making a cake and making a mess

over the last two days, the baking, construction, and decorating of nate and tracy's wedding cake has taken place in our home. for the first time, i have included luca in part of this process. he helped add some of the ingredients for the cake. afterwards, he was rewarded with the beater. a future pastry chef he may be, but currently he is a boy who enjoys making a mess.

girl time

due to luca sleeping in almost every day until 8:45 (we've been keeping him up later with all of our church stuff - home groups, friday and saturday night service, etc.), gia and i have been able to spend the mornings by ourselves. her personality has been just blossoming lately and i love having this time together. here are some things that take place during these times:

1. she plays the "slap the spoon when it is full of oatmeal" game (the walls are much messier these days, not to mention my hair) and belly laughs when she makes contact. we're trying to nip this one in the bud as quickly as possible.



2. another new favorite is to chase me and the cats around the house now that she is CRAWLING ON ALL FOURS! yes, she is now much faster and is taking much pleasure in her new found speed.



3. she is not too fond of the brushing of the hair. now that her hair is too long to be unadorned (it falls in her eyes) and she began to pull barrettes out of her 'do and put them in her mouth (major choking hazard!), she now needs some combination of pigtails. she starts yelling and shaking her head when i pull out the comb and rubber bands.



4. sometimes, though, we just hang out and play silly games, sing silly songs, and try not to wake the silly brother when gia gets excited and begins to babble at top volume.

the pic is gia with her lovely, crazy morning hair, pre-brushing, chillin' in the rocking chair while we play in her room.

finally 18!

a shout out to the birthday boy - uncle cameron is finally 18! youngest freshman at u of i? probably not all you doogie hauser's (sp?) out there. anyway, earlier today we tried to put a birthday video together - it kinda worked so here it is! love ya bro!

hangin' with uncle cameron

last night we travelled out to champaign to visit my brother cameron who just started at the u of i. he just finished his first week of being out on his own and we thought we'd pop in say hi, see his new living space (just as small as i remember), take him out to dinner (a our favorite restaurant but we did let him choose as it was an early birthday celebration), and visit our old church service sng (through illini life). we took cam to "crash the pastor's" (since he had not been to enough parties in one week). the crew at i-life put together a very cool coffee house feel and cameron was impressed by something striving for more than a crowded balcony and cheap beer. i did not take one picture the entire evening (weird, for me) but i thought i would take a trip down memory lane and post some pics of cam meeting luca and gia. and lets go even farther and look at cameron back at age 7. i love this picture and still remember the day it was taken. after seeing his scruffy 8 days facial hair growth yesterday (he forgot to pack his razor) i was reminded of how fast he has grown up. one day i will be thinking the same about luca, wondering just when he became a man.

lyrics i love

tonight we had our first large group worship service of the fall for cornerstone. what a kickoff! the music was so powerful and it has been a long time since i have worshiped God with such passion. over the past few years, certain worship songs have really carried me through the tough times. they have lyrics that i can cling to even when sorrow is more of a friend than laughter. the words hold such truth that i can come before God honestly regardless of how i am feeling, not just mouthing insincerity. i was reminded of these songs tonight - why? because i feel somewhat removed from those trials and difficulties. it is easy to forget how hard this world can be when things are. . . well, not hard. granted i am still sad, angry or disappointed with life, people, myself - but a true sense of sorrow is something completely different. i can go on and on about learning to grieve, the godliness of it, but its power to bring me to my knees in worship during it and because of it is one of the most amazing things i have embraced about my life. although it may be more common to follow God more fervently when things are going well, i tend to get comfortable during these times. i am much more passionate about glorifying and seeking God during trial - maybe that is why i am always dealing with another hardship. God knows i will be more faithful and allows me to experience the pain and suffering. He doesn't bring it on, but He sure does let it refine me.

i wanted to share some of these lyrics - if you know them they deserve to be reviewed, if you don't they are worthy of reading. the first song is one we sang tonight that got me thinking along these lines. the middle two i want to shout from the mountaintops. the last may be my favorite and i particularly love these lines near the end:

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

isn't that beautiful? such truth and brokenness.

