hanging out with Gee-Gee

my boys

"Hallucinatory baby-in-bed nightmares and other vivid dreams of the baby in peril appear to arise normally in response to the acute maternal responsibilities and sleep fragmentation that are endured by new mothers. The unique experiences constitute a window through which cognitive and emotional processes underlying the earliest steps of mother-infant attachment may be observed."

I definitely follow the studies done on postpartum sleep...the last two weeks, usually once a night, I wake up thinking I accidently brought Drew back to bed with me after his feeding. Usually I throw back the blankets, but last night I thought Doug was Drew and grabbed his head. Once I realized he had no hair I was safe to assume it wasn't Drew!

precious sleeper

houdini

He can get out of just about anything...

day 17

sleep

We have been blessed with a baby who will typically sleep well at night. The daytime is a different story. He is asleep right now...but most of the time he enjoys being awake during the day. They say a baby should be awake for an hour at a time, maximum. Really? Not our baby. He can go for hours. Hours and hours.

Everyone has their theories. He's hungry - so I feed him even more. He should just work it out, "Let him cry." Others say, "You can't spoil a baby, you should hold him if he wants to be held." "If he acts tired, put him down."

Oh, sure, he yawns. He's beside-himself-tired. But, why sleep? To him, the day is when the good stuff happens. He must not want to miss a minute...There's plenty of time little one...sleep now, while you still can!

Looking back...

The day we got the stroller! Love it. We've used it every day this week!Comparing our bellies...

oh, deer!

day 12

My little "old" man.

Sleeping peacefully.

After a great weekend with Nana and Papa.

happy halloween

week 1 - recap (bragfest)

Okay, so I know feeding little ones can be a tough job (speaking from from stories of others and now some experience of my own). Waking up in the middle of the night - three or four times. Not going back to sleep afterward. The potential for irritable tummies. Loads of dirty diapers. The soreness, the hormones, body changes, etc, etc. But I do have to say nothing is more rewarding than hearing your baby has put on weight and is growing stronger every day.

To beat just the simple news that he is growing, we received even greater news today when we took Andrew in to check on a potential infection near his circumcision. (All is well there, no worries!)

To date - he has put on 8 oz. since his last doctor visit on MONDAY! This is HUGE! Newborns typically put on 1 oz. per day. He's a champ for putting on 2 oz. per day. This brings him up to 9 pounds, folks!

This means - we are now safe to let him sleep up to 6 hours at night!!! After our 4 hour awake time with him last night (and only 3 hours of sleep), I could have hugged the doctor for such WONDERFUL news. I will still have to wake up in the middle of the night, but if he wants to sleep through he can!

Go team Connolly! We're so proud!

day 6

day 5

first things first

Here are some photos from his first days - the first UT game with Dad; first sleeps; and a new friend, Mckenna, even snuck him a first kiss. So far his nickname seems to be working in his favor. Daddy knows best! :)

love it!

capital vs talent - roger martin

On a sleepless night I chose some 'heavy' reading...okay, it's not that heavy, but it is interesting. Only part-way through it, it seemed worth sharing with my fellow designers. Essentially, I have so far learned that keeping fresh and unique in the design field is required. To me, that seems a given, but this is certainly motivating to keep up the efforts.

Happy midnight reading...

rotman.utoronto.ca

perfect ending to a busy weekend

AIA Homes Tour

One of our projects was selected to be included on this year's AIA Homes Tour. My job for the past few weeks has been coordinating the tour from our end...Which basically just meant gathering docents, going to AIA meetings, updating our portfolio and marketing materials, working with the designers from a high-end furniture company in town (these guys were a perfect cliche - they wear all black and love to design with only black and white objects...needless to say we added in some color of our own), arranged flowers, and just about exhausting myself the first day. The first day was great, just quite intense. Beginning the day at 8 am with a photo shoot, add to that my allergy attack, not to mention being pregnant...It was a trip. But it all came together and when I returned at the end of the day, it seemed to have been a success. One more day to go!

Taking Monday off is starting to sound like a good idea...

Photos were taken before the furniture was installed and then after/during the Tour. More photos of the project are on our website, www.alterstudio.net/, under Avenue G.

for the fam

More photos from the maternity shoot a few weeks ago.

is this modern?

Lately modern-day "modernist" architects seem to be headed a quite different direction than their forefathers. Part of me is a bit sad to say I ascribe to modernism when it is aligned with architects who "rejuvenate" a historical building, only to completely hide the original intent of the building - why bother "saving" the original building at all? Especially and more specifically when the original building had a beautiful character of its own.

The new MAD building in NYC is just one example.

a little embarassing...

A friend of a friend is a photographer who needed some practice shooting pregnant women. The sitting was free and we get another free session once the baby comes (that was my real motivation). Either way, here's an updated belly shot from a professional...

From a friend: The group that put this together is the very good taste blog and they are calling this the top 100 foods every omnivore should try.

So, here is what you do. 1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions. 2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten. 3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding (nope)
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses (if what I had wasn't this, it was just as stinky)
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese (pass)
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda (someday...)
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea (indeed! while sitting in Oxford!)
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail (pass)
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (intentionally?)
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu (scary, no thanks)
47. Chicken tikka masala (in Oxford!)
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut (the first one is pure heaven)
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine (not the Candian version...)
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin (is this edible?)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse (pass)
90. Criollo chocolate (maybe?)
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

the saga continues

Yet another armadillo has been captured...and released. Only this time it was just beyond the gates of our backyard. I'm sure he and his buddies are plotting revenge any day now.

