Low Tide

Everything moves like the tide.
The moon shines down on us, lighting up the night sky, and disappearing during the day.
But it's there; pushing, pulling at us.
Leading, keeping everything on course, subtly pulling us along.

All week, there's been a very low tide in the evening. It's perfect for a late-in-the day walk on the beach, like after Zoe wakes up from her nap.

I come home with another jar of shells, and six sandy shoes left on the front porch.

Pretty Girl

Zoe in her Christmas dress, going to church with Nanna.

Standing on his own two feet

Nobody cry. It's just standing- barely. He's still our baby.

O Tanennbaum

Zoe helps the Nanu Nanus pick out and decorate the Christmas Tree. She had such a blast with one of my own favorite holiday traditions. Nene put up the lights, and Nana dragged out boxes of ornaments collected over a lifetime, and Zoe had the thrill of a new discovery hung hook by hook.
Her favorites were (of course) a glass Nemo fish, and Micky Mouse making snow angels- each hung at her eye level.
It was pretty special watching my own daughter hang the ornaments that I remember making, receiving, giving and hanging myself through the years.

The Happiest Place on Earth

Today, all the stars aligned, and Zoe and I went to Disneyland.
Mom watched Julian while studying for finals, and Kelly watched him while she took her tests. Meanwhile, Mommy took a 2 1/2 year old (without a nap) to the most overstimulating place on Earth.
She did pretty well, all considered. It was chilly, but there were almost no lines.
The fact that there were no lines got the best of me, especially when I saw a line-free Pirates of the Carribean. Bad idea. Poor Zoe is going to have pirate nightmares to the tune of "yo ho ho ho, a pirate's life for me...". She yelled, "no no no no no!" all the way through the ride.
But she LOVED Dumbo and the new Nemo Submarine adventure. She also loved the castle lit up at night, the character christmas parade, and rocketship ride that is still at the entrance to Tomorrowland. Number One on Zoe's list? I think it was a Small World afterall.

Tilden Winter Fantasy

Tilden Park is currently hosting a "Winter Fantasy" event at their victorian Carousel. The carousel turns to Christmas carols and Santa offers his lap to young ones for a photo op. There was a Santa's Village with lighted scenes of reindeer stables and a huge Christmas tree.

Primas

Zoe and her cousin Alena had another opportunity to hang out together at Uncle Rich's house for a holiday brunch. Two generations of cousins visited and caught up while the kids played. I feel so lucky that our own children are so close in age- Alena and Zoe are 6 mos apart, and now Julian and Bella are only 4 months apart. Too bad we are all 500 miles apart! (J,D&A, we miss you and look forward to June!)(hugs and kisses to J&Z's many other, farther away cousins!)

Beach Combers

It rained the day before, but the sun came out and brightened everything up. Zoe wanted to play with her sand toys, so we made our way to the beach, as we usually do whenever possible. Zoe got to work hording all the toys and keeping them from her brother while Julian desperately tried to get his hands into the sand (in order to put a handful into his mouth). Last summer, I just laid him on a blanket in the shade, but now he squirms his way to the edge of the blanket- or pulls the edge of the blanket to him- so he can get down into the sand.

Fish Girl

We're becoming regulars at the aquarium these days. Zoe is very into fish right now.
When she's in the bath she says "I'm in the akemium"! When she swings on the swings at the park, she leans all the way forward and yells, "I'm a Nemo fish! I'm swimming underwater"!
We finally purchased an annual pass so we can go whenever we like during our visits to SoCal. Julian seemed interested in the fish too. Especially the jellies.
Zoe likes the big tanks, and of course, the Nemo fish.
Zoe has grown so much, that for this visit, the Nanu-nanus bought her her very own big girl bed. Complete with coral reef sheets. Perfect!

Road Trip

Another holiday, another road trip south.
The crew is getting used to the long haul, and this trip was fairly successful. 8 hours in the car is a long time- they both napped, Zoe enjoyed a new stickerbook and we all enjoy getting out at Tejon Pass for a stretch of the legs.
Zoe takes her turn at driving while Little Mister gulps down a bottle (big mistake on The Mommy's part here... should've breast fed him. I wound up with a nasty Mastitis infection- ouch)!

Bbbbbbbbbbbbbb!

