When Mama is away.....

Paula went to go visit Shannon, Brandon and little Habana.(I spelled her name like it should be pronounced) Rhea still had a runny nose so she didn't want to bring her over, and therefore Papa got some alone time with Rhea. We walked over to their house to get a little exercise and because Rhea just loves being outside. It sure is great having the girl all to myself....we always have so much fun! I can't wait until she is a little older and Sunday's become our day! We walked home and stopped at Peet's so I could have an espresso. Everyone at Peet's thought she was adorable. When we got home we just sat down in the living room and started playing with all of the toys. Rhea loves to take all of the toys out of the basket. We play this game where I put all the toys in the basket and she takes them out, over and over again. She seemed to be getting bored of this and I was trying to think of something new to do. Here are some pictures of my idea. As you can see she loved it.

Higher learning...

Rhea's new favorite task...clearing my bookshelves of all those pesky books. She is very methodical about this and will step on the books she has already pulled down to reach those on higher shelves. Again another ingenious, yet precarious, endeavor that inspires my internal running mama dialog which sounds something like this...

"Oh crap ( insert expletive of your liking I'm keeping this blog rated G)...that looks dangerous...is she going to fall??? That shelf would really hurt...but look at her figuring out how to balance...she is really learning how to shift her weight...I can't believe she is only holding on with one hand...maybe I should get closer in case she falls...but if I get closer I could throw her off her game (believe me this happens)...If I hover too much will it interfere with her natural learning??...but if I don't intervene and she does smack her head won't that be my fault for not assessing the situation as potentially dangerous...but then how dangerous is a bumped head really??...Ok now she is eating the books...can she actually get anything off or will she just get them wet...Oh crap I think she got a piece off!"...and on and on until the break of dawn.

She seems to have a "taste" for the text books and I like to imagine her absorbing some of the pearls of wisdom held within. Graduate school, at the very least, produced some ridiculously overpriced baby toys.

This was my favorite pick of hers as it just seems so darn appropriate. Good old child development.

As I was wiping off the river of drool and making sure no paper was missing from the pages I was inspired to give it a quick thumb through. I was reminded that at this stage in development:

"Sense of self begins to develop, based on feelings of self-efficacy (a beginning sense of feeling control over action and communication with caregivers), and self-esteem, when the infant feels successful at accomplishing a goal. The development of a positive sense of self is strongly related to responsive caregiving (6-12 months +)"

Man...no pressure or anything. Her sense of self is being determined right now...as we speak...(well not exactly right now because she is sound asleep for her nap) but in those book balancing moments and the other little tasks she dreams up for herself every day. Also in our interactions with one another and how well I can meet her needs and read all her cues. The good news is that all this boils down to is just being present and attentive. Allowing her increasing freedom, in a safe and contained environment, so that she might try things and learn how to both succeed and fail. I do believe we are achieving this balance with one another.

I mean though she beat me to the enormous dead fly on the window sill earlier today...I did managed to swipe it out of her mouth before she swallowed it.

Clever girl...

Both Rhea and I were very impressed with Evelyn's walker and all the potential fun to be had for sweet little babies. After Evelyn's birthday party I rushed home and promptly dropped a gang of cash on a sturdy wooden model...allowing myself to be wooed by the customer reviews and my own burning desire to see Rhea toddling around. With her own super cute European made walker. I can just see her sporting those red overalls and striped onesie. Move over Euro kid!

Rhea on the other hand had a much more inventive and cost effective solution. Though it was admittedly a little less user friendly and prone to produce some killer rug burns. I do wish I had been able to get a video of this but our girl is too media savvy these days and would stop moving every time she saw me with the camera. Even these pictures are taken from behind in an attempt to be very sneaky while trying to capture her ingenuity.

Yep...she is using her toy as a walker. Pushing it around on the carpet and doing her best to keep it from shooting out in front of her which produces a very spectacular looking face plant (hence the aforementioned rug burns). I can't even begin to describe how crazy cute (and heart stopping) it was watching her truck around the house with this thing. She is one adventurous little girl.

