cedar watching the "Your Baby Can Read" video

I returned earlier than originally planned from a magical red tent weekend spent with some gentle loving souls. Boho Boy became extremely ill while I was away and it was his 103.4 fever that made me get on the next available flight. He ended up going to the emergency room and has been diagnosed with bronchits and Influenza A. So, the poor guy is walking around with a face mask and trying his best to stay away from Cedar (which is torture) and I am being pretty anal about disinfecting the trails he leaves behind.

A few hours after he returned from the emergency room, I received a call from my sister Darlene that my marmie is in the emergency room with food poisoning and had been admitted to the hospital for an overnight stay to replenish her fluids and take more tests. We were worried about my father, who sounded confused and upset because when she is hurting, he is hurting. This is when living far away just breaks my heart.

You know...I am not sure I could have handled all of this at once if it wasn't for the few days I had spent with some extraordinary women. It was just such a huge confirmation to me how important it is for women to gather, to circle around one another. When all is aligned, it feels so effortless and grounding. So, I thank them for preparing me for the week ahead.

On a fun note, we finally received our big box of materials from Your Baby Can Read. We had thought about doing this a while ago but it was when we realized that Cedar prefers books and musical instruments to toys, that we felt it was important to nurture this in him. We think the whole concept is fascinating and it may not work for everyone but we are jazzed about trying it with Cedar. We have no expectations and are being light and fun about it. What tripped us out last night was that he clapped when he heard and saw the word "Clap" and waved when he heard and saw the word "Wave"...with a huge proud smile on his face. So, it is very telling that he enjoys this and it is his enjoyment that will navigate our way through it all.

I will share some images and stories of my dready goddess-y weekend soon.

I felt enough.

sabrina's "make believe" photo card set

Yesterday I received one of Sabrina's card's from a dear friend of mine in the mail. It was the one pictured above on the bottom left. The front of the card reads...

"You are allowed to slow down.
You are allowed to turn off your phone.
You are allowed to lie down...in the sun."

Saying no has at times been a challenge for me. More in my adulthood than when I was a child and teen. I have often worried about hurting feelings or sometimes concerned that unless I did this and was involved in that and participated in this and spearheaded that, then...and only then would I be enough, have given enough, lived enough within this precious life I have been given.

Having a child has shifted this for me. Where as before, I could devote my heart and soul to a multitude of spaces in my world, now it is so important to me to be fully present and in the moment with my son and my family.

To continue on feeling healthy and strong and resilient and creative within my home, I have needed to let go of some things. I have had to say no to some people. I have needed to take good and gentle care of my reserves and give them to the few people (and not the masses) that need me most.

In this continually shifting process for me, I've wondered if I might lose some loved ones in my life. If the idea that I cannot pick up the phone as much or fly to be with them when they're in need or participate in gatherings or be able to commit to beautiful projects would not be enough to maintain these precious friendships that I have built over the years.

Then I received this card last night and on the inside it said this;

"Just a note to tell you I love witnessing all the steps you take towards your center...to that space of love and light that holds you and your family safely and peacefully. I am in awe of you my friend. I love you."

And tears rolled down my cheeks...and I took a deep breath and I felt so understood...

...and I felt, well, enough.

i love you, stinky face.

cedar & me at park yesterday, taken with phone

my husband found the sweetest book ever for Cedar. he loves it best. the story makes me giggle and weepy all at once.

its all about loving someone absolutely unconditionally. its about learning how to love them as they evolve into something you may not have dreamed of or expected but you get them, because you know their heart and you'll be there through it all. its about loving someone creatively.

i so love the deeper messages in between the lines of children's books. my husband, the dear sexy librarian, just knows how to find them.

our wee rockstar.

needs some tuning... ; )

When Cedar was a few months old a dear friend of mine wrote to tell me that her mother had a vision of him older. Her mother tends to have these psychic moments and my friend told me that sometimes its eerie how right on she has been. So, of course...I listened and got all giddy with butterflies that Cedar had been in one of them! She said that she saw Cedar on stage, the lead in a band, with a guitar. She said that he was a well known rock star...but was very humble. My friend and I giggled and had fun with this and now we joke about it every once in a while. The part that really meant a lot to me was that he was humble. This is a trait that I am so, so attracted to when it comes to extremely gifted people.

