Me as a babe

My Mom sent me a few photos when I around Olive's age. I always think Olive is all Blake but I can totally see her in my baby photos.



Me at 6 months. Um nice baby proofing. I love the fireplace tools in the background.

Saturday

Thought I would post some photos while I'm waiting for my matzo balls to settle in the fridge. Talk about a wild saturday night! I did a bunch of prep for dinner today so I wasn't insane tomorrow. I really don't have much to do but somehow these days everything takes a million times longer than I expect so I'm learning to give myself plenty of time. Blake was gone all day helping a friend teach a photo class so Olive and I were alone for the day. I planned her nap around a little location scouting I had to do for a shoot I have next week so that took a few hours. The rest of the day was spent chasing her around and moving her when she crawled into dangerous territory. My back is so sore from bending over and picking her up all day. I better get skinny or at least get some tone to my arms! In a matter of a day she has figured out how to move pretty quickly. We spend most of our time in the living room and there isn't much she can get into. My only concern is the bookshelves. They are super heavy and one is actually bolted to the wall with an earthquake strap but she uses the books to try and stand up so I'm worried her hand will slip and she will do a face plant on the ledge of the shelf. Zero fun. I still can't believe I have a crawler.
Also she has started making signs of teething again which is freaking me out. I'm so not ready for that again. I don't feel anything on top but she has days where she drools and does a biting thing she did with her bottom teeth. I love how cute she is with the bottom teeth, its totally changed her face but its just adorable. Only bummer is she is biting my boobs. She has done it 10 times. I can seriously remember each time cause it was painful! I remember reading that when they do it to scream and tell them no but is there any other way to react but to scream? Most of the time she laughs at me which isn't really getting the message across but the other day she bit REALLY hard and I screamed REALLY loud and she was pissed and she started crying. I felt awful but its quite a shocking feeling and I just reacted. So now I have major feeding anxiety and I'm scared shitless she is going to bite me every time she eats. Really hoping she stops cause not only does it hurt when she does it but I'm really sore. I actually freaked out and thought I had thrush again cause I had that same stinging feeling but besides that we had no other symptoms so I figured she is changing her latch with her teeth and my nipples just need to get used to it? I dunno just my thinking. Too much titty talk on a saturday night. Gotta check my matzo balls and get my jew on.




Blake is not naked. I told him he was going to appear creepy and naked in the photos but he said he didn't care. It's been really hot here so he was embracing the almost nude look.

Vloggin’ Vednesday_Music

Super late this week but I still wanted to do it cause I do enjoy making these even if I sound goofy. You can see Olive crawling!!

Crawling Olive

We have a crawler now!!! I knew it was just a matter of time but today it officially happened. The last few days she has been making two movements forward then falling on her face but today she just kept going. I don't think she realized she was moving but she sure was. I have a bunch of videos that I will post a bit later when I have some time and energy. She isn't super graceful yet but I'm sure that will come with time. In the meantime I guess I should probably start babyproofing.

spring sprung something

Some days are just crap and there is no rhyme or reason to why. Maybe not crap just bla. I've started to blame my non existing period. I mean just cause in not actually bleeding doesn't mean I'm not having PMS. And when I used to PMS it was brutal like I turned into bat shit crazy Jenn for like 2 days a month. I was completely irrational, emotional, and so unpredictable. Poor Blake. I'm sure I can put a little blame on that. Also with the seasons changing I get restless. This can be a good restlessness a wanting of change I guess. Just don't know how or where I want to make that change. My life, as much as I adore it has become predictable day to day. I like this in certain respects but in other ways I get restless and not the good kind. Obviously only I can make these changes and I'm not bitching so much as blabbing. I'm not mad or sad just in the middle. I think with warmer weather olive and I will venture out more and especially now that she is almost mobile playdates will be more fun for her and me. Since she wakes up a lot at night Blake and I have been going to bed almost right after she goes down which gives us no alone time. Were both just so tired and it's the only way we know we can get some sleep. It's all just adjusting. As much as parenting has gotten easier or I guess we've gotten more comfortable with it there are still so many things we are learning and things are changing all the time.

I ran into a friend of Blake's at the farmers market last week and we were taking babies. She told me someone gave her advice that she said was the best she has received. It was something like things only last in 3's. 3 days, 3 weeks, or 3 months and then it passes. So nothing is forever. She was referring to olives lack of sleep. I know it's not profound but it's true. The crap things in life won't last forever which is great and you just have to suck it up and wait it out. I dunno just kinda made sense to me.

