reflections

day 365:


i can't believe it has been an entire year.


when i started this project i had no idea what it would turn into.


first of all, i thought it was going to be easy... it was not.


sometimes there wasn't anything to take pictures of. sometimes i was tired and didn't feel like blogging. sometimes i didn't have time to sit and come up with anything witty or amusing to write. sometimes i wondered about what i had gotten myself into.


but i'm glad i stuck it out... because sometimes in those moments when i had to get creative, my favorite blogs were born.


and interestingly enough, i thought that this would just be a blog of pictures, but it was so much more than that. it was a journal. a window into the life of mindy balut. a memento of who i am.


and who am i? 


i am a wife. a sister. a daughter. a shoe lover, dog lover, food lover. a business card collector.


i am sensitive. lovable. funny. caring. hopeful. dedicated. creative. 


i am a teacher. a student. a friend. a confidante. 


i am a mother.


i am a writer. a dreamer. a wisher. 


i am a photographer.

milestones

day 364:


i have a really advanced child.


i'm sure that's what every parent says. everyone's kid is a genius to them.


but seriously, maeve is doing things i don't think she should be doing just yet.


she has been standing with help and holding her on weight since she was about a month old.


she has been getting better and better holding her head and chest up while on her tummy.


and on sunday she rolled over.


it may have been a partial accident, but she rolled nonetheless.



i'm telling you, maeve is a child prodigy.  

never forget

day 363:


10 years ago there was a terrorist attack on the united states.


right after it happened everyone was saying that we would all never forget where we were when it happened.


and it's true. 10 years later and i still remember like it was yesterday.


everyone has a story. some have stories that are heart wrenching.


a few years later, i read the first chapter of the book let's roll, by lisa beamer, and cried my eyes out. i couldn't read the rest. there are too many people with stories like that.


to those that lost someone they loved... my heart hurts for you.


to those that helped in the aftermath - police, fire, military, etc. - i am thankful for your selflessness.


to those still fighting to keep our country safe... you are our heroes. 

little wedding guest

day 362:


i love weddings.


our dear friend april got married today.


the best part was, it was a backyard wedding and babies were welcome.


maeve loves a good party.

and although she slept most of the time, she did spend a while sitting with her dad, just taking everything in.

can't get comfortable

day 361:


today was pretty nice out so i didn't turn the air on.


but i guess it got a little hot because griffey couldn't find a cool spot to sleep.


first she was on the kitchen floor. but i think the blue stone hearth was a cooler second choice.


of course the once i turned the air on and it cooled down, griffey had to find the one spot where there was sun.



she's too much.

strawberry shortcake

day 360:


maeve and i had breakfast with my friend and her son.


my friend gave maeve the cutest little hat. which, by the way, she made herself.


homemade presents are so awesome.


so of course i had to put maeve in it for a photo shoot.

turkey day

day 359:


the last few days have felt like fall.

i have even worn long sleeves, jeans and my favorite slippers.


i love fall.


and if it didn't feel like thanksgiving was around the corner before, the turkeys i saw today did the trick.

smile

day 358:


no lie, i try to take a picture of maeve smiling every single day.


but it seems like every time i pull out my camera, whether it's my real camera or my cell phone, maeve stops smiling.

i swear, it's like she knows!


either that or she is really only smiling at me, and when i hold up the camera and look into it i'm not looking at her... so she quits smiling.


either way, today i was determined... and this is the best i could get.



i swear. she really does smile :)

photo op

day 357:


i absolutely love my camera (obviously)


but the bad part about it is it's really heavy. 


people use their cameras to get shots of themselves all the time. 


they hold the camera at arms length and click away.


unfortunately i can't do that with mine.


it's so awkward. it's really too bulky to hold in one hand, and even if i do get it situated in one hand, at arms length, the button is on the right side, which means that if i'm holding it in my right hand and facing it at me, the button is on the left. which means my finger can't exactly reach to push the button.


so if i switch and hold it in my left hand, i can't hold the weight of the camera because it's heavy on the right side.


it probably doesn't make sense to you, but if you have a camera like this you would know what i mean.


aaaannnywaaays... i was trying to take a picture of maeve and myself.


this is what i got.



it makes me laugh to see them though.

little baby toes

day 356:

what is it about little baby toes that are so adorable!


personally, i think that feet are detestable. 


but baby feet...


baby feet are perfect.

happy 80

day 355:


my grandpa turned 80!


we wanted to celebrate. and the best way to do that is with food and family.


and a pool always helps.


maeve fell asleep at one point and uncle matt put toys all over her. he said that's what happens when you pass out at a party.


maeve also got in the pool for the first time.


she loved it! well, not at first. she kinda cried a little, but i think she was just being dramatic cause after a little while she was enjoying it.


i tried to take a lot of pictures while i was there. i only have 10 days left of the blog, and i thought it would be nice to get a few more people on here.


usually people hide from my camera, but there was so much going on, i don't think they noticed i was taking pictures.

all in all it was a great party.


happy 80th grandpa. i love you to pieces!! 

sharkie

day 354:

i know you all want to see pictures of maeve, but she's not the only cutie pie over here.


griffey got a new toy from rusty and di. it's a shark with a rope on either end for tug of war purposes.


she loves it.


