How July? Why July?

July has turned me into a big fat complainer and for that I would like to apologize to my family and friends. Would you believe it's been one of the worst months I can recall? I've been stressed to the max and dealing with some big changes underway, and well, the one thing I can say is that I have not yet shed a tear. That is baffling to me, everything considering.

Yes it's true that I had a great work trip to Denver and yes it's true I spent the weekend in sunny Arizona with some of my favorite people on the planet, but as soon as I get back to normal every day life, things fall apart! Is it me? I try to focus on the positive and good, but the littlest things just defeat me lately. I hate being defeated, but when you get $250 worth of tickets in one day for your dumb overdue registration on your car, you can't help but crumble in a heap (particularly after you woke up at 5:30AM to go to the DMV to fix it to no avail. Don't get me started on the DMV.).

But. Good news! It's July 30! I am convinced August has some sweetness in store for us. I'm throwing my friend HH a baby shower and we are scheduling a Mark and Julie only getaway and maybe I'll even see a movie! Heck.

See you in August! Where things will be different and shiny and new!

My adoring fan.

Hi Henry, it's me. Your most favorite person on the planet. Sometimes I wonder how I got to be so loved and adored. I always wanted to be the first on someone's list, and now that I am - uhhh when do I get a second of alone time?!

Oh, I know it's been a hard month. You miss your Tia (so do we). You've been dumped on the front door of many a people in the past couple of weeks, and it's long days with the new babysitter, but you're doing a great job. I love the afternoon hugs and rejections of bedtime without at LEAST 5 songs from yours truly. Oh my darlin', Home on the Range, Edelweiss, Polly-wolly doodle (your favorite, you funny thing), are all on heavy rotation these days on my old pipes. 

I think I'll just be putting away the maxi skirts for awhile because you find it way too easy to pull me around by my skirt and it's hard to say no to that.

 

You're growing up oh-so-fast and doing new and funny things all the time, so it's hard for me to be away from you during the days right now. Who am I kidding, it was never easy and it probably never will be. But I'm proud of you - the nice boy on the playground, the high-fiver, the eater of broccoli, the singer of "baby, baby" and "E-I-E-I", and the sweetheart who gives me a goodnight slimy peck on the lips every night.  How lucky can one mama be?!

The week that wasn't.

Hi, it's me, and I'm still alive. For the record, so is Mark. And Henry is the most alive out of all of us, if I'm being honest here. After a week of kidney stones that ended in emergency surgery Friday night, paired with our car being broken into Tuesday morning I thought last week might be the end of me. I'd been looking forward to a long weekend in NYC with Mark and Henry - our third try this year to make it up. But Friday night, as Mark was being rolled into the operating room, I acquiesced and realized - ok, I guess we're not going to NYC. After laying on the floor all week and moaning in pain, I can't believe I didn't realize it sooner, but that's what happens when you are in denial, right?

My tribute to NYC - a black and white cookie - in the hospital cafeteria.

 The view from the hospital room. Pretty sunset and a nice view of Virginia suburbs.

My mother-in-law honestly saved my sanity and rescued Henry from a long day following us around the hospital offices, swooped in and took him home for the night while Mark and I stayed in the hospital and had a late night date at CVS to pick up prescriptions. Exhausting for everyone, but finally he had relief - the pain was gone! The kidney stone was out! Everyone was happy!

Saturday we met up for breakfast with Marks parents and Henry, broke into my Dads house so we could nap on his couches, then spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool. It wasn't NYC, but it was ok. I was with my family, we were all happy and healthy, plus - the pool, right? Not a bad way to spend a 95 degree day.

Just when we think we're safe from bad times, our nanny hurt her knee (ligament, ouch!) and has not been able to work this week, and honestly she might be out for a while, so added stress of childcare and is Henry happy with new people and oh my gosh when will life be back to normal?! I stayed home yesterday, a friend is watching Henry today, and hopefully we got childcare lined up for next week in case we need it.

Despite the hard times, I have to say that I've been reflecting on the family and friends who have been so selfless and generous in offering their help. I am not good at asking for help and I hate feeling like I'm burdening others, so this has been a growing experience for me to be able to say - yes, please help! I could really use it! My mother-in-law, my neighbors who helped call the police and clean up broken window glass, my friend who is watching Henry, and countless other friends and family who have sent emails and called to check in on us. It warms my steely heart right up and I have to say I'm a pretty lucky girl to have all these wonderful people in my life. Trials come, as they do, but I'm happy that they help show me a little slice of all the beautiful and lovely people in our life.We are blessed.

A man and his dog.

Henry is completely obsessed with his little doggie. So much so, that this weekend he uttered his first sentence: Doggie walk outside?

So you better believe we took that doggie outside for a walk around the block.

