Halloween!

We have this cute little hand-me-down sailor top that I thought would be so cute for Griffin. Until John protested: "You're going to make him be a sailor when he wants to be Buzz Lightyear?!" He had a point. 

So, we really went for it with the Toy Story theme and had Buzz Lightyear and the little alien squeaky toy. Poor Louise. Nothing cute or girly. An alien. I must say she was a pretty cute alien though:)

(Hey, even Buzz gets boogies.)

Seven Years!

Hard to believe we were married seven years ago, today. I probably knew then that he was a better person than me, but seven years & two kids later, I definitely know it. He's more patient, more kind, more giving, more accepting. More more more. I'm the lucky one, and I know it.

(But don't let it go to your head, buddy :) Let's keep this up. We've got a lot of years ahead of us.)

We're celebrating at this fancy place tonight! I'm fasting all day for it.

Brother Sister (Quick) Hug

The other evening, we returned home from an early bird dinner, and Griffin surprised us by asking if he could hold Louise. We said 'Of course!' and quickly put them both on the couch, where he sweetly embraced her & gave her a little kiss on the head. Our hearts burst. Not ten seconds later, he says, "Okay, I'm done." 

Fleeting, but precious. :)

Birthday With Dad

My dad and I share back to back birthdays - the truest birthday gift of any measure, of which I've only realized as I've gotten older. We've always shared a cake and opened gifts together. Every birthday photo is of the two of us. As we got older, a whole weekend has been planned around it, months in advance so the whole family could be together. My birthday celebration was our birthday celebration - and it didn't get much better than that. Today is my second birthday without him, and it still just doesn't feel right to celebrate without him. I know I'll get there, but for now, I'll leave the blowing out of candles to Griffin, who is more than happy to take over :)

Little Prince

My dear aunt passed away suddenly last week, just two days before she was supposed to visit us here in Brooklyn and meet Louise. She was a wonderful warm & selfless woman, and I am heartbroken for her husband (my mom's twin brother), her three boys and seven grandchildren. Another tradgic reminder of this short life, of our fleeting and precious time here. One of my favorite things I heard yesterday at her funeral was something she often said: "The best gift you can give people is your time." She truly lived this personal motto as a physical therapist for handicap children and as a devoted wife & mother, giving of her time always - time cut too short. She will be missed immensely.

Sometimes it's the words of others that ring the loudest in me. That is true for my aunt's sentiment regarding the gift of time, as well as this lovely quote from the Little Prince that I handlettered for Minted - a quote that helps me during an inexplicable time like this.

Checking In at 9 Weeks

Wheeeeew.

Louise was 9 weeks old yesterday, and I can finally say that we are slooooowly coming back to life. (I want to add like a hundred more o's in that "slowly", but you probably wouldn't be able to read it as a word. Just so you know.)

Griffin gave his little sister the gift of germs at five weeks old. Which was really fun for Mom & Dad. She visited the ER twice, had her first x-ray and was put on antibiotics to prevent the fluid in her lungs from harboring any bacteria. It was a pretty trying & scary time - sucking mucus from her nostrils, keeping her upright, visiting the doctor. But we got through it, sleep-deprived and over-caffinated.

And now I'm thrilled to say we're out of those deep dark woods. Our healthy little chunkster is the happy little girl we started seeing glimmers of at four weeks - smiling, eating, sleeping, pooping, burping. All those things babies do best. Makes me so happy to see her thriving after being so fragile there for a while.

So that's the update from here. More (happy & healthy ones) to come. A photo above from the weekend, where Louise fell asleep in my arms waiting for her bath. Pretty good little life, Miss Louise. Your Mommy loves you, even though you scared the bejesus out of her.

Happy Birthday, Kingsley!

Our furry best friend turns 7 today! 

Thanks, Girl, 

for being the cutest lil pup in the world,

for always wanting to be close,

for keeping me company at my desk,

for babysitting Griffin,

for (mostly) not eating Griffin's food right under your nose,

and for letting Griffin throw your food into a tunnel. 

You're the best big sister & forever our first baby.

Our Christmas Card: A Peek

A little peek here of our Christmas card. Does this wreath look familiar? After seeing Amy Merrick's gorgeous wreath creations & signing up for her class, I decided to draw a wreath based on my favorite creation of hers: the Birds Nest Wreath, and use it on our Christmas card this year. It's letterpressed in neon orange ink, which I think offers a nice color surprise, while still feeling festive.

See more of Amy's beautiful work here.

We're baaaaack!

 

Sorry for the super long hiatus. I didn't mean to leave you so abrubtly or for so long. But sometimes life tells you to just take a break. A big ol break.

And that's what we did. 

We had Popsicle Night every night.

 

 

 We learned a whole new set of vocabulary - all related to things of the beach. Correctly identifying a mahi mahi not excluded.

 

 We got our first haircut at a barber shop. (Thanks to a lolipop.)

 

 We became obsessed with surfing. On the sand or in the kitchen. Didn't matter. It was surfing.

 

 We shared our dessert.

 

 And sometimes ate that dessert with sand. No matter. It was sugar!

 We explored.

We took a big time out without even really realizing that we needed it. A lot has happened in the past couple months since I left you hanging, so I'll fill you in a bit.

We moved. Not far - about a mile away - but a move nonetheless. A pack up everything, get rid of everything, unpack everything, get rid of more of everything kind of move. The next day, John's mom passed away, rather unexpectedly. And our lives changed. As it goes when you lose people you love. My brother & sisters and I agree that it's the finality of death, of being gone, of not being here, that is so hard to accept. One day they are there, the next they are not. One day you can call them, and the next day you can't. Time passes, and it kills you because it's further away from that person actually being there - you count the days, the weeks, the months, the birthdays. Last month, I celebrated my first birthday without my dad. His birthday is the day before mine & we had celebrated together every year of my life. My birthday also happens to be John's mom's birthday, so it was even harder and more surreal.

But one little (or sorta big) piece of good news & happiness has come into our lives recently. I am expecting our second child! News we were fortunate to share with John's mom before she passed - her 14th grandchild. We are so excited (and also a little nervous to have two!), and I am especially happy that the first few months of nausea are behind me. As I'm sure are the people around me:) I'm due in January, which means Griffin has about five months to figure out what big brother means. And we have five months to get some sleep.

In the meantime, we're happy to be back at work (there's something so benignly right about getting back into a routine after life changing events) & gearing up for the release of the new products we debuted at the National Stationery Show this May. So stay tuned. And if you haven't done so, sign up for our newsletter (by entering your email on the right) so you can be the first to get the news of the launch, as well as upcoming launch discounts.

Many thanks for reading & supporting. I don't intend to weigh down this blog too much with my personal life, but it's comforting for me to be able to share all of this - from the not so good to the great. So thank you.

xo
Liz

Unplanned Break: Family Time

I'm sorry for the silence and wanted to check in.

Griffin sadly lost his second grandparent in seven months recently - his beloved Farmor - & I've taken a little time out to catch my breath. We've been spending time with family and adjusting to having just moved our home (one mile away in Brooklyn) and L&H to a studio space in Dumbo, Brooklyn - which we'll officially open next week.

I'll check in again soon, as I slowly get back to normal life.

Be well, everyone.

xo
Liz

Happy 30 Katie!

My awesome younger sister Katie turns 30 today!

Happy Happy Birthday, Little Date! I love you!

[photo of me & Katie circa 1985 at my mom's family's farm in PA]