We celebrated Eliza's birthday on Saturday!
All I wanted was a party in the park, with colors, balloons, food, a perfect cake, and friends- I mean, that's all Eliza wanted for her birthday.... HA! So, I might have let the party get away from me. The morning was pretty stressful, and it seemed like nothing was going right. But, after I finally cooled off, I realized that the only thing that mattered were our amazing friends, and our beautiful baby girl.
It was a great day for a party- bright and breezy. We had a cookout at Cedar Rose Park, here in Berkeley. The kids played with bubbles and ran around the playscape. We had a piñata and confetti filled cascarones. And, Eliza had a ball. She was all smiles, and only just slightly overwhelmed by all of the excitement. She was just lovin' it!
My mom made her the cutest birthday romper to match her party. I couldn't get enough of it. My friend, Amanda, took a huge load off me by making that beautiful cake for Eliza. Surprisingly, Eliza wasn't into her smash cake! She was a bit nervous about the audience, and when I stuck her hand in the frosting she got upset. But, she had no problem eating every animal cracker that fell on the ground, busting open a box of nerds from the piñata when I wasn't looking, and sucking on a cascarone that dyed her mouth red. Whoops.
Our friends were so generous and kind, and showered her with nice gifts. We were incredibly overwhelmed with gratitude by all who came. I can't believe how much love we feel for all of our friends. When everyone started showing up, I could immediately feel myself calm down and just start to enjoy the party. It's hard throwing a party for someone you love so much. I wanted it to be special, and I was really upset when things were not working out. I can't believe how patient my husband and mom were. They were both by my side when Eliza was born, and I couldn't have been happier to have them here to celebrate this first beautiful year. We love you so much, Baby Girl. This day was for you!
My favorite part of the day was when we pulled out her new scoot bike, and she just lit up like crazy. She was so excited and happy and wanted us to push her around the park all afternoon. That smile just kills...
Our Easter Sunday was so nice. Sam and I have been running full force for weeks now, and we have made goals to slow down a little and enjoy the moments. It's hard. There are just so any distractions, especially these smart phone that are attached to us. They're so hard to shake off! But, after a somewhat rough morning, our Easter Sunday really did turn out nicely. We dressed up and went to church, spent time with friends, and then went to the park to play.
The Easter Bunny brought Eliza a little tin pail with an egg-shaped bubble container, and eggs filled with bunny grahams. For some reason, the easter grass had to be pulled out one strand at a time and thrown out of the way- but once she finally got to the eggs she was pretty excited. She shook them around, and was surprised when I opened one of them to show her the bunnies. We put them out in the grass, where she got bored and wouldn't go searching for them. So, I had to pile them up around her feet. Mostly she loved banging her pail around and crawling all over us while we lay down on the grass and napped. And, for dinner we grilled herb-crusted lamb and oysters. It was perfect. It was nice to just take a second to breathe, and to spend time with my family without thinking about "what needs to be done."
I have loved looking through all of these pictures. This girl is my pride and joy. She's so beautiful! I love her. Her Easter dress was actually picked out by Sam on the morning we found out we were having a girl. It seemed so small back then. I remember that we brought it home to our apartment in Brooklyn and hung it up on the doorknob in our bedroom. It hung there until we moved. I just couldn't imagine such a tiny thing! And now, it finally fits my petite little girl at almost one year. She's the best.
Ps. I woke up to this video on Easter morning, and watched it about ten times in a row- cuddled up in bed with my little family. I strongly recommend that you watch it. It makes me want to be a better person. It makes me want to try harder, knowing that I have hope because of my beautiful Savior.
Another baby shower!? I am overjoyed that more of my friends are having babies and can join the mom club for park hopping with E, and secretly dying of happiness to make more pretty things to celebrate! My friend Danielle is due this summer- look at that beautiful, pregnant glow! That baby girl is lucky to have such a pretty mama.
I teamed up with my friends Amanda and Erika to create an "origami themed" baby shower, as Danielle loves all things Japanese. It started with a few packs of square paper from the dollar section at Target, and took off from there! We pulled together a ton of ideas on this board. It was so much fun planning this party with these girls because they are so creative, and just as crazy and detail-oriented as I am!
