Can you identify the following: 1. I'm not the kind of guy who likes to play big brother But I've just seen your date outside he's with another I saw you both come in and clearly you're not meant for him so Please, please, hold my hand... 2. I want to hold your ear, baby Want to hold it near, baby Wanna hold your ear until you hear that I love you... 3. My joy would be complete, dear If you were only here But still I keep your hand As a precious souvenir... Who sang them? (Hint, it's three different artists.) I will be truly shocked good and proper if anyone gets #2 correct.

Sophie gets a shot. Three of them. Sophie went for her 2-month checkup today. She is now 10 lbs 9 oz (meaning she's gained 3 pounds in the past month; she's in the 50th percentile) and measures 23 1/4 in. (in the 75th percentile). She grew a lot this past month! She got her first round of shots; she cried, and then as soon as the doctor left the room, I cried. She's been alternating between fussy and sleeping all day, and it'll probably be an interesting night. The doctor gave us the green light to try to get her to sleep through the night (she's almost there already) and to finally take her out in public. Church, stores, restaurants, the beach, wherever. Hallelujah. Hard to believe the cinnabun is 2 months old... seems like just yesterday I was whining and complaining about how huge and tired I was. Now I'm just tired. :) I have been trying like crazy to focus on today; to stop starting conversations with "I can't wait till she's old enough to..." I'm thrilled with what she's old enough to do right now, every last wiggle and chuckle she makes. And I'm trying to savor all the firsts and hold them in my heart... her first sleepover, first time she grabbed a rattle and gave it a good shake, first time she's really studied her hands. She's so incredibly, amazingly special that it takes my breath away sometimes.

Love, exciting and new.... What a weekend! Saturday Paul went to his college roomie's wedding in DC (yay, Jeff and Alicia!) while I took the cinnabun to Grandma and Grandpa's for a sleepover and some serious play time. She was a little queen -- the center of attention and loving every single minute of it. She wiggled and kicked on the floor as her royal subjects entertained her -- Mommy and Grandpa lying on the floor on either side of her, her godfather hanging over the back of the couch singing Muppet songs to her with two gym socks on his hands, using them as puppet backup singers, and her cousin Joey dancing around the room in excitement. We tried to get Joe interested since he is getting a baby sister of his very own in a few months, and he wanted to help with everything. At one point my sister phoned and he said importantly, "I can't talk to you now, Aunt Mary. I am helping to change Baby Sophia's diapers." Sunday was my very best friend Kirsten's wedding. She and Walter couldn't have picked a more gorgeous day! I was the matron (hee hee hee) of honor and sang the Stevie Wonder song "For Once In My Life" during the ceremony. It's so hard to put into words how special the day was, but if you can imagine how you'd feel if you just had a baby and your best friend of 28 years was getting married, you'd have a good idea of the level of emotion. I gave a toast as well and somehow didn't cry all over myself during it. The bride was truly beautiful, the groom was charming, the weather was perfect, and everyone just relaxed and had a wonderful time. And the best part of it all was that it was so uniquely them; from the vows to the music to the all-vegetarian luncheon. We almost went and played on the swings outside the place... it was that kind of relaxed and sweet day.

This morning found me and Sophie eating breakfast in front of a roaring fire. Not quite as idyllic as it seems; the fire was because we have a crazy woodpecker in our neighborhood that loves to awaken us by pecking on the metal chimney of our fireplace. Every morning for the past week or so Paul's had to throw some newspapers on and smoke him out; it's the only way to make the woodpecker leave. "Who's laughing now, woodpecker?" he has been known to comment gleefully. For some reason two newspapers weren't enough this morning so a real fire was going. I sat cross-legged in front of it with Sophie on my lap, the only way I could get her to stop fussing. I was trying valiantly to eat a bowl of cereal and bananas without getting any on her, and amazingly, we both got through breakfast without mishap. But it's an example of the extreme juggling act my life has become: woodpeckers, laundry up to here, getting up to feed a baby who decides 3 a.m. is the perfect time to play... bananas, indeed. But I am trying to enjoy every second of it; enjoying Sophie's company, happy that at least the woodpecker's not pecking on the house, listening in the deep silence of the early morning to hear Sophia trying to talk. I'll take it.

Note to self: You have enough. You do enough. You are enough. ~ SARK

Watch me draw you a picture! Check this out... then hit clear, draw a new picture and send me something from your imagination.

Sophia Italiana Sophie, Snowflake, and I sashayed downtown to the local Gelateria last night for a taste of summer. Mine was mango and we brought back some Tiramisu gelato for the hard-working hubby. I still dream of Italy and all the gelato we ate there.... the very best was in Rome; it was Tiramisu gelato that actually had hunks of ladyfingers in it and rum. Yum.... after work today I will put on a long floaty dress and pretend I'm back in Florence with my sweet little Sophia. I want to hold your nose No joke, a guy is selling Paul McCartney's flu germs on eBay. He insists that he caught the flu from Paul himself, and now, for a nominal fee, you can share Paul's cold. You can either get a container of mucus, or he'll breathe into a plastic bag for you; it's your choice. *Note to my Paul: this is not what I want for Mother's Day.

