a white pointy thing in my mouth!

Big news blog readers! Mommy and Daddy told me that the weird thing I keep feeling is a tooth! It's my first one and boy does it hurt. It's coming up in the lower part of my mouth in the center. I guess that's the usual spot where first tooth appears for us babies. Daddy felt it first when we were in Sedona on Wednesday but nobody could see it (not even me!). Then Mommy actually got a good glimpse of it at the Phoenix Airport on Thursday. She tried to take a picture of it but I didn't want her to so I kept closing my mouth. She did capture a few cute shots of me so I have decided to include them here for your viewing pleasure. Stay tuned for pictures of the real thing!

Chilling in Sedona

Today was our second day in Sedona, and we decided to take it down several notches and get into vacay mode. We ate at our new favorite family-friendly restaurant, the Panera Bread-esque like place Wildflower Bakery right in the Hyatt complex (extra bonus of no driving!). We sat on the patio out back and had million dollar views overlooking Snoopy Rock and the less known Lucy Rock too (very appropriate for our own Charlie Brown circa Halloween 2009).

We then chilled poolside. The weird thing about Sedona is that even though it's only 50 degrees outside it's intensely sunny and hot. I guess that's the glamour of being at altitude. We didn't bring any swimming stuff for Julien (bad Mommy & Daddy) so he hung out in the lounge chairs and eventually fell asleep on Daddy's chest.

We met a few fun-filled families with babies and little ones and chatted it up with them. It turns out that having a baby changes your socializing (something I might have known intellectually but am still surprised by). I am suddenly interested in chatting with peeps with toddlers and babies to get to know them and their world and yes - compare notes (when do the teeth arrive, when did your baby start crawling, what does your baby like to eat, how does your baby sleep, has your baby ever gone in the pool -- you get the picture).

Later we sat by the firepit and did some more chatting with families from Sioux St. Marie in Canada, Indiana, and a nice couple from Merced! We compared parental leave policies with the Canadians, where they have 12 months of maternity leave at 55% pay. They can extend the 12 months into 18 months of maternity leave but the last six months are at no pay. The father can switch with the mother if he wants to take some of the leave.

We had great views of sunset and even took a nice family picture together (a somewhat rare occurrence to get all three of us in one picture).

No vortex experience, crystals, or magic yet but I could get used to this chill life.

Scottsdale, Sunday January 24, 2010

Here are a few more pictures of our visit in Scottsdale, at my great-grandfather Sidney's house. He lived in 1 house that has an orange tree, then he moved to a second house. DOJ took pictures of MOJ and me in front of his second home.

giggling

Last night in Sedona, MOJ and DOJ were hungry after the 2 hour drive from Scottsdale/Phoenix area. So we went to a yummy Japanese restaurant where I ate really tasty avocado and edamame. I have already eaten avocado but this was my first time to eat edamame. Both were delicious and I was in a really happy mood, happier than usual since I am already a very happy baby! At one point MOJ pushed my stroller a bit and I was laughihng a lot... and DOJ was filming! So now you get to see this. Enjoy!

Sunday: Scottsdale to Sedona

Sunday January 24 was a fun day - MOJ and DOJ packed my 8 suitcases, and put them and me in the car. Did I mention that they are driving a Nissan Hybrid? DOJ keeps the key in his pocket and the car still drives. I keep asking him to let me hold the key while he or MOJ drives, but DOJ said that the key needs to be in his pocket for the car to operate.
We drove to Scottsdale and my parents had lunch at The Grapevine, a place where MOJ and her mother (aka Grams) used to lunch back in the days that they went to Arizona to visit MOJ's grandfather Sidney, who is my great-grandfather! Wow. We drove to the neighborhood where Great-Grandfather Sidney lived and although my parents took a lot of pictures, they haven't yet emailed them to me. Maybe one of them will post about Great-Grandfather Sidney's house separately. We even ate some oranges from one of his houses there.
We then went to Sugarbowl Bakery where I enjoyed two Sundaes, one with hot fudge, the other with caramel. I let my parents eat them, but I sure had fun watching them eat. Here's a picture of DOJ and me at Sugarbowl!
Now we are in Sedona, home of the Red Rocks. It is utterly beautiful here.

more Phoenix

Here I wait for DOJ to film me in a strip mall that is less glamourous than Dubai but way more populated, outside a health store! Hmm, I wonder what the band Phoenix does when they perform in Phoenix. It's like when Japan (David Sylvian) would tour in Japan in the early 80s!

