bath time

Matteo loves taking baths. Half of our pictures seem to be of him sitting in a high chair out at a restaurant, swinging, or naked in his tub. That boy leads a pretty sweet life.

When you see him everyday it's easy to lose track of how fast he's growing and developing. Six months ago his first bath was easy, calm and relaxing.


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Now giving him a bath is like trying to control a wild otter.


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And speaking of wild otters...

thanksgiving weekend

It was a lovely weekend. We had dinner at Matt's dad's house Thursday, lunch with his mom and uncle on Friday, and spent the rest of the weekend catching up on stuff around the house and napping. (Actually I did some serious napping at his dad's house too.) I'm ready for you now holiday season! Bring it!


Matteo is teething again and ate cold spoons for Thanksgiving dinner


Horsing around with Grandpa John


Helping Grandma Joan and Aunt Kelly decorate their tree


Grandma Joan, Grandpa John and Aunt Kelly


Grandma Peig and Uncle Jim


Trying out his new snowsuit from Grandma Linda


At the park with Dad


Helping with the laundry

cribs

Matt and I lowered the mattress in Matteo's crib today. In pictures (provided by the always-helpful IKEA directions) we went from this:



to this:



Is it just me, or does that bigger baby look A LOT like Hitler?

the sitting up really fast trick

Still working on crawling, but he mastered this one this week.

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thankful

We have a lot to be thankful for this year. We are happy and healthy and content. We have a beautiful new baby and have been showered with love, guidance and support in anticipation and celebration of his arrival. We are fulfilled by our chosen professions and both Matt and I feel like they give us the opportunity to make a small difference in the world. We have a cozy house that's often filled with our favorite people and even though we weren't able to travel as much as we usually do, this year brought us lots (lots!) of visits from family and friends.

Life is unpredictable and easy to take for granted. We lost a dear friend last month, quite suddenly, and the best way I've found to handle my grief is to slow down, recognize what the truly important things are, and take more time to appreciate and enjoy them. We've had our share of challenges, but this year also has brought us so much joy and I'm trying to savor every minute of it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

his picture life

There are a handful of blogs I read almost daily and, not surprising, most of the authors also have young children. One of my favorites right now is Pacing the Panic Room, which is written by a father who also is a professional photographer. (You may have seen this awesome weekly series he did of his wife's pregnancy.)

I really loved this post from last week about the importance of his daughter's early "picture life".

"When she looks back at her picture life I want her to see that she went places, that she stayed in motor hotels in beach towns, rode in planes on our laps -- that she saw things bigger than backyards. Swam in oceans. I want her to get it into her head early that the world is humongous and something that she deserves to see..."

My mom was always really good about taking pictures of us growing up. My early picture life is something really special to me and it's almost all thanks to her.



Each year my mom would put together a big album of photos from that year. One of my favorite things to do as a kid was to pore over them. I liked seeing myself as I grew, but more than that I liked the context - the special people and places in my life as they used to be and seeing that I was there too. There is something a little sad about the fact that young children don't remember the early years that are so special and important to everybody else. Pictures give you a way to capture at least a little bit of that magic in a bottle.

I got my first camera when I was nine, a Polaroid Supercolor 600, and I've been taking pictures ever since. When Matteo grows up I want him to see the photos we've taken of him and see that he was part of everything we did. I want him to see what our lives were like when he was a baby. I want him to know that we went to parades and on road trips and had parties. I want him to see himself being held by our family and friends and see the smiles on their faces from being close to him. I want him to always know, that from the day he was born, he has brought an incredible amount of joy to our lives.

start of the season

This is Matt's first season as a head high school basketball coach and practice started this past week. This morning his team had their first scrimmage and Matteo and I went to watch. It's very likely that this will be the only game he makes it to because the regular season games start at 7:30 p.m., half an hour after he goes to bed.

The school's nickname is the Purgolders. What's a Purgolder? Why it's what you get when you combine the school colors, purple + gold.



