bonbonmini

dear alexandria [14 months old]...

Your nicknames...These days we call you sing sing. It all started with "Alsingla" which is what Max calls you because he can't quite say Alexandria. Now it just so happens that you love to sing the most lovely little tunes that are all your own, and sometimes you follow the tunes you hear ever so slightly.

Personality...You are a fun and sweet little person. Cautious but outgoing, resilient, confident and happy. Still the best words to describe you from the very beginning are refined and elegant and even...classy. I never thought those words could describe a baby but somehow you were just born that way. You are also pretty sassy when you feel you've been wronged. If you happen to be at a table when we tell you "no" you will lean forward and smack your hand on the table while staring down the offender. I've also seen you bop Max on the head more than once for a variety of offenses.

You are very active, and you love to play both independently and with others. You don't need much by way of naps and are a total night owl but I think I know why. In the evening when Max is asleep you have a quiet house (and mama and papa) all to yourself. That's when you practice your walking skills, explore Max's most treasured toys, and you might even get some spoonfuls of ice cream. Who wouldn't stay up for that?

Physical...You are on the tall side (31.5 inches) and definitely skinny. You love yogurt, tomato soup, broccoli, almond milk, butternut squash...and cheesy bunny crackers. Your satiny and suprisingly blonde locks are not sure if they want to be straight or curly yet. Sometimes the ends will flip or the top will wave for a day or two before going straight again. As for teeth you took your time getting them and then within a couple of weeks, bam! You had 6!

Milestones...You say mama and papa and sometimes "mampa" if you are not quite sure and just want someone to help you. You also say uh-oh every time something breaks or falls on the floor (so about 30 times a day). You call your sippy cup "baba" and when you see pictures of other babies you say bah-bee! Just yesterday you began to say "yah? yah?" when you are asking for something.

But best of all I love your babble talk. It's so cute that at first I would try to mimic what you said but I learned quickly that you took offense to that

Me: Where did your crayons go?
You: abidi....kway...dah dee dah dee...diday!
Me: abidi kway...haha so cute!
You: (scowl)

So now I just answer in plain English and you nod happily and continue...

Things you love...coloring (you love to color, paint and draw), dancing (whenever you hear music you stand up and bounce and wiggle), your jess brown doll (you give her hugs and chat with her), matryoshka dolls (you can be hungry, tired or both but those little dolls will quiet you down right away).

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Alexandria is wearing a Dagmar Daley maralee romper from my shop and it's currently 15% off!

Easter (before Christmas)...

I did it! Two posts in one week. Haven't managed that in months. And the prize? Getting to share these easter photos before Christmas rolls around. (P.S. It's only April and I'm already getting daydreamy about this year's holidays. Is that weird?)

There were easter festivities throughout the week followed by easter Sunday that concluded with dinner with new friends. I attempted to go chocolate-free with the little ones' baskets but in the end caved when my mom the easter bunny sent a few chocolate eggs. Max promptly ate two of them and for the remainder of the day I pretty much blamed all wacky behavior (of which there was lots) on those two eggs.

Max found Alexandria's basket first and gave it to her graciously before continuing the search for his. (so proud of the big brother he's becoming) Then she totally beat him on the egg hunt while he carefully examined the contents of his basket. My favorite part of their baskets turned out to be their favorite too... little keepsake boxes that had photos of the two of them together inserted in the lids. Noticed I said had. The boxes I thought would last *forever* were dismantled within 24 hours.

The highlight of the day was probably the moment I realized our apartment had become a giant ping pong table in which the ball had been replaced by a dozen eggs. There were shells everywhere, but I don't think the mister and I have laughed that hard in a while...

Pictures Nora took...

Most of these pictures were taken by Nora, my niece-in-law, a few weeks back while she was visiting over a break from school. We were stuck with a macro lens for the day but she made the best of it and got some amazing shots (mostly by running really far away from things and snapping away).

So enough with the small talk. Let's talk about the elephant in the corner...it's been five weeks! That is a record breaking gap for sure. I could rattle off some excuses but in the end the reason is simple: I needed a break from blogging about life so that I could focus on said life. Add a touch of stage fright from having vanished for so long, some existential meanderings and maybe a touch of good old fashioned laziness and voila...five weeks. And then...my computer (bless her heart) simply died. For good. Well dang.

So here I shamelessly post a picture in which I look okay but Max is a bit distracted.

And here are classic mom in the city shots. For me they really capture that sirens-screaming-where's-my-sanity-wallet-phone-CHILD feeling I get sometimes. Did I mention that raising kids in the city is hard? Okay, you're right it's hard everywhere.

And here you have the bag...

On a dull winter day this otherwise nondescript guy lit up the faces of countless New Yorkers with his traffic cone orange bag. It was plastic. It was neon. And we couldn't hide our delight.

And there he was again!

This time he saw us smiling and taking pictures of him and before he turned to cross the street he nodded and smiled at us as if to say "I know. My sartorial choice has brought you joy on this dreary afternoon. You're welcome..."

Valentines...

When it comes to Valentine's day we are more homebodies than night on the town types. So a room full of balloons and flowers, heart shaped toast, bag full of dollar store treats and day packed with quality time was the perfect day for us. It was one of those days where you say to yourself "Wow could a day really be so perfect?" Until...around 11pm when a beast called double ear infection showed up. Oh you know...we've all been there, except this is Max's first! Poor little man. Only one other time have I seen him so miserable. But he is currently quietly playing Endless Alpahbet on my phone. Or was...gotta run!!!

oh snowy day...

After weeks and weeks of waiting and wishing for snow and only getting those "Oh it's snowing...wait no it's melting" snow flurries, the skies finally agreed to open up and dump 11.4 inches of snow on our fair city. So we grabbed our new sled Ferrari (thank you Nora, Savva & Dodo!) which we've been staring at sadly since Christmas day and headed to the park.

The Ferrari aka Stiga (so fast, so cool, and SAFE becasue you can steer and brake):

So as you can see (at least for New Yorkers who don't have a car to excavate) snow is a beautiful thing!

Siblings...

Strong relationships take effort and time, and I'm learning that even between little people the rules are no different. In the last few weeks I've watched them grow closer as Max's respect for Alexandria grew. At first that respect seemed to appear out of thin air but then I realized it came down to two things: 1) she's now 100% mobile, and 2) they share a fondness for creating gigantic messes. When she first began to crawl a few weeks back we started to see "sibling rivalry issues". Suddenly she was a bona fide toy competitor and with her adorable soldier-bellying-through-the-underbrush crawling style, she was a total parental attention zapper. But as she got faster and began pulling up to standing, something new happened. She became his partner in crime, and in play of course. So at the moment they are the best of buds and it's truly heartwarming to watch how he talks to her, helps her and includes her in his pretend play. And if I jump up in the middle of feeding her, he heads straight for my chair, picks up the spoon and proceeds to smear food across her face feed her. Honestly...is there anything sweeter?

P.S. (A cure for cabin fever) 2 shiatsu mats + every pillow we own = ecstatic little people!

P.P.S. My grandmother made the alphabet quilt shown here for Max when he was born and she's currently working on a second one for little miss. No machine work...all hand sewn?! In other words she is simply awesome...