Catch me if you can...

We spent the afternoon yesterday celebrating Evelyn's birthday...it was a fun filled party with lots of good food and wonderful people. I was curious to see how Rhea would do around so much hustle and bustle (especially considering she would have to forgo her second nap so as to not miss any of the fun). She handled it all like a champ and remained good natured and interactive throughout the afternoon. We ended up staying a good five hours and even got her ready for bed (in a borrowed set of P.J.'s from Evelyn) anticipating that she would fall dead asleep as soon as her head hit the car seat...and we were right!

Luckily we were among the first to arrive so we had a few moments with Evelyn while it was still quiet and calm...well it was quiet and calm until Rhea and Evelyn saw each other. I'll do my best to describe their greeting with words, as we tried to capture it on film but unfortunately the light in the living room didn't seem to agree with our camera. I literally have 97 pictures taken throughout the day and only about 7 of them are even passable.

Anyway, they were remarkably excited to see one another. Rhea was trying to put her arms, hands, legs...well pretty much her full body on Evelyn (yelling and smiling the whole time) why Evelyn was excitedly grabbing Rhea near her neck then quickly pulling her hands to her mouth with a yell as if she was so excited she just wanted to eat her up.

Guests soon began arriving which immediately increased the noise and stranger factor. Evelyn needed a little time to adjust (having only had a 45 minute nap and working on cutting several teeth) but soon she was the star of the show...tottering around in her pretty pink party dress and showing off her many tantalizing skills. Rhea just wanted to be where Evelyn was and did her best to keep up with her...even towards the end of the day when she could barely keep her eyes open.

Here you can see them holding hands until Evelyn spies her Papa with the vacuum at which point she takes off at breakneck speed. Rhea hesitates for a minute then starts trying to chase her down. She doesn't quite get the concept of a head start so she couldn't understand the futility of her efforts. You gotta love her determination though!




These next two videos really show the difference a few months can make. The first is Rhea taking her first steps with that crazy singing, vibrating, flashing walker of Evelyn's. I was really proud of her as she spent so much time and energy trying to master that skill...even with her drooping eyelids and fatigue laden limbs.



Then, if you can catch the blur racing across the screen, Evelyn shows how it is done!



I think it is good for Rhea to spend time with Evelyn and see all that the world has to offer in the coming months. I know there will be a time in the very near future when the three and a half month difference between them will seem absolutely inconsequential. But for now the differences seem to complement each other and Rhea remains determined to catch up with Evelyn...one of these days.

First Born...

This picture is worth a thousand words...

Poor old Stashu trying to figure out how to get in on a little bit of this Baby love.

My boy has really been showing his age these past few months and I spend a good deal of time fretting over his health and general well being. I really wish the timing had been better for him and he had been able to experience the new addition to our family when he was in his freewheeling heyday. The days when he could jump as high as my shoulder, was a stellar hide and seek companion, and could spend hours playing fetch with his rubber goldfish. That Stashu would have known what to do with a high energy little bundle of grabbing fingers and uncoordinated "petting".

This Stashu tends to get tired out.


This is a cat that has historically spent every waking moment by my side and every night curled up beside me...but now he has found that I come with a new sidekick that hasn't really figured out what it means when her Mama keeps telling her "gentle Rhea...gentle". It has been a transition for both of us and I have found that I really do miss him as well. This morning when Papa took Rhea to change her and give me another 25 minutes of sleep...Stashu came running into the bedroom (which has been off limits since Rhea arrived due to his not really understanding that she wasn't just a noisy pillow) and he quickly crawled under the covers to the crook of my arm. His purring and warmth was so soothing that I fell back into the deepest 25 minutes of sleep I have had in a long time. I only hope that he takes all this in stride and that I haven't ruined his golden years for him.

Birth-Day memories

Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Evelyn!

Evelyn turns one today! I have such amazing memories of welcoming this firecracker of a baby into the world. For those of you that don't know...I was lucky enough to be with Hai Nhu and John for Evelyn's birth. The experience was one of those precious moments in life when you feel with a certainty the power of love and connection and the miracle of things that can't quite be described with words.

