HAPPINESS

For one little girl, happiness is waking up in the morning and seeing her parents' faces peeping over the edge of the crib as they lift her out to start the day.  That always brings the biggest grin to her face. Happiness is a freshly-peeled banana all for her.  Happiness is when Nico "cleans" the food off her face over and over with big wet sloppy kisses, and she sits there patiently enjoying every second of it.  Happiness is that beam of freedom and pride that washes across her as she clutches to a wall or a table and takes jagged little steps.  Happiness is a summer afternoon on the front stoop with Mama, practicing standing on those chubby little legs and holding on to Mama's arms.  Happiness is dreaming of the very near day when she will no longer need Mama's arms to brace her, when her strength will shine bright and she'll do it all on her own.  She's almost there, almost a toddler.. and when that happens, happiness will be found in the adventuring and the tumbling and stumbling through her newfound world...  

And for one Mama, happiness is that light in her daughters eye and that wonder in her smiling face as she slowly discovers all of the greatness that she is capable of.

//handmade diaper cover c/o BARREL & A HEAP//

//handmade leather shoes c/o ALL ABOUT HEIDI//

 

TOMPKINS SQUARE PARK

We met our dear friends at Tompkins Square Park the other day to celebrate the birthday of their gorgeous little one, Ava, who was born just three days after Biet.  We all met in our Bradley class when these babes were still in our bellies, and have done our best to meet up every now and again for playdates.  This one was the best yet.

The whole park was in bloom and brimming with summertime energy. They brought home-pressed cherry juice and baked amazing mini cakes for a little picnic.  It was really a beautiful afternoon.

Biet and Ava, for the first time, really played with one another (and with the dirt on the ground and with the toys and with their food), and it was magical.  They had so much fun. Biet, who sadly never ever gets a chance to play with balls (thanks to a certain pit bull who goes crazy for anything of a spherical shape), adored playing catch with Ava.  She fell in love with that pink bouncy ball.

And it turns out that Nico has given Biet some useful experience in the world of sharing.  Ava had a great time sitting in for Nico and letting Biet feed her over and over and over.. one bite for Biet, one bite for Nico Ava.  Just like at home, except instead of driving me crazy it was kind of the cutest thing ever.

After our farewells Gaby and I walked in between the two big trees where we were married and reminisced a bit.  My how much has changed since that winter afternoon three and a half years ago... it truly just keeps getting better.

Biet's Jersey Shorts w/Braces c/o LITTLE VINTAGE

THESE DAYS

The sticky summer city heat, the temperature creeping over 100, the dirt and the grass of the Brooklyn outdoors, and a little girl who likes to explore everything with her best friend Nico... these days have been good. Really good.  Biet is trying with all of her might to make her chunky thighs walk, and she is getting so very close.  The days of full-on mobility are so near that I can taste them.  And they taste exhausting, yet thrilling at the same time.  These days, we've been taking advantage of the crazy-long summer days and spending the bright evening hours outdoors, appreciating the perfect beauty of the season's fruits and vegetables, cooling off with Boylan soda & keeping the old glass bottles for fresh-cut flowers, and marveling at the ever-growing relationship between this little girl of ours and this big dog of ours.  These days, our lives look a lot like this...

LITTLE THINGS

Slowly but surely our apartment is coming together and beginning to feel like a true home.. a lived in, slightly messy, bright & artistic home.  Sure pictures must still be hung and a couple of cupboards must be re-organized and a few piles of outgrown baby clothes must be stored away, but we're almost there. Finally.  The unfamiliar sense of chaos and disorder which accompanies moving has nearly completely dissipated, and we are left with a peaceful old home and a rambunctious new family. Here are a few little things that make me feel at home in our humble abode (full apartment tour posts coming soon!)..

WAKEY WAKEY EGGS N' BAKEY

This is what I woke up to the other day-  Biet and her father sitting down at the table together in their pajamas, a tray filled with delicious offerings (no there was no actual bacon, but there were eggs.. and coffee and toast and salad and oatmeal), and Nico meticulously watching the floor for fallen crumbs and thrown handfuls.  Gaby had woken up, whipped up breakfast, and fed our little monkey until her tummy was bulging- all while letting Mama sleep in an extra hour.

I loved waking up to that.  I cherish these moments between those two.  I imagine her growing, having breakfast with her Papa each day. He'll teach her how to cook the eggs and cut up the fruit, he'll let her try a sip of coffee and she'll spit it out, she'll surprise him one day with pancakes shaped like hearts.. I see the many blissful mornings ahead.

And that bit of extra silence and sleep was a treat to say the least. I really really miss long uninterrupted hours of sleep. Yes, this is all worth it, no question. This is all pretty perfect.  But when these extra hours of rest come around, it feels like a holiday.

