"More"

I started doing baby sign language with Amelia when she was about six months old, the same time we introduced solid foods.  I mainly do a few signs that involve her daily routines like eating, bath time and bedtime.  Well, tonight after she had eaten her meal but was still in her high chair, we gave her a few puffs (tiny crackers that dissolve easily), and she did the sign for “more” after she finished the ones on her tray.  It seems like a really little thing, but it was so cool to see her communicate with us in this way!
 

This past weekend we went on a beautiful hike up on the ridge behind our apartment.   From the top, you can see both the Pacifica Ocean and the whole bay.  It was a perfect day for a hike, no clouds and a cool breeze.  We leave for Yosemite this weekend for a few days, so we wanted to get our hiking boots broken in again since we hadn’t gone for a while.  I carried Amelia on my back and, according to Mike, she was all smiles for the whole two hours.   I have to say that one thing I am really going to miss about living here is all the amazing hiking.   After our hike, Mike went and bought a new grill from Home Depot, we didn't think we could make it three-months with out grilling out.  He compensated for our two-hour hike with a gigantic hamburger stuffed with Gorgonzola, it was delicious!

A few weeks ago Amelia started to really get into peek-a-boo. She started putting her blanket over her face when she was in her stroller on a walk and would pull it down once we would say “Where’s Amelia?” Now that’s her favorite game to play in the car with Noah.

Noah is really enjoying T ball and I am so proud of him for hustling and trying his hardest.  It's been fun watching and cheering for him and his team!

Monterey

Mike had another conference this past weekend and this time we were able to tag along.  We stayed at the Hyatt in Monterey since that was where the conference was.  Noah really enjoyed it because they had a pool and an outdoor ping-pong table.  They also had an over-sized chess set which Noah especially loved since there was one in the first Harry Potter movie we just watched.  Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so I had to take all my pictures using my phone…so that’s why the quality isn’t as good.  Amelia is so close to walking, and I was afraid she would take her first steps when I didn’t have my camera to catch it on video. 

Mike was able to spend the first day with us, so we explored Monterey a little then played and laid by the pool.  It was Amelia’s first time in the pool and she LOVED it!  She splashed so hard she kept getting water in her face but didn’t seem to mind.  A friend loaned me her water bjorn and it was so nice to use it because it freed my hand for her to hold.  Noah is just like his Nana (my mom); he can makes friends with ANYONE!  Whether it is a fellow six-year-old, a group of guys on a bachelor party or a 50-year-old woman, he always had a playmate at the pool.

My snuggle bugs!

The next two days it was just the kids and me, but we had lots of fun!  There was a park right next to the hotel called The Dennis the Menace Park and it was AWESOME!  Noah and I agreed it was the coolest park we’ve ever been to!  Surrounding the park was a lake with bridges where you could rent bicycle boats.  We did a lot walking along the coastal trails both in Monterey and Carmel.  Thanks to yelp.com (reviews from customers), every meal we had was awesome!

 

Go Yankees!

Noah had his first T ball game last night; it was so fun to watch the kids play.  When he got dressed in his uniform, I told him how adorable he looked and he said, “ADORABLE!  What do you MEAN adorable!?”  I instantly put on a tough voice and said I meant he looked like a real baseball player.

Unfortunately, Mike had to be out of town, but I was texting him throughout the game to let him know what was happening.  In one text I wrote him that Noah scored a point, to which Mike replied, “A run.”  I guess I have as much to learn as the six-year-olds on Noah’s team!

Even though Mike was away at a conference and we missed him, Noah, Amelia and I had a great time together!  I recently finished reading the first Harry Potter book to Noah, so we had a movie night and watched the movie.  Much of the weekend was spent reading the second book.  I was so happy when Noah said that the book was better than the movie . . . maybe he will love to read books as much as his mom does.  At the end of the night, he told me that his day was better than going to Disneyland!

Amelia went to story time at the library for the first time and had such a blast.  She loved the singing and clapping but most of all wanted to go and socialize with the other babies.  Last week she started standing on her own -- she’s up to about 30 seconds before she gets too excited and falls on her bottom.  I daresay, walking isn’t too far away…

Next week Amelia starts a water-babies class, hopefully she'll enjoy that as much as bath time!

Wine Country

My parents flew into town to visit and we all went up to Napa for the weekend.  Even though it rained most of the time, we had so much fun!

My good friend Megan and her fiancé, Carlo, were in Napa as well and they offered to watch the kids so that Mike and I and my parents could go wine tasting.  It was such an enjoyable experience – I can’t imagine doing that with a baby and a six-year-old.  In total, we visited Napa, Sonoma and five wineries spread along the countryside and tasted some really great wines.  I think our favorite winery was Sebastiani in Sonoma. 

On Friday before leaving for Napa, my mom, Amelia and I went up to San Francisco for a “girls’ day”! We ate breakfast at my new favorite breakfast restaurant called “Mama’s” and had some successful shopping in the huge mall in Union Square.  My best find was an adorable swimsuit for Amelia on sale from Janie and Jack.

Noah started T ball this past week but, due to all the rain, two practices and the opening ceremony have been postponed . . . they were able to have at least one practice, which was a very good thing, because most of the boys hadn’t ran bases before (Noah included). 

I can now check off one of the items on my list of things to do before leaving the bay area and it was nice to experience it with my parents!

