Whirlwind

Here are a few pictures of Fiona's Aunty Ju's whirlwind trip to Central California. We visited her In San Francisco, rode a cable car, Froze ourselves in the fog at Fisherman's Wharf, saw the golden Gate, winetasted in Santa Cruz, shopped downtown, and got to Monterey for the aquarium. A whirlwind but wonderful to have Family visiting.
Love
Louise

Aunty Ju and Fiona making pink friends in downtown Santa Cruz. What a wonderful day!
Fiona, Devon, Ju, and Louise outside the Mark twain Hotel in SF.
Fiona Riding with us on the cable car. At this age she isn't allowed to hang of the outside like her mum.
Fiona helping with a big cup of Horchata, note the new use of her straw skills. Incidentally Horchata, a mexican rice drink spiced with cinnamon is her first drink that wasn't milk or water.

The purse

Fiona carting her purse around. Actually, is is mine. She was playing with it one day, inadvertantly got it over her head and is now enamoured of being able to carry it around and stash toys in it. Very funny to watch.

Also Funny...to watch is Fiona sharing her bottle with her "Ugly" baby a recent yard sale find. She thinks it's lovely and can point out it's teeth, tummy, fingers, feet and ears, we're working on the other bits too but those are slower.

Our schedule is much more civilized now that we have fiona's babysitter "Nataly" coming a couple of times a week. Fiona is still a bit hit and miss with the sleeping business but we're doing OK with it.

Thanks for checking in,
Love
Louise

What a difference a year makes...

Last year on Mothers Day my mother Jane was here, Devon's mother Vicki, and I with Fiona walked along beautiful west cliff drive together. I was still feeling a little tired considering the newborn schedule, i was nervous about having Fiona out in the big world, but it was a lovely day and I will remember it as my first mother's day forever. This Mothers Day Devon is away and Fiona and I are hanging out (with Luna too of course), it's been warm and sunny in the afternoons and Fiona has been enjoying her naked outside time, splashing in whatever water she can find. What a difference a year makes, I'm still tired a lot of the time but I really feel as though I'm getting the hang of Fiona now, at least for this week.

Thanks for checking in,
Love
Louise

Back to real life

Fiona in her New red dress suit from Jim and Mary Jo Nathan

Fiona nad her dad going for a ride on "Fiona's Bike"

New Found joy in playing oursiide, the warm weather helps.

Fiona's upgraded car seat, now she can look forward in the car!

So we've been settling in for the better part of three weeks and Fiona is doing well though she has yet to sleep through the night. This has been somewhat exacerbated by a little cough and the long daylight hours here as we head towards the solstice. As always despite the lack of sleep we will be keeping her and continue to love her. Fiona has been walking exclusively since our return and she continues to show her mighty will, sometimes at the most inopportune moments. Yesterday I was at the grocery store trying to talk to the baker about a cake for a party...Fiona spotted a display with a large cartoon character in the store and nodded her head furiously pionting and climbing up mummy in an attempt to get to it. A few gentle "no's" led to screaming and we left the store withough making any headway ont he cake. Oh well, I suppose that this is the start of discipline for us. Devon and I are venturing into very unfamiliar waters here, and any advice would be appreciated.

more soon
love
louise

Tempest in a toddler

Hi all, I havent' got any new pictures off the camera lately but there are some good ones coming. I love this one, Fiona asleep in Byron bay on our recent vacation. Since we have returned home Fiona has discovered tantrums which was a shock to us. I have no idea where she figured out how to do it. If she isn't getting her way she sits down and leans forward far enough to repeatedly bang her forehead on the floor. It is quite a site though I have been trying to ignore these little tempests when they occur. I hope that she can't knock anything loose in her head and that she finds a more constructive way to deal with frustration soon. In the meantime I'll try to capture one of these evens on camera, look for it here soon.
Love
Louise

PS: the first top tooth is peeking out quite far now and the walking has become in no uncertain terms her prefered method of travel.