home

As I mentioned in a previous post, Luke and I have been house hunting the past several months. I am happy to share that we have found a house that we are very pumped about and are looking forward to moving into. It was quite the process!  I wanted to make sure that most of the details were in place before getting too excited.:) The inspection has been completed and a few things are being worked on, but we are set to close in the next couple of weeks are planning to do the big move in June. We will be switching sides of town which will bring us closer to Luke's work and to my studio. The house is in a small neighborhood and is an older, stone, ranch style home that sits on a lovely 1/2 acre. I'll post photos once we have closed and it's a done deal.:) We can't wait to make this house our home!

Birthday Boy!

Maxfield celebrated his first birthday today and I can hardly believe it! What a guy.:) It's incredible how much your heart expands when you add a kiddo to the mix. Life has definitely been a big change over the past year, but it has been an awesome transition and I wouldn't trade it for the world. Time has flown faster than I could have imagined! I'll admit that I cringed this morning when I recalled what I went through a year ago, but I'll never forget what it was like to see his little face for the first time and how that trumped the heck out of everything. Max keeps me on my toes, but he brings more joy and happiness than I could have ever hoped for.
We enjoyed an indoor picnic (due to weather:) with friends this evening whose son is a good buddy of Max's in celebration of the occasion. Max palmed the half of a cupcake we gave him and shoveled it in. He clearly knows what to do with sugar.:) Friday night we will celebrate with our families, which I am really looking forward to. My baby boy is growing up!

the birthday boy this morning:

updates!:)

My goodness, I haven't been on here in awhile! It would be impossible to fill in all the details of the last few months so I think I'll just run through some quick updates.:)

Maxfield update:
This guy makes the world a better place.:) It's hard to believe how quickly the last 10 and a half months of gone. My little man is closing in on a year old. He loves life and seems to have quite a sense of humor. He laughs and still smiles all the time and generally charms most people he crosses paths with. It's next to impossible for me to make it through the grocery store or anywhere else without having to stop for ladies to chat with him-- as usual, he gives them a winning smile.:)

Max continues to be a chatterbox! (As Luke and I are his parents, we cannot for the life of us figure out where that came from.:) He seriously talks like 92.3% of the time that he is awake. I keep trying to convince him to say "ma-ma", which usually results in him laughing at me and giving me an ornery smile. What a little pistol. When he figured out how to stand up, his joy was (for the moment) complete. He now spends a lot of time standing up and cruising around furniture and has just recently learned to climb stairs. I believe walking is in the all to near future. I don't think there is a still bone in this kids body. Cuddling is not one of his fortes.:)

Max overall likes eating, but is definitely a bit picky and likes things a certain temperature.:) His favorite foods seem to be avocado, banana and sweet potatoes. Applesauce is somehow one of his extreme dislikes. Even if I try to mix it in with his beloved cereal, he immediately sniffs it out and will have nothing to do with it. He's becoming more independent all the time and has recently decided to feed his bottles to himself. We are kind of on a half breastfeeding, half formula plan these days, so he has ample opportunity to practice his bottle feeding skills.:) He also LOVES drinking water and finally learned how to use a sippy cup-- a new favorite object.

He loves playing, but prefers for it to involve anything that is not generally considered a toy. Remotes and cell phones seem to be particularly attractive "playthings".:) He absolutely loves doing patty-cake and cannot resist the urge to clap his hands together once you start the rhyme. He's also learned to high-five (courtesy of aunt Marge:) and wave goodbye. Both of which are adorable.:) Books have become a favorite and one of the few things to cause him to sit still and relax for a minute. This of course makes my heart very happy.:) He doesn't always have the patience to be read to, but loves turning the pages and looking through them.

For the most part he is an excellent sleeper. There are, of course, teething incidents etc that cause disrupted sleep, but most nights he goes to bed without too much fuss and sleeps straight through the night for about 10-12 hours. He has us so spoiled, that when the bad nights come along we are completely out of practice and put off guard by the whole thing.:)

Here are a couple recent pictures of the man himself:



Life update:
Life feels insanely busy. I imagine that will just always be the case and I should probably get used to it.:) We are house-hunting in earnest these days. This is an exciting, overwhelming and frustrating experience all in one.:) We are excited about being homeowners and settling in somewhere, but definitely looking forward to this process being over and having the paperwork complete.

