Cutie Bear

"Yes, Baby Gap? I'm ready for my close-up".

Walking around with Julian in his stroller, bear cap on head, we pass strangers on the street, in the park. The parents, grandparents, children, all look down and grin. They tilt their head to one side, curl up their eyebrows and smile slow and big. For women of childbearing age, this is usually followed by an "awwwwwww"! We have gained far more than we spent for the hat in smiling strangers. They are powerless against the adoration powers of the hat.

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Zoe learned about celebrating the lunar new year in the Chinese tradition at Tot Zone this week. Jennifer (the FABULOUS director of Tot Zone seen with long hair) helped the kids to create their very own dragon and noise shakers (classic paper plates and beans!) then the kids all paraded around the Piedmont Park & Rec building for the parents. They yelled "gung hay fat choy"! and looked a bit puzzled, peeking out from underneath the dragon. As usual, Zoe marched to the beat of her own drum!

Kindergym

Mr. doesn't always get a whole lot of solo Mommy time. Let's face it, Zoe can be a little demanding of my attention- I know, but really, she can. So today while she was at Tot Zone, Julian and I enjoyed some fun & games at the Y's Kindergym. We sang songs, we shook shakers, we clapped hands, banged drums, and met lots of other little folks. Julian loved it! He felt totally comfortable around all the other people. He crawled around to visit the other mommys and tots. He chased after balls. Zoe used to be a bit shy in this arena. She'd watch, and enjoy, but didn't really want to participate in the same manner. At one point Julian crawled across the circle, chasing a ball over to a pregnant mommy on the other side. She held it out for him, and he looked at her, holding her gaze and smiling right into her eyes. She actually teared up at his cuteness. Then I almost teared up at their cuteness. Man, he loves the ladies and the ladies love him.
At the end of Kindergym, before the kids dance in a rain of bubbles, the parachute comes out. All the babies sit in the middle while everyone else turns it around in a circle. Then, everyone crawls under as it poofs above their heads. Julian was not sure what to make of this part. He had a great time.

MY baby

We recently borrowed a book from the library about two dogs. Two dogs who's people have a new baby- and they are not happy about it. They want to bite it, they want to bury it, they pee on the rug, they don't get the attention they used to. Then grandpa comes to visit. And even though they hate the baby, it's theirs, and they don't think grandpa should come near it. "It's OUR baby to hate as much as we want to, and maybe even to like, just a little bit".

Tourists!

What a great way to spend a sunny holiday in San Francisco... play tourist! There were no out of town tourists around this time of year so there's no wait or crowding at some of the classic guidebook haunts. Thanks to the gorgeous, unseasonable weather (aka drought) it was a perfect day to hang out by the water and run around in T-shirts. First stop, Coit Tower. Open parking spaces in North Beach?! Yes! We took a stroll around Telegraph Hill taking in the view, admiring the New Deal era murals inside Coit Tower, and listening to the parrots. Next, we picked up hot sandwiches from Molinari's and headed to the Hyde St. Pier, where daddy took the kids for turn in the row boat. Julian and Daddy left us Zoe and The Mommy there, and we strolled over near Ghirardelli Square to catch the Cable Car over the hill to Downtown. Zoe's first Cable Car ride! We got choice seats in the front so Zoe had the front row view as we rolled up and over the hills, down into Market Street. All without needing jackets! From there, we went to Nordstroms for a potty break, where a pair of leopard print stiletto's caught Zoe's eye, "I want to try these on"!. Then down to the bottom level, we breezed through the Sanrio store, before grabbing some snacks in the new gourmet food court, and catching BART across the bay. We had really fabulous day.

Escape

Zoe and mommy enjoyed a little duet time at Escape From New York Pizza in the Haight.
Pesto for The Mommy, Cheese for Zoe. The little dude slept through the whole thing.
After pizza, we headed up to the Randal Museum- our new favorite thing to do when we have nothing to do.

Driving Glee

Still small enough to get away with kooky driving (while giggling hysterically and wearing a tutu)

Sink Bath

When was the last time you were small enough to take your bath in the sink?

A New Year

After two long weeks, far, far away, our Daddy was returned to us. We all celebrated the new year with a brisk and rambunctious walk on the beach. Zoe threw herself up and down the hills of sand over and over again with the fervor of children playing in the first snow.