Amanda made the best invitations, and I wish I had taken a picture of it! It was an origami heart, similar to this one, with a haiku of the party details written on the inside. Then we made 150 cranes, and I hung them in a couple of installations around the house with gold thread. I pulled some ideas from some Anthropologie windows and drew a little diagram, but it all sort of came together as I went. Sam helped me draw the "hello baby" sign with a calligraphy set from Daiso, a Japanese dollar store here in Berkeley. I used Martha Stewart's liquid gold to paint the tall vases (also from the dollar store), and the favor cups. And, the blossoms were cut from an empty lot near our house!
Amanda was the brains behind the beautiful food, and we had a lot of help from those who volunteered to bring things. She made that perfect cake- devil's food, with buttercream frosting and cocoa nibs. And, those rose cookies- lemon cookie, with cream cheese frosting. Then, we served edamame, potstickers, fruit, mochi balls, and the best California rolls (made by Erika). As favors, Amanda printed the "Thank You" bags, and had the best idea to put out a Pocky bar. The colors were so pretty!
This was so much fun for me. I have been dragging my feet around this messy house for a month now, just wishing it would unpack itself. It was great to have a deadline this weekend to get it done. We worked hard all week to finish most of the last few boxes and a few random fixer-up projects. Sam especially was a dream-husband this week. And, he spent most of the shower in the kitchen doing the dishes! What a guy. But, yeah- it really was so much fun to finally see the house clean, and to make something creative with my hands! Thank you girls for having fun and getting crafty with me!
Danielle, you are the most beautiful baby mama! We are so happy for the adventure you are about to begin. And, we can't wait to meet that baby girl. It was great to see how many love and support you!
My favorite part of the day was when you went to open your first gift, stopped, smiled, and said "This is my baby shower..."
This little pup is eleven months old today!
It just occurred to me to other day that Eliza is just on the cusp of change. Like BIG change. She is so independent already, but she still hasn't taken those first steps. She is constantly grunting and squawking and screaming her own little language, but she still hasn't said her first real words. And, while I've been coaxing and encouraging her- it suddenly occurred to me that once she figures those things out, nothing will be the same again!
Walking and talking- that's a toddler. Ah!
I see the other moms chasing after their kids in the park, and I just want to say, "Hey, girl. We're having fun, right? Let's hold out a little longer!" I just want to lounge in the grass, while she crawls all over me and babbles away to herself. I love this view of mine- the top of her head as she pulls on my skirt and hugs my legs. She has never been a cuddle baby. I mean, we decided that we would wean her at a year, but she is already pushing me away more and more. When she starts running away and talking back, I think my mama heart will die a little! What if she doesn't need me anymore!?
Eliza at eleven months:
-standing on her own, but no steps yet
-says "Uh, Oh!" intentionally, I think...
-loves to be silly with papa
-makes a certain "barking" noise when she sees dogs, I think...
-loves to play chase
-has a very fake cry for when she doesn't get her way
-loves to put things around her neck, like a scarf
-pulls everything out of everything
-exploring her new home
-always wants to be held by her mama
-slightly picky eater lately
-loves to crawl around the house with something hanging out of her mouth
-always clinging to our legs
-likes watching videos of herself
-loves turning pages of board books
-favorite foods these days: bread and cheese
(I wonder where she got that from...)
-loves trailing after the big kids
-loves the noises from the train by our house- choo, choo!
-communicates with her hand gestures more
-melts in the shower
-shakes her head and bounces when she dances
-just started clapping today!
-her tongue is always out
-crooked, little smile
-we are going to miss her vampire fangs because we're just now seeing two little front teeth push through
This our home on Virginia St. We've been here in Berkeley for a little over a year now. It's crazy to think that we moved across the country, had a baby, and settled down only a year ago. It's crazy to think that we have lived in Berkeley for longer than we lived in New York. It also makes me a little sad, because now Brooklyn seems like such a little blip in our life. But, that's not what this post is about.
These photos are of our home here in Berkeley. This was our dream home. Perfect, sunny, breezy, spacious- in the best neighborhood. But, we are moving to a new home this weekend.
