sunday

buttery sunlight

happy giggles

creamy skin

world of wonder

trying new things

baby aroma, awaken from a nap

shrieks of delight

burrowing in blankets

cuddling on my lap

reading books together

devouring a peach

learning how to tumble

falling asleep

peaceful

at rest

still

sweet happyness

delighting in love

the love of a family

so blessed,

so blessed.

Baby Food

So far I have hand made all of Layla's baby food. Which actually hasn't been as hard as I thought and has been a lot of fun! It's nice to have a little baby puree thing, but it isn't necessary. Most food you simply steam and then blend and serve. You can make enough to refrigerate some and then freeze any that won't be eaten in the next few days.

I have especially enjoyed getting organic local veggies and then serving them to Layla! We have an awesome Farmer's Market, and my awesome mom has an amazing garden that she generously gives much of its produce for the little one. :-)

Automatic Release Point (Best Trick EVER!)

If you have ever been around a baby, you may have noticed that they LOVE to grab things. And prying their little fingers off can be quite a challenge! The more you pull it away, the harder they cling onto it. So here is a trick I learned while camping, from our friends who learned it from an occupational therapist: take your index finger and thumb and place them on either side of the closed fist (at the palm level), press firmly (but not too hard), and the fingers will release. Watch the video below for a demo (and better understanding). :-)

Rugged Exposure: Our Camping Trip!

Layla went on her first camping trip! Well, technically her second (since we went camping in Death Valley when I was about 8 weeks pregnant). But her first that she could appreciate! And she was quite the trooper. As is typical for her, she had a rough time falling asleep and definitely didn't clock the number of hours she needs for true rest, but it was enough. I fared worse than her, thanks to the annoying group across the creek that wouldn't be quiet until 1:30 am and then the drunk dude upstream that decided to serenade the camp with guitar at 4:30 in the morning. But other than that, it was fun to be in a tent again and out in the woods!

We took her pack 'n play, so she had half the tent....haha. We also took her Deuter Kid Comfort III which we just bought on Thursday! So excited to use it---it was GREAT! She took a nap in it during our hike and the sun roof kept the sun almost entirely off her. Also used a fantastic sunscreen from Australia (it's called Soleo Organics; I bought it from Summer for Kids in Montecito).

From finding a beautiful refreshing waterfall (with a hidden cave underneath it to crawl through!!) to going on a stinkin' hot hike in the backcountry of the Los Padres National Park, to finishing it off with a swim in a wild lake, it was quite a wonderful trip. S'mores, views of the stars, the creek singing a gentle lullaby throughout the night (with aforementioned disruptions of noisy laughing neighbors and drunk guitarists), baby's first skinny dipping experience, sweating like a mad cow, driving through the forest, hanging out with friends--a wonderful camping extravaganza.

Unfortunately I didn't realize how hot I got, cuz I came down with heat exhaustion and we had to return early. :-( But the trip was a blast. Can't wait to do it again!! Maybe not on the hottest weekend of the summer next time...that would be better I daresay.

Stay tuned because on my next post I am planning on sharing with you the best trick I've learned for dealing with a baby!!!! You will want to know this trick if you ever anticipate having or being near a child ;-)

Going to the Beach!

the layla and mommy beach video from HESCHLE on Vimeo.

My husband is amazing. I love how this little video captures the beauty and joy of taking our 8 month old to the beach!! So simple, so beautiful.

Reconciliation

"This isn't just about winning. It can't be about winning. If we only want to win, then there will always be losers, and how is that so different from the way things were? This has always been about the big picture, about moving on together."

I read this quote in the June 2010 National Geographic article on South Africa. The man who said it is a mediator, a black man who is willing to get dirty and get involved in messy situations and deal with the compications of reconciliation.

It is so true. Whether it be reconciliation between two groups of people (or more) who have had racial hostility for generations or between two individuals who have hurt each other over the years, this remains the same: it cannot be about winning! Winning, or even picking a side, is completely unhelpful AND misses the point. The point is to move on together, to be reconciled, to learn to coexist and maybe even be friends.

For My Husband

I was looking through a bunch of photos today and, I gotta say, I love my husband! What a sweet man of God he is. It's amazing that he loves me, really, especially since he's known me since eighth grade and loved me throughout my not-so-lovely middle school days. Nathanael, I think you're the bestest ever.

Guess what?

When did "we have exciting news" become code for "we're pregnant"? That's what I want to know.

Not that I am negating the exciting-ness of new life and pregnancy. I am not at all intending to do so. But it gets a little old when you say "Guess what?" or "We have exciting news!" and people (random people) jump in "You're pregnant!" um, no. Actually, and thankfully. Not ready for another one just yet.

------

Part Two: Updates

Layla is now sleeping through the night! For the past four nights at least. I hate to make it official because that means she will probably wake up multiple times tonight just to prove me wrong.

