happy halloween y'all

not like i can eat candy.

well, if mom eats candy i sorta can.

two or three hours later

and not individually wrapped

in cute little packages but...

yeah. happy halloween.

i'm not even going to remember this one either!

but i'm totally positive that between my mommy & daddy

there will be pumpkin loads of photographic evidence.

grrreat.

boo!

when dinosaurs met london - another L outfit post

i'm rocking dinosaurs, london landmarks and bold stripes all at once. i'm sooo my mother's child.
i insisted she take these photos with my fave ball. even my oma & opa in futbol-crazed germany think i'm a little soccer star.
granted this week i've been a bit more fascinated with my hands than kicking balls. i fancy rolling over on my side and talking to my toys as i grab them and squeeze them on end.
i've also taken a liking to standing up. mommy attempts to pull me up in a sitting position but i lock my knees and bear down on my feet instead. standing is cool. and well, vital for my future soccer career. ;-)

anyway, this was to be an outfit post but i've rambled on instead about all my little abilities. sorry about that.

gurgles & squeals,

liam

p.s. EVERYthing's baby gap anyways...

"i love you... well...obviously."

i just said to L, when he looked up from eating, for the 1000th hour in a row, "i love you... well...obviously." he smiled a knowing smile well beyond his 12 weeks of life. he's a wunder kid. to me at least & of course. every little milestone he reaches feels like olympic gold. it's nuts.

what. a. roller coaster these 1st twelve weeks have been. so much so that i try my damnedest to capture as many little tidbits as i can. i often send myself text messages from my dark room just after putting L down for the night. i write to liam in these texts. anecdotes. observations. professions of frustration & love. i want to remember everything! lately, i've gotten tears in my eyes upon putting him in bed at night. because the days are long, but time is flying. and he is growing. changing. way too bloody fast.

ha! and yet, there IS a flip side! oh yes! i keep thinking about a quote from a movie i haven't seen yet. something about babies being like little drug addicts. ah, i found it:

"Having children, it's like... living with little mini drug addicts. Y'know, they're laughing one minute, and then they're crying the next, and then they're trying to kill themselves in your bathroom for no good reason. They're very mean and selfish; they burn through your money..."

L has the laughing to crying in no time flat thing down far too well. that lower lip shoots out, he takes a scary deep breath that hints at what's coming, then shouts to the high heavens whilst turning tomato red just as quickly. a tiny instant after smiling huge & cooing. WHAT a personality.

he has broken me into motherhood with a lot of chaos & joy. he has presented me with the utmost difficult task, that at the same time is the most beautiful. every little noise, gesture, movement and facial expression thus far has provided me with unprecedented awe. this love is an enigma. a fabulous enigma.

12 weeks later i have a new boss, a new bff, a new ball & chain, a new reason to rise and shine, a new little comedian, a new reason to shop, a new nap-less counterpart, a new utter and absolute joy of my life. trust me, every single day is a strange new challenge, and i've never ever been so up for it.

i love you so, crazy boy, beautiful little monster, fun little angel baby, you fascinate and enthrall me. happy 12 weeks old!

#SAHM frumpy fighter

ribbon bows on the nursing bra strap or nursing tank top strap... tie one on!

1. it's cute, these tanks and bras are freaking boring. adding a little ribbon bow on just one side is cute & quirky. you can tie it in a posh bow or just knot it as shown below.

2. be honest—where's your brain amidst late night feedings and 24-hour mommyhood? i've flat out LOST mine. tying a reminder bow to the side L will feed from next is a chic little no-brainer. literally. switch up the side of your bow after each feeding.

3. as baby develops his/her various motor skills, he/she will love grasping on to your ribbon and playing around with it while feeding. lately if i don't tie a ribbon on, he's tying my hair in knots or scratching me. so loveys, the ribbon is win-win-win.

p.s. my secret lover, hautelook.com is now an affiliate of mine. about half of the goods i sneak in the house for L & myself come from hautelook, check 'em out!

Car-driving pups & teddy ears...

lucky you. another outfit post!

who said dressing a baby boy isn't mad fun?

HA! my mom, pre-me.

she's finding a way though.

she gets crazy excited when she picks out new looks for me, loves pairing hats to socks & shoes & such. so maybe i should have started this post with "lucky me" instead?

my nifty little knit hat is old navy.

my cool thermal sleeve onesie, wild guess? yep, baby gap.

shoes? a hand-me-down! no joke. they're by koala baby and mommy adores them.

i'll probably be able to wear them for like one more minute.

