lake michigan

we've been here almost 2 years now and last weekend was our first official trip to the beach!

we got some advice from a local (the ice cream shop boy) who told us where we could find a private beach. this (above) was the view from the parking lot. up the path and over the ridge is lake michigan.

over the ridge to see the great lake!

it wasn't cold but it wasn't warm either. we mostly sat and enjoyed the water from afar. the water, by the way, was absolutely freezing. but the view of the lake was beautiful.

on the grill

warm weather. not so many mosquitos. our tiny weber grill.

chicken, veggies, queso chihuahua, fresh tortillas and homemade guacamole.

we are so happy right now.

jerusalem bakery

we've discovered another great place in our neighborhood: a tiny little cafe called Jerusalem Bakery. we went there originally for the fresh pita bread we saw in the window. then again when sarah was here, she treated us to an amazing mediterranean meal. we went again this week on our own.

we had fresh baked pita bread, spinach pie, grape leaves with veggies, hummus, smoky baba ganoush, smead, tabbouleh and date pasteries for dessert. so good!

we totally recommend this place if you are in lansing and hungry on michigan avenue! plus it is locally owned by the sweet family that works the counter, so you can feel good while you eat!

holland in michigan

last weekend luke took a break from working and we headed west. we've always wanted to check out the city of holland, but we seem to always venture east instead of west when we have free time.

we had heard that holland was a super dutch town. they have a giant tulip festival every year that we keep missing. some of the tulips were still lingering on in little patches. on sunday afternoon most of the shops were closed and the streets were empty which was kind of a nice way to check out the downtown. it was less dutch and more beach-vacation-y than we expected, but super nice.

we walked a few streets, had some ice cream, and hung out in the park.

we're very sorry

we haven't been the best in the communication department these days. luke is working day and night trying to complete some papers, and i pretty much have a needy little one in my arms at any given moment. we have thank yous to say and write, emails to read and return, and phone calls to make. we're so sorry! i have been pumping out these blogs so that you know we are alive and to try and finally cross "blog" off my list before i get even more behind. (next: put together pack and play, clean house before ann arrives from chicago, and prepare for the wedding we are shooting tomorrow - yikes) (all to be done in tiny breaks between mateo eating, then falling asleep, being put down, and waking up again a few minutes later).

please please forgive us if you have emailed or called. we love you!

today mateo

today mateo is 3 weeks old! we seriously can't figure out where 3 weeks have gone. we have no concept of time since most of our minutes consist of feeding, changing, and holding, over and over again.

we can totally see him growing already. his wrinkly skin has filled out, his belly is round and full, and some of his newborn clothes are already tight! last week his cord fell off and revealed his sweet little belly button. and his neck is getting stronger.

he is focusing on faces more, and recognizing my voice which is fun. and today, as i was talking to him, he gave me his first awake smile! and i'm pretty sure there was a dimple?

allen st. farmers market

we've discovered another great thing about our neighborhood! there is a little farmers market 2 streets away every wednesday afternoon.

we walked over to the first market of the summer last week and bought some asparagus. it was kind of small, but we are told it will get bigger. one neighbor told us "it's the social event of the week!". :)

post-pregnancy

after 10 months of no deli meat, no caffeine, and staying away from sugar and carbs, i knew exactly what i wanted. we had been talking about it for months. it was supposed to be my first meal after giving birth, but the hospital version was a bit industrial and we decided it didn't really count. so this week, luke got me a 16 inch (!) deli sandwich from a new (to us) sub shop in lansing, a coke, and apple pie with vanilla ice cream. sooo good. thank you lukas!

sarah's last day

after 10 days, tia sarah had to go back home to arizona.

we went to ann arbor in the afternoon, and had pizza at our favorite place, and walked around a bit.

mateo wore his special airplane shirt (also from sarah) just for her.

we are so happy she came out and hung out and helped out for the first 10 days of us being home together. she made it possible for us to do so many things, and made everything more fun.

we miss you already!

baby shower #4!

we were given a baby shower by our michigan friends, then our michigan family, then our church in arizona, and now an impromtu fourth shower... by tia sarah.

she arrived with all sorts of good things for us and mateo. a sweet vintage baby tray and cup, a pregnant mama wire sculpture, garden things, a magical glitter ball, music - it was too much, especially considering her trip out here to visit us.
...

and then the boxes arrived. 3 boxes. 3 boxes full of gifts and fun things, some for luke and i, and tons of sweet things for mateo. elephants, giraffes, a dancing brobi, an international finger puppet, outfits for mateo to wear from now until he is 18months old... way too much to list here. above and below is a photo of a gorgeous baby blanket she bought for mateo. it was made in ghana by two women and is part of the global mamas project, where proceeds go to small women-owned businesses in africa. plus it is fair trade and eco-friendly, made with re-used fabric scraps. it's really beautiful, in more ways than one.

and here is just a tiny glimpse of the sweet onesies and pants she sent:

thank you tia sarah!

msu gardens

on sarah's last evening in michigan we decided to walk the university campus. we walked down the river trail and ended up at a beautiful blooming garden. we took some photos in the grass and enjoyed the soft light of the magic hour.

sarah, gorgeous as always, with mateo sleeping soundly in the sling.

this is one of our favorite family photos ever

here's luke & mateo, demonstrating one of "the 5 s's"

our sweet boy

we love his bright blue eyes

luke & mat

me & mat

sar & mat

thank you sarah for giving us family photos! we love you!

new sling!

our dear friends jason and heather sent mateo his first package! heather is the friend who makes the awesome jewelry we've blogged about before. inside was an adorable onesie with an elephant print and this beautiful sling!

we've used it a ton already in the few days we've had it. it is super quick and easy to put on, and how gorgeous is the fabric? we love it. here's sarah trying it out below:

we have fun talking out which way to wear the baby with which wrap/bijorn/or stroller before we go anywhere. we are loving babywearing and we're planning on doing it as much as possible before mateo gets too big. many people have commented who haven't seen it before and also people have said how rare it is to see a baby out of a stroller. mateo falls asleep so quickly when we wear him - it's cozy, warm, and rythmic when we walk, and must feel similar to the womb.

thank you jason & heather!

saturday

last saturday we went to the annual east lansing art festival. we took the city bus and, of course, had to document mateo's first ride on public transportation.

there were hundreds of booths of arts and crafts, and a few stages for live music. mateo's first live show was local indie-folk music by sam corbin. sarah bought his cd so we could all remember it.

luke's mom, ann, came in to lansing for an overnight trip. we met her at the festival.

we were all super excited for mateo and his grandma to meet each other. they were sweet together.

later the 5 of us took the bus back to our house. we regrouped, which takes longer now since there is someone little to feed and wake and sleep and change. afterwards, we walked to lamai's thai kitchen, a tiny restaurant where a tiny thai woman named lamai cooks a huge thai buffet every night. it was so yummy and mateo was sweet to sleep through the entire meal (even dessert) so we could eat.

the walk also gave us a chance to try out our stoller for the first time. we liked it. he liked it.