très chic

here & there

bonjour!

I’ve had a lot of work lately getting ready for the event in copenhagen.  a couple days ago, after anabelle’s morning nap only lasted 1 1/2 hours, I decided that we’d give ‘java mama’ a try.  it’s a coffee shop with an enclosed play area (& a supervisor during certain hours).  there is a high bar around the play area so I sat there with my computer so I could easily peek in and check on anabelle.  she did great . . . for about 20 minutes.  it was quite busy that morning, mostly what seemed like 2 & 3 year olds, and one girl decided to give anabelle a bit of a choke hold hug and just kept pushing on her.  she seemed sort of surprised, like she was thinking “check that out.  everytime I push on it, it moves.”  anabelle was over it – and honestly, I sort of was too.  It was worth a shot.  it’s close by and I only spent a few bucks so no biggie.  once we got back home I realized I had forgotten to take off anabelle’s nametag.  cute photo op, right?  sure.  what isn’t?!

mealtime has been a little hot & cold lately, but anabelle had two new teeth pop through last night!

we did a little shopping yesterday – all accessories.  trucker hat, beanie, shoes, sunglasses (pair #3 – Papa sat on the first pair and the second pair got pitched out of the stroller without me realizing).

a little after nap video.

this one is sort of long, but I think it’s a fun one.  I was putting away anabelle’s clean clothes while we were chatting.  this week I’ve noticed her starting to understand what things are and how they should be used – she put her hat on her head, she put her sunglasses on her face, she puts phone-like things up to her ear, she even tried to wash my leg with her washcloth during bath tonight.

oh, and she has discovered the world of belly buttons!  she has surprised us both by lifting up our shirts while we’re out & about on the hunt for mine or chris’.  I think she’s pretty impressed that mommy & daddy have one too.

anabelle just started sleeping with a blanket (& her monkey, carter, is in there too).  she has been doing great going down for naps and bedtime, yah!  I hope it will be the same when she has to have a sitter a couple times next month.

I couldn’t keep anabelle out of the 2nd drawer from the bottom so I recently switched it out so it now is full of bibs, bowls, cups – much better than graters, peelers, pizza cutters.

she is quite the unpacker!

just doing a little hat & shoe inventory this morning.

SUP yoga

this was by far my best groupon purchase yet – a stand up paddleboard (SUP) yoga class.  i loved it!

to make it even better, my friend amy came too.

extra bonus, chris & anabelle met us for breakfast after and had lattes waiting for us at the table.  what a great morning!

we started with a short yoga warm-up on land and then headed out on mission bay.  it was a little chilly but so peaceful and calm.

here we are trying to get in position for a picture together.

the class made me realize how much i don’t sit still these days.  it was a challenging, calming, and balancing start to my day and really hope i can go again.  i’ve already added a package of classes to my christmas list.

amy & i have our eye on a SUP yoga retreat in puerto rico – oh man, would that be awesome!  interested in the same sort of trip?  click here.  i found the site through athleta’s facebook page.  they organize some pretty incredible excursions.

i wasn’t sure how i would do – must admit i surprised myself a bit.

tickle monster

if you’re not sure what the tickle monster is, you should know that it’s a lot of fun!

the set comes with a book and tickle mitts with finger holes (for turning the pages).

it’s a big hit at our house!

fishy face

 

alisha & i took our babes to birch aquarium a couple weeks ago.

exploring and discovering

 

happy babies, happy mommies

 

well, until anabelle decided to touch mason - he wasn’t too excited about it.

playtime

“a child reminds us that playtime is an essential part of our daily routine.”

checking out our dvd stash

     

signs of a great day:

daydreaming about the tickle monster, calling a few friends, reading a good book

and top it all off watching a little sportscenter with papa

hooray for crossfit!

I don’t always like it when chris has to work later than usual (7pm is late enough, right?) but when it means he gets to come to the later crossfit class with me & anabelle it totally makes up for it.  it’s great to workout together, to cheer each other on (and show off a smidge), plus i could use the extra help lately.  anabelle has been getting a bit frustrated at the gym since she’s not allowed to go in every little corner she pleases – it’s just not safe.  a clingy baby makes it a bit tricky to get all of your burpees and pullups done, especially when it’s a workout for time (oh & our friend brooke hasn’t been there as much since she had shoulder surgery); but i’m not complaining, just sharing.

this morning’s workout was tough, but awesome.  by the end we had done a total of 70 pullups and 70 burpees.  anabelle had a great morning, wahoo!  we decided to shoot a few short videos while we were stretching and cooling off. 

we had some fun last night trying to get anabelle to walk from one of us to the other.  she was taking 4 and 5 steps at a time!  she seems to be getting the hang of it.  i have my eye on the sweet kicks for her once she’s up & running big girl style.

anabelle helping papa stretch, sort of.

considering climbing the rope.

we realized she was doing ‘feet first’ even getting off this 2 inch mat.  funny girl.

