Her Vessel's Home Port (or, "HD Sings of Her Hometown")

A LOT has been going on the past few weeks.  We hosted the in-laws for Easter, I left the Hubs and HD for a much-needed gals' trip, and Hubs and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary.  I'm still working on the post to sum up the trip after a couple of weeks getting back into the swing of things at home and work.  Oh, and have I mentioned that starting next week, I'm going part time at work???  [Although, it sounds like a bigger deal than it is -- I'll be 90% time, which equates to every other Friday off.  Still, more time with le bebe and laundry!]

So to tide y'all over until the extra wordy posts come, I give you, HD singing her new anthem:

She attempts to segue into "I've Just Seen a Face" by The Beatles (a.k.a. The Harper Song), but gets stuck on the "I can't..." opening to one of the lines.  She sings the ENTIRE song normally, but is a bit skittish around cameras.  Apparently, she did not get my hamming for camera genetics as much as previously thought.  Let's try that again:

We plan on opening our own cabaret.  [Oh, and "1,2,3 Max?"  That's her making up a ditty about Where the Wild Things Are.  We're still trying to figure this kid out.]

Chamber Pots and Wee Ditties (or, "Things the Kid Does at 18 Months")

I've loved being home with the kid the past 2 weeks.  It's been a cool way to test out the stay-at-home Mama thing.  Plus, she's grown up so much in this brief time.  We've started potty training, and had our first success on New Year's Day (trust me, it was way thrilling).  Don't worry, I promise not to get much more detailed than that.  But to any mama readers who are interested, we've been working off the book Diaper-Free Before 3.  HD particularly loves Pirate Potty, Once Upon a Potty, and Potty.   

Also, we've been having all sorts of full on conversations with each other.  Granted, they're mostly about either the time we spent outside earlier that day or the desire to spend more time outside.  But we also have heated debates about the nature of the musical influences behind Yo Gabba Gabba, so that's been pretty stimulating (for me, anyway).  And the dancing!  Still working on catching that one on vid, but I have been thrilled to bop around the house with HD instead of following her with a camera.

And of course, there's the constant singing.  Enjoy a sample:

The Longings of the Yuletide Season (or, "I Miss My OG Family")

This is the third Christmas season that I haven't spend with my parents and brother.  Granted, this is primarily due to my choice to not travel with a baby/toddler during one of the busiest travel seasons of the year.  Regardless, that doesn't mean that I don't miss them like crazy.  So this little random post is my little internet hug to them.

Daddy and Mama -- HD loves the gift you got her.  As we discussed on the phone, I believe that this is the most evil toy in existence.  My new year's resolution is to not accidentally-on-purpose break it.

Did you notice how this toy exerts it's wicked nature upon my kid?!  She's so lured by it's sinful sounds, she literally starts choking another baby!!

The newest thing we're trying to get HD to do is to learn a catch phrase for each member of our family. Let's give this a whirl:

To those who need a little help (since I am not going to attempt to input subtitles on the video), allow me to translate.  "Do what?" is a Southern expression meaning "Pardon me?  I didn't quite hear you/I wasn't paying attention to begin with."  That would be my father's (Pappy's) saying.  "Hey, y'all!" is a oft-used greeting in the South, meant to refer to both genders, not just "guys."  That would be my mother's (Mammy).  My brother is a rabid Raiders fan, hence his phrase.  And my sister-in-law's (Alice) family is French, which is why we went with "Bonjour!".  Also, we picked those phrases since they were pretty easy to teach HD.  That was actually prolly the trumping factor in choosing them.

HD says, "Bye, yaww!" (That would be "bye, y'all").