Anyways, what has been interesting to see is how music has been such a huge part of Cedar's everyday. I've mentioned this quite a bit here on this blog. How he would only fall asleep to the oldies (swing type music) when he was an infant and that he needs soft piano/harp/flute type instruments playing all day long and how he has really good rhythm (perhaps from watching Boho Boy drum on everything). Most recently he discovered where daddy's guitar was and now that he is crawling, he'd waddle his way over and pull it down and start strumming the strings and pounding on them making pretty music (well, pretty to our ears, perhaps no one elses).

So, we decided to get him a wee one just right for his cherub fingers (ukulele). Now, it must be near him at all times and if it isn't, he'll find it and pull it close.

This morning, he serenaded me as soon as he woke up...(last photo above). So, I have no idea if that vision my friend's mother had will come to fruition but I do know that he will always be our little rockstar.

some cheer for jess.

i made this to put a huge smile on my friend jess's face.
and now i hope it puts a smile on yours.

i share some seriously deep thoughts here along with bob marley. ; )

i love my "chooka chooka chooka" sounds. what the heck?

dreads...three months.

self portrait, canon 50d

I was just sharing with a friend the other day that the process of my dreadlocks loosening, fraying, filling in the spaces, stretching, breaking, opening...is such a metaphor for my journey...of me, really.

They've been on my head for three months...but the movement and meaning behind it all has been there so much longer.

It is not at all just a hair do to me.

our little hobbit.

cedar hobbit, 4.5 months, taken with phone

There was this scene in the film Lord of the Rings in the beginning when all the little hobbit children were sitting on the ground at a party and the camera scanned all their sweet hobbity faces. I remember seeing this one little girl with big round eyes and a look of wonder and awe and I thought to myself "Ohhhh...how I would love to have a child with that spirit."

I didn't know that at the same time, snuggled up in the theater, that Boho Boy was having the same thoughts. He noticed that same girl in the crowd of cuties and fell in love with her spirit the same way I did.

We were trying to get pregnant, you see...so something down deep inside of us connected with that child and the ache we felt for our own.

It wasn't until about a year later, when we were talking about how we envision our child to look (like all couples do that are desiring a child)...will he/she have my eyes, my lips, my hair, etc. We both mentioned that child in Lord of the Rings.

"You saw her too?" I asked. We both felt that is how our child would look, would be.

As we were approaching the 5th year of trying to conceive, I think we forgot about that girl. Or perhaps it hurt too much to go to that place, to that dream, that vision of our child and we put it in the safest part of our hearts, tucked away.

Then our birth parents and Cedar came into our lives and the healing began and life was so entirely and utterly beautiful and not at all what we expected but everything that we needed.

When Cedar was about 4.5 months old, we were goofing around by pulling his ears back like a hobbit and taking photos for our family. Our family has always referred to Cedar as a Wood Nymph or a Gnome or a hobbit...because he just has that look, that essence to him. What blew us away is this one photo we took of him (above). Because that is the face....THE exact face of the little girl in Lord of the Rings that we often dreamed of.

Wow. Right? Wow. Perhaps our hearts always knew this and that is why at the exact moment, years ago, we both recognized that face on the screen.