Blessed Be Your Name
by Matt Redman

Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name
Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name
Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name
Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

Continue
by Enter the Worship Circle

Continue to love me
With that same love
Righteous and unchanging
Continue to love me
With that same love
Priceless and unfailing
Your love it reached to the sky
Your righteousness, a mountain high
How priceless, your unending love
Both high and low among men
Take cover under your wings
How priceless your unending love
My heart us broken

How Great is our God
by Chris Tomlin

The splendor of the King, clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice
All the earth rejoice
He wraps himself in Light, and darkness tries to hide
And trembles at His voice
Trembles at His voice
How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God
Age to age He stands
And time is in His hands
Beginning and the end
Beginning and the end
The Godhead Three in
One Father Spirit Son
The Lion and the Lamb
The Lion and the Lamb
How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God
Name above all names
Worthy of all praise
My heart will sing
How great is our God
How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God


Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.
Sorrowing I shall be in spirit,
Till released from flesh and sin,
Yet from what I do inherit,
Here Thy praises I’ll begin;
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.

closing thoughts - a lot is lost without the melody and music behind these lyrics - so check out the audio versions for yourself - i have not included links so you'll have to google them yourself if interested. also, pretty much anything by Enter the Worship Circle is amazing and comes highly recommended by the hart clan. other songs by them i could have written out: those who trust, its my joy, be near to me, i will bow, save me, put in me, i cannot hide my love - why did i even try to list them - just check them out!

birthday card for auntie maura!

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

a hot day for new experiences

it was another humid hot day in central illinois. when you add the oppressive heat to the opposing nap schedules to my life, there is not much freedom to leave my house. thankfully kelsey called and invited us to a local (free) water park. the three of us joined them this morning and this time luca actually got wet. he was bit nervous at first and sat next to me for awhile watching the other kids run and play. he could only resist the temptation for so long when his buds anna, micah, and alli were running through the sprinklers. gia stayed pretty stationary considering the ground was so rough to crawl on. she did enjoy the button to turn on the water and caught many an unsuspecting child in the face with her antics.

he's having so much fun!


kisses.


gia going for the button again.

luca discovered that his wet feet made cool marks on dry cement and we discussed the idea of footprints. he is a bit sad that he cannot leave marks all the time (i.e. when his feet are dry) or that they disappear, but he is mostly excited about this new discovery.

he also thought it very interesting that if you look in the sky one direction there could be "no clouds", if you look in another there may be "lot clouds," and in another only "one gia cloud" (meaning small).

we had home group for the first time this fall tonight. home groups are cornerstone's version of a small group/house church/fellowship time/etc. we have joined a new group this year due to scheduling difficulties, but are super excited. we already have many close friends in the group and the new faces seem very friendly and fun. the kiddos did not get to bed until 9:30, so let's pray for a lie-in tomorrow (so british of me).

gia drank water out of a glass tonight and initially was turned off by the cold sensation. like her brother at the water park, she overcame any discomfort and was too tempted to try it again. and again. and again. poor karen had to share her water with drooly baby. we don't need to tell her about the spit-up :)

my house is a mess and i guess i will deal with the chaos tomorrow, because this mama is tired. ciao!

squares, triangles, heart, or circle

these are luca's choices for how i cut his peanut butter and jelly sandwich at lunch. he is such a visual little boy and this small little detail makes him so happy. the enjoyment i can give him just by giving him these options is one of the reasons i love being a mom.

