Labor Day Weekend, 2009

La Luz is sick. Again. I don't get it. She has never been a sickly child but yet we just can't seem to get out of this rut and I am starting to worry a little. It doesn't seem to be anything serious, but it is enough to keep her out of school and so starts the maddening juggling of schedules and freaking out around our house. I think Christian is ready to run away. On top of all of this, I had a trial today, not something that happens often in my practice. So, you can imagine...I am, however, still and always ever mindful of my many blessings...one of which was a lovely couple of days at White Plantation.

James & GG, full of love:



La Luz, getting ready to feed the horses some sugar cubes (and eat a few):



Checking on the 2009 citrus:


Loki, relaxing:

Tub Time

Just when I thought I was at my wit's end with bath time, the Safety First bath seat saved the day.

Mom had the sense to purchase it before her weekend alone with the kids and it is proving to be quite a handy contraption. I am now able to bathe both kids simultaneously (well, sort of) and not break out into a sweat and get saturated with tub water. I highly recommend it if you have a squirmy kid. On the downside, it makes it somewhat tricky to get the nether-regions scrubbed, but with a little maneuvering it all works out.

Whoever invented this thing definitely knew what they were doing. My hands were totally free, so much so that I even managed a few pictures:

Sounding Out The Words

Now that James is here I am reading like I am in first grade all over again. I have so little time to read that what I do read I don't remember. My reading time is generally the last few minutes I can keep my eyes open at the end of the day. It usually lasts long enough for me to read a sentence or two only to fall asleep with the book still in my hands. Maybe my reading habits will change when I break down and get a Kindle. At least for now, I can say that it is one concrete way that your life changes after you have kids, particularly for the first year. Reading time is a total indulgence and, as a result, it falls low down on the priorities list. I miss stealing a few quiet hours on a Saturday afternoon to lose myself in the middle of a book. It happened twice last weekend - on the plane to and from Chicago - and I loved it. I almost finished something Loki and I have been working on for a LONG time:


I won't tell you when I started the book. It is too embarrassing.

Next up is this one because I have heard great things about it:

And just in case you were wondering what they look like these days...




Precisely the awesomeness that occupies my time.

Chicago, 2009

Christian and I had the great fortune of spending the past weekend in Chicago. Mom took care of La Luz and James, Loki checked in at the local doggy daycare, and Christian and I were on our own for the first time in a long time.

The weekend was incredible. I love what I got to see of Chicago - a Cubs game, the architecture tour on the river, strolls through random gardens and parks, a lovely run ending on a bridge with a perfect view of Soldier Field, drinks in the lobby of The Palmer House, dinner at Avec - but I know I barely scratched the surface. I had no idea that Chicago looks like this:


It really does...huge buildings and water and large swaths of green space. It is something.

And then there are all sorts of things like this:



just there for the public to enjoy.

Here I am at Wrigley:


and at Avec with Josh:


Baker and Christian, waiting to be seated, indulging my desire to eat at Avec at whatever cost:


I can't wait to plan my next visit.

Pulverized Peas Please

James has two teeth coming in. The bottom right started first about two weeks ago and the bottom left followed about a week later. He is seven months, almost eight months, which is a full four months later than La Luz got her first tooth, but that was back in the day when I drank milk produced from grain fed, hormone-filled cows.

The new teeth are just barely poking through the skin but I think the really painful part is over. Unfortunately, they are not quite visible enough for me to get a picture of his teethy grin, something we have been treated to more often lately now that the teething pain seems to have subsided and his respiratory issues have improved. He has been so obliging lately that Christian has managed to train him to waive and say "bye-bye" and "baba" for bottle (I think he also said 'dada' but I don't believe it). I say trained because I don't think he has any clue what he is saying or any inkling of the context. He is mimicking, but you have to start somewhere.

With new teeth comes the joy of new foods. James is not yet particularly discriminating when it comes to what he likes to put in his mouth. Here he is thinking about what to eat (attack) next:


Attempting to take a bite of Sam...golden retrievers are the most kid-friendly dogs:


Eating Margot's watch:


I am telling you, nothing is safe as long as it is somewhat within this guy's reach.

