a week in photos

It's hard to believe Hux is 6 weeks old already.

He is truly the best behaved Baby. There is rarely a complaint or fuss from him, just the typical "I'm getting hungry" warning cry, or a simple "Hold me" whimper. Easy fix. We have a heavy artillery of "Hold me" helpers! I've really been enjoying the Moby wrap my parent's got for us, and the Baby Bjorn has been a breeze to use as well. Huxley loves either, as long as he is close to Daddy or Mama, he is a happy Bunny.

We hope you have had a lovely little weekend, we are wrapping ours up with a yummy dinner off the grill.

love & goodness,

xo

we need YOUR vote!! (daily!!)

We are on Top Baby Blogs & we need traffic, people! To get more viewers we need more votes! If you could all be dolls & click this link below & then click the icon that allows you to vote for us we would be over the moon!

If not for me, do it for lil' Huxie and his Bobkitten snorts?

xo

what got my through month number one

Water, water & more water.

these little gems helped this sore Mama get through those beginning rough patches

I found an entire box full of pre-fold cloth diapers that I washed up & now use for everything!

We set up the Pack n Play in our room and it's been a life saver...Hux hasn't spent a single night in his nursery (we plan on transitioning as soon as he hit's the 15 lb limit)

Since I've had to supplement/pump we had to purchase a few bottles and these babies are the best! I even had a fellow Mama stop me in the isle as I was debating and tell me that I was making the right choice with Born Free.

I pretty much lived off hot chocolate ever since leaving the hospital. Yep. It's delicious, and I've convinced myself it's nutritious as well!

& of course, this beautiful man.

He's been my biggest help/blessing/encourager/fan/etc etc etc everything all things amazing. That is what he is.

I'm sure I will think of more to add later, but for now I've got a cute Bunny lover to snuggle...

xo

Le Hux Amore.

As you might have noticed a lot has changed round these parts.

A lot has changed, indeed.

Well like I mentioned in my last post I am trying to get better at keeping everyone in the loop. Also, we are trying to get lots of votes so we can be a Top Baby Blog. If you could click the link to your right, and then click the image on the top that allows you to cast yours that would be huge!!

As far as Motherhood's going, I'm still breaking in the new title of Mommy. Hearing people refer to Huxley as "your son" still makes my mind do a little double-take & go, "Oh yea...he is mine!"

The night before we were to leave the hospital I whispered jokingly to Matt, "There going to let us take him home!"

& we're so stinkin' thrilled they did!!!

time's like a speeding train these days.

Over a month has passed since we finally got to meet our Son.

He's been an absolute dream ever since. Every moment he's in my arms I am overwhelmed with thanksgiving, love, and gratitude for such a beautiful child.

In the past five weeks Huxley has grown into such a silly, loving, and always happy Baby.

I plan to get a lot better at updating with photos & videos here so that family and friends can keep up with the Day to Day cuteness that is Huxley Otis.

We send our love & all good things.

Until next time, please enjoy this uber adorable video I took this morning of our little guy babbling away...

xo

introducing our sweet Little Prince, Huxley Otis Duncan

He finally arrived in our arms

January 14th, 2011 at 7:37 in the morning

Our hearts were stolen immediately that day

& here is our Story...

Thursday the 13th we went in for our 41 week appointment only to be disappointingly scheduled for an induction the following morning. We had really wanted to wait as long as safely & humanly possible.

I went home feeling defeated and was very upset. Wasn't feeling good either, and kept texting Matt to come home from work and be with me. I think Hux knew how sad I was about it because not two hours after our appointment my water broke! (I feel really blessed to have been able to experience this sensation naturally after reading how so many women have theirs broken for them.)

Three hours (and a large bowl of pre-ice-chip-diet cereal) later we were admitted into L & D. My contractions had already begun and were ramping up.

Matt and I put our preparation to use listening to The Beatles White Album, Louis Armstrong, & Otis Redding, slow dancing, kissing (ha, sounds too steamy for a labor!) we sprayed Lavender Essential Oils in the room, had the lights dimmed, took periodic strolls around the Maternity Ward and I also used my birthing ball.

They had to monitor me more closely since my waters had already broke. Contractions in the bed were unbearable. I kept trying to get up, sway my hips, anything to alleviate the aches.