(am growing like a mushroom on a humid florida day)

hey, do the lady that feeds me on end a fave and link her up to killer baby boy accessories when you see them. thanks.

-L

I've Got Spirit: Another L Outfit Post

look, what can i say? my mom is all about pairing things that don't make sense

to the average joe. so by default, i am too. that's how this hipster union jack vespa thermal sleeve onesie got paired to gothy little bat socks & a darling pumpkin hat. she said she mixed cutesy with cool + a couple colors that most wouldn't fancy. but the over all look makes me stand out as the true individual i'm becoming. lucky me.

#SAHM frumpy fighter: belt that hoodie!

this is what i wore on our morning walk & our trip to the stinky public library. yep, that's my hot little clasping shoulder strap nursing tank underneath and some compromised heather grey leggings. goal is, comfort and practicality + not feeling like a total mess. so, find yourself looking shapeless and blobby? wrap a belt about your waist and call it a semi-decent fashion day. ;-)


p.s. SAHM = stay at home mom, loveys.

hoodie is from target, it has pockets & it rules!

we're gonna paint!

the day is just too damn short! what a crazy time warp motherhood is. feeding, changing, soothing, baby from morning to night without getting much else in is still the norm around here. i fight to get cool things in like i did on this brilliant afternoon...

i laid out my supplies the night before, which included:

-four tubes of washable finger paint (red, blue, green and yellow)

-paper especially made to handle paint

-a thick paper plate to squeeze out the paint onto

-a brown paper grocery bag, deconstructed to cover the table

-a roll of paper towels

then, once baby was decently rested and much more importantly, happily fed, i stripped him down to his diaper, quickly squirted out gorgeous globs of color on the paper plate, then snatched him out of his bumbo chair and plopped him on my lap.

the first few goes of color application onto the clean white page were gently forced, but eventually i could tell L liked or was at least fascinated by the feel of paint on his hands.

he also began to pay attention to the bright color, and YAY! we got a few smiles out of the whole experience, as well as some cute little babbling!

finger painting with L will only get better as he grows, so i can't wait until time affords us another chance to bust out the colors and go for it! i'm going to continue to do things like this with him every single chance i get, who knows what i'll come up with next. but in the meantime, we have such a cool little piece of artwork and well, a little piece of history to frame and hang!

reading to L

am striving to make reading to liam a daily thing. i recently read that it matters not what you read to baby subject/content wise at this stage. what matters is the way in which they hear your voice change upon uttering certain words and ideas. that you ARE reading out loud to them at all.

any & all interactions with baby are stimulating. +making a fab habit of daily reading, super early in your wee one's life can only be awesome. they'll be used to listening as they grow, used to that enriching bonding time. liam already focuses in.

in the photo above i was reading 'the family book' to him in his pediatrician's office as we waited for his dr. however i've been known to read to him from marie claire...

hey, speaking of fashion, have you checked out my recent #SAHM (stay at home mom) look on sunlovey forever? it's comfy without being frumpy, check it.

hey ladies!

L's first outfit post

this look kinda just came together this morning. when mommy go out of the shower i was wearing this hoodie, yeah, with nothing underneath. hot. oh, and i slept in these socks. she took me downstairs to change my diaper & saw the cargos peering up at her from a pile of clean laundry & voila! i'm rocking it.

hoodie: a hand-me-down from a girl! but, who cares, i feel like a beastie boy! (mom cut the little heart charm off it so it looked less girly)

cargos: a present from my aunt olga, she rocks. they're knit so they're cozy. what should i put in my cargo pockets?

fake-shoes socks: mom found in my sock bin, i'll probably lose at least one of them by the end of the day.

today, when he cries, so do i.

it's been that kind of monday. well actually, it's not monday's fault at all. so that's not fair. it's the massive void that keeps creeping up on me when i so want my mom's advice, her hug, her help. the sensation can only be described as the utmost sense of being alone. orphaned. left to fend for one's self. this sounds like an exaggeration but it isn't.

liam's been a little more fussy this past week than usual. crying more, crying HARD. & i've been feeling it. that whole sense of failure and frustration i think all new moms feel when they've done their very best to meet all of beloved baby's needs but none of it's working. grrr.

i think most of us reach out for our own moms in such cases. for her soothing words and sound advice. i would take such solace in my mom taking this crying baby into her arms and making things better like she did with me way back when. but, that's an impossible wish and that hurts.

on the flip side, when liam does amazingly brilliant things, i so want to share that with her too, but so sadly, no can do. and that's happening daily with this cute little monster. mom, i miss you so very much.

on such a lighter note, thank you olga, for this utterly perfect onesie. so appropriate for today. and well, always. it's by carter's, in case you were curious.

fixated on fall.