This Annum Needs to be Keelhauled (or, "Finally, the End of 2011")

The past few years have been a complete whirlwind.  Witness the following:

• 2008 -- The year Hubs (who was not-yet-Hubs back then) and I each moved from LA to San Francisco and started new career paths.  We also got engaged and started making a (teeny-tiny rented) home together.
• 2009 -- We married, we traveled, and we decided to start a family.  We also started the super-duper-amazing-I-mean-no-it-sucks-shoot-me-now process of house hunting.
• 2010 -- On New Years Day, we placed an offer on a beautiful Victorian house (20 miles south of our old apartment).  It was accepted, and we moved from the city to the 'burbs to become real mortgage-paying homeowners.  Hubs did a ton of travel for work; I got a promotion.  And of course, we became parents to the awesomest kid on the planet.  It was sort of a monster year for being thrust face first into adulthood.

So on New Years 2011, Hubs and I decided that we had had enough change to last us for awhile.  We said that our resolution was that 2011 would be the calmest year ever.  Keep it nice and easy, just work on our house, do our jobs as well as always, and have fun being parents and learning about our new town.  Apparently, God thought that was pretty funny.  And life continued to happen, you know, as it does.  

This year has had plenty of good, and definitely some bad.  It sure as hell threw a lot more change our way than we anticipated.    Another unexpected promotion, a new job for Hubs (so grateful and amazed that I can say both of those things in this economy).  Both of our brothers got married, bringing two awesome ladies into our family.  Our teeny gurgley baby became a walking, talking, hilarious drama queen.  We had a health scare that rocked our little family, and we managed to come out ok on the other side.  It's all been a lot more stress than we counted on.  But it was never, ever more than we could handle.  Every bit of it has made us stronger as a family.  And despite any anxieties we faced, we have a pretty good life.

With that, I can safely say that we have no resolutions for 2012.  Just goals and hopes.  To do everything we can to stay healthy, to strive for kindness, to be a good example for the kid, and to have fun.  Oh, and to blog more :)

Hope 2011 taught you all as much as it taught us.  Here's to a bright, shiny, unblemished new year!  Bring it, 2012!  

(And now, for a completely random video)

Yo Ho Ho Ho (or, "Christmas Tree Is Up!")

November was National Blog Posting Month.  The idea is that you try to post once each day for the whole month.  Let's just say that whoever picked November is masochist.  I was doing ok, and then the holiday and all its preparation kicked in.  So...glazing over the past couple of weeks?  The busiest time of year at work (for me, anyway) passed in a whirlwind, HD impressed everyone by chowing brussels sprouts at Thanksgiving, and teething incisors is the work of the devil.  You're all caught up! 

We focused this weekend on getting our Christmas on.  Heading out to get a real tree, we ended up getting dazzled at Home Depot by a glorious imitation 7.5 foot Black Hills Spruce, completely pre-lit with LED lights.  Both Hubs and I are from families with a known legacy of fake trees, so we jumped.  We put HD down for her nap, lit my mistletoe-flavored Yankee candles to complete the illusion of our faux tree, and got to work.  The beauty took about 15 minutes to put together (*choirs of angeles sang*), so we got to dive right into ornaments.  We thought for about 35 seconds about how to toddler proof the tree.  I personally think methodology should vary from kid to kid.  Our nugget?  Curious, but relatively obedient.  She puts stuff back if we tell her too...repeatedly.  Rather than go all out with a baby gate to block off the tree, we decided to stick it in a corner (protected on at least 2 sides without even trying!) out of her normal path of destruction (i.e. it's in the dining rather than living room).  

Upon waking from her nap, HD came down to behold the essence of merriment.  We even saved a few ornaments for her to put on.  She got so excited, she full-on attacked me.  I have the mussed hair to prove it.

But it's all good, because then I got her to say Merry Christmas for the camera.  Eh, sorta.

Kid has also taken a recent shine to that Santa Claus fellow.  She points him out everywhere, and repeatedly reminds us that he is coming to town.  Anytime she's thrown a fit this week, that song has talisman-like soothing qualities.  I think the "better not cry" line is what tames our beast.  HD also has rediscovered the same love of nutcrackers that she demonstrated this time last year.  We have a pirate one on our mantel (natch), which totally made her giggle last year.  Vid below was neigh on impossible to shoot -- me holding baby, maneuvering nutcracker and attempting to film all at once.  But I'll leave y'all on that note, so I can get back to my hot chocolate.

