44 Weeks

Weight: 18.8 pounds

Favorite activity: Chasing the dogs!

Favorite food: mashed potatoes, pasta, pear

Favorite spot: anywhere on the floor

Naughtiest moment: taking a header off the hotel bed!

Cutest moment: getting super excited to see the fish in Julian's aquarium

Important milestones: Ten months this week

How Mom's Feeling: Pretty good, but tired for sure. This weekend marked Lorelei's first Thanksgiving. So we woke up Thanksgiving morning at 5 am, drove all the way down to Ojai for Thanksgiving with my family, hit a hotel, then drove down to Oceanside to visit my mom and Julian, stayed for a few days and left for home at 5 am. Again. Yawn!

Thanksgiving was a blast--Lorelei was SUCH A GOOD TRAVELER! She did not whine, complain or cry one bit during the long drive there or back. It was so much fun visiting with my family, most of whom I hadn't seen in two years, and Brian hadn't seen in 4 years! Lorelei was a big hit, of course. We even got a new stuffed horse and a board book from my cousin Paula and her family. The board book has definitely gotten a lot of play this week!

We had a nice time in Oceanside--very very busy! On Friday, mom and I went to a second hand baby store and stocked up on pants, shirts and dresses for Lorelei. Then we went to the San Diego Zoo on Saturday, and the Botanic Gardens on Sunday. Lorelei loved the goats, bugs and river otters at the zoo. She did NOT like the pandas or the statue of the gorilla! And of course, Lorelei loved the plants the most! That girl loves her some nature! Which is why we went to the Botanic Gardens the next day!

Visiting Super Grandma Ruth for the first time!

Papa cuddles <3

Laughing it up at the Botanic Gardens

L is for Lambs Ear and Lorelei!

Mom and Julian at the Botanic Garden

Petting goats at the zoo!

First taste of ice cream! It was delicious!

Zonked after a long day at the zoo!

43 Weeks

Favorite activity: Exploring, eating!

Favorite food: tofu, sweet potato, scrambled eggs

Favorite spot: playing in the dog dish

Naughtiest moment: Pulling off her pants and diaper and peeing all over her bed. This was on daddy's watch :)

Cutest moment: playing ball with the dogs

Important milestones: Teeth! We have two lower teeth!

How Mom's Feeling: Lorelei was kinda fussy this week. Not terrible, but she wanted to be held a LOT more this week. Of course, now we know why! She got her first two teeth yesterday! I knew she had something going on and then they broke through the gums yesterday! 

I also think Lorelei is spending too much time with the dogs. She thinks she is a dog! She plays in the dog bed, tries to drink out of the dog dish and tries to eat dog food out of their bowl! Silly girl!

In other news, we reorganized the garage. This may not sound that big to some, but it was MAJOR! We got rid of a lot of cardboard boxes, 35 dead computers and an entire extra cabinet leftover from the previous owners that was pointless and falling apart. Oh, and my dad and step-mom brought new cabinets and new, florescent lights for the garage. The result: a well lit, open space! We'll be able to clear out a few things, add a nice little carpet, and use it as a play space for Lorelei, another room for her birthday party, and nice spot for an indoor play date! Woot!

I'm feeling a little trepidatious for this next week. Thanksgiving! I'm looking forward to seeing family I haven't seen in two years, plus getting to visit my mom in Oceanside, but it's going to be a LONG drive! We survived the plane flight to Hawaii, but Lorelei was not stuck in a car seat the entire time. Stay tuned to hear how it went...

TRAGEDY! Mommy will not give me the basket of hair bows!

Playing with BeeBee

Playing in the ball pit with Lena at our play date (so getting one of these for Lorelei's Birthday party!)

Just chillaxing at the J with our little buddy LouSeal!

What? I'm bouncing here!

42 Weeks

Weight: 18.6 pounds

Length: 26 1/2 inches

Favorite activity: Exploring, looking out the window

Favorite food: scrambled eggs, pear, noodles
Favorite spot: looking out the window
Naughtiest moment: Banging on the china cabinet
Cutest moment: "waking" daddy up by smacking him on the chin (ok, so I thought it was cute!)
Important milestones: First bruise :(
How Mom's Feeling: Pretty good. It's been a mellow week, all things considered. Lorelei and I went and voted on Tuesday and we visited with friends this weekend. It's been pretty chilly this week, so we've been taking it easy.

This week marked a new, unfortunate milestone. Lorelei's first bruise! She was looking out the window on the bed (holding on to the window ledge) and even with Brian there to catch her if she fell, Lorelei lost her balance and smacked her cheek on the windows sill :( She's got a pretty good bruise there, but doesn't seem to much the worse for wear.

We also were dealing with the whole daylight savings time. It was not kind to us. Lorelei's nap schedules are totally wonky, but we're dealing.

Getting better with the sippy cup

We voted!

Dig the lime!

Bruiser!

41 Weeks

Favorite activity: Splashing in the dogs' water dish, making a giant mess with her "dishes" in the kitchen

Favorite food: scrambled eggs and pear
Favorite spot: floor = win!
Naughtiest moment: Splashing in the dogs' water dish!
Cutest moment: Playing blocks with her friends at the Halloween party
Important milestones: Pulling herself up into a sitting postion, pushing herself up on hands and knees (not moving yet, though!)
How Mom's Feeling: I'm okay. We had a good week and nice weekend. Very busy! On Saturday, Lorelei went to Lovejoy's for her first high tea (to celebrate our friend Gladys' graduation). It was a ton of fun, and Lorelei loved it! She was such a sweetheart, eating her very own cream cheese and mandarin orange sandwiches and some scone. I'm always a trifle nervous taking her places like that. It's kind of loud, cluttered, with a lot of people in a close space--very stimulating. I always worry that even though she normally does a great job--especially if she has just had a nap (which she had)--that she will flip out and start wailing. Didn't happen. She was smily and flirty and everyone to our friends, the wait staff, and the ladies at the table next to us just loved her!