 

aahh, the fan!

check out those knees.  this kiddo gets so dirty at the gym.  pretty cute though, i think she even has a smudge on her forehead here.  build those immunities, little one!

maybe next time we can get a few videos of us actually working out or anabelle practicing her squats or deadlift form.

hopefully we’ll be back in the morning.  3 – 2 – 1 . . .

(for non-crossfitters, that’s how you start every workout or every round or a workout)

on that note, if there are any non-crossfitters reading this and interested in crossfit, it’s awesome.  i definitely recommend it.  any level, any age – you will be challenged and you will be strong!

pics & thoughts

anabelle now has her own drawer in the kitchen.  I have recently added a bunch of plastic cookie cutters and have gotten over trying to keep the napkins grouped together, ha!

- - - - -

it’s august and I can already see our fall calendar filling up!  anabelle is 13 months old and I find myself still struggling a bit with leaving her.  I can do it, I just have to prep for it.  it is so strange how completely different it feels in my gut when it is my choice to go away compared to something I have to go to and can’t bring her along.  Dang!

- - - - -

these next three aren’t super clear but they sure make me happy!

“heaven blew every trumpet & played every horn on the wonderful, marvelous night you were born”  Nancy Tillman (on the night you were born)

tried a new breakfast spot on saturday – yah for groupons!

out celebrating chris’ birthday last weekend.  it was a fun night with great conversation!

happy birthday, love!  So very glad you were born.

I wanted a picture too.

notice how this outfit is quite similar to the one two pictures above?  this is chris’ latest fav to dress her in – heathered long sleeve onesie and cotton skirt.  I get to pick the barrette.

- - - - -

somehow it just hit me that our trip to copenhagen is just over two weeks away.  oh my!  I can’t seem to find the right word to describe how I’m feeling about it.  I’m excited, anxious, a tiny bit scared, tired, thankful, curious.  I figure anabelle and I just have to manage the trip there on our own.  once we arrive we’ll meet up with friends, find our apartment, chris will arrive the next day, and the event will do its thing.  it will be an extremely busy & full week.  I am grateful to be partnering with a friend on this project and that chris is able to join us.

- - - - -

hey papa, want to hear a secret?!  (yep, onesie and cotton skirt again)

I think I dreamt of pictures like this before I was ever pregnant, xo!  I am so in love!

“I love you as the moon loves each shining star.  I love all that you will be and everything you are.”  Marion Dane Bauer (how do I love you?)

we have an official moo milk drinker – straight up!

(still nursing too & feeling great.  I feel a little funny writing this but I’m pretty proud of us making it 13 months!)

I tend to have a very busy brain with working from home, random daydreaming, planning (anything and everything), making lists (all sorts) – funny how sitting here typing my blog my brain seems to finally slow down . . . . but then I forget some of the things I wanted to write about!

ah, life.  what a most delightfully challenging journey.

safety first

faces, laughs, teeth, & squeals!

at the beginning of this video charley starts barking from the bedroom.  i left the kitchen for a bit - you can tell when i come back in the room.

hooray for spare ‘aa’ batteries in the cabinet!

yesterday morning anabelle’s little teapot needed a bit of a pick me up.  this is a gift anabelle’s great grandma hudson picked out for her last christmas.  they didn’t get a chance to meet but it’s fun for me to remember my grandma as anabelle plays.

how is it that ‘safety first’ pops into my head right away with nearly everything related to anabelle and barely at all with chris? 

going to the park? 

susan – sunscreen, hat, . . .  chris – car keys

playing on the couch? 

susan – stay close, keep eyes on . . .  chris – how high can you climb?

well, i suppose that’s just how it is.  it’s not like i have bought her a helmet (not yet).  either way, we’ve been assisting anabelle getting down off the couch and futon by repeating ‘feet first’ as we help her position herself so she lands on her feet and dismounts safely.  ding ding – bonus word!  chris and i were pretty impressed when we realized a couple days ago that she had really picked up on what we were teaching her and can now get down all by herself.  nice work little one! 

