A bunch of family came in to visit last week – Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Corky, Aunt Judy, Cousins Suzanne & Josh, and Uncle Matt. There were so many people, we had to rent a house to fit them all in! It was a great time, and the best part was watching my Mom & Dad (Grandma and Grandpa) play with Cielo. If there’s anything better than watching your father crawl around on the ground chasing after your son, I really don’t know what it could be.
We made it! Our first family plane ride was a great success. Believe it or not, I would actually go so far as to say I prefer flying with a six-month old. We didn’t have to wait in any lines, we got the best seats on the plane (not really – but I’ll take Premier Economy anytime), and the flight attendants doted on us the whole time. As for Cielo, he did GREAT. He slept most of the way, and when he wasn’t sleeping we were playing with him, which was a welcome distraction from the monotony of a 14 hour flight.
However, we did have a small incident involving a diaper blowout that resulted in me having to wear my jacket with no shirt underneath for most of the trip. Got a few strange glances going through customs, but considering that was the toughest part of the whole journey we’ve really got nothing to complain about.
Cielo’s really been having a great time with his cousins, Elijah and Lili. Having the family together is fantastic, and everybody’s loving having Cielo around with all his smiles and great baby laughing. He’s still having a bit of trouble adjusting to the time change, but I’m sure by the time we leave he’ll be perfectly adjusted (and we’ll do it all over again).
Uncle Matt swooped in for a visit last week. We had a great time and can’t wait to see him again!
Seeing as it’s March, I figured it was about time to get these pictures up. They’re from my mom and dad’s visit out here in January (!). Looking forward to the next visit, especially now that my Mom can work remotely…
Cielo had his first meal on Friday! Delicious rice cereal mixed with formula. Somehow he managed to choke it down (so disgusting), and it seemed like he actually enjoyed it. Wait till he gets a taste of chocolate!
Unfortunately, we couldn’t make it home to spend this thanksgiving with family. Cielo’s just too young to be on an airplane full of what I can only assume will be people teetering on the brink of some crazy flu or some other disease (but not yet showing symptoms). Obviously, we can’t be subjecting our perfect little baby to any germs!
This year we spent the holiday with our good friend Adrian and his family. They whipped up an incredible meal, and we were huge losers and didn’t do anything except show up and eat. It was pretty great. After a few hours of playing, I sat down with Cielo on the couch and then put him to sleep in a cardboard box.
Where it went down:
Bright and Dustin took Fiona and Glenys out for a sail yesterday. It was a beautiful day, and they sailed right underneath the Golden Gate Bridge. Stay tuned for the 1:00 mark so you can see how far the boat is listing to port (or is it starboard?).
This is where they almost went for a swim:
We had our first big family outing on Sunday – a drive down route 1 to Pomponio state park. This was kind of a big deal because it was the first time I really got to see what getting around with a baby is like. I was pretty nervous about how difficult it would be, but it turns out it’s really not that big of a production. You just throw the kid in the car seat, grab a couple of diapers and hit the road. Pretty cool.
We just happened upon the beach as we were driving. It was a nice little spot right off the side of the road – it actually reminded me of Australia with the big cliffs and practically empty beach. There were picnic tables there, and grills (unfortunately we were meatless).
After we fed the little guy it was time to change his nappy – he was most definitely not into the whole freezing-cold-sea-breeze-on-the-bum thing. For a while afterwards he kept making this face at us every time we looked at him:
While Cielo was busy fuming at us, Glenys went for a walk down the beach. The California coastline reminds me so much of the Australian coastline, sometimes it’s uncanny. You can imagine a scene just like this along the Great Ocean Road:
Afterwards, we went to a pumpkin patch where they had about a zillion massive pumpkins. As you can see, Cielo was definitely the smallest pumpkin on the pile.
Where it went down:
Recent photos you may have missed:
Man, has it been nice having the Grandmas around. As much as I tried to prepare myself for Baby Shock, it still knocked me off my feet. And I’ve had it easy compared to Fiona! For the past week or so she’s been getting up to feed Cielo every two hours. It’s given me a new appreciation for sleep deprivation – there’s a reason they use it in Guantanamo Bay. I suspect Fiona’s getting to the point where she would do just about anything for a full 8 hours again (and we’re only two weeks in).
Thank god for Grandmas!
We dressed the little guy up as the Great Pumpkin. So cheesy, but SO cute. Then he peed all over himself and we had to wash the shirt. Totally worth it, if you ask me.
This evening we went down to Cortland St. to watch the kids in the neighborhood go trick or treating. Not only was it our first outing as a family (not counting doctors and hospitals), and not only was it Cielo’s first Halloween, but it was Glenys’ first Halloween as well! There’s no such thing in Australia, so it was great to be able to share this uniquely American phenomenon with her.
She was astonished by the amount of ‘lollies’ the kids were getting, and she was shocked that she didn’t get a free sample at the ice cream shop. They called her out on not having a costume! I told her to explain that she was actually an 11 year old girl and yeah her costume was just that good, but she wasn’t having it.
Here’s to the best 2009 ever!
On New Year’s Eve Fiona prepared an amazing sit-down, dress-up-nice, 5 course dinner for 13 of our closest friends. The menu was:
Appetizer: Broiled Scallops on a bed of baby spinach
Soup: Butternut Squash Bisque
Salad: Green salad with pomegranite seeds and dried cranberries in a mustard balsamic dressing
Main Course: Grilled Steak with a coffee rub, spinach with garlic & olive oil, red potatoes roasted with fresh rosemary
Dessert: Ice cream and flourless chocolate cake.
As always, a great Thanksgiving. My only wish would be that it could be longer.