My love and admiration for Hai Nhu and John was so present during those hours together that it felt tangible...and I felt whatever little vestiges of boundaries still in place after so many years of friendship melting away. I knew then that we were creating a true family...an immediate little family of three as well as an extended family soon to include our little one.

And then came Evelyn...and she was perfect and beautiful and when I held her in my arms my heart actually squeezed tight with love. And the little baby still tucked away inside of me would kick and move as if to say hello...I'm on my way...please clear a path for me...

Home sweet home...

So it seems that I start every blog entry these days with some acknowledgment of how long it has been or how little time I have had to sneak in an entry. You would think I could cut myself some slack...what with all the traveling, jet lag, visitors (much appreciated visitors mind you), nasty old cold caught from a very friendly baby named Gideon on our Boston to San Francisco leg of the trip, oh yeah and that pesky necessity of having to keep an eye on Rhea at every moment so as to keep the shoes, paper, cats, cords, cameras, coffee mugs, needles and knives safely out of her reach (ok...I am exaggerating with the needles and knives but you all get my drift). Slack doesn't come easily in these parts not when I know how many of you actually care enough to read these entries and keep up with our lives. It is much appreciated and still amazes me to know that more people than just my Mom and Hai Nhu tune in.

It has been an eventful week since arriving home. Seeing Papa again was precisely the lovely relief I imagined. We really did miss each other and bringing our little family back together again felt so right. Jet lag for the girl has been a bit brutal especially mingled with the above mentioned cold which we are still recovering from. But that was just a small price to pay for having the time at home with Grammy and Grandpa and our Telepciak family. Parting was made just a little bit easier knowing that Josie would be flying home with us for the week and that Tio Scotty would be arriving shortly after.

Thursday morning we got the joyous news that our good friends Shannon and Brandon had welcomed their little girl Havana into the world. We high tailed it to the hospital and spent time visiting and reveling in the absolute miracle that is a brand new baby only hours to this world. Rhea looked like the biggest most sturdy and advanced young lady next to little Havana and I almost expected her to get up and walk around the room to further assert herself as anything *but* a newborn (all things being relative as Havana was anything but little...weighing in at 8lbs 3 oz and looking like she was ready for all that life could throw at such a new being). By all accounts Shannon persevered through 24 hours of challenging back labor which is all I'm going to say here because it is really Shannon's story to tell. I am here to report however that Shannon looked positively stunning despite (or one could argue because of) the previous 24 hours which brought the oh so sweet fruit of all that labor.

Friday morning was the first morning that we awoke feeling the affects of our cold (and I thanked my lucky stars that I had insisted on washing my hands numerous times at the hospital before holding that beautiful new baby...course at the time I was convinced the hospital was teeming with germs..hate to think I was actually the one carrying them around) but we rallied nonetheless and met up with Kelli and her girls and Naomi and Milo at a very cool park for some catch up time and fun in the sun. I somehow managed to forget Rhea's sun hat and ended up having to fashion a kerchief out of a cloth napkin Kelli had...I wish I had gotten a better picture...because she actually looked heartbreakingly cute and downright stylish.

Saturday was a day spent food shopping for Tio Scotty's surprise birthday dinner and bemoaning the rhinovirus. Though I was feeling increasingly crappy I didn't want to waste a moment of Joanna time and kept trying to soldier on. Dinner was amazing and I was hit with the reality that it was the first dinner party we have had since Christmas!! Unbelievable. It was good fun and so nice to see everyone.

Sunday we went to Nana and Grandpa's for lunch. It had been so long since we had seen them that I swallowed a couple of Tylenol, grabbed a box of Kleenex and continued to put one foot in front of the other. I'm so glad I did...it was great for them to see Rhea and spend some time. All of the changes she has made, sometimes difficult for me to see as I am with her everyday, were marveled upon and celebrated. Though struggling with her own cold she was good natured and excited to be exploring her surroundings and showing off her new skills to her grandparents.

