Happy Halloween!

We just got back from Trick or Treating and Ada Louise is tuckered out! At first I wasn't going to dress up....apparently, I went in the opposite direction with that one. Have a spooky night!

Dragon Mom

A few days ago I read a riveting New York Times article by Emily Rapp. I, at first, was leery to include it in my blog. I try to keep things positive and optimistic, but this article really resonated with me. It resonated so soundly with me because I can't understand what it would feel like to be in her situation. I don't know how I would be able to deal, on a day-to-day basis, with knowing my child's days were numbered. How would I react to such a situation? I discussed it with my husband and we both felt we would be a mess. We wouldn't know how to function. We would cease to enjoy anything around us. We would fall into a deep well of depression. I am sure, that is how Emily Rapp felt, herself, in the beginning. But, as with all things, we must be there for our children, first and foremost. We don't want them to see us upset. We want to be strong for them. We want them to live life to the fullest, with dignity and respect. I applaud, Emily Rapp for writing this piece. She so truthfully articulated how life ebbs and flows for the parent of a terminally ill child. Every day I am thankful to have a healthy, happy, thriving child. It is the greatest gift. This article really reminded me to live in this moment with her. I cannot be bound by my expectations for her on a daily basis. Will skipping a day of French or Spanish ruin her chances of learning languages? Doubtful. Will watching an episode of "Little Einsteins" rot her brain and turn her into a media-crazed, tv zombie? No, very unlikely. Will simply letting her play, as she wants, with no reason, lesson, or moral behind it, mean that she will fall behind in life and not meet her developmental milestones? Most definitely not.

Halloween Party

The Gymboree Halloween party was last night and Ada Louise had an absolute blast! There was pumpkin painting, a pumpkin roll (rolling plastic pumpkins down the slide), a witches cauldron that the kids filled with ingredients, aka toys, parachute time, songs, a little trick or treat action (with no candy, so Ada could enjoy it!), and a little story. I love watching Ada Louise interacting with other children, being active, and learning new songs and motions to go with them. Her new favorite song is "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." When she does the little twinkling star hand motion, I just melt. She also is loving to dance now. She does this funny little back and forth head motion and bobbles up and down. Adorable.

A Busy Week

It has been a busy week! Interview with a school district, applying to UNL and UNO to take more (ugh) classes, finally finding some babysitters (WOO HOO), taking Olivia to the vet for two luxating patellas (poor, sweet Olivia :( )....and teething, which really has kept me on my toes...and simultaneously, made me want to lose my mind. Tonight is Ada Louise's BIG Gymboree Halloween party! I can't wait! Now that Ada Louise is moving out of her afternoon nap, I had to make sure she took one this afternoon, so that she would be chipper for the big bash!

Ada Louise vs. Halloween Headband

Ada Louise's wonderful great aunt and great uncle sent her the sweetest little Halloween headband the other day. Unfortunately, Ada Louise will not tolerate it...but a certain furry little lady will. This is Ada Louise's general response the past few days to this headband....

Vala's Pumpkin Patch

About 2 weeks ago, we decided to have a good ole' fall afternoon and hit up the pumpkin patch. Since we had heard so much hubbub about Vala's we thought we should check it out. It was a crazy time. There were cars lined up for a mile or more to get into Vala's. After we parked and made our way to the entrance, I was starting to have a bad feeling about having a quaint day at the pumpkin patch. We went inside and it was chaos. Pumpkins, kids, goats and strollers everywhere. There was no sense of organization, manners or decorum. This was going to be a rough few hours. Ada Louise had a great time with her Gigi and Papi (Grandma and Grandpa), petting animals and checking out the fake talking cow at the ice cream stand. I am glad we experienced it once...but I am hoping to do something a little more low key next year.

Happy Birthday to ME!

