Quiet House

These little rug rats are both off on their first full days at school today, and the house is very quiet.  This is the first time since Ellery was born that I am staring down the barrel of a full child free day, and I am feeling a little crippled by the openness of it.  Looks like I should have made a plan for myself yesterday.  Maybe a shower is a good place to start.  Then a to do list.

So I guess the baby-moon is over.  It's been a little challenging pushing back the wall of work that is waiting for me in my studio, so now I guess I can start chipping away at it.  It is a little daunting. Thanks so much to all of my lovely and patient customers for allowing me this time and space with my boys, but now it appears to be time to get back to it in earnest.

But wow is it quiet, and I'm missing these little faces. . .

Happy Half-Birthday To The Littlest!

One very snowy early morning six months ago today this little person came into the world.  A very happy half-birthday to you Ellery!  We adore and appreciate your sweet, soft, and fuzzy-headed baby-ness every day.

Ellery and the Baby Gym

We are doing well here.  Insanely busy, what with now balancing the needs of two (mostly) sweet kiddos with the demands of business with work.  Happily people have been ordering lots of jewelry, so we are having to figure out how to balance everything right off the bat.  

Ellery is now almost 3 months old, and starting to do things.  Intentionally, I mean.  He is reaching for things, using his hands a little, and making lots of great new baby sounds.  And he is as fat as a house, and very cute.

Spring weather has finally arrived here, followed in about three hours by the black flies.  Ah, life in Vermont!  And things are getting going in the garden, which is very exciting.

I'm sorry about the lack of posts.  It is hard to find the time, although I do miss it!  I do a lot more on Instagram these days, so if you want to keep up with what is going on around here, both creatively and with the little family please find me over there.

xo

Welcome Ellery!

Our new little boy Ellery Standish H. was born on Saturday February 15th at 6:25 in the morning, weighing in at 8lbs 4ozs, 21 inches long, and the picture of health.  He is now 9 days old and has so far been doing lots of great eating and sleeping, minimal yowling, and we couldn't be happier with him.

  Here he is settling in at home on his first night, cozied up to the heat of the wood stove.

And here he is this morning, snoozing in the sun, which of course woke him up right after this picture so he ended up here:

He is very soft and snuggly, and still has that new baby smell.

Emmett is adjusting very well, and handling all of the new developments very cautiously, in true Emmett style.  So far I think he's touched the baby twice, but at least now he will be quite near him, and likes to check on him all the time and make sure he has what he needs.  He is being very helpful fetching and carrying things for his Mom who is often trapped under a nursing baby, and has also been so nice as to read books to us while Ellery is nursing.  He has also fully committed himself to the world of Legos in the last couple of weeks, and so has been spending every possible waking hour obsessively building Lego machines.

So far the transition to life as a family of four has been very smooth, and somehow it feels more balanced to me to have two kids and two parents.  I'm still working on why that is, but I think it has something to do with making space for each other, and understanding that no one person can have all of the attention all of the time.  Of course it has only been nine days. . . and we have had my mom here the whole time to help ease the transition.  So I'll have to get back to you on this idea a later on down the road.  But for now we are hunkering down for the end of winter and looking forward to some sunny spring days soon!

Nursery Sneak Peek

Our new little guy will be arriving sometime in the next few weeks, and we have been having a good time with giving Emmett's old baby room a facelift for its new occupant.  We are still awaiting a lot of the accents and details that will give the room some more color and pattern, like the bumper and crib skirt, fabric for the roman shade, changing pad cover, and lots of other art work and accessories.  But here is a little peek at how it is looking right now, which feels very calm and serene.  The basic bones are the same as Emmett's nursery (the crib, nursing chair, white walls and giant wall shelf) But TH painted the wood floor and wall shelf grey, and we have a new wool rug from Ikea as well as a new wider dresser to hold all of the baby things as well as act as the changing table, also from Ikea.  Our design theme seems to be thrift store finds meets Scandinavian, which was partly conscious choice and partly what we can make fit within our budget.  I took a page from what we learned from doing Emmett's new room regarding the use of color.  Once the room is full of books and toys it can be quite cacophonous, so we are keeping the bigger pieces very minimalist in order to preserve a calm feel.

Once we have a few more of the little details in place I'll do a more complete post including a few before and after pics.  But this is as far as we have gotten so far. . .

