sunny sunday + more singing!

A hot day! We stayed local while recovering from our trip. First, a bike ride to a bagel breakfast where we scoped out a LPFD fire truck.

Next, naptime for Rosie while Mom did some work and DaddyO tended to some much-needed housework. After lunchtime and errands we ended up at Casa Orozco in Livermore for dinner. Rosie smashed on her food and Mommy and DaddyO enjoyed a couple margaritas!

After dinner we walked around downtown Livermore where Rosie decided to take an early bath.

On the way home Rosie was on fire! She started playing with her feet and jumped into the row-row-row your boat routine that she learned from her morning yoga routine. In case you can't understand what she's saying, she basically repeats this line:

"Row row row boat...Rrrring! Uhoh. Hello? Rosie. Bye! Kiss kiss."




Some background: The yoga video where Rosie picked this up from. Skip to 11:35.

Marin

DaddyO and I have been talking about going out of town for a weekend so we loaded up the car Friday afternoon and headed north. As luck had it, Rosie's great uncle and aunt in San Rafael were available so we met up with them for the evening. It was so amazing to see Rosie go straight into Tio- and Tia-Avo's arms. It was kisses for Tio and then snuggles in Tia's arms (thought she would fall asleep there!). Rosie relaxed while we were treated to a delicious dinner at Il Davide's, where Tio and Tia are familiar faces. Then we headed back to their home where they were gracious enough to let us spend the night. We had a great time talking into the night and then continuing in the morning. Rosie made herself at home and chased after the dogs. We really enjoyed our time catching up.


From Tio and Tia's place we headed back to downtown San Rafael for an Arizmendi's bakery breakfast. We then organized impromptu meetup #2 with my good friend and former coworker R in Fairfax. We went for a nice walk and met the new baby (though not a little baby anymore).





The unfortunate part was the car getting swiped by a van. But damage was manageable so, a headache for another day. Lunch was at the Hummingbird Cafe where we enjoyed southern faire of chicken n waffles and fried green tomato BLT. Tasty!

On the road again. We just went with the flow and the flow directed us to the Point Reyes lighthouse, aka the edge of the earth (forgot how far out that lighthouse is!). It was quite windy but the air was fresh and the lapping ocean waves soothing.

Rosie learned a new word: fog



The decent to the lighthouse:


330-something steps!:



Taking cover...windy!:


Blown away by the gorgeous view:


So much fog that it collects on the branches and drops, making it feel like rain:


Lighthouse was pretty exhausting so Rosie took a second nap. Thank goodness she transfers easily into the stroller, otherwise we'd be stuck in the car. While Rosie napped we walked around Point Reyes Station. For dinner we headed further up north in a search for oysters and found them, along with Rosie-approved crab Mac n cheese, at a restaurant by the water called Nick's.

Our last stop was through Petaluma in an attempt to delay Rosie's bedtime. With the sun going down earlier Rosie's been getting sleepier earlier, which means waking up earlier so we wanted to push sleepy time forward a bit. We stopped by a Powell's for a dessert for me and then to get frozen yogurt for DaddyO and Rosie. "The Moyo eat the Moyo want":


The drive home went by quickly and now Rosie is asleep in the crib (after a little bit of coaxing).

Just what we the doctor ordered: a healthy dose of spontaneity!


p.s. New recurring joke: pretending to sleep and Rosie yelling "Yake up!"

blackhawk, cheering, and family time

Rosie and I explored a new area in Danville, Blackhawk Plaza. Rosie's already been there with Auntie G, Uncle G and A, so she knew her way around the place. It is a very cool area with a duck pond in the center, a playground, and shops surrounding it. 

We brought sunflower seeds and felt like the pied piper as dozens of ducks came flocking from every nook and cranny to enjoy the feast.

Rosie on the train ride that, for some reason, quacks:

This afternoon was spent at home napping, running through the sprinklers, playing "mail" in the cardboard playhouse, and enjoying tasty homemade popsicles. We had a bit of a popsicle battle because we had packed away a key piece that helped take the popsicles out. Before digging through boxes to find it, I tried to pry the popsicle out using other kitchen utensils. As I was doing this Rosie was at my feet cheering me on, "Go, Mom, GO! Go, Mom GO!"No kidding! With that kind of cheering section I could accomplish anything....except remove frozen treats from its molding, apparently.

