10.31.11

Georgetown

My Heart

Handsome

Breakfast In Bed

Crayons!

These were one of the many birthday gifts Cohen received. So far, I think I've enjoyed them for their intended use more than my son, who has no interest besides chewing the crayons to sad misshapen nubs of color.

CAKE!

On Cohen's official day of birth, I nipped to the bakery across the street and got him his very own cupcake. This was the result. Not too shabby for a newbie to the likes of cake and frosting.

Epic Awesome

As a rule I don't post other people's designs, photographs, or creativity but this was just too good not to share. The design team behind this campaign is BRILLIANT and if you happen to be a nerd, like me, that loves the magic that can be created with technology, you will share my appreciation:

"Eggs"cellent

Cohen's First Birthday

I had all kinds of grand plans for Cohen's first birthday, mostly gleaned and snipped from Martha Stewart Living, that I had been hoping to bring together without the help of her assistants, planners, coordinators, and designers, at noon on Saturday, April 16. Well, it turns out Martha Stewart I am NOT, but in true creative "I'm An Artist" fashion I didn't go down without a fight. Originally, it would have been a garden party with Kris at the grill and our dear friends and family frolicking in our backyard. Except we don't have a backyard, much less a garden, just a barren plot of earth that spits forth an inordinate amount of prickly weeds. So, frolicking was definitely out. After issuing invitations, I discovered that my original restaurant of choice was going to be closed that particular Saturday, this realization was immediately followed by furious internet trolling for an equally, hip, kid-friendly, affordable, and yummy place to crash.

Success! Pasquini's on Broadway fit the bill to perfection and the best part, they were willing to house our group of loud, fun-loving friends and a one-year old with a penchant for total and utter destruction.

Now, to figure out the cake. It had to be special but not tacky, delicious but not boring, and I had the design all drawn out. Of course, I know nothing when it comes to pricing a cake and after visiting several well-known bakeries I'm still none the wiser. Why exactly is a square cake more expensive than a round one? Is fresh fruit really that difficult to work with to warrant such a price hike? Fortunately, I stumbled across a little bakery off of Sante Fe called Frills and talked to the baker himself. The guy was so gracious and even offered to let me take of giant slice of cake from the fridge, for FREE!, so I could get a sense of their flavors, textures, and general deliciousness. An offer that hadn't even been suggested or uttered at any of the other shops, just a non-committal shrug toward their $8 cake pops if I "wanted to try something".

Next item on the list: Party Favors! I was really looking forward to these I just wasn't happy with the garish plastic options provided at my local Target and then I stumbled across a simple pattern for goodie bags you could fashion out of the fabrics of your choice. Great! Except our current sewing machine crapped out on the last project we tried to coax from it's needle. Not that it was such a tragedy, the only thing I'd ever attempted to sew in the past was a curtain that looks like something Ray Charles cranked out one night after one too many drinks. After spending a whole evening hand sewing one shaky seam, my dear husband took pity on me and purchased a new sewing machine (a la Martha Stewart!). I then spent the following evening getting acquainted with aforementioned sewing machine and after several less-than-stellar attempts I could sew a goodie bag in 6 minutes flat, skewed seams and all!

I was feeling pretty good about my plans thus far when I ran across this party...a party for a cat. A CAT. Not that I don't think cats aren't awesome, I was just having a little bit of anxiety that this feline was obviously having a MUCH more posh party than my human son, the apple of my eye, was about to have. To top it off, the whole thing looks like it was photographed by a professional and all guests look like they just stepped out of a J. Crew catalog. What I did love about this particular party was the little moustache on a stick that several party goers are sporting in some of the photos. It turns out I already possessed all the necessary craft supplies to whip out my own "funny face" creations for guests to use for their own little photo ops. Score!

All that was left were the balloons. I figured the Party City down the street would be more than happy to inflate a dozen or so party balloons while I ran around getting the odds and ends I was going to toss in my newly sewn goodie bags. Did you know that Party City needs a week in advance for balloon orders? Neither did I. I found two frazzled employees furiously inflating balloon after balloon who were quick to point out their balloon policy. I was okay with not having balloons, disappointed but okay, after all, it was my fault for not going through the proper balloon-ordering channels. Did you know that having a good attitude in the face of disappointment can get you what you want? Neither did I. Because after I said I would just make my purchase sans balloons the manager offered to inflate the balloons of my choice, right then and there. Blessings on thee, Party City manager! You MADE my son's birthday as is evident from this face:

All of these photos were taken before the guests arrived and before Cohen decided sitting in his high chair was just not what birthday boys do. I didn't have a moment or spare hand to take pictures of our guests, gift openings, candle blowing, but I was able to spend every minute enjoying our friend's company, the food, and most importantly, celebrating Cohen, which is all I really wanted. A true success, indeed!