On Sunday, we went to my mom's group baby Halloween party. Lots of fun. LOTS of babies! Normally, it's just the moms and babies at our meetups, but most of the dads joined in for this one. It's always kind of entertaining to see the dads talking together with the babies, trying to find common ground. You can just tell that we're all after the same thing: trying to find another couple with a baby that you both can connect with. Finding new mom friends is a lot like dating, but it can be done. I seem to have formed a little group of like-minded moms to spend time with. Finding new "couple friends with a baby" is so much harder!

We have had our fair amount of frustration this weekend, though. Daylight Savings Time. It never really bothered me one way or another. But now we are on a schedule. And now that schedule is out of whack. Where we normally we waking up around 7:45-8 am, and napping around 10:30-11 am and going to bed at 8:30 pm, we are now waking up around 6:30-7 am, napping at 10 am and going to bed at 7:30 pm. Truth be told, I don't really mind the 6:30 am wakeup, it's just the nap time and bedtime that's a challenge. 10 am is right when story time starts and it's hard to get dinner ready and bathtime done by 7:30. So we're adjusting. 

Some pictures of our week:

Crawling around the house

High Tea at Lovejoy's

Lorelei: Clearly royalty!

Cuddling with Deb

The graduate!

Eying those treats!

Why yes, I will take that tea cup!

I will take that hat, thank you!

With Auntie Bonnie and Jessica!

Deb and Lawrence "practicing" with Lorelei

Mom's Group Halloween Party!

Lorelei, the Boston Terrier puppy!

Hail Caesar and his "chariot"!

Playing with the blocks

Pretty sure the dads had more fun with the blocks than the babies!

Mmm...tasty foam blocks!

Why yes, Mr. Octopus, I would like this block!

Roney, cutest viking ever!

The gang's all here!

Whoa. Just whoa.

My favorite costume this year: Ronen the viking in the "mother ship"!

40 Weeks

Favorite activity: Crawling everywhere!

Favorite food: Tofu cubes and yogurt crunchies
Favorite spot: anywhere on the floor
Naughtiest moment: Poking cousin Logan and possible pulling his hair!
Cutest moment: Playing with her buddy Grady
Important milestones: First Halloween!
How Mom's Feeling: Excellent. We had our second vacation this month (2, I know! Crazy!) We went to Angel's Camp in Calaveras County (Gold country). We had a great time, went wine tasting (only came back with a little less than a case of wine, as opposed to two and a half cases, like the last time we went on one of these trips!), toured a pretty awesome cavern, hiking in a Sequoia redwood tree grove, explored an old mining town, and visited with friends! Our condo/timeshare we stayed in was great. Two bedrooms, a big kitchen (better than my apartment in San Francisco!), a living room and two bathrooms with a balcony and a window seat. One of the funniest parts about this trip was that Lorelei wouldn't sleep in the room with us. Too distracting. So we put her pack and play in the walk in closet, with the door propped open! Just the right size! Plus, we just got a kick out of saying we're putting the baby in the closet!

The caverns we went to were amazing. This was the first big thing we did (well, the first thing we did was go to the grocery store and nap...). Lorelei was strapped to us, and since we were the first tour of the day and it was the off-season, we were the only people on the tour. Score! We got our own personal tour guide! It was beautiful and amazing. We really want to go back in Spring, when we can see the caverns filled with water!

It was also really great to see some friends. Sandi and Grady came up for a day and a half, and Mel and Logan even got to come for dinner and stay the night before heading home in the morning! It was so cute to see the little guys all together. Lorelei really loved playing with Grady and Grady was just so sweet. He would feed her goldfish and Cheerios while saying in a super high pitched voice "Hi baby!" Lorelei seemed genuinely sad when they left!

In addition to going to Angel's Camp, we also celebrated Lorelei's first Halloween! It was pretty mellow, all things considered. I carved our pumpkin during Lorelei's nap, then we put her in her costume and took pictures. Tonight (Halloween), we put her costume on again and took her over to visit the neighbors. This weekend is her big "Halloween" where we will take her to a Halloween Party with our mom's group. I felt a little silly taking her out trick or treating, when she is really too young to do it (plus, I don't really have a costume for her). Next year, for sure, we will take her out trick or treating with the masses!

Here are some pictures from our week:

Our trip to Angel's Camp!

View from our balconey

Lorelei enjoying lunch in our condo's kitchen

Getting ready to explore some caves!

A very long exposure of the caverns

We survived the caverns!

Exploring Big Trees National Park

Look at those beautiful fall colors!

Brian's favorite picture!

Lorelei was amazed at the huge trees!

A quick, post-hike cuddle!

Hanging out at the wineries!

The wineries were all decorated for fall

So many pumpkins!

A fun visit from cousin Logan!

Lorelei can't wait for Logan to be big enough to play with!

But she'll try playing with him, anyway!

She'll play with Grady instead!

Sharing already!

What do you think? True love?

Hanging out at Columbia, the old mining town.

Lorelei really liked the chickens!

And the leaves!

Looking for her buddy Grady!

There he is!

Mmmm...sticks and leaves are delicious!

Grady prefers to throw the leaves!

Playing with Uncle Brian!

Practicing standing up!

Daddy cuddles are the best!

Getting Ready for Halloween!

Playdate at the park!

Sharing toys with Emily

Look at Mommy's silly pumpkin!

This hat is weird, Mommy!

Happy Halloween from Lorelei, the little Boston terrier!