Seven hours in there was no progress with my dilatation so I was given Pitocin. As soon as I was confined to the bed my Birth Plan changed drastically from wanting an all natural labor to just going with what my body was telling me...I took an epidural and am SO glad I did. The only thing unpleasant was the difficulty the had threading the needle with my scoliosis, and not having my Love by my side (they made Matt wait outside the room due to Father's fainting at the sight of the needle).

Matt got to sleep through the night while I did off & on, in complete bliss, just meditating on the almost arrival of our child.

Active labor began at 4am, it took me about 5 minutes of hollering at Matt from the bed to get him to wake up! He was amazing even half-asleep and was my rock throughout our delivery. At 6 am we were at 7cm, at 7am we were ready to start pushing....and boy were we.

I used a mirror, and could see Huxley's head of hair crowning after about 5 good pushes. The it was 'the changing of the guard' for the doctors and they were conversing when all of a sudden I had a huge urge to push & I knew Huxley was coming out...they weren't ready to catch and had me basically holding him in for what felt like a lifetime! I was in hysterics, and my body was in convulsions. It was only a matter of moments!

Finally, as they scrambled to suit up in 2 pushes his head was out, and then their voices were very urgent about the rest as Hux was hung up on my pelvic bone. One of the doctors (we got a 2 for one!) jumped on the bed and pushed down on my belly as I pushed with everything I had & then with a whoosh and the biggest feeling of relief out came our precious baby boy!

I had minimal tearing (without an episiotomy), and am feeling great now, aside from the huge hormonal flux.

Huxley took the most beating during delivery with a broken right clavicle and some bruising on his face, but if it hadn't have been for the doctor pushing down on me I think he would have been a C-Section baby.

Huxley is VERY well adjusted, took to nursing right away, and barely makes a fuss. He's perfect.

We had Huxley's Grandparent's from Michigan here with us taking very very good care of all of us. We've been sleeping amazingly.

Thank you for all of your support, we send nothing but good things.

xxx

our little Tribe

...one week has come & gone.

we are still waiting, little Bunny.

thank you for letting Daddy & I get lots and lots done before your arrival,

but we are very much ready to meet you.

mommy loves you so much already it's ridiculous.

xo.

..one more week.

it finally snowed here yesterday.

it snowed & snowed & snowed.

today marks our 39th week and what more perfect way to celebrate than

to wake up to 13'' of fresh snow, and pancakes with my favorite person ever.

soon we will be a little trifecta of love.

xx.

dreaming of the day i can rock this again.

dreaming of the day i can rock this again. by hbhaenlein featuring bohemian bags

...one month 'til you're due to arrive...

& Papa and I could not be any more ready to meet/kiss/hug/snuggle/squeeze/Love you.

Baby Bunny Wish List Items

Dear Santa,

Baby would really like for these to be under the tree...we have both been oh so good!

xox,

Hb & Bunny

Prague Market Sling in Grass Marigold

Skip Hop Tree Top Friends Activity Mat

Skip Hop Treetop Friends Hug & Hide Owl

A few recent additions to the little Bunny's Hutch...

Shi Shu Blankets are the softest snuggliest bamboo/cotton blankets around...this is the second I've purchased off gilt.com.

I'm in love with this miniture piano I snatched up at an affordable price. (Another Gilt purchase.)

This Mini Muffin Thermal Romper will be perfect for our little Winter Baby.

8 more weeks!

xox, Hb & Baby

like the leaves the months fall from the calendar..

two more months.

or just about, until we get to see you my little growing Child.

you've become our world.

& we are over the moon in love with you, and getting ready to finally meet you.

xo, Mama

Storing Up The Goods!

These are just a few of the delicious little items that I've stashed away for Baby.

All (except the Bouncer) were purchased of Etsy, my most beloved site!

Sleepy Red Fox can be found at sleepyking

Michigan Teether can be found at Little Sapling Toys

& the Adorable Catalina Mouse can be found at Hazel Village

More to come later...until then, love from the little Bunny & I

The Greatest News Ever.

This is the sweetest little creature to ever cross my path.

(Yes, the Mister & I are expecting. This beautiful baby will be in our arms come January 3rd.)

