2015: A Years Review

My Dear little Luna,

This will be my fourth attempt to update your website. Hopefully it's late enough at night and you are out for the night, the power doesn't fail, the page automatically saves what I've typed you so far... you know...the everyday occurrences that cause delays. Jeeze!

So, it has been a while since I've had a chance to write to you (minus the previous attempts) and so much has happened! You've celebrated your first Christmas, your first birthday came and went, and you had your first real sickness, which is not as fun as the first two, but a milestone non-the-less. So lets get into the goods, shall we?

Luna's First Christmas:     December 25th 2015 - Christmas morning. Merry Christmas!!! Oh how fun, you get to try your hand at opening your first presents! Luckily most of them are just in bags with pretty paper, but there was one that you actually had to slip your little hand in and tear apart. You didn't really know what to do, and I think you might have been a little afraid, so Momi helped you a bit. I can't remember exactly what it was but it was a nice gift. You received so many new things, some clothes, toys and stuffed animals. On Christmas morning we had a delicious breakfast made by your sister, Jade, then Auntie Allison came over for Christmas dinner, and then you went to sleep, unaware of how exciting the next week and a half of your life was going to become. Christmas night Grami, Memere, Auntie Jilly and your cousins Riley and Damien arrived at the airport from Massachusetts! You were asleep, and thank God, because they got to our house around 1am the following day. But you woke up in the morning, all smiles, a little shy and ready to play with your cousins. Then, we had more presents to open :-) All in all, it was a great first Christmas!

Luna's 1st Birthday (part 1):     December 29th 2015 - Happy Birthday, Beautiful!!! Oh my gosh, I can hardly believe you are one year old! Gah! You've grown so much over this last year, it's incredible. I am so blessed to have been able to watch you grow from my little 6 lb 9oz peanut to my 22 lb "little engine that can". Here are some milestones you reached on your journey to your first birthday:

• recognizing your family members, momi, daddi, grama, grami, memere and your aunties
• holding your head up by yourself
• rolling over for the first time
• sitting up on your own
• discovering your voice
• pulling yourself up to standing, and "walking" along the couch
• standing alone, then walking, then running!
• saying your own words and repeating words used
• laughing, dancing and climbing

I have indeed had a blast playing with you now that you are up and running around. You love it when I chase you down the hallway, wither I'm standing on my feet, or fast-crawling and making loads of noise trying to catch you. We've been experimenting with music to see who you like to dance to the most. So far the winners are Taylor Swift, The Corrs and Katy Perry. You love to laugh and if you hear a baby laughing on the TV you shift your attention away from whatever you were doing to investigate, usually ending up with a big smile on yourself, and laughing along with the baby. Sometimes I will YouTube "laughing babies" just to hear you laugh. It's adorable. You also like books, though aren't quite ready to sit still and listen to momi or daddi read them to you just yet. Mostly, you like flipping the pages back and forth the way you see us doing. I love your little voice and listening to the stories you tell. Sometimes we will have our own conversations either while you're playing or when you're in your car seat. One of these days, you will have actual words you speak and our conversations will make more sense. 

Well, on your BIG DAY we celebrated by making chocolate cupcakes and Grami's homemade frosting. Riley and I colored the frostings together so we could do pretty designs on your cupcakes. I may have used way to much on your particular cupcake, not thinking that you would eat it (I was assuming you'd smash it and smear the frosting all over your high chair). Well my sweet little girl, you ate almost every bite of frosting off the top of your cake before momi had to intervene and scrape the last little bit off. I swear, I could see the moment the sugar hit your little system. You'd never been exposed to that much sugar at once and you took off! It was worth it, though. You had fun. Riley and Damien had fun running around with you trying to get their sugar high under control, and for an hour or two there were just three over-sugared children running around the house. Then it was bath and bed time. So much fun!

Photography by: Chery @ Cheryphoto.com

Luna's 1st Birthday (part 2):     January 2nd 2016 - Happy birthday, again, my sweet! Although your official birthday has come and gone, now we celebrate with Grampa John and Grama Karen from Utah. They just got in last night, so today we get to have another birthday celebration with them. This time instead of being in the house, we went to one of Auntie Allison's friends condominium complexes. More accurately, we went to her cabana so everyone could fit and sit comfortable, if they wanted. There really wasn't much sitting involved since mingling usually requires people to stand, either by refreshments or food. :-)    This time momi's photographer friend was there to help document this momentous occasion and you smashing your second 1st birthday cake. This time Momi made you your own personal sponge-moon-cake with not as much frosting. Still, you got a sugar high, ran around like a crazy baby, and crashed. After your birthday party, Grampa John and Karen took everyone out for dinner to continue celebrating and spend time with the family. We had Mexican food, and I found out that you like avocado. Bleck! Not momi's favorite, but if you like it, then I will incorporate it into either your lunch time or dinner time meals.

Photography by: Chery @ Cheryphoto.com

Thursday, January 28th, 2016:     My sweet little Luna Bell. You are one year and one month old (tomorrow - less than 24 hours) and you amaze me every day with how much you've grown. I will always love, cherish, miss and remember you as a tiny little peanut, snuggled so tightly in my arms, but I look forward to every day watching you grow. You are so smart, and so sweet and at times so stubborn that you make my heart swell with pride. As you grow and learn, I am growing and learning right along side of you. I learn patience and understanding from you, while you learn all that the world has to offer from me and your experiences everyday. I love the time we get to spend together, and I want you to know, that even though sometimes I might get mad at or frustrated with you, it's not for lack of love. I know you just want to explore, but it is my job to make sure that what you explore is safe. Falling off of things you climb like boxes and the couch is one thing, but trying to chew on wires and poke things that could hurt you is another. So when you get older, I hope we can teach each other understanding, compassion and empathy (you know, all those things you learn from Daniel Tiger!). I'm doing the best I can with what I know and just want you to grow up with a sense of adventure and a side of caution. I love you, my little moon-beam, with my whole heart.

Love,
Momi <3

Photography by: Chery @ Cheryphoto.com

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

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)

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