Yes it is possible to ruin a chocolate tour

Max, Zoe, and I took a tour of Charles Chocolates last weekend. We had to make reservations in advance and our first time and day was booked up. Needless to say this just added to the anticipation and excitement. Even Zoe seemed interested, although the main reason for bringing her was to see if we could get samples for her and then eat them ourselves as she has not been given chocolates yet for fear of food allergies. We all trundled into the car and arrived early. We were directed to wait in the "chocolate bar" a glorified hallway with a plexiglass window looking out into the nearly deserted chocolate making facilities. There were only 6 other people on the "tour" which seemed strange as the tour was so hard to book. The countergirl came over, plopped down a few boxes, and gave what was probably the saddest, learned by rote spiel I have ever heard. I will recount the speech as I remember it (no promises of veracity or accuracy). ""Charles" wanted to make chocolates to impress his girlfriend, he made the chocolates, suckers like you will pay $2 a chocolate, Charles is now rich and happy. Here is a sample, look through the plexiglass window, goodbye." That was the "tour" - looking through the plexiglass window at a guy in a white lab coat and hair net wandering through with some chunks of chocolate (bought from Guittard incidentally which you can get in the supermarket around here). "Lame" is a woefully insufficient word to describe this tour. After a 15 minute presentation and a couple of samples, I decided that-
a) Charles Chocolates sucks
b) Charles Chocolates is an over priced and over-rated chocolate shop
c) Charles Chocolates will no longer be visited by me unless it is to scarf down a few free samples and then leave without actually buying anything

I still can't believe it- a chocolate tour that sucked. One really has to work at making a CHOCOLATE tour suck.

Zoe works her abs

Zoe is getting more and more mobile. She wriggles and pre-crawls and rolls with ease and abandon. And she now SITS UP. We had heard stories from the daycare workers about Zoe's new found ability, but had not actually witnessed it for ourselves. Last week she was crying in her crib after being put down and we went in to do the usual sniff test. Instead of a sullied Zoe we found a little Zoe sitting up looking rather confused. We quickly learned that she can sit up very well, but returning to a lying position has not been mastered yet. After manually returning her to her tummy, she quickly dozed off.

Zoe- Dangerous when wet

We played softball last weekend. While we were ridiculously out of practice (it's been 8 years since either one of us picked up a bat), we were actually not bad. I might even go so far as to call Max a ringer. I will note that Max hit a HOME RUN to right field (right field was about 50 ft. shorter than left and center, but it takes SKILL to pull the ball that much for a righty- or at least a late swing). Zoe was quite excited by the game, attention, cheering, and big bottle of formula. Max and I took turns jiggling her on our laps to keep her amused. I was up and prepared to hand her off when I felt a little warm. Looking down I realized she had managed to not only wet herself, but me as well. Oh well, I still got a double!

Our next excursion with the imp was a friend's wedding (mid-week, 5pm). After rushing there from work, we were all set- multiple aliquots of formula, baby food, copious amounts of diapers, extra change of clothes. We did our trade off of baby handling and Zoe took it all quite well. She was one of the youngest there, and with the majority of the women around grandma age, she received even more attention than usual. Maybe it's the excitement, but she managed to repeat her feat of wetting herself and a parent at the same time (this time Max). The more formal occasion necessitated strategically placed diaper bag and untucked shirt for awhile, but Max weathered it well.

Zoe goes running

I have decided to do a triathalon in the fall. It's only sprint distance, so I should be able to complete it with minimal training (3.2 mi. run, 11 mi. bike, and 400 m swim). In order to get in shape (to avoid drowning or an unseemly collapse during the final run), I have been jogging with Cristine. We went with Noelle last week and managed to run over 5 mi. While that doesn't sound overly impressive it is if one considers the fact that Zoe came along. I put her in the jogging stroller and off we went to the marina. She actually stayed awake almost the whole time (probably because it was a little chilly and I forgot her socks), but not a peep (well, a few yelps of Zoe high spiritedness, but no crying).

We went for another run today up at Inspiration Point. I had a certain amount of trepidation since if Zoe doesn't like something she let's one know by loud angry cries and higher and higher pitched shrieks, which she has demonstrated that she can keep up for over an hour. I did stack the deck in my favor by stuffing her with food, changing her right before leaving, and actually remembering her socks and fuzzy sweater. She was warm, well fed, and dry so a good start. Within about 15 minutes the imp was out. We managed to cover a little over 5 miles, perfectly timed to imp's waking up. We arrived back at the parking lot, little imp opened her eyes, looked around startled, started the pre-crying face scrunch, and then - bottle in the mouth. Her eyes rolled back slightly, and all thought of crying was gone. I must say, I am getting good at organizing my life around baby whims. A year ago I would not have been so impressed with this, but now, it's really quite the feat. Post-baby life one reevaluates accomplishment and my accomplishments are based on going for a run with a sleeping baby who is not screaming and/or covered in poop. At least Zoe is the cutest baby in the world.

