The Birth of my Daughter

We're a family of four!

I've ignored my blog for a long while, but I want to record my second birth story before it all slips from memory.

I had an OB appointment on Wednesday, July 22nd, the day after my due date. Three years ago when Lachlan was born ten days late, I swore that if I had another child, I would lie to everyone about the due date so that I wouldn't get so many calls, emails and texts about why baby hadn't arrived yet. Fibbing just isn't in my nature, though, so I reported the actual due date to friends and family and, of course, received lots of messages that essentially said, "is baby here yet?"

All of those people who contacted me love us and were just excited about baby's arrival, but I didn't like the feeling of everyone waiting on me. I was also adamant that my labor not be induced. I wanted baby girl to come when she was ready.

The OB reported that I was three centimetres dilated and did a quick membrane sweep, which can kick start labor if baby is ready. I then experienced contractions off and on through the afternoon and evening. I went to bed that night, but the contractions were strong enough to prevent me from actually falling asleep. At 11:30pm I felt a huge gush and I knew that my water had broken. My contractions remained irregular (every twelve minutes) so we phoned the hospital to find out whether or not we should come in. After spending twenty minutes on hold and two changes of pajama pants, the hospital never picked up the phone and we decided to go anyway because I was leaky and uncomfortable.

Mickey and I couldn't find the after hours entrance to the hospital and learned that though it was midnight, we could enter through the normal front entrance. I was admitted and filled out some paperwork. The nurses monitored my still irregular contractions and recommended that I walk around the corridor to get more active labor started. Mickey and I made one lap up and back, but I felt too much pressure and discomfort and back pain to continue to walk.

Back in the delivery room I was given a steroid drug via IV that I needed because of a recent flare up of one of my gastro conditions. The nurse offered another IV drug to help with the pain and I accepted. It made me dizzy almost immediately, but it did help with the pain. My contractions remained irregular, but when they did come, I felt them in my back far more than I remember with Lachlan's birth. I was ready for an epidural and the anaesthesiologist gave it to me without any judgement. It was very effective, but I could still feel some back pain. The nurses helped me reposition my body to allow the drug to get to my back.

I was then comfortable enough to doze for a couple of hours while they gave me pitocin to speed up contractions. I was delighted to not feel most of this. At about 6:40 in the morning, they checked me and reported that baby was ready to come out.

The epidural mercifully took away all sensation and I felt a sense of disbelief that baby could actually be eminent. The doctor said I'd have baby out in a push or two. I remember thinking about how terribly disappointed the doctor would be once she realized that I had no sensation and thus no ability to push baby out. To my shock and delight, though, I pretended to push (by putting my chin to my chest and squeezing any abdominal muscles that I could feel) and baby did in fact come out in about eight minutes. I suppose my body knew what to do even though I felt disconnected from my lower half. When they said that her head was born, I thought 'could have fooled me,' because I really could not feel a thing.

They handed baby to me and I cried tears of joy and disbelief. Simi's birth had been different from Lachlan's, but it was very positive and not nearly as uncomfortable as it could have been. The doctor stitched me up while they weighed and measured our perfect little girl: 7lbs and 10ozs, 20.5 inches long. The nurses wheeled me on a gurney out of labor and delivery and into the mother/baby wing of the maternity floor. It was several hours before I could really feel my legs again and before the nurses allowed me to walk and shower.

Simi and I received really good care at the hospital. Friendly nurses and doctors checked in on us often and generally didn't scold me for not feeding baby often enough and didn't interrupt us too many times. I sent Simi to the nursery at night so that I could rest and no one seemed to judge me for that.

Triumphant, but puffy

Lachlan and Nani were our first visitors in the hospital on Thursday morning. Lachlan wore his 'Awesome, Awesome, Awesome Brother' t-shirt for the photos, but was afraid to get too close to Simi. He would talk to her and look at her, but didn't want to touch her. That was okay by me because I'd rather he be cautious than all over baby. Grandpa Tom arrived the next day with a beautiful bouquet of pink roses and baby girl balloons for the house.

After lots of tests and checks for baby and paperwork for me, I was released from the hospital on Saturday morning. I put on a dress and make up for the triumphant 'coming home from the hospital' photos a la Kate Middleton. I looked presentable, but I couldn't be bothered with my hair and I felt decidedly more puffy than I imagine Kate felt.

During my hospital stay and in the week following Simi's birth, I experienced a lot of back pain in one spot. My doctor said it resulted from the labor that I didn't feel. Now, two and a half weeks after the birth, my back is in good shape and I'm wearing non-maternity shorts (though they're a bit snug). After months of carrying a heavy belly, it's delightful not to be pregnant.