...I've been keeping a secret...

& it's been sewn tight, locked up safe within my heart just waiting for the right moment.

the tale of the exploding heart.

love is hard

love ain't kind,

love can shake you

make you blind.

listen here i'll say some truth

you were much softer in your youth

run from love and hide your heart

if you fall into it

you won't know the end from the start.

thank you for teaching me the definition of false.

i know our days are numbered

& soon help will come,

just try to make this work, Dear,

pretend i'm The One.

it's the rain that falls reminding

me i have made my mistakes

and thank you for trying to hide

what i should not take...

& thank you for complying

with all my strange requests

i'll keep this to myself and quiet

the bird singing in my chest.

try to not hate me, Love,

'cause i'll be gone so very soon,

we never lied, sure as hell tried,

but we will never to each other

be True.

ends bends & things that whiskey mends.

i watched a man walk down the road

and he was talking like he was rehearsing

a final goodbye.

i got my things, drank your whiskey

& left the necklace you gave me and drove away.

no plans of answering your call

or your whys,

didn't you know from the start

i was never good at goodbyes?

& these days I've been going back to my roots---dirty hair & hands howlin' at the moon and all.

she's a real WonderLand Wanderer.

xo,

Hb

the bed we don't make.

i found a piece of space

it may be small

& it may not be mine

but it's where i finally feel safe,

and when you look at me

you see all of me

not just a pretty face

you see the dirt

and you see the scars

you see it all and you call it ours.

we laugh at the sun

as it tries it's best

to wake us from

our perfect nest

but we have no care

& we have no clue

where we'll go from here

so we stay in bed for another day

and say all's fair...

tomorrow will show us what to do,

& we'll find our way ---

i know it could be a great one with you....

chalk it up to a detour until meantime

the writing's on the wall

i know you can't see it,

but Darling, trust me

it's down the hall

just a few more steps

& you'll read

that you and i simply cannot be,

maybe momentarily---

but definitely not for eternity.

[...]

on second though

let's sit & talk

look at the words they're only chalk

and it comes down unwanted goodbyes

know those lines disappear

with the help of our un-dry eyes.

for now we should leave alone

those stars in their skies,

not ask whys

and just live off our newfound happy sighs.

two sides/one coin.

It's that just lately...I see both side of the coin. A symmetric display of either/or, this or that, and the options are quite rattling.

I'm liking the view.

I'm controlling my urges.

I'm making better choices.

I am seeing the beauty & sadness all in a glance.

The beginning and end all on one page..

[...]

It is like a broken abandoned piano and all the time in the world to bring back it's song.

xx,

Hb

maybe, May baby..yes indeed honey, it's getting sunny.

it's written on my heart

the story of us from end to start...

I just know it.

I feel it in my bones like I feel the sun wanting to stay up late & play but damn that moon and the man in it for that matter...

Spring promises big things,

& I am ready.

the days drag like a last cigarette

i only save a few words

kept safe in place i let no one,

but you.

they're pure,

and they are sacred

every single one of them true.

unlike so many things

i let slip through my soul

like a sieve,

i have become a clouded muddied version

of what you remember of me

my heart a flooded river

with nothing left to give.

it's been years

too many emptied beers

& cheap back alley souvenirs.

and i've tried to call

to tell you that i am sorry,

& i'm okay,

and alone.

but you don't recognize my voice

& hang up the phone.

so i swallow another sunset

& chase it with tears

falling from blue eyes gone gray

shattered like a thousand mirrors.

this is 3am promises

and last cigarettes,

this is life when you forget you're way home,

because it's hidden in your chest.

My feet got that get-up-&-go-now-feeling again.

I wish someone could just hand me one already...

neo-slate, cleaned...2010 all shiny & gleaned.

1.) Sleep more.

2.) Write more in ink

3.) Listen harder & talk softer

4.) Love others more than I love myself

5.) Bruise less

6.) See more

7.) Notice the small things

8.) Smile when it's hard to smile, laugh when it's hard to laugh

9.) Finish thoughts before offering them

10.) Prepare for anything

11.) Slow down

12.) Take time for learning new things

13.) Toss out the unnecessary

14.) Live simple

15.) Make even the smallest moment magical

A Cold Quiet Plea From A Girl Named Go.

Rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness... give me truth.

Halfway Home & Back Again.

December is one of my favorite months. The preparatory month for a long cold-bitch winter. Music can be the only source of true inner-warmth for weeks on end. Music is crucial.

Right now I've got a few songs that are hitting heavy in the December repertoire...

Cold War Kids, Audience of One
It's off their latest EP and it's phenomenal. The piano chords alone pound desperation into my chest let alone the lyrics and their dizzying beauty. So basically, this song beats the crap out of me.

Hem, Half Acre
Again with the piano, but it's softer in this track though...like the first snow, and the quiet excitement that moves you nearly to tears. Sally Ellyson's voice lays the imagery delicately with references to Michigan that cuts straight to my core. Throw in the glockenspiel and I'd call that a perfect song for the season!

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Home
Whistling! A tricky way to intro, but they pull it off only to top themselves numerous times throughout the song. It's adorable, honest, and makes me ache for a home like that someday.

Whiskeytown, My Hometown
It's like a bad accident and you can't look away. It's the raw truth of a no stoplight, barely-scraping-by town, and I am sure this reality hits close to a lot of people these days.

Pinback, AFK
This song makes me hold my breath to the very end, and with the final stanza let out a long sad sigh.

Devendra Banhart, Baby
...Mistletoe, anyone?

John Mayer, Perfectly Lonely
I contradict myself. Cheers to all the singles of the season.

Rogue Wave, Lake Michigan
Perfect track to wake up to on that long drive back home for the holidays. Roll down your windows 'til you can't feel your face and know home is only a handful of miles away.

Matt Costa, Darling Be Home Soon
A personal attachment to this song, especially during the holidays.

Great Big Sea, Home For A Rest
A Canadian handshake to the holidays. This is coming home, ragged & worn out. In need of repair, and revival.

Sufjan Stevens, To Be Alone With You
Because I would swim across that Lake for you...

Gillian Welch, One More Dollar
Another bare-boned hopeless song reminiscent of the skeleton trees that line the roads back to familiarity.

M. Ward, To Go Home

Get ready, your heart's going to break about as fast as this guy can strum his guitar. A whispered lie, guised as a promise, hidden in honesty.

Joshua Radin, The One You Knew
The Catch-22 of the Holidays in regard to torn love affairs. You go home knowing full well that,
1) You will both be in town again.
2) You are both going back to your respective new cities of residency.
3) It hurts every time.

Daisy May, Radio
May ranks high as one of my most beloved songwriters, and friends. She's got Lake Michigan in her veins and the soul that shines in her voice is unsettling. Her music is relatable, and heart wrenching.

If you haven't heard, hear.

Catching Twenty-Two,
Hb

watered down colors...December series.

sleepless sorrow

there's a spider in my window
and it's hiding from the smoke
of a distant fire burning
in a memory i now call home.

curtains hang worthless above my head
a makeshift screen from the world made from an old lovers bed
out of the sheets we laid on tangled and over-exposed
both fully knowing we'd be better off in our clothes.

and the month has shifted into the darkest shade of gray
it's harder sleeping when night starts in middle of the day.

but the drugs don't work
& the whiskey's too strong,
i can calmly say we've changed
for both good and wrong.

there's no going back
to that place i can't say
because it's easy to leave when there's no where to stay.

this is how i became: naive/heart on my sleeve/easily deceived.

home is where:

i leave my purse unattended,
sit on public toilet seats,

&

without looking

cross busied streets...

have friends that pick me up
with wilting flowers & a sign,
knowing that i can love love love,
no matter how much or little time
i have to say
i'll stay & call you mine.


michigan has taught me bad habits,
i chase dreams like
foxes chase rabbits

& leave my passport on tables,
and doors unlocked

trust strangers with my bag of mess &
know the backroads when m-22 is blocked.


home is where,
it's always warm
i'm always known
i'm always half-grown.

and with cold cheeks
& only two too short weeks


i hope we can rearrange
this county like the romans to the greeks.






