Mayan Grace is officially six years old

I feel like since my baby, my first child, has completely shed not only her baby-ness but all signs of toddlerhood somehwere in the last few years, that I should have some epic downpouring of reflection to mark this occasion...but I don't. She just IS. And it happened so gradually, so sweetly and intense, that I barely even recall what it was like to hold her as an infant, or how her face looked if it were not for photographs. When I see her then in a picture I marvel how that face and body could have morphed into the face and body I see before me today. But there she is, and I've always thought the best adjective to describe Mayan IS Mayan--she's become her own adjective. Spunky, bright, curious, sassy all in somewhat of a laid-back manner. I've always questioned how to wrange her potent spirit and guide it best, without having it burn out of control, or just burn out--I've always wondered how best to be her mother, and I've veered in many directions, but have come to terms that no matter how I parent her, SHE will always come though in the end. I need to worry less, and enjoy her more because it's truly fascinating getting to know how she works. Sometime when I see a quality that I envy in her I realize its something she has gotten from me--that helps center me. I am the Mother of Mayan, and I am forever changed for the better.

Whoa, I guess I did have something to say about it....:-)

Here was our day today:

fried chicken tenders are the perfect beach food: fill a ziplock bag with 2 parts rice flour, 1 part tapioca flour and 1/2 part flax meal, plus a few tsp of salt and a few tsp of dry mustard powder. dip some chicken pieces (this time i did tenders but drumsticks are great too) in a shallow pan with rice milk, then place then in the flour-mix bag and shake shake shake to coat. fry them in an inch of high-heat cooking oil (safflower or canola)

a little sisterly sand burying

blake is on dogs-not-on-leash-patrol

my beautiful daughter

my how they grow!!!

surprises awaited us when we returned!

cookie made a jewelry box--and sent other great things like a bike basket and bike horn--watch out knapp street!

what is that flash of white, you ask? its the girls so excited about the dresses that uncle walter and uncle bruce sent that they could not wait to try them on

darling, eh?

the chocolate "butterfly" cake....i wonder what her wish is!


thanks to all her who called and sent gifts. mayan kept declaring all day what a perfect birthday it was. she was full of gratitude by the end of it all. love!

Isa-FOUR!

It's still 5 weeks away (Mayan's birthday is this coming Monday) but it has really been sriking me lately how incredible it is that Isadore is going to be FOUR. I am just as stuck that Mayan will be SIX (it seems to be like entering into a whole nother dimension of childhood as the teeth fall out and they become "school-aged") but seeing Isadore become a big sister to George has helped me see into her personality a bit better. Since Mayan goes to work with Blake a few times a week, I have the honor of spending more focused time with Isadore and watch her new role as "older sibling" develop--she adores George and adopts all of the pet names for him that we have, sweetly singing them to his face while he lights up like a tree at her attention. I am definitely seeing a relationship blossom between them that I have not seen between Mayan and him (Mayan claims she's been through all of this before--the new sibling thing--and plays it very cool.)

Here are some pics she took of us the other day:





Currently, black is her favorite color; her thing for ninjas has made a comeback, especially since I bought her these leggings with an attached skirt at a thrift store a few weeks ago. If she sees anyone wearing all black she says "Look, a ninja!" Or if I am wearing black pants and a colored top she tells me I am "half-ninja." She told me that last night she had a dream about ninjas--there was a good ninja and a bad ninja, and the good ninja saved her from danger so they got married. "Getting married" is her equivalent to any sort of love right now. She asks Blake to marry her everyday, and if she likes something I cook she tells me will be married in the morning. Look closely and you miiiight be able to spot her:

Ah, there she is, my sweet little ninja!

stop and smell the baby

Today, after putting on something cute and making sure my purse had all the appropriate diaper-bag things, I grabbed my Anthropologie bag to go exchange a top I had recently purchased. The girls were still helping Blake build the fence out front, and George, my constant companion was changed and recently nurse and ready as well. I realized though that I didn't actually know where I was going--Bridgeport Villiage in Tigard had the shirt I needed (I had just spoken with them on the phone to confirm the exchange.) So as I mapquested this uber-shopping-mecca, guess who passed out in my arms? Oh, yes, Mr. Man. Baby Meat Fat. Little Georgie Boy. Is that a big deal, you ask. Well, it is. I say it all the time but George-Ephraim is such a good sleeper. At least compared to my other children he is. When I know he is tired, I merely swaddle him up and bind the swaddle with my American Apparel scarf (who knew it had such a perfect other purpose?) then lay him down in his Moses basket or in the purple baby hammock that hangs in our dining room. Sometimes he need to suck on my finger for a few minutes, other times just a few minutes of bouncing, or otherwise he just "meeps to sleep" gazing at the grass-woven grasshopper mobile. He'll sleep like this for a long time--maybe 2-3 hours, and usually twice a day. I used to either nursing or wearing my children to sleep. I feel very productive as he sleeps this way, and at times wait for him to awake b/c I miss him. On days where we are out-and-about, he takes little naps between the car seat and sling but is past that can-sleep-through-anything-newborn phase, and by teh end of the day is pretty cranky for a big fat nap...again I just swaddle and bind, and lay him own in his bassinet and he's out like a light. He sleeps his first night-time stretch between 4 and 7 hours (7 is our best yet and it only happened once). I use that time to read, connect with B, and sleep a few hours in any position I want without a hot baby body next to me. When he finally does fuss anywhere between 2 and 4, I scoop him up and pop a boob in his mouth and he nurses on and off the rest of the night, and we sleep until 9 or so. This is the routine we are all getting accustomed too. Which brings me back to my story. not since the first few weeks has he really napped ON me. So when he passed out in my arms today, I could not resist. Screw Anthropologie (yes, I said it!!) it can wait. I moved to my rocking chair and listened to U2's All That You Can't Leave Behind while just studying his sweet face--the round baby nose, pale yellow eye crusties clinging to his eyelashes, the poochy overbite and delicate chin, and the sweat-soaked curls smashed against my chest. With a family of five in full force, I wasn't sure if I would have the chance again for a long while. I thought to myself sometimes in life you just have to stop and smell the sleeping baby.