I'm afraid of jinxing myself, but Simi is a very good baby so far. She caught on to nursing quickly and doesn't have long bouts of unexplained crying. When she's upset she's usually hungry, tired or wet. She seems like a fairly easy baby because I am much more relaxed than I was when Lachlan arrived. Three years ago, the anxiety I felt about the responsibility of caring for a new baby prevented me from enjoying Lachlan's early development. I could hardly look at him without worrying that if he was awake, he should be asleep and vice versa. This time around, I can gaze and admire my new baby without fear. I also have a perspective on the newborn days that I didn't have last time. I know that it all ends very quickly as baby grows and moves on to the next phase. When Lachlan first arrived, I felt like my new normal was endless cycles of feeding, changing and settling baby, but now I know that this is just the beginning. By Christmas, Simi will be able to do all kinds of things that she cannot yet do and caring for her will be different (harder in some ways, easier in others) than it is today.

Simi already has more clothes than any other member of our family thanks to hand-me-downs and gifts from dear friends. Nani and I have taken a lot of joy from dressing baby everyday and I've started calling her 'Dolly' because she is my little doll.

"Cheese!"

Lachlan has warmed up to his sister a little bit and asks to hold her sometimes. Last night he held and kissed her very sweetly. This morning he wanted to read her some books, but I suspected he actually just wanted extra attention from me. When Lachlan senses that he's not getting enough attention, he gets louder and more aggressive. For the most part, though, I think he's adjusting to this major change as well as can be expected. It helps that his grandparents are around to take him out and burn off some energy. I also try to hand baby over to grandparents when she's happy so that I can have quality time with Lachlan.

I hardly left the house yesterday and I didn't get into the shower until nearly 11am today, but at least I got a shower in the end. I also finished this blog post. Neither of these things would be possible without the help I'm receiving from Mickey, of course, my mom and in-laws. It absolutely takes a village.

The stars at night...

At the end of last month we took an ambitious, eight-night family trip to Texas. I'd call any trip involving air travel with a two year old ambitious, but this was all the more so because it had three separate legs with three different accommodations.

Super excited to be a ring bearer

The purpose behind the trip was my cousin Helen's Texas-sized (and yet so elegant) wedding in San Antonio. She graciously asked Lachlan to be the ring bearer on her big day and I was touched that she wished to include him. Initially I fantasized about how darling he would be walking down the aisle in a tiny tuxedo. "He's going to steal the show," my mom predicted.

Then reality set in and I started to fret about whether he would actually tolerate that tiny tuxedo and the sweet coral-colored bow tie that Helen bought for him. Even if he wore it without a hassle, would he walk down the aisle holding the flower girl's hand as planned? It was a total gamble as to whether or not the two year old ring bearer would actually cooperate. I did my best to set Helen's expectations of Lachlan's performance. She said that she wouldn't mind if he refused to participate in the ceremony and only wanted a couple of cute pictures with him. In hindsight, I realize that the person who would care most about Lachlan not sticking to the plan was me.

Fortunately, Helen didn't entrust him with the actual rings. Instead, she gave him a bell to ring while he walked down the aisle. While waiting with Mickey in the wings he said, "not wanna ring the bell" many times, but at the critical moment, he came through. He did ring the bell while holding the flower girl's hand all the way to the front of the church. I was overcome with emotion and started to cry with relief. "He totally killed it," I whispered proudly to myself. Once at the front of the church he spotted me and I hoisted him up to the pew. I gave him the fruit snacks that I had used to bribe him and that kept him quiet for a blissful 2.5 minutes. Then, unfortunately, he behaved like the two year old he is and Tom had to take him out of the church. I was so focused on getting him down the aisle that I had absolutely no plan to keep him contained during the ceremony. Oops.

I'd like to think that this first San Antonio leg of our journey was fun for the whole family. In between wedding events, we took a hop on hop off double decker bus tour of the city. This was fun for Lachlan because he enjoys vehicles and public transportation. It was fun for us because we learned a bit about the history of the city. We also managed to catch up with my brother over drinks at our hotel's Menger Bar, an exact replica of the pub in the House of Lords.

Livin' the good life in Comfort, Texas

Birthday barbecue lunch at Rudy's

We left Lachlan with a babysitter at the hotel while Mickey and I enjoyed a child-free reception. The path leading to the event space was lit by luminaries, just one of this wedding's many thoughtful, beautiful details. The food was fantastic, the drinks were flowing and the company was family; it doesn't get a lot better than that.

The day after the wedding was Mickey's birthday and though I had made a restaurant reservation for brunch to surprise him, it ended up making more sense to drive out to the hill country where my aunt and her husband Brian now live. We stopped for barbecue at Rudy's on the way, a Texas institution that serves tender smoked meat on waxed paper. I feel hungry now just thinking about Rudy's and all the other Texas barbecue we enjoyed.

Lyndon B Johnson Nat'l Park

Nic and Kathleen followed us up to the hill country and Aunt Jill lead us on a tour of Comfort after Lachlan woke up from his nap. We were surprised by how chic and fun this small hill country town was. We spotted deer by the creek and relaxed on bench swings. Lachlan enjoyed seeing the longhorns from afar and everyone fell in love with the local Bluebell ice cream. We sipped wine while watching the sunset from Aunt Jill and Brian's wraparound porch. It would have been even more relaxing if the porch had glass panes, but they weren't yet installed so someone had to constantly be on guard making sure Lachlan didn't tumble over the edge and fall two stories to the ground. Aunt Jill made a lovely meal and there was leftover wedding cake to celebrate Kat's 30th birthday and Mickey's, too.

