Rolly Polly

This is for my mom, Gramma Mikie, who I know would want to see how happy Porter is with himself when he rolls from his back to front. Every time I put him on his back he rolls to his front, even though being on his tummy for long periods of time drives him crazy.

And here are some pictures of our family walk, yesterday, in the Hollow behind Luke's work.

Rockin' the Ergo

It was a windy Spring day so we were using the Ergo hood to keep Porter's head warm. His body stays toasty next to momma on long walks.

It's a family affair.

Support Groups Are For Winners!

Every Tuesday Porter and I go to the Baby and Me Group at the local medical center. It's a place for moms and babies to get together and talk about what they're experiencing and it's totally free. I highly recommend it for any new moms. There is usually a topic, today's was about introducing solid foods. The topics vary in range, and are really helpful. I find it most helpful to be around other moms who are in the same place as I am and to hear from moms with older babies about what we can look forward to. For instance, I was happy to hear from another mom that her son had the same sore leg reaction to his vaccinations as Porter. It's also great because where else would I find such a big group of mommies who don't think I'm too head over heels for my baby. Porter loves the group and loves talking to all the other babies, and yes, he's talking with them. He's a chatterbox. Hmmm....I wonder where he gets that?? Today Porter got to make a new friend, and so did I. Her mom and I are going to join a Meet Up group for first time moms that goes on hikes around the Boise area. Yay for networking mommas!

Porter shares his favorite dice with his new friend

Babies holding hands = tender!

Hoppy Day!

Happy Easter everyone!
Love, Bunny

Love For A Lifetime

There are many things I'm grateful for, but today I owe my sweet husband a whole heap of gratitude. I met my husband Luke in college at UCSC @ Porter College, on the very first day we moved into the dorms. We began dating a few years later, moved in together a few years after that, and for the last 6 years have lived in Boise, Idaho. We got married 8 years after we started dating and 3 months ago we had our first child, a son. We are nearing 11 years together this summer. That's a long time, and considering that we began dating when I was 19, we have both gone through a lot of changes to become the people we are now.

Luke has seen me through many incarnations of myself: college sorority girl, retail sales lady,  sophisticated city dweller, country bumpkin, teacher, doula, blissfully happy, furious, depths of despair, lover, friend and most recently mother. He is brave, kind, loyal, dedicated, smart, quiet, hardworking, gentle, open to adventure, an attentive father. I knew from our first date that I could spend my life with him, and it has worked out just so.

Thanks to my husband Luke for being my best friend all these years. For being brave enough to tend to me during the birth of our son, and to catch him from my body, with his big loving hands. I love that Luke smiles when I sing to Porter and reads him books before bed. I appreciate his level headed-ness when I jump off the deep end, and I am grateful that he is constantly working to be a better human being. My life is so full of joy because of the life we have created together. There is no one else I want to spend my future with, even after all these years. I love my husband, and even better? He loves me back!

Dedicated Daddy

Lovable Son-in-Law

Family Man

Abundant Sunshine

Today's weather report said there would be "abundant sunshine", and it was true. A perfect day to take an urban hike to the Boise Train Depot. Continuing our experiment with baby carriers, today we used the most world famous carrier, the sling. In our case the Rockin' Baby Pouch. I apologize ahead of time for the shady pictures. I was taking them myself, obviously, and my hat created a lot of darkness in all of the abundant sunshine.

Porter's ready in his red hoody for our adventure.

We channeled our inner hobos as we walked along the closest thing we have to a trail near our home, the train tracks.

We crossed a quickly flowing canal full of water.

Our destination, the Boise Train Depot or more correctly, Meeting Station. Porter slept through the  whole thing.

View from the gardens at the depot.

Something about walking while being carried puts this baby to sleep. Tender.

Spring In Y'er Step!

It is finally starting to feel like spring here in Boise. It's been a bit rainy lately, but you know the saying, "April showers bring May flowers!" The rain has also kept the air nice and clean. Leaves are starting to sprout on trees and the first flowers are blooming. Having lived in Boise for 6 years now I have learned to tolerate the winters. While I won't be the one to say that I love experiencing four seasons, I will say that having a real winter makes me appreciate the spring and it's emerging beauty more than ever.