(i’m usually still hovering close by though)

last week at swim class we met a brother and sister who go at the same time anabelle does.  when I asked their names they both responded with ‘boo’ and ‘nine’, nicknames.  their mom kept trying to get them to tell me their real names (zachary and madeline) but they thought it was jus too funny to keep rambling off different nicknames they are called at home.

i remembered this story this past weekend listening to chris play with anabelle.  i thought I’d be the one to have a book full of nicknames for her (it’s sort of hereditary in my family) but nope.  it’s not me, it’s chris! here are some of the most recent additions:

boozer (from the origin ‘boo’)

beaner (from the origin ‘jelly bean’ or ‘bean’)

carabiner (lasted rendition of ‘beaner)

anabelle is working on some more teeth and I catch her grinding her front teeth together (makes for a pretty cute face).  she’s still a good eater – currently a big fan of cheddar bunny crackers (similar to goldfish).  she has developed pretty good volume now & has lots of different sounds. 

this video just makes me laugh.  i was trying to capture anabelle giggling at her new peek-a-boo book (there is a mirror on the last page).  then she started playing with the pillow so i just kept filming.

shake shake!

anabelle seems to be soaking up more & more this week.  she is signing ‘all done’ and ‘more’ and has started using her toy phone, holding it up to her ear when we say hello.  She’s rockin’ swim class with great arm pulls and climbing up on the ledge when she gets to the edge of the pool.  we’ve lucked out having 4 private lessons in a row.  Wednesday she started playing peek-a-boo with the blanket by herself.  she’s chatty chatty, especially in the car.  she has been a bit clingy at crossfit but that leads to some awesome hugs.  she wants to be doing whatever I’m doing or at least close by.  she even climbed up on the lifting platform yesterday, made her way to my bar set up for deadlift, got in position with feet apart, hands shoulder width, knees bent.  then she looked around for me – “how’s my form, momma?!”  wish I had a picture!

we’ve been having some fun with her blocks too.

shake shake!

left foot, right foot

 

holy dirty floor!  i’ll have to get to that later.  this one is a little crazy but i think it’s pretty funny.  charley, you might want to watch out.

do a little walking, make a little music.  big day!

a few weeks ago, chris & anabelle went to target on a daddy-daughter date to do some shopping with her birthday money.  this is one of the outfits he/they picked out.  pretty cute, right?!

just in the last week or so, anabelle has started to give me a hug and sometimes a kiss too after nursing.  it’s pretty awesome!  she has also started to crawl into my lap when i’m sitting on the floor ready to read to her before a nap or bedtime.  that’s pretty great too.

she is definitely learning that she has her own mind.  seems that we are in a bit of a “mommy, i appreciate your ideas & suggestions, but i really prefer to do something else right now” sort of phase.  ok, so it’s probably not a phase, more something we will learn to compromise on for years & years to come.

tonight i tried giving anabelle her own spoon to ‘use’ while i fed her yogurt with another spoon.  success!  we might be on our way to a little spoon food again, yah!

we’ve been making up lots of random verses for ‘if you’re happy and you know it’.  seems to be a hit this week.  anabelle’s buddy mason likes that tune so we decided to give it a try too.  so far, there are two that she’s great at.  ‘if you’re happy and you know it share a laugh’ & ‘if you’re happy and you know it clear your throat’.  ha ha!

decisions, decision.

chris now has orders in the works to join the sharp shooters here at miramar on the first of november. we are both really excited to be staying in san diego for a bit longer!  chris will get to fly a lot and will have the opportunity to do a good amount of teaching which he’s looking forward to.  there is still a pesky ia billet floating around though that we are waiting to hear about.  wait & see – standard.  in the meantime we all ‘just keep swimming’ as always.

cleaning out my iphone

 

I didn’t realize how many pics were hiding out in my phone.

hanging out at the park on Miramar – one of our favorites 

       

“hmm, what’s over there?  stairs?  I think I can handle those.”

“ok, mommy.  here I go.”

“man, this is a big one.  I can do this!”

“blast!  didn’t make it.  maybe next time.  let’s go swing.”

cruisin’ through the living room

just playing!

this week anabelle discovered our stash of dusty dvd’s hiding on the far side of the couch.

trying on her new shades (birthday present from miss brooke at the gym)

it’s tricky keeping food out of her hair these days.

the easiest way to get ready for swim class lately . . just sit her in the swim bag while I gather up everything we need to pack.

just got done with a date with papa at the park.  check out that grin!

wakey, wakey!  time to get ready for crossfit.

anabelle’s passport has arrived & chris says he’s coming with us to copenhagen, hooray!

a friend just have us his old couch which we love!

yesterday we went out to dinner at c-level.  we had a seat outside, right on the water.  anabelle loved watching all the boats and being able to see the waves crashing onto the big rocks below us.