A train ride through Zilker Park

On subsequent days we explored Fredericksburg, Enchanted Rock and the Lyndon B Johnson National Historical Park en route to Austin. We had heard great things about Austin and added it to our itinerary even though none of our friends currently live there. We realize that there is only so much sightseeing that a two year old can manage so we kept our travel goals simple for the Austin leg of the journey. "We're just here to eat and look around," we said. Austin absolutely lived up to the hype and I'm eager to go back again one day perhaps for a girls' trip or couples trip. We knew it was home to lots of hipsters, but I didn't realize it also had a sort of San Francisco meets Las Vegas with a Texas twist kind of vibe.

We hiked some urban trails, toured the capital building, watched the bats depart from Congress Bridge, visited the Whole Foods flagship store and of course ate lots of delicious food. In fact, Mickey says the burger he ate at Hopdoddy, a burger and craft beer place, was the best he's ever eaten.

A very cool train table at the Thinkery

Lachlan said that he wanted to go home every day of our trip, but he was actually a really good sport. His favorite destination was the Thinkery, a very cool children's museum on the north side of town. We arrived home on the morning of Halloween, just in time to put on a costume and keep on celebrating.

Sickiepoo

Morning nap with his neck in an awkward position

Though Lachlan's language skills are improving by the day, he's not yet able to articulate what's wrong when he doesn't feel well. Indeed, when we get sick it feels like we all take one gigantic leap backward. We don't have time to be polite or express ourselves eloquently; we just want our moms.

Lachie woke up with a fever on Monday morning and I knew he wasn't himself when he stood in one place and just cried while I took my shower and later again when I ate my lunch. I couldn't interest him in any food, not even his tried and true favorites like raspberries.

Cuddling Papi

Unwilling to infect other children, we spent a lot of time in the house. Lachlan didn't want to play the way he normally does, but we sat in front of the television and watched Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood together while he took a couple of bites of popcorn.

I figured if he was going to be sitting around and watching TV, we might as well take a car trip (he watches DVDs in the car) and escape the 100F degree weather on Wednesday. We drove through the Santa Cruz mountains and further south on highway 1 to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Lachlan seemed excited about going, as he kept repeating the word 'quarium' but he wasn't interested in staying a long time once we arrived. At least we got out of the house and saw some gorgeous fish.

The upside to a sick child is that he lets me give him extra cuddles. I cuddled him while we watched TV and he even fell asleep in my arms in the morning before nap time. It feels like he hasn't done that since he was a much smaller baby. He didn't require much entertainment and seemed content when I sang Lisa Loeb's The Disappointing Pancake album in its entirety.

A Vivid Imagination

One of my greatest joys as a parent is tracking Lachlan's development. Language is most obvious because it allows him to communicate better with each passing day. He likes to ask questions lately such as "where Lachie's going?" and "what's that one?" He can also now use the phrases "right here" and "right now." I love how he's picked up from me phrases such as "nice and safe" and "nice and cosy." It's funny and adorable to hear those come out of his mouth.

Beloved bulldozer from Grandpa Tom

I'm also fascinated by his growing imagination which seems less based on mimicking me and more about expressing his own thoughts and exploring simple narratives. When we're in the car, Lachlan will ask "which Mommy pick?" and I'm guessing that he wants me to choose a car/truck on the road that I like. I choose one (usually based on color) and then he'll pick one, too. Sometimes he pretends that we are both taxi drivers and I'll ask him about the color of his taxi (usually orange), where he's going (usually preschool) and who's in his taxi (usually Mommy and Papi). One time he told me that he was driving a big orange pumper truck (unclear what that is) with red hoses. He said he was driving it to a station to get a new tank.

Lachlan loves pretend that he is a worker. Putting on his construction helmet helps set the stage for him to use his bulldozer (both real toys) to go to the construction site and feed the ducks corn. Today he was playing with a cart and a popper and pretending that he was a gardner who had to mow the lawn and use the edger. He made motor noises and kept running to the dishwasher to retrieve his "backpack" (he's noticed that gardners wear leaf blowers strapped to their backs). He loves enacting similar scenarios at the park where he'll run in circles and keep repeating that he has "lots of work to do."

He seemed to never tire of a game he roped Uncle Doug into playing with him last Friday afternoon. He was at the playground and would pretend to wash his hands at a small basin. The soap was at the other end of the play structure so he and Doug would have to run back and forth to get more soap. Orange soap, then red soap and then blue soap, etc. This game went on and on.

I wonder if the parts of the brain that control imagination are close to those that involve fine motor skills. Lachlan enjoys small motor tasks these days as his skills improve. He likes to spend ages with his seat belt (snap snap), putting "people" into his toy school bus and putting ladders back into their small slots on his fire engine.