it's so easy!

i have never made my own playdough before....until today! it's SO EASY! six years into motherhood and i wonder what took me so freakin' long?

this is what you need:

1 cup flour (don't waste your good organic flour on this like i did)
1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon oil
1/4 cup salt
food coloring

huck all but the coloring in a pot and stir over medium heat:

once it smooths then starts to chunk up add the coloring:

keep stirring until it forms into a ball and looks doughy:

plop it onto the counter and knead it until blended--careful, its hot!

i had royal blue and ivory food coloring and these were the colors we made:

let it cool before handing it to your cute kids (or grandkids or neices and nephews...) to make cute stuff:

keeps moist for a long time in airtight containers.
enjoy!

10 pictures of George's first beach trip

last monday we headed west toward the ocean--i've been dying to go to the beach since last fall but in oregon you only get nice beach-weather in the summer. the closest town is Seaside and the closest beach is called Ecola State Park (sounds like E coli but i am sure this beach was named long before the bacteria made headlines)--it took us an hour and a half to get there with minimal kid-flooping (classic parent-kid conversations along the way: how much longer? has it been and hour and a half yet? no, it's been fifteen minutes. oh, can have a snack? sorry, the food is in the trunk; we'll picnic when we get there. oh....will you hand me that book? *sigh*) of course, mr. best-baby-ever didn't make a peep until we pulled into the beach parking lot. it was not to hot day i anticipated, but luckily we all had extra hoodies in the trunk; it ended up pretty cloudy and coolish the whole time but it didn't rain--blake deemed it perfect weather since he dislikes the sun anyway. i love how the beach is a large section of smooth rocks before the sand starts...we pulled up a piece of driftwood for a bench on the egde of the rocks and layed out our stuff on the sand. despite the cool temps, it didn't take long for the girls to strip down to their suits and chase the surf. george-ephraim just meeped and squinted in his stylish american apparel hoodie. after a while, blake had a flashback to when he and his sister explored tide pools so we took a walk toward some giant rocks in the distance, and sure enough we found some starfish and sea anenomes. the three of them were so cute looking for sea creatures! all-in-all, a successful family-of-five day trip to the beach...maybe next time we'll stay overnight in a yurt!

a self-family-portrait success!

it's no wonder his nickname is "baby meat fat"

team chait, the reunion, pirates, and smiles

let's get started, shall we?

team chait (hawk, allison, max, and nina) graced us with a short but very sweet visit a few weeks ago. we love this family and miss them terribly.

mayan is sure she will be marrying max when they are older. we took the kids to omsi.

the Nomad shirts have arrived!

B is actually quite silly on occasion.

this is where george-ephraim takes his mid-day naps--our friend rich made this baby hammock and it rules! the grasshopper mobile is from a jeweler that blake knows and it also rules.

very special--all of the cousins from the perlingieri side come together (mayan, chemynne holding george, athena, and isadore)

it was a great day for a family reunion!

avia brought mayan a rocking chair from england (and she literally bought it in england and lugged it here) circa 1870. happy early birthday, mg!

keeping it together!

avia reading a bedtime story to all of her grandkids

the breeders (minus a napping baby g)

running with scissors

more stories

my boys with matching haircuts

avia taught mayan how to crochet

ilya and her children, blake and chemynne, together again. pretty special father's day.

so many sweet faces!

beware of the dreaded kitty-pirate!

and look at these fierce bucaneers!

mr. man is all smiles these days. he's so handsome!! yum yum yum!

ancient secret of happy babies and long naps: swaddle and bundle. (we noticed this in the book celebrating babies, that nearly all tribal newborns are swaddled then tied to keep the swaddle in place--this not only calms babies but also helps them sleep sounder by protecting them from their own flailing limbs.)

happy solstice everyone!

baby g's first photo shoot

ah, we are so lucky! our dear friend Amy at Funky Wonder did a shoot for us at Nomad just before George-Ephraim's first moon celebration and, of course, the results are breathtaking...

in arms

the biggest sister

george-ephraim in a basket (oh, the hair!)

so handsome

adornment

little boy nomad

whisker kisses

father and son

the nomad family (looking straight out of a magazine spread)

family of five

mommy's little chunk

through the museum case

i, g, m

bright eyes

edible

so, amy and i were belly-sisters--due just a few days apart. she ended up having her baby boy Max exactly 2 weeks before I had George and this was her first photo shoot since the birth. we just had to get pics of the boys together and it proved to be hilarious! i don't know how she captured it but here is the shot that had us all rolling....

max and his little birdie

don't worry, my boy ended it, quick and cool-like--LOL!

THANK YOU, AMY--for capturing the beauty of our lives to enjoy forever and for being so great to work with!