love the cheeks on our little bear.

May Ballin

How can it be May already?

We cannot believe that it has been three months since Edin was born...Nor that we could survive for three months on so little sleep! Now we cannot imagine life without our little stud. He is such a tender-hearted boy. And also a Houdini. Edin has now escaped his bouncy chair (completely), giggled for the first time, had his first fever and cold, and been on his first airplane! Edin inherite his dad's long legs and his mama's long torso... which makes for one long string bean! We are thinking he will be taller than his dad, who is six feet and five inches. NBA, look out!

To prepare him for the NBA, Edin and I like to go watch dad shoot around with his friend Adam. 

Cheers!

(One of ) My most annoying habbit(s)

I have been known to turn many conversations towards international politics after a drink or two. It gives me an incredible high... despite the fact that these conversations really annoy some people!! It just makes me smile, whether we agree or disagree.

I had such an intellectually satisfying senior year of college. Not only were Brett and I on this awesome journey of exploring the writings of thinkers like Erich Fromm and Thich Nhat Hanh, but I was enrolled in 24 killer credit hours of courses. It was a lot, especially because I was also working at a coffee shop and planning a wedding, but it was glorious! My classes were small and we frequently left the classroom and headed to the campus bar for "class." Our group of students was diverse... a private military contractor, a raging libertarian, a couple Israelis, a Palestinian, a right-wing Conservative, a brilliant stoner who always suited up, a professor that closely resembled Dr. Cox from Scrubs in all ways, and myself. (Sidenote: I love diversity).

Discussions opened when the stout tap was pulled, often before noon. Brews before noon? Absolutely, especially Guinness because it takes the place of the meal you should be eating during lunch instead of talking politics in the campus bar. We took turns buying pitchers and looking crazy for our passionate views of the world. And while the chasm between our conceptions was vast, we had the best of times.

There's nothing like talking about China's use of military force over a freshly poured stout. Mmmmm so delicious.

International Women's Day

I'm not typically one to jump on the "I am a woman; hear me roar" bandwagon. But let's be honest, women have come a long way.  And though I am a middle class, educated, white female living in one of the wealthiest counties in the United States, women's empowerment has to be important to me.

For me, International Women's Day is all about women's empowerment... however you define it. Some friends and I attended an International Women's Day tea on Saturday afternoon at the local library. Dr. Maisah Sobaihi spoke of women's empowerment in Saudi Arabia and it was incredibly fascinating. Dr. Maisah Sobaihi is with the Saudi Arabian mission to the UN and is also an associate professor at King Abdul-Aziz in Jeddah. Above all, she is well-known as a contemporary voice for women, especially young Saudi women. The main idea that I took away from her presentation is that women in Saudi Arabia are experiencing an incredible progression in women's rights and while many rural regions greatly lack respect for women's rights, there is new progress everyday. And more than our Western society viewing the veil as the antithesis of women's empowerment, empowerment for women is having the choice to wear or not wear the veil and then freely choosing for one self (obviously, the veil is just an example).

So I raise my glass to women - everywhere. We've come a long way and there is still a long way to go. May individuals, organizations, governments and all public and private institutions recognize the significant role that women play in the economy, as well as respect the freedom for women to choose freely their place in that economy.

St. Vincent

Brett and I went to arguably one of the best concerts of our lifetime back in November. St. Vincent rocked out at the Webster in NYC and I am still dreaming about that night. Truth is, I have to watched the live recording of the concert at least 15 times. Annie Clark (better known as "St. Vincent"), is a multi-instrumentalist and rock god (this is my satirical reference to the new iPhone commercial. Super lame, Apple!). A Berklee dropout, Annie Clark went on to tour with Sufjan Stevens in 2006 as a guitarist. Her unorthodox musical style is a liberating and satisfying experience.

I used to think Natalie Portman was the only female I'd ever have a crush on... well, I've outgrown Natalie and moved on to Annie Clark.

Silly boys.

Edin's First Photo Shoot

Our camera bit the dust. What a dismal detection it was when the camera shop diagnosed it with several hundred dollars worth of damage. We're not going to repair it... mostly because we'd rather invest the money in an upgrade. I purchased the camera when I took my first photography class sophomore year of college... and it has grown to become part of our little family. Super cheesy, I know... but I am not ashamed at how attached I became to this camera!

The timing on our camera dying was really unfortunate. I mean really, right before our first child is born? Luckily we have some great friends with great talents that own great toys... like our friend Bri! Bri feels our pain and is so generous, kind, pretty (you're reading this right, Bri?) to lend us her Canon 30D. Here she is during our super gnarly tailgating fiesta at last year's Spain vs. U.S. soccer game.

The photo does not do justice to her weirdness or awesomeness.

Our friends are beautiful... once you get past the strange oddities that God endowed our circle of friends with (I am ending this sentence with a preposition... don't judge). 

Brett and I have been wanting to take some newborn photos of Edin so upon receiving the borrowed camera, we immediately went to work! However, the shoot was cut short (extremely short) by an unhappy baby. Here are some photos that Edin allowed us to take of him. He gave us about sixty seconds before he decided the photo shoot was over and the screaming began... we will try again!

I love his wrinkles.

And so it goes...

Hopefully the next photo shoot will last a little bit longer!