There is really no point to this post just in a venting mood and feeling antsy. My mom is here for a few days which always gets my head back into place. I've been able to get some shopping for Passover done which is only round one of what I need to get so its a huge help. My cold is on its way out and I have a million times more energy so I'm hoping that the rest of this week is great and I have the motivation and none of this weird negativity.

On a fun note I think Olive is going to walk before she crawls. She is way more interested in pulling herself up on things and when she is in crawling position she gets into full downward dog and tries so hard to stand up. She is moving so much that I can't really leave the room cause when I return she has rolled to the other side and I have not baby proofed anything yet. I need to get on that. She has started making the funniest noises, it kinda sounds like a "huh" and its super loud. She is also really into copying me with anything I do. If I pound my hands on the ground she does it. So this morning we were listening to music and I taught her to headbang. She thought it was hysterical. I'm trying to teach her to wave now but she isn't into doing that yet. She is a funny baby for sure.

She likes peas! Next we're trying Pears......

Gefilte Fish

Blake and I have decided to start the tradition of Passover dinner at our house. I'm really excited since I love cooking. I grew up with Great Grandparents that would get the family together for every Jewish holiday. My Nanny and Bucky as we called them would squeeze all of us into their super small apartment to celebrate with the most delicious food. I think most kids growing up in Jewish families always dread the holidays because of super gross food but that wasn't the case in our family. Nanny would slave for days in her kitchen for days making everything from scratch. As much as I remember the yummy food it was being with my family and getting my cousins together that was the most fun. Most of the time we were so busy causing trouble and getting yelled at by Nanny and Bucky in Yiddish but it was so fun. I am not religious by any means in fact since only my dad is Jewish technically I'm not a full jew but I've always had a connection with the traditions and the memories that were made with these dinner and I want to continue them with Olive and hopefully her future cousins.
So I've been searching for recipes online and going through Nanny's dinner in my head. I have a few of her recipes written down but most were in her head so I can only guess.
A few years ago when I was living in NY my cousin Lacey and I attempted a Passover dinner. It was super fun to cook and I think we did pretty good for our first time. I emailed Lacey for the Brisket recipe yesterday and she had asked to see the photos from 4 years ago so I tracked them down and I immediately started crying my eyes out. Mom hormones are unbelievable. I got really sad for missing NY but mostly cause we are both mommas now (Lacey is due in a few weeks) and next year we can really start this tradition with the next generation.

A light beer is key to a moist brisket. No joke. If you wanna drink one for yourself after that is even better.




One of my most favorite things as a kid was playing with the olives.

punk rock, photos, family, art and food

That pretty much sums up the last few days. I've neglected the blog for a few days as things have been pretty busy in these parts. On thursday night Blake and I had a date night. We went to dinner and then got to see Descendents play. It was unreal. It's been about 15 years since I've seen them play and they did not disappoint. The only bummer was the venue was massive and if you're into punk rock you know seeing a band in an arena isn't that cool. Bad Religion played next and although we planned on leaving half way through we ended up staying and watching. I used to love them when I was in 10th grade and played soccer. While driving in the bus to my away games I would play Suffer over and over. No idea why but it got me super excited. Pretty much anything after that album was crap but seeing them made me really happy and nostalgic. It was such a fun night and good to get out and hear some music.



The next day I had a magazine shoot that came up kinda last minute. Luckily it was shooting someone that I know for a magazine I've worked with in the past so I wasn't too stressed out. Normally prepping for a shoot is almost as stressful as the shoot itself and no matter what I never sleep the night before a shoot ever. Trying to get Olive ready to drop off with my mother in law and also getting photo gear together was a bit hectic but I managed and I think everything turned out pretty good. I'm definitely not used to doing the mom and work thing and I don't think I've ever been so tired in my life and I haven't quite recovered yet. Also being sick didn't help. After the shoot I met up with Blake and we went to dinner with his brother and girlfriend. It was nice to unwind a bit and Olive was so good during dinner. Just sat there and played with her toy. It was such a treat.

On Saturday my parents came down to hang out with Olive and watch her for a few hours while we went to a friends art show at night. Before the show we all went to dinner and Olive was so good. She is finally sitting in a highchair so giving her toys and spoons keeps her pretty busy and happy. We were able to have a pretty long dinner and she had no problem with it at all. After food Blake and I went to the art show while my parents put Olive to bed. It was another really fun night out and I saw friends that I haven't seen in years.

Today we went to Dim Sum with my parents who stayed the night and then made a visit down at the beach to Blake's parents to say hi. It was such a beautiful day out considering that two days ago there was snow on the beach which is unheard of here. My parents left and we all took naps. The rest of the day was spent working on photos (Blake did all my post work cause he is amazing) and hanging with Olive. Now Blake is out getting us some frozen yogurt and then I see bedtime in my very near future.