Remembrances of Yore (or, "Nostalgia? Eh, Kinda")

This is a video from one year ago.  Was flipping through old files and it brought a huge smile to my face.  I don't normally get nostalgic for HD's teeny weeny days.  Don't get me wrong; I loved having a cuddly little bug who was the smiliest baby ever.  It's just that she honestly gets more and more fun (albeit more and more...um...challenging) with each passing day.  But this video?  Let's just say that the kid still cracks up whenever Mama pops out of a hiding place.  I guess some bits just never get old.  Hopefully it still works as a tension reliever in HD's teenage years.

Ballad of a Lady (or, "She's Always a Woman to Me")

According to the great Billy Joel (a grog- loving pirate if there ever was one), "she never gives out, she never gives in...she just changes her mind."

Pastimes of Yore ( or, "I Need a Hobby")

The weather's been gorgeous lately, so the daughter went for a romp the last weekend in a cold park fountain.  Watching HD's joyful abandon over running in gushing water...it makes my heart sing.  And I'll be honest, it also makes me a wee jealous.  It reminds me of that part in Knocked Up when Paul Rudd's character is watching his kids in the park, and he comments that he wished he enjoyed anything as much as his kids enjoy bubbles.  He obviously loves his kids, but he knows he needs something in his life that's just his own.

So Hubs and I have instituted taking every other Saturday morning off.  One of us spends quality time with HD, and the other one gets to do whatever he/she wants (sleep, errands, workout, laze about and watch tv).  Today's my morning off -- I'm thinking this could could be the perfect time to start dusting off old hobbies, or cultivate a new one.

A Mare Over a Schooner (or, "Even Pirates Say 'Wheeee!'")

My bro and I used to ride this rocking horse when we were kids.  I'm not the biggest advocate of saving everything from childhood, but I'm super glad that my HD has this thing (thanks heaps to my sentimental Daddy!).  Apparently, so is she:

Apologies for the tiny video; it's from Hubs's iPhone.  Oh, and that little sound byte at the end there?  HD is blowing her lips out ("ppppllllllltttttpppp") which is her horse sound.  I mean, obviously.

But seriously, pirates love horses as much as cowboys love boats.  Just ask Lyle Lovett.

Jargon o' the Seas (or, "HD Talking")

We have video!  Here's a tidbit of showing off some of her verbal skills, as well as her keen fashion sense:

Our kid is a complete chatterbox.  Like lots of little kids, she'll have entire one-sided conversations of gobble-degook with occasional real words thrown in.  I'd say it's been more fun than frustrating trying to decipher her meaning.  Especially when she cracks herself up learning a new word:

A small sampling of words to date:

puppy
Daddy
Mama
"mommy" = edamame (HD gets really confused when people refer to me as "mommy" -- to her, that means "tasty little soy bean" not "lady who provides for me")
dirt
"nana" = banana
apple
"butta-bye" = butterfly and/or peanut butter (unless my kid keeps requesting moths spread on crackers...hm)
"ca-kah" = cracker or bread
vegetable (this one actually sounds like the real word, which slays me)
turtle
"fee"  = fish
"bea" = bear
"Happy" = Harper

The First Mate Has Sea Legs! (or, "Walking")

This has been going on for about 2 weeks now.  The walking that is.  The jabberwocky?  More like a few months.  Enjoy!

Doppelganger Cap'n Madre (or, "Guess What Celebrity My Daughter Thinks Is Me?")

HD's favorite activity of the moment is pulling out one of our boxes of DVDs and strewing them about.  She rifles through them, showing an odd favoritism for Crunch Fitness Fat Blasting Dance Workout.  That is, until she discovered her new favorite...