The rest of the week up until this point has been a blur of good food, lots of laughs and this lingering cold. Josie left late last night and we are both missing her...Rhea heard a door open this morning and turned her head quickly towards the spare bedroom with a huge smile as she was used to Joanna emerging from the other side of that door and smiling back. It was so nice to spend so much "down time" together. Just hanging out talking while playing with Rhea. It was a wonderful week and if I needed any reminding about how amazing Joanna is and how much I love her...our lazy days together would have been the perfect refresher. Of course no reminder was needed.

Luckily Tio Scotty is still here and I am being gradually weaned off of all this fun and excitement. My goal for the day is to take some good pictures with Rhea and her Tio, call Shannon to tell her the cold is nearly at bay so we can come visiting soon, and enjoy this beautiful sunshiny day. But for now I hear our girl stirring from her nap...and my stolen moment is gone.

Final hours

It is our last full day in New England...Rhea is out for her third stroller ride of the morning with Grammy and Grandpa and I am again wrestling with the complicated emotions of leaving. It is rough...feeling so connected to life here while being so utterly homesick for Bert and our San Francisco family. Seeing Rhea with her grandparents is amazing...the whole world stops when she gets up in the morning, wakes from a nap, or needs anything at all. She is so comfortable with them both and seems to have blossomed under their attentive watch.

Last night after I put Rhea down for the night I went out to dinner with Nola and Charlie and then met up with the rest of the family at the boys street hockey game. It was such a fun night...reminded me of life before Rhea...footloose and fancy free with the added bonus of knowing I had a sweet little baby to come home too. It was a perfect summer evening.

In the middle of the night last night Rhea woke up and decided she was done with all that boring sleeping. She tossed and turned...stood up in bed to play with the dresser next to the bed (we pulled the mattress on the floor to try and minimize the impact of any potential crawling out of bed)...was babbling and literally rolling from the foot of the bed to the head while trying to engage with me in the dark. I changed her diaper, smoothed out the bed and then did my best impression of dead asleep...a difficult task when you have a ridiculously cute baby prying at your eyelids in hope of some love. The whole experience was a mix of frustration mingled with amusement with a touch of sheer exhaustion thrown in. I kept thinking that Rhea must be on the verge of mastering some new skill which would explain all this late night rabble rousing.

6:00 a.m. came way too quickly for this Mama but I was immediately rescued by Grammy who took Rhea downstairs so I could get a bit more sleep. Later in talking with my Mother she informed me that Rhea had officially scootched! From the footstool...to the couch...to the chair and back again with such grace and skill you would have though she did it everyday. I knew she was brewing something last night and it makes me laugh to think of her pulling herself up in the middle of the night and dozing off sitting up (she did a bunch of that too) while stubbornly hanging onto the drawer pulls.

All in all our time here has been a gift for all involved...time for my parents to really get to experience the sweetness that is Rhea Sue and a time for Rhea to bask in the love of so many people.

Leaving is always so difficult...I wish I could somehow magically close the divide between our coasts and bring us all closer.

New England Girl!

Our girl is loving some of the mainstays of summer in New England...but most of all she is in love with swimming. Be it in the pool (large or small), a lake, or even her ol' standby the sink, she can never get into water fast enough to suit her. She wriggles and squeals whenever we come within a few feet of a body of water. It is ridiculously cute. Here are a few shots of her enjoying the kiddie pool Joanna bought just for her.

I think she is looking pretty content in this one....

And so very adorable in this one...

She can stay in the water until her lips are blue and will still complain when I take her out to wrap her in a towel and warm her up. Looks like we have a Northern California surfer on our hands after all!

Grampa's little helper

Rhea and Grammy on the lookout for Grampa and Henry!

Rhea loves her Grampa! (Her Grammy too of course but something about her Grampa always makes her smile) So you can imagine her delight when she saw him working on the yard...


Come on down Rhea Sue! I could use you down here....