Without getting too personal and talking too much money, we've made a decision for our family to move to a smaller home in West Berkeley. It came down to this: if we ever want to get ahead in life, and actually save money to own a home (especially in the Bay Area) than we have to move. In case you don't know- real estate in the Bay Area is totally nuts. We were not-so-pleasantly surprised to find out that rent here far surpassed rent in New York City. I mean, is that even possible? When we decided to move, the management re-listed our home at $600 more. $600 difference in just one year!? And, there were at least five eager families here for the showing just chomping at the bit.
It is perhaps one of the most humbling experiences that we've ever had together. I hope that this doesn't make us sound superficial. But, Sam and I take pride in our home. It is our hobby. We like to feel inspired, and would rather spend the time painting our 10 foot ceilings and walls on a rental so that the rooms would feel brighter and happier, then feel like we are living in a cave.
But, here we go again- another move. It has been a very stressful and difficult couple of months looking for a new place. I know that this is the right thing to do for our family, and I'm proud of us for doing it. We will be saving for our future, and proving to ourselves that we can live with less. As we've grown, I feel like we have become a little entitled- and I don't want Eliza to see that. I know we can live with less, and we will all be just as happy- if not happier. Happiness is not wanting.
So, I took some photos to help me feel some closure. I know this all sounds so dramatic, but it's hard on us. This is our home. This is where Eliza was born. I want to be able to remember it exactly the way it is. I totally understand now why my parents dragged me past every apartment and rental home that they ever lived in when we were on vacations. It was so annoying. But, you can count on me dragging sassy teenage Eliza by this house to tell her all about how long it took me to get down all those porch stairs and out to the car to go to the hospital when I was in labor. Or, how we would sit by the front windows and watch the hummingbirds in the china strawberry tree when she was a newborn. Or, how she loved it when her Papa would slide her on the hardwood floors from one side of the living room to the other, until she would explode into fits of giggles.
Funny story- we will actually still be living on Virginia St- just further west! We've found a little rental house that needs a lot of work. But, we are feeling better and better about it every day. It's going to be our new home. Sam spent all of last weekend ripping up the linoleum in the kitchen. We've made a deal with the landlord where we will help out with labor if she pays for the supplies to make the place nice. It's kind of exciting, because it's almost like a trial-run to owning a home. And, we get to do it all our way! Also, the house has a lemon tree, it's right across from a park, and we are within a few blocks of some killer shops and eats.
So, here's to the future! It's going to be great.
PS. The photo of Eliza's crib was taken by the amazing Weston Colton once when he was visiting. (Follow his Instagram- daily inspiration, let me tell you.) I stole it off of his wife's Etsy page because she made that adorable quilt for Eliza. Also, we only have a fixed 50mm lens, which makes it impossible to take photos indoors without backing up a million feet. I'm thinking we are going to need a new lens if we want to take any pictures in our new house! Donations welcome. Kidding...
Baby Girl is ten months old. Ten Months! That's almost a year! (But, we aren't going to think about that right now.) She is just perfect right now. I would appreciate it if she stayed ten months for a little while longer. I mean, look at that little smile. And, those pigtails!
My favorite thing about her right now is that she understands what it means to be silly. She finds certain things that she things are hilarious, and she will do it over and over and over until she either tires of laughing or giggles so hard she lands on her face and starts crying. Then, I really have to hold back my own laughter and pick her up to cuddle. She's the best.
Eliza at ten months:
-loves being silly
-throws her head back
-her hair fits in pigtails!
-loves to walk while holding your hands
-prefers walking over crawling at the park
-got her first everyday shoes
-exploring rooms by herself
-loves "finding" you
-gained 8 oz in three weeks
-emotional roller coaster
-likes pushing boxes and baskets around the room
-loves chewing on Ancient Grain Crackers
-thinks it's hilarious when I dance for her
-had a few days when she thought biting me was hilarious...
-she has the greatest, throaty, little laugh
-loves going down the slide
-reaches out her hands when she wants
-sticks her little finger in everything
-loves pulling things out one by one
-squawks and chats
-getting scary adventurous!