For the past week or so, he has also been saying More...(insert word here of whatever he wants more of). Like in church, after sacrament, he'll say more...bread? He also says it when he just wants something, that maybe he hasn't already been eating. More cheese? More eggs? It's cool that he's able to communicate what he wants, but boy you'd better get it for him right away and not tell him we don't have any and we need to go to the store because darnit that answer is not good enough!

Milestones: Henry's first haircut

Well the big news around here is that we gave Henry his first haircut. We dressed him up for church on Sunday and he looked so cute, but when I was watching him toddle around the aisles of the chapel, I realized - my baby has a serious mullet. I woke up Monday, resolved to fix the problem, i.e. cut off his blessed sweet curls!! Don't worry I saved some curls, it's one of those gross mom things I never thought I'd do, but alas. He was a superstar during the haircut. I just sat him on my lap while we watched Cars and Mark buzzed and snipped away.

Doesn't he look dashing!? Bonus - this haircut really makes it easier to tell that yes, he is a boy, strangers in the grocery store and in the park.

Weekend

This weekend we finally met Henry's little cousin, Iris! She loved Henry and Henry was...interested, but he's mostly interested in trucks and balls these days. I was checking her little chubby arms and legs to look for similarities between her and baby Henry...but all it did was make me want to squeeze her little legs and have another baby immediately. Oh, the baby fever is a real thing.

Henry started swimming lessons (his second year) at Eastern Market. Which means we get to spend all our Saturdays at Eastern market for the next month...which really means...crepes. I love the crepe man. My special is egg, bacon, spinach, tomato, and chive cheddar. 

Sunday, we celebrated fathers day a week later (Mark was in Tokyo), by leaving church early, taking a family nap, and eating dinner at Wildfire - the restaurant where Mark and I had our wedding luncheon. That place holds some great memories!

And onto Monday - the June heatwave is upon us. I head to Hershey, PA this week for a short meeting, then our family is home for a few weeks. Time to enjoy this summer that is just passing us by.

I watched a movie last night

Safe Haven. It was sort of meh (saving grace was Fergie's hot husband), but it was about domestic abuse and it scared me.  It took me back to a very dark time in my life.

I know the feeling of being controlled in a relationship, and feeling stuck, and then finally having the courage to leave and being scared for your safety. It was a long time ago for me, but those experiences never fully leave you. You always remain very aware of the hurt and damage that other people can inflict and are wary of trusting others for a long time. Luckily I had a strong support network of family and friends who helped me out of it, and I happened to date a wonderful person afterwards who was a marriage therapist and helped me through my emotional recovery.

Over the next little while, I want to share some stories about that time in my life. I hope that is ok and I hope you can be sensitive to me trying to share a very personal and difficult part of my past. It took me over 10 years, but I finally feel strong enough to share. Everyone's journey to becoming a confident and self-assured person looks different, but I know my own strength is renewed when hearing from others.

Babies growing up.

I can hardly remember his tiny little body, snuggled up on my shoulder, cuddled in my arms. But the one thing that takes me back to these first few days and weeks, where everything was so new is his hands. When he was born, he had such a strong grip on my finger that made me feel like nothing else mattered but that little boy. And today, when we walk down the street together and he reaches up to grab my finger, he holds on tight, and I'm reminded again of the sweet precious baby, and how it is as true as it was on day 1 - nothing else matters as much as this little boy. I love being his mother and watching him grow and learn. This week he started really running around, pushing trucks back and forth, throwing a baseball like he means it, and wanting to jump off of every curb and step he sees. It's lovely to see him come out of his shell and be such a darling boy. But that hand, every time he grabs mine, it just reminds me how little he is, and how precious each of these minutes are that we spend together. They pass by too quickly.

Five things that make me happy.

1. This sweet little Henny boy:

2. Henry
3. Henry
4. Henry
5. Henry

Maybe summer isn't so bad after all...

I've always been a fall/winter girl. I'm guessing it's because I grew up in the DC area, where hot, dripping humid summers are the norm and I always feel like I can't breathe in that heat. But! I think Henry is changing me into a summer lover! He loves to be outside, and I love to go on neighborhood walks with him and play on the playground, watching his confidence grow on the slide and climbing everywhere. Henry is a very careful and cautious little baby, and to see him learn and grow brings me so much pride. I just love him so, and I can't believe he is running around and talking so much! We've already taken him on his first beach trip of the summer, signed him up for swimming lessons, gone to the pool, and he hangs out in this little backyard pool nearly every day thanks to his awesome nanny (and isn't his friend so cute?! They are super besties). Summer, you are becoming my season of adventures and carefree exploring!

Mysteries that plague me

Meal planning
Birds chirping at 4am
My next hair color decision
Steak-ums
Growing lettuce
Dinosaurs (seriously, what happened to you, guys?)

busy weekend.