I love to watch my boy grow and change.

Last Easter Post, I Swear

Jess sent me her pictures of the dyeing eggstravaganza.

Yay for Lachie's Elmo apron!

Johanna was a pro at painting her eggs with a golden sheen.

Both sweeties looking at the camera!

More Easter Fun

"Mom, this isn't an Easter egg..."

My Aunt Jill got married this weekend at a picturesque Texas hill country location near the ranch she's building. Mickey generously gave me the okay to join my family there for the event, but I just wasn't quite ready to leave Lachlan for even a weekend. When I saw pictures of how much fun they were having I regretted not being there, but in hindsight, I'm so glad that I was around for Lachlan's second Easter.


The Easter Bunny hid both plastic eggs (filled with Reese's Pieces eggs, jelly beans, and sidewalk chalk) and eggs that we dyed last Wednesday with our friends Jess and Johanna. I'd love to post a picture of that delightful mess, but I was too busy containing the chaos to snap a picture. We all had fun, but I learned some valuable lessons about toddler art projects: 1) buy white eggs (Hello! Can't believe I made this mistake. I was so focused on buying organic, cage free eggs that I forgot about how dyeing something is a lot more effective when you begin with a white canvas), 2) give the kids something to do while the eggs are soaking up color in their cups. Toddlers are not long on patience, 3) kids will want to eat the eggs. Be okay with this or provide even more enticing snacks.

Arastradero Lake

The Easter Bunny also left a small, gold foil-wrapped Lindt chocolate bunny for Mickey. I'm grateful that Lachie was not yet aware enough to demand chocolate. Discovering jelly beans was enough of a sugary revelation for our little man. When some people get drunk, they get loud; their personal volume level gets bumped up. We've learned that the same goes for Lachlan when he's had too much sugar. We knew he'd reached his limit when he was shouting, "jellybeans!" and running around in circles.

Nani couldn't let the occasion go by without sending Lachie another gift and this one's an absolute winner. I mentioned to her that Lachlan really likes the Madeline books by Ludwig Bemelmans. It's darling when he says, "Mommy, read Madeline again," because I enjoy the stories, too. (Lachlan doesn't object to my bad French accent). Anyway, Nani sent a Madeline magnet set complete with four scenes from the books. Lachlan loves watching me act out the stories with the magnets though he gets wary when any story involves the Lord Cuckoo Face magnet.

We saw a real bunny on Easter!

After we hunted for eggs and had our pancake and bacon breakfast, we walked to the farmer's market and later took a short hike at the Arastradero Preserve.

Lachlan's Favorite People

Lachlan is incredibly lucky to have lots of family members and friends who adore him. I'm always pleased to observe that each loving adult has their own preferred way of spending time with him now that his little personality is emerging.

Holly and Lachlan

My mom loves to cook with Lachlan. They pull over a kitchen chair that he can stand on to bring him up to counter height so he can help. She asks him to add salt, pepper and spices and always lets him mix ingredients together. Lachlan is terribly serious when he cooks; it seems to require all of his concentration. When my mom babysits Lachlan in the evening, she loves to cuddle him while he watches Sesame Street and snacks on graham crackers.

Mickey's parents love to take Lachlan for walks outdoors and help him develop physically and mentally. Dadu taught him some exercises that look totally adorable and funny when Lachlan practices them. One involves him shaking his bum in the air while in a downward dog yoga pose while the other is mostly arm swinging and heavy breathing. Dadu and Dadi also taught Lachlan his address, something I would have never tried at his early age.

One of Lachlan's other favorite people is my cousin Holly. She's recently come to stay and help me while Mickey was overseas for work. She has a background in television and film and unsurprisingly, takes great videos of Lachlan. Then she'll show him the videos and he'll ask to watch them over and over again. He loves watching videos of himself!

During Holly's visit, Lachlan noticed that she drank Pellegrino and now likes to point that out at different times: "Holly likes Pellegrino." We took her to preschool one afternoon and Lachlan happily dragged her around the play yard while I went to the parent meeting inside. Another parent asked who Holly was and said, "my son would never go with one of my cousins. He doesn't know them well enough and would cry." This made me so incredibly grateful that Lachlan knows and loves his family.

Easter Egg Hunt

Last Easter, Lachlan was just ten months old and not yet walking. Because his Nani adores him, though, she bought him his very own Easter pail filled with goodies, including four plastic eggs. This year, Lachlan can not only walk, he can run and loves any game that involves hiding so we thought he might enjoy attending an Easter egg hunt with my mom's group.

I'm a bit wary of community Easter egg hunts that involve pushy parents and the little ones getting trampled, but the one offered by Sunnyvale Moms, was manageable, dare I say, even fun. Lachlan took a lot of interest in dyeing eggs and wanted to dip other kids' eggs in dye after they were already colored. Egg dyeing requires a bit more patience than most toddlers have. Still, we'll try it at home soon.