attack by the neighborhood cat - part 2

so back on friday i posted the first part of my cat attack story. i was pretty shaken at the time and as the adrenaline left my body, i felt drained and exhausted. basically my cat zion and a cat that regularly roams our block (we'll call it scary guy) were fighting on friday afternoon in the driveway. i went outside to call zion in the house and found her hiding under the car while the scary guy was pawing, mewling, and hissing. i walked a bit closer to give zion some courage and she finally shot out from her hiding place and ran in the house through the open front door. scary cat darted to chase her, but i was in the way. i backed off to the side and yelled for luca (who was standing in the doorway) to close the door right now. thankfully, he immediately obeyed and slammed that door right on scary guy's face. unfortunately, i was stuck outside with an irate cat while holding my seven month old daughter. scary guy started making . . . well, scary noises, gia began to scream in terror, i continued to back away, and then scary guy attacked. i blocked gia with my body, turned to the side, and kicked out my leg to ward off the hissing and clawing cat. it latched onto my leg with claws and teeth. i was able to kick it off and flung it across the yard. after running in the house, i was able to take a deep breath and give luca a high five for listening so quickly and completely.

rain & mud & boys in the yard

the boones boys are here today, much to luca's delight. after playing with blocks, horses, cars, and leggos inside for a couple hours, they decided to brave the rain and play in the backyard. jumping and squishing gym shoes in the mud was the main attraction, although luca also discovered the wonder of the water pouring out of the downspout.
.

attack by the neighborhood cat - part 1

this has been a bad week for me. i have been struggling spiritually and emotionally and it has been taking atoll on me physically. i may explain more later. but lets just say that i didn't think it could get much worse. until i got attackd by the neighborhood cat. my right foot and calf are covered with scratches and at least one puncture wound and, in case you were wondering, it hurts. i am not up for explaining in more detail the event itself. my children are safe, if not a bit shaken. more later.

mama tired of being mama

so i am having one of those days, actually two days now, where i am just pooped. not so much physically tired, more of an exhaustion of the mind. i am at this breaking point, a totally selfish one, where i am tired of my job. this state where if i hear another whine about something luca is not allowed to do, another oufit change due to spit-up, throw-up, leaky diaper, messy eating, or wiping hands on the front of a t-shirt, another load of laundry due to these multiple outfit changes, one more time i walk into the kitchen full of dirty dishes when i swear i just finished cleaning, another toy-strewn floor in a room i just picked up, another head of frizzy hair due to missing the blow-drying window after my shower 9which i only get every two days or so), and the list goes on. i just want to worry about me and not be responsible for my children for a little while. i am tired of having toys thrown at me and my body not being my own, but being a human jungle gym. i want to think for more than two consecutive minutes on any subject not relating to their toys or well-being. i am being completely selfish and ridiculous but honest. i love being a mom, and i am blessed to have two healthy children. especially after going through the horrible time of not being able to get pregnant, i just feel awful thinking this way. but i want to escape and the sooner the better for everyone's benefit.

as i write this, they are in their rooms with gates on the doors and i am downstairs collecting myself before the home stretch. when jesse gets home, i am going to use a gift card i have had for 15 months and get a pedicure. yeah!

luca asked me a question this afternoon and i said, "honey, i need a minute. i can't think right now. i am sorry, but mama is tired of being mama." he looked at me and unintentionally but adorably and appropriately said, "mama, sit down."

luca's world in technicolor

orange and purple. those are luca's two favorite colors.

over the last two weeks he suddenly has taken a huge interest in colors and now can label almost everything by its color. the world has become a much more exciting place now that he can yell, "blue truck!" when we are driving or "yellow circle," when looking at a book. he also can ask me much more descriptive questions that i can easily understand. now he can tell me the color of something when he is trying to get his point across - much more satisfying for the both of us. yesterday, we successfully discussed stop signs while coming home from the doctor. he asked, "red that?" while i was busy watching the road and i didn't have to almost get in an accident to understand what he was saying. he loves finding orange and purple items and calls orange, "his fabrite (favorite)."