Dubai

So this part of Phoenix is like Dubai. Unfortunately it's Dubai 2009 and not Dubai 2005. There are so many gorgeous buildings and structures that probably cost a lot of money to build. But there aren't any people to spend money here. Dubai has so many vacant storefronts to match the lack of people. But these places make beautiful backgrounds for the pictures of me...
The left picture was taken Friday Jan 22, 2010 in Biltmore Fashion Mall, aka Dubai, around 3pm. It's hard to tell, but there are actual stores in this picture - these aren't the vacant stores elsewhere in Dubai. And the stores are open, and there are people working in the stores. But there aren't customers. So I guess in a way, you can say that these are vacant stores.
The right picture was taken Saturday Jan 23, 2010 across the street from Dubai. I call this the Dubai Palace, because it's so structurally modern and impressive. I think there is a Ruth's Chris Steak House to the right of the structure, that isn't in the picture. This palace is deserted but boy does it make a good backdrop for my picture! I look really happy in this picture because I'm Julien and I'm a baby!

Phoenix

Hi everyone,
We're in Phoenix this week. We arrived late Thursday night (around 2 in the morning) despite having a 10:40am flight. MOJ and DOJ said that I slept parts of Thursday and that I was asleep most of the time in the airport and on the plane, and in the car to the hotel. The hotel is called The Embassy Suites but it looks like the Al-Burj hotel in Dubai. Here are some hotel pictures. I remember staying at Embassy Suites in Temecula right after I was born for a night (when I was just a day and a few hours old!), although that night I was mostly sleeping and awake just to eat or cry to get fed or changed. That Embassy Suites in Temecula is not like this one, although it was also nice... just not as Dubai-like. This Phoenix Embassy Suites is a true 7-star Embassy Suites. Oh and here's a picture of me that night in Embassy Suites in Temecula.
As you can see, I was very little and fit into a dresser drawer. Now I'm sleeping in a pack & play, because my arm is probably longer than a dresser drawer. And I wear a sleep sack instead of a swaddling blanket, even though I always loved to be swaddled. Ah the memories...

Babies

Not the Pulp song that DOJ likes, but 3 real babies - that was today when DOJ took me to see Sue & Lyra, where we were soon joined by Stephanie and Lily! So there I am on the far end of the couch, with Lyra inbetween Lily and me... DOJ took our picture right when we were looking at Sue. We all had a lot of fun together, although admittedly I was so intrigued with Lyra's toys - these were items I've not yet seen :D I've already stuffed several of Lily's toys in my mouth, and today I got to put a lot of Lyra's toys into my mouth. Very fun for me. DOJ looked occasionally mortified but he was probably just jealous of my good fortune. I know that he is already jealous that I have a better wardrobe. As you may notice in the picture, I'm guarding one of Lyra's toys so that DOJ can't take it away from her. DOJ and I first met both Lyra and Lily (and their parents) in September, at Progressive Grounds. And you know what's really sweet? Both Lyra and Lily have the same birthday, and they were born in the same hospital :) So my first blog post is already longer than I anticipated, so I'm going back to sleep! Good night!

Laughter Yoga

Taken with the fliphd - Julien is just mesmorized :D Total video is about 55 seconds!

Julien's Prairie Home Companion

On Saturday Morning, Julien awoke a tad early, at 7:15am. MOJ cleverly decided that we'd feed him in bed and then try to induce an immediate nap, with major success! Julien consumed breakfast and then napped from 7:30 to 8:45am! This was perfect timing, as at 9am, our friend Julie H came over and we went to Sally's for breakfast, although sans (senza/sin) MOJ, who was able to enjoy a little extra slumber. Here's a picture of Julie and Julien, on Saturday July 12.
After Julie's visit, Momzilla (aka Grandma Lil aka Mother of Groomzilla) visited at 1:15pm to babysit for the afternoon, so that MOJ and DOJ could go to see Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion performed live (for radio broadcast) at the War Memorial Opera House. The Opera House is lovely, although admittedly not as nice as the one in Bayreuth, which DOJ enjoyed visiting in Feb 2008. The performance was lovely, super fun...
http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/
After the performance, MOJ and DOJ secured more free babysitting time and then went to Hayes Street Grill for post-matinee supper. Big hurray!

Double M's Visit

Our family friend Michael M, aka Double M, is visiting us from NYC. Here's a picture of him (avec Polly) visiting us on June 26, when Julien was 22 days old! He arrived in SF a few days ago and has stayed at our place since Friday night. He's sleeping in Julien's room while Julien is back to sleeping in our room. Here's Julien's bed schedule for January:
Thurs Dec 31 '09 - Sat Jan 2: Carmel
Sun Jan 3 - Tues Jan 5: Julien's Bedroom
Wed Jan 6 - Mon Jan 11: Parents' Bedroom (while Grams was visiting)
Tues Jan 12 - Thurs Jan 14: Julien's Bedroom
Fri Jan 15 - Mon Jan 18: Parents' Bedroom (while Double M is visiting)

There shall be more bedroom switching for Julien. Hard to tell if this will create any confusion or issues for his sleep - at this time sharing a bedroom with his parents means that he's waking up just a bit earlier than usual. Fortunately the rest of his slumber seems fine.