Here is Doug chasing the armadillo. The idea was to take a photo where it appeared the armadillo was chasing Doug; but this was one quick 'dillo. He literally bounded out of the cage. Doug had no choice but to chase him down.

gran caffe - our version

Inspired by a friend's blog:

After studying architectural history the previous three years my classmates and I were all overwhelmed to be in the midst of some of history's most famous buildings. One of my favorites has always been the Pantheon, in Rome. As my roommate, Alicia, and I were walking in for the first time - well as we were about to cross the threshold - one of the many birds flying above let one go in her hair. For me it was a catch-22; a true dilemma. Do I let her stand in the doorway, crying, covered in a bird droppings while I look around one of my all-time favorite buildings? Or do we find the closest restroom (not easy to do in Rome) to clean her up. Of course I made her wait. No, no, no. The Pantheon had waited hundreds of years for me to gawk, it could wait a few more minutes. The Sant'Eustachio il caffe is the location we found to clean up the bird mess...On our way out we grabbed a gran caffe to cheer us up. Poor girl. She must still have nightmares about that place...but I must say it is still a favorite of mine.

eviction

We have begun the process of capture and release of our backyard neighbors; they have been digging holes in our yard for too long. Here's a photo of Doug with his first catch.

eye candy

new website

Our office is about to launch a new website. If you have a chance to give feedback we would appreciate it! Here is the beta site:

http://alterstudio.brooklynfoundry.com/

Clearly the images still need to be adjusted, but we're looking for comments on the general layout, transitions, navigation, etc.

new arrival!

The room is still in-progress...but we're one step closer. My lucky find at the Antique Marketplace. Simple, but works well with our other furniture - And it's solid wood. How many new pieces of furniture can boast the same for such a great price? Now we just need the crib and the baby!

'chunk'

Does a doctor really have the right to say, "Well, it looks like it's been a 'chunk-month' for you, huh?" Nice. Way to go doc. Okay, 6 pounds is the most I have ever put on in a month (three weeks to be exact). But this is also my first time at pregnancy.

By the way, my nickname in high school was Chunk. For the sake of irony. I guess it is fitting these days.

And for the record, yes. Yes it has been a great month. Carbs are my friend. As is this brownie I'm about to devour. See you in three weeks...

countdown

After a weekend of painting and organization, it is easier to visualize what is to come...

Dresser - 1 week
Crib - 8 weeks
Baby - 11 weeks (?)

belly update

Somehow it doesn't look like much has changed...but Ace is definitely growing! The first photo is around 5 months and the second is the beginning of 7 months.

Thile thoughts

"We are tempted to distance ourselves from the things that are truly powerful and beautiful in life," said Thile. "Faith is certainly one of those things. Faith is huge, and so are friendships and our family relationships. ...

"Anything that is truly worthwhile is both powerful and dangerous at the same time. Anything that is truly beautiful and lovely can also turn twisted and ugly. But we can't hide from all of that. That's what is real."

nursery

The "perfect" dresser has been found...persistence definitely pays off! After searching multiple consignment stores and antique stores, many with my mom, I came across a solid wood ebony heartwood dresser. Unfortunately I was so excited to have my name on the SOLD tag I did snap a photo. It will be in our possession in a couple of weeks and the nursery will almost be complete!

More to come...

dessert party!

Saturday we're having a few friends over to meet Doug's family. Last night I began the baking process...being pregnant takes things down a notch. Typically I try to make things from scratch, but I was willing to use the mixes this time around. As a side note, egg substitute is NOT a good idea when making brownies. And probably not a good idea for baking anything that needs to rise. The brownies that should have been "cake-like" turned out to be pancakes. Sigh.

Also, my one item from "scratch" is a homemade ice-cream (made with our new favorite kitchen appliance, also Doug's wedding gift to me back in September...) pie with a surprise melted chocolate chip bottom. Again, might not be a good idea. I realized after putting the chocolate on the crust that it is probably going to be rock solid when it comes out of the freezer. Double sigh.

Now I'm thinking of just buying a frozen fruit cobbler and keeping it very simple. Homemade vanilla ice cream and cobbler. What's not to love.

organic beauties

What a beautiful experiment...We already let bananas sit around the kitchenette in our office for weeks, why not add some rubies? Bet the fruit flies would love it.

building a house

gross? yes.

new blooms

Finally, some color! My drab little garden has signs of life with new flowers I added this weekend. I did a little bit of pruning on one of the existing plants and it decided to give out a bloom as well. Just in time for the family to arrive!

Oh, and for some reason we have a creature-friend who like to come in the back corner of our yard. You can see his little entry way in the above photos. We have never seen him in living color, but we're thinking he takes the form of a(n) opossum? Try as I might to block him out - he gets in. At this point I give up. Until he does major damage, he is welcome into our fairly barren backyard. Just don't mess with my up-and-coming blooms.

Our front porch finally says, "welcome!"

it's that kind of day...

Frank Sinatra. If you want to avoid stress during the day, just tune into the Pandora Frank Sinatra music list. So refreshing. He was crooning on the radio this morning and it was the perfect way to deal with traffic on the way to work.

just for fun

baby belly

This is embarassing, but worth it. Bring on the jokes. Too bad I did not get a profile picture next to my big brother in law...you should see that baby belly. Just playin', bro.

recent remodel

before

after

hiccups

They are a sign of respiratory development...but, does respiratory development have to start at 4am? No matter. It's good news that his lungs are doing their thing.

Phoenix 2008