Quick one...

Just a (super) quick post...I should be running around finishing last minute things while Rhea is taking her nap...preparing for the much anticipated arrival of Josie and Alex. Figured we would be busy for the next 10 days and posting will be light at best and most honestly nonexistent.

I have so many stories to tell and pictures to share but I will leave you all with these shots of Rhea. I thought it tied in well to the last post in which I was waxing poetic about how difficult it was to get her to eat. Here she is sitting in the park in Fairfax eating her burrito from the Good Earth with gusto and all on her own. I really don't have the words for how heartwarming it was to see my little girl just chilling on the grass eating her burrito.


The next one is a shot of her after she drank from my almond milk spirilina shake...I think she was a little surprised by that one....

And here she is making friends with a sweet little girl with bubbles...it was a beautiful day.


See you all soon..I'm sure with even more stories to share....

Nourishing the girl....

I think it would be safe to say that food/feeding/nutrition occupies much of my time these days...whether it be planning what to feed the girl, trying to get her to eat, worrying about all manners of food safety from the containers we store her food in to the utensils and cups she uses, trying to get her to eat, learning that BPA is found in the lining of virtually every canned good on the supermarket shelves whether organic or not, trying to get her to eat, talking with fellow Mama's about my concerns about her eating and having to weather their incredulous looks when faced with my very healthy looking chunk of a girl (of course all while trying to get her to eat).

This morning at breakfast when I was looking down at her multiple little dishes filled with delicious bits of food arranged in a way I was hoping would seem enticing to her...I thought it might be fun to have some photographic evidence of the hoops I jump through (most likely hoops I myself have engineered...but hey...they are hoops nonetheless). Lets start with breakfast:

Here we have a black quinoa porridge, steel cut oatmeal with maple syrup (usually this would have some yogurt and blueberries but we are trying no dairy just to add some fun to this whole ridiculous endeavor and she is just plain sick of blueberries), some strawberries from our Community Supported Agriculture box we get weekly (fancy way of saying local organic produce), and her little mug of water she insists on as it compliments the mug of coffee I'm always clutching. She actually did pretty well with this breakfast but didn't really catch on to how amazing those strawberries are. Mid morning we have a snack:

Applesauce...which I always forget to try to give her and one of the things she actually really ate with gusto today....go figure. Then lunch:

Here we have brown rice cooked down with beef stock (that Bert made from scratch) and peas, steamed carrots also from our box, and roasted chicken. Those carrots were unbelievably tasty and sweet...Rhea humored me with a "no thank you bite" but was pretty much unimpressed. Mid afternoon we had another snack:

Oranges from that glorious box (she ate these as if I hadn't given her anything else the whole day and actually picked up the bowl to drink the juice afterwards) and Cinnamon raisin Mochi also eaten with much enthusiasm. I resurrected some of her leftover lunch and to my great relief she ate quite a bit of chicken. Last but not least...Supper:

Here you can see some delicious beef, the carrots and quinoa brought back for a repeat performance (one of the theories in getting your baby to like a number of things is repeated exposure to those things) and her favorite...a pile of peas.

Now you might wonder what it is she is doing during all this food preparation time...well naturally she is right beside me "cooking" herself:

Sifting through her rice and meticulously sorting her dried beans into various containers. She is shirtless because today she insisted on full access to her belly button at all times so that nothing would impede her ability to master the word belly button which apparently can only be uttered while she is pointing to it with one of her hands.

So yes...food/feeding/nutrition and belly buttons. All in a days work.

The mystery of sleep(lessness)

Rhea must be on the verge of something great. I tell myself this to explain her difficulty sleeping these past few nights...trying, as always, to create some sense of reason and predictability in the otherwise lawless land of babydom.

Of course all the trouble began Thursday night...the same Thursday night that I went to see Shannon after the girl was asleep to hang out without the babies, drink wine and inevitably talk all about our babies (to be fair we also talked about many things besides our babies and were relived to know that despite all the time we spend together, we can still find meaningful and interesting things to say to each other). Anyway...I had spent the evening talking about how great a sleeper Rhea was these days...how predictable her schedule had become (I swear I didn't realize those random thunderclaps overhead were directed in my direction) and discussing the next chapter in her sleep story...namely a toddler bed and learning to fall asleep without the nursing crutch.

