an adventure with my girl.

Yesterday, we set off on adventure. I just woke up with the feeling that we needed to do something special, just us. The stars seemed to align as we easily found a parking place, spotted a giant rubber ducky on the roof and walked along hand in hand towards our destination, the children's discovery museum.





I love this age, when the pigeons in the courtyard and the stairs between exhibits are as fascinating and brain-growing as the museum itself.



Her eyes widen in fear as planes fly overhead. Her voice squeaks with excitement as birds suddenly descend all around us. Her head is quickly directed upward as she watches a ball make its way through a bumbling maze. She picks up a paintbrush wet and heavy with the paint of children that have come before her. As she runs her brush across the white canvas it's like magic before her eyes as it instantly changes colors.



She takes it all in and it's as if she is growing into a little girl before my very eyes.

Some days, I am distracted with email checking, blog reading, chore list making, even though physically I am right next to her. But not yesterdat. Yesterdat I found myself soaking up each minute and marveling at how this child that I birthed, seemingly just yesterday, is now talking, walking, exploring and making art.

A team effort.

On our anniversary, I had grand plans of getting up early and making an anniversary worthy breakfast while husband and baby slept on, unaware. As soon as I was up and had the ingredients out, so was our little one. I fed her breakfast and once she finished eating she was curious about what I was up to. As you know (I think), I love to bake. As Meredith toddled up onto a chair, working alongside me, dumping ingredients into the mixing bowl, this one big hope that felt so far away had suddenly arrived. There are so many things about parenthood that felt so far away when Meredith was just born and now, after the quick blink of an eye, they are here. Getting to bake with my little girl just about takes the cake.

Toddlerhood, V2.

Toddlerhood.

As I mentioned yesterday, this time in Meredith's life is exhausting. It is also awe-inspiring. She is learning new things everyday and really taking in the world around her.

yes, that is a shovel in the VCR

she actually kept her headband on for half an hour because she looked pweeettty.

smarty pants.

love this little girl.

sick day.

today we have a little sick baby. she's running a fever and extra sleepy & cuddly, but otherwise seems fine. we are spending our day on the couch, watching movies and taking it easy in general. i'm taking advantage of this sick day to take a break myself. when my house in boxes and still fairly cluttered, it's hard for me to relax. so, today, i am. i am watching shows during nap, prepping dinner in my crockpot and in general relaxing. i gotta say, it feels good.

Moving on.

Yesterday we said goodbye to our home. I felt much more emotional leaving it than I had expected. My sadness mostly stems from the fact that this home is where we became parents. It's the place we brought Meredith home from the hospital. These past 16 months have been amazing. The memories we've made are countless. As we packed up our home, I had visions of myself bouncing my newborn to sleep in her darkened nursery. I remembered back to the long, cold winter when we played on the living room rug and built forts. I remembered watching her crawl for the first time. I remembered giving her solids for the first time. I remembered watching her play with tupperware in the kitchen and climbing into the cabinets as I packed. I remembered the progression of bath time- from lazing in the bath sling to splashing wildly in the tub. So so many memories in that little blue house. As we drove away last night, tears streaming down my face, I tried to remind myself that the wonderful thing about memories is they come with you.

lately.

Preparing for a move is stressful & tiring. There's always so much to do that it can be hard to calm your mind. Having Meredith has helped, though. She has forced us to stop, read a book, blow raspberries on her belly, dance, cuddle while watching tv. Basically, she has forced some semblance of normalcy. So, here is our normal lately.

a night at the park

yesterday was chris's last day of working at Harvard so my little lady and i were on our own for the evening. after a late afternoon nap for both of us, we headed to one of my favorite parks in town. let me tell ya, the 5 o'clock hour is the hour for the park. not too many children, but enough for quality people watching. cool, but not too cool and no sweating. only problem: bugs.

meredith and i had a grand ol' time. enjoy some pictures and a wittle video i put together.

A night at the park. from Beaktweets on Vimeo.