Tuesday, September 28, 2010

.....fall is here.....

.....in between nursery school three afternoons per week, renovations to the apartment, refinancing paperwork that has me married to the fax machine and redesigning our new closet/storage space last week, I got a call from my neighbor who asked, Are you free ALL day tomorrow?....because if you are, let's drive to New Jersey and visit the corn maze and pumpkin patch....sold.....anything to take a lazy day with my girls and our good friends and have some festive bliss to kick off our fall season.....still a bit humid and hot here in the northeast, but fall officially has started....which means it's time to get in the pumpkin latte, honeysuckle, apple picking and warm colors kind of mood....

....and we are ready.....


....the corn maze was the first thing we chartered towards....after a long drive in the car, we were ready to let the littles run free.....


.....and as the toddlers ran wildly, it dawned on me that it could be a very bad thing to lose your child in a corn maze.....




....the stalks are tall and the babes are miniature compared to them....


.....the corn fields run forever....

.....so I picked up one free spirit so we only had to chase after two.....

....and Callie does not like being stifled from being with her sister and her dearest, William.....


.....and to say I got my cardio in during our corn maze adventure is an understatement....ever tried to chase two toddlers sprinting through a bumpy and winding corn field pushing a double stroller and carrying a 27 pound little on your hip?....it's quite the workout.....

....when we finally did make our way out of the maze, Callie insisted on a snack.....my girl must have worked up quite the appetite riding the adventure on my hip.....


.....it took all of my will power not to scarf that banana down and hand her some week old graham crackers at the bottom of the stroller......

.....but it was a breath taking adventure and my first corn maze experience....one that I will certainly do again.....possibly when the kids are a bit older and we can all run and chase each other through the maze at dusk on a breezy, brisk day.....

....but the children's corn maze was well equipped with a look out tower which gave us an opportunity to breathe, note our achievement and document the entire experience.....




.....emerging from the maze, there is nothing sweeter to the eye than spotting a tractor with a hayride for some tired Mommas who needed a moment to recharge the batteries.....



.....another first for the toddlers.....and they absolutely loved it....


.....they sat patiently, appreciating the beauty.....even at this young age, they know when they are out of their beloved city.....they notice the green grass, the colors of fall, the smells of the earth.....



.....and they relish in the joy and peacefulness of it....





.....and I relish in watching them inhale their special moments....because they ponder, adore, enjoy and delight in life fully.....and I love that about both of my girls....



.....they are always up for an adventure.....






.....they cherish their friendships....




.....and as Mommas, we simply try to document this wonderful time in our lives.....


.....we try to give our children fabulous experiences that will stimulate them, excite them, teach them so many of the life lessons that there are to learn....we try to surround them with beauty in the world.....we spend time with compassionate and warm people that will help develop their innate ability to do one of the most important things that will matter in their lives....


.....the ability to build relationships with other people....

....and whether that be family, friends, coworkers, or schoolmates....life is more precious and meaningful if you have others to spend it with..... people that can share in your zeal and zest for life.....




.....and I will keep documenting away at our little blessed life.....because it excites me to know that my children can look back at these times....these remarkable times....and see that they, just like their Momma, just like their best friends.....all savor the grandness of each moment....


....and capture them in their own, unique way....




.....and there are many more of these fabulous fall days ahead of us.....

....the season has just begun....


Photography by Sara Blackburn
All images are property of Sara Blackburn.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

.....ying and yang.....

......my girl had her backpack on an hour before it was time to leave for nursery school.....Mahee, is it time for me to go to school yet?.....half of me was thrilled about her excitement, her anticipation of time away with her new teachers, her new environment..... her time to be a big girl.....betuz 
all big girls go to school, Mahee....and Elsie IS a big girl....

.....the other part of me was torn that she is already so independent.....all ready to leave the nest.....her time to make new friends, figure some things out on her own and to take this first year of school three afternoons a week to grow at her own pace and in her own way.....oh, the mixed emotions of watching/wanting your little ones to fly.....


....and school is half a block away.....we can see the stoop of the old brownstone building from our front rod iron door....it's so easy to walk out of the house and be in her classroom in three short minutes.....




......and adding to the excitement is that Elsie gets to sport the new pink backpack she deliberately picked out....we shopped for backpacks all summer long and this little mouse is the one she kept coming back to....my girl knows what she wants....


