bath time happy.

Someone really loves her daddy. And bath time.

blues.

Blues and teals on our dining room table.

“and every day on the balcony of the sea, wings open, fire is born, and everything is blue again like morning.”
–Pablo Neruda, On the Blue Shore of Silence, “It Is Born”

what a difference…

a year makes!

flower burst.

Ranunculus in pale pink and fiery orange, so many delicate coils. Dahlias to rival a sunrise. And deliciously fragrant sweet peas.

surprise in the snow.

As we walked across the yard next door to see Olivia’s Grandma Rita and Grandpa Mylo today, we found a snowbear friend with a sweet message in front of their door.

PINK.

Exactly one year ago today, we were finding out that PINK would be our new favorite color. Our ultrasound just happened to get scheduled on Valentine’s Day. Here she is almost 9 months old, the same amount of time that she spent growing just under my heart…

Heart of my heart, Happy First Valentine’s Day, Daughter.

mouse in the house.

I made these guys for a holiday book coming out later this year. They are all fit-in-the-palm-of-your-hand small, especially Lil’ peanut who is tucked into a walnut shell.

lucky ducky.

Lots of firsts going on at this house, it seems like a new one every day. First time sitting up. And then falling over. First time eating green beans. And then spraying them all over the dining room. First time pulling herself up to her knees in her crib. And then smiling at mom like she was caught breaking out of jail.

I’m loving all of them, each one revealing a little bit more of the magic contained in this little person.

The newest first: most cherished toy. She has clearly chosen. Classic, cheery rubber ducky, you are the lucky one.

olivia’s first.

happy halloween!

my needle-felted “Hallowees”.

button candy

K: Her nose is like a button.

M: Her whole face is a button. All I know is I’ve never wanted to kiss a face as much as hers.

K: It is pretty kissable.

M: Like a piece of candy.

that smile

Liv’s smile. It makes ME want to skip along the breeze and sing to the trees.

summer girl

Our 3 month baby girl, in her pinstripe romper. It has been the most amazing summer of my life, watching lil’ miss O grow.

I’ve started a website, oliviascribbles.com for anyone who’d like me to create a custom drawing for their baby’s photo. (How fun could holiday cards be!?) Please check out the site and drop me a line!

heart for Owen

Our Olivia has a new baby cousin. Owen Michael was born Tuesday morning. My little brother is a Dad! It doesn’t seem all that long ago that we were kids, splashing around in our plastic pool, running through a yard full of dandelions, and riding bikes until the sun went down. And now we have babies of our own.

I wish with all my heart that I could be in Tucson right now to snuggle my sweet nephew. Some day soon, our babies will meet, laugh together and play together. And our hearts will all be bursting to see it. Welcome to the world, Owen; Congratulations, Mike and Sarah!

butterflies and dreams

It happened two days ago. Olivia’s right arm flailed out, and her hand grasped a toy dangling above her. A BIG moment in that small reach.

My Aunt Patti, who gave Olivia the adorable ruffle skirt outfit below, is seeing her daughter off to college today. Her baby girl is starting on a new path in the world; my baby girl is just beginning to, literally, grasp the world around her.

I’d joked about my Olivia drawings, saying that I should be sleeping instead of taking all these pictures and scribbling on them. My Aunt said,

“You can always sleep later…but what you CAN’T do is get back one minute of time! Tomorrow she will be one day older than today, and will not be the exact same little person she is. Then another week, a month, and then years…and you will gasp at the young woman standing in front of you going off to college!!!”

Some day too soon Olivia will be crawling, then walking, then running – chasing butterflies… and dreams.

tea time

Almost 2 months old, already drinking tea like a lady. And burping like a truck driver.

and here you are…

suddenly, amazingly in our lives, living in this world; Olivia Pearl.

Hello, sweet daughter.

Your first sneeze, below; 2 days old, caught on camera at the hospital.

Home & Family
{photos below by our lovely friend Bethany Kohoutek}

We can’t stop staring…

and we all can’t stop yawning.

coloring book nursery

secret garden coloring book.

I’ve been crafting and making for the past few months, while she’s been busy growing and kicking and becoming.

Her room is bright and cheery, with a daffodil yellow on the ceiling, and a cool grey on the walls. I painted trees and vines around the room; the design taken from a vintage garden coloring book. Instead of a crib skirt, I threaded a felted vine of leaves and roses through the rungs. We hung mirrors behind the rocking chair and painted vines to curl around them.

(below photos, top left, clockwise)

Curtains – My mom and I pieced together curtains out of velvet burnout fabric scraps I already had, purchased silver velvet and decorative lace trim. $25 for curtains. Thanks to Mom for teaching me how to sew!
DIY Mobile – Made this for about $10. I purchased white felt flowers at the crafts store and attached them to an embroidery hoop painted white, and filament lines hanging at alternate levels. I made tiny tissue paper pom poms in fuschia, purple and yellow to attach to the ends of the mobile strings. Pom poms are a snap to make — check out this youtube vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u1PA_FI79U
Embroidered Sleep & Peace Quilt — My Grandma Alice made a beautiful quilt for baby. She’d embroidered it with sweet words and images. What a treasure it is!
Far, Far Away Blanket – I found this blanket from Beckabugbaby’s Etsy shop. The fabrics, from Heather Ross’ dreamy Far, Far Away line, set the color palette for the room. Check out Heather’s design blog: http://heatherross.squarespace.com/journal/

I found the dresser below on Craig’s List for $70 to double as a changing table. The fringed pink and yellow streamers hanging on the door and next to the curtains were made by my friend Leah for the baby shower. Aren’t they pretty? Check out this blog’s easy how-to for fringed streamers: http://jordanferney.blogspot.com/2011/02/fringey-streamers-diy.html

A flowering vine painted on the wall trails out of the silver vase. I couldn’t resist snagging the framed vintage print at a flea market for $20.  The sweet “Together” banner was handmade by my friend Bethany.

We utilized this niche in the wall to hang shelves. On the bottom shelf is the page out of the coloring book used as inspiration for the trees painted on the wall.

To create baby’s journal, I covered a plain 3-ring kraft binder with fabric (Far, Far Away by Heather Ross), painted the side and spine yellow, and added a decorative trim to hide the cut edge.

together

36 weeks.

Our first “family” photos, taken by the wonderful and talented Bethany Kohoutek. We are so grateful for these moments she captured.

Check out more of her gorgeous photography:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/girls_eye_view/

Bethany made the sweet “Together” banner that now hangs in our baby’s nursery.

it’s the details

that count.

I found a thank-you card in our mailbox this week from my friend Bethany. On the envelope, she had taken the time to cut out a tiny quote and tape it to the corner: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” (a wonderful quote from Eleanor Roosevelt, I think.)