We're well into October, baby L's first fall, and it's making me think, i want him to KNOW true fall. I want him to experience leaves changing colors. Leaves falling. Diving into piles of said leaves. Pumpkin patches! Heck, growing your own pumpkins... jacket weather. Apple picking. Hot apple cider. Hay rides!

Ah, some day... for now, we'll just take him to Oktoberfest, on semi-cool 78 degree evening walks, dress him in a Halloween costume that doesn't make him overheat. Surround him in baby pumpkins and Indian corn imported from some place else... ;-) There will be changing leaves and chilly weather falls for Liam, I vow right now to make that happen, as it did for me as a child. But for now, baby L is the cutest, most fabulous little pumpkin a girl could ask for... What are your fall traditions? How do you immerse yourself in the season? Both here in South Florida and elsewhere. Do tell... In the mean time, Happy Autumn!

LOVE.

so blessed to have L.

so blessed to have amazing friends.

a cherished elementary school friend had this made for me to commemorate my own mom & celebrate the blessing that is being L's mom.

thank you, tori.

i adore it.

defining myself.

WOW. where do i begin? i have never been one to consider my work or career what made me, me. i have LOVED LOVED LOVED the fact that life handed me the opportunity to write for a living. and not only pay the bills by writing, but by writing about fashion. for the last almost 12years i was blessed. big time. day in day out clothes and trends and collections and style filled up my mondays through fridays, that's love, kids. but then there was liam. not me being pregnant with liam. but him actually being here, that made me see that my passion for fashion and having the funds to partake of all things wearable on an all to regular basis fade out to a degree i didn't think possible. HE was LOVE. real, tangible, overflowing, infinite love.

being liam's mom is utter madness. it. is. the hardest. effing. thing. ever. yes, yes, everybody says that. they all do. and if you know me, get me, you know hard just isn't one of my strengths. i want little part in it. i dig effortless. i love when things come naturally and they just work. holy hell. NOT the case with this. and yet, i have never tried so hard. never been so selfless. never sacrificed so much. and all of this without

a second thought. there are moments i want to freak the EFF out and i am (freaking out hard) internally. but they pass, they have to. and L helps them pass, just by smiling. babbling. kicking his feet to the tune of his mobile. i am a head over heels smitten mommy. and i am that before i am a fashion writer. suddenly and very clearly. and with that said, i've made the massive decision to leave my fab job to be with baby L. which goesback to me, defining myself. redefining, realigning.

it's a bold new world and i'm navigating it without a clue, stumbling, growing, crying, teaching, laughing, sweating and brimming with a brilliant newfound pride. i am liam's mom. i am still and forever a writer. i am figuring this all out. onward...

p.s. i'm still involved with fashion. baby boy fashion. and today, after madly digging through all his duds, L & i realized we were over his present wardrobe, wishing we could go shopping... ;-) trust, i know he'll be growing into the next size ANY second now.

my little natural born futboler

yeah, i'm proud.

that's some fancy footwork for a 9-weeker, no? i vow to cultivate this. it all began a few weeks ago when i marveled at how vigorously L kicked his feet while listening to/watching his bach-playing mobile. then, at kindermusik class last friday, his response to miss angela's colorful jingle balls heightened my awareness of his "talent". so, today i found him an infant soccer ball and well, future world cup star is born. yeah, that's right.

Fruit & Nut Quinoa Salad

#LOVE is...

Did I mention I have amazing loveys surrounding me, oftentimes making me delicious fare, which not only delights me, but keeps L healthy? Love my loveys. The recipe below was made by a dear former co-worker, Debbie (Yep, I resigned from my full time job just yesterday to stay at home with my little angel baby). This recipe can be enjoyed 1-handed! ;-)

This recipe is a bit more ambitious than my bowl recipes previously posted but, it lasts a few days and is crazy good for you! What is QUINOA you ask? Click here.

