One.

Today, my baby bean is one.  One. 

I'm sitting here trying to finish up this post at 11:00 PM, after a long night of mommying and cooking and organizing, when I need to wake up very early for a work training tomorrow morning. But all I can think about right now is this number.

It's been one whole year since she got here. One year of growth and change and smiles and giggles (and a few screams). One year ago I didn't know her, and today I can't imagine ever not knowing her. She's one of my favorite people ever.

I wish you could meet her--she's so funny and spunky and sweet. She has such a sparkle to her. I'm so, so lucky that she is mine.

Although it's been some time now, I can still remember the day I found out she was growing inside me. In that moment, it was as if G-d split the sea right in front of me and I stood, unbelievably, on dry land. She was my miracle. 

And all I can think of today are the lines from this book.

Heaven blew every trumpet 
And played every horn
On the wonderful, marvelous 
Night you were born

--Nancy Tillman

Our Insta Life

If there was one thing I was SUPER excited for when I got my iphone, it was Instagram. And it hasn't disappointed! It does have a way of making an ordinary photo look artsy, and playing with filters is a great way to have fun in the checkout line:)

Here's in insta-peek into our life right now!

Coffee in a mason jar. The best. I'm about to make myself one right now, in fact!  (And yes, with whipped cream. Clearly.)

Driving through NYC in the back of a cab to get to the East Side.

Ellie's Purim costume arrived in the mail, and I'm giving  you all a sneak peek:) TINY BABY ICE CREAM CONE!!

Happy baby at the mall (we were there to buy her first pair of SHOES!)

Happy baby at Dunkin Donuts (can you sense a theme??)

Hostess gift from some good family friends. You know who you are....and you're invited anytime!

Just a little peek into what's keeping us busy today.  I love how Instagram beautifies some of the little, everyday pleasures that make life so happy.

What small thing do YOU love today?

Dream Come True

I made this layout eons ago, but realized I still hadn't shared it here. I used one of Studio Calico's retail collections and loved the soft, sweet colors. Perfect for a small, sweet girl:)

The journaling is as simple as it gets here--because the title says it all.

She is my dream come true;)

And speaking of culinary dreams come true, you have to try these unbelievable cookies right now. You can even add dried cherries if you're in the mood:)

If you need more convincing than that, here you go:

What dreams have come true in YOUR life?

And on a more serious note, say a prayer today for this wonderful woman whose dream has become more complicated right now.

Anatomy of a Photoshoot

Little munchkin was looking very cute today in a pair of pink overalls, so I decided to snap a few shots.

It started off like this:

And quickly deteriorated like this:

And this is why I don't get too many photoshoots in these days. Yeesh!

How was YOUR weekend?

Sophie Mania!

Popping in today to share a layout I made a few weeks ago about Ellie's true, squeaky love--Sophie. I picked up Sophie during a tough teething phase, and she quickly became a valued member of our household. I put the photos together a fun, quirky layout!

I used a Studio Calico kit for this one, but Lord help me if you want to know which one--I'm battling a cold this week and my mental capacity has really diminished!

And a close-up!

And now, excuse me while I go to bed at 9 in an attempt to recover from this cold/cough that has been plaguing me for THREE WEEKS now:)

And tell me, what random objects have become a big part of YOUR family's life?

2012 in Review

2012 was one heck of a year for us.

Beautiful. Surprising. And crazy. I think I can handle a year like this every few years, or so:)

When January opened I was looking like this:

and eagerly awaiting the arrival of the little munchkin we called "bunny."

Ellie/bunny wasn't due until Feb 15, so I planned on getting organized and packing my hospital bag exactly two weeks beforehand, on Feb 1. The problem was, on January 31 in the middle of the night, Ellie decided to make her appearance unexpectedly early. And my labor was unexpectedly fast. Which is how I spent a good chunk of my labor dictating a birth plan and packing list in between contractions (and a little bit of yelling. Ahem.)

But, in any case, on February 1st, two weeks before her due date, at 12:12 pm sharp, Ellie made her way into the world!

We spent February getting to know her and falling in love with her.

Not to mention filling up her closet with lots of PINK!

In March, we had a little "meet the baby" party for family, and celebrated the Jewish holiday of Purim. I started to feel a little more back to normal, and went back to work while S spent his paternity leave watching Ellie.

We started to feel like a real family:

April was momentous. We kicked off Pesach (Passover) by checking our house for crumbs of leavened bread:

And then we wound up buying a new house!

In May, we watched our peanut grow,

and renovated like maniacs.

June brought our move to the new house

and July lots of fun times settling in to this new life:

and seeing family.

August brought Ellie's first trip to the shore!

and meeting baby friends!

We vacationed in Montreal in September, and had a blast!

Our little girl grew and grew....

And spent a lot of time getting stuck under furniture:)

When November came along, we were trying to recover from Hurricane Sandy and stay warm.

December brought grief over the Sandy Hook shooting, and joy over Ellie's first Chanuka:

It's been quite a year. Reliving it makes me awed at how much has changed, and glad that after all this change, I feel so happy and settled right now.

What was the highlight and lowlight of YOUR year?

A Chanuka Recap

Chanuka 2012--our first one in the new house, and the first one with a baby. Chanuka is not such a big holiday in Judaism (definitely not as major as Christmas is for Christians), but we still have parties, hang out, eat great food, light candles, say blessings, and think about the meaning of the day.

I love bringing out my trusty menorah:

And on the first night, I hosted a party for ladies in the neighborhood. Below you can see some sufganiyot, aka jelly doughnuts--a traditional Chanuka food and one of my favorite parts of the holiday:) Ha!

I was a chilled-out hostess and only made a few things, like these peanut butter cookies with Hershey kisses....

and chocolate dipped Oreos--yum!

Later in the week, we did a small family party with a fun stack of presents (we don't do big ticket items really, just a few fun treats!)

And a closeup (ignore my last minute/"creatively" wrapped gift. At least E likes packing paper!)

Ellie was intrigued at the concept of Chanuka presents.

And then happy:

And then she got to business, tasting her gift:

The days went by all too quickly and the candles filled up.... (we light one more each night)

All too soon, each and every candle was burning bright.

It was a bittersweet Chanuka--I enjoyed the celebration, but could not stop thinking about how much darkness there is in the world. I spent most of the week thinking about the victims and their families from the Sandy Hook tragedy. Just when I thought I had to have read, or heard or seen the worst, some other interview came out in the news, sadder than the one before.

I've been trying to think what I can do to honor the victims, and decided I would take on a mitzva ("commandment," a spiritual growth) in their memory. I also see that a few million beat me to it, dpoing 26 acts of kindness in memory of those lost.

What do YOU think would be the best way to honor their memories? If you were to take on something in their memory, what would it be?