Sunday, December 6, 2015

November 29th, 2015

My Sweet Luna-Moon, 

Oh my gosh! You're 11 months young today! Where does the time go? It seems like just the other day we were bundling you up to come home from the hospital, a tiny, fragile peanut, and now you're little miss independent. It really is unfair how fast you go from totally depending on momi and daddi, to only needing us when you're hungry, tired or need a diaper change. If course you need us more then that, it just feels that way sometimes. :-)  

So, you've been here for 11 months. How do you like it? I've been watching you grow and seeing how you learn things. You love to dance, walk and play. You're great walking around the house, but aren't quite sure when you have shoes on. Not to worry. The more you practice, the better you'll get. Oh, and you have to keep your shoes on when walking outside! Especially now, since it's so cold. Brrrr! 
Daddi is teaching you colors and numbers with your blocks. It's so cute seeing the two of you together. He is teaching you the fundamental things, like colors, numbers, and names of things, while momi teaches you the fun things like running, singing and dancing. :-) It's good though. You'll learn everything in your own time. So far you know kitty, dog, baby, thank you, and, of course batman. You like to point, though not to anything particular yet. You love water like your momi, drinking it, playing in it. And you love to laugh and be happy, which makes me happy. 

I love you, so soooo much! It's been a great 11 months, and I can't wait to experience more and keep exploring this world together with you. Your my beautiful little moon-beam, and I love you from here, to there and everywhere! 

Love, 
Momi <3


Sunday, November 22, 2015

The Adventures of Luna & Celeste: The Taco Truck Challenge

Water Tower - Volunteer Park, Seattle WA
Photography by J. Buist

            It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The flowers were all in bloom and the trees were covered in beautiful green leaves. It was a perfect day for a stroll. My mum heard about an event going on in the city; something called the "Taco Truck Challenge" and she gathered everybody up for a trip into Seattle. Daddy and big sister, Jade, came, and even Auntie Ali! Of course, we couldn't go on this adventure without Celeste. She's my princess dolly that comes with me everywhere I go. We all fit in one car, perfectly snug and happy as a Pug in an Ugg!
            I fell asleep on the drive into the city. After all, I needed my rest for such an adventurous day. When we finally got there, Celeste nudged me awake just as momi was parking. I awoke with a big yawn and an even bigger smile. After a quick dieppe change and a check to make sure everyone had all their stuff, I was locked into my stroller, Celeste under one arm and Hootie, my owl blankie, under the other. The stroll to the park was really pretty. We walked under big trees, by giant bushes and I saw a lot of beautiful houses. Auntie kept stopping to take pictures of all the things she saw. Celeste and I just lounged in our stroller, taking everything in, one pretty thing after another.
            When we finally got to the park, I heard momi and auntie talking about how they had never been to this place before, and how gorgeous they thought it was. Celeste noticed a tower in the distance and she asked if it was a princess tower, but I had to tell her I didn't know, because it was my first time at this park, too! The park we usually go to has lots of doggies and smells like wood. I tried asking momi what it was, but I don't think she understood what I was saying. She just looked at me and smiled, told me I was cute, and we kept walking.
            There were so many new people around, but none of them stopped to talk to momi or daddy or any of us. They just kept walking and talking with other people. Some of them had strings coming out of their ears! Those people didn't talk to anyone. A lot of the people we saw had on the same shirt. It was a pretty color green, like my green stars that hang in my crib. Maybe all those people knew each other and came to the park together; maybe one big family! We didn't have on a pretty green shirt. I was wearing a new outfit with pink hearts and a blue bow and my cute blue pants. Momi likes them because they have ruffles on the butt. She calls me "ruffle-butt" when I wear them, and I don't mind because it makes her smile so big.
            As we came closer to the park, I started to hear music being played. It didn't sound like the music momi plays on the music machine, or when we're in the car. It was more loud and jumbled together. I couldn't decide if I liked it or not, and before I could, we were entering a really big building. I heard momi exclaiming how beautiful the building was, but it didn't look very pretty to me, not until we got inside. On the inside there were these pretty dishes and other dining items, but they were all behind an invisible force field. We couldn't touch them, but at least we could see them. Celeste told me she liked the ones that looked like they could hold our food. I liked those ones too, and I wondered if any of them had food in them. We didn't stay in the building very long. Momi, daddy and auntie "Oo'd and Aw'd" over the dishes for a bit, but then I heard momi talking about getting tacos.
         