We had a busy weekend, punctuated with business trips. Yes, business trips. Saturday we went to the beach for the morning, Henry was scared to walk in the sand at first, but then embraced it and even started throwing rocks into the water after about 45 minutes. We left to drive 90 minutes to Manassas to see Pop Pop perform in a choir near the train station. Henry napped and Mark and I listened to Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, the ideal way to spend your 11:00 hour. Played on trains, danced to choir songs, then loaded up the car and drove straight to Georgetown to shop. Shopping these days means one of us tries on clothes while the other one chases Henry around the store in between "what-do-you-think-of-this" feedback between Mark and I. After shopping, we got a couple mini pies from Pie Sisters and walked down to eat them while watching boats on the Georgetown waterfront. We went home and fell into an exhausted puddle of sleep.

The next morning I woke up at 5:30am to catch my flight to Asheville, NC. I stepped out of the airport into a taxi, to my meeting, back into a taxi, and back on a plane by 8pm, and back home tucked in safe and sound at 12:30pm. Mark left last night for his second Asian whirlwind tour in a month, and Henry stayed with the grandparents. I came home last night to an empty house and it was the most eerie feeling ever. Henry is hardly 2 1/2 feet tall, but that little guy sure fills up a room, you know what I mean? I'm picking him up in a few hours and I'll be glad to get him back in my arms. He is the best thing these days and I can hardly stand to be away from him for the workday, let alone 2 days!

One look at our May and June calendar makes us look a little travel obsessed, but I'll be laughing last when I finally get STATUS this year on United. Call me shallow, but I want that gold star of achievement and moreover, lounge access people. A trip to NYC and Pennsylvania still loom in June, and once July comes I just have one work trip, with a fun little girls weekend to follow in Sunny Arizona! Then maybe it will calm down a bit.

I always think life will slow down a little so we can just relax and regroup, but somehow it just keeps getting busier. I've been reading The Happiness Project this weekend and it's resonating with me in a good way, that there are options to live a more fulfilling life - it just takes commitment and practice. Easier said than done, but it's giving me hope at least.

Hawaii

Last month I had my first Hawaii experience. I had a meeting in Honolulu and extended my trip a few extra days to drive to Lanikai Beach and the North Shore. I had never been crazy about the thought of Hawaii, maybe because it's a 10 hour flight from DC and I consider myself more of a Europe lover than an island junky. I'm willing to admit I was wrong.
Here are the thoughts I can't get out of my head after the trip:
Why do live in DC when I could live in a beautiful place like this?
If I lived in Hawaii I would live an active lifestyle of surfing, kayaking, paddleboarding, and running. It's so beautiful, all the time, and everyone is always moving around and EVERYONE LOOKS AMAZING. It's inspiring.
Another thing - there is some really great food in Hawaii. It's easy to eat healthy - so many fresh fruits and veggies - but it's just as easy to eat shave-ice, pork, and gorge on traditional Hawaiian food. Also, macadamia nuts, the end.
Warm beaches, perfect water temperature, water clear enough to snorkle in and see the beautiful coral reef and tropical fish.
I love Hawaii. It's just like everyone said it would be, and now that I've dipped my toe in it, I'm going to work it into my life plan to live in Hawaii for some part of my life.

Now onto the good stuff...

The first couple days we spent in Honolulu. I didn't get much beach time, but we did stay at a cute little hotel right on Waikiki Beach. I woke up around 4:30am since I had crazy jetlag and would go for long runs on the beach. Super super my favorite thing ever.

 

 The trees were beautiful, too. I loved all the different varieties, especially these beautiful Banyan trees with their aerial roots that grow into the ground.

  

  

We had meetings at the Hawaiian Capitol building, which is awesomely shaped like a volcano. The very top of the building is the governor and Lt. Governors offices, and there are 360 degree views to see the mountains on one side and the ocean on the other. I've never seen such a stunning Capitol building! 

  

We drove to Lanikai Beach, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, where we relaxed, ate Macadamia Nut Pancakes at Kimo and Boots, kayaked to Flat Island, ate shave-ice at Hawaiian Snow and just reveled in our luck to be at this beautiful beach. 

 

 We stayed on the North Shore and visited Sunset Beach and Sharks Cove (for snorkeling). We airbnb'd a little studio apartment off someones huge beachside home, which had everything we needed, including snorkel gear, a gorgeous bathroom, 2 beds, and the Hawaiian grammys on TV. Perfect. :)

 This is Sunset Beach, at sunset. Cliched? Maybe. Perfect? Yes. We watched the surfers ride out the last of the waves at dusk. I wanted to die.

 

We visited Haleiwa for good food. We had breakfast at Cafe Haleiwa (huevos rancheros, but the pancakes looked amazing!), lunch at Ted's Bakery (chocolate pie and a malasada!), and dinner at Opal Thai Food, the most amazing thai food I've ever eaten. The owner comes to each table and asks you what flavors you like, your favorite thai dishes, then brings out several dishes for you to try. It was off the chain delicious.