Where the Parrots Fly (or, "A Much Needed Break")

A couple weekends back, we made like parrots and flew south.  Although I suppose parrots don't exactly ever need to migrate.  Anyway, we decided to brave Southwest Airlines with a near-toddler and head to our old hometown to visit some old buddies.

Highlights include:

• Hanging with so many good friends.  Mad love going out to my girl Jasleen, Meghann and her daughter Kyleigh, my other Megan and Meaghan, Meredith, and Hubs's homeboys Clive and Paul.  I appreciate y'all taking the time to coo over our kid, and to give me real adult conversation as well :)
• Visited the gorgeous Getty Villa in Malibu.  Schooled HD in ancient Roman and Greco art, architecture, and ways of living.  She's been speaking Latin ever since!
• First experience in a pool.  The bebe didn't entirely freak out (no cries, just lots of clings), so we'll take that as a victory point.
• I got to visit my former life's version of Cheers.   Reminisced on the days when, truly, everyone at Q's really did know my name (in my defense, I lived across the street).



The Border Grill is hilaaaaarious.

• Visited the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH -- UCLA!  Hubs and I are both alum (although, we didn't meet until after each of us had graduated), so naturally we had to give HD a tour of her inevitable future.  8 CLAP!!!



Hand to God, that plaque says "We Will Valet Your Stroller."

• Ate amazingly well.  Hats off to Border Grill's margaritas and the Godmother sandwich from Bay Cities Deli.  Also happy hour sushi, which is one of the things I missed most about LA.

Trying on laurel wreath props, getting our Roman comedy on.

HD, humoring our extreme Bruin exuberance (it's her FUTURE!).

Blue and gold look so very good on HD.

Finally, I think we'll make sure that every vacation includes a full length mirror:

A Lady by Way of Southern Shores ("Ways I Want the Kid to be a Carolina Girl")

I promised a video, and it's buried here in my diatribe, so keep reading!  Here's a photo to tide you over in the meantime:

This has nothing to do with anything.  But she's wearing pink patent loafers!

For those who aren't aware, I grew up in a bunch of vastly different places.  Abbreviated life story of the Cap'n: birth to age 7 in various towns in North Carolina; age 8 in Barbados (yes, that was the beginning of the whole pirate obsession); ages 9-16 in Spokane, WA; finished high school in a San Francisco Bay Area 'burb; finally down to Los Angeles for college (U-C-L-A! Fight! Fight! Fight!).  Adult life has since been split between LA and SF/surrounding area.  It's kind of an understatement to say that I got really used to being the new kid when I was growing up (until college, the longest I was in one school was 3 years). But I had a varied childhood and saw a lot more at an earlier age than most of my peers; wouldn't trade it for anything.

In looking at the two major bookends of my life, the Carolinas and California, I've been thinking a lot about what kinds of viewpoints I hope HD picks up in life.  Since her daddy has spent 30 of his 31 years in Cali, it's up to me to represent the Southern side of things.

My folks are Southern through and through -- they even retired in Charleston (the ultimate American pirate port, arrrrr!!!), which is as Old South as you can get.  I was definitely raised with a strong Southern influence cast over my life through them and my extended family, no matter where certain years were spent.  We took HD to Charleston for the first time earlier this year and had a blast.  People can say all they want about Southern bigotry, overzealous religion, or insane eating habits (they'd be right in a lot of cases) -- there are still amazing things about that part of the country.

Here are the Top Southern Influences/Ideas I Hope HD Has in her Life:

1)  A strong sense of community (Southerners are GREAT at this, whether it's the gossip mill in a small town, the regular church attendance, or a huge pie-bearing welcome wagon anytime a new neighbor moves in).  This kind of ties into general pride for any group you belong to.  You've never seen true team spirit or intense sorority sisterhood until you've visited an ACC school (Boston doesn't count).

