What I'm Reading and Watching This Week

I don't want to get on a soapbox, but will say that it ruffles my feathers when we don't teach sex education and birth control options in schools and then act surprised when people have unplanned babies and STDs.  Come on.

Oh, Marcel.  You charm the shoes right off me.

We are constantly being reminded of how skewed women's self-image is; this article has a brief history as to why.

Are you looking for a last-minute way to decorate your Halloween pumpkins?  Check out these cute ideas.

I am definitely making these with our leftover candy come Saturday morning.

Once August can be trusted with a pair of scissors, we are going to town on some toilet paper rolls.

Our Week in Photos

Last Saturday, August wistfully watched Papa mow the lawn while gripping onto his own mini-mower.  Oh, to be old and in charge of lawn maintenance...

Then on Monday, we wistfully watched the big kids playing on the playground equipment.

The last hour before JP gets home always seems to drag, so I put on an episode of Gilmore Girls for myself and several of August's 'entertain yourself' toys.  Sometimes, though, August decides to just law on my lap to watch with me.  I should mind the screen time, but it's so nice to have him voluntarily snuggle and be still for a few minutes!

He's found JP's headphones.  And he loves them.

On Wednesday, we visited a pumpkin patch and August meet a pig named Louie...

...he found some small stones to carry around while smiling at strangers...

...and he tried to pet some chickens.

He'd totally earned a teething biscotti from all that activity.

What I'm Reading This Week

I hope to be a master of love; this is such a great article on why some relationships flourish and others stay stagnant or disintegrate.

Oh my goodness, word.  There are so many wonderful things to look forward to with a new baby, but recuperating from labor and delivery is not one of them.

Y'all, how cute are these masks?

If we're being honest, can't we all just be nice to each other?  Why the yelling?

As our society gears more and more toward digital, what are the effects of e-books on kids' developing minds?

Haley got me a couple of prints from this girl for my birthday, and I just noticed that she has temporary tattoos!  So fun!

Our Week in Photos

 Seriously, how adorable are these two men of mine?

Last Friday night, JP and I went out to a nice birthday dinner at Aria in midtown Atlanta.  It felt so nice to put on a dress and heels!  And I love to see JP all suited up.

Last week also marked 20 weeks pregnant with the munchkin (finally decided on a nickname for baby 2!), and the week we found out it's a boy!  I would be so happy with a brood of little dudes around the house, so that smile is genuine delight.

We got that crazy system of storms on Tuesday morning, and spent four hours in the morning without power!  It wasn't the worst thing ever, since the cold hasn't hit us yet, but was an unsettling way to start the day.  August did enjoy checking out our electric candles, so that was entertaining.

At a visit to the Children's Museum in ATL, August 'drove' a vegetable truck!  He also developed a deep love for that fake can of corn he's holding.  Kids be kids.

Playtime at one of our favorite playgrounds!  He's so good on the jungle gyms these days that I can watch him from the outside, rather than climbing around with him.  It's amazing how fast he's developing.

The last photo of those gorgeous curls before his first haircut!

We got the first trim on Thursday, and August was so, so good!  Pigtails and Crewcuts specializes in kids' cuts, so there's lots of distractions for him: vehicle-shaped barber chairs, a TV over each station with cartoons on, and a wall of mirrors for kids to check themselves out in.

The final product!  It's amazing how grown-up he looks without those sweet curls.  We will miss them, but I feel like they'll grow back.  The stylist yesterday left his hair long enough that he still has some wave to his hair, so fingers crossed!

Keeping up with correspondence is very important, you know.

During a particularly rough dinner night, we gave in and let August feed himself some yogurt with a spoon.  The transformation was immediate; he just wanted some control over his mealtime.  He was such a happy camper and ate bites of his real dinner between 'feeding himself.'  Look at that smile!

What I'm Reading This Week

I am currently poring over names on this website.

These pretzels are on my list of things to make.  Soon.

What an excellent list of books to read if you're in a rut!

I'm not usually a big Halloween party fan, but this candy bar is pretty amazing.

This blog post, though not super recent, has been resounding in my head when my priorities seem out of sync with my ideal life.  These little moments are the ones that matter so much.

