Daycare Hair

Sometimes? I think they just get bored...

Don't mind the tear-stained cheeks and red eyes. Our little angel has discovered the fine art of the temper tantrum.

Nursery Art

We're not ready to unveil the nursery yet (a combination of 34-week pregnancy exhaustion, January blues, and an ill-timed bout of food poisoning has me moving slowly) but there is one corner that's ready. Our friends Allie and Mike were kind enough to give us their old crib now that both their babies are big kids. So Ellie's got her big-girl-crib! And she LOVES having so much space. It's like dance party 1999 in there every night.

I also am super proud of the free nursery artwork I finangled. I was inspired by this website, and though my finished product doesn't look as cool as hers, I'm still pleased.

The rest of the room is still full of boxes and a bit of a mess, so it will probably take us a couple of weeks to finish. Next weekend we're off to Vermont to drop off a bunch of storage (and see my family too, of course!) So hopefully the weekend after that I'll be able to spend some time organizing enough to call it done. We're five weeks till c-section date, and Baby Boy feels like a ticking clock in my belly.

Living Room!

I wanted to wait for the big “Living Room-Murphy Bed” reveal until we were completely done, but apparently our public is impatient. Three people this week alone have asked for living room pictures, so here you go. Just do me a favor – pretend the big red couch is a slightly smaller gray one, and we’ll all be happy.

As a side note: isn't it interesting how different time seems depending on what you're waiting for? The couch won't be here until the end of February. That's forever! How on earth am I going to wait that long! On the other hand, Baby Boy will be here in the beginning of March. Oh my god! That's like tomorrow! Interesting, right?

If you want a reminder, here's what we started with... 

And here's where we've ended up.

Other than the couch there are a few other things still in transition. Obviously, we need to hide the cables from the tv. We're also considering painting the wall above the mantel. And when the murphy bed's down we need some art in the space above the headboard. We're considering finagling our chuppah to fit that space.

One of the things we really like is that even when the murphy bed is down we can still chill on the couch in our living room. That means we can pull it down an hour or so before we're exhausted at the end of the night. And between me wearing an eye mask, and Brian using headphones, he can watch endless hours of The Real Housewives while I get my beauty rest.

So far, it's working out really well. We're getting Ellie's new crib this afternoon, so now we'll be able to focus on the kids' room. Onward...

Family Photo Wall

One of the things we really wanted to incorporate into the "new" apartment was a place to display family photos. Brian's been pestering me about it for years, but I always hesitated. I had images of awkward school photos running up the side of a staircase, and just couldn't get behind it. But thanks to a little internet inspiration, we now have our Family Photo Wall. It's actually 18 ikea frames, stapled together to act as one. (My brilliant idea was to just duct tape them together. Hell hath no fury like a terrified cat when picture frames start falling off the wall. Luckily Brian and his staple gun saved the day.)

The idea is that we'll be able to change out and update photos as time flies. Brian and I spent hours scouring our computer files for old pictures, and wow. Can I just say? We used to be young, and skinny.

So next time you see me pull out my camera, smile! You may make the hall of fame!

Note: ignore the red couch...the apartment redesign is ALMOST done, and hopefully the new gray couch will be here soon. Also, pictures of the murphy bed will get posted tomorrow after Brian hangs another couple of pictures for me. We're making progress!

For Those Keeping Score

Assuming I successfully get Ellie to daycare and me to work tomorrow, I have survived my four-day single parenting stint. And wow. It was exhausting -and still wonderful at the same time. I purposefully didn't make a lot of plans, but hoped to be able to chill with Ellie and focus on just BEING with her. It's something I struggle with, since it's so easy to always be thinking about the next project you want to get done, or how you want to check your email, or make dinner, or whatever pressing thing is keeping you from truly being present while you repeatedly stack and dismantle a tower of blocks. But whenever I can just turn off everything else and just BE with her, the world somehow seems right. I may not get everything done, but the day is just so much better. And with Baby Boy arriving in 6-ish weeks, I want to hold on to every moment with Ellie.