5th Annual Taco Truck Challenge
Photo by Ali B - 2015
   I didn't know what a taco was, but I did remember momi saying that we were going to a "taco truck challenge", so I figured maybe it's a new kind of car, or truck. We left the building and went back outside where the music was. Then I saw all the trucks! None of them were like daddy's truck. They were all loud, had one big window that someone was standing at handing out food, and they were all smoking! Not only that, but there were so many other new people, dogs, smells and sounds that before long, I didn't know where I should look and I think I got a little overwhelmed because I started to cry. Celeste was right there with me, crying and saying how noisy and smelly it was. We wanted to get out of there!
            Momi must have heard us because before I knew it, I was lifting through the air and being hugged closely to her. She told me everything was "ok" and not to be scared, so Celeste and I stopped crying and just looked at everything over momi' shoulder. I liked it better this way. I could see more, and it didn't feel as loud being so close to momi. We ended up going to sit on the grass and momi gave me some food. I guess daddy, big sis and auntie went to go get momi food, because they came back with these saucer things with really yummy smelling foods on them. I finally learned what a taco was. Apparently they are delicious! And you can have them with rice and this mushy looking stuff daddy called beans. Momi ate her food so quick! I guess we were both hungry. Celeste didn't eat anything, but she usually doesn't. I think she eats the air, or maybe what floats around in the air. I've tried to share my bottles with her, but momi usually puts her in my swing while I eat, but this time, since we were outside, she just put her in the stroller until we were all done.
            After we all ate, we went for a walk. Momi put me in the pouch thing she sometimes attaches to her. I like it because I can just hang there and look out. And sometimes I even pretend I am the one walking. Daddy and big sis went up the hill, while auntie, momi and I went down. We walked around this big, big bowl thing. It had very little water in it, so it couldn't have been a bath. Momi and auntie were talking about what they thought it might be, reading these boards that were attached to the wall keeping people out. I guess the bowl was not for people to use. There was another tower at the further end of the bowl, not the same tower Celeste and I saw when we first got to the park. This one was smaller and a lighter color. I heard auntie say something about "don't feed the birds...keep drinking water clean". I didn't know what it meant and neither did Celeste, but it sounded like momi and auntie knew. Maybe the bowl was just for the birds. I didn't mind not knowing what the bowl was for, I was happy being with momi and auntie under the sun and big trees, walking around the bowl.

Daddy, Momi, Sis and I
Photo by Ali B - 2015
            We circled the bowl and walked up to where daddy and big sis were waiting. There were lots of other people around, but they weren't talking to daddy or sis. They were taking pictures of each other by this big round thing. Momi said it was a piece of art, but it sounded like auntie didn't think so. Still, daddy, momi, big sis and I stood in front of it while auntie took a picture of all of us. After that, we started walking back to the car. We came upon the big tower that Celeste and I saw at the very beginning of the park and saw that it really did look like a princess tower! But all we did was stop so momi could take a picture, then kept on walking. I was so tired from our little adventure that I fell asleep as we walked back to the car, happy to be snuggled up with momi, and dreams of the day when I would be able to try tacos for myself. 


Photo by Ali B - 2015

The Adventures of Luna & Celeste: In The Beginning

** Just a note here - I try to tell these adventure stories from Luna and Celeste's points of view. Imagine your baby knowing all the words used in these stories since (s)he has probably heard them at some point in his/her brief life. From the time your baby's ears developed, they were listening to you and anyone around them talking. So, I like to pretend that my little moon monologues using an extensive vocabulary and by extension, so does Celeste. **
"As soon as I saw you, I knew an adventure was going to happen" - Winnie the Pooh
In order to tell a good adventure story, you should start at the beginning, obviously... 

