Birth announcements

Once we had taken family photos, we decided to make a few photo products for our friends and family. As always, we used Pinhole Press, since we love their simple, beautiful designs. First, we made birth announcements to send to our friends across the country and my family in England. My grandmother doesn't have an email account, so this will be the first photo she'll see of Anton!
Then we made a mini panoramic photo book. It's small enough to fit into a purse (perfect for proud grandmothers), and the pages are ultrathick and hard enough to knock on, which feels really luxurious.

It's so nice to have real products we can hold in our hands, instead of having the photos stuck on the computer:) Here are a few more nursery favorites...

(Photos by Julia Robbs. This post is sponsored by Pinhole Press. Thank you so much for supporting the sponsors that make Cup of Jo possible)

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Family photos

Now that we're a family of four, our friend Julia Robbs came over to take a few photos. She shot us at our apartment, just hanging out, as usual.
Amazing to think these two will be brothers and friends all their lives.
Alex and Toby have been spending so much time together these days, and I'm so grateful to watch their relationship grow even sweeter and deeper.
Lucky Toby has also gotten 8 million new "big brother" presents from friends! You've never seen so many toy cars and taxis:)
Remember this photo of Toby? Such a flashback!
Thank you so much, Julia! What a gift to have photos capturing these dreamy, hazy, chaotic, wonderful early days. xoxo

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11 Surprising Things About Parenting in Northern Ireland

For our Motherhood Around the World series, our fourth interview features Tiffany Wyse-Fisher, who, for the past two years, has lived in a village in Northern Ireland with her husband and three sons. Here are 11 things that have surprised her about being a mom in Northern Ireland...
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Mabo giveaway

Today's giveaway is from Mabo, a beautiful small children's clothing line. Designer Emily McMaster uses natural fabrics—cotton, linen and wool—and everything is made and manufactured in the USA.

On a personal note, Mabo is our favorite children's brand, and I'm always recommending it to friends. Toby has worn their wool pants and elf knot hat every winter since he was born, and they are ridiculously adorable.

Today Mabo is giving away a $100 gift certificate, so the winner can choose her favorite pieces. For a chance to win, please visit Mabo and leave a comment below. A winner will be chosen at random tomorrow. Good luck! Update: The winner has been emailed. Thanks for playing.
Bonus for all readers: Get 20% off your order with the code CUPOFJO for the next three days.

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Have a cute weekend.

What are you up to this weekend? Alex's mom and sister are coming to visit, so we'll be taking them here for pasta, playing toy instruments with Toby and (I'm sure) analyzing which family members Anton looks like. (We're stumped by his aquiline nose.) Hope you have a good one, and if you're in a blog-reading mood, here are a few fun links from around the web...

What color eyes will your baby have?

A funny Starbucks quiz.

A guide to Paris with kids...written by the author of this hugely famous book.

Have you read this novel? I'm loving it.

What happy people do differently.

Holy popsicles!

Cheese is dead.

Made me laugh.

What gorgeous photos of Iceland.

Great boots for the fall.

The pros and cons of being tall.

Pretty nails.

Finding the calm.

Are baguettes over?

A weirdly wonderful Mary Poppins remix.

Engagement rings under $2500.

(Photo of Pablo Picasso at the beach with his son, by Robert Capa. Starbucks quiz via Kottke)

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Do you still like beards?

When Alex accidentally grew a beard five years ago (he had the flu), I told him he looked rugged and handsome. Surprised, he said I was the only woman he knew who actually liked beards. But since then, beards have blown up in a huge way. For the past few years, it has seemed as if every guy—famous or otherwise—has grown a beard. Do you agree?

But last week, the Guardian ran an article asking, "Have we reached peak beard?" Apparently, they have gone mainstream and now might be on the wane.

So, I'm curious: Do you still like beards? Are you sick of them? Do you just want to see a guy's actual face for once? I'm still a super fan. Over the past five years, Alex has sometimes considered shaving, but I insist he never does!

P.S. Before and after.

(Photo by The Sartorialist)

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Daddy's boys

How is your week going? To be honest, we've had a few ups and downs. Overall things are good, but sweet little Anton has started grunting (!) in his sleep, and since we share a room, I'm basically averaging 3.5 hours of sleep a night, broken up into half hour chunks. Consider me totally exhausted. Did your babies ever grunt in their sleep? Our pediatrician reassures us that it's normal, but holy smokes, it's not ideal.

But during waking hours, things are great. One sweet thing I've loved watching: Our two little boys are totally enamored with Alex. Anton gazes at him, awestruck, like in the sweet photo above. And Toby thinks he's a total hero. Toby's favorite thing of all time is when Daddy takes him to an Indian restaurant in the East Village. They sit quietly together at a table and watch two men play Indian instruments, and it has become a Sunday ritual. In the video below, Toby tells my sister (whose husband's family is from India) about their dinners...

P.S. I just have to remember: Babies be babies. :) Also, 8 confessions of a new dad, and what marriage means.

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