So of course we're going to dress him up as a hobbit tonight...but we won't have to do much. ;)

Happy Halloween. Be fulfilled. Be joyous. Be playful. Be safe.

thank you...from the bohos.

cedar resting on mommy at park, taken with phone yesterday

I just got through watching a video that a reader sent to me, sharing her story, relating it to Cedar's food sensitivities. The video was of her and her son about Cedar's age and she sat and talked through her camera as though she was looking directly into my soul. I am still a blubbery mess from it. I was so moved and touched that I sent it to my marmie, sister and husband. It just touched me so. She too is an adoptive mommy and I realized watching it, that there is a kinship between us already because of adoption and a sense of understanding that goes beyond all of the other stuff. I suppose what brought that up for me was when she mentioned she too tried donor breast milk and it didn't quite work and that she tried to take meds to do it on her own and it did work for a while but she had to stop as it wasn't producing enough and she got an infection. So she too had to do the formula dance...and then went on to share with me his solid food sensitivities much like Cedar.

It made me realize that there is still a tender place for me about breast feeding. People are so opinionated about it and those that have never had experience with adoption or gone through fertility journeys have said ignorant things to me about how I should have tried everything I could to put Cedar on breast milk (assuming I didn't try everything).

I didn't have enough time to produce milk once we were matched with our birth mom. We were told he would be born early, a preemie and that he would be donated a supply of breast milk in the hospital and then a dear, dear friend of mine pumped for me...for a few months until he was born so that he would have it for a few months after returning home from the hospital. As far as I knew, we had it all covered and did plenty of research about breast milk. What people don't know is that where we live in California, it would cost $700 per week to go through a breast milk donor company, which does all the screening to make sure its healthy milk. We just couldn't afford that and so this is why my beautiful, selfless friend offered to help. Well, he ended up not being a preemie, so they did not give us breast milk in the hospital but we knew we'd have some once we got home. Unfortunately, Cedar could not digest her milk. It was so hard because we knew she worked so hard, taking time out of her every day to pump for us and we wanted this for her just as much as we did for Cedar. We were excited about that bond, that story we could tell him someday. So, it was emotional for everyone...especially my friend but we eventually let go and we were all grateful that Cedar was thriving on his formula. We will still tell him the story and they still have a deep bond.

Another bit about me that not a lot of people know is that my body is highly sensitive to artificial hormones. I get a lot of side effects and I really needed/wanted to be healthy for my newborn baby. That was important to me and to my husband.

I think it was this first experience as a mother being judged that put up a wee guard over my heart with other mothers. It wasn't a conscious act but over the last few days, receiving an abundance of emails full of gentle wisdom and understanding and encouragement and cheerleading from mothers all around the world has made me realize I've been isolating myself a bit. I've had fears of gathering with a bunch of mothers and being told I am doing it all wrong (even if in my heart I knew I was on the right path and that Cedar and I have a deep connection and communicate well with one another and that he is thriving...I was still afraid to be judged). I have joked with other friends that I am afraid of mommies. But in the deeper parts of that jest, there was an ache for that community, that help, that circling when I feel I just can't do it alone.

This is why it was a huge, brave step for me to put myself out there yesterday and ask for help. I knew I was taking a risk at being judged or patronized in some way. But the reality is that I wasn't and so many of you held me gently and truly saw me...saw that I am madly in love with my son and have a good intuition and connection with him and that everything is going to be okay. That he is a happy, thriving baby...that you see this in the light in his eyes and smiles. You not only saw me...you saw him too.

I have read every single one of your emails. I've read them twice or three times or four. I've written down notes, things that resonated that I want to try and would make sense for our family. I have cried at the stories you've shared with me. Been amazed at the strength so many of you have had with all that you endured in regards to your child's health.

So truly, I cannot thank you enough and if I don't email you right away, know its because I am busy shopping for fun organic goodies and experimenting in the kitchen and putting much of my intentions on making this fun for him and not a scary thing.

My husband and I are so stoked to try new things. Today he ordered this with some cubes to freeze food if we need to. As soon as Cedar wakes from his nap, I am taking him to Whole Foods to stock up for a fun weekend of food play (one thing at a time of course and waiting a few days to make sure it is gently digested...I will be experimenting but not feeding him everything, just playing and tasting it ourselves and getting comfy with the process).