Friday was a little tough going since E and I found ourselves disagreeing on the importance of naps. Honestly, I was worried I had set myself up for a rough weekend, but things smoothed out from there.

We had a play date with Cousin Leila on Saturday. It's really fun to watch them now that Ellie's old enough that they can actually play together. And it's great knowing that it's only going to get better. They are going to have so much fun growing up together.

Sundays highlight was walking to Blue Sky Bakery for the best pumpkin-apple-walnut muffins this side of the universe. Seriously, if you're in Brooklyn, go get yourself a muffin. 5th Avenue and Bergen Street.

And Monday found us hosting Lucy, Mat and Jeanine while Lucy made her awesome lamb shanks, mashed potatoes and peas in our kitchen. That girl is a wonder with a lamb. Soooo good.

So all in all a very successful weekend. I missed Brian like mad, but he'll be home by the time I get off work tomorrow. And there's leftover lamb for dinner. I'm a lucky girl.

Happy Birthday, Brian

Today's Brian's birthday! Hope the sun and 80 degree California weather is treating you well! Don't say I never got you anything.

In all seriousness, we love you and miss you and are ready for you to come home. Happy Birthday, baby. See you tomorrow.

Single Parenting

Brian leaves tomorrow morning for Sarah's wedding in Los Angeles, and doesn't come home until Tuesday night. Yay for him! 4 days of fun in the sun, old friends, and flirting with bridesmaids! Sad for me! 4 days of single parenting in 20 degree weather with a teething toddler!

Wish me luck.

Practicing for Her Brother

I find it absolutely fascinating that Ellie has made the intellectual leap that a doll is supposed to represent a baby, and that a baby might want a bottle. She's a little bit different every day. This age is so cool!

First Steps!!!

Ellie took her first steps yesterday morning! We're pretty giddy about it and could spend hours encouraging her to walk back and forth between us. Come to momma! Come to daddy! Poor girl. She's like "Make up your mind, people!" We got a little bit of video, but I am a video-editing failure. Hopefully Brian will be able to get to it tonight. Woohoo! 14-1/2 months old and she's walking! 

Signs of Progress

...And here's Ellie, happily playing in a pile of cable clip nails. Parenting at its best, I tell you.

The murphy bed is up, the tv is on the wall, and the place is slowly coming together. The rug and sofa won't be here until the end of February, and we're not getting Ellie's new crib for another couple of weeks, so after a flurry of activity in the last few days we're back in a holding pattern. But so far so good. The new layout feels spacious, and Brian and I are slowly adjusting back to life without a bedroom. It's like a return to our studio-living salad days. Hopefully the romantic nostalgia will help counteract the nuisances of reality.

Happy New Years

So yeah, our apartment has been completely torn apart in anticipation of the Murphy Bed install, and Brian and I spent over 10 hours this weekend just THROWING THINGS AWAY - which is very cathartic and feels great, but my god, it's amazing how much stuff we accumulate. The Great Book Cull of 2010 continued, and now my library consists almost entirely of dog-eared young adult novels I've owned since I was 10. All that highbrow stuff I'll never read again? Gone. The fantastic sparkly high heels I bought despite the fact that they're half a size too big and I couldn't actually wear them? Gone. The baseball glove that has lived in my arts and crafts bag for the last 10 years? Gone. The pasta maker that hasn't seen a fresh sheet of pasta since 2001? Yeah, still here. What can I say. I'm a work in progress and haven't yet admitted to myself that I am no longer a girl with the time (or inclination) to make fresh pasta.

Our only respite last weekend was New Years Eve, which we spent chilling with Allie and Mike in Jersey. We put the kids to bed, hired a sitter, and actually went out to eat. Of course, we were all so tired when we got home that we spent a few minutes uncomfortably watching Dick Clark deny reality and went to bed at 12:15. Woohoo! Party!

Ellie had a great time playing with Jeremy, who's only 15 months older than she is. I totally freaked myself out when I realized that's just about the age difference between Ellie and Baby Boy. Oh dear. I'm really going to have my hands full.

Happy New Year! We're a little discombobulated with the whole apartment shenanigans, but hopefully I'll have pictures and an update soon.