One of my favorite tales is that of Demeter, Persephone, and Hades. A quick recap of the story goes like this. Demeter is the goddess of fertility and agriculture and Persephone is her daughter. Persephone is enticed by Hades to venture below the earth with him and she partakes of his pomegranate seeds. She is then obligated to stay with him in the underworld, which makes her mother Demeter so sad that she neglects her agricultural duties and all the plants wither, these are the seasons Fall and Winter. When Persephone is allowed to visit her mother the other six months of the year, Demeter gets right back to fertilizing the world in celebration of her daughters return, hence Spring and Summer. Something about the happiness that her mother feels when Persephone returns strikes the same chord in me as spring time.

I also have a real love of flowers (my dad is an artist when it comes to gardening with bright and bold flowers) that started in childhood and has grown even greater as an adult. Their colors and fragrance will lift my mood when I'm down and make me generally happy. My friend Chelsea always has flowers in her house, which I may have to take up year round, especially in the winter! While I'm declaring my love for all things vibrant, I'm going to go ahead and say that Spring is my favorite season. It keeps me optimistic and gives me hope.

My Dad's garden in Capitola, CA

Boise's Botanical Garden, lit up for the winter

I just love the earthy smell of flowering trees!

And their pretty pink petals.

Last fall I plopped a few bulbs in the ground and this is what grew!

Tulips are the first flower to pop up in my yard every year.

I recently watched the movie Southbounders about a woman who hikes the whole Appalachian trail from Maine to Georgia. While the movie is fiction it has a lot of great info and imagery of the hike which takes 6 months. The movie inspired me to get outside and walk more. In fact, every Tuesday Luke, Porter and I go for a walk in the hills behind Healthwise, where Luke works. While it will be nice to walk in the foothills more often, when Porter is old enough to take on a bike ride over there, I decided that I would get a head start with a little urban hiking. I also want to get Porter and I used to wearing/being worn in baby carriers. 

Since today was a beautiful, albeit windy, spring day I strapped Porter into the Ergo Baby Carrier and we headed out to run some errands and to appreciate the beautiful day. I might also add that carrying a baby around while walking everywhere is an awesome workout, and since I don't have  a gym membership I have to take the exercise where I can get it these days. With that, I encourage you to get out and enjoy the spring weather, or at least stop and smell the flowers.

Porter all tucked in for the walk. I love the Ergo because it has a cover that protects him from the elements and allows him to sleep peacefully.

The most tender picture, my sweet boy cozy and asleep on momma.

Mobiles

I come from a family with eclectic tastes. My dad has a wall of mounted critters made of all sorts of materials winding their way towards a window in his house. My mom has a love of all fabrics that are batiked or hand made, and my brother is a poet and musician. My parents home has a giant mobile hanging in the living room, and other assorted mobiles around the house. As it turns out, Porter is no different, he too has a love of mobiles and all things made to mount and spin in the air. He has spent up to 20 minutes (maybe more) staring at floating objects.

His fascination started in Maui with the original mobile, the ceiling fan.

He then received his first mobile as a gift from his Aunt's Anna and Katie and Gramma Teri. It's a beautifully handmade mobile of pinwheels. Each pinwheel is mounted with a wooden bead and has a different pattern on the bottom. It suits Porter's love of spinning fans perfectly.

Porter recently received his next mobile. It's made of hand folded paper butterflies floating from hand sculpted copper wire. Here's the story. On his first trip to France, many years ago, my dad picked up a kit of paper butterflies and gave it to my brother as a gift. Being from France, the directions were in French. Luckily, many years later my brother moved to France and learned to speak and read French. A few years after that, Porter was born and my brother was able to finally assemble the paper butterflies and crafted them into a mobile with copper wire and string. It turned out beautifully and the butterflies swarm in circles every time the fan is on. Porter is mesmerized by it.

While Porter is enthralled with his mobiles, I have to admit that I find myself staring at them for long periods of time too. They capture the lightness of the air, and are downright whimsical. And just about anything that displays whimsy is pretty tender.

Kisses

Here are some tender moments shared between mother and son.