Month: January 2014

04/52

Posted on by Lynzie · Leave a comment

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“a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, for 2014”

Emet: The best big brother.
Jade: Sweet sleepy girl.

Between long days at school, various playdates and sleepovers, and a lot of time spent preparing for baby, it was difficult for me to find time to shoot this week’s portraits. My original intention when I started this project was to shoot exclusively with the fancy camera in natural light, and when the entire weekend vanished without me taking single picture, I knew I was going to have to shoot inside our poorly lit house.

I made two different attempts, and neither of them resulted in any exceptional photos, but I shared several priceless moments with both of my kids and really, that is what this project is all about.

In other news, January has been an incredible month for our family. February is shaping up to be equally as exciting, and March. Well, March is when things get really good. 2014, I just knew you were going to be fantastic.

7

Posted on by Lynzie · Leave a comment

spiritualmidwifery

We built the baby’s cradle tonight. We are getting ready, folks!

I had a follow up appointment for my foot and the good news is that I’m healing, but not very quickly, because my body is growing things other than my bones. So relax, says the good doctor. And stay off my feet, which is pretty much the hardest thing for me to do. Hello, swollen ankles.

Things have come together rather quickly over the last week, meaning that we went from not having anything for the baby to having a place for our tiny one to sleep. And a car seat! There are baby socks, and they are so small. I look at Emet’s sock, which happens to be the same size at Babe’s, and it’s just crazy how fast it all goes. Really.

There is still quite a lot left to do before this baby arrives, and not that much pregnancy left to do it. This darn foot of mine is not helping, but it is forcing me to go slower, which in itself is a good thing? At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.

I’ve been waiting for months to read the first book Ina May Gaskin ever wrote, intentionally saving it for this last stretch before the home birth….

I can’t believe we’re less than 50 days away from having a baby right here in our house.

A MOST SPECIAL BIRTHDAY

Posted on by Lynzie · 1 Comment

birthdaydonut

courtesy of my favorite instagram account

Today, we celebrated 35 years of Mister Babe Elliott Baker, the most lovely human of all.

Actually, the celebration started Friday, with a leisurely date night. Just the two of us, we enjoyed an incredible meal, found this great jacket for the birthday boy, and caught a very late showing of Wolf of Wall Street. Even though I slept for more than two of the three hour film, it was our first trip to the movie theatre since 2012 and I loved every second of it. Plus, I’d already seen it (I’d like the thank the Academy for that one) so a nap on the lap of my love was pretty much perfection.

In spite of yesterday’s royal SNAFU, we managed to get ourselves good and ready to have this baby by finally ordering all the supplies for the home birth. The nesting hormones have kicked in at full throttle, and I’d have reorganized my entire house if it weren’t for this foot of mine. Why oh why did I have to break my foot? I’m still searching for the lesson in this one, though I have my theories.

We had intended to go to the museum today, but learned last minute that it is closed this week for installation! Instead, we spent the day having spontaneous adventures that included donuts for brunch, and you just can’t go wrong when your day starts with donuts, am I right? The kids and I made sure the guest of honor felt positively spoiled, and I mean, I couldn’t have had a better time if it were my own birthday. Which is convenient, seeing as today is my half-birthday.

Isn’t that cute?

OH NO

Posted on by Lynzie · 2 Comments

ohno

I pretty much did the stupidest thing today. I lost some incredibly valuable documents in a rather embarrassing way, and the only thing to do at this point is pray to our angels that some kind person will return them.

Pretty please.

8

Posted on by Lynzie · Leave a comment

32weeks

image from mister baker’s instagram

At least once a day, I find myself saying out loud, “this is such a good time in my life.” And it’s true. I can’t remember ever being as happy as I am at this moment, and that’s with a broken foot. I’m really lucky and I know it, is what I’m saying. And it feels pretty damn good.

I’ll see my midwives on Thursday for an official report, but as far as I can tell, baby and I are doing just fine. I’ve been taking spirulina tablets, little green pellets that smell like fish tank, and my energy has benefitted significantly as a result. Which is good, because wow, I am busy.

