to my cubby:

every morning, at 7:30, on the monitor beside my bed, i hear you shake the side of your crib. you don’t cry. you don’t talk…you just shake, shake, shake the side railing. and so it is…i come to find you standing in the sunlight, blankie in one hand, pacifier in mouth. there is no dramatic welcome when i come to scoop you in my arms…just a twinkle in your eye and upward arms. it is then that i hug you, give you a big happy ‘good morning, sunshine!’ and take you out to the couch where we lie, snuggle, and slowly wake up…together.

…and this is the way it goes:

i love your sleepy eyes that blink-blink-blink first thing in the morning sunlight that streams in from the front door and lands in a puddle on the couch cushions…the way you quietly suck your pacifier, giving it a rhythm like a bobber being tugged on the water’s surface by a teasing little fish…your first yawn that makes you look like a lion cub.

…your not-quite-ready-for-my-day cuddle and the way you lay your head on my tummy and rub the satiny part of my nightgown between your fingers until…slowly, you lift your heavy head and welcome your surroundings. good morning, sophie. good morning, latte. good morning, world. and then…your first smile of the day.

oh, and guess what you do now that just melts daddy’s heart? you give him kisses…whenever he asks for one! (…and you only give them to me when you feel like it, you little stink!)

…enjoying the cuddly things. ~k

the pleasure was all mine today as i was privileged to take the first shots of little newbie, skye rose. i’ll never forget the first time i met her mommy…we sat next to each other at an event, talked for hours about how the two of us loved babies and how we couldn’t wait to have our own…and since then, we have been forever friends.
and, oh how this mommy loves her baby. the second picture gives me chills…so much love. so much love.

welcome to the world, newbie. we’ll teach you all you need to know.
…enjoying the baby things. ~k

so, i’m just having one of those days where i’ve been thinkin’ a lot…like…

…i wanna blunt-cut my bangs again, but need a little more nerve…
…i’m desperately yearning to entertain again–to host dinner parties and late-night drinks, light candles, play jack johnson & diana krall and blissfully listen as guests laugh, *tink* wine glasses together, make toasts to “good friends” and stay late into the night because it’s just too good to leave…
…i wanna revive our annual halloween costume party this year and bring it back with the biggest bang of the century…
…i wanna go on a late-night date with my hubby and wear heels and lipstick and an open-back dress and his favorite perfume and remind the both of us that underneath the jobs and the bills and the laundry and the kids, it’s us–two people who passionately love each other forever and ever…and life’s too short to forget that.
…i’m sad that lainey is at the exact age that my sister claims is her favorite, and that she doesn’t live close enough to enjoy it with me…like i did her girls. ‘cuz she would so love it right now.
…i wanna simplify my closet to hold only the things i really love to wear, even if it’s not a lot.
…i wanna send packages to my cousins and nieces and sister & brother…full of collages and perfume samples and stickers and funny pictures i tore out of magazines–like i used to do when i was in college.
…i want the fuel crisis to be over.
…i can’t wait for the weather to cool down for fireplace fires again.
…i wanna have people over to play taboo and catch phrase…’cuz it’s fun.
…i want little baby pink crocheted uggs for lainey but will never justify me–or anyone else for that matters–spending $90 for a flimsy pair of baby boots.
…i want anonther baby…real bad.
…i want the energy to clean the heck out of my bedroom.

hope that doesn’t come across as discontent or too many “i-wannas.” i’m easy to please, really. just thinkin’…that’s all.

still always enjoyin’ the small things, though…like today. seriously this “dig-through-her-drawers/find-random-article-of-clothing/stretch-over-head and take-off-crawling-like-the-wind-head-a’ covered” thing she does…finally captured the entire thing on camera, and, well…it’s just really funny.

…and then we went for a dip in the pool where, after some major frustration with her sunglasses for not staying on her head…

…she was all smiles!

despite today’s i-wannas, my gratitude for all our happy small things is runnin’ thick as marmalade. ..enjoying the funny, the happy, the ponderings-of-tomorrow and, oh…the small things~k