Gone Fishing - Well Lobstering

We are almost two weeks into our family vacation and it's been phenomenal.
We've hit DC, NY, Woodstock. Maine and Connecticut.

Yarden's been on a lobster boat, picked blueberries, played in a thunderstorm, played at 2 museums, rode her first carnival ride, met twins, and made friends with 5 different dogs.

We'll be posting more photos, but in the interim here's a video Uncle Liam shot of Yarden wrestling "Baby Erica", my doll from 1973.
(The doll is from 1973, not the video)

The Year of the Dog

Oso came to us in August last year. I got him as a birthday present to myself. Thinking back, it’s funny how his first reaction when we all met in person was to lick Yarden. It was just the right way to let us know he could get along with babies, or at least that he likes the taste of babies. Yarden still loves his kisses, although she’s gotten stronger and better at pushing him away if he overdoes it. I’d say he’s settled in nicely. This is what he does what he thinks I’ve left for work:That’s the same grill he marked as his the first time he was brought over to our house. He still lets me use it sometimes, but he never offers to get more propane. I think he just likes to have a meat-scented bed. I would like that too.

When the vet wanted to know when his birthday was I just gave him mine. I really wasn’t using it. I had already asked Oso when his birthday was before we got to the vet’s office, but he just looked at me like this:
He looks very confused. I asked him in my terrible Spanish, so it’s entirely likely he is thinking “What’s a kay-annoe?” or “I’ve been adopted by an imbecile.” In my defense it’s equally likely he’s thinking “Walk me.”

I have a love-hate relationship with how focused he gets on the squirrels and birds in our yard. Barking up a storm at 6:00 AM is embarrassingly rude to our neighbors, and he runs away from me if I try to make him go in the house. But on a Saturday afternoon there’s nothing more entertaining than a doggy-daddy-daughter squirrel hunt!
Since the landscaping in the back yard Oso has become a master night time hunter of snails. He chases the bugs, and occasionally regrets catching a bee. These are pictures of Oso being allowed in the newly landscaped backyard for the first time:


Very cute, but this one has it beat by a mile:
For a long time Yarden couldn’t manage to pull herself into his bed. Now she loves it. And when she was smaller it was fine. But these days I try to keep her out, at least while he’s in it, because trying to share a bed with Yarden has evolved into a full contact sport and she doesn’t believe in any rules. Aliyah’s got the scratched cornea to prove it.

Thank you again to everyone who made it possible for Oso to come to us. I asked him to thank you himself, but all he said was “grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrras-see-us,” whatever that means.

Our Tiny Tuberculosis Victim

These are pictures of my adorable, life loving daughter when she is NOT in the grips of teething pain.


Yarden hit 102 fever on Saturday night and again last night.
She's got 4 teeth coming in simultaneously and when the pain hits her she wails like a banshee and flails her body around. Occasionally she punctuates the meltdown with a random headbutt, just to keep us on our toes.

She sometimes can be calmed enough to let me cool and hydrate her by wetting her lips with with pedialyte ice pops - like a tiny tuberculosis victim. She also has added the word/demand "ice" to her vocabulary rotation, as in "I'm handing you back this sippy cup of water because it's not sufficiently chilled." Of course she simply uses the efficient one word demand "Ice!"

Oh - and who can forget the diaper rash, stinky pee, and constant drool that herald the arrival of new teeth.

Only infant tylenol and nursing and sleeping on daddy make her feel better.

We kept her home from school today.
This was the scene when I left the house this morning.

As Seamus aptly observed this morning, it's interesting that evolution didn't make babies MORE appealing when they are sick. What keeps animals from leaving their teething offspring in trees?

Natural Stage Project

My snuggly little mama and her glowing rice cracker.

Yarden is camping ready.

Let me start by saying - I'm not easily impressed and I have an aversion to hipsters.

Which makes it all the more weighty an endorsement when I say that my friend Jon co-produces the most impressively unpretentious guerilla live events featuring good music, friendly folks & spectacular settings.

This week he presented a show at the vista of Topanga State Park.
Each band did one song off of In An Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel and the final act did two original songs comprised entirely of lyrics from Princess Bride.

Yarden and I braved the 405 to the 101 and then made a whole bunch of dodgy u-turns in a frustrating search for a hidden turn-off to the state park.
Note to CA, better signage might help park attendance.
Yarden napped while I debated ditching my search in favor of farmer's stand fruits and veggies and a trip to the Lululemon store in Calabasas.

On our last attempt, we found it. And thank goodness. What a beautiful idea.
(OK I found it. Yarden was useless - she just slept in the backseat.)

Jon's girlfriend Megan (who is also a mad knitter) took these photos.

I call this photo, "I am the luckiest mom in the world."

