diapers and skinny jeans

November, 2013 I am trying to become better at documenting the every day things, the big things, like first bites of avocado. At the tail end of six months Alba started to show interest in what we were eating.  It started by reaching and grabbing, and now that she can sit unsupported and hold on to things fairly well, we let her take eating at her own pace and watched as she led the way. Skipping cereals and purees altogether, she'll grab and try things here and there as she feels like it. I had a bit of extra time to throw a quick edit together (and I am nowhere near as good as Erick) but still, it's simple and just the way I had imagined. To keep a memory. (I think she liked it!)

We finally put together the easel we got from Tio Nino and Tia Illiana, so Erick put some quick raw footage together showing off her first "masterpiece".  She's quite timid with the opening and closing of those drawers, (haha!) but I think she's getting the hang of it rather well. PS- her artist smock barely  fit across her baby belly.  ;)

Hey friends! I hate asking for favors but this one is important to me.  For as much as I wish they would just let the video speak for itself, to be selected for this year's Electric Forest Hoop Troupe, the "likes" on YouTube are being factored into their decision making.  If you could, just head to this link and give me a thumbs up.  This is another glimpse into my life and me just doing what I love to do.  I'm nowhere near the level I was before I had a baby, but I am slowly practicing and finding the time to be able to dedicate myself to my strange but lovely craft.  Enjoy! Thumbs up and video link are here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVuCLJDwveI Thank you so, so much. I definitely learned my lesson about waiting until the last minute -- the video was due yesterday!  Eep!  At least Erick and I can say we gave it a shot, and although it wasn't my best work, we both have a lot of hilarious memories in making it come together so quick...

Nothing fancy today, guys. I didn't even bust out the DSLR!  This is a photobooth video still from a little crazy thing we did today.  I had a "quiet as it gets" morning with a cup of tea, some yoga, and a failed attempt at homemade flatbread pizza.  This was a bit of an irregular Saturday with no husband around, so I've been distracting myself with what I do best: amateur home hair-cuts .  (Don't worry, it's still growing out.... just did a little bang trim. Hah.)  It's funny, ever since Abby posted about blogging being a peek into someone's life, like you're inviting them over for breakfast... I've thought a bit about that lately and have decided to let you in on our not-so-perfect, kinda crazy things we don't really talk about! A lot of you probably haven't heard me talk in "real life", and my older readers definitely haven't since my pregnancy updates a year or so ago.  I don't know if this is even suppose...

I know a lot of you have been wondering where the videos went, and I'm happy to say that they're back.   It truly is so wonderful to be able to have these memories, as simple as they are, to look back on and treasure forever. We are so lucky. Of course this was shot, edited and color corrected by Erick , whose vimeo profile you can view here.

Goldenview Ultrasound from Kate Votta on Vimeo . As part of my week 31 update, we went to Golden View Ultrasound in Chicago. Erick and I saw our chubby chipmunk for a few minutes, but for the most part she was uncooperative. You'll see me playing music to my belly and jumping around trying to get her to change positions. Go ahead. Laugh.

So a lot happened on Wednesday.  I really, truly mean a lot.  I got home and passed the efffff out, I couldn't even imagine cramming anymore than we did into our day.  Let me start it out for you: First things first, woke up for my 30 week appointment (should have an update on that soon!)  and so far everything looks great.  No diabetes for mama, and I'm officially done with all bloodwork for the rest of this pregnancy.  HURRAY!!  From there we had our tradition of Wednesday Breakfasts and we headed up to Over Easy in the Ravenswood neighborhood of Chicago.  This will always be one of my favorite breakfast joints.  The sassy eggs rule (and are a cult favorite) and I ventured out to try the sweet and salty pancakes on this visit.  They were STUFFED with BACON.  Can it get any better than that?  Nope.  Didn't think so. Sweet and Salty Pancake Platter from Over Easy We then headed to a few baby boutiques, found a lot of ...

Hey everybody.  So, Wednesday is Erick and I's normal day off together and ever since I can remember we've been hitting breakfast joints around the city because, let's face it- breakfast really is the best meal of the day.  My parents even came up to visit around my birthday last month and we all decided to go to dinner.  I said, "hey no problem, I have a ton of ideas of where to go, I can just check my past Yelp check-ins and we'll have a good idea of some of the cool places we ate recently."  So I do.  And I look.  And I look.  All I see is Breakfast & Brunch over and over.  We hadn't even went to a proper dinner restaurant in over 3 months!  YIKES!   The point is- we love breakfast.  So each Wednesday I'm going to share our adventures with you.  This way, we can all eat delicious foods and savor my favorite part about living in the brunch-filled city of Chicago.  Let's move on.  Our visit today high...

Hello fellow internet peoples.  Decided to give a HD video update for the beginning of my third trimester.  (WE SO EXCITED!)  It was a ton of fun to make, this time we were at home in Chicago.  Erick had a bunch of lighting equipment after all the interviews he did with the chicago school councils, so before he had to ship them back we took full advantage ;)  I'm learning more about codec and h.264 and prores 422 and although it makes absolutely no sense to me, maybe it will be useful knowledge in the future.  What do I know? It was obviously a very gesture laden, emotional, 10 minute interview.  I hope you all enjoy it.  It really is longer than I expected but instead of completely chopping it up, I decided to leave it how it is.  It's pure, natural, pregnant-y goodness of brain farts, odd humor, and searching for the right words.  If you make it to the end, remind me to give you a gold star or something.  I'll do it. ** A ...