Three Parties
Sorry about the long break since the last entry. We've had a lot going on.First was Thanksgiving, which was a big gathering of relatives that could easily have been rather stressful, but turned out to be really nice. We all got together at Devi's parents house for a traditional Thanksgiving, then had the added bonus of Hera's First Birthday. The food was super, and it was great to get to see everyone. Hera had a great time at her birthday and gave us some idea what we are in for in seven months or so. She toddles around happily, uses a few words, and greatly enjoyed unwrapping her presents. She and Lux got to try out her new red wagon together, as you can see in the latest photos.
On Friday, we got together with Mike, Devi & Hera again for some shopping around The Mission and Noe Valley. Those San Francisco babies are really hip compared to what we see here in DC! Lux didn't have much patience for her new stroller much of the time in San Francisco and we ended up carrying her or using the Baby Bjorn a lot. I guess she was still a bit too small for a fully upright stroller. But, the Volo was really easy to get around SF and on and off of BART.
On Saturday, my sister Danielle hosted a breakfast at her lovely Oakland apartment. Grandma Paula came up for the weekend, so we were able to get her together with Nana Jane and Rani, plus Aunt Karen, Mike & Devi and Hera. It is great fun to watch the cousins interact one more time. It is interesting to see their different personalities come out. Hera has a devilish streak, while Lux seems much more wide eyed and innocent. Of course that may all change in the coming months... Grandma Paula got both of the girls their own baby-sized UGG boots. Now Lux can have warm feet AND stand out as the cool California babe among her East Coast baby friends. :-) That night we went out to a fabulous restaurant in Emeryville called The Townhouse. Very unassuming from the outside, but inside it was cozy and they served wonderful comfort foods.
The last couple of days we took it pretty easy since we all got a bit of a cold and it was especially nice to be staying in Scott and Felicia's apartment with all the comforts of home (actually they have a jacuzzi bath so in some ways it was BETTER than home :-). We got to see Grandma Paula and Danielle one last time, picked Scott, Felicia and Sofia up from the airport and dropped by Mike, Devi & Hera's to say goodbye.
The flight home from San Francisco on Tuesday was crowded but Lux slept the whole way, which was great since we were all still feeling sick.
It was nice to be home, but we couldn't relax too much since we had a party to go to on Wednesday night. Our friends Matt and Maya were hosting the next in a continuing series of get togethers of the six couples from our Bradley Method birthing class. It is great to be able to keep in touch and share parenting tips with these parents who have gone through it all at the same time. It is impressive how individual each baby is. Every couple has a very different birth story and each baby is completely unique. Some sleep, some don't. Some sit, some roll. Some spit up, some cry. But all are amazing.
That weekend was Susan's birthday, so we had Karen come over and I cooked dinner (Scallops in beurre blanc and radicchio risotto) for everyone.
Since returning from the trip, we've been concentrating on getting Lux on a more regular schedule and working on her sleeping habits since she had quite a setback at around four months and was having trouble sleeping through the night. We read a lot about sleep and schedules and have been trying to get her to bed earlier than we had, around 7 or 8 pm. Then she gets her dream feed at 11pm and is supposed to sleep until 7am. The problem is that when she has trouble falling asleep or wakes up at 3am, we have to let her cry until she learns to comfort herself and go back to sleep. This can be hard, but thankfully it goes pretty much just like the books say. She cried for 20 minutes straight the first night, then less each night after that and after three nights she was pretty good about going to sleep. She still wakes sometimes but she is getting better at comforting herself. The one wrench that just got thrown in the works is that she has gotten good at rolling from her back to her front (but can't do the converse) and that REALLY doesn't help since she hates being on her front!
During the days, we have been trying to get her to nap around 10 am, 1pm, and 4pm. This has been going pretty well since we've been paying a lot more attention to naps than before, and most of the time it pays off with her being less cranky. But still, she can be pretty demanding. Even in her best moods, she doesn't like to play alone for too long before she wants to be picked up or at least get lots of attention. This can make getting anything at all done while watching the baby extremely challenging. We'll have to work on this next, otherwise we'll just be slaves to her! For most babies, when they are clean, fed, and rested they can entertain themselves and play on their own for reasonable stretches but somehow Lux has never been very good at that.
Soon, we'll be starting some classes with Lux. I'm going to be doing Baby & Me swimming classes on weekends starting in January. We really want to be sure that she learns to be comfortable and safe in the water since we are going to Hawaii next Christmas and her friend Juliana has a pool at her house. Susan is going to do a baby music appreciation class with Lux, also starting in January. Lux is very social and has had lots of exposure to music, so I'm sure she'll love the class.
Finally, this Friday (December 12th), we got to have the Cocktails of the World party that had to be rescheduled when Susan had her surprise gall bladder surgery. The party went really well and Lux entertained everyone while she was awake. When she gets a bit older, I'm sure she'll be a great help at parties. I remember enjoying helping my parents entertain when I was little kid and I hope she does as well. This weekend, we did Christmas shopping and got Lux's first Christmas tree. Hopefully we'll have a relaxing holiday season since we don't have any travel planned until I head out to Aspen on January 10th. We've had two pretty good snows already which is unusual for DC, so that bodes well for a white Christmas.
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