You Call This Summer?

We have had exactly two hot days this whole entire summer here - nope, not exaggerating for once in my life - but that ain't going to stop us from inhaling summer melons or heading out to the beach.






It's exhausting, trying to enjoy this weird, cold, non-summer summer.

You Know You Are an East Bay Kid When...

...you spend a sunny weekend afternoon at Lake Merritt, running after Canadian geese (and avoiding Canadian geese poop) and end the day at Fenton's with a giant ice cream sundae. Awesomesauce.

The bonus was while we were waiting for a table at Fenton's a fire truck parked outside and let the all the kids around take a look inside. Since Sody is so little I went in the truck with her, something I've never done before. They actually got a call while we were inside so we rushed out and they took off, sirens wailing. Pretty cool. And this explains Sody's new hat in the last picture.







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How Sody Learned the Word "Beach"

This is a total cliche but I will say it anyway: sometimes, the best stuff is the simplest stuff. This applies to so many aspects of life and especially with kids - like how they can end up liking the wrapping more than the presents, for example. Another example is what happened to Sody and me yesterday. We went to the beach. I didn't really set out to make a trip to the beach, but that's where we ended up and it was perfect. What I had originally set out to do was to get some actual exercise for once: get Sody in the jogging stroller and run the trail along the beach right by our house. However, I am not a runner by any stretch of the imagination so this turned into more of a brisk walk pretty quickly. And when I got tired of that I took Isota over to the sand to check out the beach.

We live so close but for some reason don't head over there much. So I wasn't quite prepared by how much she would love it now: the wet sand that is so different from park sand, the way you can poke your hands in and glop the sand around, the seaweed and the little shell fragments and most of all the water. She had so much fun just walking down along the water's edge, getting her feet and hands wet and greeting passersby. Part of me was kicking myself for not having my camera to capture her happy little face in the sunshine, and another part of me was glad I didn't have anything there to distract me from taking it all in with her. The air was clear and the sun was out and the SF skyline was ahead of us and we were just stupidly happy to be outside by the water. She ended up soaked and sandy from the waist down and I was sort of cursing the cleanup when we got home, but it was all so totally worth it.

Sometimes I feel guilty that I am not able to give Sody certain experiences. When I was a full time nanny I took my young charges to various (expensive) activities like Gymboree and music classes and I kind of wish that I had the time and money to take my own daughter to those type of things now. But I snap out of it pretty quickly, knowing that she doesn't need expensive classes to have fun, she just needs me and my time. And a simple, perfectly free, long expanse of beach.

Chugging Along, Falling Behind

OK, so, obviously I am having a rough time keeping up here. Been so busy living life that I don't have time to document it properly. Sody and I have been babysitting a ton, four days a week. Some are half days, some are full, some have been double booked (babysit for one family in the morning, rush home to let Sody nap, then straight to another family house for afternoon babysitting), and some afternoons I have had two kids to watch along with Sody. Which is all about as hectic as it sounds. Basically we are just always running around somewhere, to and from Berkeley a thousand times a week, and Isota is logging lots of carseat time. Too bad they don't give out travel miles for that like they do for airplanes.

In any case, because of all this running around I haven't been whipping out the camera much lately. And lord knows that I don't want to spend my limited free time on the computer. Even right now, writing this as Sody is napping, all I am thinking of is the laundry that needs to be folded and the laundry that needs to be washed and the dishes piling up in the sink and the cupcakes I want to make but the real food I need to make for Sody's meals this week and how I have hardly any produce left for her but god knows when I am going to get to the grocery store. Etc. This is what my days have been like. Just trying to keep my head above water and everyone happy and fed.

The good side to all of this is that Isota is getting regular playmates. When I tell we are going to So-and-So's house to play, she laughs and claps. She knows their neighborhoods now, too, so when we get close to the houses she starts getting super excited. There's lots of walks and parks and friends and different toys, so all of that can't be too bad, right? Hopefully a fair trade-off for getting dragged all over town all week.

Hip Hop

...hippy to the hippy to the hip-hip-hop and ya don't stop...

We're Back

Sorry for the little hiatus, folks. I have a good excuse for last week, so let's rewind a bit: we went to Sacramento for Fourth of July weekend. Hung out at my parents empty house (yes, they were on another cruise), went to our favorite pizza place, tried the pool and discovered Sody was so not into it this year as she was last year. Always fun to take a half hour to get sunscreened up, squeeze her into a swim diaper and suit and baby floaty thing...and then two minutes after being in the pool the whole thing ends in tears. Ah well. We'll keep trying.