My 29th birthday was 2 days ago....and it truly was fantastic! I think it really was one of the best ones I have had in a while. My day started out with my sweet little Ada baby waking up around 6ish. I made some breakfast for her (she is really digging steel cut oats with a puree of spinach, blueberries and apples) and we did a little morning karaoke session...or maybe that was just me. My mother-in-law, SO sweetly, brought over some homemade pumpkin spice and cranberry scones. What a way to start the day!...so I had to indulge in two almost immediately. A bit later I got to open my birthday presents from the hubby, a gorgeous Anthropologie necklace, and two books that are SO me: Design*Sponge at Home and Modern Vintage Style. I love home design...so these books will give me great inspiration in finishing our rental home now and whatever house we find to buy next year. My dear friend Emily in Chicago knitted me the most gorgeous infinity scarf EVER. I think I squealed when I got it in the mail! That, AND my brother-in-law, Brent, sent me a big ole' bag of October Mix...my reason for living, really. It is a sumptuous blend of candy corn, M&Ms and sugar coated peanuts. Amazing. I also got 2 bouquets of flowers delivered to me! One from my dad and one from the hubby. I was really spoiled this year...and I loved it. After Ada Louise took a morning nap, we decided to head down to the Old Market to walk around and enjoy the beautiful day. Honestly, it was the quintessential October day. We had a great time and decided to stop into Billy Frogg's Grill & Bar for lunch. I had the foot long chili cheese dog. I finished it...and it was amazing. Ada Louise was near meltdown by the end of lunch, so we trekked back home for a little siesta. A few hours later it was dinner time and my stomach was surprisingly ready. Derek's mom came over to babysit and we hit up a tapas restaurant in Benson called Espana. I had studied abroad in Madrid, Spain during college and absolutely love Spanish food. I hadn't had tapas in a while, so I was ready to dig into some ceviche and bacon wrapped dates. It was a wonderful birthday and I felt very loved. Thanks for such a wonderful day, friends and family! I really did get to experience the "Treat Yo Self" mentality.

A Trip to Fontenelle Forest

After a week of feeling really negative and glum, I decided that Ada Louise and I needed to get out and explore something new. I had been heard rumblings here and there about Acorn Acres at Fontenelle Forest, but everyone I asked said that they hadn't heard of it. I thought I would give it a go, either way, since we had absolutely nothing else exciting to do on such a gorgeous day. Fontenelle Forest is in Bellevue, NE which really isn't that far away...only about a 15 minute drive, though, it really feels that you have left "the city" when you get there. Case in point: I was driving up the road leading to Fontenelle Forest and a little black poodle was just wandering around the street; it wasn't a busy street at all, but I was worried nonetheless. I, of course, pulled into a driveway to see if I could help guide this little guy back home. He ran down a driveway up to the door of a little house with tons of tool sheds and pick up trucks and unkempt landscaping, in which case I followed. I rang the doorbell of the house, just so that I could inform the possible owner that their dog had gotten loose, and saw an elderly man at a table inside. Though I rang the bell, he just looked up at me and went about what he was doing at his table. Weirded out, I hiked back up the driveway and went on my merry way. Sorry, I just had to go off on that tangent....so Fontenelle Forest! We pulled into the parking lot, paid our admission (only $6 for me, Ada was free) and we started our mini-hike through Fontenelle Forest. They have tons of trails, but we took the boardwalk trail since I had the stroller and we wanted to go to the much anticipated, Acorn Acres. If you bring a stroller, this is really the only trail you can take, the other trails are unpaved and too narrow. It was the perfect length for us, about 1.5 miles. We started our boardwalk tour and were met within about 50 paces with our destination, Acorn Acres. It was everything Ada Louise could have wanted: water (a tiny, man made stream), things to put in her mouth from the ground (leaves, sticks, etc.), other kids to smile at, and just general woodsy-outsideness. Ada Louise loves being outside and I felt a bit sad that the neighborhood walking by our house wasn't the best. The sidewalks are pretty bumpy, lots of traffic, tons of hills. So, she was right in her element at Fontenelle Forest. I really loved it and anticipate going back with the hubby and Ada Louise in the Ergo carrier. It was really a romantic place, as I always feel that anywhere that is quiet except for nature and surrounded by trees is quite enchanting. If you are feeling like you want to propose to your lady or mr., this is the place! Overall, a fantastic day that brought up my spirits and left me feeling optimistic!

Etsy Shop

A year and a half after its conception, Blue Bicycle Design will finally be opening its doors in the coming weeks! Updates to come!

Milestones

I can't believe how many new things Ada Louise has been doing since we have moved to Omaha! She is, most likely, some kind of super baby genius. In the past 6 weeks she has learned to clap (which is super, ridiculous cute), drinks out of a regular, non-sippy cup by herself (unless she is cranky, in which case she dumps it all over herself or the floor...or Olivia the Pug), crawls up the stairs (and attempts to crawl down unsuccessfully), stands up by herself for long periods of time, and can turn all the pages in her books (she gets SO excited when I put her in her crib for a nap or at night with her book about animals or a peek-a-boo book). By Christmas, I worry she will be a teenager...

Go Be Productive!

I am VERY easily distracted when I am trying to be productive. I have Miranda July to thank for some great tips on how to conquer distractions.

Little Fashionista

It is probably no surprise to anyone I know that I love to dress Ada Louise as hip as is humanly possible...in my eyes (wink). Here are some gratuitous shots of my sweet little fashionista.