baby Micah Lyon Sanderford!
He was born the morning of August 11, 2010. We can't wait to meet him!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Amelia welcomes her cousin...
baby Micah Lyon Sanderford!
He was born the morning of August 11, 2010. We can't wait to meet him!
We're Busy Resting
As July ended, I looked forward to August as a month of rest* and relaxation. Beginning July 31st, we've had visitors or been traveling almost every day. Liz and Oliver came to visit, then we went camping, then Amelia and I went to visit grandparents in NC. Yesterday we had a one-day break in the action, and this afternoon I pick up DC Laura from the airport! Next week Jim and Luli will stop by on their way to visit the newly-arrived Micah, and then Meg and Sophie will visit. We will finish up with a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park over Labor Day.
So that doesn't exactly sound restful, I guess, but I have happily put writing and major errands or household chores on hold. I had gotten into the habit of overplanning for Amelia's naptimes, and then being stressed the whole time she slept because there was no way I could get everything done. I vowed to devote August to going with the flow, so I just do whatever I feel like doing while Amelia sleeps. Today it involves sitting around in yoga clothes (a step toward actually doing yoga? We shall see), and eating figs and blogging.
I have been enjoying homemaking. It is not all that boring. For one thing, Amelia has become super action funtime baby. She is very, very interesting. She crawls and stands and laughs and throws balls and turns the pages of board books. She chats and sings to herself while she plays. She can entertain herself with a pan and a spoon while I clean the kitchen. She "helps" me fold laundry (by systematically knocking down stacks of folded clothes). So it is both more fun to hang out with her and more possible to get a few things done around the house with her around than it was 9 or 6 or 3 months ago. I have actually always somewhat enjoyed tasks like cleaning and going through mail, within reason, probably because of the sense of accomplishment I get from creating order. Of course there are many moments when it all gets exhausting and seems perpetual--which of course it is. But as long as I don't set my sights too high and overplan, and think of it as what it is, a job with pros and cons, lately the homemaking enterprise has been rather satisfying.
In other Amelia news, I think she might have said her first word. She recently learned to wave, and two or three times she has said what sounds like "bye-bye" while waving at people or things we were leaving behind. Of course "bye-bye" sounds a lot like "ba-ba," which she says a lot. So it's too early to say. But it is exciting still.
She has also learned to kiss, bit wet kisses. She lunges at you, mouth open, dripping with drool. The French-kissing baby.
What else? I have been trying to read more, to some success. I have some ideas for new poems to write in September. I plan to post more pictures, including pictures of our camping trip, soon!
*Well, as much rest as you can get with a baby who still isn't sleeping through the night. Amelia slept through the night for maybe a week or so--it was heavenly--and then started sitting up in her crib. And not being able to lie back down. When we tried to let her just figure it out, she fell asleep in a forward bend, her head between her knees. So I am up with her about 3 times a night again after she sits or even stands in her crib. I am currently trying to figure out how to solve this, simultaneously hoping it passes suddenly and SOON.
So that doesn't exactly sound restful, I guess, but I have happily put writing and major errands or household chores on hold. I had gotten into the habit of overplanning for Amelia's naptimes, and then being stressed the whole time she slept because there was no way I could get everything done. I vowed to devote August to going with the flow, so I just do whatever I feel like doing while Amelia sleeps. Today it involves sitting around in yoga clothes (a step toward actually doing yoga? We shall see), and eating figs and blogging.
I have been enjoying homemaking. It is not all that boring. For one thing, Amelia has become super action funtime baby. She is very, very interesting. She crawls and stands and laughs and throws balls and turns the pages of board books. She chats and sings to herself while she plays. She can entertain herself with a pan and a spoon while I clean the kitchen. She "helps" me fold laundry (by systematically knocking down stacks of folded clothes). So it is both more fun to hang out with her and more possible to get a few things done around the house with her around than it was 9 or 6 or 3 months ago. I have actually always somewhat enjoyed tasks like cleaning and going through mail, within reason, probably because of the sense of accomplishment I get from creating order. Of course there are many moments when it all gets exhausting and seems perpetual--which of course it is. But as long as I don't set my sights too high and overplan, and think of it as what it is, a job with pros and cons, lately the homemaking enterprise has been rather satisfying.
In other Amelia news, I think she might have said her first word. She recently learned to wave, and two or three times she has said what sounds like "bye-bye" while waving at people or things we were leaving behind. Of course "bye-bye" sounds a lot like "ba-ba," which she says a lot. So it's too early to say. But it is exciting still.
She has also learned to kiss, bit wet kisses. She lunges at you, mouth open, dripping with drool. The French-kissing baby.
What else? I have been trying to read more, to some success. I have some ideas for new poems to write in September. I plan to post more pictures, including pictures of our camping trip, soon!
*Well, as much rest as you can get with a baby who still isn't sleeping through the night. Amelia slept through the night for maybe a week or so--it was heavenly--and then started sitting up in her crib. And not being able to lie back down. When we tried to let her just figure it out, she fell asleep in a forward bend, her head between her knees. So I am up with her about 3 times a night again after she sits or even stands in her crib. I am currently trying to figure out how to solve this, simultaneously hoping it passes suddenly and SOON.
Friday, July 30, 2010
House Tour: Dining Room
The living room opens into the dining room, which doubles as my writing studio. This giant table is an excellent place to spread out, say, 48 pages of poetry and try to put it in some sort of order. And to write.
Behind the table is the desk. Note the pale green wall my dad repainted (the previous owners took their shelves and left the wall with the old paint torn off where the shelves had been). It is the only green wall in the house. It is my favorite wall.
This is Amelia's elephant, who currently lives in the corner of the dining room. I got the elephant at Goodwill (which is 2 blocks from our house) for her to practice standing on. We are used to it now but when I first got it, it kept scaring me and Dean. It sort of lurks, looking like a large, unfamiliar dog.
House Tour: Living Room
We love the living room. It is the prettiest room in the house, with shiny wood floors and this gorgeous built-in bookshelf (original to the house, which was built in 1895). We no longer have a TV in our house due to the living room's beauty. A TV just did not fit in, so ours in sitting in the garage. We've canceled our cable. (Instead we have been watching reruns of Arrested Development on hulu.)
The rocking chair was Dean's great-grandmother's. We just bought the coffee table from an antique furniture store in our neighborhood. And the couch is from Ikea.
House Tour: Front Porch
I am doing some cleaning today and my plan to to take pictures of each room as it is cleaned, then to post the pictures on the blog for a house tour. Here is the front porch! It didn't really require much cleaning, but it did get a makeover from Luli and Linda a couple of weeks ago. And a fabulous new welcome mat as a gift from my friend Laura.
The house, like most in this neighborhood, is very colorful.
I love having a place for hanging baskets. And to sit and watch thunderstorms (if it ever rains here again).
The house, like most in this neighborhood, is very colorful.
I love having a place for hanging baskets. And to sit and watch thunderstorms (if it ever rains here again).
!!!
I just submitted my manuscript to the first book contest! I spent most of my writing time in July finishing a set of poems (the "4 and 40 Blackbirds that were inspired by Carline's 40 Forts), revising older poems, and arranging the whole mess into a collection. Now the waiting. I have big plans for relaxing all through August.
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