For dinner we headed to Vavô and Vavó's. Auntie G and A came by as well. There were lots laughter, kisses, and playing as always. Rosie played some hide and seek with DaddyO and Auntie then quickly moved onto the pool table where she had to quickly learn how to roll the balls (not throw!).

A gift from Auntie and A: Abby Caddaby hat and gloves!

rosie-approved

Feeling inspired by the housewarming gift we got earlier today (see previous post), I threw together a simple chicken (and carrot!) pho for lunch today. Rosie dived right into the noodles...not a surprise from the carbo-junky. When she took her first sip of broth she giggled and said, "Tasty!"

Nothing tops the approval from this 22-month picky food critic. Huzzah!

new storytime

Today we hit up story time at the Civic Center Library in Livermore. It was a great surprise! A mixture of songs, rhymes, books, and...shakers! Here's Rosie groovin:

After a dinosaur march around the room to wrap up storytime, Rosie was delighted to find Rosie-sized Winnie the Poohs and Tigger. She gathered them up for a read aloud. When I whipped out my phone for a picture she said, "Smile!"

 When we got home we found a special housewarming surprise from Baby J, Uncle M and Auntie A! Yum! Thanks!

fun with cardboard

Dozens of moving boxes + inspiration from Caine's Arcade = cardboard house!

No solicitors!

Notice the 2 important essentials: pillow and remote control

Resting: pretend play is hard work

It was all fun and games until someone got hit in the eye by the cardboard front door. Cardboard fun to be continued!

Morning yoga

winnie the pooh

We are super happy to have integrated the piano into our bedtime routine. After reading (Rosie is sure to remind us that she gets 3 books. Not 1, not 2), having her last cup of milk, changing and brushing her teeth, we sing Winnie the Pooh together as DaddyO holds Rosie and Mommy plays the piano. Tonight Rosie was delightfully drowsy by the end of the song and went down super easy.

 Bonus photo: Engrossed with the playhouse toys that we checked out at the library. Rosie was particularly fascinated with the shower and potty.

brand new baby cousin

 Today we visited Rosie's newest adorable baby cousin M, Cau M, and Aunt J in San Francisco. Baby M is 2 weeks old, has that wonderful new baby smell, the most amazing cheeks, and is an excellent sleeper. Rosie loved meeting him and tickling his toes. We can't wait to visit them again soon!

Cau M and Aunt J: naturals at parenting!

DaddyO with the little bundle

Rosie practicing the baby bounce.

Dance

Going through my phone and I rediscovered this video from a week or so ago. It made me laugh out loud and almost wake up Rosie.

To give it some context, there is a stage set on a lawn on 1st street that is used for outdoor concerts. Rosie somehow knew that and ran straight for it yelling "dance!" (you hear her saying it toward the end). Baby's got some fancy footwork! ...and only breaks to do read.

month 22

• Rosie's vocabulary continues to grow rapidly. Most recently we caught her saying "oh gosh" and "shoot" when a chair fell over. Rosie loves singing and has learned more lyrics to songs (like key words in the Lê family song, You Are My Sunshine, If All the Raindrops, Open Shut Them, With My Little Hands I Go ClapClapClap, the Banana Boat song, Happy Birthday, to name a few)
• Bedtime routine: Bedtime looks like this: 1. Milk, 2. Tooth-brushing (while Mommy plays piano), 3. PJs, 4. Storytime. During storytime all three of us curl up in Rosie's reading cove and Rosie picks the 3 stories for the evening and which of us should read it. It is a really special and sweet time. After that, she pulls her Winnie the Pooh music box, and then lets us put her in her crib. She still wakes up in the night (anywhere between 2:30 and 5:30) but falls back asleep within 20 minutes. The last couple days she joins Mommy in bed for the last leg of sleep, 6-9. DaddyO is excited to join in on the sleeping in on the weekends.
• Rosie has gotten used to the new place. When we walk or drive up to the house she declares, "HOME!"
• Rosie has started to remember books and finishes lines. Current on the lineup: Pout Pout Fish, Ten Little Fingers Ten Little Toes, Orange Bear Apple Pear, Press Here, Spots Feathers Curly Tails, Old Bear (3 of which are from cousin J, thanks!).
• "Come on, come on." When something exciting is near, Rosie loves to include us on the fun. Her face lights up, motions to us with this extremely cute hand gesture, and says, "come on come on!"
• DaddyO routine. First thing Rosie asks for in the morning is her Daddy. When DaddyO comes home growling and chomping on the hunt for cutie babies, Rosie yells, "Oh no! Oh no!" and runs into Mommy's arms pretending to take cover though she clearly loves it since she always has the biggest cheesy grin on her face.
• Teeth! So it turns out the choppy naps and snottiness may have been attributed to three new canine teeth poking out. Rarrrr!
• Rabbit food. We did have a spinach-eating siting the other week when Rosie said she was a rabbit and downed 4 spinach leaves. Exciting! Though the following times she said the same thing, the leafy green didn't stay in her mouth for very long. But still, an improvement!

