On the porch in Tahoe

How to empty a bookshelf (video)

Obviously none of them were the right book.

Sunny SF Weekend

Roar!

Dear Zealand at 9 months

Dear Zealand,

If last month was the month of saying "mamama," this was the month of "dadada." Or, you will say, "ded" and even "mum." You also started with what we call the tugboat - you blow air through your mouth to make a vibrating sound with your lower lip. You make this sound while scooting intently across the floor and reaching for toys.

This was also the month of getting to standing. Your favorite "toy" is the footrest to my glider chair. You love to lean on this with your butt in the air. Now that you have mastered this, pulling up to standing is your new favorite thing to do. Oftentimes you will use us to pull yourself up or the couch, changing table, and dining room chairs. Another favorite is the bottom shelf where our stereo stands. You love to crawl over there and play with the stereo buttons while you half stand.

You aren't quite cruising furniture as you mainly stand stationary when upright. But, the other day you braved a few side steps. Your main mode of transportation remains the Zealand commando crawl. You are unbelievably quick. It is as if you were born to crawl just this way. Although your activity level seems relatively normal to me just lately I have been getting a lot of comments about how active you are from moms with older boys. It is true. You are not one for sitting on your tush. You like movement.

Going for walks remains a steady source of enjoyment for you. Recently we bought a fancy backpack to carry you in (get ready for a backpack this Summer!) and you love it. Your head darts from side to side taking everything in. You become especially excited when a doggie crosses your path of vision.

This month was full of adventures for you. I took you to Muir Woods for the first time. As evidenced by the picture in this post, your whole soul lit up under the canopy of redwood trees. You wiggled with excitement and were all smiles. The creek running through the forest was especially fascinating. I mainly carried you as you didn't want to miss a thing. An older man passed us and asked, or more stated, "baby's first Muir Woods." The way he said it had a nice poetic ring to it. It really hit home the fact that yes, this was Zealand's first time in this grove of trees. There are so many "firsts" each week that you sometimes lose that awesome perspective.

You visited Yosemite for the first time and we slept in a tent cabin along with Peter and Liz. All of us were pretty snug in a single cabin with three beds and your co-sleeper. It rained the whole time but with rain came some beautiful hikes with huge snowflakes falling like cotton puffs from the sky. You noticed snow for the first time and stared and stared as it fell.

The other day it was sunny and you and I took the train to the beach. I could feel you stiffen with excitement on my back when the ocean came into view. You were making all kinds of noises and kicking your feet as we walked along the shore. Later I took you out of the pack and brought over some rocks for you to play with. Within seconds you were chewing on the rocks and your face was covered in black sand. At one point you started to crawl on the sand with a rock in each hand. If I didn't stop you I think you might have gone straight into the ocean.

You seem to already be a California boy through and through, coming alive in the presence of mountains, surf, and trees. Already the landscape is shaping who you are and your sense of the world. I am grateful that the West is the backdrop for your childhood and that we are never but a quick drive to the Sierras, the Pacific ocean, or the rolling hills and trails of Marin.

A few other notes of interest. I am beginning to sense a very strong will under that easygoing demeanor of yours. You have decided that lying on your changing table while we pull off your diaper is the last place on earth you would like to be. You howl and twist with a great deal of force - emotional and physical. I could be wrong, but I would not be surprised if this is a sneak preview of more to come.

We love you and we love watching you become less and less a baby and more and more a toddler. You are such a wonderful person to get to know.

Love,

Momma