Sophie goes chalking This was simply a gorgeous weekend. Sunday found all three of us in the park, with a camera, chalk, bubbles and a sketchbook. I generally like to be sneaky and chalk at 6am, but due to pregnancy, winter, and the demands of a new bambino, it's been a while. I simply couldn't wait another instant to go chalking. Luckily there was a cluster of kids with guitars and bongos nearby, cheerily singing away, so I figured they would attract a heck of a lot more attention than we would. So I knelt down and chalked: The big question is whether you are going to be able to say a hearty YES to your adventure. ~ Joseph Campbell A nice grandpa came by with a baby in a stroller as we were commemorating the event with a photo. He asked if we'd like our picture with Sophie, and said that his hobby was photography. He said liked to travel, and to help people taking pictures to be in their own photos. Sure! we said, so he snapped us on either side of Sophie in her stroller, who was clutching an orange piece of chalk. As we thanked him, he pushed the stroller over to the quote and read it carefully and slowly out loud. Then he straightened up. "Of course I say yes!" he said, and waved to us as he and his grandchild strolled away.

I'm crazy. I must be crazy. I have actually started to redesign my website and I started a store at CafePress as well. Nothing's done or in it yet, but I started. Why can't I leave well enough alone? Why can't I just shut off the computer and stop creating? I'm sorta thrilled that I can't seem to turn off the faucet, but a part of me is standing aside, telling me to hold on and think things through.... I really need to focus my energies and decide what I want to do. My mind is going all the time: at 3 a.m.; when I make dinner; when I see anything that inspires me. I make a mental note or bookmark it for later, but I have to figure out what the heck I want to do with it all. I'm thinking of starting The Artist's Way again or at least doing morning pages to sharpen my focus. I know that I want to market myself this year... but with what? Do I get a rep for my artwork? Do I only stick with the things I can produce myself? And how much time will I have to produce anything myself with a 6-week old baby on my lap? I know I have to start out very very very small... it's just hard because there's a creative river that's about to spill over everything, and if I could contain any of it and figure out how to use it, I'd be pretty darn grateful. What I need is a Master Plan.

Do you remember the song "Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood?" from Sesame Street? Well, we decided that Sophie needs to learn about some other jobs (like the ones Mommy and Daddy have!) when we sing it to her. So we wrote the following verses.... and we encourage you too: can you write a verse for Sophie about your job? If you want to start a magazine Or decide between two shades of green If your webpage needs to be designed The ART DIRECTOR's who you have in mind Oh the art director's a person in your neighborhood.... - and - If you'd like to learn to play some Bach Or Rachmaninoff or jazz or rock If you want to play some Mozart* too The PIANO TEACHER's here for you Oh the piano teacher's a person in your neighborhood.... *can also substitute "some Mozart" for "the Beatles", "George Winston", "Beethoven", etc. So go ahead, write a verse for Sophie... and yes! Being a Mom definitely counts as a job! ;)

Spring is here, darnit I can't believe this: SNOW in April. Although Old Man Winter was trying to make a comeback, I thwarted him by running outside and clipping a hyacinth from my garden to bring inside. Now I'm working in a room that's almost the same purple as the flower and the ceramic jar it's resting in. This one little stalk is stealthily spreading its musky perfume throughout the rooms and it's just heavenly. Sophie is all in pale greens and yellows today and looks like a sweet little flower. And I have strawberries waiting for me that my hubby bought us. Ha! Take that, Old Man Winter! What happened today to make you laugh? That's a line from a book we read to Sophie. And I really do try to keep it in mind. Sunday at about dinnertime I realized that virtually nothing fun had happened to her the whole day because Paul and I were working so hard getting various things done. So we put on James Brown and danced with her, read to her, sang to her... the kind of things we normally do but didn't get to that much that day. I wonder what will happen to her today to make her laugh?

Me and Ricky, sittin' in a tree... My sister just called me from AZ. She was in line getting pizza for lunch when the guy behind the counter starts making a fuss about the guy in front of them in line. "Don't you know who he is? Can't you tell?" My sister figures out it's Ricky Schroder and exclaims to him, "My sister used to kiss the TV when you came on!" Good grief! It's only how many years since Silver Spoons was on the air (um, like 20) and I still feel mildly embarrassed about this. Apparently, he found this funny; I'm glad she didn't add in that I got a static electricity shock from the TV because that probably would have really set him off.

My best friend's wedding Eternal snugglebunnies Kirsten and Walter have decided to finally tie the knot! Needless to say, I am thrilled, although since they have decided the blessed event will occur in three weeks, it means there's practically no chance that Sophie is going to get to be a flower girl. (I can live with that, though.) Kirsten and I have known each other our entire lives... it's amazing when you're best friends with someone, and you can't recall a time when you ever weren't best friends with them.

New Sophie pictures! Here I am, day 3 of working from home...working hard, and still being creative with a vengeance. My personal artistic goal for today is to send in my YES! Project postcard and keep on being creative all over my work projects (which, by the way, are very fun and involve this site). And without further ado, I'll post the link to what you really want... more Sophie pictures!