A Very Special Day

Today is Tante Dunie's birthday! Happy birthday to you, our dear Tante/Sister! If you were here, we would take you to Crazy Tokyo for some delicious sushi. Well it's the thought that counts, isn't it? So let's just pretend it happened.

Another reason why it's a special day today... Ella's first real haircut at the hairdresser! We went to Lollicut and Ella chose the pink car chair to sit in while Dora cut her hair. We got a little envelope with a lock of her hair to keep and a certificate commemorating the occasion.

Et voilà! Basically, Dora cut 4 inches off the back and cut some bangs in so that Ella's hair doesn't fall all over her face. And then she pulled the sides up into a ponytail and added a pink curly bow.

Catching Up

Last month I had my 40th birthday on the 31st, and started a two week long party during some much needed vacation time starting the 23rd.

I started a big project xeriscaping my front yard, which means killing the lawn and replacing it with decorative stones and water-wise plants, which will reduce our water use. Seems like a strange way to spend a vacation, since most people want to sit on the beach and drink mai-tai's, but it was pretty fulfilling for me, and that's the kind of thing I enjoy doing.

We went up to northern California for Nicki's Baby Signs conference, and later we visited with a friend I went to middle school and high school with, Jim, and his girlfriend Nancy. We met up in Sonoma, the heart of the wine country, in the park in the middle of town. Felix got his first trip on a swing and his first touch of playground sand.



Later we enjoyed a nice picnic and a bottle of wine (natch), and some good conversation. Felix cooperated by taking a nap, and Ella was the sweet, calm little angel she always is.


Don't ask me how I feel about turning 40. Many have, including my uncle Marshall, who arrived at a party Nicki threw for me the last Saturday of my vacation. He knew me when I was a baby, and when he saw me, he asked, "How does it make you feel to turn 40?" I replied, "How does it make you feel for me to turn 40?"

Happy 10-month birthday, Monkey!

Our little monkeydoodle is 10 months old today. To celebrate, he ate two big servings of pureed peaches and grew two more teeth, only not the top two we were expecting, but one on each side of those, like little fangs.

Ella is a big girl now, she goes on the toilet without a potty seat! Now if only she would take herself to the bathroom at night instead of calling for Dada one or more times at night.