Sunday, September 29, 2013

Weekend

Axel, 2013


Now that Axel is walking, we've been taking advantage of all the amazing playgrounds in the neighborhood. This area is actually packed with them; I can think of about 5 in a 10 or 15 block radius...and after so many us-centered weekends, it's been fun to spend a few days devoted to things that Axel gets a kick out of. 

Friday, September 27, 2013

11211 Love




New York, 2013


I was a little nervous about dipping back into the freelance life after nearly a year spent mainly in offices. It's not that I didn't want to be at home, it's more that I had just figured out what it felt like to be a working parent in a traditional sense, and I was worried that going back to a hodge podge arrangement at home would feel like limbo.

But after a couple of weeks, I can say that I'm thrilled. I've gotten some really fun assignments and have felt busy, but I've also gotten to spend more time with Axel, to explore the neighborhood, make the most of the gorgeous fall weather, and to do things for myself, like get back into prenatal yoga.

Yesterday I discovered this lovely little garden in the back of a new patisserie called Caprices by Sophie. It's one of those serene, unexpected spots that makes me love this city and our little corner of it so much.

Speaking of, I read this article, on leaving New York, and was glad that I hadn't.

Monday, September 23, 2013

Axel Walking


And here's a little snippet of Axel walking this weekend! For a guy who's only been doing it for a week, I'd say he's pretty good.

Montauk

 
 
 
 
Fall, 2013


This weekend we headed out to The Crow's Nest, in Montauk, for my belated (gulp!) 35th celebrations. It's a sort of 1960s lake-side motel that's been re-imagined as a very cool hotel, complete with swanky cocktails, a fire pit, and rooms kitted out with vintage African textiles and John Robshaw bed linens.

It was a quick visit, but we had a great time. We went to Snug Harbor (could there be a more cozy, autumnal name?), watched the fishermen cleaning their catch, had some unexpectedly delicious sushi at Westlake Clam & Chowder House, let Axel run around on the lawns, and had a great dinner at the inn. We also drove down some of our favorite back roads in Napeague and Springs, hunting for fantasy surf shacks to buy one day.

Seven or eight years ago, I had a position as Editor at Large for a glossy magazine out in the Hamptons, which meant Will and I had a lot of adventures out there, riding bikes and taking windsurfing lessons as well as going to some of the fancier 'dos like a huge party at Robert Wilson's Water Mill Center, polo matches, and lots of silly cocktail parties at Gatsby-esque mansions. It was definitely a very nostalgic trip, which also reminded me of the time I drove out in the dead of winter, solo, to research this story.

I think both Will and I are drawn to the more low key charms of the East End, and it's definitely fun picturing finding a little cottage (cue obsessive real estate hunting.) Of course, we'll always have Maine for the summers, but it's enticing to think of having a little weekend bolthole for the rest of the year (especially when we have two boys galloping around the apartment.)

Until then, we'd like to make going to Montauk a fall tradition, and have our eyes on Ruschmeyer's or the Surf Lodge for our next visit.

Friday, September 20, 2013

17 Weeks

Fall, 2013

So here we are, 17 weeks all over again.

And life is good. I have definitely been slack on the taking photos front (though I edited this post to add one from the weekend), but I am generally feeling well.

I was pretty worn out this summer, especially around 9 weeks or so, though unlike with my last pregnancy, it was sometimes hard to decipher whether I was tired from baby-chasing, working full time, constant travel, or just the usual first trimester exhaustion.

I haven't been obsessively reading about which fruit or vegetable I am carrying this week or feeling as hyper-aware of every little sensation this time around. Occasionally, when I get really hungry, I wonder why that is for a few seconds, and then remember I'm pregnant. I've gotten a few nasty headaches, and generally felt vague and ineffectual a lot of time time. I'm not sure if that's pregnancy related or if that's just life.

