Tala Rides the Steam Train

I've been looking forward to taking T to the Steam Trains for quite some time and finally had the opportunity on Veteran's Day (one of the few perks of being a government employee-all the holidays you get off). You may remember that we took Elsie here last fall. Not only do dogs ride the trains for free but the babies do too!

T dressed appropriately-she wore her train conductor hat made specially for her by G-Ro. Underneath her hoodie are her Osh Kosh brown corduroy overalls that are super adorable but it was a bit of a chilly day so we kept her bundled up. She's been really big on standing with support so we allowed her to balance against the planter box while the little twit in the background photobombed her. 

T was very well behaved during the train ride. Quiet but thoughtful-taking in the ride that showed off Tilden Park in all its Fall glory. 

This trip to the Steam Trains only seemed to encourage T's love for Thomas the Train. She has 2 Thomas books and I've taken to hiding them because, 1. Thomas is her go-to book, and 2. I'm sick of Thomas.

Family Pic-we are reallly in need of a selfie stick but for now-my gorilla length arms will do.

11 Months

Oh the things you say you'd never do before becoming parents. I am very much opposed to TV/electronic devices before age 2. The only exception is allowing T to watch videos of herself. We don't own a TV but these days-you really don't need one when you have the internet. GK doesn't seem to share my strong feeling about media as he sent me the picture below while I was at work one day.

I cringe.

But to be fair he showed her something about the alphabet and it was to reportedly calm her down (which may codeword for give GK a break).

Who needs TV when you have these two to entertain you? We took a trip to Napa to celebrate the ever-sassy Lola turning two. That was karaoke, nectarine margaritas and fun was had by all.

T attended her first live theatrical performance starring the very talented G-Ro in "A Trip Down Broadway." I was hesitant to be that parent who brought their baby to a play but Grand-P had already seen the show and promised to leave with her if needed. I have to say that T was an absolute perfect member of the audience-she was enthusiastic, clapped at all the right times, and truly enjoyed the show.

When she's not being entertained by others, she entertains herself and drives me crazy by unloading every cupboard and drawer she can possibly find. Here she is going through her diaper changing table.

GK entertained himself by cutting up this big *box for T to play spaceship. I'm not sure who had more fun with it.

*This box contained our new bed. Ues-we finally upgraded from a full to a queen. The decision to get a new bed came about 10 months too late. I splurged and got a completely organic memory foam, bamboo fiber bed. We are all in heaven.

And October means Halloween-T was a true Mencher and was the best dressed baby wherever she went. A few months ago I came up with the great idea for T to be a Maneki Neko (the good luck ceramic kitties you often see at Japanese or other Asian businesses). I enlisted G-Ro to execute this most adorable plan and the result was success!

Here she is at the Shadelands Pumpkin Patch where GK was mistaken for a professional photographer.

And here she is on Halloween having lunch with me during my break at Soba Ramen in downtown Oakland.

At our local park at Grove Recreation Center on a relaxing Sunday afternoon.

And here she is on November 4th-exactly 11 months. Since my polling location changed this year, GK & T were kind enough to drive me to go vote. I wanted to bring T inside with me but it was chilly out and the parking there was scarce. I voted yes on D to require extra tax on sugary drinks which passed. I rewarded T with my I Voted sticker-as you can see she's enthralled.

To sum up 11 months-still not walking, still not talking (coherently), still not sleeping through the night. But she's got 3 teeth now, she feeds herself, she waves, points sometimes, she's starting to cooperate with getting dressed, she goes to sleep/nap pretty easily for the most part, and she's an absolute riot. Twelve months? Bring. It. On.

Double Digits!

T spent September embracing double digits and taking advantage of the awesome Bay Area weather.

We attended Love our Lake day at Lake Merritt with Aunt Sonia who took these amazing photos.

Because LOL promotes alternative forms of transportation (i.e.: no cars) and closed down the streets for cyclists, skaters, walkers, etc.-we took BART and T had fun in the stroller. It was hot by our standards so after grabbing lunch from the food trucks we camped out under this huge tree to eat. We had falafel while T tried her best to eat leaves & grass. Such a little nature lover.

Then we went to the Lake Chalet for adult bevies and live music. Yes-we are those people who take their baby to a bar. But seriously-how is she supposed to learn to behave in one if we don't?

Gotta love the Jewel of Oakland.

T absolutely refused to nap while at the Lake Chalet. Within minutes of leaving to return to BART-she passed out in the carrier. This kid has a most serious case of FOMO.

T finally had the chance to wear her tropical one piece during a play date with her Bradley Method birth pal Percy in Oakland.

T also experienced a Mencher rite of passage-her first meal at the hospital. Mt. Diablo to be exact. Of course Grand-P treated everyone to lunch.

T also experienced the beauty that is Genki Ramen-the last time we went to this fabulous restaurant in SF was the day before I went into labor. T chewed on chopsticks and sampled the tempura pumpkin.

She also chowed down on rice, beans, and avocado in Sebastopol while GK participated in the Grand Fondo bicycle ride (32 miles). Unfortuntely due to poor planning, we weren't able to meet up with GK to cheer him in. But he met us at the restaurant and then we stayed the night in Sebastopol for a little getaway. 