When the hunt began, the organizing moms encouraged the big kids to run to the back of the park to allow the little ones a chance to collect eggs at their own toddling pace. Lachlan understood the concept of finding eggs, but he didn't understand my sense of urgency to find the next one before they were all gone. We were surprised to learn that all eight of the plastic eggs Lachlan collected were filled with non-edible items such as toys and stickers. I filled our eggs with stickers because I know it's easy for kids to overdo it on sugar and I wanted to include kids with dietary allergies, too. Perhaps I was also a bit lazy. Anyway, it seems that the other moms all had the same idea.

Since yesterday, Lachlan's wanted to play with nothing but his new plastic eggs. He likes opening and closing them, hiding them and shoving tiny toys inside them. By the time we do his preschool egg hunt next week and an egg hunt at home on Easter, I hope he won't be bored of the idea.

Celebrating a half birthday at Chuck E Cheese

Our little boy is 18 months old today! It's hard to believe that he'll be closer to two years old than one year old from now on.

Mom, why am I on this Jeep?

Lachlan's latest trick is putting two words together. He began with 'mo chee' (more cheese) and 'mo gaba' (more garbage cans). Today it was 'bye horsey' and 'bye truck' when we left Chuck E Cheese. I think he's also beginning to learn commands. He's listened to me tell him what to do for 18 months and now he's practicing giving out orders, too. I thought I heard him say 'Mom here' yesterday.

We went to Chuck E Cheese this morning not necessarily to celebrate this half birthday, but because a couple of mom's group folks were going. Fortunately at 10am on a Thursday, the Chuck E Cheese in Cupertino was mostly deserted. Lachlan took a mild interest in the toddler zone, but quickly wandered out. We spent our tokens on a photo booth that prints your picture onto a make believe ID card, a Whack A Mole type game and a couple of moving rides that Lachlan wasn't sure he wanted to be on.

It was amusing when Lachie's little buddy Albert tried to put the award ticket back in the machine. The tickets that are so precious to bigger kids mean nothing to 18 month olds. We donated ours to a kid who looked about four who delightedly accepted them.

I hadn't visited a Chuck E Cheese since I was a kid and the one in Cupertino is only slightly different than the one in my memory. I remember Chuck E Cheese being a very dark place, lit primarily by the flashing lights of the games, but Cupertino's has a lot of natural sunlight. I remember exchanging quarters for tokens and that each game cost about one. It's funny how that's still the same today. I guess arcade prices have remained flat. Unlike the CEC of memory, this one didn't have a ball pit or a huge cast of animatronic characters who sing every 15 minutes. And perhaps for the sake of Lachlan's immunity and sense of security, that's a good thing.

Book Advent

One of the best parts about having a toddler around at the holidays is starting new family holiday traditions. We decided that in lieu of a traditional advent calendar involving little windows or small gifts or chocolates, we would give Lachlan a Christmas/winter book for each day of December leading up to Christmas Day. We enjoy reading as a family and picture books provide a gentle introduction to the idea of Christmas.

Day 4 of the Christmas book advent - Dinosaur Vs Santa

My mom took charge of the idea and added up the number of old holiday books we already had from Lachlan's last Christmas and years ago. Then she bought some new books and then I bought some new books from Scholastic... and then her friends bought some books. Anyway, we now have more than 25 Christmas books and we're making a game of giving them to Lachlan each morning.

Auntie Paulette generously decorated each gift bag with a numbered stocking and vehicle stickers (non-Christmas-y, I know, but Lachlan's into trucks). We encourage him to find the bag by following a purple ribbon that we string from the top of the stairs to the bag's location.

It's day four of our book advent and I'd love to say that Lachlan is thrilled with the new tradition, but, as with most things, it's taking him a while to get accustomed to the idea. He doesn't yet totally get the concept of following the ribbon, but we prod him along. He enjoys the Christmas books, especially one about a baby called Fa La La, but he doesn't request them on repeat the way he does with other favorites. Still, he doesn't often take to books immediately; instead, he warms to them over time and goes through phases where he's especially interested in one book.

His favorite parts of Fa La La are when the baby smashes a gingerbread house that his Dad has very painstakingly constructed and when the baby finds a choo choo under his Christmas tree on Christmas morning. Perhaps Lachlan is hinting that he would also like a choo choo under his tree.

First Ever Field Trip

Lachlan and I went with his preschool this morning to Hidden Villa Farm in Los Altos. We'd been there twice before as a family, but never on a tour without our stroller!

All bundled up at the farm

Teacher Diane advised us to dress warmly because mornings are chilly on the farm. Rain was in the forecast, too, but we stayed dry. I was worried that Lachlan wouldn't tolerate his hat, but he didn't mind when he noticed that all of his classmates were also wearing warm hats. He was particularly interested in Matthew's hand-knitted Thomas the Tank Engine hat.

Our teacher also mentioned that we should leave everything in the car and foolishly I left my stroller in the trunk. Lachlan is difficult to corral these days and doesn't really follow me when we're walking somewhere. I and the other parents got a workout carrying our 18 month olds around the farm.

