I am a mother.

 

This little person needs me completely.  It really hit me today as I was out on a walk, enjoying the sunshine. I love when he looks for me across the room, how he'll always smile for me.  I have so much love for this little guy.  I want to teach him everything.

Lately he's been starting to become a person.  You all know that when they're newborns, they just lay there.  Leo is now moving and having expressions and talking.  It is so joyful for me to see his smiling face (even if it's at 2 am).  I don't mind at all that he's my buddy 24-7. 

 In the bumbo. 

 A common expression for Leo.  Eyes bright.

 

Leo discovering his reflection.  

While I have been really enjoying being a mother (I don't even mind the spit up), I am aware of the sacrifices that I've made.  For this season (let's call it) of life, I'm devoting all of my time to helping him grow.

I've been attending a new mom group.  Lots of moms with baby's Leo's age that are going through similar things as me.  The conversation lately has been about heading back to work and finding day cares.  I am the odd man out as I plan to be a full time mom.  I am happy to have that opportunity.  Not all do.  So for now, I think I'll just keep enjoying this whole adventure.

Showers

With all the traveling and being pretty much unplugged for a week (except for my smart phone.  Bless whomever came up with smart phones.), I've had a bit of time to think.  Which can be a good or a bad thing.  It got me thinking about friends.

When I was brand new in the VA, I was pregnant (as you know).  I knew hardly a soul and was trying to adjust to my new life.  A gal I had just met (let's be honest, I'd just met pretty much everyone I knew) offered to throw a baby shower for me.  Do you know what that meant to me?  It was one of the nicest things anyone has done for me.  I need to be a friend like that. 
 
 Ruth threw a beautiful shower. I had such a good time talking to everyone and enjoying the food.  Delish!  Right down to the smallest details, it was so nice.  Here's some pics.  I don't even remember being so pregnant.  Ok, I remember but I'm trying to forget.

Do you see that folks?  That's blue punch.  Awesome.

 I'm sitting by Sho there in the middle.  Now that she up and moved to Tokyo, I miss her.

 What you don't see are the bottles filled with chocolates in the center.  Yum!

Well, Ruth had a baby girl this week (and I found the cutest thing for her).  And I wanted to say, Congrats!  Thank you for being a friend.

The Beginning...

I put our Leo down for a nap in his crib and tucked the blanket up under his chin.  Moments later I came back to this.

Yes, he's moved horizontal, spread his arms wide, and moved his pictures and blanket.  It's all beginning now.

Leo's just over 12 weeks old and has officially become a wiggler.  During all awake hours, every body part is in motion: arms waving, legs kicking and he's talking up a storm.

He's started rolling onto his side and has become a wild boy.

 

If he's like this at three months......should I be worried?

His hands are wide open (they've been in fists for a good long time but now, they're opening.)

I was watching videos of him from three months ago and I can't believe the changes that have occurred.  He's gone from a very still newborn to our wild talking, smiling, moving little man.  How have all of those changes happened in such a short time?  It's been so fun for us. 

 

We can't wait to see our family and friends back home!

A Hollow Victory

Way back, before I started doing glass work, I wanted to learn how to do hand blown glass work.  How to make things hollow and airy inside.  It's been a skill I have never been able to master.  It started way back in a trip to the Oregon Coast.  Heb and I made a round float at a glass house (like the one below).

I was fascinated with the idea that you could take glass, mix things into it and then actually breathe life into it.  I, having done jewelry pretty much all my life, wanted to implement this idea into my work.  Heber found a flameworking class (you can see the post about it here).  I never looked back but creating hollow work has eluded me.

I can't deny that it's been difficult moving across the country and leaving everything behind.  It's been a challenge.  What has been the silver lining in all of this has been the Workhouse.  Every week, I'm able to go down and work at the glass studio with other flame workers.  I watch the glass melt and things come to life.  I also get to interact with a great group of glassworkers who share their skills. 

This is what the workhouse looks like.  It used to be part of a prison.

 Me with Leo inside.

 The studio where the magic happens.

Last night, it happened.  I created my first successful hollow beads.  This is a big step for me.  I can see how I have grown and improved over the past while.  This has been a skill I have worked on for quite a while.     

You can see how the process has progressed:  (This is after I learned the disk technique - you don't even want to see the ones before this.)

The not hollow in any way bead because the glass has just collapsed in making it a very heavy bead.

 The "I'm so close to almost mastering this and then blow one breath too many and blow a hole in the side" bead.

 The "collapsed on one side so there's just  a bubble" bead.

 And then sweet success:

 Well, they still aren't perfect but I'm getting the hang of it.   I'll continue working on it but I have to celebrate these little victories. 

Dear Hand,

Where have you been all my life?  I have never seen anything so interesting.  I stare at you all the time with intense focus to the point my eyes cross making mom and dad nervous.  You are so fun to wave around and touch toys. You also taste pretty good too.  Won't you stick around forever?

Love you lots.

Leo

Leo Lately....

Let me start with, how many pictures can I fit into one post?  A lot, apparently, as you'll see from this post. 

Leo has pretty much overtaken our lives, which we don't mind. He is our little man and growing so fast.  Lately he's started to really become aware of the world.  We rediscover things through him.  Who knew a red kangaroo was the most interesting thing?  So, here's the overload of pictures.  (We need a good overload sometimes, right?)