Yarden looking like she is popping a squat.

24 Hour Grandparents

I posted a photo like this on Facebook and got asked if Yarden had stacked all of these.
The answer is that Yarden is way more into re-distributing (read hiding my stuff) than color coded organizing.
But having a daughter that was a savant organizer is a contender for a genie wish!

My parents breezed into town this Sunday, flush from a million dollar wedding in San Francisco (I saw the photos and tasted the cake. If you've got the money to spend on a party, this is the way to do it).

They arrived around 3pm and left early Tuesday morning- so it was a fast trip, but we packed in A LOT!!!!

Sunday night was our first proper dinner party in the new backyard - replete with fancy dishes, a campfire & our friend Allison Binder. I have no photos - but it was delicious and very fun. I'm very proud of myself, and hey it's my blog I get to brag, because I made all the courses all by myself and even timed them out pretty well.

Everyone has soup as their last course, right?

Wine poured liberally and - if you aren't already drinking it - Opala is my summer white recommendation (under $10 at Whole Foods). MB and I discovered Vinho Verde a few years ago and dubbed it the perfect summer stoop wine, a wine to be bought be the case and enjoyed at summer rentals or on apartment fire escapes. This is an excellent VV, sparkling, crisp, a little sweet and addictive.

So did I mention we were drinking?
Because that will explain the following photos.

Seamus and my dad claim that Zombies attacked and chased Yarden around the yard - but these photos tell a different story.
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She was literally squealing in delight as they chased her around.

This next photo was taken at almost 11 at night, and I think this expression alone should count as baby sign language for "I want to go to sleep now". Normally this expression is reserved for hipsters on the 4am L train on their way back to Williamsburg.


Yarden slept over in the "grandparent storage compartment" with my folks.

Because Yarden in a terrible, horrible, no good sleepover guest - rolling over, kicking, swinging her arms and occasionally headbutting in her sleep - only she woke up refreshed for breakfast with Cousin John.

After breakfast we were off to LACMA, where Yarden became a museum member (free till she's 18 throught the NextGen program) and brought me in as her guest.

This is part of an exhibit by South Korean artists.
Yarden was initially unimpressed.

I'm going to take it as an indication that we've given this girl an exciting 1st year that a floor to ceiling plastic maze is de rigeur and barely worth looking up from a bottle for.

At some point she soaked her diaper and her pants had to dry off.
This photo cracks me up because only a baby can be this blase pants-free in public.
When we left the museum, Yarden was WAY more into exploring the plastic.

I love these "action" shots.
Check out the knee. Despite the pirate shirt she's got a little captain in her.


Yarden dogged by paps.
We stopped at the La Brea tar pits - mostly at the gift shop - and also went to lunch at Mani's.
Yarden was very interested in the installation of recyclables along the walk.
At home we don't let her play with garbage, but at the museum you can touch them, bang on them, march around them, and then try to put them in your mouth and get scooped up by mommy.


Yarden is a good sharer.
Here she is offering to share her straw with Grandpa.
Back home, we skyped Grammy and Yarden showed off her baseball skills.
You can see my mom holding the computer in the lower left hand corner.

Making daddy proud.

Here we are showing Grammy the "just add kid" Indiana Jones shirt we got at the La Brea Tar Pits.
** In other news, I'm really into twitter this week.
I'm recording this in my blog so that I can remember in the future that this is the week of my life that I was really into twitter.

I'm also doing really well at running 4 mornings a week and getting to pilates.
Trying to make it a lifestyle, still feels like a chore.

Aliyah

Baby Meets Lobster

In celebration of Fathers Day, we had a daddy day.

Extra bacon for breakfast followed by a relaxing afternoon at Home Depot.
Here we are at breakfast with Seamus rocking his daddy shirt.
For dinner, Lisa and James came over and we made lobsters and had a campfire with delicious wine. Here are some shots of Yarden investigating our dinner.

At some point she realized that they were moving and became less brave.

In Focus and Nobody Has Their Eyes Closed

Family photo from the Memorial Day visit, the first time that all the grandparents were out in LA at the same time!

They all rented an apartment together in Mid-Wilshire (strangely referred to as Beverly Hills by the rental agent) and Yarden had sleepovers in the room between the bedrooms. If you are familiar with the game "Snatch the Bacon" - that's how I imagine it went, though all the grandparents claim they shared nicely.

Liam had already left when this photo as taken, so I'm posting a separate photo of the two of them. He and Baby Y really bonded.

Liam - if you have a photo where people can see your lovely face, please send it!

Monday Morning Yardeny Goodness

Above: These top two are just generic Yarden cuteness.

Below: Photographic evidence that Yarden spent the bulk of her birthday party cruising other people's plates for food.

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Below: And occasionally, riding a doggy.