Some of you have asked me to list some of the advice that resonated. I will do my best to remember it all but here are a few gems (and there were many gems, so there may be another post about it).

Oh, and I forgot to mention in my video yesterday that yes, I do feed him Happy Bellies brown rice cereal (with DHA and probiotics included) every morning and have for a long while. Also forgot to mention that he was diagnosed with GERD as an infant but is slowly growing out of it. This also contributes to his needing to move slower with stuff we put into his body.

Okay list/ideas/wisdom from mommies around the globe...

• Try baby probiotics
• Goats milk yogurt mixed with baby food (for lactose sensitivity)
• Slowly mix in homemade food with the organic jarred food he prefers and increase amounts a little at a time (tried this last night with homemade sweet potatoes and he spit a lot of it out...but will keep trying bits at a time).
• Try feeding him more textured food at a table when you're eating too...he may be more willing to try it being inspired by your chewing...and let him do it himself with his fingers, as he might trust himself more with new things (we have never tried this...weee!)
• Try pureed soups...with gentle ingredients (carrots, squash)
• To introduce veggies...start with root veggies (easier to digest...carrots, potatoes, turnips, parsnips, beets)
• Puree a small amount of greens into pears or bananas...increase in small amounts each time
• Don't compare him to others...with babies, there is no standard...many wrote to me sharing that their baby would only eat pureed foods up to 1.5 years or more and they are now much older and eating everything out of house and home. ; )
• Some are solely breastfed until they are 1 years old. Breast milk and formula are the most important nutrient in their diet at that time. Don't push solids before they are ready
• Avocados (tried this a few times and he didn't like the texture but I think our new babycook will help make it more smooth).
• Stay away from acidic fruits and introduce them slowly to avoid bum rash/blisters
• Keep listening to Cedar's cues...if he is happy, thriving, healthy and having normal bowel movements, he is okay and will eat more variety in time.
• Ask naturopath about a hair analysis for food allergies (just did this yesterday and am making appointment)
• Talk to your pediatrician (we have appointment set next week already...so will do!)

Book suggestions:
Baby Greens: A Live Food Approach for Children of All Ages by Michaela Lynn
Optimum Nutrition for Babies and Young Children by Lucy Burney

I know there is more and I will share as I read through them again.

Thank you all so, so much...we are full of rejuvenation and inspiring ideas!

wisdom from my readers...

I feel a bit vulnerable about asking for some wisdom/advice from the masses about my child. People can have such strong opinions when it comes to the various ways to nurture/parent a child. So, I have been very gentle about sharing some things, as well as asking advice here in this space. In fact, in general, both Boho Boy and I have tried to listen to our child, our inner voice and intuition when it comes to Cedar and so far that feels very comfortable. There are so many conflicting ideas and philosophies that it can get quite overwhelming.

But, I feel as though I have been blessed with attracting such gentle, wise, wholesome individuals to this space and there is a trust I am beginning to feel with so many of my readers.

So, in my video I share a bit about what we've been going through in regards to Cedar and his eating habits, his sensitive digestion, etc. I also ask in the end for some wisdom, some shared stories about how any of you introduced more textured veggies and foods when dealing with particular food sensitivities.

Since my comments are now shut off, do email me if you would like to share your thoughts (email is on left sidebar).

Thank you so, so much.

guest appearance from cedar

This MacBook camera is way too fun. Cedar wanted to get in on it.

Thank you, Christianne for showing me how to turn off the screen so I don't have to stare at myself backwards while recording. ; ) I'll get the hang of it after a few tries!

Something else fun and exciting; I am on TwilightMOMS! Do enter for the giveaway if you'd like.

Yes, I am a TwiNERD, TwiGEEK or whatever you want to call it...and cannot wait to see the New Moon film, soon. So, this is such an honor for me (thank you, Georgia...love you and think its the coolest that you are such a celeb in the TwiWorld).

newbie with the laptop camera thingy.