Buying a house

Max and I have finally decided to buy a house. While the papers constantly recap the mortgage crisis and the precipitous descent of housing prices, the East Bay, particularly the areas we want to live in, have not seen much of any drop. Maybe 10% from their high point a year or two ago, but not enough to actually make living around here affordable. While the thought of a $500,000 mortgage is daunting, we decided that we don't want the imp to grow up in our current neighborhood and behind concertina wire. While the Macaroni Warehouse provides a little haven in an otherwise crime ridden and depressed neighborhood, there are no parks, few trees, and nowhere to walk, especially in the evenings. We found a fixer upper (i.e. needs new roof, new heating, new electrical, new decking, foundation work, new plumbing, insulation, new driveway...) for less than $600,000 in a good neighborhood, made an offer, and actually had the offer accepted! I suspect it was the "big guns" i.e. photos of baby Zoe in our cover letter that did it (or perhaps that the offer we made was 15K over asking...).

It is a lovely little house and a place where Zoe can grow up surrounded by trees, a little garden, and a village center within walking distance of the house. We are looking forward to after dinner walks together. The imp loves being outside so much, we wanted to give her a place where we felt safe going outdoors after 6pm at night.

I am trying to stay calm (or as calm as I am capable which is not very calm). I am so scared being tied to a house like this. Everyone I have talked to seems to have gone through the same feelings of terror though, so that is somewhat comforting (although most of them are about 50-60 years old and have already paid off their houses).

Everything is set-the mortgage, negotiations with the seller done, inspections complete, etc etc. Within a month we will no longer be residents of the Macaroni Factory. I am already feeling nostalgic!

Here's Zoe, upset about leaving the Macaroni Warehouse.

Cabin with the family

My mom and sister came for a visit and we decided on a day trip to the cabin. We did our usual stop at Awful Annie's on the way up. Here we are enjoying our breakfasts while the imp enjoys the rotating ceiling fans. Ceiling fans really improve the atmosphere of any restaurant when accompanied by the imp! Ceiling fans are the equivalent of Baby Xanax.



We did the hike to Bear River and the famous swimming hole. Max and I jumped off the cliff (first time is the worst, after that jumping off gets alot easier).




Christa and I discussed the merits of jumping, but somehow my arguments were not convincing. Christa opted to climb up to the log and jump off that instead. After warming up there she was a little disappointed to realize that the only way off was through the 50 degree water. No body fat has a price!





We are desperately trying to instill a love of the cabin in the imp.





While she seems more and more content to go up there and visit she is not overly happy about the long car ride there and back. She can, very impressively, keep an ear shattering scream going for two hours when she is unhappy and wants to be held. Even more sadly, she will descend into the "silent screams" when she is particularly upset. Depending on who is in the back seat this can be extremely traumatic. I experienced 2 hours of this with my dad and stepmom. Christa and my mom got to experience an hour of it as well. Not pleasant at all. Even mom's yodeling song failed to calm the imp (although it made the rest of us want to cry. The yodeling song, while pleasing to Baby Zoe, is not meant for adult ears in a confined car space). Of course once the car stopped and the imp was picked up, she was fine. It's like a switch was flipped, all smiles, trauma forgotten. Not the best end to the day-an hour of Zoe crying, but worth it!

Toothsome Imp

The imp continues her attempts to crawl- although she is not successful yet- it is imminent. She has the legs/knees action down rather well, but has not accompanied it yet with pushing up and moving her arms. Even though she has strong little legs, they aren't quite strong enough to push her along if her head is still on the floor (her head is probably responsible for at least half her total weight, so it acts like an anchor while her legs are an underpowered outboard motor on a rather large tugboat). Soon!



Zoe continues to delight with her love of all things food related. She is becoming quite the restaurant going baby (although she doesn't get to partake in the adult food unless she snags it off the table unbeknownst to us). She seems content with her applesauce, sweet potatoes, green beans while we eat. A few shiny spoons to chew on and we can actual get about 30-40 minutes at a time in a restaurant. We went to an Indian restaurant for my mom's birthday. Zoe was quite taken with the turban wearing waiter and the ceiling lights (not necessarily in that order).


