Shine

It may come as no surprise that one of the features that attracted me to C when we first met was her unruly mane of hair, so thick and curly--her locks were the embodiment of her strength, passion, and independence as dreadlocks are to the Rastafarian "soul rebel."
These pics of Ellie capture her unruly spirit as well and serve to reflect the beauty of her beautiful mommy

Ellie: Spinning

This is Ellie figuring out the art of spinning. On this day, C is 36 weeks pregnant with our second daughter...

ellie_spinning from d strong on Vimeo.

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To Market

Today I remembered to visit the weekly farmers' market in town. The forecast threatened rain so we didn't ride the bike but it was a fun first trip nonetheless. The best part was smelling the flowers. The woman selling the flowers was nice enough to take some pics and send them to me.
The wet spring accounted for a measly selection of produce, but we did come home with a pack of lamb bratwurst from Northridge Organic farm--the same farm I worked on one summer at college, picking tomatoes every morning. Too bad Ellie was afraid of the farmer, Mike! Hopefully we'll go visit him and his sheep sometime this year...

First strawberries of the year

Photo Essay

Garden of Eden, Bikes, Babies, and coffee

Finally getting some stuff done around here. Once you find the motivation to get up off the couch, everything changes for the better. I'm getting smarter about starting and/or finishing important chores during each day. This, in turn, is helping me realize my potential for doing other things--maybe art, or sewing projects, which I've been reluctant to pursue as of late.

Our garden is starting to look like something: soil has been turned; weeds have been weeded; two raised beds are constructed and finally planted (kale, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, jalapeno, onions); bush beans have been sown; zucchini mounds are mounded; strawberries seems to be doing their thing; Asian poppies are popping; irises are iris-ing; and hydrangeas look to be surviving. That AND our lawn is mowed, thanks to our gracious neighbor who said we could borrow his (working) mower.

I've been getting super excited about biking. New cycling shoes are being shipped and new pedals (Crank Brothers "Candy" eggbeater pedals!) are waiting to be installed. One of my mechanic buddies said he would go with me to take our 'cross bikes on some singletrack at a nearby trail park which has got me bursting at the seams with excitement.

Meanwhile, Ellie is becoming her own little person, talking like crazy, naming things, feeding her babydoll, walking, climbing, feeding herself, and playing in the dirt. Not to mention that she sleeps like a champ through the night and two solid naps every day.

Did I mention that "Baby 2" is almost here? Just less than 2 months away and wanting to settle on a name is driving me crazy. It is impossible but I'm starting to get pretty excited. Plus I know Ellie is going to be an awesome big sister and she is proving it every day.

And I've been loving my French press coffee lately.

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Believe it or not, this girl is turning ONE tomorrow.

My instinct is to say the last 365 days blew by, where at times it seems impossible to keep up with her. And while my head is still spinning, this last year was a lifetime where every week Ellie has evolved into a new person; every day she has learned something new and is a world away from where she was on April 8, 2010. It's so easy to take myself back to that day, precariously holding Ellie for the first time, thinking about all her vulnerabilities, all the things she couldn't do for herself; fears and concerns; predictions and hopes.

Tomorrow is big "numero uno" and the day after is the party to begin all parties.  Anyway, there's a lot more to come.