T is getting better and better sitting in her high chair for longer periods of time as long as she has something to play with. Here she is at one of our neighborhoods spots-Saysetha (where we also had one of her baby showers). T is an awesome eater-she loves tofu, tangy sauces, brown rice, pumpkin, squash, curry-you name it. We were also pleased that she couldn't seem to get enough at one of our all time favorite places-Burma Superstar. We've stopped with the purees and now just give her what we eat.

T continues to enjoy playing with her toys in the corral and has started exploring more outside in the common areas when she is allowed.

Sometimes she tries to escape. She is always caught.

Sometimes GK has more fun with her toys than she does.

Exploring the bookcase-my outdated texts from graduate school. She is appreciating story time more and more.

Pretending she likes her crib

And wearing her very first Giants t-shirt to celebrate the Giants going to the World Series.

In a nutshell-T babbles non-stop, especially in the morning. She continues to stand but no signs of walking at this point. She has really great control when she cruises, she's able to get around really fast by crawling so I'm not sure there's much motivation on her part to walk at this point. She can keep herself entertained for short periods of time by playing with her toys or even just a pair of her socks. She plays peek-a-boo with herself and cracks up like it's the funniest thing ever. She goes absolutely nuts when she sees children and will try to grab at them-very poor boundaries. She has 2 little bottom teeth. She prefers for us to feed her-when we give her food she mostly plays with it. She barely cries-typically just at night when she's tired and getting ready for bed. Not much stranger anxiety-an incredibly social baby. But she prefers for me & GK to hold her if she has a choice. People weren't kidding when they told us that the time flies-just this time last year I was ending my running streak and looking very forward to maternity leave. I've ran once since then but who's counting? I'm just savoring the time to rest when I can and truly enjoy being with her.

Nine Months

I remember when I was pregnant telling GK that we had to get a video monitor so we could keep an eye on the baby at all times. Little did I know that she would be pretty much glued to one of us these past 9 months. But we recently dug it out of storage, charged the battery and set it up, fully out of T's reach. Baby spy-cam in effect. Let me tell you, 9-months has been a bit of a game changer......

Sleeping soundly in the guest bed one minute...

Up ready to take on the world the next. But don't let this adorably innocent face fool you. Because all she wants to do is......

STAND! Stand in her Pack & Play.

Stand in her corral.

Stand at G-Ro and Grand-P's house.

And get in the way of GK trying to put together her crib.

After ditching the baby bassinet about 3 months ago we let T nap on our bed because she still wasn't very mobile. At around 7 1/2 months she started army crawling which quickly turned into crawling on her knees, then standing up, followed by cruising. I was reluctant but I knew it was time to get a crib. Luckily one of our friends had a crib that was in perfect shape because his son slept in it a total of two times. Hoping the crib is not cursed, we happily accepted it. 

GK bravely decided to assemble the crib while I was at work one day. Luckily there was a window of opportunity when T decided to take a nap. I received a text from GK informing me that it took him 4 hours to put the crib together, T's crying for his attention was driving him crazy, and the house was a complete disaster.

But T now has a crib. In my stupid attempt to show T that the crib is not a scary place, I climbed in with her the first night. When I tried to get out, the bottom collapsed. GK quickly fixed it & advised me to stay out. T is pretty good about taking her naps in it and will also start out her evening in the crib but she spends the majority of her sleep with me in the guest bed.

When they're not destroying the house, GK and T have been exploring parks in Berkeley. They went to the Rose Garden.

Where they had an all American photo shoot with an incredibly outdated flip-phone.

Then it was across to the cement slide that Berkeley has surprisingly not been sued over as it sends kids down steep terrain at ridiculously high speeds.

After T watched the kids slide down on cardboard, GK took her for a ride down with her in the Pikkolo carrier. Call me conservative but this would not have been allowed had I been present. I was totally unsympathetic when he told me that he burned a hole in the back pocket of his pants from going down the slide. 

GK & T continued to explore the parks in Berkeley in interesting attire this past month. Here she is wearing a pair of jeans over footie pajamas because-in GK's words-she has built in socks. OAN-T loves the baby swing, makes her squeal with delight! 

A bit apprehensive with the rocking horse at Totland.

G-Ro celebrated a very special birthday party where T was an absolute hit. 

GK & T started out our busy Labor Day weekend by the riding the Steam Train at Tilden Park (where we took Elsie this same time last year).

Then a quick visit to say hello to the goats at Little Farm.

We also joined some pretty cool people for Off the Grid Karaoke at Lake Merritt on a gorgeously hot day.

GK entertained the crowd with Sarah Smile-changing Sarah to Tala:)

After an amazing engagement party on Saturday night for Soumya & Vivek and then a lovely wedding in SF on Sunday evening-we were all in need of a rest day. We spent Sunday in Concord (after spending the night there) doing laundry, watching episodes of Beverly Hills 90210, and just relaxing. Grand-P kept T entertained and we later took her for a dip on the back deck.

Skinny dipping is only allowed after you've pooped twice.

And there you have it, T has been in the world just as long as she was in my belly.