My husband brought home a MacBook a while ago and I only JUST got brave enough to play with the built in camera & iMovie yesterday. I keep cracking up at myself watching this. I just can't seem to focus on the teeny tiny black lens at the top of the laptop. I keep looking at the screen, which is like looking in a mirror and its hard NOT to watch when you're looking back at yourself in a flipped image. Super weird and crazy...but fun!

So, I think this is how I will do my vlogs now once I get the hang of looking at the lens. ; ) SO much easier than having to upload videos from another camera (and the lighting seems a wee more flattering...unless that is just because I am feeling better. i don't look as sallow and droopy faced as in other vlogs).

Film I refer to at the end is Where The Wild Things Are.

wee angel.

cedar, taken with phone {click to enlarge}

this was taken on our bed this morning.
just had to share.
man...doesn't he look like a wee angel?
i can't believe my baby is 11 months old.
*sigh*

blueness lifting.

As I continue to surround myself with stuff that brings joy into my home, the blueness I've been feeling begins to lift. Even if just a little.

Cedar has been cutting a tooth up top...not so fun for him. Yet, I know he loves Reggae music and he always laughs when his momma is super silly and he loves our Gourd Shaker, so put all these things together and it puts an extra bounce in his step...

...and mine too.

I made this video for my family and now am sharing it with you. How can we not smile a wee bit when watching his graceful bounces? If you could see his feet, you would see they are pointed. My sister thinks he might be a dancer someday since he points his toes and sometimes does a little pirouette in his Merry Muscles.

Wish you could see his face too...smiling big with his two bottom teeth and top one peeking through and swollen gums.

curvy deliciousness.

Plus Size Supermodels from far left: Crystal Renn, Amy Lemons,
Ashley Graham, Kate Dillon, Anansa Sims and Jennie Runk
Bottom Center: Lizzie Miller, Glamour Magazine {click for larger view}

I ran across this article yesterday and my heart lept (and my mouth drooled...hello gorgeousness). How I have dreamed about the day that the world of Fashion would embrace, truly embrace women of all sizes and not just those that are much smaller than the average woman.

I know this is a step in the right direction and we're not fully there. Its a new direction of authenticity in a world that creates this idea in our little girls minds (and women in general) that air brushed super thin bodies is what it takes to be beautiful or accepted or adored.

Thin can absolutely be attractive and beautiful, yes, absolutely but so can curves...alluring, healthy curves and when we really look around us as we walk in a crowd, most women have figures shaped much like the women in this image.

So this image reached out and moved me deeply and I wanted to share it here in this space with hopes that it may touch some of you. I thought to myself; Hey, my belly and hips and thighs sort of look like that (especially when I am consistently exercising...right now they are a bit cushier than usual...hee)! I actually felt more beautiful when looking at this image. Its really powerful. Powerful to see this shift in energies about the definition of beauty, women, balance, health, wholeness and freedom to accept who we are, how we are built and to celebrate that.

Like one of the models Lizzie said in an interview..."It may be someone else's normal to be a size 2 but my normal is a size 10 or 12. I work out, I eat healthy and this is my normal."

Its my normal too. This actually inspires me to be more active, which I have been missing deeply. I so enjoy my curves when they have that extra firm roundness booty bubbleness! ; )

I showed this image above to my husband last night and he said "Wow, real women...". He didn't mean that thin women are not real women, of course they are. What he meant was they were photographed and published without being tucked in or shaved off. Real.

For years I was with someone that wished I was thinner because he was attracted to thin. That's a whole other story that I don't want to get into right now, perhaps later. But what I will say is that it was so liberating to break away from those chains. Then when I finally met my husband while in a space of true self acceptance, within a few days he shared with me how he has always loved curvier shapes. It was as though me accepting and celebrating my true shape attracted a man that celebrated it too.