tonight i caught her snuggling with it.


i'm sure it's only a matter of time before she tears it apart, but for tonight, she loves it.

back to work

day 353:


for those of you that don't know, or didn't pick up on the comment in the last blog, i extended my maternity leave for another 6 weeks.


i am totally thrilled about staying home with maeve for these extra weeks.


but at the same time, it is a little strange not going back to work.


for the last six years i started every fall by getting ready for my students and now, this year began without me.


i didn't meet the new faculty. i didn't set up my room. i didn't pass out a syllabus. i didn't explain the lunch schedule 25 times. i didn't pass out books day one and get dirty looks from students that thought this year was going to be easy. i didn't do any of it.


and yet, on tim's first day back to work, he came home with flowers for me.

bumbo

day 352:


this seat is called the bumbo baby sitter... a really stupid pun if you ask me.


at any rate, i thought i would take it out and try it today.


maeve is a little small for it still, but it amazes me that she is already big enough for it to kinda work.


and to see her sitting there with no help from me made her seem even bigger than she really is. i'm glad i get to spend the next 6 weeks at home with her. i don't want to miss any of this!

go sox!!

day 351:


maeve, tim, and i are watching the sox - yanks.


well, maeve just fell asleep, but she is showing her support by wearing one of her sox outfits.


as much as i want my daughter to be her own person, i would be sad if she were a yankees fan.

the yankees are everything that is wrong with the world...


i would rather she be a royals fan than a yankees fan.



but we'll see. only time will tell. and for all i know, she may not even care about baseball at all.

the great outdoors

day 350:


i have been wanting to try out the bike trail in east longmeadow for some time now...


so when tina called and said she was babysitting maison and that she wanted to get together, i knew just the thing.


we took the babies for an amazing walk.


the trail is really nice. 


and honestly, it was great to get outside. i feel like i have been cooped up inside the house for awhile and i was beginning to go stir crazy.



and it was nice to have tina there to keep me company. 

batten down the hatches

day 349:


there's a hurricane coming.


this year has been crazy for weather. maybe it's global warming...


first we had that ridiculous 20+ inches of snow. 

then we had a tornado. in a place where it is virtually impossible to have one.


then we felt part of an earthquake that hit VA.


and now this. 


tim went outside to try and save the tarps on our woodpile. griffey went with him... and weirdly loved it out there. running around all over.


maeve and i stayed inside.

nap time

day 348:


we like to sleep here on mullen road.


i feel lucky that maeve only gets up once in the night to eat now, typically around 4am.


of course i could count the 8am feeding as "middle of the night" because i don't get out of bed and start my day then... i go back to sleep till around 10 or 11.


you know what they say... sleep when your baby sleeps.


and apparently griffey listens to that advice too.

book club

day 347:


as you know, tim and i love to read. 


and you also know that i was excited to start maeve's book collection... and hopefully her love of reading.


so tim and i have started reading to her. 


we had been planning all along to read to her all the time, and then the pediatrician mentioned that there are tons of studies that say that babies that are read to turn out to be smarter and higher paid adults. 


if we weren't dedicated to reading to her before, we sure are now.

monthly picture

day 346:


i totally stole this idea from a girl i know, but it's super cute!


i ordered these stickers online, they start from newborn and go to 12 months old.


you're supposed to put one on a onesie each month so you can see how big your kid gets. 


we are a little behind because i didn't see this until just the other day. so we won't be able to do the newborn shot, and the one month is really a month and a half, but we will get on track now!


also, they say if you put the baby in the same spot, with the same toy each time you take the picture you can really see how much she changes.


so here she is, on the couch, with her new toy! (this came in the mail today from a friend in jersey)


let's see how big she is next month!!

couch potato

day 345:


i felt bad that the house is being taken over by stuff for maeve and nothing for griffey.


so i bought her a bed. well it's more of a couch... for dogs.


let me say... she sat on it for all of two minutes and then spent the rest of the night on the couch... for humans.

lift your head!

day 344:


i was trying to get a picture of maeve lifting her head up. like all parents, i wanted to show off how awesome my kid is...


but as soon as i picked up the camera she stopped.


but the best part about putting maeve on the floor is that it only takes a few seconds for griffey to come over and investigate.


after a while, maeve got frustrated. she started crying, but she lifted her head for the camera!


and griffey decided that she would console her by licking her ear.



i'm not sure that it helped at all. in fact, i'm pretty sure it just made maeve even more ticked.

the girls

day 343:


as you have seen on previous blogs, griffey likes to nap in the sun.


and since maeve came around her things seem to be everywhere.


but that doesn't bother griff. 


so the two girls just hung out together. 


maeve, loving her swing... griff, soaking up the sun.


yeah, i'd say it was a pretty good day.

getting big

day 342:


well. i can't seem to get enough of maeve.


lately she has been looking all around. taking everything in. she's starting to recognize things and respond.


i was trying to get her to smile at me...


but she reserves those for special moments.

reunion

day 341:


we went to a longo family picnic today. my cousin tiffany decided to get all of use crazy longos together in one place.


it was nice to see everyone. i don't see that side of the family too often. my uncle john even came up from south carolina for the event.


of course, maeve was a hit. she didn't do much... just sat around... but she got a lot of attention.