And hungry! The kind of hungry that had me get out of bed at midnight and make waffles. Also, pickles. So many pickles.

The nesting has begun, and not a moment too soon. We’re less than two calendar months away from our due date, and 4 weeks from the day that our midwives would like us to be prepared for both the birth and the baby. So, yeah. Busy!

With everything that is happening, it’s easy for time to just disappear. I am trying to slow down and savor these last few moments of carrying this baby, because this pregnancy has been one of the most beautiful experiences and there is a part of me that isn’t quite ready for it to end.

03/52

Posted on by Lynzie · Leave a comment

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“a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, for 2014”

Emet: Carefully considering his next move.
Jade: This girl is obsessed with doing flips on the bars.

A lot of healing happened this week, in ways that I hadn’t expected. A walking cast magically appeared at school with my name on it, courtesy of a sweet and generous parent, and what a difference it has made in my ability to get around. Crutches are such a pain! My foot is slowly but steadily recovering, and I’m feeling confident that I’ll be good as new in plenty of time to prepare for birth. Thank goodness.

Over the weekend, I took a quick 24-hour solo trip to Los Angeles in order to attend my grandfather’s memorial service. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to go until the absolute last second, but it all came together thanks to my sweet mister. Heavens, how I love that man.

The trip was perfection. I love a good train ride, and this particular journey was exceptionally lovely, with the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean just so. Getting to spend some quality time with my dad — actually, getting to spend some quality time with my whole family, something we’ve never really done before — was tremendously satisfying and just so much fun! I look forward to more visits with them in the very near future.

The best part of it all, though, was coming home to those two sweet faces. And of course, the handsomest face of all, which happened to surprise me with a shave and a haircut, and yes, I did bury my face in his neck the moment that I saw him.

This life of mine, man. It sure is fantastic.

9

Posted on by Lynzie · 2 Comments

31weeks

image via mister baker’s instagram

The thing is, having a broken foot is highly inconvenient. Having a broken foot at 31 weeks pregnant? Ridiculous!

I’m getting by, thanks to many helping hands at home and at school, but I can feel my system working overtime in order to heal my foot and grow this baby.

I haven’t been able to get to any of the things I had hoped to at the beginning of last week, things like organize our bedroom and rearrange the living room, but I did manage to make a proper list of essentials for both me and baby. At least, I started to make that list.

Of course the upside to all of this nonsense is that our tiny one is as well as can be, growing and moving and being all babylike. My belly has grown significantly over the past couple of weeks, which has elicited all sorts of sweet words and thoughtful touches from people, including strangers. I’m thankful to have gone my first full week without throwing up! That alone is a sort of miracle. While pregnancy-related-nausea and I have made peace, I’m very glad to no longer feel sick to my stomach on a daily basis.

Undoubtedly, most of my energy over the last week was devoted to my injury. Now that my foot is on the mend, I’m able to relax and refocus my intentions toward this baby and the weeks to come. My midwives would like us to have everything prepared prior to our home visit, which means we’ve got 35 days to get ready.

Where is the time going?!

02/52

Posted on by Lynzie · Leave a comment

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“a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, for 2014”

Emet: We talk about staying focused a lot these days.
Jade: Rapper’s delight.

In another exciting edition of this week’s technical difficulties, the charger was nowhere to be found until after the sun went down, which means that I managed to fire off all of six shots before losing the camera to a dead battery. And my plans of taking the kids to the park for our first “location shoot” were waylaid by this broken foot of mine, so we settled for our front entryway. Again.

With all that being said, though, I love these pictures. And those sweet faces.

HELLO FRIDAY

Posted on by Lynzie · Leave a comment

julietrose

I’m trying to stay off my foot, which has officially been diagnosed as broken. A hairline fracture, but still very painful and not at all convenient. Thankfully, I’m told it should heal within three weeks and I’m receiving excellent care from my friends and family.

I did come across this buzzfeed, which I think adequately sums up life at NYU back in the day. Polar Vortex or not, I will always love New York.

This week was an eventful one, and I’m looking forward to relaxing as much as possible this weekend. Doctor’s orders!