Just writing about all of this is helping me to feel more sexy...because I have NOT felt sexy that much at all lately. Perhaps in fleeting moments but not lasting. This has been very healing.

kind of cheesy...and kind of sweet.

I've done some pretty cheesy things on my blog in years past and today I am doing something perhaps the cheesiest. But you know...it is who I am and with this cheesiness comes bravery and stepping outside of my comfort zone and healing past wounds and not really putting energy into whether I look cool or not.

In fact, this brings me back to a post I wrote, I am guessing about three or so years ago, when I shared that I was dancing in my loft to a Rosie Thomas song and I felt empowered and free and beautiful in my skin. It had been months since I felt that way having been poked and prodded for fertility stuff and feeling disconnected from my feminine body. So, in order to show a visual of what I experienced, I took a series of photos of me dancing and put them together and posted it. As cheesy as it may have seemed to others, it was a turning point for me and not only was it that but it introduced me to one of my dearest friends for life in England. It was this post that inspired her to contact me and since, her and I have been close friends, each on our own little journeys reconnecting ourselves with our feminine spirits post grief.

Some of you that have been reading for a while know that when I was young and singing with a few friends (trying to sing in harmony), I was told by one of them I was tone deaf. I loved singing. Singing brought me so much joy. I never put too much thought into how good I was and I never entertained illusions of being a rock star but those four teeny tiny words "you are tone deaf" altered the way I'd feel about my voice for years and into the present. I still pursued music in school. I was in choir in high school. I led worship in church a few times. I sang at my high school graduation and bacheloriate. In college I was in a touring singing group for a semester. But even though music was a big part of my life, it always came with so many fears, anxieties and insecurities. I didn't want to leave it fully but it was oh so hard to be in it as I was dealing with the voice of that one girl..."you are tone deaf" every time I opened my mouth to sing a tune.

To this day, I have a very hard time singing around people (unless I am on stage...which is odd). My husband has only recently fully heard my voice because I sing to Cedar but I notice when he walks into the room when I am singing, my throat does that infamous close- up deal as a result of the still small meanie voice in my head..."don't forget...you are tone deaf."

Yesterday I received such a warm warm email from a blog reader. She referred to my current head space as a "season of blueness" and that really rang true in my heart. Perhaps because she attached a bit of romance to my blues, which I dig...because I am such a silly romantic.

I am in a season of blueness and so much of it has to do with how I am feeling physically. I am being gentle and patient with the process as my Naturopath and I take care of my body and learn what the roots are. There are a few other elements adding to my blueness, some layers that I am looking at and I may explore more here on my blog.

Recognizing my blueness has also made me aware of what truly does bring me joy in my life. It is those things I want to draw into my world so that I can be a more present wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend. One of my joys is singing.

Yesterday, I did some dancing, today I did some singing. I wanted to record it...to document the movement in moods for me. I didn't know how else to do it but to record one of the favorite parts of my house...our windows lined with old vintage bottles we inherited from Boho Boy's late father.

What I find interesting is that towards the middle to end of the video, my legs start bouncing more and I begin to giggle and relax...even when I pause and totally forget the lyrics or how to sing them. I notice I am gentle with myself and that still small meanie voice in my head. In fact, I think I tossed that meanie voice out the window and embraced my cheesy self and way of singing.

So dear lovely blog world, I am sharing this moment with you. A brave, silly and meaningful moment. I don't care if I sound dreadful in parts and okay in other parts and I don't at all care that I sound far from perfect. What I care about is that I am caring less and living more and tapping into what brings me joy in my life.

The whole video is kind of cheesy...but also kind of sweet, I think. ; )

{lyrics "i don't know" by lisa hannigan}

the yummy apron i am wearing was custom designed for me by the rockin' talented liz.

my beautiful friend jonatha, canon 50d

Today I was moving around slower than usual, feeling a bit in a funk, restless with what to do next, comfortable to just sit on the couch and stare at a wall. But I can't do that sitting and staring anymore. I now have a sweet gnome boy looking up at me with bright eyes and a slight smile, encouraging me to get into something that will make him laugh or perhaps even just make his grin a bit wider.

