We Love Windows

When Soren remembers that there is a window in the room he scurries over to it and easily pulls himself up to get a grand view of the front yard and tree. I think he feels really important being able to stand and have a higher perspective than usual.

Once at the window Soren likes to narrate his experience through a delightful series of coos, raspberries, air sucks, and lots of 'dadada' and my favorite, 'mamama.'

His little legs are the cutest!

Hi mom, you are my fave!


Asher wanted to join in the fun so I perched him next to Soren.

Asher and Soren were thrilled to hold onto the window sill, slap the glass, and chat all about what they were doing and seeing.

Their little heads looking out the window are such a cute amusement.


This is my world--their world. I spend a lot of time crawling--chasing my crawler and pouncing on my bouncer. Lying on the ground I position myself between the two of them so I can easily balance Asher when he topples awkwardly, nuzzle my head in his belly and tickle Soren's legs as he crawls over both Asher and me. Being in the trenches of baby life keeps me grounded and happy. Asher and Soren's joys are simple and mine are enormous.

Asher, Almost Crawling

Asher is poised to crawl soon--he bounces and lunges and is an expert roller. I love seeing his abilities sharpen each day but honestly, I don't want him to crawl. I want him to stay tiny and immobile and snuggly. That said, I really do want to just live in the NOW of their lives, which means celebrating the joys of each day and being grateful for the yesterdays and hopeful for the tomorrows.

My little men continually stun me with their beauty.

The Fussy Side of Asher Man

Asher was mega fussy (read: tired and hungry) the other night, which is very unusual for him but still cute. When he is frustrated (or happy or excited) he hits his hands on the floor and kicks up his feet and grunts. Usually this is expressed when Soren ventures too close or I interrupt his play to cover him in kisses. This video highlights Asher's 'fussiness.'

Helping Feed His Kid Brother

Asher wanted to help feed his 'little' brother. In his true good natured style, Soren thought it was hilarious. Asher and Soren are interacting more and more and actually engaging each other. I find their play absolutely adorable to watch. I didn't know hanging out with baby babes could be so enjoyable. Motherhood surprises me--I find it less about 'work' and more about discovery and the joyful development of relationships.

MISSING:

100 lbs.

But let's be honest, I don't want it back.

I stepped on the scale the other day to see that I had lost five more pounds from my previous weigh-in, which meant that I had actually lost 100 pounds since delivering Asher and Soren nine months ago. Granted, 70 were lost in the first two weeks after delivery so it has taken 8 months to lose the other 30.

100 pounds? Amazing--that is pretty much the equivalent of shedding my petite friend Nicole, who weighs about 100 pounds.

I will probably loathe this post when I stop pumping and suddenly gain a million pounds but until then I am enjoying my miracle body and the miracle babies it produced.

Asher: Expeditioner

Cutest baby head!

Ready to read books all night long or join Soren for midnight adventures!

Asher, expert at being focused.

Great shot of Asher's cutes and his tooth!

Soren: Expeditioner

Ready for cave exploring or camping!

Checking out the backyard scenery...

Checking out his reflection...

Being SUPER baby cute...

Soren has had a blast exploring new space in the house and is drawn to shiny surfaces that act like mirrors--hello cute self!

Anniversary Celebration

Our special guests.

The hubs with his babies.

Asher busying himself with his photo album.

Soren and Asher both busy with their books (a wrestling match ensued and books were 'swapped').

The MAN!

Mmmm, food.

Asher LOVES sweet potatoes (and I LOVE him).

Asher and Soren were our special guests at our anniversary dinner--and what adorable guests! The wait-staff and other restaurant patrons were smitten by their cuteness. One waiter leaned his chin on our booth and simply watched Asher and Soren for a few minutes, they were THAT cute. We kept them satisfied with sweet potatoes while we ate our salads and Faccia Luna pizza--delicious.

Jamie and I had our first round of anniversary celebrations on Saturday night. I had planned a simple date to have dinner at Pizzeria Paradiso and dessert at the new fro yo spot next door, TangySweet. I love pizza and frozen yogurt (classy, I know) and I don't really enjoy "fine dining" (can't stomach the cost) so I was really looking forward to our date, especially because after eating we were going to walk around the Dupes (Dupont), something we used to really enjoy doing (city walking and exploring).

Well, we did all of the above--dinner, yogurt, walk and it was all wonderful except for one not so minor detail. I could taste NOTHING. A nasty cold consumed my head and I had ZERO sense of smell or taste. I tried not to be too devastated but it was hard and I whined a bit. I had a piece of bread and a piece of pizza and enjoyed the texture of both but could not bring myself to eat anything more--what was the point? Jamie's yogurt looked delicious. He got a large plain with oreos, coconut, and fresh raspberries and declared that the yogurt tasted like frozen Keffir! Yum.