one piece of information that was disturbing to luca: his hair is blonde! while describing papi, mama, and gia's hair as brown, he then pointed to his head and said, "brown." i took him to a mirror and said, "mama's hair is brown and luca's hair is blonde." he was not excited and became a bit sad even when he realized he was different than the rest of his family. we have since listed others who have shades of blonde hair (uncles cameron and christian and one of his best buds olivia) and told him that we love his hair like it is. this has helped and he now proudly points his head stating, "blonde!" it never occured to me that he would be disturbed by this difference - or that he didn't realize it was different in the first place. i forget sometimes how much he still has to discover about the world.

gia is not so little anymore

well, honestly, was she ever?

seriously, gia is actively crawling (well, army crawling) around the house. she actually made her way from her bedroom to luca's room this evening and then crawled over to his piano and sat up to play it. that's right she can now get to a sitting position all by herself. the downside of this so far is that while falling asleep, she sits up and is so sleepy and disoriented, that she can not remember how to lay back down. we had to lower her mattress today, because of this new skill. she even tried to pull up to stand. she got her little bottom (maybe not so little) in the air and then looked around wondering what to do next. she is growing up so fast. i remember one of the most bittersweet memories of luca's infancy being this transition from young babyhood to older babyhood. when i would regularly find him sitting in his crib after sleeping, instead of laying down, i was a bit sad that we had ended that season of his life. now that gia is entering this same stage, i am even more sentimental. now i have two babes who have begun the amazingly beautiful and difficult journey of becoming their own people who will rely less and less on me (at least physically).

the second sign of growing independence or just plain stubbornness - gia is rejecting nursing. she went all day saturday pushing me away and wanting to get around and explore. i finally broke down and gave her a bottle at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. the last few weeks have been building to this moment - she has continued to lose interest, giving me mere minutes of her precious time. i did get her to nurse first thing this morning, but she had bottles the rest of the day. such a change from luca's monster buffets and continued nursing until almost 13 months.

i look forward to seeing the woman Giavanna will become, but I am in no hurry to get there. I pray that I can learn to savor this time in her life.

less frequent blogging = better health for annalea

i have been feeling good over the last week. i have had daily relief from my ongoing neck and back pain since last sunday and my fibro is in a bit of remission. i have been able to get so much done around my house and have been much more active with the kiddos. last week i turned to jesse and said, "so a healthy me could do everything in one day that i would like - crazy." that is saying that my expectations wouldn't increase and i would then try to do even more. all this to say, i find myself sitting down less and less at the computer. if you see fewer posts, hope it is a good thing (and not that i have just become overwhelmed with my crazy (but sweet) 2 year old and have run away from home)!

rest of the county fair pics

the yak, the pig, and the dancing bear

all at the county fair. well, maybe not a yak but a camel. definitely a pig - many many pigs and boy are they loud. and a bison that looked like a bear to luca. but he didn't dance. what nonsense am i writing? on sunday, we went to the county fair. the title of this post references a wonder pets ditty that sings about a county fair and i can't get it out of my mind. yeah for nick jr. and their oh so catchy tunes.
we have been waiting all summer to take luca to the county fair. with his love of farm animals, we knew that he would enjoy himself. we made the mistake of going on sunday - please learn from our experience - nothing is as good the last day. some of the exhibits were already removed and the crowds were minimal, which is not good if you want the man running the pony rides to open. we were able to walk through the smelly enclosures for the horses, pigs, cows, and sheep. actually very fun when your son is so excited about seeing everything. we watched the horse and rider costume display while eating a picnic lunch. luca's favorite was the horse dressed up like an elephant.








since the aforementioned pony ride man would not open up for us we told luca that we would come back after his nap and that pony would be resting just like him. when he woke up and i went into his room, the first thing he said to me was, "pony awake!" i agreed that the pony was probably awake and off we went back to the fair. this time there were enough people to hitch up the ponies and luca enjoyed his second pony ride in one week. (the previous being with my parents at their county fair last week.) we also fed some goats, bison, a donkey, and a camel in the little petting zoo. all in all, a nice family outing in the july heat that ended with ice cream and a funnel cake. (luca did not want to share - so much for those lessons!)