Zoe is getting more teeth-lots more teeth. She is up to 6 teeth poking through-4 on the bottom and two big ones on the top. It is particularly fetching when she smiles and her little white teeth glint and gleam.

Grandparents Visit

Zoe's grandparents came for a visit. After a few hours, Zoe was her usual loving cuddly self. I think she has an initial angry/fearful/crying reaction to facial hair and so would howl at the initial approach of her grandfather. This, of course, leveled off very quickly once she realized she had another potential "carrier".



Zoe does not have much sympathy for her parents or anyone else. She loves Baby Bjorn and demands to be carried in it everywhere. I actually got blisters on my stomach after a particularly long hike with the Baby Bjorn. With multiple grandparents visiting though, things are much easier.




The imp knows what she wants and how to get it. Her smile is so irresistible, how can she be denied?

Off the Charts

Baby Zoe had a doctor's appointment a few days ago. Dad and Sue accompanied us so Zoe had a full entourage, as is her due as Queen of the Babies. I thought Zoe was due for another round of vaccinations, but she only had to get a lead test. A lead test, unfortunately, involves extreme maternal trauma. I was told to wrap my arms around the imp, extend her little pudgy baby arm, and hold on tight. The nurse was amazing and actually managed to find a vein first try even through all the baby fat. Little Zoe had two vials of baby blood drawn, staring at me and howling the whole time. Results came in the next day, no lead poisoning for baby Zoe!


One of the best parts of the doctor's visit is to see where the imp falls on the growth curves. We already know she is an exceptional baby and we suspect that she is trying to conquer at least one of the growth criteria- weight, length, and head circumference. Since she is not a wiry little baby and thus not a precocious crawler, she excels in her own way! I am pleased to report that Zoe is 86% in weight (slimming down a bit, although not what one would call "svelte"), 90% in height, and...OFF THE CHARTS in head circumference. The growth charts are plotted in 5% increments and little Zoe was an "x" far above the 95% percentile curve. She may look a little like a bobble head, but I am sure she is packing brains in there!

Zoe at the Farmer's Market

When we are in town on the weekends we try and hit the Framer's market. Fresh, organic, and overpriced ($4.50 for three tomatoes), the Farmer's Market not only has fruits and vegetables, but also ice cream, pretzels, and Himalayan food. We bought a few onions, nectarines, and a melon and showed Zoe off to the fruit vendors and other shoppers. Zoe enjoys any activity that puts her in contact with people. Fruit sellers offer her snacks (whih she is not allowed to take since she has 2 teeth and 2 teeth are not quite suffiecent to chew much other than baby mash), she gets smiling gushing attention and gasps of "what a cute baby, oh she's so beautiful," and she gets a long walk in the Baby Bjorn. Basically the perfect day for Baby Zoe.





We also managed to take a look at a house in the Berkeley Hills. Normally anything up there would be out of our price range, but "an extreme fixer-upper" at 600K intrigued us. Max drove up to the house, hidden away at the top of a narrow dead-end street. Yellow Caution tape adorned a rickety railing leading up to the house. We peered into the windows, Max occasionally gasping (and not with delight). A fortuitous "open house" allowed us a quick tour of the property. There was no single straightline in the house-every wall, every doorway, every floor tilted and buckled. Max stood in the corner of the living room, remarking at the lovely high ceilings and the fact that he was two feet lower over in the west corner than he was in the east corner. The small dark kitchen smelled of gas (no open flames in there for us!) and the second bedroom (aka Zoe's room) was actually in the far corner of the unfinished basement (although it did have its own bathroom, though whether the toilet and sink were functional was something we did not investigate). We did tell each other that "it had potential" which it did if one had an extra 200-300K to fix the most immediate problems (i.e. the house's imminent slide down a gully to the north west, the 90K of termite and dry rot, and the roof with its undulations and waves, poorly disguising it's secrets of water damage and habitat for weird nesting vermin). By the end of the ride back, Max had started referring to it as the haunted house. It's feel of tragedy and abandonment made me long for the more cheerful homes we had seen by Monterrey Market. One look at the little imp and we decided to forget any nascent dreams of renovation and find something actually liveable. I couldn't put my lovely baby in that horrible basement bedroom, anyway that was reserved for "a crazy relative" as Max put it.

Zoe gets movin'

While not exactly crawling yet, Zoe manages to cover a fair amount of distance. She usually does this when my back is turned so I am still trying to figure out all the mechanics. As far as I can tell she scrunches herself up into a little ball, rocks back and forth, heaves herself over, and repeats. She also manages to propel herself forward on her stomach by pushing with her legs. She has not co-ordinated this with lifting her head up, so her head acts as an anchor point and slides along the ground along with the rest of her body. Here are some pics of Zoe looking cute. While not illustrative of this particular post, I know most of my audience does not actually read what I write, but just looks at the pictures.