Their mascot's name is Peppy the Purgolder - not super intimidating, but pretty darn cute.

big up your chest!

I just came across this video from Yeo Valley, an organic dairy farm in the U.K. Forget marketing our cheese. Wisconsin needs to start recruiting really good looking farmers who can rap.

laughing baby

I really didn't know anything about babies until I had one, so it came as a great surprise when Matteo started to laugh. I had no idea babies laughed so early and so hard! Some of his favorite things that make him laugh are peekaboo, Roscoe, raspberries on his belly (that's a favorite) and, as I just discovered two days ago, being tickled!

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teaching

Did you watch Glee last night? Boy Gwyneth killed it. She's so perfect I usually can't stand her but I had to give it up for her last night. She played a substitute teacher who was super cool and fun and let the kids sing songs they loved, instead of the ones Mr. Schue had been making them sing.

I loved the whole conversation they had about their different teaching philosophies. She argued that you can't connect with kids unless you relate to them in a way they already understand - the way they relate to themselves and each other. He argued that it's a teacher's job to show their students new perspectives.

Holly Holiday (a.k.a. Gwyneth): "16% of all high school students dropped out last year. You can't just expect them to sit up and pay attention. These kids feel special. They have a voice. And if we don't listen to it they just tune us out."

Mr Schoe: "I give my kids a voice. I just don't let it run free. I'm the teacher, it's my job to know more than they do."

Holly Holiday: "Right, but you don't know more about what they care about the most - themselves."

Boy could I relate. When you're working with kids it can be really challenging to strike the right balance of being an effective disciplinarian and being cool and relatable. Matt does this really well but it's always been more awkward for me. As a wise man once said, "It's a fine line between stupid and clever." It's easy to try too hard. And once you've crossed into stupid from clever it can all go downhill quickly if you're not careful. (Holly Holliday learned this the hard way after she let Mercedes clog the tailpipe on Sue Sylvester's Le Car with tater tots.)

But when you do find that balance where you're able to relate to kids AND expand their horizons, it can be pretty amazing. Like the PS22 chorus. Here they are singing Phoenix's 'Lisztomania'. Seeing these kids pour their hearts into this song as they sing it gives me chills.



Kids are awesome.

baby yoga

plank

 

upward dog

¡hola colombia!

This morning I got an email at work officially welcoming me to a leadership development program I was invited to participate in. Along with the welcome letter was a schedule for the 15-month program, which includes several meetings I'll have to travel to.

First stop - Cartagena, Colombia in February!

(What's the Nature Conservancy doing in Colombia? Click here to find out.)



Fast Facts about Colombia from Lonely Planet


Number of 'u's in country's name none

Population 46 million

Head of state President Juan Manuel Santos

He said it All human beings have three lives: public, private, and secret - Gabriel García Márquez

Famous for Gabriel García Márquez, Shakira, salsa, cumbia, Betty La Fea (the original Ugly Betty), FARC, Fernando Botero, coffee, a certain white powder, three kinds of passionfruit.

And finally, I can't hear the word Cartagena without thinking about one of my favorite movies when I was a kid. Joan Wilder 4EVA.

thank you yo gabba gabba

I'm quickly learning everything goes out the window when you have a baby. Before Matteo was born I had all sorts of great ideas. Some I gave up on immediately (cloth diapers) and some I've actually managed to stick with (making my own baby food). I think for the most part, Matt and I do a good job remaining open, flexible, and willing to evaluate the pros and the cons of things instead of trying to force things a.) because they are convenient for us, b.) because they follow 'the book', or c.) because this baby-obsessed culture we live in tells us we have to do it their way or else we'll be irreparably screwing up our child and he'll never get into Yale because we used the wrong kind of baby carrier. (That's kind of how it feels sometimes.)