After a brisk power walk home at the unheard of hour of 10:35 (!!) I sat down to unwind and check out my email when low and behold who came running down the hall sleepsack and all???? I will spare you all the gory details but sleep of all manner has involved lots of tossing and turning, crying, and downright sheer exhaustion ever since.

As usual her Papa and I are racking our brains to try and figure out what the heck is going on. A few ideas tossed around...

Teething? Hot stuffy weather? Increased awareness of the world around her? Teetering on the verge of breaking out into full sentences? Caffeine (from god knows what because I barely have ANY)? Stubborn pain in the ass?? Well that sentiment is reserved for when we are feeling very tired.

I will say that Rhea is changing so much right now...probably more so than at any other point to date. She just seems to be growing up...she clearly understands more and does her best to communicate that understanding...she loves to cuddle and give kisses and will initiate these tender moments all on her own out of the blue...she knows what she wants and will stop at nothing (and I mean nothing) to get it.

I will leave you with a video taken Friday morning (so if you look closely you can see some bags under her eyes) of Rhea "reading". At one point you can hear her barking and while she seems to be pointing at the rabbit that is actually her word for Dog which in her defense is right beside the rabbit on the page.

This video reminds me not to miss the "great" while waiting for the "great" that she is possibly on the verge of...that the sound of her voice so excitedly sharing her story with me will inevitably and rightfully continue to change and grow. What will remain the same however is the perfection of each and every fleeting moment.

Keeping it clean...

This video is just priceless....I'll give you the back story...I had just sat down with my cup of coffee and a bran muffin that Bert had so thoughtfully surprised me with after an early morning run to Peets. I had miraculously managed to take a morning shower and was sporting some new jeans and was feeling quite happy with the state of things (tasty muffin...hot coffee...clean hair...new jeans). When Rhea came bounding over to sit in my lap (most likely sensing my good will towards the world) and bumped into my arm holding the coffee..which promptly soaked my muffin, the jeans and the floor.

After a moment of pure dismay I pulled myself together and got up to rinse out the jeans and wring out my muffin. While I was gone Bert shot this video.

I have so many favorite things about this video I don't even know where to start...how about that outfit??? Her P.J.'s/bib/slipper ensemble is extra special. Then the fact that she gets up mid clean and runs over to the coffee cup to give a blow by blow of what had happened. Her renewed focus on cleaning when her Papa asks for help (and the oh so subtle way she conveniently "cleaned" the water bottle right over). And her final exclamation when it was all said and done....

And that fleeting moment of pure dismay? Yet another memory that I will cherish forever.

Belly Butt-ton

I kid you not...our girl very clearly said Belly Butt-ton in the tub just a moment ago. Of course though extremely proud of herself and seemingly pleased with our over the top reaction to it all, she refused to say it again despite our desperate pleas and a constant refrain of "Rhea...where's your Belly Button? Can you say Belly Button???"

I did manage to get some shots of her pointing to said Belly Button however..and trying to blow some bubbles with soapy water.

Though it seems as though it shouldn't surprise me anymore, I am always slightly taken aback by how thrilling each new accomplishment is. When I heard her say Belly Butt-ton I literally had a physical reaction...my stomach lurched (in a good way), I whipped my head around to Bert and, with a voice that I'm sure was octaves higher than usual, exclaimed "Did you hear that??? Did you hear that???" I think Rhea was momentarily unsure if saying Belly Butt-ton had actually been a smart move on her part. Though any doubts she may have had were quickly squelched by the two beaming and proud faces of her lovestruck Mama and Papa...and we found ourselves rewarded with some very excited squealing and splashing and the accompanying shower of water.

It's hard to believe that in a few short months Rhea will actually be talking...really talking. And though I'm sure these words will come back to haunt me at some point in my mothering...I can hardly wait.

Riding around the lake

Every Sunday I take Rhea for a ride in Golden Gate Park. We see all kinds of wildlife; Hawks, Coyotes, squirrels, ducks, geese and lots of dogs. Rhea just loves animals and it is really nice that she can see so many of them.
Lately we have been riding around Stow Lake and we see lots of dogs.
Here is a video and some pictures of one of our latest adventures.

I think she is saying " I love you Papa"

Come here and give me some kisses!!!

Check back next week for pictures of our next adventure!