Momentum

This quilt was intended to be Makili's Christmas gift, but it didn't make it back from the quilter in time, so instead it will be his 1st birthday gift. It's arrival, however, got me quilting again, and I finished another one this week, though I won't post a picture until it's quilted...

As for Makili movement is his thing. After weeks of backwards and sideways movement, he has finally learned to propel himself forward. I guess that means that he's officially crawling, though it doesn't really look that much like crawling, instead more like the break-dancing move, the catepillar. He also pulls himself up on things which gets a bit dangerous. He's getting pretty adept at it. Though he can "crawl" now, he still defintely prefers to stand and scoot along the couch or the crib or your legs. We're actually on our way right now to buy cabinet locks...

I took some really cute video yesterday...maybe I'll get motivated enough to elarn how to upload it, though more likely that will happen when our new internet connections gets hooked up this week!!!! Hooray!

My guys

Skating before Walking

Raph really wanted to be able to say that Makili was skating before he was walking...

Cimbing Dad, Dirty Looks (give me the boob), Chapped Cheeks

12-16"

Yesterday it was 50 degrees and we went for two breath-taking walks - at Fort Foster and the Cliff Path in York. I was talking about how nice it was and how I was going to take my mom there when she comes next week. Then I just learned that we are expecting 12-16" of snow tonight. Oh well. I still love living by the ocean. Of course I lived by the ocean in Hawaii too and we didn't get any snow there...

Slacker

I really haven't gotten around to bloging lately as I'm sure anyone who regularly reads my blog knows. Life has been very busy and uneventful all at once. Makili is getting big and very mobile - pulling himself up on things (he pulled himself up on the music stand/bookshelf thing the other day and fell and got a little scrape on his face). He is close to crawling, going backwards and sideways very adeptly... I think he is going to be an early walker too since he spends a lot of time holding on the the couch smacking the cushions.

I started nannying/babysitting for three kids a day and a half a week. Luckily they're really nice kids. I've been enjoying the challenge and all that they teach me. Caring for four kids simultaneously is quite an exercise! Makili loves the activity and he and their youngest daughter who is 16 months are very interested in each other and spend part of each day staring at each other. So far so good!

Other than that we've enjoyed having new neighbors, my cousin Tim and his girlfriend Tamara, who bought a fabulous house two miles from ours! Yes! The more the merrier - who's next! We've been sharing culinary delights with them, despite their lack of a cooktop. Tim made the best pizza in the history of the world last week. Tonight is samosa night at our house. It is great to have them nearby. We are strategizing the extravagant garden we intend to put into place next summer (any of my farming friends who are interested in giving advice are welcome to do so...bob, becky, tara, etc?)

I'm feeling pretty good about life. The extra money from babysitting gives a little bit of breathing room with finances, allowing us to continue to live simply, without financial stress. Just the way I want it. And how about 60 degree is January. I am NOT complaining...

Seapoint Sunrise Starts 2008

It may not surprise you that we were up to see the sunrise that brought in the new year. A fitting end I think to the "Year of Light!" Snowy, soft, and cold. I stood there and told Makili that in this year he would take his first steps, say his first words. And I reflected as I stood on the snowy beach that the ocean we watched lap on the shore connected us to Hawaii where Makili was born just six short months ago. The future and the past connected in one string of thoughts. it was a sunset worth being awake for.

A few pictures from 2007 - I added a few random picture from each month of the last year.


January


February



March



April



May



June





July






August




September




October




November


December

starts in 2007

Titles of the first blog for each month over the last year. (Thanks Becky for the idea.)

January: "You Know Your Belly Is Getting Bigger When..."
February: "Squares And Rectangles Add Up To Something"
March: "More Walk Pictures"
April: "Full Circle"
May: "Shocker"
June: "Little Sausages and Blow-Up Mattresses"
July: Notes on Week One"
August: "Abram and Wanita"
September: "Mount Cardigan"
October: "Some Cute Makili pics"
November: "Llama Luau"
December: "Dr. E"

Ornaments and Teeth

Raph and I did not exchange Christmas gifts this year for a variety of reasons - we have no money, we don't need any more stuff, etc. Instead we decided to make eachother an ornament, something we hope will be a yearly tradition. These are the ornaments of 2007. Raph said he really had a hard time with his - getting the solder to stick, so he says he's going to stick this medium each year until he gets really good. In case you can't tell, this is a turtle, in the style of the Hawaiian petroglyphs. This was my first time that I had needle felted. The materials were mostly a gift from my Aunt who has the llama farm. It was pretty fun, though Raph asked why i had given myself a huge mustache. Oh well...

And look how big his teeth have gotten in a few short weeks!

Too short

Our trip to Pittsburgh was wonderful. Not enough bridge, but is there ever? Wonderful toasty fires, decent weather, delicious peppermint cookies and upside down pear gingerbread cakes, and most importantly - people we love and love us. It could have gone on forever as far as I was concerned.

The Puff clan coordinated a last-minute visit that was painfully short as there are few people who's company I enjoy as much as theirs.

Christmas shots...

Appropriate attire required of course.


Makili got some quality time with his aunt and uncle and grandparents. He loved playing peekaboo in the mirror with aunt Amanda and REALLY loved Koda. He was a generally happy kid, especially considering how little sleep he got. OR was that me who got no sleep?






I love decorating christmas cookies and was lucky enough to do so at Raph's mom's house and my mom's house.


Even Koda was feeling festive.


Makili didn't sleep more than three hours at a time for a single night during the vacation so he had to make up for it for with lots of Christmas naps.


Have you ever seen anything cute than this baby in his Christmas outfit? Thanks to Debbie!

Six Months Eve

On the eve of Christmas, my little elf hits six months - a strangely standout non-momentous hallmark of babyhood. It is impressive how far he has come indeed! Never having been around small babies before, these first six months have been amazing for me. Who knew that babies started so small, learned so fast, or engulfed your heart so completely?




He is so cute sometimes I think he needs a soundtrack to play in his presence.



Makili is a master of many things – standing while holding fingers, throwing spoons (his preferred toy), screeching in joy, nursing, rolling over and over and over, bathing, tearing up paper, stealing hearts with HUGE smiles. He has an impressive attention span – sometimes playing with random things, like the frayed strings on our upholstered chair, for 20 minutes or more. He is still working on crawling. Suddenly he goes backwards quite efficiently and can do circles on his belly. As soon as he figures out how to go forwards, we’ll really be in trouble. He’s also making headway learning to fall asleep on his own. We’ve made a lot of progress in the last week and a half towards having him get tired, laying him down with his wubbanub, watching his drift off to sleep peacefully without crying or screaming or being rocked. Big improvement. Unfortunately, this has not transferred into our nighttime routine. I think he’s now sleeping worse than ever before. But we have been traveling a lot and have disrupted his routine a lot.



His day is basically a steady rhythm, the basic beats – a smile, a stand, a snack, a grab, a nap, a snack, a shriek, a toy, a meal. Pretty lovely.



I can't seem to come up with much else to say. What else is there to say? He is irresistibly cute - so much so we get accosted on the street daily by admirers.



I'm looking forward to seeing the second half of his first year. His first steps, his first words, his laughter, all of it...I feel blessed to share my life with him and Raph. Merry Christmas to all of you and thank you for spreading your love our way.



Oh and he has a pretty killer babyhawk these days.