Can You Feel The Excitement

La Luz's first day of school:



Wow. Heartbreaking and wonderful all at once.

Eyes Glued

We are in the middle of this right now:


and I just cannot get enough of it. I am as addicted to it as I was to Long Way Around and hope that the rumors are true about a third motorcycle trek through South America. It is not just that it satisfies, to some extent, my wanderlust or that Ewan McGregor is incredibly charming. There is something about the production quality, the whole package, that is really quite captivating. I have recommended it to everyone I know. Sometimes people listen and they are always so happily surprised.

So check it out.

Home Improvements, August 2009

Over the past two weeks somewhere in between James' first ear infection and La Luz's first overnight stay in the hospital for severe dehydration and what was later determined to be (probably) an acute virus, we transformed this:


into this:



It isn't anything particularly fancy but at least I am not scared to go in there to check email anymore. It is not totally complete but it is getting there. The flooring is made by Flor and I love it. It was totally easy to install, super cheap and good quality.

James, 7 Months

James is now seven months old and his development over the last month culminated in one of the most challenging weekends of my life as a mom. 6 month shots coupled with teething and being curious but also incredibly lazy resulted in long nights for me and very little satisfaction for James.

At almost 20 lbs and 27 inches it is starting to become impossible for me to carry James in my arms and bounce him up and down when he is fussy. It is also increasingly more difficult because he grabs at everything within his reach - picture frame, sure; lit candle, don't mind if I do; full glass of ice water, who am I to say no. When I tell people to be careful, that he will grab whatever object is in front of them, they are cautious but don't really understand what I am talking about until minutes later when James is proudly chewing on a chunk of about 100 pieces of hair pulled straight from someone's head.

After hectic and incredibly active days I always looked forward to James' evening baths. The routine was always so calm and relaxing for both of us, until now. I have decided that I might as well wear a swimming suit to bathe him and that it would not be a bad idea if I came up with some system of tethers and pulleys to secure him in place in a harness and dangle him over the tub in order to make bath time more manageable. James spends most of his bath trying to eat the rag, drink the water, splash, climb out of the tub, pull me into the tub and then, somehow, pull himself to the faucet to do god only knows what. That said, if I let him splash and drink the water and eat the soap and generally cause a huge commotion, he is all smiles and usually that makes it okay.

Maybe this is what everyone said about baby boys, about how it is such an incredible mix of physical exhaustion and pure love. No doubt there is an amazing amount of both.

Like most things this weekend, capturing the 7 month picture was a challenge. I had to call in reinforcements and never could get quite what I had in mind. The pictures speak for themselves and, I suppose, probably give you a sense of how I feel at the end of the day:

New Favorite Toy

James is fascinated by his feet. Fascinated. It started about a month ago and has now turned into a borderline obsession. Babies do weird things and James is no exception. Sure, the foot in mouth compulsion is a bit odd, but it pales in comparison to his most recent development, incessant pelvic thrusts for no particular reason. It is getting to the point where I second guess a decision to take him out in public.

These are pictures from last weekend at the beach. He is enjoying the somewhat less odd compulsion of eating his feet. These photos were taken on Sunday afternoon...the sunlight was just perfect. I love portraits and cannot wait to get a wider angle lens one day so that I can enjoy a greater depth of field when I am taking pictures of people.

Sand Between My Toes

We had the great fortune of spending the past few days at the beach. As far as I am concerned, summer just isn't summer unless you have had your hair matted to your head with sticky, salty, sea water and have fallen asleep with the warm, beachy sun on your face. It happened to me and I think summer now feels complete. I hope I am still finding stray sand grains in my flip flops and in the pages of my book for the next few weeks so that I am reminded of the sound of the waves and the feeling that I had about how sweet life is.


