Explorations

Dear Alice,

Happy 2-month birthday!

This past month has been about exploring. You have decided that saying awake is pretty cool. And we love it!

Your adventures have included trips to new neighborhoods, new boroughs, and new states. We strolled through the Village, visiting our friends at the gym and the bookstore. We traveled to the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx, admiring peonies and orchids and millions of gorgeous flowers. We even ventured down to DC, where we showed you off to all of our family. You loved all these adventures - and we loved taking you on them.

You are an excellent starter baby, my Alice. You sleep well (even through the night on occasion!). You smile and coo and keep us entertained. You let us take you out to dinner - and sometimes happy hour. You enjoy being outdoors, but don't demand it. You enjoy sleeping in your crib, but don't demand it. You like to sit quietly in your chair, feeling its vibrations and looking at our ceiling fans whirl above you. In sum, you are perfect.

Everywhere we go, people comment on how cute you are. The other day, an elderly woman pushing a walker down the street stopped me to say that if she had a baby just like you she would spend all day kissing your adorable cheeks. I assured her that I spend much of my day doing just that.

My darling Alice, we are loving every minute of being your parents. You bring such joy to our lives, and we are so thankful for you. Thanks for being you, my sweet.

Love,
Mom

Reading?

More like napping...


But wonderful all the same.

My Perfect Life

I have it so good.

A snapshot of my life right now: I wake up to the sunshine, my husband asleep to one side, my baby to the other. Alice is up and ready to eat, so I pick her up and bring her into the living room. Occasionally she will give me enough time to make my tea, while Michael gets ready for work. Alice enjoys a leisurely breakfast, while I sit and enjoy the quiet start. After she finishes, Alice asks for some attention, needing a new diaper, a walk around the apartment, or just some quality time with her parents. Occasionally Michael & I get smiles.

Michael packs up and heads to work, with much more comfort and relaxation given the new job. He kisses Alice & I goodbye and we all wish one another luck with the day. Michael walks the sunny 10 blocks to work. Alice and I start our day.

Our days are varied. We try to go for walks at least once a day, getting out to run some errands or just to enjoy Riverside Park. We go to the grocery store, or the drug store, or to meet friends for lunch. Throughout the day I email and text with several girlfriends who are also at home on maternity leave. Alice is generally happy, though fussiness occasionally permeates the day. We share laughs, read books, play in her baby gym. Sometimes, when she has a particularly good, deep nap, I have time to read a little.

Around closing time, Michael gives us a call. On pretty days, we will walk to his office to meet him. The three of us walk through Riverside Park or down quiet, pretty, tree-lined streets and enjoy some time out and about together. This spring has been glorious - bright, sunny skies, green everywhere, flowers blooming in every last corner of the City. We do our best to soak these days up, remembering last spring (all rain) and last winter (all cold).

Once home, Alice, Michael and I start an evening routine. Michael changes into comfortable clothes, I prepare dinner, Alice demands attention. Sometimes she sits quietly in her chair, watching me work in the kitchen. Sometimes she hollers at us to walk her around the apartment.

Eventually Alice goes to bed for the night. Michael and I enjoy time together, reading or (most likely) watching trashy TV. When we call it a night, we kiss and say, "I love you." I close my eyes and feel sheer gratitude for the overwhelming love contained within our little bedroom.

I am beyond words about my life right now. It is just perfect. Do I get annoyed? Yes. Do I miss sleep? Of course. And I could use an air conditioner, maybe a flat-screen TV - definitely a flat stomach. I could use some time at the gym. Sometimes I annoy Michael, sometimes he annoys me, sometimes we both annoy Alice.

But I know that this is a blessed time in our lives. I love spending my days with Alice. I feel fulfilled beyond measure when I care for her. My husband is my everything, and I am just completely in love with the people who surround me. I feel so blessed to have these glorious days at home, worrying only about the best ways to care for my little family. I see the return to work looming ahead and will eventually be excited to share some adult company. But I don't yearn for the stress those days will bring, for the running around I know will define my days.

Instead I savor the time I have now, joyful for all I have, for the way I spend my time, for my little Alice and my loving husband.

I have the perfect life. Or as perfect as any life can possibly be.

Country

With songs like these, how can you not love country?!?

This Lee Brice song, "Love Like Crazy," has been on near constant replay since I bought it from iTunes (thanks, Kelsey!). The chorus is totally inspirational, and I love belting out "and love like CRAAAAAAZZZZZAAAAYYYY!" to little Miss Alice.



