Untitled from Heather Palmeri on Vimeo.
Today was another unseasonably warm day. Veda and I hung out in the front yard for a little while and checked out the grass and the trees. Then she walked around the driveway and the sidewalk, looking at the twigs and rocks and all of the other things that grow right in her own front yard. It was a small thing. But it was huge...
song: Devendra Banhart: Can't help but smiling

We're still here.. I swear I'll have more pictures to post and things to say soon. I hope. This week I hit a wall, mentally and physically. The stress and exhaustion of the move finally caught up with me and so I've not been feeling very well. Progress has been slow.... We did have one beautiful, sunny day and Veda and I took a walk to the nearby park. It's literally a block away, which is so great. We found a playground which will be a lot of fun this summer when she's got the whole walking/running thing down a bit more. I feel really lucky to have it so close by.

 

Veda's favorite new "toy" is the remote

enjoying all of the light in our new home...

Veda's new favorite activity? going up the stairs. Over and over again. We're working on the going down part.. We're settling in nicely to our new home, though it seems like unpacking is taking 5x's as long as packing. Where did we put all of this stuff before?? Today I drove to the grocery store. And then parked my car in the garage and brought all the groceries inside. It was weird. And cool. Oh, and tonight I found out that a local (decent!) sushi place delivered, I almost cried with joy. It's the little things...

This was taken early this morning from our window at the Holiday Inn down the street from our apartment.. our last morning in Brooklyn. We got everything packed up yesterday and stayed in the hotel because the movers came at 8:30 this morning and we needed a place where Veda could eat breakfast and nap and be.. We are in our new home now, drinking wine out of paper cups,  exhausted but happy!

11 months old

Dear Veda,

Today your are 11 months old! I truly don't know where the last couple of months have gone.. it's been a whirlwind! You've been taking it all in stride though. Lately you seem a bit less like a baby and more and more like a toddler. You have a happy soul- always smiling and laughing. You are a sweet girl and I'm proud to be your mama..

* You have started walking! Your dad and I joked about when exactly to count the "first step" as you've been experimenting and taking steps here and there for a while, especially when prompted. But a few days ago, you walked across the room- about 6 steps all on your own. It's unbelievable to see someone so tiny wobbling around, with a huge proud grin on your face.

* You point at everything and say "tat" or "dido", especially lights, pictures and birds. In fact, you are becoming a bit of a chatterbox!

* You have become a world class hugger. You could end wars with the love that's in those tiny little arms of yours.

* You've started to put things together rather than just take them apart, though you still enjoy doing that as well ; )

* You've become a master of going up the stairs- though you haven't quite figured out yet how to go down. You're about to get a lot of practice once we move into our new house!

* Your food preferences have changed recently.. you're still wild about fruit, especially berries. You seem to have lost your taste for avocados (hoping you just got burnt out and will come back to them). You still love yogurt, fish and pasta. We can also add kale, yams and almond butter on toast to the mix.

* For some reason lately, you are waking up at 5:30-6:00 again. Really hoping this one is just a phase. Please. Mama needs more sleep!

Part of what makes leaving our Brooklyn apartment so difficult is that the first 11 months of your life were lived here. This has been all you've known of home. I will cherish those memories and probably miss a lot about having the 3 of us together in such a small, cozy space. But there are new memories to be made. As of tomorrow, we will be making them in our new house. I'm so excited for all of the new rooms (indoor and out!) for you to explore and play in. Your last month of your first year is going to be a big adventure!!

xoxo mama

This is the place we have called home for the last 5 years - the longest I have ever lived in one place since leaving home to go to college when I was 18. This is the home where I married my husband and had our sweet baby girl. This is the home that is presently busting at the seams with boxes. The pictures are off the walls. The cabinets are empty. 3 more nights here before we leave for good. Change is always bittersweet...

This looks like a lovely book...

via

blanket

speaking of creating... I finally finished this blanket that I started over a year ago (in my defense, I don't, as a rule, knit or crochet in the summertime. But still...)!! The colors are actually even more vibrant than how they appear here. Think I'm done with knitting anything bigger than a sock for a while though...