Fruit & Nut Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa
2 cups vegetable broth (or water)
¼ cup sliced almonds or your favorite nut
¼ cup dried cranberries or raisins
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
4-6 oz of crumbled feta (depending how much you LOVE feta!)
¾ cup red grapes cut in half
One avocado chopped into large chunks
Juice from 1 fresh lime (squeeze some on the avocado to help keep
green & the rest in the salad)
¾ cup white balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt, pepper, & cayenne pepper to taste

Instructions:
Rinse and drain quinoa (you must rinse to remove surface residue). Toast quinoa in bottom of hot empty pan (about 5 minutes or until
grain is dry again). Add 2 cups broth or water and bring to a boil.
Cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes until all liquid is absorbed. Let cool.

In a small bowl, combine lime juice, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, & cayenne. Gently toss with cooled quinoa and remaining
ingredients. Serve chilled or at room temperature. Eat alone, over green salad, in lettuce wraps or endive leaves.


FYI… I honestly don’t get overly hung up on the measurements (except
for the liquid to quinoa it should always be 2 to 1). Other than that it’s all to taste so tweak as you like!

-Debbie

Thank you, Debbie!

Enjoy, world!

eeeek, i'm singing! pop in your ear buds, pop on your head phones, or just cover those poor ears of yours, 'cuz it's on. i continue to surprise myself. twinkle twinkle & you are my sunshine are shining faves, but i can only hear myself repeat them so much. so i'm trying to add "tracks" to my own little "baby L playlist". so here's what i've got, help me out & 'fess up! what did you/do you sing to your wee ones? see below for my list thus far, #YAY! lyrics included...

p.s. thanks to a friend of the german's, elmo has my back. did you know you can get personalized CDs made for your kiddies? the way elmo says "liam" delights me!

itsy bitsy spider

The itsy-bitsy spider
Climbed up the water spout
Down came the rain
And washed the spider out
Out came the sun
And dried up all the rain
And the itsy-bitsy spider
Climbed up the spout again

i'm a little teapot

I'm a little teapot,

Short and stout,

Here is my handle (one hand on hip),

Here is my spout (other arm out with elbow and wrist bent),

When I get all steamed up,

Hear me shout,

Tip me over and pour me out!

you are my sunshine

You Are My Sunshine
My only sunshine.
You make me happy
When skies are grey.
You'll never know, dear,
How much I love you.
Please don't take my sunshine away

twinkle twinkle little star

Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are!

head and shoulders knees and toes

Head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes, Head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes, And eyes and ears and mouth and nose, Head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.

B-I-N-G-O

There was a farmer had a dog, And Bingo was his name-o. B-I-N-G-O! B-I-N-G-O! B-I-N-G-O! And Bingo was his name-o! There was a farmer had a dog, And Bingo was his name-o. (Clap)-I-N-G-O! (Clap)-I-N-G-O! (Clap)-I-N-G-O! And Bingo was his name-o! There was a farmer had a dog, And Bingo was his name-o. (Clap, clap)-N-G-O! (Clap, clap)-N-G-O! (Clap, clap)-N-G-O! And Bingo was his name-o! There was a farmer had a dog, And Bingo was his name-o. (Clap, clap, clap)-G-O! (Clap, clap, clap)-G-O! (Clap, clap, clap)-G-O! And Bingo was his name-o! There was a farmer had a dog, And Bingo was his name-o. (Clap, clap, clap, clap)-O! (Clap, clap, clap, clap)-O! (Clap, clap, clap, clap)-O! And Bingo was his name-o! There was a farmer had a dog, And Bingo was his name-o. (Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap) (Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap) (Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap) And Bingo was his name-o!

Holy sh!t. A Monday just isn't a Monday without a dramatic and gross event. This is the 3rd Monday in a row liam has had an outfit change before 10am. Today I had a good feeling I was going to escape the Monday morning extreme bodily fluid curse, but alas, I was sooo wrong. Today, it ejected out of his little star pants with a a roar! On to his shirt, my tunic, my leggings and even soaking through to my underwear. Yep, we were both naked in the living room in seconds. Can you believe I was laughing the whole time? Cleaning up this stinky horror! Who am I?

i'll tell you who, the girl who gets to cuddle with this heavenly little monster in between all the chaos.

that = love.

happy monday...