I am sorry to beg,

But I have to ask anyway. I have recently joined Top Baby Blogs, a network of mama blogs. If any of you enjoy reading this blog, please click here http://www.topbabyblogs.com/cgi-bin/topblogs/in.cgi?id=grown and click on the owl on the left.  This will give my blog a vote on "Top Baby Blogs" where mamas can come find other mamas' blogs!  You can also vote by hitting the button on the right side of the blog. You can vote one time per 24 hours. This is how I find a lot of my favorites, and I would so love to be ranked so more people can find me and we can all share things together here in blog land.   I'm on there now and feel goofy asking but I would very much appreciate your votes! If you don't enjoy reading this, then by all means don't feel pressured to vote. I'm just throwing it out there. :) I'd sure be honored if you clicked it. Thank you friends!

And so it begins

A few weeks ago, I could stomp around the house if I wanted to and carry on conversations using something much louder than my "inside" voice without waking H up. I could set him down while sleeping with ease (while he sleeps, I don't carry him while I sleep) and the little guy would just stay asleep. Being a newborn is exhausting clearly.  Apparently being an almost- not- a- newborn- anymore at a whopping 10 weeks changes things,

I love that sometimes when he sleeps he still makes the same smooshy face he did when he was first born

Did I say Goodbye?

I was just kidding. I thought I wanted to leave this blog, or rather just move it elsewhere, but who knows what I want.  Two days was plenty, and now I've had a change of heart. I blame postpartum hormones for my indecisiveness. Turns out, blogger does hold the tricks I want to add to this blog... and while I liked some of the tumblr aspects for the whole 3 seconds I was part of it, I can't work it so we're back here... just new and improved.  Well hopefully improved, I'm happier with it at least! So take note that the url has changed now to grownorthblog.blogspot.com.  Other changes,

Goodbye to La Fame...

Hello Friends!

I have decided to try a new place for my blog... So this is the end (for now) of La Fame. I'm just ready for something new, but really it's just a new place for the same thing, hopefully I'll be able to add even more when I figure out how on earth tumblr works. I'm not good with web design or really anything computer related. So please, no judging on the slow growth of this new site. I have like .3 seconds to work on it between spit up sessions, feeding babe, diapers blowing out etc. You know how it goes. Tonight H is on Daddy's lap so I have a bit of time to work on the new site, but I have no clue what I'm doing. Anyway, follow me at http://grownorth.tumblr.com/

and please explore this new blog with me, leave comments and feedback, let me know that you're there if you feel like it.

Goodbye for now!

A year ago today

Eric and I were getting married, on the most beautiful Iowa day I can think of. And we were happy.

Today we meet our first anniversary, and it's unbelievable how much a year has brought us. We've taken fun trips, little adventures, enjoyed the day to day life with one another. We've met difficult moments that gave us the opportunity to work together to greet the other end as a stronger couple. We have gone through 9 months of change and adaptation as we grew our little Henry, and we have had 12 months to be thankful for meeting each other, remember fun times we've had together in the past, enjoy each other in the present, and dream of days to come in the future.

Not to carry on the cheese fest, but I feel like I owe the day some recognition :)

I found a fellow dreamer and the nicest man, best daddyo I can imagine, and together we just make sense.

We are happy.

Happy Anniversary to my handsome husband.

The watering

What is this?

Am I actually blogging? It's been so long and here I am with a few minutes to actually write. Happy dance.

Amazing how fast the minutes in my world go these days. I try so hard to grip each one, but still the moments fly by. They are wonderful moments, though.

Days in our lives right now are fairly simple, but beautiful. I soak up time with Henry, admiring his changes and his perfectly sweet, evolving personality. He makes me smile and laugh so much right now as he becomes more and more interactive each day. I am back to work part time, and I am SO lucky that he is able to come to work with me. However, this is a balance I feel will take some time to adjust to. I'm trying to do my job as a Mama, as well as my job at work... and I haven't figured out how they go hand in hand yet. There are productive days, and there are days that are, not as much... Unless standing up and sitting down only to stand right back up again to avoid tears, changing diapers and

nursing countless times counts as a productive day at work.