The last heat wave

Here on November 17th, it was so warm at Chrissy Field at sunset, that it felt like September. Clear, with warm breezes and a picture perfect sunset- at 5 o'clock. It must be the last one. I can't believe how many perfect weather days we've had this fall. Even after a cold and rainy spell. It may be the last heat wave of the year... but I hope not.
We met our friends Andre and Elenor for a late afternoon romp on the beach followed by dinner at their Richmond flat. What fun for all of us! Andre is the charming little host, such a gentle and kind boy. There were so many toys for Zoe to play with, and Andre was great at sharing. The little Dude even had toys and an expanse of floor space. It was so relaxing to go somewhere besides our home that we can feel comfortable- knowing that Zoe is expected to touch most things, and will never get bored. It was especially great for me to hang out with Elenor, and catch up on Mommy things, toddler things and such.

They're Osh Kosh, b'gosh!

The Quilt People

When I agreed to have children, I knew there would be some sleepless nights, but this is ridiculous. How do parents function on so little sleep? And where are they? They aren't hanging out at the kid park looking so pulled together in their hip jeans, Keen Sneakers, LL Bean fleece jackets, pulling neatly portioned snackies out of their orange Phil and Ted strollers. Their toddlers romping about in tidy Baby Gap ensembles, little curls tied up in color coordinated ribbons, all giddy and well rested.
No those are the parents who while gently pushing their little ones in the basket swings, faced away from the sun, love to brag about how their precious Aiden is now sleeping through the night, and has been since he was 6 weeks old. Assholes. Go ahead and flaunt your sleep in front of the rest of us. Nice.
Meanwhile, it's 11 AM and I'm shocked that we made it out of the house. Me, coffee in one hand, cell phone in the other I release my spawn onto the blacktop to encourage free range roaming. Go- run, climb, spin, slide, dig, laugh, chase, scoot go on and burn off some energy so you can go home and take a long, hard nap. I watch my toddler run off a few paces and turn to beg me to chase her. No no no, we came here for YOU to burn off some energy. Some extra energy, not use up the tiny bit that is going to drive us home after this excursion.
I notice that Zoe doesn't looked as pulled together as the other kids do. None of us do. My dirty hair raked into the ever present ponytail, smashed bangs barely grazing black smudged eyes- if I actually took the time to put on eyeliner or mascara at some point in the last 3 days. Lips pale, chapped. Skin grayish, sullen. I'm wearing what my husband has come to call my "uniform". The same velour sweat pants and not matching sweatshirt that I wore through most of my pregnancy. The sweatshirt is especially flattering as it's all stretched out from being wrapped around a huge baby belly. I notice that Zoe is dressed like a quilt. No literally, a quilt. I've seen these kids on the playground before. I thought their moms or nannies just let them dress themselves and embraced their "free spirit", but now I know that their mommies are just sleep deprived and the laundry pile in their basement far exceeds the amount of clean clothes anywhere else in the house. Zoe has on striped leggings, a pink sock, a yellow sock, a diagonally striped sundress of a different print and a sweatshirt of an entirely different color from any of the others represented below which almost seems an impossible feat. Her hair, though clean and "brushed" is parted weird and hanging funny from not being combed well after her bath last night and is the least of our worries, really. Another mom (looking more like myself in style than that of the formerly described princess-mommies) asks me, feeling badly, if we have any extra fishy crackers or snacks that we could share. Evidently they walked to the park and her own quiltie kids are getting hungry and she forgot to bring snacks. Feeling a sudden bond with this other haggered mommy, more than happy to help out, I reach into our stroller trunk and find that not only did I forget juice and snacks myself, but I also forgot to bring diapers. Oh god, please keep the poos at bay for a while longer, please.

Zoe's Gallery

Zoe has been coming home from Tot Zone with lots of great artwork. I don't want to chuck it, but don't want to hold on to all of it either, so I've been trying to get creative with her creativity. Her very first painting has been framed, so then what? We use some paintings as a placemat on her table so we can all enjoy them, then we dedicated the closet door as her very own gallery space. We rotate the exhibitions, which currently has an Autumn/Thanksgiving theme. It's especially cool because it's the first thing to greet you when you walk in the door.

Julian goes to Town

Julian Patrick and Ryan Patrick escorted The Mommy into "Town" today for a little excursion. After a great lunch at Frijtz, we tried on new lenses at Calumet (stay tuned) visited an old friend, Mischa and checked out my new favorite photo Mecca, Rayco. A phun photo day phor all- well, thanks for your patience, Paddy- not everyone is ready to lug around an 8 month old and all that includes while playing in the City.
A big shout out to my favorite Vets!

Playing in the Rain

Zoe's getting ready for wet weather with her rain gear. We had our first big downpours of the season, and she took it in stride with some good old fashioned puddle jumping.

Zoe and Daddy in Space!

Daddy took Grammy, Zoe and Julian to the Chabot Space and Science center, here in Oakland. Then, Daddy and Zoe blasted off into outer space where they had their picture taken. A good time was had by all, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches devoured, science explored- a great way to spend a pouring rain day.
(mommy had the day off and took a jewelry class).