I went to the beach all the time as a kid, at least it seems like I did. What stands out for me among all of those beach vacations is one thing (save a few memories triggered by old photographs). I remember, more than anything, my dad holding me in the waves while we searched for dolphins. He always called them porpoises and he would always ask me if I saw them. I never did but I always said that I did, figuring that it would make him happy (though now that seems so silly to me). It always felt like we were miles away from the shore, so far away I couldn't imagine having to get back on my own and, even though the waves were huge and were crashing down around us, I always felt safe, as if in the hands of Poseidon himself. I was reminded of that today as I held La Luz against the waves and the undertow, struggling to secure all thirty pounds of her with all of my might. I will have sore muscles tomorrow, but I bet she felt untouchable and I know she will remember it.

Hard-Hearted Harbinger Of Haggis

After a long day at work I spent three hours totally unwinding with family and friends here:



It was lovely company, food and beverages. I highly recommend it for those that are not shy about their love for meat and even those who are not particularly brave. The bonus tonight was that Donald Link was there and even surprised us with some lovely boudin. I will definitely be back soon and I am certain Christian will be with me.

Not Sure They Are Related By The Look Of Thing

I had some fun taking pictures of James on Sunday morning and was reminded of a few that I took of La Luz on her belly at about the same age. I compared them and see nothing in common, save the gigantic cranium and pasty white skin.

From The Land Where Everything Is Bigger

George and Lauren got married in Houston last night. We did not want to miss a minute of it so we headed to Texas for the weekend. It was a bit chaotic and, at times, a little challenging with two kids in tow, but we managed to have an incredible weekend. The wedding was beautiful and the opportunity to reconnect, even if just briefly, with my cousins and their significant others was perfect.

We even managed a brief photo shoot with the second generation of the PWAC, CC. I am kicking myself for not doing a better job of insisting that La Luz hold Jack properly, but we will have a second chance in two weeks during the christening.

So, for those of you who don't already know, the order is:

Jack Porter (12 weeks) on Lucy's (4 yrs) lap, James Vaicius (6.5 months), Edward Rinehart (3 yrs) and Helen Rinehart (5.5 months):

Hello Mallory, Or Is It Bruno

The name has changed about 5 times since she was welcomed into our home earlier today, but one thing is for sure, La Luz is incredibly spoiled by her Aunt Kate and Mary Cox:


I am not entirely sure how she conned her way into this one. With 4 year-old kids there is no doubt that bigger is always better, and this one is big and so incredibly loved.

Bonjour To You Too

La Luz spent some time over at mom's house the other day and they watched Madeline and learned some French words like "vite" and then this happened:



Which, I think, begs the question, where did the red beret come from?

I know very little about what happens while I am at work...La Luz has spent most of the past week and a half with Mary Cox who very kindly agreed to be in NOLA to help me with the kids while Christian is in Costa Rica (yes, he is still not home, yes, it feels like months). I am still waiting for some documentary evidence that La Luz isn't throwing ear-piercing tantrums upon discovering that she is not going to be able to pick out a toy at the grocery store or post office (I promise you, she could find something to buy at the post office...I have an idea how this monster was created), and that James is not hanging from the fan blades and running around the yard naked after polishing off a few cokes and a bag of Doritos. Until that time, I have to believe MC when she tells me that everything was 'fine' and that the kids were 'good'. She has quite a poker face.

And We Are Vagabonds

We took advantage of the cooler temperature this morning and walked to P.J.'s for breakfast. We all started out with incredible energy and were breezing through the first few blocks when, after being stymied by a stretch of craggy NOLA sidewalk, La Luz gave up on the tricycle and decided she should walk. I somehow managed to balance the trike on top of the stroller and tolerated a very precarious walk. We moved like gypsies and were only walking a half mile for a cup of coffee. La Luz packed a baby doll, a tiara, and a purse filled with all sorts of junk she never needed (none of which she carried, incidentally). Apparently she needed free hands to pick every flower she saw along the way (something Christian taught her to do on their walks home from school - now a borderline obsessive compulsion I am unable to stop).

Starting out strong:


Angel baby - always patient, never complaining, just along for the ride:


By the collapsing building:


Very sad to find Lucky You closed and in desperate need of sugar:


Reaching up to pull something off of a tree branch hanging low:


With two of her casualties - plumbago and a morning glory (I think):