(i love you leelanau.)

foul weathered foes i never needed to know.

my thoughts have become unoriginal

unfinished paint-by-number portraits

that will never move anyone.

the way my mind can

take even the brightest of colors

& make them rain-soaked gray

is suffocating.

but this body is not my own anymore.

these bones clank awkwardly against each other,

knobby knees and hips that forgot their sway

next to a pile of old letters back Home

toss & turn through the night.

& with bit tongue and split lips

i spit teeth and words out of a mouth that

does not remember what it's like to kiss

an honest person.

(of all the foul weathered foes

i never needed to know

is the one i've created

in a mirror,

made with smoke.)

it sounds like spring but feels like winter.

i just don't know

anything or myself

guess i'm drowing in dust

on this too far to reach shelf

& self-preservation

has become more like self-destruction

and no one understands

how hollow i've become...

you tell me 'don't run',

you tell me i'm fine,

but you haven't been listening

this entire time.

(it's not a lie when i say i'm falling behind.)

dangling.

i hang on your last word

like a noose,

and if this is love

i pray you'll cut me loose.

lately i've been feeling low

lower than i thought i'd ever go,

and lately i've been ten new shades of blue...

but maybe,

just maybe...

if you tell me that you'll save me

then i could finally stop myself from wanting you.

run on.

fall flavored whispers & wishes of winter kisses on foreheads of long lost lovers turned into true friends under covers forever for better and better but wonder why the silence is draining all hush hushed complaining complying all the time trying to see above the trees stop the tears and start flying start falling it's love and it's calling out names of the past just don't look back for too long 'cause all that was familiar is now simply gone.

all exits look the same.

bags still packed & eyes like lead

in a strange place in a stranger's bed.

it's not me under those sheets

she's long gone now.

southbound train & pouring rain

swore i'd never come here again.

didn't leave a note or make a call.

hell, i didn't leave a trace.

no, i didn't leave a trace.

it's a mile of burning pianos

& you've gotta play to put out the flames.

it's a sea of faceless bodies

and no one will ever know your name.

it's life when you run away

from all your beautiful mistakes.

it's big city blues,

& they can happen to you,

just when you think that you're safe.

vagabond blues

so this is the way it feels

to have a heart full of dust.

collected over miles

of highways,

goodbyes gone sideways,

& looked over lust.

i'm foreign to skin.

i only talk when i must.

honestly, i think

my entire soul has started to rust.

watercolors

two recent two not so recent works.

the golden month.

the sun is lower, gold & glorious.

illuminating all the things that remind me why this month makes every inch of my soul

sigh with relief.

promises are dipped in honey.

smiles framed with flowers, and maple leaves.

i wish i could live in september forever.

camp in the mountains.

dance with stars in my pockets.

...simply breathe in fall...

i think i may just do that.

unraveled.

all this time i've wandered
waiting for the answer
to fall out of my mouth.

cement me where
i should be,

north/west/east/south.

but life hasn't been one
to take me by the hand
& show me where to go,

it's more like a flooded river
and i'm moving opposite of the flow.


my memories are a mess of misses,
guesses & goodbyes,

and my presence is a reminder that truth
isn't as pretty as lies.


moving has me
so distant from



myself


taking all the roads less traveled,




& i'm untied from a lot of things,
but now all i feel is


u
n
r
a
v
e
l
e
d
.

kicking myself!

Yesterday our little tribe went to a big family hang out.
I LOVE Matt's family.
It's big, and there is just a love that is palpable.

We spent the day noshing on good foods, playing with the kiddos, & shooting cans with an air soft gun.

It was just a perfect Sunday.

but,
I forgot my camera
&
I am kicking myself because there were so many great photo ops..

Ahwell. The memories will suffice.

We hope you all had a lovely weekend with your loved ones as well!

xo

Oh, & if you have a moment, could you click that little box that says "Vote for the Hux"?
That'd be AWESOME!

cloud-poisoning & current events.

clouds come and go

like melodies

from guitars

held by boys that only know

how to move from town to town

and awkwardly offer there arms

for an evening,

a moment,

a chance at something bigger.

better.

shinier.

the big apple has a hook in it so don't be fooled.

my cheek has already been pierced.

that's why i stopped singing.

dancing.

clapping for the boys with their easy songs.

easy words.

easy eyes that make it hard to look away.

but it was dark in that smoky bar when i met you,

& you never would have asked me to stay.