Crabapple

This is one of my favorite times of year, when all the flowering trees in Denver start to bloom and we are lucky enough to have a giant crabapple tree at the end of our driveway. Right now it is covered in a million delicate pink blossoms and I couldn't help but slip out the other morning, just after a spring rain, snap a few photos, and appreciate it's beauty and magnificence.

April Wedding

David and Linette

04.10.2011

Porch

We spent last weekend in Orlando, Florida for my dear brother's wedding and in the bustle of our return and getting details organized for Master Cohen's birthday party this weekend I haven't had a chance to post about it...in the meantime, I leave you with this image, a porch where I would be happy to spend all of my lazy afternoons.

Journal: 12 Months

Dearest Bean:

We survived the FIRST year! Thanks for letting me tag along, little bean!

Love Forever:

Mama

The Passing Of Time

My Ideal Girl Friend

What is she like? She is everything I wish I were. She has a wonderful sense of humor, which is very important, and she has a good disposition. I have never seen her angry all the time I have known her. She is smart and not lazy or afraid to work. She is a wonderful athlete and is friendly with every one. When I say friendly, I don't mean with just the people she knows, but she goes out of her way to help others and make them feel as if they are not as ignorant as is sometimes implied by others.

She dresses nicely, wearing clothes that suit her, and she is very pretty. Pretty is a rather common word but it carries so much meaning that I think it is the word to use.

She was my best friend in grammar school. We called her Corky, which is a nickname for Corrinne, and is not a very common nickname. She is thin like me, and I always felt better when I was with her. She is the only child in the family, but that does not mean she is spoiled; in fact, she is just the opposite. She was raised better, and is as unspoiled as some children in a large family are spoiled. I haven't seen her for some time, but I hope to see her soon.

*****

My Ideal Boy Friend

At this particular time, I am rather glad to say, I do not have a boy friend, but I know what I would want him to be like. For one thing he would have to be mannerly.

These boys that you see going around talking loudly and, in many ways considering the girl as another boy, are rather out of line. It doesn't matter whether the boy has a lot of money, whether he can take you to the high spots or just to a show. If he is a nice boy, that is all that counts.

A sense of humor means a lot and most boys have it but not all, so if a boy expects to become an ideal boy friend that is one quality worth having. He should dress well and be neat. He doesn't have to wear expensive clothes to be nice and neat, but clean clothes, carefully kept.

This will give an idea of how my ideal boy friend has to be like. As I read it over, it strikes me as rather wishful thinking, but then every girl does a lot of wishful thinking, especially where boys are concerned.

*****

My Summers

Almost every summer since 1929 our family has spent its vacation at Chain-o-Lakes, Indiana. It's about eight miles this side of South Bend. Each summer I'd get acquainted with some people, and the next summer they'd be gone. There was always more to take their place.

There are two girls though, whom I see every summer. They are Louise Larson and Ruth Neilson. Louise lives out there, and Ruth goes out every summer the same as I do.

One summer we decided to take a hike around the lake. The lake isn't very big, but there isn't any kind of path at all leading around it so we did just what the big and famous explorers do. We broke trail. We not only broke the trail but ourselves as well. Between climbing over the bob-wire fences, rolling down hills, and being chased by cows (or so we thought, but the poor cows were just looking for more grass) we decided we had a very uneventful hike.

My brother and sister always went too, but they graduated last year so I took my cousin, Shirley Urquhart, with me. We had so much fun that we didn't want to go home. We went swimming every day, took a long walk, and we went down to the Stand (Mr. Larson runs a candy, pop, and ice cream stand) and had a lot of fun with the other girls and boys. Sometimes we went into South Bend.

This year we might not be able to go out there on account of gas rationing, but I hope we will.

Luck O' The Irish

Diner

Journal: Tenth and Eleventh Month

Dearest Bean,

How the last two months have flown and, now, we are less than four weeks away from your first birthday! Incredible! Back in January I mentioned that I was going back to work full time and just two weeks later your Dada started his new job and he was no longer home to help get you ready in the mornings. I didn't really anticipate the change and so for the first week your mama was late to work every single day. Oops.