Grampa tries to put Rhea to work....

Huh? What's that thing?

No Grampa I think this grass is much more interesting! I have my own work to do here...

Yep...just as I thought....delicious.

Frequent Flyers

I'm going to do my best to bang out at least a tiny bit of a blog entry...

We made it on Friday night safe and sound! Rhea, again, was an amazing traveler. And Jet Blue, as always, was an amazing airline. As soon as we got on the plane the flight attendant asked the passenger in the middle seat if he would be willing to move to give us more room. So we ended up with two seats and a very nice engineer (for a toy company no less) sitting in the window seat beside us. Rhea was her usual sweet self...we spent much of the flight standing at the back of the plane which allowed us to make fast friends with everyone who came down the aisle to stretch their legs or use the bathroom. We swapped birth stories, discussed developmental milestones, played peekaboo, and kept our fellow passengers spirits lifted with general oohing, aahing, and sweet baby talk. Our plane was supposed to arrive an hour EARLY (????) but in the end we had our course diverted by some bad weather and ended up getting in only 15 minutes early (still a treat). Honestly the time really did fly by (no super silly pun intended).

Once we touched down in Logan and after a bit of cell phone wrangling (I managed to lose my phone...which I didn't know until Nola tried to call it and the state police answered..still have to figure out how to get it back) We met up with John T. and embarked upon the second leg of our journey...the seemingly endless drive to Athol. The ride was fairly comical as the heat was intense (close to 100 degrees in Boston) and John's air conditioning was not working...so we drove along in a wind tunnel down the highway shouting over the din to catch up with all the local gossip. Until a MAJOR thunderstorm hit and began pelting us with rain...which meant we had to put the windows most of the way up...and then shout over the pelting rain sound! Rhea took it all in while her hair alternately blew around in the wind or stuck to her forehead with the heat. But we made it home to her anxiously waiting grandparents all in one piece.

Rhea and I have been adjusting to the time change and all the commotion fairly well. Henry (my parents papillon) is just in love with Rhea and she with him. Every time she wakes up, whether it be from a nap or in the morning, he runs circles around her barking and trying to lick her face clean off! She just eats it up and will yell and flap her arms around which only increases the barking and licking. It is really something to watch. The cats here are unphased by her...and smart enough to stay out of her way...so she has kept her manhandling to a minimum.

I have the chance to write this now because Rhea just went out for a walk in the stroller with her Grammy and Grandpa and Henry. She was very excited...more of the arm flapping and excited vocalization when she hit the stroller. She must think she has died and gone to heaven...friendly animals, constant attention, and grandparents chomping at the bit to make sure she has everything she needs. It's a good life.

Home Alone

It sure is hard coming home to an empty house. There are plenty of things to do to keep me busy, but I think about Rhea when I'm trying to mentally plan out my work...who is going to watch her? Is she going to do something new that I'll have to drop everything and run and watch? She is in good hands, and that is reassuring but it really is hard to not see my little girl every day.
Rhea Sue....I miss you!!! And I miss you too Mama!!!
Love Papa


PS. Now I know how Grammy feels!!!

One woman show...

I am here to admit that I was seriously remiss in my July blogging. I think the combination of being camera-less and getting the flu put a damper on my creative output. Just wanted to get a quick post in before flying off to Massachusetts to visit the family. I'm flying all by myself with the girl and feeling a bit apprehensive about it...six hours with a now fiercely mobile girl, confined to a single plane seat. It's really almost humorous. Almost. I hope to have time to catch up on all the amazing things Rhea has been doing over the past couple weeks while I'm at my folks house. Lets just say I could rent her out as a baby proofing decoy. If a family needed to know what to baby proof in their house we could just let Rhea loose and she would be sure to be drawn to every dangerous item in and out of her reach. She has a serious knack for it.

Well I better finish trying to pack...I will leave you all with a gratuitous beautiful baby shot (one of the few I have because Rhea now recognizes the sound of the camera turning on and will always start crawling full speed ahead to try to perfect her manhandling skills)