Future Architecture Lover

Walking into the living room this morning, I found Axel sitting on the couch intently looking through the pages of our new Dwell magazine.  Since I was a little girl, when I would use my Dad's drafting paper to draw floor plans of houses, I have had a fascination with architecture.  I babysat for a family who had a pile of Architectural Digest magazines in their living room.  It was so fun to dive into them after the girls were in bed.  In junior college, I would sit in the computer lab within earshot of the CAD class and just dream of being able to understand what those students were learning.  If I ever decided to make a big career change, architect would be one of my top choices.

Seeing Axel look through these pages makes me hope that he will appreciate architecture the way Ram and I do now.  It would be so fun to take our children on trips to view the great architecture of the world, when they are older.

One of the houses featured has some children playing at their kitchen table.  The next page shows the outside of their house with a skuut bike leaning against the house.  He really zeroed in on that bike.  Little does he know that there is one in the trunk of daddy's car right now.

Autumn's First Trip to the City

I decided, after many months of not having the courage, to take both kids to San Francisco on the train.  Ram was working there, so we decided to invite Grandma for a little adventure- a test trip with our new double stroller- to see if we could handle spending a day there.  Of course, it was a requirement that Autumn wear tie-dye for her first trip.

We got up early Thursday morning and headed to the train station.  It was a good start and we had a nice train ride, despite Axel saying, "Done.  Off train?" when we stopped at the Sacramento station, 2 hours before our final destination.

We visited Daddy at his office, where we always get a lot of attention.  It's not every day cute little babies show up in the office.   We walked around a bit looking at some of the sights by the ferry building.  Then, it was time for a yummy cheeseburger lunch and more walking. 

Don't let this photo fool you.  Autumn spent hardly any time riding in the stroller, and this may have been the only time she was not crying while in it.  We didn't get far at all.  Actually, we hardly saw or did anything. 

 

Toward the end of our trip, we found a playground in China Town.  This was a much needed break for Axel, and the rest of us.

The highlight of the trip for me came when my little boy was actually tired of walking and asked to be carried.  This might have been the first time he has ever asked for me to carry him.  I strapped on the Ergo carrier and held him as we walked to the bus stop.  This was a moment I have missed for about 10 months, since I had to stop wearing him when my pregnant belly got to big.  I think I almost cried.

After a little playtime, it was time to meet Daddy and board the train to head home.  We sat next to the party group on the train ride home.  At first, we wondered if we should move, but it soon became clear to me that this would provide some good entertainment for Axel, and a break from keeping him constrained to his seat for us.  He chatted up the tipsy commuters for much of the ride home.

We were exhausted that night and the following day.  Axel was thoroughly over stimulated by the city, and being awake for the whole 13 hour trip was a bit much.  It took us a couple of days to recover.  I am still not sure if or when we will make another trip like this, but we did have fun.

Almost 5 Months

Our little girl is getting big!  Autumn will be 5 months later in March.  She is such a delight.  Ram reminded me the other day that, when Autumn was born, our midwife said, "She already smiled!"  That was before she and I even got out of the birthing tub.  This pretty much cums up our time with our baby so far.  She is such a happy baby, and is full of smiles.   

 

Autumn has started to enjoy time on her tummy.  She has discovered that her hands are connected to her body, and that she can play with toys.  Every toy she gets her hands on goes straight to her mouth.  When she is done playing, she has figured out how to roll over to her back.    

Just this past week, Autumn  has begun to sit up a bit with the help of a pillow.  She seems quite proud of this.

It really is amazing how much more in love we become with our children as we see them grow and become more of their own person.  Our love for Autumn is no exception.  She is a wonderfully sweet little girl.  It is so fun to watch her grow. 



Sweethearts

With all of my heart, I am thankful for the 12 years that has passed since I promised to spend my life with this man.  Marriage is tough.  Marriage is joyous.  I think, maybe, I make it tough as much as I make it joyous for Ram.  He is, however, dedicated to me.  He is full of forgiveness and grace for my attitudes and my follies.  He is happy to share in my joys, but not afraid to walk through my sorrows with me, as well.  We are far from perfect, but I am so glad that we can admit that to one another and have the grace that we need to love each other through it.  I am so thankful to have someone who loves me as much when I am utterly unlovable as when I am at my best. 

I love my husband.     

Axel is 2

Happy Birthday, my sweet little boy. You are such a kind and thoughtful little boy. You are cheerful and like to be helpful to me and Daddy. You are becoming such a good big brother. It warms my heart each morning when you come in to our room and say, "Good morning, Aw-em" I almost don't want you to learn how to pronounce your sister's name correctly, it is so sweet just the way you say it now. You delight in sharing your cars and babies with Autumn, you read her stories and like to do tummy time right beside her.

I just adore your little face and your big brown eyes. I see the same thing in your eyes that I see in your Dad's eyes. By the way, that is what made me fall in love with him. You love following him around in the yard and helping him with his trees. I hope you are gleaning what you can, even at this age, from him. He is a great Daddy and I know you will grow up to be kind and gentle just like him.

I love you, Axel River. You are my favorite first born.