On the Fourth we headed to our friends BBQ - they have 2 boys and a ton of backyard toys so it pretty much spelled heaven for Isota. It was great up until our car started making very bad noises on the way home. Took it into the shop and sure enough, the transmission was nearly kaput. Soooo...sent Joe back to the Bay on the train - some unfortunate souls have to get to real jobs - and Sody and I hung out in Sac for the remainder of the week waiting for the car. It was...quiet. We took many walks. We made interesting meals foraged from my parents' pantry. We snuggled in their gigantic bed. We splashed our feet in the pool. (Sitting at the edge with only feet in = fun for her; whole body in = terrifying). A sort of forced vacation, I guess. Not where we thought we would spend the week, but relaxing in its own way.

So that was last week. This week I've just been too busy/lazy to update. I will try to be better!

Eighteen Months

"I am one-and-a-half and FABULOUS!!!"

Cute Product Alert

So I bought this new snack tray for Isota and I love it so much I am devoting a whole blog post to it. It's called a Nibble Tray, and in addition to being uber-cute and pineapple shaped, it is extremely useful: divided sections for an array of snacks, plus a removable and freezable green section that can hold cold stuff like dips, yogurt, etc. Plus a lid and BPA-free plastic. Score! The reason I am loving it so much is that Isota is definitely not thrilled about sitting so still for high chair meals at the moment. It's way more fun to run around and stand up and graze at the living room table to refuel. Not the best habit, but definitely a toddler trait at this age. I am kind of a stickler about nutrition and can get a little hyper over her meals, about what she eats and what she refuses. (Though I think I am getting a bit more relaxed about it, I swear!) She is getting a bit pickier now, not inhaling vegetables with the same fervor she used to, but I still need to offer up all the good stuff like that every day. As the wisdom goes, it's the parent's job to provide the healthful food and the kid's job to decide what and how much of it she wants to eat. This little snack tray wonder lets me fill it with calorie/nutrient dense snacks, Sody can choose what she wants and how much she wants, and I can rest easy that I am offering up a variety of nutrients. She may still refuse some stuff, but so far she seems more willing to try something if it's in the tray. Maybe it's just more fun to eat out of a pineapple.

Plus, the lid makes it portable and easy for when we go babysitting. Have I mentioned that I have sort-of gone back to work? Three days a week I babysit and Sody comes with me. Three different families, three great kids, all close-ish in age to Isota. The kids get a playmate, we get a little extra dough, I get exhausted. Fun times!

I Love My Dad, Even When I Am Sick

Father's Day Weekend: the zoo, brunch with my folks, and mini ice cream cones. The reason Sody looks a little zonked in these shots is because she caught yet another cold, and this one is a really good and disgusting drippy one. Poor thing. Here's the pic that sums up the day:



We did have a lovely brunch, despite the looks of that one above. Though in a haze of brunch cocktails and chatter, we all neglected to notice Sody eating jam out of a packet WITH A KNIFE. A dull butter knife that can barely cut through toast probably, but still - a knife. Eating jam straight is one (terrible) thing, but doing it in that fashion is just a whole new level of parental neglect. Witness:



Later, she was feeling so crappy and acting like such a trooper I felt like I had to reward her efforts with an ice cream. She handed it back to me after only a couple bites. A kid who won't finish her ice cream is definitely a sick kid.



The day before we headed out for Isota's first time at the Oakland Zoo. The sun bear and the giraffes were a hit, but the carousel ride...not so much. Of course, who can blame her - sick and sleepy and your parents make you ride a giant fake chimp that goes in circles. She must think adults are totally nuts.

Australia, You Are Lucky

Last weekend we lost some friends to Australia. That is to say we have some Australian friends who have lived here a few years and last weekend they moved back to Australia. I am not happy about this one bit. Not only did they take their rad selves back, but they also took their insanely adorable son Lenny with them. He is one week older than Isota and kind of her soulmate/boyfriend. We basically have wedding plans underway for the two little nuggets.

We met Dan and Alice when Alice and I were both pregnant and enrolled in Childbirth Preparation classes through our hospital. Joe and I clicked pretty quickly with them, which seems to be kind of a rare thing when you are an adult. It's hard to make new friends as a grownup. When you are younger you have the confines of the school day, or a dorm room, or whatever to throw you together and help you with those bonds. And you have the luxury of time. When everyone grows up, they get lives and jobs and kids and all of that stuff precludes all the easy going hanging out that seems necessary to find and keep a proper friend. You just have to work so much harder at making friend time as an adult. Coordinating schedules. Making sure the kids are all taken care of. Making sure you yourself can stay awake for a night out. Etc. But when you do find people that you click with, you really want to make that friend time happen. It's a little more precious. You want to hang on to it, preserve it, foster it.

That's Dan and Alice to us. Add in to the equation the fact that our kids get on so well, and it's pretty perfect. We noticed it from the very first time Lenny and Sody met - they were just itty bitty things, couldn't do much more than lay on a blanket, but still we saw how they gravitated toward each other. They would kind of stick together, roll to each other, grab each other's hands. Very very cute to watch your tiny baby make her first friend. We all didn't get to hang out nearly enough over the past year - jobs and schedules and lives be damned! - but we already miss you guys. We will think of you every time we read "One Wooly Wombat."


the happy couple meets for the first time


hanging out at ten months old


Isota on the last night she saw lenny

(really, this face is because she was waaaaay past her bedtime - but in her heart of hearts I think she was missing him)

Badminton, Anyone?

