more photos from Anne
Hey, there! We got a few more photos from Anne from their visit. Here are a couple, but for the whole lot, check out the photo site!
Monday, August 07, 2006
Thursday, August 03, 2006
the six month mark!
Grumpus and Granna are here to help celebrate Fern's half birthday---can you believe it's been six months? Naturally, among several other fun presents, Jack and Anne presented her with the first of what we're sure will be many celebratory hats, per their tradition. Both grandparents have been getting some nice holding and playing time in, too, not to mention giving me a break on the camera! These photos were all taken with Anne's!
The celebration was also attended by Kat and Baillie as well as Aunt Jewel, who again deserves special thanks for offering her hospitality and guest room. Ken, unfortunately, had to go off to a sales meeting, but gave us his birthday greetings before he had to go!
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Jessica & George visit!
We had another nice visit with Jessica & George this week; they brought us some Pauline's Pizza and came early enough to play with the girl a bit! We got a rare picture of Fern actually looking at a book... generally, she likes to eat them!
Thursday, July 27, 2006
four dads in one place!
Fern & I have been going to a music and movement class for three weeks now. It's been a lot of fun, although predictably, I've been the only dad there: it's mostly moms, plus a grandma and two nannies. Today, though, in some sort of freak of nature, there were four dads. My first reaction -- strange, I know -- was to mourn the loss of specialness. There's a "hello" song where we sing all the kids' names, and then "hello to the mommies" and, usually, "hello to the daddy." Today, we had to pluralize it. I used to get that whole line of the song all to myself, and suddenly we're splitting it four ways! Who are these people?
So I chatted with them, a little. Of the new dads, none was a stay-at-home like me. Two were dads giving mom "a day off" (what an odd thing to say, I couldn't help feeling), and one was a dad tagging along with the nanny to see what it was all about. Poor nanny, she looked at a loss for what to do. It's hard to split one kid two ways, especially a 3-year old boy who is more interested in the cool sticks and instruments they bring than sitting on anyone's lap. The other nanny in the class brings two kids; I thought maybe she should share.
Nonetheless, it was nice to be interactive, although I was unclear on the social expectations as we were all leaving. Should I invite them over for beer? That's a daddy thing, right? I'd just read an article someone sent me about stay-at-home dads from the S.F. Chronicle that made it seem like daddy groups should do that: drink beer and talk about diaper rash. I guess I have a lot to learn!
Sunday, July 23, 2006
second anniversary, first date
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
no more casts!
Once those casts came off, Fern fairly quickly got around to enjoying her free feet in the way she's enjoying everything these days: tasting!
No feet...
One foot...
Two feet!
If you've missed the story, here are the previous entries in the casting saga: Fern's finicky feet; cast progress.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Deb & Erica visit again
We had another fun visit with Deb & Erica; they were amazed that she's getting so big! Remember their first visit (or their second, for that matter)? Fern was so small!
Saturday, July 15, 2006
random spring pictures
I am clearing out my spring backlog and thought I'd finish up with a few out-of-sequence but cute photos. Some of these may have been posted before, but I don't think so...
From June 24
From June 16
From June 11
From June 10
From May 23
From May 13
Thursday, July 13, 2006
a visit from Kelley and Phil
Our friends Kelley and Phil (who, you may remember, coordinated the first-month food delivery, for which we are eternally grateful!) brought us dinner yet again. They found Fern in one of her flirtatious moods, which, I'm happy to say, are coming on more and more often!
There are a few more photos from the evening: click here for the Kelley & Phil show!
File Under:
Kelley Phil
E-mail this post
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
milestones
Another post by Kristin... with video!
I thought it about time that I make another appearance ... I've been struggling with finding the time to sit down to write and to find the right words to capture my reactions to our latest milestones.
I've been back at work now for nearly 4 months---I would say that I've "adjusted," but it's really more of an ongoing process rather than a place of arrival. With each milestone, whether it be Fern's birth or the introduction of solid foods (featured here in this video), I find myself both elated and grieving at the same time. Each new step means that she is becoming more independent of me---which is healthy and wonderful, yet a little part of me misses the depth of her dependence (Mom, as you read this, I bet you're thinking, "yeah, imagine how I felt when you moved all the way to California!").
As you can see, Fern throws herself into each experience---as I witness her exuberance, I often find myself thinking, "I want to be like Fern when I grow up!" I am a better person by virtue of being her mom; she's teaching me profound lessons about life and living.
File Under:
feeding,
milestones,
video
E-mail this post
solid food
We started getting the idea that Fern was interested in our food by the way she watched us intently every time we ate. In the photo (sorry it's a little small; click to see it bigger), she's grabbing insistently at Kristin's grilled cheese sandwich.
Sometimes Fern is so intent on getting her new and beloved food that she'll go so far as to lick the tray!
Click the flickr link below if you want to see all the feeding photos!
