20 Weeks of Maeve

It is hard to believe how quickly the last five months have passed since sweet baby Maeve came into our lives.  The kids keep complaining that they never want her to grow up, they want her to stay this cute and tiny forever.  I tell them this is exactly the same way I felt about all of them too!  But each new stage brings more joy and fun with babies - they are like a present you get to keep unwrapping.

In my attempts to savor every moment, I've been doing a Maeve version of Young House Love's 'Clara Photo Project', taking a picture of Maeve in a white onesie every Friday since she was born, and then photoshopping her age on the front of the onesie.  

John and Sheri Petersik who run YHL, have a little more free time than I do (and a sewing machine!), so I toned down my own version of their awesome project.  Instead of searching out a different fabric each week to then assemble into first birthday party decorations, I just hunt the house for something colorful to stick under the baby and roll with it.  Some weeks its a baby blanket, but I've used throws,sheets, rugs, curtains, bathrobes...nothing's off limits, really!

And here are the results, from week one to week 20, and every week in between.

And the last two weeks might be the cutest yet!

Time keeps marching on, week by week.  

Luckily, we've got a trusty camera to use every Friday as we 

unwrap the most adorable present ever.

Dandelion Wishes.

Ahem.  Just a wee bit overwhelmed with life at the moment.  Life is WONDERFUL, don't get me wrong.  I'm just drowning in it a smidge, so it's no wonder the poor blog gets neglected.

I'mma dip my toes back in tonight starting with life as it is RIGHTNOW.  Lots has happened since the last blog post, but I think it's best that I back into it, otherwise I might never get to it!

So tonight.  A GORGEOUS night.  So lovely I kept the kids up late to get outside and enjoy it.  It took us a half hour to get to the top of the street because we stopped along the way to dig in the dirt of the construction site across the street....to pet our neighbor's cat, Lola (the chillest cat EVER that lets kids paw all over her and never complains)...and to make dandelion wishes with friends among the gazillions of dandelions in the last vacant lot on our street. 

Clockwise from top: Lily Hebel, Molly in her sweet new dress from Auntie Treecie, dandelions galore in a vacant lot, The Pram, and three of the four Hebel girls making wishes with Ben and Molly.  L to R are Lily, Evie, Molly, Ben and NieNie (Sydney).  NieNie's twin JoJo was busy crying her head off after stubbing her toe.  She's the 'Jack' of their family :)

As you can see from the collage, Maeve got to try out the vintage pram that Auntie Treecie found at a yard sale years ago, that came out to Illinois with us when we moved because either Ulia or I would be having the next babies in the family and this beauty needed to be used!

When we lived on Edgewater Drive in Pembroke, in the raised ranch with a 4x6"landing for an entryway, I spent an exhorbitant amount of time wishing that I had a house where I could store my baby's carriage in the front hall and just push it out the door when I wanted to go for a walk.  And then when the baby fell asleep, I could push the carriage back into the house and the baby could nap while I did things around the house.

Honest to goodness, we spent actual money, LOTS of money, working with an architect to try and design this wish into reality.  It never did, because we weren't meant to stay (though of course I didn't know it at the time and shook my fist at the sky...and at Marc...and at our architect...many, many times).

But here I am ten years later, marveling at how these dreams of mine manage to come true...just in their own time, not mine. 

Because tonight I laid Maeve in her pram where it sits in the dining room, pushed it straight out the front door, and went for a stroll.

And it wasn't lost on me that despite the many things about our new house that I wish I could change, it is also a place where dreams come true.

No dandelions necessary.