     So, here we are, back in February, with both Auntie Jilly and Auntie T. We were wandering through Babies 'R Us picking up necessities, diapers, wipes, formula (please don't judge my mommy. Her milk machines were faulty), when we rolled down the toy isle. There were tons of toys! Big kid toys, little kid toys, and baby toys. I do believe I was in and out of it through the whole thing, since I'm still pretty new to this "living outside my water bubble" experience - I'm only almost 2 Months young here - but I remember mommy and my two aunties walking and talking about getting me a special friend that I could sleep with, go on car rides with and just have around to watch me and play with. 
     I kept hearing tinkling and jingling noises and my mommy said, "No, not that one. No, not cool enough. No, no, no..." Wow! Mommy was on a mission! I had to have the coolest playmate, I guess. In the end, I fell asleep before they made their choice on who would be my new forever-mate. I can only assume when they found her, all three of them said, "YES!" very quietly, otherwise I might have woken up to see who they picked. But, I slept all the way home. I know my new friend slept with me on the ride home, because I vaguely remember feeling mommy tucking something in to my car seat when we started. It was soft, and thankfully, not to jingly. We snuggled the whole way home.
     When we got home, mommy fed me and put me down in my little play area. She introduced me to my new friend. She was really pretty! She had a beautiful smile on her face and even a crown on her head! I guess she's a princess, which is really neat, because now I have a princess for a best friend to go on adventures with. Since I'm still so young I can't quite hold her yet, but some day we will hold hands and I'll swing her around and play with her, laughing and squealing with joy. Oh, what the future holds! 
     By now you might be wondering how my princess friend got her name. There wasn't anything on the tag when mommy bought her, so mommy and my aunties thought we should come up with a name for her. Since my name is Luna, mommy said it should probably be something close to my name. She suggested Andromeda, since that was the other name she thought of calling me before choosing Luna, but I don't think that would have fit my friend. After all, she's a princess, not a nebula. So mommy, Auntie Jilly and Auntie T thought about it while they were doing each others hair (I wish I had hair to braid and put in pony tails. Some day...some day...), when all at the same time, me, Auntie Jilly and Auntie T said, "Celeste"! So that is how Celeste came to find her name. And it fits, beautifully!
     Since coming home with us from the store,  Celeste and I have been on many an adventure. She came with me to my second doctors appointment, where I received my shots. The first part was alright. They gave me some kind of clear formula, which tasted different than I've been use to, but still good. Then they poked me in my legs. My good girls, did that hurt! I cried, mommy cried and Celeste cried. I think mommy and Celeste were crying because I was, so I decided I wanted to be a big girl at that moment, and I stopped. It helped that mommy had a bottle waiting for me so I had something to focus on rather then the poke in my legs. 
     Celeste rode with me back home from the doctors, comforting me the whole time. I fell asleep again, resting my head on hers, and I knew we'd be together forever. Now that we have found each other, we both know our journey has only just begun. And for my part, I think we've off to a great start! 


Here ends the beginning of the start of new adventures. There are three more after this, all varying in length, but full of fun and excitement. I hope you enjoyed this episode of "The Adventures of Luna & Celeste"! Check back soon for our next adventure. Until then, go forth and explore for yourself! :-)

Much loves,
J Bean (Momi <3)












Saturday, November 21, 2015

And There Ends The Paper Journal...

Apparently I lost Luna's "Letters to Luna" journal sometime after July, which in my defense is perfectly acceptable since it wasn't long after my last entry that she was crawling all over the place. I ended up rearranging our entire living room to try and make it as baby-proof as possible. In some of the videos I've posted, you may have noticed we have a nice, cast iron fireplace. Well, that is now covered my a 2" foam mat so we don't get any broken skulls. 

Also, we acquired a new couch, which is MUCH bigger than our last couch. So we needed more room for that, as well. All in all, I'm glad I have the first seven-ish months of her life written down, but am also happy to be joining fellow bloggers out in cyber world! 


I do have a few stories written that I will be sharing. These are the stories I talked about in my first post. I got too far ahead of myself just typing out of her journal that I didn't incorporate them before or after the posts I would have liked to. So instead, I will just use my next three posts for her stories. Then, after those, my blog and her journal will be up-to-date and in the present. 


