Ocracoke 2012

We're finishing up a week on Ocracoke Island and couldn't have had a more relaxing, fun, family vacation.

We love this place in North Carolina's Outer Banks and it has truly become our little family's special spot. This is our 5th trip in 3 years with the first trip being when Fiona was just 10 weeks old.

This week we enjoyed lots of hot, sunny days on the beach, drip castle building, bike riding, hiking around Springer's Point looking for pirates, ice cream eating, trips to the coffee shop, eating lots of fresh seafood, and being silly as a family.

A few pictures from our magical week:

Fiona's 2nd Birthday

Blowing out her candles during her birthday dinner at home

Our amazing girl turned 2 years old at the end of July.  This time last year, I was overwhelmed with a sense of awe, and frankly relief, that we'd made it through that first transformative year.  This year, my central emotion was one of deep, deep gratitude.  I am so thankful that I have the opportunity to be this little person's mother and have her in my life.   Yes, parenthood remains (and I suspect always will be) the hardest thing I've ever done, but it also is the the most joy-filled, most fun, most amazing.  Again, I'm reminded of just how true all of the cliches are:  The days ARE long, but the years ARE so short. I hope that Fiona will always have the curiosity, playfulness, persistence, adoration, intuition, - and sense of rhythm! - that she does now.

To celebrate her birthday, we continued last year's tradition of opening her present from us on the morning of her actual birthday and then celebrating as a family with a special birthday breakfast at her favorite restaurant.  

A blurry phone picture capturing Fi's first look at the new kitchen we gave her for her birthday.   In putting that sucker together, we joined the long line of well-intentioned parents who have stayed  up too late arguing, while attempting to assemble a kid's toy that promised to be easy.  Really, REALLY glad she REALLY liked this thing.

The Saturday following her birthday, we hosted a wonderfully low-key party - Fiona's Birthday Brunch at the Bungalow for family and her two best friends from preschool.  In honor of Fiona's deep obsession with Curious George, brunch had a monkey theme.  Everyone went bananas - and had a lot of fun!  

Christmas 2010

“Happiness is not a brilliant climax to years of grim struggle and anxiety. It is a long succession of little decisions simply to be happy in the moment.”  - J. Donald Walker

Christmas 2010 was filled with family, food, and fun!  We loved every moment of this season.

Prior to December 25, we traveled to South Carolina for a mid-December Christmas with the Fehrman family. Fiona quickly learned how this present thing works and enjoyed opening her presents, Mommy's presents, and Daddy's presents. We know that she will love the the sand and water table that Grandma and Grandpa F got for her -- as soon as it's warm enough for her to actually use it!

Fiona excited about Christmas morning #1

Meeting her new stuffed black bear from Grandma & Grandpa F.

Playing Santa while enjoying her grocery cart.



Christmas weekend, we enjoyed our first Christmas in Durham (hooray!) and hosted the Schryer family.

Fi's Christmas dress was wonderful find from our favorite kids consignment shop: The Red Hen

On the afternoon of Christmas Eve, we went to the Children's Service at Duke Chapel. This lively, festive 3pm service is truly designed around kids and will certainly be a new tradition for our family.   Fiona loved her special Christmas dress (even if she did have to wear her usual Stride Right shoes with it because her frugal parents refuse to buy dress shoes that she'll wear once), dancing in the aisle to the sound of singing voices, and making her way through the children's bell-ringing processional with Gramougie.

Following the service, we enjoyed a tummy-warming Christmas Eve dinner of homemade butternut squash soup (HIGHLY recommend The Joy of Cooking's version!), traditional fondue, delicious salad, Holiday Cranberry Rum Cocktails, and the wonderful results of Aunty Holly's Christmas cookie-baking marathon.  Fiona went to bed with the sounds of Grandma F's recorded voice reading her The Night Before Christmas...

....and then Santa came!

Fiona loved the Cozy Coupe that Grandma and Grandpa S helped Santa bring.  From the moment she saw it on Christmas morning, she knew just what to do.

Christmas Day was filled with delicious food.  For breakfast,we enjoyed Marmalade French Toast Casserole, Vegetable Cheddar Strata, and mixed fruit salad with vanilla yogurt and lime dressing. Dinner was a delightful feast, which we all helped prepare:

Dill Shrimp (a Schryer tradition that I can remember eating every Christmas!)

French Onion Soup Stuffed Mushrooms

Gingered Pear and Brandy Cocktails

Sea Scallops with Shitake Mushroom and Champagne Sauce

Truffled Lobster Risotto

Citrus, Red Onion, and Pomegranate Salad

Beef Tenderloin with Duxelles (for the meat eaters in our family)

White Chocolate Tiramisu Trifle with Spiced Pears

Cranberry Upside Down Cake

By the end of dinner, a White Christmas was upon us - and by Sunday morning, the ground was covered in more than 4 inches of beautiful snow.  We took advantage of this rare opportunity to take Fiona on her first sled ride.

I would not change a thing about celebrating this most meaningful of holidays throughout the last month. We started a few new traditions, we stayed in the moment and on budget, we helped others, we enjoyed family, we rested, we sent letters to friends, we sang carols and decorated our house, we cooked amazing food, and *we*(meaning I) didn't stress (at least not as much as I have in the past!). Amen.