The only trouble with this method of movement is when she encounters an obstacle, such as the end of her crib. We try to start her off at the bottom to give her some room to move around, but this is never enough. I awoke a few night ago to "bonk, bonk, bonk, whimper, bonk, whimper, whimper." I stumbled bleary eyed downstairs (it was 4am) to observe little ZOe scrunched up in a ball rocking back and forth and rhythmically hitting her head against the end of the crib. I grabbed her feet and dragged her to the far end, put a blanket over her, and went back to sleep. By the time I got up that morning she had managed to wedge herself into the corner of the crib with her head pressed against the slats. Poor Little Bear had two parallel indentations on the top of her head the whole morning. The were still in evidence when I dropped her off at daycare. I explained Zoe's new trick after inquiries from her teacher as to what had happened to her head. If only she had more hair her strange head bonking proclivities would go unremarked...

Zoe wants sushi

After strategic hints and subtle suggestions (i.e., we're hungry, take us out to dinner), we convinced Gail and Kenji to go out for sushi. Since I have stopped breast feeding and no longer have to worry about poisoning my daughter with mercury, I am free to poison myself with mercury and indulge in hamachi, toro, and teka maki. As usual, Kenji did the ordering and there were no worries about under ordering. The only concerns were about who would eat the last two pieces of hamachi when the second round of sushi arrived (I was designated for this task....)
Zoe was quite interested in the sushi and is biding her time until a few more teeth come in so that she too can partake of the sushi feast!


We did give the imp some tofu which she enjoyed. We can't go out to dinner and leave the little bear out of all the fun!

Zoe at the Exhibition

Gail had an exhibit of her ceramics at Fort Mason and we all got decked out to go. The show was great and Gail's section of the exhibit space was packed.


As usual Zoe was quite a draw and got even more attention than she could deal with. The smiles gave way to giggles gave way to wails after about 45 minutes. She did get offers to be a model though and one of Gail's friends has decided to paint the imp. Since she is quite the ham already, a portrait might be to her liking.

Zoe wore one of her little dresses and even Max and I cleaned up a bit for the opening.

I arrived late and spied by husband strapped into the Baby Bjorn with the imp happily ensconced in her carrier. I am glad Max is unaware of what a "babe (the adult kind) magnet" a cute guy with no wedding ring and a baby strapped to his chest can be!

Bear River

I have become obsessed with Bear River. Probably because it is one of the few hikes accessible from the cabin without driving and a route easy enough that even I cannot get lost. After my usually "trip into town" (town consists of a small grocery and an infrequently open cafe/deli/giftshop) I am up for a hike.

Saturday, three of my friends Christine, Christina, and Terry, joined us for the day. I had prefaced my invitation with an explicit description of the cabin and the amenities provided (shovel and toilet paper) and still the girls had volunteered for a day trip. (I used to describe the cabin as "rustic", but after talking to one of my colleagues at work who told me of his upcoming trip to a rustic cabin (no TV!) I make sure to explain-no running water, no bathroom, no outhouse, no electricity - and no TV). I guess the pioneer days are long gone.

After a brief tour of the cabin and stream we decided everyone was up for a hike and Bear River was suggested. I had perhaps lauded the virtues of Bear River with its deep swimming hole and relative obscurity and privacy. With five of us going, there were plenty of volunteers to help carry the imp, an added bonus for any hike.


While Bear River doesn't normally see much action, this weekend we witnessed the arrival of a single SUV carrying at least ten highschool boys and girls. Bear River has a poorly maintained dirt access road, washed out in some places with a rather precipitous drop on one side. We asked the girls how they all fit in one SUV and apparently a number of them were hanging on the outside during the trip down, the girls in fear for their lives. I mentioned hiking was an option, but they seemed shocked at the suggestion.

The imp enjoyed being held at all times and tolerated getting her feet and hands wet. The water was a little too cold for babies, but after the initial numbing pain rather nice for the adults.

Inspired by the teenage boys and their multiple jumps and head first dives into the river, Christine and I decided to have a go and jump off a twenty foot overhang into the water. After debating the merits of our plan, examining the jump from multiple angles, and reconsidering whether or not this was a good idea, Christine jumped off.


Seeing her survive with no broken bones or paralysis, I followed suit. There was actually enough time for me to think to myself as I was falling "Was this really such a good idea?"





After the hike back up, we were ready for some grass-fed beef burgers, salads, and a few beers back at the cabin. Even Zoe enjoyed a well earned beer at the end of the day.