2)  MANNERS.  I cannot stress this enough.  We're talking way beyond "please and thank you."  I miss "sir" and "ma'am," men standing slightly when a women sits or rises from the table, and making eye contact with strangers in the street and giving them a smile or nod.  Ain't nothing wrong with a little common courtesy (which I need to remind myself everyday to practice when I commute on the train with the blind masses).

3)  Cute and ladylike clothes.  Working on this currently, as evidenced by this sundress:

4)  Southerners are suckers for live music.  There's a lot more singing and dancing going on at random down there.  I love the sense of joy and unselfconsciousness it emanates.   HD would fit right in.

5)   Taking life a bit more slowly.  Maybe it's the accent, but Southerners are kings when it comes to pausing and allowing something to sink in.  Living near and working in a hectic city makes me very GOGOGO all the time.  My own mama can't understand about half of my crazy speed speak.  In fact, this is what I must sound like to her:

'Tis Grateful I Be on the Each Week's Fifth Day (or, "Thankful on a Thursday")

There's a whole idea out there in the blogesphere that I've pillaged: Thankful on a Thursday.  I love the idea of taking a bit of time each week to publicly acknowledge the little things that I appreciate and even crave.  I'll interpret my "ToaT" as a short list of current things that give me the happies, since I'm constantly grateful for my family, health, having a job, and whatnot.  Obvi.  

I asked HD what she was thankful for today, and received this as her reply:

  

As you can see/hear, HD clearly states that she's thankful for Bobby and puppy.  I mean this in all sincerity -- the first mate truly couldn't have picked two finer things in life.  It's been a rough week.  And here are a few things that have helped it pass by for me:

1)  Dexter season 4 and the amazingness that is John Lithgow.  It's hard to believe the unspeakably frightening "Trinity Killer" is the same dude who I used to see walking his dogs on the beautiful UCLA campus back in my college days.  Netflix is the greatest source of escapism ever (aside from the library, naturally).

2)  The bottle of Cabernet Franc leftover from our wedding 2 years ago.  Hallelujah, praise Bacchus.  

3)  I am not a phone person, but occasionally I do have actual conversations with real live people.  Unexpected phone calls with old friends can be lifesavers.  Big smooch going out to the former Schwartzy.

4)  Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred.  Nothing like a hard, quick sweat-fest to work off some stress!  Who knew a mere 20 minutes could make one feel simultaneously exhausted and empowered?

5)  Slowly, Slowly, Slowly Said the Sloth.  Every night, Hubs, HD, and I all pile onto our bed to read a few books before putting HD down in her room.  This is the current fave.  It's beautiful, funny, and contains tons of animals that Hubs and I actually saw on our honeymoon (Costa Rica, where I'd love to take HD some day).  Ah, memories.

Hope all is well out there for y'all, dear readers.  

The Ditty of Sandpaper Pappy (or, "The Grandparents Came to Visit!")

           Since the age of 18, I haven’t lived within 400 miles of my parents (notable exception being the awesome 1.25 year period between my wedding and end of maternity leave, when The Parents, The Bro and I were all in the same 30 mile radius).  This isn’t because we don’t like each other; sometimes jobs and lives just lead you to different places.  My immediate family is actually pretty tight-knit, so visits have always been a source of uber excitement.  And this past week was one of those times.

            The Parents are Southerners through and through, but had lived West of the Mississippi for about twenty years.  If you ask me or The Bro, we’ll claim Southern roots even though we haven’t lived there since 1990. [Side note – yes, it is very strange to be brought up as “Southern” when your formative years are spent living on the West Coast.  But I suppose HD will get a bit of that in her upbringing as well.  That’s a whole other post yet to come.]  The Parents retired from the Bay Area back to Charleston, SC last year.  I miss them terribly but am really happy they’re in a place they love.  And that I have such a fun place to visit once or twice a year.  And that they feel the magnetic pull of an adorable granddaughter, whose cuteness causes them to visit about every other month.  Which means plenty of reunions are still in store.  Yay!

