sweetness.

yesterday i came home to this.

after teaching a room of preschoolers while having a splitting headache, this was exactly what i needed. some sweetness.

homemade chai.

(photo from the orignal post)

i saw a recipe for a yummy looking chai concentrate on the Tasty Kitchen blog. i knew i had to try it, so i went to Henry's to grab the spices (did you know you can measure out spices there so that you don't have to buy a whole jar?! it's my new favorite thing!), and then in true angelina style waited 2 weeks before actually making it :) i'm a working mama, i don't have a lot of time (that will be my excuse for everything). I followed the instructions exactly, except that i let it steep for a lot longer than it says to. it's darker than any concentrate i have ever seen, but still delicious! i actually really love the way it came out. i don't have any pictures of the batch i made because my photographer is slacking :) if you're a chai fan, i would highly recommend this recipe!

...i am enjoying an iced chai right now while little man sleeps and the snickerdoodles bake :)

a moment.

i love the way alex captures moments in our lives that i might otherwise forget. this is a new favorite.

giggles.

we took this video of micah yesterday. it was his first time in a big boy swing, and he loved it :)
i must say, his laugh is music to this mama's ears...especially when he's teething especially bad today.

first project.

i don't know if i posted it, but i got a sewing machine from alex's parents for christmas. for my first "real" project (one that i had to buy the fabric for and figure out all by myself), i spruced up some plain cloth diapers to be cute burp cloths for a mama-to-be. I think they turned out pretty cute for my first time. I made three, and the last one was definitely less wonky than the first one :)

i will be making a few more tonight for another new baby. Here is what I learned from last time ::

there is more ironing than actual sewing.
i definitely need to ease up on the perfectionism or i will never finish anything.
i need to pay attention to which way the pattern runs on the fabric.
there are not enough hours in the day for me to learn a new hobby, but i'm sure going to try!

the best way to start the day...

...is with this little man snuggled up next to you.


we loved the week break we got. what break you ask? oh the one week that we had our very sweet, very happy baby who wasn't sick or teething. the teething came back in full force today and it was rough for little man. it's so hard when we've tried everything and he still is in pain. it breaks my heart.

in other news...i just realized that i will be leaving my little guy overnight (2 nights even!) for the first time next month. sad, sad, sad. totally not ready, but it's a work thing and i have to go. hmmmpf.

guess this is a pretty nothing post. i guess i just really wanted to post that picture because it makes me happy. there we go...we'll end on a happy note :)

this guy...

...melts my heart.

eight months.

micah,

eight months feels old to your mama. like too old. like i feel like you were born, and then i blinked, and all of a sudden you're big! but to be honest, you are more fun every single day and i would go backwards for anything.

you have a scratch on your eye in this picture that i asked your daddy not to photoshop out because it tells a lot about this stage you're in. you crawl over to something, pull yourself up, play there for a bit, and then fall down. over and over again, this happens. it's fun to watch and at the same time, it's incredibly hard to not coddle you. mama doesn't like to let you fall, but she knows that sometimes you just have to. on the day you turned eight months, you had a fall that caused your bottom teeth to puncture your upper lip :( mama got the call at work and rushed right home to be with you and daddy. we eventually took you to the doctor because you just wouldn't stop bleeding. Dr. said you were fine and to expect lots more falls.

despite what it might sound like you are incredibly strong and balanced. we love watching you figure out how to get from the ottoman to the couch, and back again. sometimes i think you forget that you can't walk because you turn away from whatever it is you're holding onto and act like you want to go forward. you just fall forward. it's pretty funny for us to watch.

you had your first cold over the new year, and also went on your first eating strike. both caused you to eat less and sleep less. poor little buddy. your cold lingered for a solid 2 weeks, but you're back to your normal joyful self.

speaking of joy...that is the way everyone describes you...happy and joyful, and it's SO true. you are smiley and friendly with everyone you meet. you have your favorites, and you do get grumpy, but in general you are a very happy baby and even at the youngest of ages, you are full of joy. you are truly a people person and you especially love other babies and kids. i love watching you crawl right up to other babies and touch them...we have to remind you to be gentle and that other kiddos might not like you to grab onto them :)

our days consist of a lot of time on the floor and we can't take our eyes off of you for a second. your favorite toy right now is this car steering wheel that you got for Christmas. you also love your keys and anything you can bite on. more than anything, you like the things you aren't supposed to have...like a lip gloss container and an empty wipes case.

we so love being your mama and daddy. you light up when you see us and our hearts are full. we love to be with you and still can't quite remember what life was like without you...it must have been pretty boring without a little boy to chase around ;)

xoxo.

our little crawler

micah started real crawling on Christmas and really hasn't looked back! just this weekend, he started following us when we go ahead of him and call him towards us...here's a look at him coming around the corner being SO cute :)

Micah Crawling down the Hall from Alexander T. Pavone on Vimeo.

