do you know what this is?

that, my friends, is steam.
significant steam rising from my coffee cup this morning.
steam that dances upon the surface of its coffee stage because the air around it is slowly cooling, making way for another glorious cold front.

it is a new day.
it is a new time.
it is a new month.

november.
i think my favorite month.
you know what happens in november?

cold fronts. putting up the christmas tree. planning the thanksgiving spread. family. making stocking stuffers. designing the christmas mailer…and the ceremonious evening of handwriting each address, sliding the little gift into that envelope, and preparing it for its journey across the country. fall cleaning. thanksgiving pajama breakfast. newborn clothes–unwrapped, washed and folded into waiting drawers.

ah, november.
welcomed this morning on the lanai with cinnamon rolls and coffee and the jungly sounds in the woods behind us.

and a ‘foot war’, a favorite of hers.

and we kissed october farewell last night with the loveliest of halloweens.
papa arrived, paintbrush in hand ready to transform this mama into the ethereal mother earth i had in mind…

i suddenly felt incredibly powerful…and responsible for world hunger and disease and natural disasters, not to mention a little itchy from a couple layers of acrylic paint.

…and friends soon followed, filling the spaces of our driveway with costumed littles and laughter, good food and the energy these sorts of gatherings bring. it was a family free-for-all and while i feel i lacked a bit in hostessing last night, it didn’t matter because everyone was here for one reason…to soak our littles with a really good time.

thank you, joanie, for the cupcakes!

‘

and that we did.

she totally got it this year. the trick-or-treating. except when the door opened, she said something that sounded like trick-or-treat and then just walked in everyone’s house. past the candy, towards the couch…just kept on walkin’ like she lived there.

and if there was a dog? oh, forget it.

and if there was too much halloween decor at the entrance, she opted to skip that house. we’d point and ask ‘this house?’ and she’d answer, ‘no, scare me.’ …and move on until she found a skeleton-free happy house…with a dog. ‘c’mon,’ she said. and brett & i could not stop smiling.
and as we walked, quietly, hand-in-hand, brett said…‘i love this.‘

i love this too.

oh, happy november.
there is so much good in store.

so, i say the moments i feel proudest to be her mama are the quiet ones. just me and her. in the still of the night…when she’s not feeling well…when we’re reading books and her twiggy little arms are intertwined with mine and her wispy blonde head is nestled in the nook of my arm…when there’s no one to witness the magic of the love of a little.

that’s all true and all…

…but…

…then there’s halloween parades. and i look at our little 50’s girl holdin’ her own between this cute little mess of kids…cowgirls and power rangers, puppies and bumble bees…

…and i can’t quite believe we have a two year old. who walks in a parade and waves to the onlookers. who keeps her cat-eye glasses on through the entire night and kicks up the heels of her scuffed little saddle shoes. and while i click away with the camera, i can’t help but hear the commotion of neighbors pointing out the poodle skirt girl and who she belongs to and ‘can-we-take-her-picture’. and i gladly claim my cliche’ moment of parental pride.

the poodle skirt girl is ours, thank you.

and we think she’s somethin’ pretty special.

so it was last night…as we strolled along the streets of our neighborhood right as the sun was setting…following the shadow trails of golf carts, waving to the crowd of brothers’ big-boy friends brett arranged in our front lawn to cheer her on, settling in to the chaotic crowd of kids at the clubhouse to make spider crafts and eat pizza. and here she was…this very big girl, holding her grandma’s hand and smiling through it all.

…and daddy caught some of our walkin’ on video here.

i love holidays.
and am so looking forward to our halloween traditions tonight as friends and family will gather to our nest for more fun.
more to come…

i love july 4th.
the fireworks. the sparklers. rummaging through the closet to find something red, white and blue. the fact that it lines up perfectly in the year when blueberries and strawberries are at the peak of their seasons so that together nestled between pillows of whipping cream, they concoct this festive little treat without even trying.
and while my celebratory heart wants to do it all, after the long parade this morning, a family swim and a bbq at papa’s…well, the nausea was in full-gear and i was totally shot so sadly, we skipped our fireworks show on the pier this year and opted for neighborhood fireworks which, shall i say, were quite fabulous.

and come to find out, little miss is terrified of the booms anyway this year and after a few deathly grips on her daddy’s shoulder and some huddled tears, we decided indoors is where she belonged tonight…that and our driveway for some sparklers.

oh, but the parade this morning was just divine. and i don’t know what it is about the fourth…or maybe this blessed mix of cry-derman genes and pregnancy, but oh did i cry. the sight of flags and soldiers and babies in stars and stripes…the marching bands and drums and sheer realization that huge masses of people across our country come together like this to celebrate our independence and gratitude for freedom…it just gets me.

i think having babies makes me so much more aware of patriotism. and, no matter how far we have to come in this country, there is this deep sense of gratitude to live in a place where my children are safe and free and supported and loved and guided toward a rich, promising future. and that didn’t come without a cost.

happy independence day.