Summer into Fall

I'm writing from Yestermorrow in Warren, Vermont where Andrew is teaching his 16th Permaculture Design Certification class (he's taught many more in West Virginia and New York).

Here's some from our "Last Days of Summer at the Park" series.




Ah the park! I love taking photos of us together. We've been having a great time walking around
the city together. I still haven't taken her on a subway. I think I'll wait for that!



I've got a 1,000,000 kisses for you Juni!



You are a bright beam of light shining wherever you go.



You have such a serene personality as everyone who meets you comments.



These last days of summer sure were perfection. Here's to the changing seasons and to the incoming cold. We will be hunkering down in our warm house picking out the seeds we will be sowing the next spring and learning more about each other.


Here's some from our apt. in Brooklyn. We were having some playtime on the floor with some of her toys. She likes to stare up at the ceiling fan when she's down there. We have one in our bedroom that she was following with her eyes when we woke up one morning. It was really hilarious!




Here's one from after her bath. It's getting a bit easier for her (and me!) to be bathed.


That's my baby! She is such a sweetheart and such a pleasure to be around this gentle soul.
She's getting big enough now to really cuddle with so sleeping with her is something I look forward to every night. Night nursing has been pretty easy and she barely wakes up. We've been doing lots of side lying which is very restful for both of us. She barely makes a peep when she needs to nurse and instead makes all these snuffling little animal sounds and then latches on. Really so very sweet!

That's all for now!

LOVE

Welcome Autumnal Equinox!

Happy Fall to Each and All!

But let's cut to the chase shall we? I've been neglecting my duties here at Growing the Future to show you all (Grandmas!) just how the future is indeed growing.

Juniper and I have been spending a lot of time in the park hanging out under the trees and enjoying some of the last beautiful summer days.

Here are some pics to prove it!
















We've been back in Brooklyn two weeks this Thursday and these photos were taken by Tristan on the Sunday after our return. She, Seth and Kellan came over to Williamsburg to meet Juniper. We sat in McCarren park and ate sandwiches and watched the world go by. It was a stunning day.

Here are some that I snapped...






She had a bit of a rash so I was letting her go pants free! I found out that coconut oil is amazing at clearing up diaper rash.


Coconut oil is antimicrobial and antibacterial so it's very good for all kinds of skin conditions. Not only that but when eaten it boosts your immune system. Coconut oil is abundant in Lauric acid and so is breastmilk and Lauric acid is known to have really potent anti-viral and anti-microbial properties. When mamas eat coconut oil (or just coconut in general) Lauric acid increases in the mother's breastmilk. Mamas can then pass on their super immune boosted breastmilk to their babies. So eat some coconut!


I'm getting tired now and it's past my bedtime, but here are a few more snaps...



Isn't she cute in the hoodie that Stacy and Nick got her?

How about this farm onesie from Fork !?












The farm onesie has little tractors on it so I had to dress her in it when Andrew's tractor was delivered. Pretty nice huh?
And here she is on her very first car ride. We were on our way to our last appointment with the midwives. (tears!) She was very alert and stayed awake most of the time looking out the window. It was my first car ride since she was born so we were both really excited about getting out of the house and seeing the sights!



Could she be any more precious? The answer is no, she couldn't. Here she is with her new handmade elf doll that our friend, and one of Andrew's Permaculture students, Nor got for her. It is made in the Waldorf tradition and is stuffed with wool and is just gorgeous.

Isn't she a peach?

Here's to the changing of the seasons and to change in general! I am anticipating the cold weather and getting to dress Juniper in fuzzy snowsuits and hats and mittens and warm things. I can't wait to see what she thinks of the snow and winter in general. I so look forward to celebrating the changing of the seasons with her and am working on ways to celebrate the passing of time that will be special to our family. I have always wanted to do this for myself but never really got around to being disciplined about the rituals of holidays. Now that I have a child there is much inspiration! To have this little bright ray of light as my daughter is such a gift in this world. I want to celebrate every day!

LOVE

"Like sand through the hourglass...

...so are the days of our lives."

That's EXACTLY why we video our babies and then post them to our blogs! Ach how they grow and grow! And just when you think that you've memorized their repertoire of coos and gestures they throw a bunch of new material into the mix causing you to replace previously memorized material with the new influx. Such is the plight of soft, fleshy brains.

Without further ado, I bring you Juniper Amie in a series of videos ranging from when she was 5 days old through 6 weeks old.

Pardon the parents.














Pretty amazing how big she got in those 6 weeks! I look at those old videos and think that I didn't look at her enough or take as many pictures as I should have! Every stage is so priceless and precious. I didn't get it when people were telling me to take lots of photos and how they had forgotten the baby stage and what their kids were like as babies.

I completely understand now.

In fact I think I have come closer to understanding many things that I brushed aside as soppy parental sentimentality.
Being a mom has taken me closer to the miracle that we all are. In fact I am standing in the epicenter most days liable to cry my eyes out over this little girl and the changes she goes through every day.

"I'm go-ing through change-eh-eh-es."

Aren't we all?