With all this pretty weather lately, Isota thought she needed to brush up on her outdoor summer game skills. One always must be prepared in case one gets invited to a toddler badminton party.

Older and Hopefully Wiser

June 2 brought Joe's birthday and Isota's 17 month birthday, not that anyone is keeping count around here. Since Sody so generously gave Joe a big fat gross cold for his birthday, we had a nice little low-key birthday dinner here to celebrate: mac n' cheese, brussels sprouts (yes, that is my husband's fave), garlic bread, marble cake and ice cream. Joe wasn't feeling 100% and neither was Sody, which became obvious when she didn't attack the birthday cake with much gusto. Still, it was lovely to sit together at the dining room table and share a meal - a rarity that hopefully becomes less so as time goes on. The little stuff like that really does go far.

Happy Birthday, Hubs!! Middle age looks good on you. ;)

Sody vs. Sugar. Discuss.

Like most kids, the girl has a sweet tooth. I try not to feed into it too much, but she definitely has formed some kind of baby radar to search and find and just know what is a treat and what isn't. The other night I picked up some food at a Greek cafe and of course got a couple pieces of baklava for dessert. Now I am quite sure Sody has never had baklava or even heard the word "baklava" in her 17 months, but she still bypassed all the hummus and pita and falafel and zeroed in on the baklava and begged me ("uh, uh, uh!!!!") to open that package. She just knew there was a delicious treat in there. I have no idea how kids instinctively know this stuff.

Yesterday we made cupcakes together. I stand her up on a stool and she "helps" by pushing my mini spatula around the mixing bowl. Not to mention she makes a five minute task take about 25 minutes...but what can you do? Anyway, the second I turned my head to check the recipe, Little Miss took a measuring spoon and dipped it in the bowl and ate a spoonful of sugar. I caught the tail end of the act and she had this crazy bewildered look on her face at first, like she couldn't believe what she was eating. Then it turned into this face:





It reminds me of a something that happened a while ago that still cracks me up every time I think of it. First, I need to paint a little picture of what a typical morning looks like around Chez Finlaw: Sody wakes up first, duh. Sometimes there is some crying, sometimes she is babbling to her stuffed monkey, Chuck D, and sometimes she is just waiting quietly for someone to come rescue her from the confines of the crib. We get her and bring her back to our bed and if it's really ungodly early (like pre-6:30 am) we pray that she falls back asleep with us for a bit. This usually does not happen, as no one seemed to give babies the memo that sleeping in rules. So she plays in our bed for a bit, like with the books sitting on the headboard (have I mentioned how awesome it is to be woken up by a fat hard cover library book falling on your head?) or the few toys I have stashed up there while Joe and I try to catch a tiny bit more rest before really having to get up and face the world. Sometimes in my groggy state I let her climb out of the bed and go explore. I can usually tell where she is and what she is playing with based solely on the sound the toys make. And you know if there is complete silence she has found something naughty that she shouldn't be playing with.

So the other morning I let her out of bed and she toddled out to the living room. Instead of heading to her toy box with all its lively and noisy toys, there was nothing but quiet. I dragged myself out of bed to investigate, turned the corner to the living room, and found this little nugget:



Doublefisting the chocolate chip cookies I had (stupidly) left out on the coffee table the night before! I cracked up and she offered me one, like, "Here, Mom, join me for this amazing breakfast!" So generous, no? Needless to say, I check and double check the coffee table now before heading to bed.

Lest You Think it's all Rainbows and Butterflies

Today was kind of a rough one. "Rough" is all relative, though, and having an off day with Isota is nothing compared with how some kids act. Believe me, I know how good and easy I have it. But today was the first time where I started to see what we may be in for soon. As we close in on a year and a half, we are flirting dangerously close with the infamous Terrible Twos. Today was a glimpse: Isota doing a lot of her demanding grunts/noises ("Uh! Uh! UH!" along with pounding on something) and pulling books off shelves and touching things she shouldn't touch. As well as my new personal favorite where she lets lets her whole body go limp and tries to fall to the ground in protest of me picking her up. Oy. And intellectually, I *know* it's all age related and I *know* she has to go through this stuff to mature...but sometimes it's just hard not to take a smack in the face personally, you know? She is just getting so big and turning into her own person. And realizing she is her own person. Complete with the power to do what she wants instead of what we tell her. "Hm, should I toss this plate of pasta onto the floor even though every time I throw food on the floor Mama tells me not to? Sure, why not??"

I know what you are all saying: It's only the beginning, Mama...

Genius

Ever feel like putting your lima beans in the dishwasher when you don't want to eat them? She is clever, this one.