(i have some more pics but will upload them later - blogger is having issues!)

last visit until autumn

grandpa hart came over yesterday evening for a brief visit. it is sadly the last one we'll have from him until the end of september. he is flying back to texas in 9 days to spend some much needed time with jesse's mom and all of the fam in houston. we have loved seeing him so often this summer, but are glad that he gets to be with his sweetheart. they are celebrating their 38th anniversary this month and we know it is so hard for them to be apart while he is up in illinois working.

the weather was gorgeous last night, so we spent time sitting on the front steps, drawing with sidewalk chalk and singing to gia. luca was mighty impressed with his mwa-mwa's drawing skills and gia loved to feel the scratchy beard and play with his oh so shiny gold chain.

(this pic of luca is one of my new faves - it captures his sweetness that is so hard to get in a photo at this crazy busy age.)

chatty eaters

here are some videos of my chatty children while eating. luca discusses manhood while digging into some yogurt (flavored yogurt is like candy to this kid when compared to his usual plain fare). gia is a fussy pot who needs to be bribed while she continues to suffer through an ear infection (i think - we'll see the doc this week). she isn't exactly talking, but sure knows how to "voice" her displeasure.

somewhere, show me, sharing

these are luca's three favorite new phrases. or as he says them:

• "shomewhere" - in response to questions like: "where is your car/horse/block?" "where do you want your cup?" "where did your papi go?" occasionally, he will answer more specifically after he answers "shomewhere."
• "show me" in an excited and high-pitched voice usually followed by the words mama or dada - this actually means - come look at what i did or found and most used in the backyard
• "sharing" - when luca is demonstrating his use of this wonderful new concept that he has begun to grasp, mostly do to the blue's clues book we checked out of the library book a few weeks ago and that is sadly due back this week.

what i have learned from luca over and over again is that your children will pick up your most used words, phrases, and expressions. i never knew how much i said the word somewhere in response to jesse and luca until the last couple days. we laugh every time now. and whenever luca is excited about something he did or found, i ask him to "show me." what a reminder the power of the spoken word. throughout the Bible, we are warned about foolish talk, speaking in haste, and knowing how to hold our tongue. my little boy (and soon my sweet girl) will learn so much from watching us. they'll end up being my greatest disciplers in this area.

how cute is jesse?

after getting back from dropping the little ones at my parents last week, i walked into the kitchen and found this surprise from jesse.

seven years already?

jesse and i celebrated our seven year anniversary last saturday. way back in the year 2000, two kids got married on july 28th and here we are now - all grown up, with two children, a small but beautiful old house, two loud and sleepy cats, and all of the baggage that comes with two broken and imperfect people trying to live life together while honoring and glorifying God. last year (2006) was the toughest one yet for us as a couple. when you add the responsibilities of parenting to the mix, it becomes more difficult and more pressing to work through your issues. last weekend we spent four days away from our children and were reacquainted with each other. i told jesse on thursday night, "i forgot what it was like to just talk to you." we go on a date almost every week but sometimes i think half of that time is just unwinding from the kids and catching our breath from the busyness of life. although we missed our little ones, i think this was the best thing we have done for ourselves since luca was born and it will definitely be a priority to do at least once a year (i am actually pulling for once very six months but we'll see).

we chose to go to champaign to use our good friends empty home. what a blessing to stay there! we spent our first year and half as a married couple living in champaign-urbana (not to mention going to school at the u of i), so we enjoyed visiting favorite restaurants and walking around the neighborhoods and parks. so manu things are the same and just as many have changed. on sunday, jesse reflected that he still knows chambana better than bloomington-normal. probably all that free time (that is so precious and undervalued) you have when your in college to explore and wander. i did suffer through some bad headaches and even had a migraine most of friday, a major bummer to lose some of our time. but when you have no babysitters to worry about, no naptimes to schedule around, and no children to wake up and feed in the morning - you have amazing flexibility. we went to a movie at 9:45pm - what rebels! we went salsa dancing at 10pm - crazy! we slept in until 9am - unbelievable!