I read a LOT of parenting books after Matteo was born - to the point where my head started to spin and they all started to contradict one another. I still use them for referencing specific questions but after about the first six weeks decided I need to adopt my own parenting philosophy. It's pretty simple. Basically, if we all are happy and healthy and still able to get most things done (most being the key word here - I'm still working on being able to let certain things go and not feel guilty) I think we're doing more than okay.

TV watching is one of the things I've had to let go of. I used to swear that I'd never let him watch TV until he was two, which is what the books say. But guess what? There are times when I'm alone and have to shower and the toys in the pack and play aren't cutting the mustard. And there are afternoons when I come home from work and I really need just a few minutes to recharge my battery before spending the rest of the evening entertaining, feeding and bathing a 6-month old who requires a lot of focus and energy.

Thank God for Yo Gabba Gabba. Seriously. He loves it. I love it. It's not very educational but why does it have to be? He's a baby who loves music and watching other kids and bright colors and it has lots of all three. Sometimes it's a little weird (umm... Elijah Wood's dancey dance), but mostly the songs are catchy in a non-annoying way and have good messages delivered by bands I like to listen to. Chromeo sings about washing your hands. The Roots tell you to love your family. Alright, sounds good to me.

making friends

We went to Minneapolis a couple of weeks ago to visit our friends Dan and Libby and their kids. It's so much fun to see Matteo's personality emerging. He's not just a little lump (albeit a cute lump) anymore. He's this laughing, yelling, sitting, rolling bundle of energy who loves to meet and play with new people.

While I try to savor each day for what it is and who he is right now, knowing he'll never be as young as he is today, I'm so excited to get to know him. Who is this boy going to be? What kind of music will he love? What kind of friends will he bring home? What kind of birthday cake is he going to ask for each year? Silly stuff to think about now, of course, but I do anyway. How can you not?

photo booth

At the party we had after Matteo's baptism we set up a makeshift photo booth. We used dry erase speech bubbles and cut out Matteo heads for props. BIG BIG thanks to our friend Carrie for taking the pictures and coordinating everything. YOU ROCK!

Here are just a few of my favorites:

st. maarten's day

Yesterday was St. Maarten's Day. Boy do I miss that island.

nekkid grammaw!

If we're facebook friends, you've already seen me post this. But I need to share this further. This is HILARIOUS.



from dlisted, of course

veterans day

My father's parents were in the Army in World War II. My grandfather, a Captain, scouted out enemy troops. My grandmother, a Lieutenant, ran an office in Paris that sent and deciphered coded messages. They met at training camp in Wisconsin at an army dance and continued a long-distance romance throughout the war. (My grandmother still has hundreds of letters my grandfather sent her while they were apart.) For their wedding my grandfather drove an open army jeep from what was then Czechoslovakia to France, where they were married by the mayor of Paris.


Grandma


Grandma - on the right


Grandma - on the left


Grandpa


wedding day, Paris 1945


Paris, 1945

After my grandpa passed away (after 46 years of marriage), my grandma remarried. Bill also was in the military. He was a Captain and pilot in the Navy and served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He was an incredibly accomplished pilot and Captain of an aircraft carrier during Vietnam. He also was the Secretary of the Navy's personal pilot.


Bill - top row, second from left

My mother's father also was in the Army. He ran away from home, lied about his age, and actually served in the army when he was 13 or 14 at the end of WWI. During WWII he served in the South Pacific. Before he shipped out my Grandma, who was living in Palm Springs at the time working at restaurant that served celebrities, took a train by herself to his training camp in Louisiana to meet him for a secret rendezvous (since they weren't married at the time). When he came back from the war one of the first things he did was ask her to marry him.


Grandpa


Grandpa


My great-aunt and my grandma are in the middle, their brother Bob is next to my grandma


And a fun one from Palm Springs during the war - my grandma is on the mule. Her sister is holding the beer.


wedding day, Michigan 1946

Besides my grandparents, my father, uncle and aunt also served in the Navy (my Dad also was Marine). I'm proud to come from a family of so many people who served their country. And to all veterans, thank you for your service.