Well, I better get cracking. These stories aren't going to type themselves! Until the next official post, take care! Thank you for joining us on our adventure through life! :-)


Love,

J Bean (Momi <3)



July 5th, 2015

My Dearest Moon-Beam,

I'm sorry it's been so long since I've written you a letter! I lost our purple pen, which is why I write to you now in green. :-)

You're 6 Months young now! Six months and one week. Let's see...now you can roll over from front to back and back again. When you want to get somewhere or to a toy, you roll over to it! It's so cute and thrilling to get to watch you learn. Your next step is crawling and you're not too far from that now. You get on your hands and knees and rock back and forth, trying to figure out how it works.

Also, you're trying to pull yourself up to your feet. I'm thinking of lowering your bed so you are, 1) Safe from falling out and, 2) Have something to pull yourself up with. It's going to be so exciting when you can crawl! I'm going to have to keep an extra careful eye on you. There's so much stuff for you to get into! I'll do a little cleaning and organizing of the living room so muma doesn't have anxiety all day. ;-)

Well sweetie-pie! These last six months have been great. You keep growing and learning and I get to watch and experience it all. I'm so amazed by you and am forever excited to grow up with you.

I love you, my little moon-beam, from here to infinity and beyond!

Love always,
Momi <3



April 29th, 2015

Dearest Moon,

Yay! You are 4 Months young today! You've gotten so big from the 6 lb 9 oz little peanut you were at birth! You had your second doctors check-up a few days ago and received your first set of shots. Muma's heart was in so much pain, anticipating how much the shots would hurt you, but you did amazingly! You cried, which of course is understandable, but as soon as I picked you up, you slowly stopped. You're such a strong little girl! Every day you grow stronger and every day I feel so blessed that I have you in my life! Truly, you are the best thing to ever happen to me, for me and come from me. I loved you before you were even an embryo, and I'll love you from now to forever. And if I can, I'll love you even after. I can hardly wait to grow up with you and be with you to witness all your firsts. You're known about your hands and fingers for a while now (and it's the cutest thing watching you suck your thumb), but now you've discovered your feet! You're so adorable, trying to suck on your toes. :-) Next step, rolling over! Let's just make sure I'm close by when you figure it out! :-)

I love you my little moon-beam! From here to eternity!

Love always,
Momi <3

Luna Ashley Buist - 4 Months
Photography by J. Buist Photography

Friday, November 20, 2015

March 19th, 2015

Well my sweet baby girl,

You are ten days away from turning 3 Months young! You'll have been breathing the same air daddy and I breathe for three months! You're growing so fast, it's almost heartbreaking. I miss the tiny peanut you were when you first arrived. But, I enjoy watching you grow before my very eyes. You're getting so strong every day. You sit up, with assistance, you can stand and wiggle your cute lil bum (again, with assistance) ;-) You've almost figured out how to laugh. And one day you'll be laughing along with muma!

You have such a beautiful smile and I cherish every time I get to see it. Pretty soon that smile is going to be accompanied by tiny pearly whites. You're starting to get fussy at random times of the day, you're very drooly and you love to chew on fingers! I pray the pain of emerging teeth isn't too bad on you. You're my lil girl, so I'm sure what ever happens, you'll be able to handle it. You're my tough little cookie. :-)

I love you my little moon-beam, with all my heart!

Love,
Momi <3



February 10th, 2015

My Sweet Girl,

You are six weeks and one day today. Tomorrow will be your first airplane ride outside of momi's tummy. I'm excited and a bit nervous at the same time, but I just know you'll do great! After all, you're on your way to see your Auntie Sandy and cousin Emma! Plus, on Thursday you'll get to see Grami and Memere again! Yay!! :-) They've missed you so much. 

I know you won't remember, but you've FaceTimed with them since they've left. You seem to recognize their voices, which is pretty awesome. You're an amazing little peanut. I am amazed at how fast you grow! I wish you could have been a little peanut longer, but I love to watch you grow as well. I'm looking forward to the days that I get to chase you around the house and build blanket forts with you.

Tomorrow is one more of your many adventures to come! Sleep well tonight, my little moon and know that momi and daddy love you, from here until forever!

I love you, my little moon-beam!

