Friday, August 30, 2013

A day of dates.

We had a day of dating. First Hayes and I had a date with our neighborhood. We walked around our neighborhood and then we (I) decided to go to a store I'd been curious about, Oakland Surf Club

The space is small, but like they say good things come in small packages. Unique product lines, surf boards available in the city and a fabulous selection of magazines. P.S There is a sale and I picked up each Kinfolk for $2- say what?? Jackpot! We picked up a few surprises for papa, as well.
                                           
                                          
Our next date was with Uptown Oakland. We stopped by Sweet Bar Bakery for lunch. The vegetarian kale and lentil soup was so delicious. The sour cream cheesecake was ridiculous. It is up there with the cheesecake we had in Paris at Cafe Marly. I mean it was so, so good and this little man slept through the whole experience. We also picked up vegan ginger cookies for papa.
We wandered into Two Jacks Denim and found an incredible selection of denim for papa. Voted by Best of the East Bay by the East Bay Express “Most Authentic-Craftsmanship-Focused Men’s Boutique” this is a unique find.
We happened to drive by the New Parkway Theatre which made me miss movie going a bit. Then I found out that they have "New Parkway Family Classics" and thought it would be fun to check it out. It is now on the list. Our next date was with papa. We decided to take advantage of his early arrival home and Jake and Georgie's desperate need/desire to get out of the house, by heading to Point Isabel. We were just happy that Jake decided not to enter the water because Mud Puppy's was closed.
                                                                          smooch!!
                                                              Such happy little pals.
Thank you sunset and shadows for allowing us to capture this family photo. All 5 of us and we didn't have to concern ourselves with looking at the camera or smiling at the same time. It was a great day of dates.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

A Happy Birthday Weekend

It was papa's birthday this past weekend so we decided to celebrate! We worked on making him a sign, which the babe tried to eat, more than he tried to hold it. The day before his birthday we made and ate lasagna, opened presents wrapped in grocery bags (we're green or too excited to wrap them) and then we had mudpie. 
This was his first birthday as a papa and he thought it'd be funny to stand in front of the "pregnancy wall", with a pregnancy pose. The photo below was from a couple weeks before Hayes arrived- I think papa did a pretty good impersonation.
 The next day we did a little weekend walk to Cole coffee and La Farine for a breakfast snack.
 We walked home and then a little later walked back to a favorite lunch spot of papa's. The only photo I have from lunch is the little mister attempting to eat his way through a glass with his gums.  On the way home I was able to capture a little Giant's pride.
 Hayes finally made it to his first Giants' game and he even wore a Lincecum t-shirt. Guess who was pitching?
 One more birthday surprise in his Cracker Jacks.
 Special "thank you" to our friend Julia for making us this awesome knit hat.
 Kicking up our Converse and moccasins at the game. What says relaxation more than kicking up your feet and eating nachos?
 Another attempt at a family shot. Mr Hayes has his poker face on. One day we are all going to smile at the same time and be looking at the camera when it happens.
 On Sunday we stopped at our favorite neighborhood coffee spot and then headed to Sacramento to celebrate little Lulu's birthday. It was so nice to spend time with our friend's in their neck-of-the-woods.
P.S Super fancy cake Jenny and delicious too!  Hayes had a great time dipping his little mermaid tail (baby feet) in the water.
 We stopped at Home Depot on the way home to pick-up some supplies for our tomato garden. Hayes decided to take is first ride on papa's shoulders and pull papa's hair out at the same time. We came home to our pups and by the look of it, Jake celebrated just as much as we did this weekend. A good time was had by all. That's a wrap!

Friday, August 23, 2013

Bursting into a million pieces.