He was nervous around Cleo the cow and didn't want me to get too close. By the time we saw the goats, though, he had warmed up and enthusiastically petted two kids called Pancake and Waffles. He kept saying, "nice, nice!" because I had assured him that the goats were nice. Lachlan's confidence with the animals led him to chase chickens into their coop all the while saying, "nice, nice." I tried to explain that the chickens were nice, too, but they would run away before he could catch them.

Swim Class at the YMCA

Lachlan started swim lessons when he was just four months old at the Cook and Phillip Pool in Sydney. I use the word 'lesson' loosely here because four month olds cannot learn how to swim, but they can get better acquainted with the water, a small stepping stone on the path to actual swimming.

Big boy rash guard and trunks.

We had taken a break from swim classes while we moved overseas and got ourselves settled here in Mountain View. Now that we belong to the Y and summer was coming to an end, we decided to give swim classes another go.

We were the only family enrolled in the 9:15am class and I suppose that meant we were technically entitled to a private lesson when we had in fact paid for a group lesson. Because we were the only family, though, the instructor didn't take the class very seriously and told us to 'swim around' and 'do whatever you want.' We switched to a 10am class so that Lachlan could enjoy the company of other little swimmers, but even in a group setting, our instructor's abilities are a bit underwhelming. We miss the professionalism of the Cook and Phillip Pool staff and their indoor, perfectly-heated facilities.

Still, we're doing our best to make the most of swim class. I demonstrate blowing bubbles to Lachlan over and over though he'd rather lap the water with his tongue. In my most enthusiastic voice, I encourage him to kick and splash his way across the pool, but the toy ducks and frogs serve as his only real motivation.

There's a 19 month old boy in our class who annoyingly already knows how to swim. He goes underwater, jumps in the pool from the edge and splashes/paddles and kicks his way to the edge. I overheard the mom say to the instructor that they have a pool at home. 'Why are they even here then if he already knows everything? Showoffs,' I thought to myself ungenerously.

I remind myself that every child is different and that Lachlan will be a fantastic swimmer in years to come. For now we'll count not crying during back floating time and cracking a smile during hokey pokey as swimming victories.

Chugga Chugga Chugga Chugga... Choo Choo!

Love this one of my sweethearts watching the forest go by.

Prior to moving overseas, I had lived in the bay area (Berkeley, Oakland and San Jose) for about six years. I thought that moving back here would be easy because I already know the area, but it turns out that I knew little about the peninsula and almost nothing about what it has to offer kids/families.

Big trees indeed.

It's funny how being a parent provides one with a new lens through which to view the world. As an adult without children, I was focused on great places to eat and drink with friends. These days we explore public parks and rank them according to which ones are closest, least crowded, have the most redwoods and afternoon shade, cleanest sand, best play structures for little tykes, etc. I could probably do an entire post on our favorite parks in the area, but I'm sure other bay area parents have already done that online, probably in great detail and perhaps with metrics and colored graphs.

One of the kiddie destinations that we took Lachlan to recently was the Roaring Camp Railroad in the Santa Cruz mountains. We rode an actual, open-topped steam train through the redwoods on a gorgeous day. Lachlan is just starting to get into trains, (he likes to make the 'woo woo' whistle noise) and so we thought it might be fun for him. He enjoyed looking at the forest and especially loved observing the other children in our train car, but staying seated for an hour and fifteen minutes while the train was moving was a challenge for him. Perhaps we'll take him again just before he turns two; he may have more patience and will still get in for free.

This Summer Was Made Possible by Nani

When Nani had to return to her job teaching high school English, we had to bid her a sad farewell on Monday morning. It was hard to say goodbye because we spent the summer having way too much fun together while furnishing the house and establishing our new lives as a bay area family. Here are a couple of highlights from a memorable summer.

Steven's Creek Trail

We kicked off the summer in style by celebrating Lachlan's first birthday with a luau at Nani's home in Upland. The occasion was all the more special because Lachlan's Dadi and Dadu and Uncle Nic and Auntie Kat flew from across the country to attend. Because the first birthday is a big one, it was easy to go overboard with decorations, balloons, a pinata, cake and a whole roasted pig. Putting it all together was a tremendous amount of work considering all of the help we had from eight different adults (Lachlan's parents, four grandparents and aunt and uncle) the weekend of the party. It was all worth while, though, because everyone had a good time and we got some colorful pictures out of it.

My birthday is less than two weeks after Lachlan's and I imagine it will be forever overshadowed (and that is totally fine with me). Still, Papa treated me to a lovely present - a new bike! We also got a bike trailer for Tiny, helmets and locks and everything else we need for our new hobby. We miss our walkable Sydney suburb, but are trying to take advantage of our new (mostly flat) home of Mountain View by biking. Mickey's been biking to work every day and we seem to be getting along fine with just the one car. Lachlan, Nani and I have biked to the library, Target, parks and on a trail, too. He isn't terribly fond of wearing his helmet, but he likes to say 'helmet.'

I felt special because Celine doesn't jump into just anyone's lap.