All for One and One for All

It’s never fun being sick, especially when both parents are sick at the same time, as well as both kiddos.  Luckily, Noah started feeling better and was able to go back to school,  but Mike and I stayed in bed with Amelia for a couple days.  I am happy to say we are now all feeling well again!

Noah left these on my nightstand for me since I was sick.

Once Noah started feeling better,  he would sing to Amelia in the morning so that she would be happy in her crib longer to let us sleep a little more.  They played/sang for over an hour two mornings in a row . . .  he was my hero!

Amelia is entering yet another stage.  We came into her room after naptime and found her STANDING in her crib holding on to the rail and smiling at us!  That little one doesn’t like to stay one place for too long!  To keep her occupied while I cook dinner, I’ve found that she loves to suck on carrots.

Noah had to dress up as one of his favorite characters from a book for school.  He chose Jack from the Magic Tree House series.  For those of you who are familiar with the books, I thought he really did resemble Jack!  Noah’s favorite thing continues to be building with Legos – this past week he made slippers out of Legos that he could actually walk around in.

Brotherly Love

Is this what it means when the older child can revert back to acting younger than their age when there’s a new baby?  In all seriousness, this was a pretty funny sight…which Noah had planned, knowing it would get a good reaction.  He constantly impresses me with what a great a brother he is to Amelia.  Lately, he’s taken to reading to her each afternoon.  He says he likes it because she laughs at all his jokes!

Mike’s parents came up for a quick visit last week.  It’s always great to see them!  Nancy made amazing homemade lasagna . . . and I always love getting a night off from cooking.  They brought up a high chair that one of their neighbors had given us over Thanksgiving that we couldn’t squeeze in our car at the time.  It is so nice to feed Amelia in the high chair rather than in her pink bumbo, which her legs are getting too chubby!

Amelia’s two bottom teeth have FINALLY appeared!  Since the beginning of the week, she’s been making all sorts of interesting faces . . . but there’s one in particular that she makes a lot and is especially ridiculous!

I recently gave her sweet potato puffs for the first time.  She tries to grab them all in her hands at once and then tries to get at least one in her mouth -- but because she doesn’t yet know how to open her fists, she just ends up sucking on her fists.  She’s gotten a lot more coordinated in the last week and getting at least some of them in her mouth.  It’s amazing to observe that if you give babies room to explore and figure it out on their own, how quickly they can learn and how much it pleases them.

Warning: Graphic Details

Let me start by saying we had a wonderful time in Texas, and we’re all excited about moving there.  That being said, the trip got off to a ROUGH start.  Our flight was delayed for four hours both because President Obama flew into SFO and the weather was bad, so they wouldn’t let any other flights take off or land.  We didn’t get into our hotel room until after 4am, and we woke up the next morning at 9am to go check out the first neighborhood on our list.  Other than being really tired, we had a fun time looking around.  

Up to this trip I have pureed Amelia’s baby food at home, but with traveling that obviously wasn’t possible.  I bought Earth’s Best organic baby food to feed her that first night.  Two hours after feeding her, after we were all asleep, we heard her vomit (she had only done this one other time when I had to give her this same brand of baby food from a jar).  Our poor baby was covered in vomit, so we cleaned her off and laid her in bed with us; about 5 minutes later, she vomited again.  Again,  we cleaned her up, thinking she didn’t have anything left to throw up, we laid her between us.  She vomited again,  but this time starts to choke on the bile.  

Mike and I are pretty upset at this point because of how intense the choking is.  He calls the front desk clerk and tells her about Amelia and asks where the nearest emergency room is; the girl tells him she doesn’t know and that she’s with customers so she’ll have to call him back.  Right after he hangs up, Amelia starts vomiting and choking again, so we call 911.  The girl calls us back and says she doesn’t know where any hospitals are and we ask her to bring up extra towels.  A few minutes later she knocks on our door, she’s talking on her cell phone and hands me the towels and walks away.  I’m not sure I’ve ever been angrier in my life!  The paramedics show up and observe Amelia; she throws up two more times but doesn’t seem to be having an allergic reaction (no rashes, swelling,  etc.).   Two hours later,  Amelia is feeling and looking much better!  She slept between us soundly the rest of the night; I woke up the next morning to her stroking my cheek and cooing at me.  

I would say those 24 hours were probably the worst of my life!  Poor Noah -- he was such a trooper,  but he was so scared for his sister!  We tried to make the rest of the trip really fun for him so that he wouldn’t hate Texas.  The next morning, Mike talked to the hotel manager, who was very apologetic about the girl’s behavior the night before and refunded us our money.  We switched hotels,  and the rest of the trip was a lot of fun!

In all, we visited eight different suburbs of northwest Dallas,  and our two favorites were Flower Mound and Highland Village.  In general, we thought they had more trees, rolling hills and land for each house.  The people were so friendly,  and it’s amazing how much more affordable Texas is than California! 

After spending five days in the area, we are really excited about the move!  Some of the highlights of our trip were going to the Stock Yards and eating in Sundance Square in Fort Worth.  We also went to quite a few parks to let Noah play, one of the parks was probably the neatest (Castle made out of wood) I've ever seen and it's in Flower Mound!

A rat on a cat on a dog.

Only one where Amelia was looking at the camera.