Curious Bird

:we like to party:

Yesterday we celebrated Felix's birthday by having a party at one of our favorite parks. Lots of friends and kiddos showed up for a couple of hours full of eating snacks and Felix's requested green cupcakes, lots of frolicking on the playground equipment, and a five gallon bucket full of bubble magic!

Felix definitely enjoyed all the love and attention that came his way. (Funny tidbit: Our family arrived a little early to set up and Felix walked around for a minute or two before coming over to Dustin and I with a puzzled look and saying, "no friends". We assured him that friends would be arriving very soon. :-)  And they certainly did. 

Here are some of my favorite shots from the day. 

More soon, 

L. 

 

:outside my window:

So fun to peek at this sweet scene outside my living room window. Love it when they see their mama and immediately open their mouths as wide as they will go. Still not too skilled at flying; a bit more practice will change that. 

Have  yourself a nice weekend. We're attending a birthday party (and planning one for our little guy for next weekend) and hoping to find some water to play in since it's supposed to be a real scorcher here the next few days. Hoping to hit the farmer's market and get some sewing done. And I'm pretty sure I see several limeades and some homemade peach ice cream in my immediate future, as well. 

Cheers, 

L. 

:I don't blame him:

Felix had quite a blast with one of the performers in the kiddo area of an event we went to last weekend. He liked the bubbles and the hula hoops, but he kinda freaked out over the ribbon wand. Should probably put it on my list to make him one for his birthday next week. I could see that going over really well. 

Sitting and being circled by ribbon. Pure joy. 

Running through it. Super fun.

 

Touching the guy's amazing harlequin tights. Awesome!

:pick your own:

Thank you all so much for the sweet comments about Mortimer. It has been very comforting to read them and think about him. He was such a special cat and we're glad we got to spend so many wonderful years with him. It's strange. Now that both of our pets have passed on it feels so weird being a family without pets. It will certainly take D and I some time to reprogram ourselves to not stress about the ice cream bowl left on the coffee table or the basement stairs being left open during trips to fetch laundry  -- Mort would always sneak downstairs only to be missing for a while before we thought, "oh, he must be in the basement".  I gotta say that one of the hardest parts of saying goodbye to Mort has been when Felix has searched for him. Saying goodbye to a pet can be very confusing for young children; I would love any advice or book recommendations you have on the topic. 

Our weekend was sad, but we also carried on with things as best we could. We had a very nice time picking strawberries. Indeed. It was good to drive a short distance and watch Felix's eyes pop as he discovered what was about to happen. He, of course, settled right in and began picking and sampling with gusto. Can't wait to go back for round two sometime very soon. Gotta make some strawberry jam or maybe we'll just eat them all like we did this time? 

More soon,

Leya 

:worth the effort:

Hi there, 

I finally got around to snapping a couple of photos of one of my latest projects. Just like the hanging planter bandwagon I jumped on a few weeks ago, I couldn't resist giving the tree stump table bandwagon a whirl. I'm so glad I did because now we have our very own tree stump table sitting on the front porch --it will likely make its way inside at some point. It holds my glasses of lemonade and Dustin's adult beverages brilliantly!

Of course this particular project took quite a bit more time, effort, and supplies than making my own plant hangers, but it was very satisfying. And no high dollar West Elm tree stump tables for me. No way!
I should mention that it also required help from the hubs (being pregnant got me out of having to do the real annoying part: applying coat after coat of polyurethane).  Thanks, Dustin. 

All you need is a tree stump, some sandpaper (we used a palm sander), a can of polyurethane (I chose a satin finish), a natural bristled brush for applying the polyurethane, and a little patience. And wahlah! You've got yourself a tree stump table. 

I should also say the following:

*our tree stump was dried out when we got it. A kind neighbor passed it along after having it in his garage for a year or more. It is riddled with imperfections and noticeable woodpecker...uh... pecks? I especially love that part.  

*I added some hardware to the bottom to make our table slide easily. I may add casters later on. Haven't decided.  

*I think the total cost was around $20. 

Have yourself a great weekend. 

We're going to pick strawberries and garden and hit some yard sales. Can't wait.  

xox, 

Leya 

:who's afraid of a little dirt? not felix:

As a matter of fact, he likes to experience it with each of his senses...while wearing his pajamas.

:calm and quiet:

Yesterday evening Dustin took Felix to a nearby park for some raucous play and dinner at a food truck rodeo that was happening there. Durham is such an awesome town for so many reasons, and the fact that there are so many amazing food trucks is definitely high on the list of why. Delicious fare+great people committed to using quality, most often locally sourced ingredients+being able to purchase and eat dinner (glass noodles and dumplings, oh my!) while your toddler runs his legs off at a playground= serious win. Go Durham!

But I digress. This post isn't supposed to be about Durham or food trucks. Nope, it is about the calm and quiet that took place while my two guys were off doing their thing. It is nice to remind myself how wonderful it was to be surrounded by nothing but calm and quiet for a couple of hours and taking some time to actually appreicate it and take advantage of it. Like many people, I often find myself not settling into such moments when I should (there's always something to clean or catch up on, right?) so I thought writing it down here might help me remember to sit down and be quiet a little more often.

An empty house and a quiet dinner eaten slowly while thumbing through a new stack of books from the library can be the best medicine sometimes. And that is certainly something worth remembering.

Here's to a little calm and quiet coming your way this weekend. Hope you have a good one.

-Leya

our gang

Thanks for all the sweetness about our baby #2 announcement. It feels nice to finally allow the news out into the world. I/we have been holding it close for quite a while, just like when I was pregnant with Felix. I suppose it is the kind of secret that is fun to keep, but now that it's out in the open I'm certain I will be sharing more about our new adventure in the months to come. And just for the record, it is so wonderful to finally feel healthy again. Phew! That was a rough few months of total exhaustion, and saltines, and not being able to even look at a green vegetable. The vegetable thing didn't bode too well for me doing my part to eat our fall garden greens either. :)

For those of you who are curious, here are some answers to a couple of questions:

• As with our first pregnancy, we won't be finding out the gender until the baby arrives. We love surprises and feel like there are too few really good ones in this life, so we choose to wait. But we completely understand why people would find out; we just aren't those people. Plus, not knowing gives Dustin an excuse to create colorful graphs and geek out on statistics, something he honestly loves doing.
• I'm 17 weeks pregnant this week, making me due in late August. Yep, nine months pregnant in August in North Carolina. Anyone have a really cute muu-muu pattern they want to send my way? Pretty please.

Once again, thanks for all the kind comments and emails you have sent my way. It really means a lot to me.

Have fun!

L.

Some days

Some days start moving rapidly in a certain direction. Toy explosion. Chalk explosion. An endless amount of "Nopes" coming my way when I ask a certin little person to help me clean up. The cat on the kitchen countertop. A massive pile of unfolded laundy on our bed. You get what I'm saying, surely you do. Some days are just harder than others. But sometimes those same days bring a shining sun and warm air, and there is no other place to be but out there soaking it all up. Leaf burgers (F's speciality) for everyone!

Spring is coming. Yes indeed.

 

Critters

Hmmm...maybe it's just me, but opening the blinds this morning to see this crazy critter perched in the tree outside my window kinda FREAKED me out! And he stayed there for a couple of hours, which caused me to spend my entire morning checking to see if he was still there and reading about possoms on the internet. 

I learned the following:
Possoms are great climbers; males are called Jacks and females are called Jills; they have fine eyesight and hearing despite a vicious rumor going around that they don't; and they also don't really make the best pets (not that we were considering adopting this one). 

Felix called him a mouse. :)

Okay, back to it.

-L.