We enjoyed a couple of three-generation playdates with my friend Leah, her daughter Celine and her mother Marilyn. Lachlan and Celine love to observe each other and fight for toys, but cannot yet play together. I've heard that kids don't really play collaboratively until age three and that seems like a terribly long wait for playdates involving sharing and some sense of civility. Until then, I'll practice the art of diplomatically solving toy squabbles and teaching Lachlan that he needs to greet friends in ways other than poking their eyes and faces.

It's easier to wait for your meal when you have
cheddar bunnies.

One of the best parts about exploring our new neighborhood is finding new favorite eateries. I've always loved The Counter and was delighted when a brand new location opened up just a mile from us. Their menu suits both Nani's and my tricky diets (best GF bun, hands down) so it has become our go-to spot. When Mickey and I went out for a date evening last weekend, Nani took Lachlan to The Counter and I'm told that he behaved like a little gentleman. Nani said he enjoyed sitting at the front of the restaurant where he could observe diners (especially the little ones) coming in and finding a table. Also, he said 'hamburger' while Grandpa Tom was visiting and we now ask him to repeat it all of the time. It's amusing that Lachlan doesn't yet say 'I love you,' but confidently attempts three and four syllable mouthfuls like 'hamburger' and 'avocado.'

My major accomplishment of the summer was furnishing our new home. I thought that it would take the entire year and though the office and garage need work (whose don't, really?), it's nearly complete now. We have everything we need and then some and it's starting to feel like home. Of course, this would not have been possible without Nani. She did everything from care for Tiny while Mickey and I went out furniture shopping to offering decorating tips to hanging pictures to assembling our recliners. This is turning out to be the stylish, comfortable and practical home I had envisioned and I have Nani to thank.

Lachlan's nursery is one of my favorite rooms.

Baby Gym

A couple of weeks ago Lachlan and I went to My Gym, a Gymboree-esque baby gym in Palo Alto, for its 45 minute Little Waddlers class.

We had an absolute blast. The best thing about the place is that all of it is child-friendly, of course. Lachlan was free to climb on and grab anything. This setting is ideal for toddlers who otherwise live in a world of 'no:' don't rip the pages out of Mommy's magazine, Mommy's glasses belong on her face, get out of the dishwasher, etc. Lachie was a bit hesitant at first, but he loves approaching other children and watching what they do.

Lachlan is in green looking away from the camera

The structured 45 minute play program is timed with music: when the song changes, it's time to move on to a new activity. Some of the song choices were more obvious, such as a babyish welcome/warm up song, whereas other tunes were geared for the parents and carers. We stretched our limbs to Madonna's "Lucky Star" and explored hula hoops while we grooved to "Word Up" by Cameo. Bizarre, I know. Maybe My Gym figures us parents get our fill of "Wheels on the Bus" in the car. We sure do.

Toward the end of the session is "separation time." It means the parents need to back off and let the kids explore while guided by the instructors. Because I was standing behind him, I raced to the other side of the room so that Lachlan could see me when he looked up during separation time. I didn't want him to wonder where I was. They brought out a ball pit, though, and he didn't look up at all.

I realize that separation time is much more important for the parent than it is for the child. And isn't that the way with so much that we do as parents? We agonize over decisions and how our child will feel about a certain change, but they just pick up and move on.

Walkin' and Talkin'

** I intended to post a video of Tiny walking here, but the connection is just... too... slow **

He loves drinking water from his Superman cup

This little man is on the move. Our friend Shannon kindly let us borrow a sturdy wooden push walker that allows Lachlan to practice walking with support. At first he wasn't so keen on it and would ignore it unless we propped him up in front of it, but now he's much more eager. He likes to put things in the cart area and watch for our reactions when he walks.

His language skills are also coming around. Lachlan can say Mama, Dada, Nani, Wow, Gogo, Baby and now also Uh oh. He is just learning how to use each of these words. 'Mama' usually means me, but sometimes he's talking about eating a 'Mum Mum' (rice cracker) or sometimes he's just talking about eating in general.

There was a sweet moment yesterday when Mickey came home from work. Lachlan bolted for the front door when he heard Mickey's key in the lock. He crawled up to his feet and said, 'Da!' Usually, he's excited to see his Papa walk through the door, but he had yet to call him out by name.

Lachlan loves to say 'baby' when he sees a picture of himself or another baby. He'll also say 'baby' when he sees himself in the mirror. 'Uh oh' is really funny because he can usually just say 'uh' or 'oh', but not always both together.

Though it's not a word, Lachie can also make monkey noises, 'ooh ooh, aah aah.' He makes those noises and makes a game of prompting me to do the same. This morning I showed him youTube videos of monkeys, but I'm not sure that he made the connection.

Time Flies

I was sure that spending two months in Hawaii, with 24 hour support from Mickey with Lachlan, would allow me to catch up on my favorite hobbies such as reading, blogging or cooking. Instead, we spent our time in Hawaii taking a true vacation and doing very little. We often didn't get dressed until 11am and the biggest decisions of the day were deciding between lounging on the beach or simply hanging out at our rental house. When we arrived here in Palo Alto and Mickey returned to work (and 'real life' was meant to begin), I became caught up in the search for a new home and put off updating my blog a bit longer.

