adelaide

I came across a beautiful announcement today and it reminded me so much of our own!

Looking at this little baby announcement is making my heart ache. Our Adelaide recently already turned one-year-and-one-half-old. Even though it still hasn't really hit me that I am a mama, i think because Addie just feels so much a part of me.

Thank you so much to everyone who has left comments regarding my feelings on names. I am so relieved to know that I am not alone in this!

I have updated Adelaide's birth announcement here to how it always should have been : ) and we will file those papers too.

thank-you.

away

Lately I've been feeling so very bored and restless. Charles has been good enough to listen to me moan and groan, and then throw Addie and me in the car and whisk us away on little spontaneous roadtrips. 

Last weekend, we headed to Seattle for the night, and we had an such a lovely time. We stayed at the Watertown Hotel which was simply perfect (a knock on the door and there is a complimentary cart full of toys and art supplies for Addie!) We ate great food, visited charming Seattle neighbourhoods, and took Addie to the zoo to visit baby Uzumma!

This week I kept checking craigslist for last-minute cancelations, and found this cottage on Bowen Island available. Off we went! 

I had never been to Bowen Island before but to me it is an almost magical place. We spent our days there on the beach and swimming in the warm ocean water, eating yummy food, perusing through the artisan's and farmers markets, and finding treasures at the annual book sale. Oh, and watching a movie under the stars. Another wonderful weekend. Thanks Daddy!

A sweet 1920's cottage became our home

The inside of the cottage. I love the colour of this room and would like to paint our bedroom a similar colour one day, too (been considering this forever now - and the perfect shade of yellowy cream).

 

Addie hanging out on the front steps. Hello!

Because we are still not settled on Adelaide's official full name, Addie doesn't yet have a passport and so we are unable to fly out of Canada with her. I am so torn on this, as Charles and I do not have the same last name and Addie and I do not have the same last name. I suppose that it may seem silly to some, but this makes me feel so very uneasy and strange - that my daughter and I are not linked in this way. Her small birth certificate has no mention of me and it makes me uncomfortable... I feel like in some ways, officially, I have no way to prove she belongs with me. Which is strange, because Addie and I are such a team - we are always together and rarely ever apart. 

We've had the papers to change Adelaide's name to include my surname (I believe as a third name, rather than her having a long and hyphenated last name). Sometimes I think, "oh forget about it", and just want to go get her passport already. But this feeling down in my heart is there and it doesn't feel right. I am not sure if I should just get over myself or if my feelings have some merit. Has anyone reading this ever struggled with this? 

climbers

This afternoon, Adelaide managed to climb up on to the top of one of my desks. You can't tell here but she is up very high!!! Of course, Elliot is never far behind her...

Isn't Elliot pretty? People constantly mistake him for a girl. : )

special delivery

Recently, I've been very lucky to receive some very lovely treats in my mailbox from some very beautiful girls...

A package of goodness from Leslie's shop in Japan, full of beautiful fabrics! I plan on making some pillows for Addie's room with the balloon fabric, and reupholstering a chair for my workroom with the lollipop flowers fabric. And now I see that Leslie has new fabrics in stock (trouble!)

A lovely alphabet print from Shim and Sons, which I ordered special from Sally. I love it and t will hang in Adelaide's bedroom. And I am tempted to order a set of everyday flats with the (A)delaide, (C)harles, and (S)harilyn all brightly lit up, to use as greeting cards from our little family... love them!

A wonderful letterpressed print inspired by San Francisco, made by Lab Partners. When I saw this print I instantly fell in love with it, and it is absolutely beautiful in person, too! I will hang it in our main bath alongside our little prints by Rachel Sumpter and Julie Morstad.

I spotted a TOGETHER collage that Dawn had made a while back, and she is such a sweetheart that she made one just for me! I plan on framing it and hanging it in our kitchen or at the entrance to our home. It makes me happy, to think of the three of us here in our little home, all cozy together for always.

run!

Captured on our traditional pre-bedtime stroll (she's wild!)

The air up here is so clean... I forget this until I am back in the city.

friends

Taken today after returning home from the water park with friends. Elliot and Adelaide have become such great friends... I have realised that they are almost always together. He sleeps with her every night (and every nap), eats breakfast and other meals with her, and spends much of the afternoon wandering around outside following her around. And he is ever so patient when she hugs and kisses and attempts to pick (all 16 pounds of) him up!

I love it so much that my girl is growing up with beautiful pets who adore her as much as she does them.

curtain play

This morning Adelaide was playing in the curtains. I happened to glance over at just the right moment, and in doing so I discovered a masterpiece! 

Perhaps I am odd to find joy in scribbles on my walls - but they make me happy and I don't have the heart to wash them off. To me, they are so beautiful!