In the past I have heard the phrase "my heart burst into a million pieces" and I may have even said it myself.  If I did, I didn't really know what it meant or felt like, until this past Monday. This past Monday was not supposed to be an unusual day, in that we had no special plans or changes in our general routine. However, this past Monday was different because I finally experienced what I believe to be the sensation of a heart bursting into a million pieces. You see, I wasn't entirely sure that I would ever be a mama.  If you know me, then you know I love kiddos, but wasn't sure I'd have one of my own.  Then, in a short period of time no turned to maybe turned to yes, and I became a mama. May I just say that I am so glad I did, become a mama that is.  I woke up on Monday and looked over to find my son's sweet face looking at me. Every time, without fail he starts his morning with a smile...a gummy smile.  For about 10 minutes he was silent, peacefully looking at the ceiling.  I talked to him about our plans for the day and as he sat on my lap he placed one of his little hands on my wrist. He tapped my arm and wiggled his fingers, then reached for my face. It was clear that these were purposeful movements. We played with his toys and read some of his books (he tried to eat them) which meant I held the book and he attempted to turn the pages. He rolled onto his back and began making noises. He started to blow bubbles and startled himself by his ability to do so.  He was in between pajamas and his daytime outfit and I took a few pictures of him wearing feather printed diapers. He was lying on his stomach and used his upper body strength to straighten his arms, lift his head and look right into my eyes. He had a soft smile, the sides of his mouth upturned and his blue eyes were like two calm pools. I took him with me to my closet and placed him on the floor where he could look in the mirror. He looked straight ahead and as he became tired, he dropped his head and turned his head to the side and quietly looked at himself. I took him to run errands and when I held him he leaned his head on my shoulder. When he became excited he tucked his knees in towards me, squeezed my shoulder and bit down with his gums, as he squealed from excitement. When we arrived home I nursed him and he would stop intermittently to look up at me and laugh. I could feel one of his hands behind me, moving his fingers as if he was playing piano on my back. When he finished I placed him on his back and he would look at me and then reach for various toys I held in front of him. I picked him up and placed him on his back, over my knees and he looked at his surroundings upsidedown. He loves to look at his surroundings in this position. This time he was quiet and I realized he had fallen asleep. He slept for several hours while I prepared dinner. He woke up in time to keep me company while I made dessert. He sat in his swing and watched the dogs walk around the kitchen. He would lean to one side and stretch his hand out toward Jake and Georgie. The simple act of the dogs walking made Hayden laugh. Next, I bathed him and he splashed and smiled and splashed and smiled some more. Soon after he fell asleep for the night.  

On this day, there were so many firsts for him as a baby and for me as a mama.  All day he proved to be more alert, interested, engaging, aware and present than he had the day before. He exhibited more strength, ability and intention in his actions. His eyes were more expressive, his touch more purposeful and his reactions, more meaningful. I kept having these moments that made me stop what I was doing because I was overwhelmed by joy. A joy that made me feel like screaming, I was tense but from excitement and then it would quickly change to this feeling of being liquid.  This must be my heart bursting into a million pieces.  

I am a mama to this sweet little boy. I waited a long time for you, Hayes Oliver White and you were certainly worth the wait. You brighten every one of my days and I do not remember well, life before you were here. You bring so much joy to my life and when I look at you or even think about you, it is clear to me that I was meant to be a mama, your mama.

I love you. 

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Loving on Oakland

We flew to Washington for a week and when we returned it was much warmer than when we had left. Summer is pleasant but I am looking forward to Fall's arrival.  Boots, corduroy, pots of soup, crisp nights and Hayden's first Halloween. Okay, back to summer.
Baby in a bag.
Papa made dinner and used tomatos from our garden so mama was in charge of dessert...S'MORES!


We are so close to sitting up without any help.  His milestones are arriving before I am ready.
Come on. I get to live with these two?
Hayes has developed a fascination with glasses, both those worn on your face and held in your hands. He reaches for them, stares and opens his mouth as if he is tasting them. He is such an alert babe.
His and Hers
Hayes is digging the street performers.
Pink, pink and more pink. They do look different, I swear.
Tried a new pizza place and it took me right back to studying in Siena. Flavorful, thin and interesting combinations. P.S it is kid friendly too!

Okay not only glasses, but bottles, cups...any beverage container. He loves them.
These little guys are at the bases of telephone poles around the neighborhood. Makes walking more cheerful.
Converse-ations.
Our friends came to California and they had time to visit us. We met up with Joe, Lisa, Taylo (Matt's godson) and Sunny on Sunday and spent time in our neighborhood before heading over to watch an A's game.
We had great seats, under cover (it was too sunny for the babe) and great company.
Hayes enjoyed laughing with Joe.
staring at Sunny
and watching Taylo and Papa throw a baseball (one day they will do the same, I'm sure).
Sunday evening we found these in our garden (I am loving the darkest ones) and I ate them like candy.
So many tomatoes and the vines keep climbing.
Do you ever find gift certificates, coupons or punch cards, in your wallet that you carry around with you but forget to use? I recently found several and used them all. I came across the first Selby book while vacationing in Paris and thought it was too heavy to pack in my suitcase. Fast forward a few years and Edible Selby entered the scene. I used one of my full, frequent buyer cards and bought it. Looking forward to flipping through these pages soon.
He has been to 3 A's games and no Giant's games. Hopefully he makes it across the Bay soon.