So, I swooped him up and brought him up to the loft. I sat him down near me and put on some music. Music that provokes movement of any kind. I needed to move my body. So I did and he not only smiled wider but he giggled and clapped his hands clumsily and so I did it again and faster and with more drama to make him laugh harder. I started to feel a wee better. A bit of an energy surge encouraging me to take him out and run some errands that earlier I so wanted to put off.

Yes, being with him and that desire to show him how to live more juicy helps me to feel more alive within myself. Him and I have a partnership where the giving goes both ways.

{speaking of delicious music, have you heard jonatha's voice lately? pure magic.}

happy birthday omi

Cedar and I created this video ditty for Boho Boy's mother Birgit today (also known as Omi...pronounced Oomie...Grandma in German).

I promise a writing post soon. I've just realized that when I am tired and not feeling well, moving pictures are so much more simple to express what is going on in our home, our hearts these days!

For those of you that have sent such sweet supportive emails about our videos...THANK YOU...our family soaks up every morsel and we love sharing these moments with you.

I had this one cool reader of mine write to tell me that she was having a really tough day due to a grade for a nursing school exam not being what she expected. She shared that the videos of Cedar singing and us cuddling on the bed together warmed her from the inside out and shifted her perspective...easing her way into the rest of the day (thank you, R...). I am not sure if she truly understood how much this meant to me (although I told her but still...I wondered if she grasped it).

Its been hard feeling this way...not fully present in my body and mind and having a tough time expressing myself through words as a result. Writing is such a huge part of who I am and for that to not feel the same, well...you can imagine. So, of course some fears and insecurities have surfaced about me just sharing videos lately in this space and wondering if these moments in my life that I am sharing will have the same impact that my words do. Because what I put out into the world means something to me; my art, my words...and that need to know that somehow, somehow they will create positive change. Even if for one person. Its worth it and motivates and inspires me and humbles me to the core.

So that email was like a warm blanket of reassurance and so have the others been. Thank you...words are so powerful, both the kind and not so kind. Since I try to be a gentle and considerate communicator, I deeply appreciate and notice when others are as well.

scenes from yesterday...

Cedar is doing this new thing, starting more than month ago. He sings. He started doing it one time when I was singing to him and he was trying to follow me. Now he does it when he hears music or if someone sings at him, trying to get him to do it. Yesterday, he started doing it by himself right in the middle of eating his lunch (NPR was in the background). So I joined him. How cute is he with sweet potatoes smeared all over his mouth?

Right before putting on his jammies last night, I decided to show him how the Flip camera works. He is always grabbing it, looks at it and doesn't see the big deal. So, I layed down with him, recorded us and then played it back to him. He was instantly in love with the whole idea and wanted me to do it again and again...

boho girl vlog {9}

Before I start recording a vlog, I always do a wee test to make sure the lighting is okay and the angle and what not. I usually do something silly...because well, it feels weird to do a test and be all serious. I never share them but this time I decided to show you my test run at the beginning of this vlog. Mainly because I ended it with saying "good thing I'm not showing this...". Omg...it made me laugh and I must be feeling brave!

The angle was still off, though... ; )

wrapped in love.

jb, thea, jen, canon 50d

jb, jen, me, taken by thea

This is how I feel right now.
Circled, wrapped, cushioned with love.
I'm not quite sure how I got so blessed with such warmth in my life.
Thank you...to all of you. You know who you are.
My anchors helping to ground me.
My wings helping me to fly.
My sweet angels reminding me of my strength.

I love you.
Boho Boy loves you.
Cedar loves you.
My family loves you.

May we all close our eyes and think about those special beings in our lives.
The ones who get us, embrace us, love us even though...
The ones who wrap us in love.