Julien has very much enjoyed Double M's visit, possibly as much as his parents! On Saturday night, Double M and DOJ enjoyed a bit too much Zinfandel, as they then broke into the liquor cabinet and each consumed 2 small drams of Porto, and finished everything off with a bowl of granola with nonfat Strauss Creamery milk. Yum!

Nap time

Julien generally can take a 2 hour nap every morning. On some lucky days, there will also be a nice nap in the afternoon. In general the nap occurs in the bed of MOJ and DOJ, sometimes with either or both parents also enjoying a nap! But in general, this nap gives us a chance to eat, work, or relax outside of the bedroom.
This nap is sometimes routine, starting at 9am after a fun hour or 90 minutes of breakfast, diaper change, and playtime with MOJ and DOJ. Sometimes Julien gives the cues of needing a nap by rubbing his eyes or yawning. But he still will resist the start of a nap - he'll try to sit up, he'll keep his eyes wide open, or he'll out-and-out protest! Sometimes we'll ignore these signs of resistance and he'll succumb to the joy of slumber; other times we'll give him a little shot of formula and he'll then fall asleep. And then it all looks rather blissful... there will then be a quiet yet powerful sigh of relief from either or both parents. And if it ever feels boring, never fear - a new day is less than 24 hours away!

Larger size picture...

It was such a cute picture that it needs to be seen in a larger size!

Swings!

Today (Wednesday) was a super fun day - after a shorter-than-usual morning nap and fun with MOJ, Julien and DOJ had lunch with Teresa at a ramen place across from ACT. DOJ and Teresa quite enjoyed their ramen while Julien enjoyed some yummy formula! Hurray.
Then Julien and DOJ had a fun playdate with Shuyi and Ruby! Ruby and Julien are longtime baby friends who coincidentally are also in the same GGMG playgroup. There was good weather, and we all strolled to Sharon Meadows at Golden Gate Park... to the baby swings! Super fun. As you can see in the picture, we not only were happy babies, but it showed! The trifecta of taking a picture of two happy babies revealing their happiness is a super bonus, considering it was taken with DOJ's iphone and not an SLR.

pictures of you

Picture of Julien and Mom2 (Grams - MOMOJ aka Mother of Mother of Julien) back in early August, when Julien is 2 months.
Mom2 is aka Mogzilla - Mother-in-law-of-Groomzilla. Not to be confused with Mogzilla - Mother-of-Groomzilla! Her other name is Joan, aka Polly's Mom!

Grandmother's visit

It's been a fun time. Mom2 (aka Grams aka Grandma Joan) arrived on Wednesday January 6, and will leave on Tuesday January 12. Time zooms! Here's an abridged list of what we've done:

Wednesday: airport pickup, kicking back at home. Mom2 went to bed around 5pm!

Thursday: Mom2 spent part of the day at the new Steinhart (Academy of Science). Julien and DOJ picked her up and then did some errands in the Sunset. Mom2 was ti-ti and went to bed early while Julien, DOJ, and MOJ went to Moki's for an early sushi dinner.

Friday: Kicking back at home in the morning, then a short walk and luncheon at the Warming Hut by Crissy Field while MOJ has a meeting. There was also a walk on Chestnut Street. For supper, DOJ's family (the other grandparents with Uncle Justin & Aunt Chloe) came over for a crab and Caesar salad dinner.

Saturday: Julien and DOJ went to Martha Bros on Cortland to meet Jennifer and Dash, as well as exchange a few diapers (to test out other brands). Fun meet-up! Then, we all went to Arlequin for lunch. MOJ had a Pilates session and during that hour, there was a whirlwind of activity. We drove to pick up milk from a new donor in the Marina. Then Julien, DOJ, and Mom2 strolled and window-shopped on Union Street. Right before fetching MOJ, DOJ had this crazy idea to go to the newstand on Jackson by Fillmore to get the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Record Collector... then it was off to Vega on Cortland for dinner with Jennifer and Veronica. It was our first time to see them since mid-December!

Sunday: Drive to Palo Alto to look at rugs, but first luncheon with old family friend Billy Bond and 2 of his 3 children. Fun! Luncheon at The Creamery in Stanford Dubai, then DOJ and Julien strolled on University Avenue.

Monday (aka today): After morning nap, we went to La Boulange in Noe Valley. yummy! Julien got to get his hands on different objects and make lotsa sounds, creating slight alarm with MOJ whil DOJ reminded everyone that we were at La Boulange, and not Taillevent, or not even Paul! Ha!

Julien X Lucca's first blog post

At 7 months and 2 days of age, it's never too late to start a blog... Grams (aka Mother of Mother) is visiting for a few days. Fun! But now Julien is in the midst of a long nap; the first was 8 to 10 this morning, now it's 4:45ish onwards...

Here's an older picture, since I haven't gotten around to figuring out how to transfer iphone pictures to the pc. Hopefully Julien will teach me how to be a better blogger...

Picture history: the morning of Friday June 5, when Julien was about 16 hours old... so little, so adorable.