That's all for now!

Oakland

This afternoon Rosie and I hopped on BART toward Oakland. Rosie loved watching the trains, though I think she was secretly disappointed they didn't go "choochoo."
In Oakland we met up with a good friend R. We picnicked and walked around Lake Merritt. It was a beautifully sunny day.

sleeping tight

The two things that affect us, as parents, to the core is Rosie's ability to eat healthily and to get enough sleep. Ahhh sleep training. The battle continues.

This summer has been a bit hectic with a nice long vacation leading into selling and buying houses which led to a shift in our bedtime routine. We've been enjoying (for the most part) having Rosie sleep with us. The moments before she falls asleep and right when she wakes up are often the sweetest. Rosie loves to give us kisses before dozing off and to be silly and steamroll over us in the mornings. But the time has come to make sure she can fall asleep independently and get a full night's sleep.

On night two of her return to the crib, she went down without a fight/peep (miracle!). I wasn't counting on the fight being over there, and like clockwork she woke at 2:30am. I set the timer for 30 minutes since we decided to let her struggle through it for that much time before going in. Before we knew it she was back to sleep. And she's still sleeping at 7:00am!

Of course, the morning she is sleeping in, I could not enjoy it (thanks, garbage trucks). But at least I could spend some time with DaddyO before he headed off to work and now have some quiet time. Though really, I can't wait for her to wake up so we can play!

I don't have a new picture so here is a walk down memory lane with the Cardinal of Sleep:

sidenote: 7:04 she's awake! yay!

New friends

Today we sent for a swim with new friends we just met. Mama E and her two boys O and M just moved to CA from the UK. The boys were super sweet with Rosie. After swimming Rosie laid out in the sun on a lounge chair as the boys worked diligently to move more chairs to place on either side of her so she wouldn't fall. So sweet. We had a lot of fun and look forward to more playdates. Maybe their British accent will rub off on Rosie a bit...so freakin cute.

Recovering

This weekend we got special visitors from our good friends L&L from San Jose. They came over and spent the day with us. Had lunch, yogurt/gelato/boba tea, sweat in the heat, sweat to dancing games on the xbox. It was nice being with friends. These two are just like an aunt and uncle so Rosie was of course ecstatic.



Sunday rolled around and unleashed a family-wide cold. Boo! All three of us weren't feeling so hot. The worst part of being sick was that we had to postpone our visit with Baby M in SF, Rosie's newest cousin.



We spent most of the day keeping a low profile, taking care of some easy errands, and ending the day with Vavò's chicken soup.
I'm not sure if it is the sickness, but Rosie had an especially rough night of sleep. As a result she ended up taking an early nap at 9:45. First time for this napping spot!


As I tried to transfer her to a more comfy and indoor spot, she woke up alarmed so she is now sleeping on my chest like the good ol days. I miss feeling her breathing like this. Silver lining to snotty colds!

New 'hood, new room

This week we have been enjoying the new neighborhood, finally feeling somewhat settled in. Rosie and I went to the library a few more times. Here she is checking out the books in the crocodile:

Enjoying finger raspberries:

Sharing an ice cream cone with Mommy from the creamery down the road:

Breaking in the new piano! Our good friend H was kind enough to give us the piano from her childhood. We are more than thrilled to give it a good home! I took out a few sheet music books from the library...Winnie the Pooh theme song a current favorite...and will have to start building up a good collection.

DaddyO and I have been working to put together a cozy reading cove for Rosie in her room, and she' taken to it. She enjoys falling asleep by starlight:

 She also found a new use for the cove: a parking lot! I found her in here giggling to herself.

Today I stopped by my old school to read to my former students, which was a good excuse to visit Baby P and H. The girls were sweet from the start and had fun playing, play-napping, noshing on each other's food, and playing at the nearby park.

Tea kettle whistle is shocking!:

It's been a good week!