            HD had a blast playing with her grandparents the past few days.  Most babies are magically drawn to my daddy.  Maybe it’s the bald head (“Hey, he’s like me!”) or the soft, deep Southern drawl.  HD was no exception.  After he spoke about two sentences to her, she did that open-arm-dive-bomb-toward-my-new-friend-hold-me-now move.  I think it’s because he kept telling her how pretty she was.  My daughter is already a sucker for flattery.  Check out the happy couple:     



           My mama is a beacon of energy.  She keeps up with playing a full day with my kid better than I do.  She pushed strollers, helped HD “walk,” read books, repeatedly built block towers that were instantly knocked down, and sang songs.  Oh, did The Mama sing songs!  My personal fave was “Saaand-pay-puh Paaa-pay, ch-ch-ch-chhhhhh!”  This is apparently an ode to my father, who has a full, bristly goatee (you know, like sandpaper).  HD would rub her Pappy’s scratchy face and pat his head when the song was sung.  Sadly, I don’t have the tune on video.  Although I’ve been singing it in my head since last Wednesday, so I guess I don’t need one for posterity.  Mama --  I know you’re reading this.  You’ve now been tasked with coming up with full lyrics, since I can’t get beyond the one line chorus.  It’s the only way I’ll be able to get your God forsaken tune out of my head!

Let’s see.  Other than that, and a wonderful family lunch with The Bro and his fiancé for his birthday (woo!), HD’s been doing all sorts of stuff.  Like refusing to eat baby food.  Nine months old and this kid is already a connoisseur of baba ganooj, sautéed spinach, and mashed potatoes.  Straight up won’t eat unless it’s from the end of my fork.  I guess with all that garlic, she really did inherit the family’s taste buds.       



Grimmaces 'n' Grunts (or, "HD's Pouty Face")

Been MIA this weekend in Blog Land due to a visit from my folks and my bro's birthday celebrations.  While I gather my thoughts and visual aids for a fun grandparents-themed post, I thought y'all might like a little more live footage.  Nothing fancy or thrilling, just playtime on the mat as per usual.  Note the pursed-lips-snorting-through-wrinkled-nose face about halfway through.  HD does this whenever she's mildly displeased about something.  We make this face back to her, and she LOVES it.  It's like she knows her place in the family comedy routine.  Why she's displeased with measuring spoons in the vid is beyond me....

Avast, Ye Scurvy Dog! (or, "HD Wants a Poochie")

HD seriously loves dogs.  She squeals every time a poochie walks by when we're on walks.  She adores her daycare provider's puppy.  She even laughs over and reaches for my parents' dog, despite Mikey's completely cold and growly nature towards HD (she kind of unseats him from his place of glory in my parents' home when we visit).  HD's most beloved toy-of-the-moment is Pink Poochie -- a stuffed dog, naturally.

Hubs didn't grow up with pets.  My family is a sucker for lost cause dogs (the second we hear a dog's in danger of being put down, the dog comes home with us).  My new little family doesn't currently include a dog, but Hubs has known since our dating days that it's only a matter of time.  As a gag wedding gift, my uncle got us a dog mannequin from Nordstrom.  It took a lot of rangling with a salesclerk to make that happen.  His name is Rowdy.  HD is convinced he's real.

Mutiny on the Bounty (or, "Give the People What They Demand: Videos")

The readers have spoken!  More vid of the kid!

The funny thing about HD is that she adores cameras.  She has some weird sixth sense about being filmed; she always knows when a camera is upon her.  And she either poses or attempts to eat the camera.  My apologies if that means that most of our videos tend to be all of the same thing, only with HD in different outfits.  I promise she can do all sorts of tricks (she's pulling to stand and attempting to cruise, clapping, cutting her two front teeth, she talks and sings all the time).  It's just that it's ridiculously hard to get them on film.

Without further adieu, here's HD crawling around in her PJs:

More to come later.  Don't ever say the Cap'n never did anything for her crew!