Who knew that breakfasts would be so widely varied for kids around the world?

Our Week in Photos

 I love these little moments with August, when he's post-nap and extra-snuggly.

 Toward the end of the day, when we're killing time before Papa gets home, we'll sometimes turn on an episode of a kids' show (we like WordGirl and Sesame Street) and this is how he sits.  My heart is a total mess at that point.

 How we generally FaceTime with Aunt Haley.  Such a gentleman.

 Last Saturday, we went to Touch-A-Truck in Canton, where August got to check out SWAT tanks, garbage trucks, and lots of fire engines!  He loved sitting in the driver's seat, and threw mini-fits when we pulled him out.  It's so fun to take him to these things and watch his little eyes light up.

 Later that night, we tried out a new pizza place downtown, and were super happy about finding a new haunt close to home.  This JP's 'don't mess with me while I'm eating' face.

 August spent a family lunch last Sunday hooping his abuela's nose.  She is a very patient lady!

 This is what happens with August feeds himself yogurt.  It's not as bad as it could be, but we've got a long way to go with his self-feeding skills.

The little man is a big fan of chewing on my empty Starbucks cups.  Also, check out that cute, crazy hair!

Mamas make the comfiest lounge chairs.

We were rained out of a play date on Wednesday, so invited our friends over to our house instead!  Grandma, August's Mickey Mouse plane was a big hit with the younger crowd.

I love his messy bedhead after nap time.  Surely, we will cut his hair one day, but I'm not looking forward to it.

Also on Wednesday night, we hit up the Atlanta Botanical Gardens for their Fall Festival.  JP met us there after work, and it was such a great way to end the day!  We absolutely love being members of the ABG; it's so wonderful to have another green space to bring August to when the weather agrees.

I am hard at work on August's big boy too, so we can move him in between Christmas and New Year's (after that, we'll start prepping the nursery for the new munchkin).  The theme is loosely 'woodland,' and we got his new comforter in this week!  He loves sitting up on his new twin bed (a gift from his abuelos) because it is close to the fan in his new room (!!), and extra fun to bounce on his tush.  I can't wait to share more pictures as it comes together!

Lastly, today is one of my favorite days of the year, because I get to celebrate my wonderful, sweet, patient, handsome husband, JP!  Y'all, where would I be if he hadn't been born?  Where would August and Mia be?  He roots our family in all the best ways, and I love him more every day!  Happy birthday, mip!

August's First Trip to Tallahassee

Last weekend, our little family loaded up in the station wagon and hit the road to visit my wonderful little sister and my patient brother-in-law in Florida's capitol.  The little man bookended the trip with terrible behavior in the car, but it was worth it to see their awesome new place and spend quality time together!

 When we arrived, Aunt Haley had a cream cheese english muffin ready for August, who shared it (relatively) eagerly.  He is such a sweet little man.

 Saturday morning started out with some man/son/iPhone time on the couch.  I love August's little arm on JP's, as though he's saying, 'This is my papa and we are cute together all the time.'

 Haley and Matt took us to a truly tasty coffee bean roaster/shop called Lucky Goat, where we had cold brew coffee ON TAP.  Like, from a keg.  Amazing and so creamy!!  The guys there walked us through the whole process of roasting beans, the cold brew keg, packaging; it was very cool to hear from people so passionate about what they do.
 

 More father/son time.

 The park we hung out at on Saturday morning was totally awesome: lots of swings and great playground equipment, plus it was covered to keep the sun at bay.  Could those two above be any sweeter at play?

Sisterly love.  I'm so glad we're in the same time zone and an afternoon's drive from each other!

 They are the hosts with the most!

 It's a little washed out, but August has a very sweet little smile on that very sweet little face.  The park wore him out!

Next on the list was a gorgeous plant nursery, where August could run around touching lots of plants and checking out monstrous koi.  This is as close to a good family portrait as we could manage that afternoon; squirmy 15-month olds don't love standing still too long.

 Then it was on to Lofty Pursuits, an ice cream shop with mind-bogglingly delicious flavors.  I indulged in Guinness and double chocolate ice creams with hot fudge.  The face above is saying, 'Do not bother a pregnant woman while she's sundae-ing.'