Love this boy

Now we found a rental home in Mountain View and bought a lovely car, too so I have no more excuses. I need to get back to documenting this exciting time for our family. Lachlan grows and changes quickly; I find myself speedily scribbling notes in his baby book about his physical and linguistic development so that I won't forget the milestones.

Though we're settling down now, the first part of the year was marked by tons of travelling. We've been a family of nomads, indeed. When we left Australia, we wanted to make the rounds with family so that everyone could meet Lachlan. In fact, on his second day in the United States, Lachlan met forty new friends and family members at my mom's house and bore the changes as best as can be expected. In the bay area he met some more friends and in Virginia, Ohio and a cruise in the western Caribbean he met still more. By the time we got to Hawaii in mid January, we were sick and exhausted. Fortunately, the sunshine, sea breezes and spirit of aloha (plus some antibiotics for Tiny), cured our ailments and we returned to real life refreshed.

Here are a couple of highlights from the last half year:

Lachlan met two of his grandfathers for the first time: Grandpa Jim on the left and Grandpa Tom in the middle.

The Thanksmas tradition continued! This time everyone except our Aussie mate Tim gathered across the sea at Mike and Laura's lovely home in San Francisco.

Lachlan met the Rennies, including his beloved Uncle Nic! I think my relatives were pleased that we chose a strong Scottish name for our little lad. They said my grandfather Poppie who was born in Scotland would have been proud and I'd love to think that's true. Uncle Nic and Auntie Kat and the Blanches spoiled our little guy with tons of lovely presents prior to Christmas. They wanted to teach him to walk and gave entertaining demonstrations, but at that point he could only barely sit up alone.

Lachlan met the Katarias and the Banks family, including his four gorgeous cousins and Auntie Bava and Uncle Shaun. We had a white Christmas and enjoyed spending the holiday with the people it's meant for: children! Lachie's cousins showed tremendous restraint in waiting to open presents until everyone was up, ready and had eaten breakfast. I remember my brother and I being pretty much done opening gifts by 7am.

We maintained our tradition of celebrating New Year in a different location each year. Here we are on New Year's Day with Auntie Tina and Grandpa Tom on Roatan Island, Honduras. Taking a baby on a cruise ship wasn't super easy, but we still had a ton of fun. We found the cabin to be bigger than we anticipated and found it to be a great way to spend time with family members (17 of us in total). Family trivia was especially fun.

This hike to Kaena Point on the western tip of Oahu was one of our favorites. A group of whales were swimming along the coastline as we walked - simply gorgeous. Tiny was content on this walk and that added to the overall serenity of the day.

We LOVED Ko Olina, the resort complex in which we stayed for nearly two months and this picture shows why. It had four of these extremely calm lagoons, perfect for children and families to wade, splash, swim and snorkel. I'll never forget spotting a sea turtle (honu) here while snorkeling near the entrance to the ocean.

This was another incredibly scenic hike that we did with my dear friend Danielle, a lawyer who now lives in Honolulu and has the insider scoop on all things Oahu. It was wonderful to spend time with her there on the island and get her suggestions on the best beaches, hikes, restaurants, etc. Makapu'u was stunning and we had the best poke (raw tuna) of our trip that day.

It was a huge treat to have both Mom and Tom and Mickey's parents come out to Oahu for a visit. We were all able to enjoy the sunshine and little Lachie together. Mickey's parents stayed for two weeks and were as always, incredibly helpful: taking Tiny for walks while we slept, cooking and helping support us during some hectic sleep training nights. Here we are at the Dole Pineapple Plantation, a spot that I visited with Mickey nine years ago. The pineapple express is still lots of fun.

Our trip to Kauai was our vacation within a vacation. Because we were there for "only" eight days, we went sightseeing everyday and got a great sense of the diversity of the island. Here we are at Waimea Canyon, a place of indescribable beauty. The wildlife on Kauai was spectacular; we saw whales every time we went to the ocean, an endangered Hawaiian monk seal, more honu (sea turtles), nene (Hawaiian state bird) and lots of other sea birds.

Our friends Steph and Lee made it out to Hawaii, too. Here we are in front of Aoki's Shave Ice in historic Haleiwa town. Shave Ice is like a snow cone and is a Hawaiian favorite, but I hate to admit, but it's too sugary for me.

Our dear friends Jennie and Thor also made the trip to Hawaii, a favorite destination for them, too. Mickey took some great sunset photos here at Electric Beach one evening. It was wonderful to spend a whole week with Jennie there.

Once back on the mainland, we had some great playdates with our friend Sarah's children Juliet and Claire. Here's Lachie lunging at Claire. She's so adorable, who wouldn't want to kiss her?!

Now that we're back in the bay area, we can catch up with friends here. This was taken at the Jones' house during James' third birthday party.