I'm still working 3 days a week at the bookstore. It is our goal in the near-ish future for me to be done working there, so we are working on making that happen. It has been a great job, but we feel like it's time for me to be home more and to not have to work weekends and be able to focus more on my kiddo and my art. To that end I have started teaching a few art classes here and there. Teaching art is not necessarily my passion or my particular gift, but I know that I am capable and it's a good way to pass on the knowledge I have acquired. (not to mention it's one of the few ways to consistently make money as a fine artist:).

Things at my studio are good. A couple of years ago I started doing small paintings/illustrations on book covers that I salvaged from the trash at work. Little did I know these would pretty much pay my studio rent every month. I'm able to sell them fairly cheap because they are very inexpensive and relatively quick to make and they seem to be pretty popular. I currently have a couple of book cover pieces that I manipulated with a scroll saw and painted on in the "Put a Bird on it" gallery show at the Harrison. I still do more traditional work as well, but I've enjoyed discovering different ways to use book covers. It's a natural progression of my love of both literature and painting. Most of the covers are from reader's digest condensed books, which I don't feel too bad about destroying.:)

Luke and I will be celebrating our 5th anniversary this weekend. I can't believe it! What a crazy 5 years it has been. We've learned and grown a great deal and shared lots of tears, laughs and love. I'm so thankful for the perfect man for me and for a great father for our son. This weekend we are getting away to Chicago for an overnight while Max stays with my parents. I'm looking forward to it!

Here's a couple of more recent book cover paintings (you'll have to excuse the lack of editing of these photos):

It's hard to tell from the photo, but this bird cage one is actually about 3 feet from the top of the chain to the bird.

Movie update:

With the recent Academy Awards, we have been on a new movie binge around here.:) So here's 5 second reviews/opinions of the newest movies I've seen (these don't really include plot line):

"the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"-- I enjoyed the Swedish version and was wary of an American remake until I heard David Fincher was at the helm. Very well done! Rooney Mara played Lisbeth Salander excellently and overall the story line followed the book pretty closely, although in a somewhat simplified way. The ending was slightly different, but not in a way that bothered me or really changed things. Having read the books and seen the movies I can't really recommend seeing the films unless you have read the book first. They deal with some pretty hardcore stuff that I think is best to be prepared for before seeing it.

"Drive"-- I really liked this movie- and not just because it included Ryan Gosling.:) It had a sort of 80s grunge/b movie feel to it in an awesome sort of way. I can't exactly put a finger on why I liked it so much, but I really dug it. There was something badass about it that got me pumped.:)

"the Artist"-- probably my top recommendation out of all of these. This film is brilliant! As a new silent film in black a white, I could not have been more excited about it and I was far from disappointed. It was a bold and wonderful way to make a movie. The story is simple, but great and includes both drama and comedy. It really adopted the feel of an old silent film.

"Moneyball"-- This movie was very well done and very well acted. As a true story, it's quite fascinating- especially for being about baseball.:) I found myself wanting to read the book as I'm sure it would include even more of some of those interesting statistical details.

"Tree of Life"-- this is a very cinematic movie. Some people found it pretentious and it seemed that most reviewers truly loved it or truly hated it. I'm in the mostly loved it camp. It's not so much a movie as a work of art, though, which puts it at a different level and I understand why a lot of people didn't care for it. If you like cinematography, interesting framing of scenes and ethereal cosmological effects, you'll probably enjoy it. It is long though, and I don't think it was a perfect movie. It is beautiful, though.

"50/50"-- Great movie! It's about a very serious subject (cancer), but balances the drama with the comedy extremely well. The background of the movie is quite interesting as it is based on the true life experience Seth Rogan had of supporting his friend in his battle with cancer. Basically Seth Rogan plays Seth Rogan. And he does it well.:) Joseph Gordon-Levitt is also great in this movie.

"Hugo"-- What a beautiful movie!! Although this was somewhat geared towards kids and is based off of a young adult novel, I think most adults would find it appealing. It is very artistic and the movie is beautiful to watch (I loved the coloration of the whole film!). The references and snippets of old silent movies also made my heart very happy.:) I highly recommend this one!

I would like to try and blog more frequently, but really don't have much extra time these days, so no promises.:)

Giving Thanks

Well, Thanksgiving day has come and gone, but I'm still feeling the warmth and joy of one of my favorite holidays.:) I love that we have a holiday set aside to reflect with thanks on the past year and to gather with family to celebrate God's goodness in our lives. I am not always good about focusing on the positives, but when I take time out to consider the many blessings in my life I am overwhelmed at God's goodness.

