me when i say i already miss my pregnant belly and want to do it all over again, and again, and again? that thought is actually quite funny when i think about how many times in those last few hours at the hospital before meeting E that i swore to myself i would never do this ever again. how things can change...

my sisters and my little brother.

it meant the world to me to have my three sisters and little brother here over the weekend. i love these kids so much and enjoyed spending time with them. sure, technically they were here to meet eleanor more than hang out with me, but still. i'm glad we're all so close and am really excited to see how their relationships with little eleanor develop and grow over the years. she is a lucky lady to have such sweet aunts and uncles, on both sides of the family, in her life.

favorite iphone pictures of e.

the top right photo of eleanor and her dad

will forever be my all time favorite photo ever.

family!!!

all of our family is in town meeting little miss eleanor!

and my baby brother isaac turned 13 yesterday! (crazy.)

we had two birthday cakes after we swam at the hotel last night...

and isn't eleanor's swimsuit cute? ;)

(she didn't swim, but looked ever so fashionable sitting beside the pool...)

be back soon...

before we end the motherhood posts...

...i just have to say a few words about mine.

last week, my mom flew into town and literally saved the day, every day. josh had to go back to work last monday so it meant a lot to have someone here with me for a few days since eleanor was only one week old and i really have no idea what i'm doing, still. anyway, back to my mother, i just don't know how she does it. she is a superwoman. she cooked all of my favorite meals, held eleanor while i slept, cleaned and reorganized my house, ran errands and made sure kingsley knew we all still love him by playing, walking, and spending lots of time with him.

my mom's always been like this, though. it's nothing out of the ordinary. she's always put her five children first and i think one of the main reasons why i've looked forward to becoming a mother myself over the years was largely due to her wonderful example and love for her children. i really hope to be that kind of mother to eleanor... the kind where she knows at any given moment in life, i would do anything for her, because i love her so.

my mom is coming back into town this weekend, along with the rest of my family and josh's parents. i'm so excited to see everyone and have them meet our little girl. family is the most important thing on this earth to me and i'm really thankful for mine. especially my mother. because she really is a superwoman and i love her very much.

first family walk.

on eleanor's 5th day of life, we went on our first big walk around capitol hill as a family of four (i like including kingsley in our family count) and introduced eleanor to the capitol. i guess technically our first family walk happened the night before when we walked to our friend's house for the evening, then to CVS for juice and then to grab chinese take-out. but i'm going to just go ahead and count our walk to the capitol as our first walk as a family of four.

i love him.

it's getting warmer outside, which means more walks as a family are around the corner. i'm really excited.

rockstar giveaway! (closed)

today we have a fabulous giveaway for you sponsored by beso! beso if offering one lucky winner $150 cash to shop shop shop at beso! below are just a few of my favorites from their site!

to enter, go to beso.com and sign up for a free account, then leave a comment below with your new beso.com username by friday, february 18th!

good luck!

...

UPDATE! congrats to camilla leila for winning! camilla, please email me your contact info... naomi.megan@gmail.com

rarrr! happy valentines day!

xoxo

guest post: what i love about motherhood, by elaine qualter

"Sticky hands. Refusing to share. Temper tantrums. Whining. Unreasonable demands. Short attention span. Mood swings. High-pitched shrieking. Picky eating. Choosing her own clothes. Putting on those clothes v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y.

She is three years old and she isn't always easy to deal with, despite my morning yoga and meditation routine and lots of chocolate therapy.

Her name is Mayumi. It is a Japanese name meaning strength, reason, and beauty. She was born on a Sunday morning after six hours of hard labor, but we had worked for 7 years before that to get her here. Like many, we struggled with fertility issues and were one of the lucky ones to finally be successful. All babies are miracles, so how can I claim that more so than others? I can't, but I can tell you how she's changed my life and what I love about being her mama.

I love witnessing the wonder she exhibits whenever she learns something new.

I love the sheer joy she exudes when she plays, and the raw, unencumbered spirit within her.

I love how she is the perfect synthesis of me and her daddy (my true love); I love seeing the best parts of us manifest in her.

I love the way she calls me Mama and holds my hand and nuzzles into my shoulder before she sleeps.

I love her hugs.

I love who I am with her and because of her, how all my personalities and roles have been magnified and re-examined; Mama seems to encompass artist, activist, musician, teacher, healer, friend, homemaker, explorer, writer, warrior, yogini...

I love how she inspires me to be better than I am.

I love how I've explored all sorts of new things (homeschooling, attachment parenting, EC, urban homesteading, blogging, etc.) because of her.

I love that she motivates me to operate in this world with more patience, compassion and mindfulness.

And best of all, I love that she still loves me even though I take myself so seriously and am constantly and consistently messing up. She reminds me that happiness and beauty is there in every moment if I take the time to recognize and enjoy it.

There are times I feel defeated and overwhelmed, yes. She is three years old. But... I kind of love it. All. Being a mama rocks."

--Elaine, known as MamaQ from Wasabi Mama

guest post: what i love about motherhood, by miss james

"Being a new mother is the most rewarding experience. I have three beautiful kiddos; Julian Riley, age 10. Milla Plum, age 8, and our newest addition, Gemma Bird, age 5 months. I love being a mom and am happy to say that I have a very close relationship with my children. They are the most important thing in my world and I make sure that they know it. Here are a few of my favorite things about being a mama....

Reading books.

Long walks and playing outside.

Sharing with them the things I loved as a child.

Cute little messy faces.

Building blanket forts.

Having good helpers in the kitchen.

Sweet little baby coos.

The unique ways they say I love you.

Little green thumbs.

Living room dance parties.

And goodnight kisses."

--Miss James, from The Bleubird Blog

chubby little cheeks + other little things.

i promise josh isn't choking our baby in that first photo although it might look like it. that's just some fancy burping hold they showed us at the hospital (along with things like 'how to hold a newborn' which i needed major help with.) i just die over eleanor's chubby cheeks as she is being burped. they are precious.

a lot of you have been asking a few similar questions so i thought i'd just answer some of them here...

we didn't give eleanor a middle name. she just has a first and last name. we like it a lot.

i bought eleanor's cute bows and flowers in her hair from lou&lee on etsy. i think they're the perfect size for newborns.

i mentioned how much i love knowing that eleanor is sealed to josh and me forever in this post. many of you commented and emailed asking what that meant. it means i know that God has a plan for us, his children, and through that plan, families can be together forever. i find great comfort in that.

anyway, i wanted to thank everyone for all the kind words and love expressed here as we welcomed our eleanor into the world this past week. i really love the blogging community and all the people i have met here who are so genuine, giving and supportive. so thank you.