Happy Holidays

Is this a happy face, or what??

Ariel "Miss I-don't-need-glasses-but-I-like-the-geek-chic-look" and her baby sister Kavanna "Pebbles".

Christmas at a friend's house

Kavanna ponders what would happen if she pulls out that fascinating glinty object in Mommy's earlobe.  Hmmmm....

Boxing Day with aunts, uncles and cousins

Grandma Lori and her friend Joy, looking joyful

Ice skating!  Yes, it's been ridiculously cold here.  No, not cold enough to form ice.  This ice skating experience was courtesy of a man-made outdoor rink.

Punk princess on ice...

Kavanna's First Chanukah

Or is it Hannukah?  Or Hanukah?  (no wonder there's no peace in the Middle East - we can't even agree on how to spell this holiday).

Kavanna enjoyed her first present-giving holiday.  She loves having her Grandma (David's mom) here to visit.

How has having a baby changed our lives?

I have little time for luxuries such as updating our blog :)  (Kavanna's taking a nap as I write)

I forget what it's like to maintain eye contact during a conversation, as I'm now always distracted and keeping an eye on Kavanna

Going to the movies is a thing of the past

And...

We are filled with so much love for this adorable little person

We are happier than we've ever been

We're learning more about ourselves and each other through the experience of parenting a baby

We don't need as much sleep as we thought we did 

What's Kavanna doing that's amazing (this week):

When she's hungry she points to her mouth repeatedly as if to say, "Food.  In here.  Now."

She slept through the night.  Twice.

She's running around really fast on those chubby little legs

She now has seven teeth, and more coming

She has the ability to make us smile and laugh with just one look

I've been tagged by Dale, who's Frances' father.  Okay, here goes:

EIGHT FAVORITE TV SHOWS:

Dexter

Dexter reruns (yes, I like it that much!)

Countdown With Keith Olbermann

The Daily Show 

Weeds

Law & Order

Law & Order SVU

Law & Order Criminal Intent

EIGHT THINGS I DID YESTERDAY:

Kissed and hugged Ariel and told her I love her

Kissed and hugged Kavanna and told her I love her

Kissed and hugged my husband and told him I love him

Had therapy sessions with patients

Listened to the rain (a rarity in So California)

Bought holiday gifts

Talked to my mother in law

Saw my friend Mei Ling's new daughter Li Na (on her blog)

EIGHT THINGS I LOOK FORWARD TO:

Taking a walk each day with David & Kavanna

Seeing my friends

Visiting with my family 

Returning to China

Our next family vacation to Europe

Living in a country governed by President Obama

Kavanna sleeping through the night

Reading a book while lounging near a pool (with sunscreen, of course!)

EIGHT FAVORITE RESTAURANTS:

The Jules Verne in Paris (it's in the Eiffel Tower; I first saw it when I lived there as a kid and was awed as I watched guests going up in the private elevator;  I finally dined there on our honeymoon).

The Saloon in Chicago (where we first discussed getting married)

High Tea at any Penninsula or Four Seasons Hotels

Empress for dim sum

Our local sushi restaurant

Our local Chinese restaurant

Our local Indian restaurant

Mi Piace

EIGHT THINGS ON MY WISH LIST:

A happy, healthy, long life for both my daughters

A happy, healthy, long life with the love of my life, David

World peace

A healthier global environment

Our 401K and other stocks to be worth what they were a year ago

For the CCAA to speed up so that my friends who are waiting don't have to wait so long

Thicker hair (it falls out from stress and apparently I'm very stressed)

A two week vacation on a beautiful island 

Friends in China

Our friends Mei Ling and Gale are in China preparing to meet their daughter Li Na.  We're so thrilled for them.  Follow their journey at:  www.little-li-na.blogspot.com.

I've been in technology hell all week.  My iPhone, bluetooth and computer all crashed during the same week.  I can't sync my contacts back into my phone.  Agggghhhh.

I'll post photos of Miss K once I get organized.

Mommy Brain!