Layla is also crawling (like real, official crawling) and pulling herself up (although only onto her knees, not feet) and eating real food (her favorites are banana and carrots) and otherwise being her simply delightful self.

She's quite the fun little person. Very determined. When she wants to do something or get something, she is not easily deterred. She doesn't cry or whine when thwarted--instead she reevaluates and figures out how to get it another way. Persistent.

I love this girl.

----

Part III: Plans

-Camping this weekend!

-Passport in the mail!

-International flight coming up in four months!!!!!! (that is our exciting news :-) guess where we're going?!)

Nursery Inspiration

Just wanted to send you all a cool website my friend Emily showed me the other day...it's www.ohdeedoh.com and they have tons of inspirational nurseries.

A few of my favorite rooms:

I absolutely LOVE the map in this room! Sooooo cool.

The balls hanging over her crib are so cute! I think I want to make some of my own and hang them in Layla's room. :-) Martha Stewart gives instructions on how to make them here.

City skyline? What a cute idea!!

This is my absolute favorite room I think....check out more of the images here. If only I could design like this....

Birth

My good friend Emily just had her baby boy, Elijah Kai, on Tuesday night! See her beautiful blog here. I am so excited for her--and especially because she was able to do it naturally! Which is really an amazing thing...

Having a natural birth (and by natural, I mean no drugs or synthetic hormones [ie. pitocin] or epidurals) is an incredible experience. I was able to have Layla without the drugs or epidural, and it was unbelievable. So intense but so amazing. It's impossible to describe the surge of emotions right after the baby is finally born. And labor itself is, of course, quite a lot of work! I have never in my life concentrated so hard or been so focused or so immersed in anything or experienced such intensity. But wow, what a payoff--to hold a beautiful brand new life in your arms. What a privilege.

Remembering back, one thing that helped me the most was to match my breath with the strength of each contraction. The stronger the contraction, the stronger I would inhale and exhale. Focusing more on matching its strength than thinking about the pain. That was helpful. And also simply surrendering to the process--to my body, to the sensations/pain. Birth is a sacred, powerful event...for me, it was something that opened my eyes to what Jesus Christ went through in surrendering his body to the will of God.

Here is an entry from my journal shortly after I had Layla:

In preparation for Layla's birth, i did a lot of reading and here's some things i thought were interesting, especially as it pertains to the biblical understanding of birth. First of all, Eve was never cursed. The snake is cursed and the ground is cursed but God never actualy curses adam or eve. Which is interesting and seldom noted by Christians unfortunately. Birth pains are a consequence but not a curse. Secondly, the Hebrew word used in the passage [estev] is the same for both the man and the woman's consequence. For the woman, English translators have termed it "pain" and for the man, they term it "toil". Curious, isn't it? It's the same exact word used, and in fact throughout the bible when this word is used, it is translated "toil" in all circumstances except for regarding women and childbirth. Not sure why translators have decided to do that--it's not exactly fair to the text or to women.

Now having gone through labor and without any pain medication, I will say this: there is an element of pain to be sure but this pain is magnified when resisted and becomes bearable only when accepted and surrendered to. Furthermore, it is the sort of experience or sensation (or toil, really) that involves a complete focus and total engagement with in order to endure and overcome it. And while it is excruciating and unbelievably intense, it is a beautiful thing when it has been accomplished and when it is finished. It is toil, it is labor, it is something that cannot be slept through or done half heartedly but must be met with total attention and will. It is definitely a very real "dying to oneself."

All that said without trying to show a parallel with Jesus Christ and his death, but when I reread it with that in mind, it is really quite amazing. Because that is exactly what He did for us on the cross. He made it possible for us to be born again--through him! Christ births us. And so isn't that incredible? Jesus labored on our behalf and we are born through him. But he is the one who had the complete focus and surrender and submission of his body to endure that process ordained by God in order that we might live. Truly incredible.

Going through labor and birth was an amazing experience for me. Unlike any other, out of this world, opened my eyes to a new reality in many ways. And it truly is different from pain as we understand it and as it occurs in other contexts. It is something wholly other. Not to say it doesn't hurt--oh to be sure it is overwhelming! But it is something amazing because it results in life. Through submission of my will and my body, through accepting the pain and laboring in that process of birth, God brought forth the new life of my daughter. Through Christ’s submission of his will and his body, through accepting the pain and laboring in that process of death, God offers us new life spiritually. In an incredible way, Christ conquered the last enemy (which is death) and is able to offer us life! His death was the necessary process through which we can have life. Christ had to be fully engaged, fully focused on the goal ahead. And when he had accomplished all that needed to be accomplished, He declared "It is finished." And now he has the reward of having children, that joy of having accomplished what He set out to do.

Layla and me just minutes after her birth.