Hurricane

Axel, 2014

More rain, and lots of little monkeys running around inside today, playing in boxes etc. Aside from cardboard, the major hit of the vacation so far has been a set of Magna-Tiles. The adults may or may not be as mesmerized as the children.

June Roars In

Axel, 2013

Well, it was about 500 degrees outside today. We went to a friend's rooftop barbecue but spent most of the day cowering inside in the AC.

Other than that, we got Axel this handsome new travel stroller at Wee Babe in anticipation of our trip to France. After Christmas, when I nearly had a meltdown over how much stuff we brought, we are trying to get better about this travel with baby stuff. I don't think we'll use it every day because it doesn't recline and is a little flimsy for the sidewalks of New York, but it will be much easier to take overseas than our current one.

We also checked out Willy's Toy Box. When we were up in Maine, Axel was over the moon with all the toys in the nursery there, and he was seeming a little underwhelmed over his well worn selection at home. So we put a few of those away for a while and got him a cute dump truck, squish ball, and  wooden caterpillar. Novelty! While I'm nowhere near as organized as this lady is at toy roatation, I think it's a great idea.

There's are good articles on toy rotation here and here. Turns out it's a Montessori concept.

Gear: Six to Nine Months

Axel, 2013

The biggest change in months six through nine? Mobility.

Though we were pretty prepared for a newborn by the time Axel arrived, I feel like we were able to get away with a certain degree of minimalism for the first few months of his life. We had a baby shower, got tons of hand me downs, bought some things second hand, and eventually assembled the nursery. But we certainly didn't go crazy either.

At around the six month mark it seemed like Axel was growing like a weed and also so much more into toys, blocks, anything that made noise when you dropped it on the floor; he required a certain amount of new stuff.

We've had to ramp up the big purchases lately, though hopefully a lot of them will last through his toddlerhood.

1. Skip Hop Playspot Foam Tiles
I tried to find the least offensive foam floor tiles possible. The Skip Hop ones in green seemed to do the trick. Axel can spend hours trying to take them apart and since we have hardwood floors, they were a good option to have when he was learning to roll, sit, and crawl. While he's all about pulling up on the furniture these days, he still recognizes his floor tiles as his little play area, and it's nice to contain some of the chaos there.

2. Fisher Price Rainforest Jumperoo
This thing is pretty darn ugly, let's face it. But when Axel tried it out on a playdate at a friend's place, he was so clearly loving it I couldn't resist. We borrowed ours and will probably give it back in a month or so, as Axel is starting to balk at feeling contained by it. It's still pretty good for 15 minute periods when you need to make breakfast or are just exhausted from baby wrangling.

3. JJ Cole Outdoor Blanket
We just had a lovely picnic on our building's green roof and I can tell this waterproof blanket will get a lot of use for the rest of the spring and summer.

4. Old Navy Baby Clothes
I love artful and original baby clothes, but as Axel grows like a weed, I can't really argue with $7 pants and $10 onesies.

5. Farm to Baby
I've extolled the virtues of our baby food delivery service before, but this was a great way of easing the transition to solids. We've also stocked up on pouches from Ella's Kitchen for when we're in transit.

6. Maxi Cosi Pria 70 Carseat
We went to Mini Jake and basically got the only convertible car seat they had (I trust their judgment.) It's much comfier than the hand-me-down infant car seat we had, and it served us well on our last 7 hour road trip.

Weekend

Axel, 2012

Even as I panic about my work decisions and feel somewhat overwhelmed, hanging out with Axel is extremely therapeutic.

It's hard not to be utterly in the moment when you are watching a three month old try to muster all of his intellectual and physical energy (see that bulging vein in photo two!) to execute a half turn or grab a rattle and put it in his mouth. These are among his latest tricks.

If only I could bottle that baby Zen and take it to the office with me. Even when I am hit-the-wall tired (and I think three months of sleep deprivation is really catching up with me), the kiddo just cracks me up.

Preparations

Nope, I haven't fallen into a black hole (or had the baby.) At 37 weeks and 5 days I am waiting patiently for signs of his imminent arrival. Oh, and trying to get a little more organized for his homecoming.

People keep asking me if the nursery is ready yet and I can only reply with maniacal laughter. Um, no. Not remotely.

I have to keep reminding myself that all he really needs is me (his food supply), some diapers, and his bassinet and that we have some leeway on transforming his room from chaotic staging area to baby's home base.

Still, I am trying to do a little bit every day and this weekend, when Will is off work, we are going to put together the crib, hang some paintings, unpack the boxes of clothes, and start figuring out how all the baby gizmos work.

Yesterday, I washed my childhood teddy bear for his room. I also got a haircut, since it seems like personal maintenance might fall by the wayside for a little while. While I was at Hello Beautiful, the owner very sweetly gave me a baby gift. A very cool little boy's nightgown and a mini Brooklyn shirt. Such a lovely gesture!

Work in Progress, 2012

Gear

Maefield & Co. via Poppies and Posies

So, apparently I can't get enough of weird little animals! I came across this guy on Poppies and Posies' blog. He's from Maefield and Co.

Gear

Maze and Vale's Gertie, via Etsy.com

Maze and Vale's Stormy Weather 

Meet Gertie the Oobie. I have no idea what that means, but I love the weird little body and the feather motif. Melbourne-based designer Leslie Keating of Maze and Vale has these rabbits (or are they sheep?) in her Etsy shop to celebrate Easter. She also makes beautiful custom fabrics, like stormy weather, above.