 

The last day in Hawaii, we spent lounging on Sunset Beach before our 8:00PM flight home. It was the perfect wrap-up to a perfect trip! Hawaii, I hope to visit you again!

 

weekend.

I'm lucky enough to have a meeting in Honolulu this week, and I extended my trip a few days to see more of Oahu than just Honolulu. The meeting went well, minus one part where I said, "In the U.S....I mean in the mainland..." Oops! I have major jetlag which is actually not as bad as it sounds. I get to wake up at 5am every day, just in time to walk out to the beach and watch the surfers as the sun rises, or go for an early morning run while it's still cool. Later today, we're headed to the North Shore and hopefully Kailua. I've already eaten myself silly and have totally gotten into the Aloha spirit everyone has here. It exists and it's infectious. I'll share some pictures next week when I'm back! Have a great holiday weekend, my U.S. friends.

The sisters and their babies.

And in this post, I present to you "Laura's visit from Minneapolis, and the Many Sad Faces of a Certain Henry George Taylor." We tried, we really did try. And I think with a wild 4 year old boy, his toddler sister, a kind 6 year old, and 3 little babies who like to be on the move (just nearly all of them), we did an okay job. I'd like to see you try to get all these people looking happy and smiley in one photo. No, really, I would really like to see that because then we could have a nice happy photo of all the sisters and their children. Because now we just have this...

Evie takes a little rest from the madness to clear her head. Wish I could be more zen like her. 

The BFFs. Lincoln and Ronan. Too cute.

Finally, we let Henry run around and even eat a few puffs, and look what happened. Cheered right up. I forget that snacks are his happy place (he gets that from his mama).

Getting out of the city

When you realize your child is afraid to walk in the grass and he's never seen a cow in real life, it's time to get out of the city. I love my little city baby, but it was so refreshing to see him toddling through the grass, making animal sounds, and screaming out "TRACTORRRRR!" every time we saw a moving vehicle. It was pretty thrilling for all of us, really.

18 months

High time for a proper Henny update!

Official toddler status at 18 months, we made it! We raised a baby and now he is running around and being crazy and charming us to no end. My biggest worries used to be - am I eating well enough to give him some good milk? What if he never crawls? What if he never let's go of my hand and walks on his own?!
Well, of course he let go of my hand, as soon as he was ready. And now I have to force him to hold my hand when we cross the street. And now my biggest worries are: did he eat a vegetable today? Is he growing? Should I be teaching him more things?

Here is what I can tell you about Henry. He is a big sweetheart. He really loves the people in his life, and is very loyal to them in terms of who is allowed to say hello to him and who can pick him up. He loves to be silly and laugh with us. His favorite game is chase! He will giggle to no end, just trying to run away from us, wanting to be scooped up and tickled. He is curious about new things, always looking for a long time to examine and saying "wow!" Since he was born, he has always been an observer and this continues to be true. He takes things slow, waiting until he's sure before he goes bounding off to do something. Which I think makes taking care of him a bit easier. We're not chasing him around too much and he never strays to far from us, most of the time. He has an impressive vocabulary, probably about 100 words, and he's just starting to string words together. "Buh bye....dada" and "thank you.....mama". We are learning to count to 3. I say 1...2...and he says 3! He'll also help me say the alphabet, coming in at G, P, V, and Z. Haha. Evert night before bed, we read his favorite book, I am a Bunny, and he will finish the last word of every sentence. His favorite foods are pancakes, scrambled eggs, toast, bananas, blueberries, blackberries, peas, and sweet potatoes. And of course Annie's cheese bunny crackers, we should buy stock in those. And cookies, obvs.

He's just starting to run, or bounce up and down as he walks faster. He is so good about going to bed (finally!). We give him a bath, read a story or two, then sing a couple songs and put him down in his crib. I'm so proud of us that we figured out a good way to get Henny to sleep. The times we went through! Perilous! He loves anything to do with trucks, airplanes, kitties (he calls them meow's), and water (obsessed with the tea kettle, baths, watering the garden, boiling water on the stove). We go for walks most nights and now if he sees a raised part of the sidewalk (a garden bed or a curb, or brick border, he must walk on it. I think that's a boy thing? He's starting to pretend play. We made eggies in his little frying pan earlier this week and he fed imaginary bites to me, and sometimes we pretend we are dogs and we crawl around and bark and sniff and laugh.

Having a little boy, especially a little Henny boy who is the perfect complement to me and Mark, is the best thing that ever happened to us. It's true what they say - once you have a baby, life is never the same. But apart from a few sleepless nights (ok more than a few!), what they don't really say is life is never better. Ugh. I mean, really, Hen, you've completely stolen our hearts. We love you.