I am so grateful for this husband of mine who thinks of me (he's known me long enough to know of my ridiculous love affair with sleeping) and tries in little ways to give me a break when he can.  It means the world.  I adore waking up and witnessing that little vignette of father+daughter breakfast.  I'm sure Biet is pretty happy to have her Papa/personal chef all to herself for a little while too.

DIA DE PADRE NUMERO 2

By the grace of god, our baby-chaperoned date on Father's Day turned out to be one of our most successful yet!  We timed it just right so that Biet fell asleep with a full belly on our walk to the restaurant, and she slumbered peacefully amidst the restaurant noise in her cushioned stroller wedged in between two tables.  We dressed up and had a three course meal at a charming farm-to-table restaurant, followed by an evening stroll.  I really couldn't have imagined a more perfect way to spend the day.

And on to the man of the hour, the Papa Bear, my Gaby.  We love you we need you we cherish you.  When you jump out of bed on three hours sleep when Biet calls for company in the wee morning hours, you shine.  When you get super excited to discover that Biet adores a new crazy dish you've invented (remember the watermelon-banana-spinach-eggs last week?), you shine.  When she falls asleep on your shoulder at the end of the day and you whisper to me "I love this. I love this so much!", you shine shine shine.  You shine as a Papa. You shine with Fatherhood. You are such a beautiful part of her life.

Our lives have changed so very much since last Father's Day.  Our lives have gotten so much bigger (alone with our hearts, and our dreams too).

Gaby and Biet- the two of you.. well oh my. 

There are no words.

Biet's sailor dress: c/o Little Vintage

We're heading into a weekend jam-packed with work (not so fun), but look forward to relaxing Sunday night over a fancy Father's Day dinner out on the town.  Well, relaxing as much as you can with a baby at the table. We're going to attempt to bring her along on our date, so I'll let you know how that goes..

In appreciation of all of the hard-working and loving Papa's out there, Happy Weekend! 

URBAN HOMESTEADING

For a few wonderful years when I was a tiny little child, around pre-school time, my sisters and I lived with my Mom's sister & her family in Portland, Oregon.  We all lived in a whimsical old three-story house, painted light blue, with a big porch out front with a wooden swing.  There was a costume box in the attic of my Mother's old clothes that we used to play dress up with, a huge 1970-esque mural (painted years prior by my artist Mother) in our shared bedroom, a piano in the family room (which I looked forward to learning how to play one day when I grew up, but we ended up moving on to another home before that ever happened), a "servant's staircase" (did I mention it was a lovely old house) behind the main stairs that was perfect for sneaking into the kitchen late at night for a forbidden spoonful of peanut butter dipped in chocolate chips, and a breathtaking garden in the backyard.  Oh that garden.  My Aunt Pam knew a thing or two about growing things, let me tell you.

We had it all: carrots & zucchinis & tomatoes, herbs of all sorts, root vegetables and stalky vegetables and leafy vegetables, the works!  Each night before dinner, my sisters and I would venture into the garden to pick ingredients for the family.   I used to love putting freshly rinsed lettuce into the salad spinner and going to town.  Lisa and I would laugh and laugh as it spun faster and faster.  Nobody could spin it as fast as Emmy though (granted, she did have four years on me of salad-spinning experience).  After dinner we would run into the backyard with our full bellies and swing in the rope hammock that swayed from the trunks of two cherry trees.  Those were truly magical years.

And then we moved on, and moved on again, and Portland became a place in my memories.  And as I grew I discovered my love of the city; I learned that urban life made me feel truly alive.  And so I made NYC my home, with its grit and its bricks and its history.  And my daughter was born right in the heart of downtown.

But lately I find myself reminiscing about those homemade, garden-grown, earthy Portland years.

I realize that they aren't so far behind.  Here I am, picking up our share of vegetables straight from the farm at our CSA, chatting with the Pennsylvanian organic farmer, who lovingly grows our food, about tomato varieties.  I spend quite a lot of time washing and steaming and pureeing Biet's food, everything fresh, everything home-made. It just feels right that way.  Our friends thought we were crazy when we told them that we planned to cloth diaper.  They said that we'd never make it. But here we are, 12 months and counting.. and rinsing and washing and folding away.  And now I've begun a new endeavor: to eliminate all pre-made food from our home.  I will be rinsing and soaking and boiling a variety of beans and grains each week so that we'll always have whole foods in our home, ready to go and made with love.

Gaby calls me a hippy Mama.  He tells me all the time "I love that you're a hippy Mama."  And I always brush it off as Gaby being sweetly dramatic.  Because I am a city girl.  A city girl who just happens to enjoy sustainable ways of life.  Then our neighbors invited us to help create a garden in the lot out front of our limestone, and I jumped with joy.  Finally, I will grow my very own carrots! Eureka!

