Around 6:15 or 6:30AM, Cooper wakes up, and sits up, playing with his bunny and making little noises. I get up, go to the bathroom, and then get him from his crib and nurse him. (Nicholas sometimes gets up with us, sometimes gets a few more minutes of sleep). I change Cooper and then we come out to the living room/kitchen...

We've had the privilege of a year with this little soul. It's easy to forget that babies and small children are souls. And that parenthood and child rearing is so much more than the ins and outs of our regular days. On Saturday, we opened Cooper's birthday gifts from my family, along with some very special items from my Grandma's home...

Blue skies and fluffy clouds. Summer (weather) is here! Lots of warm days and beautiful weather. A certain little someone adores being outside, so we're maintaining a two-walks-a-day (or more) routine. Noticing flowers on walks, too...

This was my first mother's day with a babe in my arms. Last year, Cooper was constantly kicking in utero, making us smile. We filled our weekends with preparations for him, and little did we know how special that tiny person was. How special this little life is...

I want to live in a state of mind (and heart) where I can appreciate new and exciting things, and venture beyond our at-home normal (when it is safe, practical, and loving to others to do so), but not at the cost of losing a love for the ordinary, for the typical, for the regular.Enamored by the paths of sunlight streaming into interior rooms, making patches on the wall, Cooper discovering his shadow.Making sourdough brownies (and then insufficiently baking them and not realizing it until later). Consequently, then baking a sour cream vanilla cake from Food52 as a redemption bake (as you do)...