Henry is like a whole new baby these days. I cannot believe how fast they change. He is so long, solid, and filled out. His big eyes are brighter and even more aware, each one with a brown spot in them so we know he'll have brown eyes. His thighs are perfectly pudgy, and he has learned to lock eyes with us with a big gummy grin following. His smile melts us. He knows where to find my eyes while nursing,

and he goes back and forth between staring off, and looking right up at my eyes, which I love. This past week he has started cooing a lot more, making some of the most fun noises I've ever heard. His voice is my favorite, and I love having "conversations" with him throughout the day. He listens to my voice, smiles, coos back, and we go back and forth. His little shoulders rise when his smile stretches across his face. His hair that was pretty sparse on top is coming in quickly, and it's entirely fuzzy and wonderful. He has started spending time on a mat on the floor with the toys that hang over head and he kicks his legs like a frog, waves his arms around and talks to the toys hanging over him.

To sum it up, we are loving this boy SO fully.

We took our first family vacation this month, which was a big adventure with a newborn. We flew to Iowa, spent a few days there, drove to South Carolina and back, and flew back to Alaska. He was a perfect plane traveler... silent the whole time. The car is the bit I was nervous about, seeing as he generally doesn't like spending much time in the carseat. He was great though, considering how many days he wa

s stuck in it. He was great the first day, and the next was a bit

more frustrating for him. We made frequent stops at rest stops and in parking lots to feed him, change him, let him stretch, feel the fresh air... and we would stretch and chat on a blanket in the grass. By the end of the trip he was very ready to be done in the carseat, and we were equally ready for that, but we made

it. In Iowa we spent time with our families and had such fun. My sisters threw a party for us so friends and family could come meet our little H, and it was perfect. It was so hard to say goodbye. In South Carolina we spent time with my wonderful friend Kelsea, as she got married on the beach. It was beautiful, and it felt so good to be somewhere so different. Eric and I chatted along the drive, and I told him how much I miss being able to drive state to state watching everything change so much as we cross each one. I'll look forward to being able to do that again some day when we are living somewhere else. At the end of all of this, the traveling, the stimulation, the new timezones and new things to see, Henry was exhausted and I think a bit thrown off. It has been good to be back home and get him back to a routine... or at least as close to a routine as an 8

week old can be. It's hard to believe he's already 8 weeks... in fact, it's still a little hard to believe I'm not pregnant! I had gotten so used to that, I still fid myself surprised occasionally when I remember that I'm not anymore.

Spring/summer (It's pretty much one season in Alaska) is in full swing up here. When we came back last week, we were

welcomed by lush green trees, buds appearing, and sun that stays with us well into the night. I know we will need to buy blackout shades to help Henry sleep and such, but I have always loved the sun's constant company. I like going to bed with the sun still shining, and I love that it's there when we wake up. I don't have to turn lights on, I just reach behind my head and scootch the curtains over and voila, the room is bright as ever-- perfect for morning conversations in bed with my little guy.

And with this sun's help, I'm giving the gardening another go. I think I mentioned last time how we planted (who could be sure though, I can't even remember the last time I wrote!) the vegetables, and I'm working hard to take care of the little sprouts. Unfortunately, I've always had a talent for killing plants or somehow hindering their growth, when all I try is to accomplish the opposite.

Last year, I had lettuce and broccoli that was doing really well, but after I got pregnant and wasn't feeling well, instead of caring for the plants I chose a life of lounging on the couch watching the plants overgrow and then shrivel out the window for the following few weeks.

Now our soil seems to be plotting the death of my vegetables, but I won't let them go without a fight. Henry and I walk out there each morning, and sometimes afternoon to water them. I explain what is growing and take note of anything that is making progress. Unfortunately, right now that's not much. My peas have popped up, and carrots, and a few other things, but they are tiny still, and there are plenty of empty patches where I know seeds hide beneath. We think maybe the soil is too woody, or the pH is off or something. Either way, I'm bummed. Our herb garden inside however, is beautiful... The basil is taking off, oregano is sprouting, dill, etc. They look so healthy, and each day are noticeably bigger.

Speaking of that, I think I'll walk outside and take a look. It's lightly raining so my job may be done, but I still want to see them.

It feels good to be back, friends...