11 months!! huh??

i say this every month but seriously, how is he 11 months already??
he gets cuter and more fun every day.
love'n this little guy!

having fun

 devan LOVES balls--ever since we went to Idaho Falls and he watched John & Brian shoot baskets he is obsessed.  his 1st word after 'mama' was 'ba'

 He loves to read books

 goodnight moon being a favorite

 he loves playing with just about anything that's NOT a baby toy.  the oven drawer, the vacuum, 5 gallon water jug, closet doors-some of his current faves.

 at the beach last weekend.

 loves to be on dad's shoulders  :)

 we went to a friend's baby's 1st bday party on sunday and they had rented a bouncy castle/slide--BIG hit w/all the kids including devan

once we let him on it he didn't want to get off it.  he raged it!  had a blast!  he loves being around kids and watching them play.

devan's 1st halloween!

we didn't do much anything for Halloween this year.  Doug gets home from work most days at 6ish, and devan goes to bed most nights around 730-8ish.  we did go to Pa'ia to eat dinner and check out a few locals and tourists in their Halloween costumes.  Doug and devan dressed up in their costumes for about 10 minutes.  :)     Swamp Thing and Bear Cub   :)

happy fall ya'll

there are a few things i miss about 'mainland living'.  one of them being the changing of the seasons.  living in portland there are usually 2 or 3 seasons.  some years it's the 'rainy season' and 'the 2-3 months it doesn't rain season' with spring and fall mixed in.  and some years it would actually snow a 1/4 inch or so and be 'winter' for a few weeks--well, actually it does get pretty cold in portland sometimes--nothing like idaho falls though! so right now i'm missing the beauty of fall.  the colors, falling leaves, the fall smell in the air, the chill-dressing in cute sweaters, layers, wearing socks :) and making 'fall food' 

soups, pies, pumpkins, winter squash---a few of my fall favorites.

here's a few dishes i'll be attempting over the next few weeks--devan allowing  :)

http://eatnourishing.com/recipe/thai-red-curry-pumpkin-soup/

http://www.cookingwithmykid.com/recipes/baked-pumpkin-oatmeal/

http://glutenfreeeasily.com/crustless-gluten-free-pumpkin-pie/

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/indian_pudding/

http://growitcookitcanit.com/2011/10/31/marlborough-pie/

Now

"Parenting, I’ve come to understand, is about loving my child today. Now. In fact, for any parent, anywhere, that’s all there is."
if there's one thing i've learned   am learning thus far into parenthood it's the importance and beauty of NOW, this moment.   children live in the now all day long.  children only experience the right-here right-now.  “When you’re rushing to the next moment, what happens to the moment you are in?” You’ve missed it! You may be okay with that, but children have no capacity to understand why they can’t enjoy the NOW.

Living in the NOW is where the treasures of life live.

Living in the NOW is where all the answers to our problems are.

The moment we begin to rationalize and feel like we “should” do some thing, we fall out of the NOW. That’s when things get complicated, rushed, filled with stress, pres sure and anger.

The most profound and beautiful thing we experience by living in the NOW…is love. The more you can take it one-moment-at-a-time and simply focus on the task at hand, by remaining really-really present, the more you love you’ll be able to take in.

wise words from a friend.

this little guy is my greatest teacher, my little guru.  

Mother's Day

So happy to be the mama of my little buddy.

devan is 5 months!

                                              day 5*****

                                          *****5 months!