(i love my new flip cam!)

awake is the new sleep.

yep. this has been my motto for the past 12 days. twelve days of interrupted sleep. i am not used to interrupted sleep anymore, and i could not be more thankful that micah FINALLY slept through the night again last night. i couldn't help but start singing our family ministry anthem (aka the doxology)...."praise God from whom all blessing flow...."

let me tell you. this mama has had 5 months of uninterrupted sleep and i was about to go bonkers after twelve days....how did i survive 3 months?! oh wait, that's right, i slept everytime he slept for 3 months :) this whole get up and go to work thing got in the way a bit!

micah's first cold is the reason he hasn't been sleeping. being sick/teething again made him not want to eat which in turn left him starving around 4am!

my solution? dream feeding him twice after he goes to sleep. while he's asleep he doesn't have the same resolve to not eat. thank you dream feed, thank you.

micah's first christmas (part 3/the end)

when ended our christmas festivities with the pavone side of the family. we had a great time, opening gifts, having a delicious dinner, and just hanging with family. we stayed for a few days since we don't get a whole lot of hang time with them. it was a great way to finish up celebrating!

micah's first christmas (part 2)

the second leg of micah's first christmas was at home. he woke up, ate, and then opened up his stocking (mostly baby food :) ) and 2 of his three presents...we had totally cheated and opened our gifts to each other the night before since we knew that we would be wanting to leave as soon as possible to get down to alex's parents' house. here's micah enjoying the morning fun ::

micah's first christmas (part 1)

our christmas festivities start on christmas eve. this has been my family's tradition forever and i love it :) everyone dresses up, we feast on all sorts of yuminess (there are always tamales involved) and open gifts with my parents, siblings, and nieces and nephews. here are some of my favorite shots of the night...

merry christmas from the family staff babies.

james (5 mo), keaton (3 mo), micah (7 mo) and ryder (8mo)

i'm sure if these babies could talk, they would wish you all a merry christmas :)

magical.

there is only one word to describe Disneyland at Christmastime. magical. plain and simple. the people over at disney are incredibly talented at what they do. one of the things on our list of "wants" this christmas season was to take micah to see disneyland. the lights up and down main street with the way the castle is illuminated, just makes me giddy! micah also got to watch his first fireworks show and he was fixated on the lights in the sky! we had so much fun...and it helped that we went on the night that it was 75 degrees at 8pm :)

the hulk.

i affectionately refer to micah as the hulk. this is why ::
this kid has a "hulk" type strength. he pulls himself up on his carseat, his bumbo, and the christmas boxes. and he was doing this before he was even 7 months old! oh micah, how is mama ever going to keep up with you?!

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas...

...actually, it has looked like Christmas for a couple of weeks, i'm just behind on posting :)

here are a few shots from around our home.

paper garland that I made ::

another garland i made ::

new stockings that alex's mom made for us!
(still need another hook for micah's)

i wish my house could always be so festive!

seven months.

for some reason, micah was much easier to photograph this month than he has been for the past couple of months!

micah,

you're sitting up like a pro these days...sitting has been a progressive milestone for you and one that will have a month long date attached to it, but you have mastered it (kinda)! On a couple of different occasions you have crawled on all fours...just for a few feet, and just a couple of times, but still, we are so proud of you :)

remember how last month I said you were busy? well, last month is nothing compared to right now! you are getting into everything. and i mean everything! You got your first tooth on the 1st of December, and your second one popped through yesterday. teething is a beast. we aren't fans of the pain it causes you :( you are trying more and more foods, and it was SO fun to feed you all the veggies from your gongi's homemade soup...you ate it up so quickly...probably because it was the first seasoned food you've had :) you had another first this month...you went into the nursery at church for the very first time! you were a stud and loved playing in there! oh yeah, and i almost forgot your first thanksgiving! you had a great day (there is a draft about that, but there were so many pics that blogger squashed my post! i'm still figuring it out!) and loved the sweet potatoes that your gongi made especially for you...baked sans seasoning :)

every morning when we go in to get you, you get so excited! you wake up happy these days and spend a good 15-20 minutes just talking or rolling around in your bed. speaking of your bed, one of the things that you do every single nap time is pull off your bumpers. mama is kind of a freak about safety, so you have the breathable bumpers that velcro on...velcro is no match for you!

each month holds so many firsts for you and we love getting to share them with you. your first Christmas is coming up and we can't wait! you are a little stud and we love you!

one of those days...

today has been such a strange day.

micah woke up at 7:30am just like any other day. after less than an hour of being awake, he was beyond fussy and nothing was making him happy, so I laid him in his crib and walked out thinking that he would just be fussy in there for a while, but no. no, he did not fuss. in fact, he was asleep within just a couple of minutes. score.

fast forward 3 hours...that's right...three hours later, my little guy woke up! I could barely believe it. had i known it was going to be 3 hours, i definitely would have been more productive instead of lounging all morning!

since then...now 5.5 hrs. later, micah has only slept about 45 minutes and is fussier than fussy. he did cut a tooth earlier this week (that's right, he's a big kid), so I've been attributing it to teething, but i can't help but wonder if he's starting to feel sick for the first time.

it never fails that the day he is extremely fussy, we have somewhere to go. tonight i will have to pack him up and take him to work with me for a very fun event that just might not be very fun with a fussy baby.

i am always thankful when he has days like this with me instead of alex or my mom. of course i prefer good days over bad, but i always prefer to be the one to soothe my guy. is that kinda weird?

I saw this video posted to someone's facebook and just had to share.

we are anticipating this christmas more than ever before because we get to share our traditions with micah and celebrate with him for the first time. i can't imagine losing him 6 months from now, like this family did. Please watch the video and consider donating to St. Jude children's research hospital. and be warned...i'm still crying from watching this video.