As Dale pointed out, last weekend was our fourth weekend home, not the third.  I seem to have lost the ability to think, focus, and remember many things.  I keep misplacing things (very unusual for me) and feel generally goofy much of the time.  What do these symptoms mean?  I have "maternal preoccupation", otherwise known as "mommy brain".  

Also, to answer Melissa's question in the comments, Kavanna is now 13 months old!

Our third weekend home...

And it feels as if we've always been together.

Kavanna loves stuffed animals, especially her stuffed piglet.

She's always on the go!

But sometimes she'll stop for a moment and deign to let us take a picture.

"Want a cheerio?"

"Here, let me get another cheerio..."

"Hmmmm, which one do I want?"

"Yum, yum, yummy!"

I love this baby!  And this photo!   

In the mind of Kavanna...

David tends to think that Kavanna's thoughts run along the lines of plotting world domination like Baby Stewie in Family Guy. I think he's wrong. Clearly, Kavanna cares very much about world peace (not domination)... not to mention sartorial splendor and music. She's well rounded (in every way).

"Here I am with Mommy's friend Lisa and her daughter Julia. They brought me the prettiest dress in the world, and very unique. I love to be stylish! Lisa's mommy got me a cool onesy with the letter "K" on it. I think it'll be part of my superhero outfit for when I fight Stewie and his plots for world domination."


"Mommy's friend Andy came to visit. I don't know about this guy. He has white fuzzy stuff on his face. What's up with that?"

"Did I mention he brought me a beautiful dress? It is very splendid and warm.. perfect for the holidays , or for when I have a celebration party after saving the world from Stewie. Thank you, Andy!"

"Plus Andy is a musician who plays in a band. So naturally he has to be way cool. He even taught me how to play the keyboards..."

"Mommy, Daddy... clear out the garage. I'm starting a band!"

"Andy's mommy came to visit me, too. Her name is Shirley and she's a jazz afficianado. I danced for her and it was fun, fun, fun."

Tony & Val and their kids Nick and Milana came over, too, but Mommy didn't get any photos. I was too busy running around. After all, we superheroes are very camera shy."

Kavanna's first Thanksgiving!!

Kavanna is no longer walking.  Nope, not walking at all.  She's RUNNING.  It was hard to capture her in motion, but here are some (non-blurry) attempts.  Her party dress has a petticoat and side bustles.  It's very Mary, Queen of Scots (perhaps not a good comparison, hmmmm).  It's so unique and completely adorable.  I bought it the week we got our referral and hoped it would fit.  It does!

She's wearing white tights that I bought for Ariel in Scotland when she was six months old.  The coldest winter I ever spent was the summer I spent in Ft. William, Scotland (apologies to Mark Twain) and I saved them.  I didn't know I was saving them for Kavanna, but I was... and she wears them well.

First stop, Wendy & Jonathan's house for some pre-Thanksgiving visiting.  Here's Kavanna with Aunt Wendy and Cousin Maddie, my wonderful friends

In Curt & Kathy's kitchen, with Kavanna's first Thanksgiving turkey (she loved it).

Chef Curt...

Curt and Kathy with David and Kavanna... We had a wonderful time!   Thank you so much for having us over for Kavanna's first Thanksgiving!

We hope everyone had a terrific Thanksgiving.  After being in China, where so many people have so little, I have even more appreciation and thanks for all that we have...  I've always been very grateful for everything we have, and for the opportunity to pursue and achieve our dreams, but this year I'm more thankful than ever.  

That Kavanna is smiling in her bath is a miracle.  She had a trauma at the pediatrician (all is well - she's developmentally on target, even a little ahead, and the doctor was really happy with her progress).  She had four shots and... (gulp) nine vials of blood drawn.  They need the blood to do a lot of testing to make sure her vaccines in China were effective and to check for various things.  She screamed (if you'll pardon the expression) bloody murder.  Poor baby.   

After it was over she clutched her stuffed animal and clung to us... she now has six Barbie bandaids and  horror of the children's lab... and she's made a quick recovery.