Fast friends....

This picture speaks volumes to me...it perfectly sums up what our days have looked like since Morris came to stay.


Rhea and Morris downright love each other...always clamoring to be next to one another and playing together so sweetly. This has actually made things surprisingly easier around here as everything is more exciting to Rhea as long as she can gaze at her good friend. Mealtime, playtime, and most especially bath time have all become enhanced for her as evidenced by her even cheerier than usual disposition.


It seems she might even be picking up some Swedish! Well Swedish babbling really...though for all I know they could be real words. My favorite of all though is to watch her head whip around and her eyes light up when she hears Morris yell from his room for her at the crack of dawn. Makes that early morning reality just a little bit easier to swallow.

Oh Christmas Tree......

The tradition stands....though members of our tree hunting party were suffering from varying levels of cold, flu, pregnancy, and sheer exhaustion...we dragged our sorry butts into the Santa Cruz mountains and found ourselves some trees!

We abandoned our plan to leave at the crack of dawn the day after Thanksgiving opting for the more reasonable hour of 1:00. This gave Bert and I time to clean up from the day before, Heidi more time to sleep in, and Hai Nhu time to try and recover from her killer bug.

I think this tree telling tale is best told through pictures. Here we are on the hunt...

Now the perfect tree has been found...and Papa gets to work!

Our sweet "little" tree...waiting for the ornaments and lights...

Rhea "helping" us with the lights...

Getting to work with the decorations...

And of course the finished product...

Giving Thanks....

There is just so much in our lives to give thanks for right now...our health, our love for one another, our good friends and family. I feel as though there couldn't possibly be another more lucky than I.

As I sat at our Thanksgiving table surrounded by some of our dearest friends...Rhea perched in her high chair beside me feasting on her first Thanksgiving dinner...I was struck with the certainty that she will always be loved and supported by these people...our somewhat rag tag (and fabulous) created family.

We have adopted a tradition of going around the table and sharing with each other some of what we feel thankful for...it always brings a fair amount of groans before we begin...but as we get rolling and people start sharing it quickly becomes my favorite part of the day. All sentimentality aside...there is a tangible power in the collective thankfulness.

When it came time for my turn to share I felt so overcome with it all that I could barely get into words how much that very moment, my life, and those that touch it mean to me. I happened to be nursing Rhea when the baton (well a wrapping paper roll we were using to magnify our voices and provide some comic relief) came my way. As I held her in my arms and looked around the table I worked through that tongue tied feeling and did my best to share. I'm not sure if the words came out perfectly or if the magnitude of my gratitude was properly expressed...I just know that I felt loved and understood and completely content. And for that...I am thankful.

Da Due

I know, I know...my November posting has been nothing short of pathetic. I am working on a couple of posts but I'm finding that as I wait to record things as they happen..because I'm working on her 11th month letter and want things to go chronologically...then I miss so many moments. It's a vicious blog cycle...

I decided to post a quick entry to get back into this blogging game. Rhea has been changing so much over the past few weeks it's almost difficult to know where to start. One thing that remains constant through all these changes...Rhea's super sweet relationship with Stashu. She loves patting him so much that she now pats all things she loves. It started with Stashu...moved to me...then Bert...and yesterday she was patting Milo. I will leave you with this picture of Rhea and her most favorite playmate. The other day as she was showering him with her special brand of love I was talking to her about how much she loved "her Stashu" and I swear she called him by his name twice!

Da Due. I think it might stick.