Five on Friday | Safer at Home

Well, we have moved on from "shelter in place" to "Safer at Home" here in Alabama. However, besides Max and Parker heading out to get their first haircuts since February, and a socially distanced picnic lunch at The Botanical Gardens, we're pretty much still practicing our quarantining. Here's what else is new...

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Finn Edward | One Year

Our Finn Edward has officially made his first trip around the sun! He is wearing size 18 month clothing, size 4 diapers, and is just the cutest thing you've ever seen. He's become so much more communicative in the past few weeks. We're holding that his first official word was brother ("buhbuhbuh" - he loves pointing to big brother and saying it) but key and car were close contenders for that number one spot. Other words include: balloon, dada, egg, camera, bird, dog, and (finally!) mama. Finn has mastered the good-bye wave, pulls himself up on anything and everything he can find, is able to locate his belly button, and loves to "brush" his own hair and teeth.

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Life Lately | Quaratine Cuties

What's it like to be quarantined with a baby? It's simultaneously wonderfully delicious and cry-your-eyes out exhausting. On one hand, I feel so fortunate that time has stopped and I've had all obligations erased, and thus the ability to really soak up both Parker and Finn at this stage... but, the whole up-to-my-eyes in dishes plus absolutely no breaks has been a bit challenging. Obviously we have it easy compared to so many others  - we are super fortunate in all this that Max's job is "essential" and that he's still earning a paycheck, that we have a roomy house with a yard, and that we have money for groceries and occasional takeout. Still, when I look back on this post someday, I want to remember what our days were really like...

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Quarantine Reads | Round 1

I'm back with my latest quarantine reads - because in a pandemic, it's comforting to "get away" even if it's just through literature. I'm reviewing two recent releases and two throwbacks that I'm juuuust getting around to reading because, I'm slow (seriously, for further proof of my slowness, refer back to this blog post I penned in 2016). A state-wide shelter-in-place seemed like the perfect time to finally get around to reading them.

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Finn 10 & 11

Oh, Finn Edward. You are the exclamation point on our family sentence. Born into a house of first-borns, you remind us every day that you, sir, are different. Determined to prove sibling theory correct, you display all the hallmark characteristics of a classic second born. While the rest of this house is cautious and structured, you have been rebellious and dramatic since day one (when you arrived so fast that Dada and the nurses barely got the table pulled out for your delivery, nevermind that there was no medical doctor in sight).

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Quarantine Reads | Into Thin Air

Pandemics require some escape reading, am I right? Into Thin Air will totally take you to a different world - the one on top of Mt. Everest to be exact. I think in another life I must have climbed Mt. Everest. I'm pretty much obsessed with all the details surrounding this endeavor. I loved the movie Everest, and last year right around the climb window (May) I picked up Jon Krakauer's personal account of the 1996 Mt. Everest disaster shown in the movie. I read it again recently, because it's such an escape (which is a little bit needed right about now).

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PCK | SEVEN

This sweet soul turned seven years old yesterday. Even just last week, we thought this day would look a lot different...

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Five on Friday | February

That multitalented pianist above played in his very first US Chess Federation (who even knew that was a thing?) tournament this past weekend, and he did awesome. Of course we try to go the Carol Dweck route and focus on praising hard work and effort versus praising winning, so the fact that Parker had four wins and one draw was just the icing on the cake for us. 

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Southern Ladies Book Club Reads

Y'all, I've been having so much fun with my new book club! Here's what we've been up to...

In November, we read the recent release Never Have I Ever. This is the Amazon synopsis:

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Finn Edward | 7-8-9

Our Finn Edward is nine months old! He's mastered the army crawl, is wearing size 12-18 month clothing, and can already pack away a full size adult meal (boy can eat!). He goes crazy for crab, and loves steak, shrimp, and fish as well. He has a knack for identifying the most dangerous thing in the room and beelining straight for it. We live for his giggles and smiles - he loves playing on the carpet, flipping book pages when we read to him, being carried face-out in the Bjorn with Dada, peek-a-boo, cruising in his walker, sucking his thumb, being tickled, and going for walks around the neighborhood. He takes 2-3 naps a day (anywhere from 45 minutes to 2.5 hours) and goes on and off with sleeping through the night. Here's a look back at months seven, eight and nine...

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Finn's Nursery

Welcome to Finn's nursery! It's about 90% complete. I'd still like to swap out the ceiling fan for a wooden light fixture of some sort, but this is what it's looked like for quite awhile now though I'm just finally getting around to sharing it (the little one who occupies this little space is high maintenance!).

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I Love You More Than The Universe

If you are looking for a sweet addition to your little's Valentine's Day table or basket this year, I have the perfect gift! My amazing friend from undergrad, Lisa Castagnola, recently released the children's book I Love You More Than the Universe!

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Twenty-Twenty

Twenty-twenty... our first new year as a family of four! In December, we sent out the holiday card below...

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