Love,
Momi <3

Luna and Grami - Tollufsen Wedding ReceptionPhotography by J. Buist Photography

January 10th, 2015

Hey baby girl,

You've been here on Earth for twelve days now. How have you liked it? I've enjoyed spending time with you, holding you, feeding you and yes, even changing you. :-) 
Everything about you, I love. You are my precious little moon-beam. The first few days of your life were a little rough, and I'm glad you won't remember it. At least when you got home, it felt as though everything was going to get better; and it did! Thankfully Grama Shirley lives here and she was able to watch you so muma could sleep. You've met all your grammy's as of this week; Grama Shirley, Grami Gosselin and Memere. <3 You also seem to recognize Uncle Frank and Auntie Allison's voices! Everyone who meets you says you're so beautiful. And you are! You bring so much love and joy into your daddy and my hearts. I love how little and innocent you are now, and I look forward to the days we get to run around, laughing together!

I love you, my little moon-beam, from here to infinity! I'm so glad you are finally here!

Love always,
Momi <3

Luna Ashley Buist
Born: December 29th, 2014 @ 7:29am
6 lbs 9 oz - 20.5 in

November 21st, 2014

My Dear Luna Moon,

One day when you are older and able to understand, we are going to have a movie night. This one will be different from all other movie nights we have together. Why, you might ask? Because the movie we will watch is a "Horror" film called "Alien" in which a space ship is over run by evil aliens. The point in us watching this particular movie together is so I can show you a specific scene where an alien is "impregnated" into a human as a host to grow. Interesting things start to happen as the alien gets bigger and ready to come out. Now, baby girl, I'm not trying to call you an alien, but some of the movements you have been making in my belly, I can't help but be reminded of that movie.

I know you're not going to come bursting out of my belly, but sometimes that's what it feels like. :-)

I love you so much, my little moon-beam. I can't wait to meet you!

Love,
Momi <3

Photography by Chery Photography

Photography by Chery Photography

November 16th, 2014

My Dear Luna,

Only five more weeks until you are officially "due". Just so you know, the doctors say you're birthday should be December 22nd. In this year, 2014, that falls on a Monday. In Spanish, Monday translates to Lunas, which means Moon. I hope you come the day you're due, but if you need extra time, there's a second Monday left in December that you can claim ;-) (that's a wink)

If you ever wonder how I chose your name, it happened on a drive home from Auntie Allison's place. You hadn't even been created by your dad and I yet, but I came around a corner in my car, and the moon was so bright and beautiful that in that moment, I knew that if our little creation turned out to be a little girl, we'd name her Luna. I'm not quite sure how I came up with Ashley, but Luna Ashley has such a lovely ring to it. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl. <3

I can't wait to hold you in my arms, instead of having your foot in my ribs. I do believe you will be very active. A dancer, a soccer player, a boxer...you can be what ever you want, even all three! I will support you in anything you choose to do.

I love you, my little moon-beam!

Loves forever,
Momi <3

November 8th, 2014

Well baby girl! It's almost less than one month and a half until we can look each other in the eyes. Of course, i'll be the only one to remember, but soon enough you'll be making memories of your own.

I can't wait for you to meet your fur-brothers Arry and Dobby. I'm excited to see how the three of you get along. I know it's going to be the cutest thing seeing the three of you together, playing and you laughing. 

I don't want to get too far ahead. I want to enjoy every moment of our lives together as they happen. You make my heart sing with happiness!

I love you, my little moon-beam.

Love,
Momi <3

Photography by Chery Photography

October 29th, 2014

I started this blog over a year ago, but instead of using the internet and modern technology, I used pen and a journal. However, since I am known to misplace journals but not the internet, I thought I would join the 21st Century and make a blog for my sweet Luna. The earliest posts that will be made are what I have already written down in her journal. Everything following today's date will be straight from the source, my brain and heart.

Thank you for reading.

And so it begins:

Letter #1:

It's almost two months before I get to actually meet you. I can hardly wait! I'm so excited to hold you in my arms. It's been fun carrying you around in my "belly" but I'm ready for having you out in the open.

There are so many people excited to meet you! Your daddy, your big sister, Jade, your grami's and even great grami! Your auntie's Allison and Jilly are very excited, and loads of others, too. You'll bring a bright light to all our lives. You've already brought one to mine. I know already that I love you, immeasurably, intensely and forever. I promise to be the best mom I know how to be for you. I love you, my little moon-beam.

Love,
Momi <3