Halloween

Last year Zoe was introduced to trick or treating while wearing a chicken suit. But it must have been confusing for sure. This year, we had many conversations about Halloween. I wanted her to be ready. See, Zoe doesn't like to go out at night, she doesn't like the dark. But she does like pumpkins and lights. She doesn't like getting dressed, or wearing anything "unusual", so of course there were going to be some issues. Early on, she decided she wanted to be a fairy. I had nothing to do with this. I was pushing for Yo Gabba Gabba or Ming Ming, or the chicken suit part deux, but she wanted to be a fairy. Then I spotted an glittering aqua tutu, and it all came together. Zoe has a fairy book with sparkly dresses in it, and there is a fairy who flits around with her wand in a Sesame Street episode that we DVRed, so I can only assume this is where she came up with the idea. She made a treat bag in Tot Zone for collecting our loot. We spent the drizzly day carving pumpkins and showing Zoe how to use her wand. She went around the house wapping everyone with the wand and then went trick or treating in Alameda in for practice before heading out for the real thing here in our own neighborhood at dusk. Our street was pretty quiet, but the neighbors were ready and Zoe did a great job of saying "trick or treat" and "thank you"!

Zoe sings the alphabet song

Underwater Zoe

Academy of Sciences

Taming the Beast

Julian is fearless when it comes to his big brother, Sid. He doesn't know what it feels like to have four sharp razors swipe at your ankles because you didn't stop and fill the food dish (baff baff!). The flesh of his forearm hasn't been shredded just because it looked "ripe". He doesn't know that if he were to sigh the wrong way, it might be mistaken for an invitation to rumble with the "flat eared monster". No, Sid has been in a strangely good mood lately, and his temper has cooled long enough for Julian to be allowed near enough to pat his furry face, and even grab a handful of orange fur, which Sid doesn't seem to mind one bit. When the cat walks near to him, Julian cranes his neck for a better look, and reaches out to touch the quiet, furry creature that lives among us.

The Elephant

Go on safari with a good book!
Here, daddy reads to the elephant (while sitting on one...)at the Calistoga bookstore.
No matter where we travel to, Zoe will always be entertained at the local bookstore.

Preston Winery

Preston winery in Sonoma is a funky little place we like to stop when we're in wine country. It's like a little farm with grapes, olives, tasting room, orchard, picnic area, organic vegetable plots, chickens, cats and gardens in which to chase them. A great place to stretch your legs, eat some tasty olives and buy some decent Sauvignon Blanc. Here, Zoe runs between sun spots while chasing kitties.

Steamroll

Zoe is already trying to steamroll her brother. Here on our getaway to Calistoga, Zoe entertains herself in between trips to the pool, walks downtown and bouncing on the bed.

Do bears sit in the woods?

Okay, so I know we're here at the Sycamore tree again, but I can't help myself. Sears has their backdrop, and well, I have mine. Plop down a sweet little cherub, and you can't help but take a cute picture (a new bear hat doesn't hurt, either). Hello, mommy eye candy!

Tree House Happy Dance

Sleeping Child

Punkin Patch

Over the bay and beyond the hills, we ventured into the valley of Half Moon Bay, where the greatest pumpkins in the country are grown. What used to be a little roadside pumpkin stand has grown and grown from a traffic nuisance to destination for those of us with little ones. We are enjoying the best weather of the year here in the bay area, and the little town of Half Moon Bay, along the typically foggy coast is as warm and inviting as a cornucopia of harvest time produce. We weren't the only ones shooting away as toddlers wandered around the hay strewn pumpkin patches, train rides and rocking horses. Funny how your destinations can evolve from gallery hopping to a bunch of stuffed scarecrows and a mini train ride.

At the bookstore

If only he grows up to love books as much as his sister does

Crackling leaves

Little Mister loves the sound of crumpling paper, crinkling cellophane, and scratching fabric. So putting him in a pile of fall leaves for a brief photo shoot was just another tactile pleasure for him.

Little Chickens at Little Farm

Zoe knows what she likes and what she doesn't like.
She likes apples and country music (yikes!), she likes to go on bike rides with daddy, she likes to go to the beach with mommy. She doesn't like crickets, or salad or using public toilets. But now she LOVES things and has favorites. When we go up to the woods, she walks down the trail and proclaims, "this is my FAVORITE"! When we leave TotZone, she says, "I LOVE TotZone"!. Now she has added little farm to the list of things she loves. She had such a great time. She liked to visit the pig, pet the bunnies, listen to the hens. She wasn't so thrilled with the sheep and goats... she doesn't trust those critters yet.