A. City. Girl... who just happens to view carrot-growing as the highlight of her summer.. who encourages her daughter to crawl around naked and eat grass in the backyard (I mean, how many years do you really have to enjoy doing that before it becomes slightly inappropriate).. who foresees the day when home-prepared beans and grains will be joined by home-jarred pickles and jams and hand-ground flours (ok.. getting a little carried away).

A girl who loves the city and loves her family and loves to homestead.  A girl who can't forget the simple magic and wonder of picking your own vegetables for dinner.  A girl who is a Mama and who wants to pass on that magic and wonder to her daughter.

I guess I'll call myself an urban homesteader in training.. who's looking forward to learning a lot this summer.  

xx

OVER THE WATER & ACROSS THE BRIDGE

Just as we were about to hop on the subway in Williamsburg the other day, Gaby suggested that, instead, we not go home.  With the warm breeze and abundant daylight left, perhaps we should head into the city & stroll around downtown.  I pondered the thought for a moment.  Part of me immediately shut down the idea.  After all, we were tired and had a little baby and would be best off getting back home and cooking and relaxing.  But then I stopped myself.  Gaby and I used to do this all of the time.  We'd take spur of the moment detours throughout the city- take advantage of the many diverse neighborhoods and foods and adventures lying just around the next corner.  We used to take a morning or an afternoon or an evening (or all three and make a day of it) and just go.  And end up wherever the city led us.  And I realized that since Biet was born we had slowly stopped these little outings, these little celebrations of urban freedom.  So I said "let's go." And he said "do you want to walk there?"

We walked over the Williamsburg bridge, from Brooklyn to Manhattan.  We saw Brooklyn from above and the skyline from afar as the sun was going down over the East River.  Biet was a little fussy as we walked through the fierce winds in the middle of the bridge, but she was a smiling wild little girl when we got to the other side and I put her up on my hip.  Then the night had fallen and we glanced at the time and realized that we had been walking for four hours.  Biet was so happy and full and tired, and Gaby and I were satisfied with ourselves and our day, and we were all ready for bed.  So we hopped on the train back home.

I really hope to have outings like this more often, all through the warm months. There is truly so much to see and do, and I feel it would be a crime not to take Biet to do it all.  Every time we power through a full day like this I am reminded of how much I appreciate this city of ours.

And I want Biet to grow knowing that an adventure is always at her fingertips.

Oh yes, and I've finally jumped on board and created a Facebook page for Petite Biet, so you're welcome to head over and like it, if you like. 

xx

MOMOFUKU MILK BAR BROOKLYN

While walking around Williamsburg the other day, we came across the oh so famous & trendy, dessert-place-of-the-moment Momofuku Milk Bar.  I had read about their one-of-a-kind sweets for months and months (maybe even years), and was so extremely excited to have come across their Brooklyn branch by accident.  I saw it from across the street and literally grabbed Gaby's arm and squealed like a child.  The crazy thing is that we had lived just a few blocks from their Manhattan flagship since it's opening, yet had never managed to walk over from our East Village apartment.  Since then, every time I opened a magazine or paper in Brooklyn to see yet another article on Momofuku's amazing cereal milk ice-cream,  I would kick myself for not taking advantage of our close proximity while we had had it.  But now I had stumbled on their Brooklyn outpost, and I was sure it was going to be the highlight of my week.  Curiously, it was not.

We ordered all of their classics: cereal milk ice-cream, a compost cookie, and a pack of b'day cake truffles.  I took a bunch of pictures and chatted with the counter boy.  He assured me that my choices were top notch; the best offerings in the house.  I think he may have exagerrated.  Because the ice-cream was a little chemically-tasting and a lot boring. Hmmm, not my style, I thought.  That's ok.  (I'm just not into my ice-cream tasting exactly like a day-old bowl of fruity pebble milk. I hadn't realized that the name was so literal).  On to the compost cookie, and... I couldn't even finish it (which never happens with anything of the sweet variety), so that was a major disappointment.  It was a bit too dry and crazy for the likes of me.

The cake truffles, on the other hand, were pretty amazing. Super dense and chewy intense little balls of rainbow cakes.  I could go for those again (and again and again), but I'm not sure if I'll be trekking out to their shop just for cake.

So all in all, while not such a culinary revelation, our outing was a fun way to spend a gorgeous afternoon.  I'll take a long walk and a new dessert experience any day.  Biet slept through the whole thing (that warm sun and cushy stroller- who can blame her?), so I saved her a bite of cake truffle.  She loved it.