~ on a walk ~

~ on a walk ~  A weekly reminder. Put on your walkin' shoes and get out in it. Quiet the inner chatter, abandon introspection for a moment, and look outward. Discover, touch and be a part of it.

Each Friday, photos from our wanderings—things we were able to stop and appreciate.

f-i-o-n-a

Yesterday, Fiona was running frantically from room to room obviously looking for something important. I watched her a few minutes (One of my favorite pastimes. Watching her.), until I finally asked, "Fiona, whatcha looking for?"

"My notebook! I need to write it!"

I helped her find her notebook and she wrote an F. She's written letters here and there, she can identify them all now. We play little letter games throughout the day. She asks me to spell and write her family and friends' names often, but it hadn't occurred to me until yesterday to ask her if she could write her name. So I asked her.

"How 'bout the next letter in your name?" and she wrote an i. "And the next letter?" and she wrote an o. Until, holy crap, the child just wrote her name.

I try not to make too big of a deal about things like this. I allow her to take the lead in her learning. I like the way this article words it. (Thanks for sharing, Elizabeth!) I "strew her path with interesting things" and feel confident she will take care of the rest. So, who knows, maybe she'll focus on writing more in the coming months, or maybe she'll put down her pen and concentrate on learning to jump from the third step like a big girl. Either one is fine with me, but I do think that writing one's name for the first time is an event worth documenting.

~~~

Sandpaper letters by Polliwog Learning Products on Etsy. We have the numbers, too.

our unexpected strawberry patch

Last year, we planted strawberries and were quite confused when our plants produced hardly any strawberries. (Novice gardeners, we are.) I was disappointed but didn't give it much thought because I was pregnant. (If you've been pregnant that last sentence made complete sense to you.)

I have since learned that strawberry plants produce a large crop their second year. What a delightful surprise!

The kids have loved picking, washing, and feasting. Then taking the rest to the playground to share with friends!

Thanks to Sheldon for leading and taking pictures of the strawberry picking. :)

a new stop

Am I seriously writing another post about taking a walk? Yes. Yes I am. When the weather is good, we spend most mornings wandering Fell's Point, Harbor East and the Inner Harbor. We have a our usual route along the water and our usual stops—the coffee shop, whole foods, the playground, and just added this spring, Pierce's Park. Have you been? It's really great. I like the combination of industrial and organic elements and the simplicity—tunnels, slides, hills and open areas. The living tunnel (pictured at the top) is so cool. There is also a musical fence!

I wrote a post a few months ago for the DBFA Blog about living in the city. If you haven't read it, go check it out!

some recent developments

1. The front door is a new color (Do you think the neighbors would object if we painted the whole house turquoise? Hmn.)

2. Elsa is officially mobile (and cute)

Happy Monday, friends!

~ on a walk ~

 ~ on a walk ~  A weekly reminder. Put on your walkin' shoes and get out in it. Quiet the inner chatter, abandon introspection for a moment, and look outward. Discover, touch and be a part of it.

Each Friday, photos from our wanderings—things we were able to stop and appreciate.

'tis the (flea market) season

Flea market season might just be my favorite of all. It signals the return of long walks along the harbor, farmers markets and the gathering of neighbors at the park. Spring is the best time to live in the city.

Since starting my new gig, our budget for non-essentials has dwindled to, well, none. Thankfully, flea marketing is about much more than just the buying. Though, I can't say I was disappointed when Sheldon slipped me a ten on my way out the door. ;)

I brought home these sweeties, which I have big, crafty plans for.

fiona's first hair cut

It's hard to put into words how I felt watching my big girl get her hair cut. I watched in awe as she followed the hairdresser's directions and sat perfectly still, looking at herself in the mirror. She was so poised. So into the whole process. So grown up. Something about it really struck me. When they're babies, they are almost like an extension of you. But this three-year-old sitting in that chair—she was not an extension of me. She was her own person and I was an observer.

house love

For Mother's Day, I put together this sweet illustration of my parents' house. I have been promising my mom an oil painting of their home for a while now, but with all these babies around, I just don't think that's going to be happening very soon! I am excited about how great it turned out and she loved it, too. In fact, she asked if I could do illustrations of the other two houses she has owned with my dad over the past 30 years. I thought that was such a good idea, I wish I had thought of it myself. She plans to hang them all in a row. I just love it.

I had the idea to do this when I was asked a couple weeks ago to donate a print to the DBFA silent auction. The theme was Mother's Day, and I was trying to come up with a custom print concept perfect for urban Mamas. Well, us city-dwellers sure do love our rowhouses, and it occurred to me! A custom rowhouse illustration. I put together this certificate with an example of what the illustration will look like. I can't wait to hear from the winner!

I've had a couple other people show some interest in having illustrations done of their homes. Hmm... A new little business venture, perhaps?

I hope you all had a lovely Mother's Day!

~~~

Looks like some of you want house illustrations! Ask and you shall receive... Introducing, House Love!

~ on a walk ~

~ on a walk ~  A weekly reminder. Put on your walkin' shoes and get out in it. Quiet the inner chatter, abandon introspection for a moment, and look outward. Discover, touch and be a part of it.

Each Friday, photos from our wanderings—things we were able to stop and appreciate.

she likes it!

I considered naming this post a lot of different things. Among the ideas were: the clouds have lifted, a new dawn and just when it felt like the world was going to end, she finally decided to like the sling. Those sounded a touch dramatic, so I thought she likes it! would suffice. Yes, the big news is... Elsa likes the Beco!

I wrote a few posts a while back about the hard time I was having (here and here). I felt overwhelmed caring for newborn Elsa while meeting Fiona's needs all day. I know I'm not alone. Every mom I talked to mirrored my feelings. No one has an easy adjustment to two. But, in the past couple weeks, there has been a shift. We are having fun again and I am getting tastes of the deep happiness that being a Mama brings me.

I owe much of this to my trusty sling, which Elsa has decided to love just as much as her big sister once did. I carry her for hours everyday. With hands free to tend to Fiona and minds free to wander, we are settling into our warm weather rhythm. We take long walks everyday. We walk by the water. We stop at the playground. We go to the book store and the science center. We run into friends. I am just so happy and I can feel that it's only going to get better. Oh yes, life is good.

Me and my girls.

family still life drawing

Last week, we went TV and movie free. It was pretty amazing and confirmed my suspicions. We are all happier and calmer without it. We aren't going to part with it completely, an occasional movie (maybe weekly?) is fun, but that's it.

We typically have a Friday movie night, so for TV free week, we had an art night instead. I put a realistic pig stuffed animal in the middle of the table and we all sketched and chatted. It was nice, quality family time and in the end we had some nice drawings, too.

Drawings, top to bottom: Fiona's, Elijah's, Sheldon's and mine.

How much TV do you watch in your house? Have you found a good balance? We have cut down a ton, but it is still something I struggle with. (Remember the TV cozy?)