This year I am of course particularly grateful for the beautiful baby boy God brought into our family back in April. Maxfield brings incredible joy and love into our lives and being a mom is by far the awesomest thing I have ever done. I am also so thankful for Luke; he is such a loving and caring husband and I love growing up and growing more in love with him each year. God has blessed both of us with good jobs that provide for both our basic needs as well as a few extras-- this is something we have learned not to take for granted. I am also grateful for the opportunities God has given me through my art this year; He provides me with chances to exercise my talent even when I least expect it. And I am extremely thankful for my amazing family and friends. I am truly blessed!

monopoly man

I just have to share a few photos of Max dressed up for halloween. I'm still cracking up about him.:) I didn't really put much thought into his costume and wouldn't have really worried about going trick or treating, but Alaina invited us to tag along with them and it sounded like fun. I had purchased this one piece tuxedo outfit for Max for $1 at a second hand kids store and thought it was funny and when Alaina bought mustaches for her boys, I knew Max had to have one.:) The consensus after the fact was that he looked like the monopoly guy. I think he was a bit nonplussed by the whole situation, but put up with it quite well. Who knows what was running through his head about his crazy mother.:)

Before the mustache-- adorable as always.:)

working out the mustache "kinks":)

visiting Noni at work. not the most cooperative picture.:)

the completed "look":)

tuckered out. i love how serious he looks here.:)

max!:)

I think this picture not only sums up Max, but also life the past several months-- funny, happy and just a touch of crazy.:) Seriously, this guy rocks my world. I can't believe he is 6 months old already! He is not quite crawling yet, although he clearly wants to.:) He does a lot of scooting and rolling and I find myself having to watch him a lot more closely. This kiddo is beyond active and I know him becoming mobile means I will be getting next to nothing done around here.:)

I'm still working 3 days a week which means he gets to spend an afternoon with Grandma N., a day with Aunt Alaina and 3 awesome cousins and then Saturdays with daddy. I think he is pleased with this arrangement.:) He is quite the happy kid. And quite the charmer; at Meijer the other day I had to stop and have several conversations with old ladies about him- all of whom he graced with his adorable smile.:)

Max is quite the chatterbox these days. Actually he's always been a chatterbox. He loves using his voice. He uses lots of different sounds and inflections. I'm pretty sure he truly believes he is communicating.:) He has also more recently added shrieking to his vocal repertoire. Not my favorite addition as it comes into play both when he is happy and when he is mad, meaning there is lots of shrieking in this household.:) (and sometimes in church).

A few weeks ago we had Maxfield baptized. This was an exciting and sobering occasion. It is awesome to dedicate Max and our raising of him before God and the church. It also brought home to us even more the reality of raising our son up in a Christian home and of the great and joyous task we have undertaken. He, of course, was quite the ham in front of church. He doesn't mind being the center of attention.:) I think he was feeling quite well dressed:

A couple weeks ago we took Max on his second camping trip in his 6 months of life. We camped at Clifty Falls. He did pretty well. It was quite cold at night, so he slept with us most of the nights (which I think made him quite pleased with himself). We enjoyed great weather during the day and were able to do a little hiking, some walking around Madison and some relaxing. We went with our friends who have a 10 month old and I think our boys wondered from time to time what possessed their crazy parents to take them camping. Overall (despite some lack of sleep) it was a great time.:) Here is Max all bundled up sleeping out camping:

And because I never tire of the adorableness of a sleeping baby here are some other sleeping Max pictures:)

At the beginning of October Luke had a business trip to Cincinnati for some training so Max and I tagged along. It was nice to get away just for a bit. We visited Newport on the Levee and I got to go to Ikea with Marge and we all went to Jungle Jim's international grocery store (which is awesome, by the way:). I also got to watch cable in the hotel. Having not had cable for a few years now, I get excited to watch TLC and the Food Network and Lifetime.:)

Another highlight of this month is that about 2 weeks ago Max's cousin Owen was born. The boys are about 5 1/2 months apart, which will be lots of fun (and possibly lots of trouble in the very near future:). Here Max is meeting his new cousin:

All in all life has been good. Busy and crazy, but good. We're starting to gear up for the holidays both at work and at home, which I always get super excited about (except for the work part of it.:) I have every intention of being a better blogger, but no promises.:) I will leave you with this picture:

the kid can roll

As of a few days ago, the kid can roll over. This is awesome. Only problem is that although he is capable of rolling back onto his back (I've seen him do it more than once) he usually gets too worked up to do so. Since he hates tummy time, this has led to quite a few frustrated tears. I eventually go and roll him back over. He then repeats the process. Although I'm sure he doesn't think it's funny, it's slightly amusing. It's also not as easy to get things done as it used to be...:)

Man, I love this kid.:)