Fortunately, the date was less about food and more about reveling in my hubs and reflecting on our relationship and the years we had spent together. Walking arm in arm around a familiar neighborhood in DC with the freshest, most wonderful summer breeze one could imagine felt like the greatest anniversary gift. (plus, my taste was recovered the following day so I devoured the delicous leftover pizza: pesto, potato, and parm--ab fab)

Sleeping Cuties

Love, love, LOVE the sweetness and innocence of sleeping babies.

Thanks Jamie for SEVEN (really, 10) Sweet Years

Happy Anniversary to my cute, cute HUBS!

Jamie at Terminal Reading Market in Philly, PA.

In Tulum, Mexico.

On one of our most recent dates--we are reduced to quick self portraits whose composition pretty much reflect the current state of our lives--not quite centered but happy in our existence.

Somewhere in Lancaster, PA.

On our seventh anniversary I am (predictably) eternally grateful to Jamie for not only giving me such a happy life, luxurious in endless amounts of love, but for giving me my baby babes.

Having children bends marriage in new ways--exposing both vulnerabilities and strengths. I have enjoyed watching my hubs metamorph into a father, into someone who jumps out of bed in the middle of the night to check on babies, someone who has given up naps, someone who sings silly songs while holding babies, and someone who has gracefully allowed two little people to crowd his world. I only have so much attention to give and Jamie has lovingly yielded some (well, a LOT) of that to our beautiful sons.

I am enormously grateful to Jamie for his patience with me over the past year--for supporting me during an often wretched pregnancy (for example, he clipped and painted my toenails), for being my ONE and ONLY during the delivery and emotionally painful aftermath of having preemie babies, and for thanking me pretty much daily for being a good mom. I never lack for affection or compliments from Jamie and I don't want to take those luxuries for granted.

I love marriage and I attribute that love to Jamie and for his ability to make marriage such a dynamic organism. Our marriage has LIFE--it seems to breathe vigorously and although it fluctuates in energy, it always endures and always satisfies. I love marriage to Jamie because loving him and being loved by him enables all of the nadirs and acmes of our relationship to give definition and texture to our lives. I love being in a relationship that is so important and so meaningful that it allows for vulnerability, that we care and love enough to sometimes be hurt and most of the time be buoyed and steadied by our intimacy and interaction.

Thank you Jamie for YOU and for giving me complete access to the poetry and aesthetic that are YOU. Thank you for giving me a life that never lacks for love and that now includes our two tremendous babies, Asher and Soren.

Seriously Soren?

We took the boys to the pool on Saturday (so fun--they treated it like a huge bath tub with loads and loads of vigorous hand slapping and splashing) and it was a blast. When we got home I stripped Soren naked and was in the process of taking Asher's wet trunks and diaper off when Soren crawled over to me, pulled himself up and proceeded to PEE all over me like I was a wall mounted urinal. I was stunned but couldn't help but laugh hysterically because it was so sudden and unexpected and that stream seemed to last forever! I quickly decided to leave Asher's diaper on until I wrangled one on Soren first.

Lesson learned...don't leave naked buns exposed for TOO long.

Baby Cockatoo!

My baby isn't totally bald! He's so sweet.

Asher's hair flipped into a little curl after his bath on Friday and I could NOT get over how stinking adorable he looked.

Soren Crawls!

My little mover!

This is Soren't first crawl, which involved a lot of sheer upper body force. His crawl is much more fierce these days.

Soren started crawling about three weeks ago and has been in constant motion since. He has a strong crawl and is becoming increasingly faster and steadier. In addition to crawling, Soren loves to pull himself up onto just about any object and has become quite cavalier in steading himself, once standing, with just one hand. He has also been spotted pulling himself up with a large object (toy, shoe, etc.) in one hand and once up he likes to flail said object in the air.

Soren's ambition and apparent lack of fear totally amaze me. Daily I marvel at Soren's strength and ability. Along with crawling has come a love (one could even say OBSESSION) with me! He wants to be wherever I am and if I am in the room he really only prefers me to hold him, which is a whole new gig for me and all of us. He was never like that before but I have been told that once babies start exploring their world they become a little insecure and always look for the comfort of mom to make sure they are okay. I guess that is what is happening but I do find it cute and when I'm not tortured by the feeling that I am neglecting Asher, I love being such a huge part of Soren's world.

Having a crawling baby is really fun even if Soren's movement totally changes everything. I feel like he is growing up SO much and I feel so lucky to be apart of his life and development. I love that little guy.