And this Tim McGraw song is an oldie, but a goodie! Now that I've hit that 30-year mark, it's more close to home. And when he sings, "My next 30 years will be the best years of my life. Have a little family and hang out with my wife. Spend precious moments with the ones that I hold dear. Make up for lost time here, in my next 30 years," I can't help but agree. Vigorously.

Series

Story Time

Adoration

LeeLee

As most of you know, my wonderful mother has been visiting us for the past three weeks, getting to know Alice and our new neighborhood, spending some R&R time back in the States. She was supposed to arrive in mid-April, but the insane volcanic ash delayed her trip by a full two weeks. At the moment I am terribly depressed because I just put her in a cab to go back to Armenia. Her visit is over.

Alice, Michael & I had a wonderful visit with LeeLee (Mom's preference over "Grandma"). This was the longest we had spent together since the summer after my first year in college, over ten years ago, and its relaxed time frame really altered the dynamic of our visit. Rather than feeling rushed to catch up over a 24-hour time frame, we were able to take our time, sitting in silence over tea in the morning, laughing at Alice together, talking about not much of anything or about the most intimate of life's treasures. Alice learned mom's voice, began responding to her "Good morning!" and "I see you!" calls. Mom and I would sit on the couch, transfixed by this new addition to our family, enjoying her sweet smiles and adorable pouts.

Around the house, Mom was a God-send. She helped us get through laundry and dinner-making and grocery shopping. She helped me plant my summer herb garden and bought me a new watch. She encouraged me to go clothes shopping and admit that the baby weight means I have to actually own some shorts and shirts that fit me.

This visit was everything I hoped it would be. Thankfully her return to the States is in sight - only four months away. But saying goodbye was tremendously difficult. I'm eager for the days when her visits are a normal part of life, when she can just hop in a car, come up for a couple of days, and know her next trip will be a matter of weeks away.

I'm blessed to be very close with my mom, as she was with hers. I pray that the tradition continues with Alice and I. I look at her and pray that I can be half the mother to her that mine is to me.

Here are some more pictures from her visit:

Out & About

Alice Being Cute

Alice - 6 Weeks Old!

Look how much she's grown! And the beautiful baby let me sleep for SIX HOURS STRAIGHT last night! If that's an apology for your behavior yesterday, Alice, I accept!

Mama Said

Today did not go as planned. Which means no, I haven't learned to stop planning with a newborn.

Alice was in no mood for her mother today. No matter what I did, I couldn't sooth her or keep her cries at bay. She did, however, immediately respond to her daddy, smiling when he held her, patiently holding his hand as she sat with him and observed the environs of our living room.

Mama said there would be days like this, but it doesn't make them easier.

I'm just excited to put this day to bed and hope that tomorrow brings a happy baby. In the meantime, I'm loving this:

Alice's View of the World

This is not great quality, but it is highly amusing:

Family Photos

Alice - 1 Month Old!

Funny

My friend Melissa's beautiful baby boy:



Just amusing:



Really tired!:

Are you sick of us yet?

Urban

Dear Alice,

From the start, you belonged in New York.

Not one to be hurried, you delayed your birth, arriving fashionably late. When you decided to join us, you had no patience for a slow, deliberate labor. Instead you gave your parents four hours notice, even threatening to be born in a cab along the Hudson River. In your first few weeks, you ate as many New Yorkers do - leisurely and late at night. You took taxis and trains and buses. And, above all else, you took walks.

This - these strolls - were your favorite activity. You enjoyed rides in your stroller, almost laughing at every uneven road or cobblestone sidewalk. You were soothed by street noises on these outings. Sounds of buses and trains served as lullabies to nudge you towards sleep. And above all else, you loved your sling. A month into City living, you enjoyed sitting up and taking in the sights as you and your mom walked around the neighborhood.

Today, my baby girl, we took your very first train ride. You promptly feel asleep, as many of us do, laying your head against me as soon as the train ride began. This afternoon, we stopped at PinkBerry - an ice cream for me and a bottle of breast milk for you. Because the day was gorgeous, we ate outside in the shade. You kept your eyes wide open during the entire meal, observing every last object that passed in front of you. You watched like a true New Yorker - relaxed, removed, yet relieved to have the company of the City with you. Just about every woman that passed by stopped to tell me what a beautiful girl you are - and I, of course, agreed. No less than 15 women asked about you and offered blessings for your life. "May God bless her," they repeated.

Indeed. May God bless you as much as he has me. What joy!

Happy 1-month birthday, my Alice!!

Love,
Your Mom

Take 2

Torture