Oh Chalet for the New Nursery

In case you haven't heard yet, we are expecting another baby in February!  Another little boy, so Emmett will have a little brother to boss around, which I think will suit him just fine, as soon as he gets over the shock of the whole thing.  And we are just now starting the fun work of getting a new room ready to welcome the little guy home.  Pinning things on Pinterest for his nursery was of course the first step. And then I saw this little painting by Caroline of OhChalet on Etsy, and immediately knew it was going to be the foundation piece for the nursery design.  

First of all I love the colors: grey, teal, light blue, sand and white, with tiny pops of orange and yellow.  And I also love the spare yet homey feel of the composition.  It is cozy and comforting without feeling cluttered.  

One of my favorite things about ordering things directly from artists on Etsy is seeing how each unique purchase comes wrapped and packaged. It is so personal, it just makes opening up the package that much more fun.

So now we are off and running!  We can choose paint colors, rugs, bedding and all of that fun stuff.  It's maybe a little funny to base a whole room design on a 5" x 7" painting, but I feel ok with it.  And now we just have to find a place and a way to showcase this lovely little piece so that it doesn't get swallowed up by the rest of the room.

Rowan's Avocado

Look who stopped by the other day, and absolutely had to have an avocado snack.  This is our friends G&C's baby Rowan, and I tell you what, he is psyched about the new world of solid food.  He practically banged his little baby fists on the table between bites.  

Almost makes you want to have another baby, doesn't it?  Almost?

Flying Child

Emmett on his trampoline. 

Organic Quilt Company

I love the graphic patterns available on these organic baby products from the Organic Quilt Company.  I just got a couple of burp cloths and a baby blanket for our friend Cara who is due to have a baby any day now.  So exciting!  And I remember that even though we used and needed a mountain of generic white burp cloths when Emmett was in his spitting phase, it was always nice to have a few fancier ones as a treat.  We probably had 70 burp cloths in regular rotation when he was at his worst, and somehow there were never enough!   And Cara's baby is going to be a Brooklyn baby, so I thought the pattern with the houses, traffic and park benches was perfect.  If you are in the market for a baby gift follow the link above, there are so so many cute things to choose from, and they are all organic and handmade.

Emmett's First (Professional) Haircut!

We just got home from Emmett's first professional haircut!  We took him to Strand Style Studio, where our friend Chandra now officially cuts the whole family's hair.  She very considerately has her haircutting chair positioned with a great view of Main Street in the little town of Bellows Falls, so Emmett had a great view of vehicles of all kinds.  I've never seen him sit so still.  He even seemed to like it, I think.  And oh boy does he look handsome (I know, I'm biased, but still)!  I have now vowed never to hack at his hair myself again.  Thanks Chandra!  

H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y E M M E T T !

Hooray for Emmett!  He's 2 today! 

Impending Halloween

Card by Fiddleheads For Fiona.  Click image for info.

I know it is only September, and believe me, I am not interested in rushing the seasons here, but I am already feeling a little overwhelmed by Halloween.  As a young adult I tended to avoid Halloween, and used it as a good excuse to stay home, and off the streets, and catch up on my junky movie watching.   I've never been a big fan of costume wearing, at least not since I was a kid.  But now that I have a kid I am totally psyched to dress him up in something adorable.  But I find I have no Halloween parenting skills at all, and am not even sure what you do with a 2 year old on Halloween.  Too young for candy, right?  I mean who wants to open up that can of worms any earlier than absolutely necessary.  And although I wish I were crafty enough to make a cool costume for him, but unless I make it entirely out of metal (suit of armor anyone?) I am at a loss.  So I'm putting it out there to all of you for advice.  What did you all do with your 2 year olds on Halloween?  And does anyone have a source for cool original costumes that aren't entirely made out of plastic?  Thanks everyone! I can certainly use all the help I can get!

Puddle Wonderful

At least I know one person who is happy about this endless rain.

Counting

one. . .

two. . .

five. . .

six. . .

nine!

and that's about where we're at.

Peas. (and a little squash and lettuce, and a baby and a dog)

True story.  The other night Emmett came into the kitchen and said "want some peas."  So I asked him "cold peas (read frozen peas) or garden peas?" and he said "garden peas" and went and brought me his shoes to help him put on so we could go out to the garden to pick and eat peas.  Kids really just love picking and eating directly from the garden.  I remember loving it too as a kid and eating tomatoes right off the vine like they were apples.  Olivia likes garden peas too, FYI.  That's her in the background begging for pea pods.