Tuesday Tunes

I first heard this song in its remixed version for Baz Lurhmann's brilliant interpretation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet back in 1996. Orginally, it was a b-side on one of Radiohead's albums. It was one of those songs that captivated me right away. It's sexy and complex, dreamy and interesting. This track can be part of a lullaby playlist, or babymaking playlist (!), or even the background music to a night alone with a bottle of red wine. Enjoy :)

The diva.

Yesterday was a challenging Sunday. It all began Saturday night. Olivia refused to sleep after Todd fed her dinner, a bottle, and all the usual bedtime routine steps. When I tried to rock her to sleep, I could tell she was tired but fighting it. Finally, nearly two hours after we began trying to get her down she finally passed out. In our bed, of course. Then, yesterday she just fought us in little ways throughout the day.
Screaming if we put her in the car seat, standing up in her highchair though she was strapped in, throwing insane tantrums if we took something away, and full-blown sobbing if we said the word "no" to her. I understand this is not usual behavior for a 10-month old infant but I assure you that my sweet daughter's antics yesterday were that of a bratty toddler.
She refused a nap and after three hours of trying *everything* Todd and I decided to put her in her crib with a paci and some toys and let her settle down herself. As you know, I condone peaceful parenting and we have never let Olivia cry it out. I gave this experiment a 5 minute max and left the room. I sat and watched the clock. I could hear her crying but it was not an urgent or scared cry. It was a meek and tired cry, and four minutes in she started to settle down. Six minutes later she was peacefully sleeping without a single tear on her face.
I felt like I was failing the fundamentals of our parenting style, but at the same time she was not hysterical and cleary exhausted. I think it is a mix of several things. She is frustrated she cannot communicate, and she is starting to realize her actions get a reaction from us. She is still a happy and loving child, but if she gets upset or does not like something she loses her cool really quick. I am going to start consistently signing with her and hopefully she picks up on it. I am hopeful this will allow her to tell us what she wants. She is a smart kid, and that can be challenging for her and for us.
By bedtime, my head hurt from her sporadic crying and screaming. Todd and I were both kind of in shock by her behavior. I gave her a nice, warm bath and she threw a fit when it was time to come out. She also got super pissed when I put her pajamas on. I was humming her to sleep and then she decided she still wanted to play. Finally, after 10:00pm, she finally was able to sleep. In our bed, using all of our pillows.

It's September, and the sun is still shining.

The "W" word.

The date is quickly approaching and I am ironing out all the details. It is so nice to keep things low-key and relevant to US. I am planning things my way. Our way. I am so happy to be marrying my best friend, and the party is just a celebration of this. This blog, Ruffled, is giving me some great ideas and inspiration. Key words: vintage, artsy, different.

Some things I like:

A day in the life.

Maybe she was hiding from the awful mess she made (I still hadn't unpacked our suitcases from the trip!). Perhaps she was hiding from Todd. Or, she just needed some alone time?

The holidays are upon us.

August is almost over. Then comes September.

I am a total holiday dork. When October rolls around and the leaves start to crunch under my feet I get really excited. Crisp weather and the smells of the approaching winter make my heart warm and my spirit happy. Perhaps this is because my parents are awesome and made the season certainly jolly for my sister and me. Now that Olivia is here in our life I can only imagine that time of year to be even more joyous and fun. This will be her second holiday round, but the first occured when she was but a wee little bundle of newborn puke and baby squeaks. Now she will be a spunky and hyper little monster and an entire YEAR old.

If I could take my pick on how to spend this Christmas this is what I would choose: A log cabin in the mountains with lots of snow and a fireplace. A log cabin big enough for my parents, sister, and the three of us. We would wake up Christmas morning and look out the window to find everything covered in a cozy blanket of white snow. Then, we would sip hot chocolate with too many mini marshmallows and watch the Pea rip off eco-friendly wrapping paper off her new toys. I have never had a white Christmas and San Diego is not going to bring me one of those any time soon.

Now, answer me this: Are your kids going to be visited by Santa Claus? If so, what is your Santa story? If not, what will you be doing for them and why?

TEN month old!

Happy 10 months to our baby sugar pea. Just when I think you couldn't make life sweeter or that my heart couldn't possibly love you more, you make it all multiply again and again. How did we get so lucky?

I apologize for the mediocre quality iPhone photo!