She's found her Wings

This post is a little overdue, it's a collection of pictures from her first grass and park experiences the past couple of months in New Orleans. This was a very significant step for us, I don't know how crazy it is for you all to see her on her own outside but it felt so wrong at first, as she's never been farther than a stroller away before this. I thought she might be a little aprehensive at first, but no...she absolutely lit up with excitement, as you can see, and would not even think about staying still. Too many sticks, flowers, tree trunks and crowds of people to explore.

One Down

A year?? I can't believe it, everyone told us how quick it goes. I wrote the following for her baby journal, I thought I would share it...



The rising sun casts the most peaceful hue of yellow orange on the morning of your birthday. You knew that dawns' energy is best. I thought I would only see it in our home, but here it is illuminating our room in New Orleans. My heart is filled with absolute purity and sense of new beginnings that you brought with you into this world. The time is - ha - I just glanced at the phone to see the time and it's 7:59, your exact birth time. I wasn't really planning to acknowledge that until the correct time zone, but seeing Feb 17, 7:59 can't help but bring a sense of sacredness for me. It's when I became a mother. It's the moment I could feel the presence of a brand new person in the room and in the world, breathing separately from my body. When I waited for your voice, your cry and when I was shocked by the truthfulness of the break in the silence when you did. Suddenly all there was in my view was this beyond beautiful bright baby girl, shockingly recognizable as a piece of myself, with the purest, deepest, straight from the starry universe eyes I could ever imagine. The most graceful curve in your brow bone down your cheeks and through your jaw line. In an instant my breath was made for someone else. My limbs were strong to provide a place for you to rest, a sanctuary for you to come home to, always. My heart went on to beat to protect you, to teach you. And my eyes shone back into yours to define for you compassion, kindness, joy, honesty and a lifetime full of shaping virtues.

I could not believe my eyes. This gift.

Now here you are a year later, still in my arms, enjoying such earthly delights as pears and girly folk music. I grasp to the moments passed with a wavering intensity, because I know the excitement every new day brings. There is so, so much to look forward to in watching you grow and learn, our hearts overflow with pride. The trick is living so very much in the moment as that day of your birth. I'm not sure of its possibility.

















The Past Year

You've been awakened to two people that you've come to know as Mama and Daddy, they are your constant companions, your entire universe, in fact. They envelope you in their arms with warmth and security, make it more than clear that this is all for you, and soon enough you will know this and come to rightfully expect it for as long as we live.




Within weeks, an endless spectrum of colors and shapes appeared to you. Your hands, fingers and feet became participants in experiments of yours. You learned to fling your legs up and over with enough power to land on your side and finally your tummy. You bonded with the warm and cool fur of sheepskin. You discovered a way to express, to release the build up of joy with your first nervous smiles and laughs. You learned how welcomed and reciprocated they are until soon they traveled straight from your belly. The flexibility of your spine to create the most beautifully perfect arch when you stretch was replaced with a new found strengthening of the muscles supporting that energy channel enough to perform all sorts of new feats like lifting your head and finally your whole chest off the floor. You discovered mobility, becoming just adept at one technique before swiftly moving on to the next. You began to express fondness of certain animals, flavors and even textures. Namely dogs, grassy flavors like spirulina, and the green 100% cotton hat over the yellow knit one. You began to prefer sleeping on your tummy, which in our case this means laying across my chest with all of your 20 plus pounds. You loved to give kisses from the start, big direct kisses that swallow whole cheeks. Halfway through your first year, we already found you engrossed in books, sitting on the floor flipping through them on your own. Your hair is slow coming and soft and golden. It smells of earthy fire when you awake from having it against my skin.















The Next Year

You may now eat citrus and your eyes will light up at your first lick of fresh raw honey. I look forward to dancing with you and I promise to sing to you more. And to fill our days with creation out of nothing, to play and to connect. To nourish you with the very best the earth has to offer, both through my body and directly to you. To instill a love of water, everything water. And green. I anticipate the summer months when we can again be free in our skin, days of sunshine and grass and fruit. Juicy days.

What light you bring, Amaya, please let it shine, always, and help to bring it out in others. We love you and we welcome you with such happiness.

Who Dat Baby

This city has an undeniable charm on particular sunny, friendly days. (And people seem extra friendly ever since the Saints won their way to the Superbowl for the first time) It has hugely lifted the spirits of the community as a whole, a sort of rebirth. I joined some of the hotel staff in the bistro for the last playoff game, and it was surprisingly fun, their enthusiasm contagious. I dressed Amaya in gold and black more for everyone else's delight! I made sure to get her out of the crowd before they won and wow am I glad that I did! We watched the scene on the streets from our hotel room window, I have never seen anything quite like it! Even the police were on loudspeakers that you could hear throughout the French quarter, “The Saints are going to the superbowl! Who Dat!” haha I feel happy for them, this city deserves some penetrating joy. And just to think, what the superdome contained and represented just 5 years ago.


We’ve found a special spot to visit, a dock on the Mississippi river, to get away from the commotion of downtown if we do go out, though it’s only a few minutes walk beyond it. She used her (first) new shoes here for the first time, walking up the wooden steps with my help, so proud of herself at the top. We sit next to the waves crashing on the rocks, and there is usually a saxophone player at the top of the steps. A gigantic ferry boat passes every now and then. It’s one of my favorite places, and I’m usually not even that much of a fan of muddy rivers, but you’ve got to take what little bits of nature you can get here.



We’re going to a DOG PARADE today before the game! If you didn’t know doggies are Amaya's like favorite thing ever, well…from what she’s seen in this world so far. I can’t wait to see her reaction!

I'll be back with a video and hopefully a win!



the hotel courtyard (it's really pretty. The hotel is very old, original New Orleans style)










it's just a kombucha bottle...haha

I haven't yet figured out how to put videos on here...so here's the links:
video 1
video 2

some catching up to do

From now on, my hope is I get on here often enough to post pictures/videos as I take them, correlated with posts. But since I've been seriously dragging on sending any lately, there's way too many to post right on here, so here's the links to check out what she's been up to the past few months:

7 - 9 months

9 - 10 months

videos

In my quest to improve staying in touch I've even considered joining Facebook, we'll see... :)

You'll see that the very latest footage is of her very first steps! She's had some attempts the last few days, and she's gotten quite skilled at walking around the room holding onto furniture, but this last night was the first continuous series of steps! She has such balance, doesn't she?? We were incredibly proud. While she walks between us her face is full of awe and pure delight in herself as she nervously giggles and waddles along. She's by far still more interested in crawling or walking holding onto things (or our legs) still, but I'm sure it'll pick up in no time at all. My prediction has been 11 months.

Our baby is getting more and more independent, it's so crazy to see her upright all the way up there in midair by herself!