That said, compared to some of my friends who've had very challenging first trimesters, I'm really lucky. When I felt queasy, it was just sort of general "I'd like some toast" malaise, not full on waves of intense nausea. And I'd say I feel pretty much as I did the last go around at about this time. The same crazy, vivid dreams, the same occasional discomfort if I'm sitting in the same position for too long.

Whereas the last go round, I felt like time was at a standstill when I was pregnant, this time it's going really quickly.

We had our first anatomy scan on Monday, which was exciting. I always have nerves when I go to our imaging center, in part because every scan during my last pregnancy was kind of a hold-your-breath-for-bad-news experience. Even though Axel's cyst and surgery is now behind us, during my pregnancy it meant there were a lot of unknowns and worries, even those we never articulated.

So this scan? Well, the baby is perfect. On target for growth, no cysts, everything is looking great. The only "but" (and why is there always a "but"?) is that I have a single umbilical artery. The perinatologist said essentially that it's one of those things that most often means nothing more than extra monitoring for growth, and that it's quite common. Compared to Axel's eventual diagnosis, he said, it's like "nit picking" a perfectly healthy pregnancy.

As reassuring as that was, I still have to go in for monthly ultrasounds and, beginning at 36 weeks, for twice-weekly biophysical profiles (non-stress tests for the baby.) Though the latter is just because I am "elderly." And I felt a certain amount of "why is there always something to worry about?" but then again, that's just life with children, no?

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Lately



Fall, 2013


We spent the weekend in Massachusetts, near Rockport, for my cousin's baby shower. About 9 out of 12 people at the shower were pregnant (something in the air?)

Since then, I've been adjusting back to life in Brooklyn and making the most of the gorgeous fall weather.

And, Axel is walking! He's taken one or two steps for a few weeks now, but on Monday night he walked from the middle of the living room to the coffee table and last night about halfway across our lobby hall. A few bumps, but mainly he seems to have the hang of it.

More news this afternoon!

Friday, September 13, 2013

New Shoes

See Kai Run Shoes

I got Axel some new shoes this morning (from See Kai Run, at DNA Footwear), since he's outgrowing his hand me downs, which were soft soled baby slipper-type things. Will give them a test run this weekend and report back.

And I am back to the land of working from home-slash-underemployment. It's a huge relief in many ways, as our apartment was teetering on the edge of total disorder and Will and I were both suffering from burnout due to how absent I needed to be these last few weeks. But it's also an adjustment, as I try to make sense of my new routine.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Sunday



In a stuffy office this weekend, but enjoyed reading this article by Delia Ephron.

My favorite passage?

"Personally, I believe having it all...might be a fleeting moment — drinking a cup of coffee on a Sunday morning when the light is especially bright. It might also be a few undisturbed hours with a novel I’m in love with, a three-hour lunch with my best friend, reading “Goodnight Moon” to a child, watching a Nadal-Federer match. Having it all definitely involves an ability to seize the moment, especially when it comes to sports. It can be eating in bed when you’re living on your own for the first time or the first weeks of a new job when everything is new, uncertain and a bit scary. It’s when all your senses are engaged. It’s when you feel at peace with someone you love. And that isn’t often. Loving someone and being at peace with him (or her) are two different things. Having it all are moments in life when you suspend judgment. It’s when I attain that elusive thing called peace of mind."

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Thirteen Months

Axel at 1 year, by Jami Saunders


These photos are from Axel's one year pictures, a month ago now, but I am still absorbing just how cute they are.

In the last few weeks, it feels like Axel's comprehension of the world has expanded like a wildfire. Ask him to stick out his tongue, and he does it. Ask him to touch his ear, he's on it. He's also figured out how to blow on the harmonica to make some noise, and very proud of it.

Alas, the last week or so I've been working like a maniac for New York Fashion Week, and am even in the office on this sunny Saturday. But Axel and his papa are off on some adventures around the city this weekend and having a blast.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Back to School



Maine, 2013


The last weekend of the summer was a lovely one (capped off by a dramatic summer storm.) The transition back to work? Abrupt.
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