Adventure Baby

We are grooming Zoe for adventure and trying to instill a love of the outdoors. Secretly, we both worry that this may backfire and really we are grooming her for a life of bookreading and table tennis. The cabin at Alta has been our launching point for our weekends of late. After some much needed cleaning and reorganizing (primarily done by the parents as both Max and I lack the willpower and drive to actually scrub down the plywood floor and sweep up the mouse droppings), the cabin is getting quite homey.

We are still trying to find the magic recipe to make it homey enough for Zoe to actually sleep, however. The train noise at night seems to frighten her and the temperature swings from above 80 during the day to below 50 at night do not help. In the end I bring her into bed with me and snuggle up to her. Sweet and nice in theory except for the fact that Zoe snorts, wiggles, flails, and occasionally poops in her sleep.

Our most recent excursion was a trip up to Alta for the Fourth of July. Dutch Flat holds an annual parade and we decided to bring the imp.


While excited by the constant stream of people and various automotive contraptions, Zoe was less than impressed with the noise associated with any Fourth of July parade. The bagpipes in particular elicited squeaks and whines of unhappiness and disapproval. Zoe and I took a little walk until the bagpipe player (mercifully there was only one) had moved on.

Zoe goes to the museum

A few weeks ago we took Zoe to the Lawrence Hall of Science and met up there with Taras, Katie, their daughter Lucy, and a programmer friend Kaleb. It was an unseasonably hot day so we stripped the imp down a bit. She was much more lethargic than usual and did not seem to impressed with all the science exhibits or other children running around. Zoe has shown a distinct preference for adult companionship, particularly adults that stand in front to her smiling and telling her how beautiful she is. Maybe there was too much competition with all the other babies and children at the museum for Zoe to really enjoy herself. A little extra attention from her dad helped brighten her mood and a big bottle of formula didn't hurt either.



As usual I took the opportunity to quiz Katie about what would happen next in terms of baby development and to observe Lucy. After questions about weaning, biting (Zoe likes to practice on me and demonstrate how sharp her teeth are), and baby sign language (babies are better showing what they want rather than verbalizing) I watched Lucy dart off in various directions while being chased down by one or both parents. Lucy is the cutest little girl, with big blueberry eyes, actual hair (I find non-baldness in children worth noting since my own little imp is still quite bald), incredibly fast on her feet, and possessed of a high pitched shriek of a volume quite unexpected for her size. Zoe has been developing this type of yelp as well, although still not up to the volume and intensity Lucy attains. The running around hasn't started yet. Zoe is still in a basically nonmobile stage (she might argue with this since she does have the wiggle and roll going, but her range is only a foot or two). After seeing how fast Lucy could move (all the more impressive since her legs are only, what 10 inches long?!), Max and I should start training now for a more mobile Zoe. I have a feeling any residual baby weight and sympathy weight will melt away with a mobile imp.

Ringworm

Little Zoe has been waging war against one of the scourges of babyhood-ringworm.

While sounding rather ominous, ringworm is a fungal infection, easily caught and very difficult to get rid of. Due to her constant hand sucking and scratching with sharp little fingernails, Zoe has created an ideal environment for ringworm, a nice wet warm section of sensitive cheek. We did manage to successfully treat one side, only to have the ringworm migrate over to the other cheek. This has been very frustrating for her parents, (Zoe herself shows little distress in the matter). We have been applying antifungal cream to her face religiously at night and when possible in the morning during naptime (as naptime often does not actually exist we are a bit more sporadic). To improve the time her medicine actually stays on her face before being rubbed off and most likely eaten, we resorted to our old standby- the ever-versatile sock treatment. Zoe becomes quite perplexed when her hands are placed in socks and her fingers are thus unaccessible for sucking. Score Parents 1 Ringworm 0.

Zoe-Rolly polly

Zoe has been practicing and practicing and has managed to perfect the back to tummy 180. After much frustration and numerous false starts (179 degree roll, awkwardly pinned arms requiring immediate parental intervention, bizarre pretzel twists with her upper body stuck to the ground and her little legs flailing) Zoe has become a master at the frontside flip. She has even started to enjoy tummy time and now grins proudly at us, at least for a little while until she realizes that she can't actually reverse her 180 and she is stuck on her stomach.

Today, I am proud to announce, Zoe has completed her first 360! She rolls adeptly onto her tummy and then starts to rock back and forth until she manages to gather enough momentum to propel herself over once again onto her back. Her success rate is not too high, but she did perform this feat TWICE today.

Here is a series of pictures on the 180, the 360 feat has not yet been captured on film.