.....and I like that about her....

.....and although she is starting to edge her way out of the nest a bit, she still wants to be like her Momma....she insisted on the second day of school that she bring her camera too....she simply wanted to imitate me snapping away.....and I like the reminders of how impressionable and important the job of motherhood is.....we are molding little people who watch everything we do....and that is an awesome responsibility....



......and her teacher, Miss Lauren was kind enough; as we Momma's and Daddy's were anxiously waiting out in the hallway on the first week of gentle separation, to crack the door and let us take a tiny peek.....

....and there she was....

....sitting near her new friends, Sofia and Benjamin, practicing cutting with scissors....


....oh, my heart throbbed with so many different emotions....

....and when I started to feel the emotions creeping in of my girl growing up faster than I'd like, I decided to take that uneasy energy and add it to the thrilling excitement of having extra time with my sweet, blooming toddler.....

.....Callie walked into her toddlers in tutus class last week with a mission.....


.....my littlest loves to bust a move and I love to watch her.....


....and the first class of 12 toddlers in tutus being taught first and second ballet positions was a bit hectic.....so I didn't get a chance to snap as many photos dancing as I would have liked.....all of these littles needed abundant assistance with concentration and holding their little feet in strange and daunting positions....

.....but when the teacher paused the ballet lesson for a tea party, I ran for the camera....there is nothing Callie loves more than pretend play.....especially girlie tea parties with real porcelain miniature cups and saucers.....



......and albeit she had her apple juice/pretend hot tea all over the floor and herself, it may have been the weekly episode in our family that gave me an ear to ear grin for the entire rest of the week.....she would slam the juice so fast and delicately make her way over to the teacher for some more, peez.....



.....this was her last and final tea cup.....after the 6th request, her teacher simply said there is no more.....

......and with that, my content and ladylike ballerina was not so happy anymore.....


....and with that, class was also over....what timing!.....

.....and so we settled into our home......still under renovations, so not so quiet or cozy; but filled with three people I love and adore....

.....and this weekend is full of parties and celebration; but will allow for some good family time, nonetheless.....allowing us to focus on each other before the new week starts and we make some more headway into our new routines......

.....a time to reflect on the present, the today....a time to enjoy my girls as they are, because before I know it, Callie will be going to nursery school three days per week and the flood of emotions of my baby leaving the nest will overcome me.....

......and then on to the next phase of life, the next and then the next.....before I have two grown women as daughters.....ones that I will certainly be proud of for whatever they become and however they decide to trek through their journey.....but I certainly don't want to think back to any moments of our life where I did not enjoy the smallest event with them, or savor an experience, or a phase- and not just the good phases, the trying ones too.....it's the roll of emotions as a mother that remind me to not wish the tough phases away....the emotions I've had this week where I am fretting that my babies are emerging as these little people, when just a split second ago, they were my day old babies.....yet, I can remember wishing that the newborn phase of sleep deprivation would pass soon, that the teething phase would be behind us quickly, that as soon as she can talk, we'll be in a less frustrating place....and although in the midst of those phases, they do feel long and taxing.....but in reality, it's a blip in the marathon of life.....they are gone so  instantly that I forget why I wished them away in the first place.....

.....yet on the other hand, it's the moments of stirring and uplifting joys of parenthood that we want to press pause on our screen of life....we want the good phases to linger, the warm and comfortable newness of blooming maturity to stay.....the distinct and meaningful, I love yous, the book reading as babes learn new words and pictures, the cuddling, the 4am feeling of someone staring at you while sleeping to awake to a set of big blue eyes longing to be with Mommy and Daddy.....it's heartwarming thinking about those moments, let alone experiencing the sweetness of them....

....so I vow to take the good with the more struggling times.....it's being aware of the things we want to change and improve upon that help us to emerge as the people we want to be.....and although I suck the life out of good and fabulous moments, I need to be more thankful in the stressful and demanding jaunts.....I need to suck the life out of those times too.....because when it's all said and done, Stefan and I will be looking back on a life full of experiences that fall on each end of the spectrum....and I want to have cherished the entire story....our story....

....so I am off to savor our overly tired school girl who is adjusting to not napping on school days, our dusty home that is almost finished being torn up and put back together, our teething 19 month old who hasn't slept all week....and I am loving it all ever so passionately....

.....savoring every minute....