Missing the Squishy, Scrunched up Days...

but LOVING the chatty, increasingly mobile and affectionate days of babies.



Asher, my 4.5 lb baby babe getting dressed to flee the NICU!

My friend Tarah had her sweet baby (delivered by the beloved Tchabo) on Saturday. Little Thane was 7.13 lbs and 21.5 inches long with cute blonde hair and perfect little ears. I got to hold him last night and was impressed by his smallness--his scrawny legs, long toes, perfectly round head and all the tiny details of a newborn. I loved his scratchy cries and his folded up demeanor--ahh, I adore babies. My biggest reaction to him was a disbelief that my babies had been even smaller than him! My under 5 lbers were that--totally tiny but enormous in cuteness and loveableness. I miss those small days and yet I am thrilled by the activity, opinions, and explosions of ability that my nine month old babies show me daily.

I did get to clip Thane's super long fingernails and toenails, much to the relief of Tarah (it's scary doing that for the first time) PLUS I got to use my skill for feeding bottles to tiny babies to get Thane to eat a few ounces of formula. It's just wonderful being in the presence of such new life.

Matchy-Matchy Cousins

When Beckham saw that he had a shirt similar to Asher's onesie (I bought it for him), he rushed inside to put not just the shirt on but also his camo shorts so that he could be Asher's OTHER twin. What adorable twins! What a cute cousin!

Bad Wife

Jamie pushing HIS boys in the BOB.

Jamie nibbling on Soren's stomach and making him LAUGH, laugh, laugh.

Jamie feeding Soren and Asher peas and cereal while I fixed breakfast for him...yum!

Thanks for the food dad, you're the BEST!

Jamie was kind enough to WANT to take a photo of his Father's Day tostadas.

I totally failed to give Jamie the celebration he deserved on his first father's day. I did a better job last year celebrating his prelude to father's day. I feel especially tormented about my ineptitude because he gave me such a special and thoughtful Mother's Day. He gave generous gifts, he wrote a poem, and he prepared a multi-course meal, which was carefully planned and executed. He even stayed up super late to clean up the kitchen and erase all remnants of his culinary efforts.

What did Jamie get?
Gift? No.
Card? No.
Special dinner? Barely.
Favorite Dessert? No.

I did make Jamie buttermilk pancakes with a medley of toppings: Vermont syrup (thanks Vaughn and Margaret), raspberry preserves from local berries, and lemon curd.

For lunch I continued the brunch theme and boiled new potatoes to then grate them, cover them in salt, pepper, and chili powder, then cooked them til they were crisp and served them with toast and an egg.

For dinner I eked out a surprisingly tasty dish! I made tostadas with carmelized onions, cilantro, lime, jalapeno, mango, and topped with super sharp cheddar cheese. They were UH-mazing. I also made the fabled 'Neiman Marcus' cookies but adjusted the recipe to add 1/4 cup of nutella and an extra teaspoon of vanilla for a chewy, ooey, gooey, awesome cookies.

To the credit of my wonderful hubs, he thanked me at the end of HIS day for good food and for making him feel special. Sheesh, he's so nice to me.

Anyways....

Jamie is a darling dad who loves his sons and honors them with laughter and affection. Asher and Soren are lucky to have such a sweet dad.

Asher: 5P

My sweet Asher.


Asher has the cutest faces and the cutest sense of curiosity.


Asher in his big boy seat!

Asher, at nine months, is in the 5th percentile for both weight and height. He is almost 17 lbs and is 27.5 inches long. He is my little guy and I find myself wishing he could stay my sweet little baby forever. Even as he gets bigger Asher remains snuggly and so stinking adorable.

Asher is not crawling yet and my pediatrician said that if he isn't crawling in a month that I should call early intervention to have someone look at him and assess his abilities. I kind of think, "Whatevs!" Asher will crawl when he is ready and there is nothing wrong with him. Jamie and I have been helping him roll from his stomach to his back and his determination makes my eyes water. He tries so hard and always with the biggest smile!

Asher's personality is super endearing and his smile is charming--especially with his single tooth! I call him my 'toothy blonde.' Asher gets really animated when Soren is around and will flail his arms and legs and bounce up and down while squealing joyfully. I often find myself simply watching Asher as he simply exists--everything he does seems to be done with cuteness and a quiet beauty.

Currently (and roles are regularly reversed) Asher makes having twins easy. He is deeply patient and will studiously concentrate on his toys or books while I tend to his more mobile and demanding sib. Asher makes bedtime and morning time an absolute pleasure because he ends and begins each day with sincere happiness and appreciative smiles.

I love you Asher!