The following week was the coldest on record for something like 75 years and the snow didn't melt for ages. This was also the week you got a mysterious bumpy red rash ALL over your back. Two days later when I picked you up from Janice's you were sporting a temperature of 102. Your first temperature EVER. I was a teeny bit concerned but I know I can't keep the viruses and bacteria away from you forever so we stocked up on children's tylenol and tried to get you to bed as early as possible. Not two hours after you had been tucked in you woke up, a most uncommon occurrence nowadays, and so I went to check on you and that's when I realized you were a roasting little inferno. So, I took your temperature which was not nearly as easy as it sounds considering we had to put the thermometer in your armpit and hold it there for an eternity before we heard the wretched little finishing "beep" and that's when we realized your fever had spiked to 103. In less than 4 seconds I had Children's Hospital on the phone while surfing the Internet about fever's in babies because I didn't have A CLUE what to do or if this was normal. It turns out your temperature can reach 104 before we needed to take you into the ER but seeing as we were just one tiny infinitesimal degree away from that number I was prepared to keep the midnight oil aflame and hold you until you were able to fall asleep.

Except you never fell asleep for more than 39 seconds at a time and then you'd wake up in a burst of tears and I had to carry you around while you struggled to get comfortable, drooling and dribbling all over my shoulders, face, and hair. It was a long night, I didn't get to bed until 5 am when you had finally crashed out of sheer exhaustion. You were up again at 7 am and so was I. We scheduled an appointment with Dr. Stein and went in around 9:30. And after you were poked, prodded, and swabbed we found out that you had THE FLU and it turns out there's nothing other than "rest and fluids" when it comes to flu treatment in a baby. So, that's what we did. You were a real trooper though, after that terrible, terrible night, your fever continued to drop and after a few days and lots of extra naps you were back to your old self. I, however, was no so fortunate and suffered through the flu the following weekend. I didn't have the luxury of being carried around and held all night but the liberal doses of Nyquil and Theraflu made up for it.

It turns out that the same time the flue was working it's way through your system 4 teeth were attempting to make their presence known. You are now the proud owner of two dainty little bottom teeth, and two razor sharp top teeth, one of which came in much more quickly then the other and you have a bit of Quasimodo thing going on and it looks like you've inherited the Cachares "gap". Yes, I think you're in for some serious orthodontia work in the future but for now your the most charming toothy baby that ever was.

Your vocabulary is a whopping 4 words now: Mama, Dada, Baba, Ba (Ball) with a few random words thrown in the mix like Mon-Mon for Bonnie. You've started giving hugs, we call 'em squeezes, and you get SO excited by this, you hug everything, your ball, Henry, the furniture, , a head of lettuce. There have been a few attempts at kisses but it's more of an open-mouth slobbery mess and your always aiming for the chin. You still have a lot to learn in that area.

I have a feeling you'll be walking on or before you first birthday. You hardly hold on to us when we hold your hands and have you step around the house (there's was one evening where you goose-stepped everywhere, these high, straight-leg kicks, it was rather hilarious) and you've got the cruising thing down. The other morning we were all in the family room, spending a lazy Sunday morning together, when all of a sudden you hoisted your blue ball up over your head and you stood up all on your own and then casually attempted to toss your ball across the room! Your Dada and I were amazed! We had no idea you had it in you, we just sat their with our eyes like saucers, jaws gaping. Meanwhile you were as nonchalant as ever, like, "Geez, people, ever seen a baby before?! Sheesh." I swear, if you could have rolled your eyes, you would have.

Your fascination with the cats has grown and with it their aversion to you. I think it's your volume and the fact that you haven't mastered "gentle hands" yet but still have a bone-crushing grip when it comes to grabbing their fur, ears, or tails. Bonnie will at least let you pet her with my close supervision while Amelia bolts for the nearest exit just at the idea that you might be sharing the same room. In spite of their lack of enthusiasm you are always excited to see them and continue your efforts at catching them, never getting frustrated or upset no matter how often they run away.

I'm amazed by you every single day. You've changed from a poopy, fussy, slug-baby, into the most charming little boy, full of personality and light. You shine, little bean! People notice you wherever we go! At the Cherry Creek play area you'll crawl up to total strangers and give them your 1,000 watt smile and you're willing to try anything, crawling through a tunnel, going down a slide, flying on a swing, anything goes! I can't wait to see where that sense of adventure takes you and I'll be there, cheering you on!

Love Forever:

Mama