i never said my middle name was cohesive.

it's liv.

and there's a whole'nother story about that ...

that we'll get to ...

eventually, i'm sure.

but for now?

there are things in my brain that are a'knocking.

mind if i do a little mind spill for a bit?



my amazingly talented friend (gosh it's nice to have such amazingly talented friends ...)

KNIT these overalls.

like with her own two hands, knit these ... OVERALLS.

i die.

i may ask her to knit him a new pair every single year of his life so that even when he's 23 and (kinda) all growed up (yet still my baby ... of course) ... he can still wear them.

because i love them so...

(and if you ever see a grown up 23 year old man wearing similarly knit overalls ... tell him to tell his mama hi.  but please don't laugh at him.)

so ... i relished my thursday off yesterday ...

sat in my chair and drank my coffee. 

sent stellers out the door to school - even though the mama side of me just wanted to keep her all home and cuddled up with us ...

and watched this.

these two little lives are unfolding.  and growing.  and it's pretty damn amazing catching glimpses of them playing quietly with their little people and animals and reading books amidst nests of blankets.

alternately titled ...

and then there's this whole new ballgame around our house ...

it's truly a boy phenomenon.  he knows instinctively what to do with them.  jeremy's old matchbox cars were dusted off and now vroom and roll across the floor powered by finn's sweet pudgy little hands.

and within minutes everyone is piled upon my lap ...

(i love the art in pinkalicious books.  i want to live in a pinkalicious book.)

there is so much beauty in this world of mine. 

though sometimes i forget to look for it.

putting my camera back in my hands to capture MY family moments helps me to rediscover it though ...

like this.

i need to remember moments like these.

like when cora at age three and a half is bound and determined to dress herself.  without help.  all by myself.  watch me mama.  i can do it all by myself!  i can pick out my clothes and i can do it!  i bet i can do it before you count to thirty-forty!

dude ... it totally matches.

it all has ...

cats and florals. 

and i can remember ...

that funny little curl that rises off the boy's head after a snooze.

auntie lulu calls it the mullet.

it's getting a little mullet-ish.

but still cute.

and then we went out and did something ... though i can scarcely remember what because it probably involved just plain getting out of the house for some reason or another ...

and then we came home and spent the next few minutes ...

for the bus.

and big sister stella ... of course ...



what HE sees ...

what SHE sees ...

now that's love.