16 Months: Yes and No

"Wise men (and little girls!) speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.” - Plato

Our girl is now 16 months old -- and learning to communicate NO has been this month's most significant change.  She's not actually saying "no" yet (although she is saying lots of other things!), but she sure knows how to shake her head to let Mom & Dad know when she does not want something!

This month we enjoyed celebrating Fiona's 2nd Thanksgiving with friends and both sides of our  family -- although, in my heart it's her first holiday season.  Last year at this time, we were the brand new parents of a 4 month old.  I was back working full-time, still getting up once or twice in the night for feedings, and almost too sleep deprived to function.  Given all of that, I feel a bit like I missed Thanksgiving and Christmas of 2009.  Instead of being sad about that, I'm simply celebrating with gusto this year and considering it our first set of holidays as a (fully-functioning!) family. 

While celebrating turkey day with Ryan's side of the family, Grandma F and I took Fiona to the Children's Museum of the Upstate.  Fiona particularly loved the Toddler Lily Pad.

Watch out Mom!

I'm about to get ALL wet!

After Greenville, SC, we continued to give thanks by gathering with my side of the family in Winston-Salem, NC.  We cooked  a slew of gourmet side dishes and then saved ourselves by ordering a Bojangles turkey.  Yes, that's right...a turkey from a fast foot restaurant.  I, too, was a skeptic at first, but my sister had scoured the Internet finding a myriad of positive reviews.  I now can say that Bojangles might just be a new family tradition.  It was amazingly delicious.  And as a member of our quasi-vegetarian family, Fiona certainly enjoyed her first tastes of turkey!

Other notes from this month:

• Fiona now has 2 molars - with a 3rd about to be here any day!  There have been some long nights for this poor teething girl -- and her parents!
• She is now successfully feeding herself with a spoon and is beginning adventures in fork-dom.  Sometimees the food actually makes it to her mouth!
• Fi seems to have developed a completely new level of empathy for those around her.  While she was in the kitchen, I accidentally cut my thumb cooking dinner a few weeks ago.  Fiona became visibly upset, made the sign for "hurt", and still continues to want to check on my boo boo on a regular basis.
• Our little girl also had her 15-month well-child check this month.  Over the last 12 weeks, she grew 3 inches and gained 3 pounds!!  She's now in the 90th percentile for height and 85th for weight.  Tar Heel b-ball superstar in the making?  Oh yes! At least if her Dad has any say in the matter.

Weekend Update: Family Camping 2010

"The fire is the main comfort of the camp, whether in summer or winter, and is about as ample at one season as at another. It is as well for cheerfulness as for warmth and dryness." ~Henry David Thoreau

Each year for the past four, our family has chosen a weekend to camp together.  We've mountain biked all over Tsali Recreation Area. We've ridden horses through Love Valley. Last year, to accommodate 4-month old Fiona,  we combined family camping with Thanksgiving and traded roughing it for a beautiful vacation rental near Boone, NC.   And this year, we met in the middle by spending two days in beautiful Hanging Rock State Park's family cabins.

 

My parents, sisters, and brother-in-law gathered for our annual trip this past weekend. We hiked, fished, sat around the campfire, made s'mores, spent all day outside, and enjoyed every minute.



Hiking to the top of Hanging Rock



Fiona dancing at the Hanging Rock summit

I love everything about this tradition.  Without TV, email, or cell phones, nature's magic takes over.  We enjoy the simplicity of each other's company.  We play in the dirt.  We're reminded that in addition to being family - we're also really good friends.



Fiona's First Birthday

Last Saturday we celebrated Fiona’s first birthday with a lunchtime party at our neighborhood park. Thirty friends, family, and kids joined us for the soiree themed around The Very Hungry Caterpillar – one of Fi’s favorite books.

Despite the temperature hovering near 100 degrees and humidity nearly as high, a fun, festive time was had by all – including the birthday girl herself, despite what the above picture might portray!

The homemade menu included food Fiona loves, including:

• Tortellini and Grilled Vegetable Salad with Feta and Balsamic Dressing

• Summer Berry Kabobs

• White Bean Dip with Mixed Veggies and Pita

• Carrot Cake Mini Cupcakes with green & red cream cheese frosting – and shaped like a caterpillar, of course!

In lieu of gifts for Fiona, we asked party guests to bring new school supplies for the kids living at Genesis Home, a shelter for homeless families in downtown Durham where Ryan serves as Executive Director. As new parents, we talk a lot about how to live our values and pass them on to our daughter. For us, this donation strategy is a great way to lay that foundation for Fiona - and to inspire other kids and parents at the party. In fact, several of our friends commented how moved they felt as they shopped and thought about what it must be like to be child starting a new school year without the supplies he or she needs. Thanks to the generosity at Fi’s party, the kids at Genesis Home will have one less thing to worry about this fall.

On the morning of Fi’s actual birthday, we greeted her by singing happy birthday and had a Happy Birthday banner hanging above her high chair in the kitchen. She opened a few presents - including a new push cart / walking toy.

After presents, we set out for a special, pre-work & daycare family breakfast at Elmo’s, a favorite neighborhood restaurant. I love the idea of having some special tradition for our kids on their actual birthdays – maybe hanging the birthday banner and going out to breakfast will be ours!

I’m so grateful for this amazing last year and for the opportunity to be this special gal’s mom. She inspires me to be more joyful, more fun, more appreciative of every tiny moment.