enjoying pastries and tea at our new favorite bakery, pekara. they make a yummy burek on saturdays.



we saw a beautiful movie, once, on friday night. a modern day musical of sorts - we bought the soundtrack later in the week.

jesse playing guitar in the sunken garden at allerton - this is where and how he proposed to me in october '99.

walking the grounds of allerton - jesse stares down the fu dogs.



jesse finally captured the monarch on the flower - we ended our weekend at meadowbrook park. this is where we spent our first anniversary back in '01. thankfully it did not pour on us this year. we walked through the organic vegetable gardens - the sunflowers were enormous.

i was incredibly excited to see luca and gia on sunday evening. when they drove up in my parents' car, i walked out to meet them. luca cried, "mama, mama here." although i could tell he was happy to see me, he did not want to leave "cece's car." he had such a good time with my family, so my feelings were definitely not hurt.

my first thought when hugging both of them - "they smell different." at first i wrote this off to being overly emotional, but then realized my mom just uses different fabric softener.

she is gettin' good at this

watch our little peanut eating her early morning cheerios while mama ate breakfast.

august already?

i almost don't believe the calendar - how can we be near the end of summer already? my teacher friends will go back to work and i haven't spent near enough time with them. the weather will turn cooler, although when it continues to be so hot it is hard to picture. my daughter will become more mobile and then i will chasing two hart babes. it helps that the autumn is my favorite time of year - but why get ahead of myself? i haven't posted in a week, my longest break since beginning this project. at some point i will share about our weekend getaway sans children (which was wonderful). but today i will talk about today. the first of august. a day that helps me remember that being a mama can be such a joy. luca, gia, and i all slept in until 8am. a beautiful way to start the morning. we sang songs over a long breakfast, watching gia try to pick up cheerios and somehow get them to her mouth. by 9:15, the floor was littered with cereal. we went outside to tend our garden. with gia strapped to my hip in the moby, we watered the plants and harvested cherry tomatoes, basil, and a jalapeno. by the time we brought the basket inside, luca had begun working his way through the "matoes." we sat at the dining room table and luca continued to chow down on the red goodness. this is exactly what i pictured in my minds eye when we planted the garden. a green unripened tomato had made its way in the basket and when luca bit into it he exclaimed, "no taste it, no mato taste, no eat it." i told him that it wasn't ready yet and we need to only pick and eat the red ones. he finished off the matoes and picked up the only thing left in the basket. he brought the pepper to his mouth and was about to take a bite when i yelled, "no, luca, don't eat the pepper!" he was startled , but then calmed and said, "pepper not ready yet." i love seeing him make connections and using his two-year old logic to explain the world. (i explained to him later that the jalapeno is super spicy and he accepted this reason.)

we drew pictures, built block towers, played in the backyard, read books, watched gia's crawling skills progress, and overall enjoyed a lovely morning at home. luca was adamant about eating lunch outside. i did not want to be out in the heat any longer so i gave him the choice to eat out there by himself. he surprisingly agreed immediately. while i fed gia and did the dishes, we watched him through the kitchen window. he was so content watching the birds and squirrels. it has been a long time since our home felt so peaceful with everyone awake.

gia and i had some great alone time during luca's nap - something that doesn't happen very often. she is so curious and now reaches for everything she sees. her focus is so intense and she gets extremely frustrated when the object of desire is unattainable. i love making her face scrunch into smiles and listening to her throaty happy noises.

so ends the first day of august - i am feeling busy but at peace, tired but not exhausted, joyful but also happy.