Bubble baths are the best baths!

Thank you so much for a wonderful visit, Haley and Matt!  We enjoyed ourselves so, so much, and can't wait to plan the next trip!

What I'm Reading/Watching This Week

What cute Halloween costume ideas!

A thought-provoking article about blogger burnout.

JP and I are definitely doing our best to raise a reader.

Oh my goodness, this veggie tofu stir fry is my new go-to dinner item.

Could this father/daughter pair be any cuter?

Some of these are good for adults' body image, too!

Cranky Pants

At the risk of sounding like a total cranky pants, I'm feeling slightly alienated from a lot of the shows and artists I loved only a year or two ago.  While I'm not some old woman who sits on her front porch lamenting the downfall of my generation, it does seem as though there's a glorification of irresponsibility and bad choices in both tv and radio (probably also movies, but with a 14-month-old and pregnancy bladder, we don't get to the theaters much these days).
A friend and I had a recent discussion about The New Girl premiere episode, in which a bunch of late 20-somethings are frustrated because their friends are getting married and they keep being invited to weddings.  Because...people shouldn't grow up and make lifelong choices?  Because celebrating love in any shape is a bad thing?  Because I'm supposed to appreciate that they're 'taking back their fridge' by throwing away the many wedding invitations covering it?  The vast, vast majority of my friends in their late 20s are married (a lot with kids, but I digress), or in longterm committed relationships.  In my, admittedly suburban, worldview, it's the norm to have a fridge full of first birthday invitations and birth announcements, along with the wedding mail.  This is what people do: they grow up and mark the milestones in their life because, without those things, how else do we make those moments stand out from the mundanities?  By the end of the episode, I was totally turned off by and flabbergasted that we're supposed to be cheering a group of grown-ups who were 'taking a stand' by ripping up wedding invites from people they are supposedly friends of.
I had to stop watching Modern Family a couple seasons ago because, seriously, do these people even like each other? And how am I, a married and pregnant mother-of-one with a mortgage, supposed to applaud Katy Perry's latest single, in which she respects kids using their rent money for bottle service?  I probably am not the target demographic for her song, but I can't help but wonder what attitude we're promoting here.
The bottom line is that I should probably back off and find other shows to watch and/or artists to listen to.  I've been watching The Mindy Project and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, the first of which showcases a successful woman of color who isn't afraid to speak her mind and have flaws, and the second of which highlights a team who is good at what they do and isn't constantly belittling each other. My current iTunes playlist includes more of The Okee Dokee Brothers (for August) and Jenny Lewis (for me), whom I don't hate myself for listening to.  Are there any other suggestions out there? And am I the only person who feels so disconnected to the current onslaught of entertainment?

What I'm Watching/Reading This Week

These girls are amazing!

Did you see John Oliver's report on the Miss America pageant?  Seriously, I was blown away by it.

Word.

Next birthday party, I'm totally stealing this theme.

These stories always make me weepy.  I'm so glad we're in a society where non-conformityisn't frowned up, and also understand how much it affects a family and parenting decisions.

Our Week in Photos

He is very cute, although not always especially photogenic.

 On Sunday afternoons, we like to indulge in some pantsless reading in the playroom.  It's a very fancy end to the weekend.

Due to someone's extreme fidgety nature during story time (ahem, August), we left a few minutes early and played in the children's department.  Two minutes later, story time let out and this area was packed!

 Grey sweater twinsies!

Trust me, I am enjoying these days when he voluntarily holds my hand, or finger, as it were.  I know it won't last forever, and his hands are small enough to just need my pointer right now!

 This is August's favorite area at our closest playground.  He likes it even more when I stand behind him and say, "Vroom, vroom!"

 Wearing the hottest accessory these days: a video monitor on my front pocket.
And yes, it has been chilly enough in the mornings to justify a sweatshirt!

Are these not the funkiest homemade bagels you've ever seen?  Hopefully they taste better than they look.

August found this large stick in the middle of one of our 'walks' (a few hundred yards around a field near Target).  Doesn't it look like he's practicing fencing or something?