File Under:
feeding,
milestones
E-mail this post
Saturday, July 08, 2006
kissing cousins
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
on the plane home
Just a quick post and a story about Fern on the plane home from the Fourth of July. So far (touching wood), she's been a champ on airplanes. She does cry a little on the way down, and sometimes on the way up, but nursing or letting her suck a toy (rarely a thumb; she's not too good at that yet) seems to alleviate the ear pressure pretty well. We've even tried, on the advice of our pediatrician, having her suck on a syringe of sugar water, although we didn't get terrific results.
The trip itself is usually brilliant, since Fern is a huge flirt right now. She loves smiling at strangers who smile at her, and there's no shortage of those on airplanes!
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Fourth of July
There were way too many pictures for me to post them all on the blog: make sure you check out the photo site!
We traveled to Minnesota for the annual St. Anthony Park Fourth of July parade and picnic, which is an incredible affair, like something out of The Music Man. An updated version, perhaps: groups marching included Neighbors for Peace and a wheelchair contingent from the convalescent home, foreign adoptees (all carrying their birth nations' flags), boy and girl scouts, various local dignitaries (including St. Paul's mayor!), and lots and lots of neighbors.
That's Kamryn in the background on the right; Fern got to spend some nice time with her cousin over the days we were there. (Meaning, of course, that we got to see Mark & Ali a lot, too! For some reason, they don't make it into as many pictures as Kamryn...)
Let's not forget our hosts, Joan and Gary!
Luke and Morgan were able to come to town for the parade and spend some time with us and their niece, too.
Being in Minnesota, we also got to spend some time with Kristin's childhood friends, including Rekha, her sister Sujata, and Sujata's family.
Some more of Kristin's oldest friends; we met up at the parade!
And, of course, the godfamily; here's goddad Steve with Fern, who's nearly twice as big as when she was christened.
Many apologies to all those who were somehow missed with the camera! (I'm getting sloppy, I know... Sorry!)
Saturday, July 01, 2006
a homey visit from Grampa Alan
Fern's getting wriggly, and although we can eat out without too much trouble, we've found it tends to be more relaxing to eat in. So we used Grumpus Jackson's recipe for pork tenderloin with mustard sauce; we've made this a number of times since Jack and Anne made it for us, always with great success. Too good not to share; I've put it at the bottom!
The next morning, Grumpy brought us fruit and pastries for a tidy breakfast and a little more time with granddaughter before his board meeting downtown.
Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Mustard Sauce
3 pork tenderloins, each 3/4 pound
Marinade
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup Bourbon
4 Tbsp brown sugar
Mustard Sauce
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp dry mustard
1 Tbsp chopped scallions or onions
1 1/2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
3 pork tenderloins, each 3/4 pound
Marinade
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup Bourbon
4 Tbsp brown sugar
Mustard Sauce
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp dry mustard
1 Tbsp chopped scallions or onions
1 1/2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
In a shallow baking dish, blend all marinade ingredients. Add meat and marinate chilled for several hours. To serve, preheat oven to 350. Bake meat in marinade 45 minutes, basting frequently. Serves 4.
To prepare sauce: in a medium bowl, mix all ingredients. Let stand at room temperature before serving.
Monday, June 26, 2006
popping the whalie
Today's new trick: Fern has learned to pull down on the squeaky whale in her boat and let it go, popping it up over the mast. Endless entertainment! (At least it is when daddy's not distracting her with the camera!)
File Under:
video
E-mail this post
Monday, June 19, 2006
experiencing the playground
We took a long walk today in the stroller, down to Peet's in the Castro and then back through the playground, where we hung out for over an hour, a stroller outing of two hours. As always, F.E. was pretty interested in the park. It's not really a "look-at-me-I'm-smiling" kind of happy interest; it would be better to describe her as fascinated, constantly looking around her and taking things in.
Today, Fern was specifically interested in people. There were a lot there today (summer break, I guess), of a wider variety of ages than usual. She also continued a trend of enjoying being on her own; that is to say, not being held, but sitting or propping by herself. That's a bit of a challenge, however, since she can't balance herself in any position, and moreover I only had the small blanket with me. (She's never left my arms or the stroller in the park before.) I wound up sitting on the ground with Fern between my legs, supported but not held. She was happy and just watched people around her for at least 20 minutes until she got hungry.
I find myself often wanting to blog when I want to document an experience like this, but without any pictures or otherwise interesting tidbits. In those cases, I'm just going to post on the blog, but not send out the mass e-mail.
File Under:
playground
E-mail this post
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
tummy time!
There are quite a few photos of this particular success (way too many, probably); we've been working on this for a long time!
File Under:
milestones
E-mail this post
Sunday, June 11, 2006
visiting the girls
As a side note, congratulations are in order for all three of the girls: Marisa for graduating from middle school and turning 15, Angelina for turning 17 (old enough to go see an R-rated movie!), and Francesca for graduating from high school (she'll be heading off to San Francisco State in the fall!). Great job, all of you!
Friday, June 09, 2006
a visit from Uncle Greg and Grandma Linda
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
