AN AFTERNOON AT THE PARK.

his favorite book is a book that our doctor gave to him, with hard cardboard pages that have medium sized comic sans words under each picture. he knows all the words and pictures in the book and gets so excited when i ask him to find the chair. or girl. or fish. when i applaud him with great joy, he nearly jumps into the air and applauds right alongside me, with his beautiful new proud face. the only word he was stuck on was duck, which makes sense since it is essentially the one picture of an animal he hasn't actually seen.

so today, i wanted him to experience and see them for the first time. and i wanted to do it together, as a tiny family of three.

if there were a moment i could still, it would be this one. the way he would spin and jump and clap and laugh with such purity. the way he would carefully rip the bread and throw it ever so gently into the water. the way papa would zip up both their jackets and hold him up high with such love.

if only he knew the way my heart beats in the moments that make him so utterly happy. 

//also

i love singing this song to gus, and i love this version, mostly because of the humming/ this song

MY SMALL APOTHECARY.

over the past year, i have slowly grown my apothecary collection to match my needs. growing up, i always said that my lack of knowledge in the makeup/hair/skin department was because i never had an older sister (i still use that as an excuse when it comes to my hair because i am terribleeee at it.)  i always thought all my friends with older sisters were always five steps ahead of me because they learned by doing. i on the other hand, was incredibly awkward and thought that applying heavy gothic penciled eyeliner to the bottoms of my eyelids was the only way to go.

i am in my mid 20s now and i'm learning how important it is to take care of our bodies from the insides out. i have learned that the less ingredients any product has, the better. i try to apply that to how i feed my family, too (though, sometimes it's hard).

my makeup routine is incredibly simple and rarely changes from day to day. a bit of foundation under my eyes, mineral powder, mascara and a lip stain or matte pencil. i wish i was experimental but i'm truly not. i am a deep creature of habit and end up rubbing anything off that feels too heavy (which is why i don't wear lipgloss, ever) and always end up sticking to what i know. and when it comes to my skin and hair routine, i think that like most women, it's a work in progress.

my hair is usually duhl and dry (thanks postpartum!) and i haven't owned a blow dryer in like a year. but, i've found that adding some moroccan oil at night and after i shower has added a lot of shine and silk to my very bleh hair. i've also massaged coconut oil into my strands and then into a braid at night. i've also started taking gummy vitamins dedicated for hair, skin and nails.

for my skin, i always wash with cetaphil and have now completely fallen for my sweet friend lauren's new line, moonrise creek. i cannot even begin to explain how incredible her products are and how much my skin loves them. i spray the rose astringent when i'm feeling a bit overwhelmed and absolutely love her oils and moisturizer. i make sure to rub it into my pores and down my neck. the fact that she makes all these products by hand with a little one at her feet and one on the way just astounds me. (you can find her on instagram @moonrisecreek)

i also really love using my essential oil drops for pregnancy. just a few drops into sparkling water works wonders on my soul.

i would love to know what are your favorite natural products that you use on your beautiful bodies. i always find it so fascinating to see how other women love their body.

from left to right:

favorite lotion (from world market) 

argan moroccan oil

moonrise creek essential oils

moonrise creek tightening astringent + rose spray

burt's bees facial scrub

moonrise creek moisturizer

oil drops (from whole foods)

intensive hair oil

vitamins

chapstick (from whole foods)

moonrisecreek berry balm

favorite hair ties

xo

OUR HAMMOCK DAYS

while our rosemary cornbread was baking, we played in our backyard, gus getting into the last of the tomatoes, and me hanging some laundry to air dry. 

like most of our time spent in our backyard, we always seem to find our way on to our favorite place in the world, our hammock. winnie our cat usually sits nearby licking her paws and looking for birds and we usually swing and look up. gus has figured out how to swing me and he works up

quite a breath as he moves his arms back and forth, watching me move like a pendulum.

i'll never forget our time together on this hammock. never for a million years.

THE FEW SECONDS IN THE MORNING

every morning, i always seem to wake merely seconds before augustus. as my eyes slowly open, i see his messy coarse curls right below my chin, his back or his tummy pressed tightly into my curves. his body is always so soft and so very warm, the way only babies are. it's a precious few seconds that i have earned, after chasing him all day and into the night and knowing that if i move slightly, or fix positions or even reach for more covers, i'll break what i live for.

his eyelashes are growing and so are his legs. all of a sudden, the beefy stout thighs without much distinction have grown longer, like the stems of sunflowers. it's a beautiful growth to witness, as most mornings steve and i stare at him and laugh, reflecting on how he looks ever so slightly different than when we put him to sleep.

i like to believe that one day, he will love how much we noticed every little thing about him. all his movements, every certain smile or stillness. i like to believe that what we are as his mother and father is tangible love.

SLOW SUMMER/JULY

our summer so far has been sweet and slow. we bought a hammock and an outdoor patio set and a few tiki lights. it's made our days and evenings so beautiful, and has been so good for all of us. the mornings we wake up and have coffee in the sunlight and dinner by moonlight is a time in our life i'll never forget. it's all we talk about doing with our extra time together. one night, i gave my beautiful husband a haircut outside while listening to frank ocean as the sun was setting low in the sky. at one point, the light was so dim that i was guessing at what i was doing, but steve didn't want me to stop. he said the moment was too good to stop. 

augustus is growing by the hour. he is so very smart and funny and so incredibly beautiful. he loves to dance, especially on his own, without us asking. one day we were shucking oysters by the sea and "this must be the place" by the talking heads came on, and he just danced his sweet soul out. in front of everyone, sweetly. he knows so many words and mimics our sounds and hand movements and loves his face being rubbed. not a day goes by that he doesn't play with water or eat a banana or run wanting to be chased. and he lives for the vacuum and papa's belly kisses. whenever we meet new people, he burrows his face into my chest or clings to my calves (see photo above) and doesn't let go. he's a mama's boy and it's more than i could dream.

there will be a time when our every day will be so very different. where i'll look back and yearn for days when we collect our harvested tomatoes or chase our gray cat winnie around the yard or wake up and run through the house. i think we all have to take stock of each day, and realize with a full heart that it won't always be like this. no, not exactly like this.

(all photos taken on my iphone (ugh), and MOTHER TOTES available for sale very soon)