Weekend notes

This weekend we went to a backyard bbq at the house of Fella's colleague. Between the five couples, there were at least 8-10 young toddlers and babies around. (Hard to say for sure how many, because they seemed to multiply every time I turned around, go figure!) The spread was delicious and the patio ambience was Pottery Barn-esque. It reminded me of the fun I used to have entertaining pre-baby and had me wishing for a bigger space now.

^^ Those two plates of food are Max's.

Groomed

With new beginnings comes new hair, right?

(Note: It's pure coincidence that we're dressed in matching denim-on-denim.)

This was the last picture of Max taken before we went on our merry way to his second ever haircut. We know, he's way overdue. I mean, look at that mop. I don't even really blame people for still asking if he's a girl. (Now, Momma on the other hand – she could really use a cut, too!)

So it went something like this . . . 

Mustard

In the first week of fall, it seems appropriate to speak of transitions and fresh beginnings. Now feels like the right time to officially announce the blog's facelift. Doesn't she look fresh? For awhile now, I've been contemplating changing the blog's original name from when it began in 2010, Capes Chairs and Cows, to something that better represents me now as not only an individual, but also as a mother. And that's how Bloom & Habit came to be – along with bigger pictures and a cleaner user interface. These changes jumpstart a whole new kind of dream and give me a more straightforward purpose for growing this little space into something special.

Bye bye, summer

Before we knew it, we officially said goodbye to summer a week ago. But before that happened, we finally managed to hit the condo association's pool for the first (and only) time before it closed for the season. (We tried one other time at the start of summer, but that never panned out because someone had a meltdown before we could even cross the parking lot.) So here we are now, better late than never – the last time was in Mexico when Max was 18 months!

Fall transitions

Ever since the owners of our condo informed us a few weeks ago that they intend to move back in after our lease (which concludes October 31, BY THE WAY!!!), I've been feeling all kinds of emotions, every single one connected to the big C: CHANGE. There's an overwhelming mix of sadness, guilt, fear of the unknown, and dread rocking my world right now. 

Sadness to leave what's become our home over the last year in Maryland after leaving Chicago.

Guilt for having to uproot Max again for the third time in his little life.

Fear of not knowing where you're going to live and whether you made the right choice about where you end up.

And dread.

Max becomes a real boy

I wish I could keep up with recording every single one of his milestones, but they seem to happen at a pace far more rapid than I can write about. I'll start out by saying, like Pinocchio, it's like he became a real boy overnight.

Seemingly out of nowhere, the boy is suddenly capable of all sorts of wonderful things! Like, when he saw this little plastic measuring cup laying around (that used to be a play thing for him not so long ago), he led me to the fridge, held the cup out and said, "Wa-wa!" I was doubtful after the last time which was a disaster, but said, "Well, okay, Max, but you have to sit down to drink." So, he plops himself down on the kitchen floor next to FurFur's dog bowls, and like magic, just knew how to drink from the cup without spilling, real slow and steady. Drinking from a cup seems like such a simple thing, almost a non-skill in and of itself, but to a toddler, the tiniest of things are often the hugest accomplishments!