Random Photos and Update

Elijah's got his first tooth - the lower right incisor. He's been pretty chill throughought the whole thing, but the poor little guy has been suffering from acid reflux (heartburn, basically). Until we figured it out (and bought him the right medicine) he was getting up every 2 hours or so at night being miserable.

He's still got problems, but he slept 12 hours for the first time ever a few days ago, and has only been waking up once or twice most nights, which is a major improvement over 4+ times. Still, his weight gain is a little slow because he's been upchucking so much, so we're keeping an eye on the situation.

Here's a few random pictures I found on the laptop....

Bruno on McClure's Beach near Pt. Reyes, California in 2007. We never meant to go to this beach. We were just out for a nice country drive and wound up at the hike to the beach and figured we'd go for a walk. This beach is at one of the northernmost points of the area and so was pretty wild and windswept (and cold!).

On the same trip, we hiked out to the beach at the end of Tennessee Valley trail with a picnic of bread, cheese and salami. Once we got to the beach we found that the waves were really ginormous, probably 4+ feet average, but with some "sleeper" waves that were bigger. The beach had a lowlying part that was flooded with brackish water running into a nearby lagoon, but we went ahead and crossed it (the water deterred a lot of the regular hikers). Once we did, we found a safeish place to watch the waves... but the wave-watching soon turned into people-watching.

A lot of the random folks weren't paying a lot of respect to the ocean and were walking right up to the surf. It was all right for about 80% of the waves, but the sleepers would sneak up pretty quickly, and the people would find themselves scurrying hastily to higher sand in order to escape the surf, which came in hard, fast, and deep, carrying a layer of sea foam on its crest.

Soon, more and more people were people-watching, and there was a slight tinge of excitement every time a new person or couple would approach. Everyone would quit watching the ocean and surreptitiously watch the new folks walk blithely down the dune toward the water. Often, when the surf chased them, they had to turn tail and run instead of simply getting away with dancing backward. Otherwise, they'd be drenched with a mile+ hike back to civilization and dry clothes.

Anyhow, that's all for now.

It's Freezing!

Literally.

Woke up a few mornings ago to this... (excuse the blurriness, it was like 6am or something)


The pond we like to walk to has been freezing over on a regular basis! I went up there today and the ice in some parts was about 2 inches thick. These pictures were taken earlier this week when the ice wasn't quite so thick. Tonight it's down to 25F, apparently. Brr. Someone remind me why I moved here, again? Well, I guess true love is worth a bit of icy weather....!



Elijah is rightly suspicious of the cold weather. Fortunately, he's wrapped up warm here in a nice toasty winter coat that his great-aunt gave him for Christmas.


Well, off to huddle under some blankets and dream of hot chocolate... for as long as Elijah will let me sleep, that is!

The Most Dreaded Sound...

So you're lying there at 5am wondering what woke you up. The crib is swaying slightly, the brightly-colored animals of its mobile now monochrome in the moonlight. You do a quick, yet weary mental calculation of when you last fed the baby.

Then it happens. The sound.

Not a crying sound, not a whimper, but something far, far worse.

A soft "Geeee," rises from the crib and hovers in the still night air. Just as you think it might be a one-off, it rises again. "Geeee."

On an unlucky night, the Geeing is followed by "aaaaa," and "oooo," and sometimes, "ayayaya."

This does not mean he wants food, whereupon I can take him to bed and doze while he eats. This does not mean he wants to be burped, after which I can settle him again, or that he has butt pain, which means the same again.

Oh no, it means something far, far worse. It means he's playful and wants to have a nice... long... morning conversation. At 5am.

The Sun is Setting....

...on 2008. We've had a great Christmas holiday. From walking and watching the deer in Richmond Park...





...to giving Christmas presents to a bemused baby who...


...seemed to prefer the wrapping! (Thanks to Yolanda and the wonderful librarians at the MV Library for one of the books in the below photo, it's just perfect!)



We taught an old codger how to play Wii Bowling...



...and visited Hampton Court Palace (home of Henry VIII).


Dad even got to see a portable bomb shelter at the Imperial War Museum. His quote: "Come over here and take a picture of me in front of this. Otherwise, nobody will believe me when I go back and tell them what I saw."


All in all, a good Christmas. Happy New Year 2009 to everyone out there! I still have some emails to follow up on, so I'll try to get some more free time in the next few days!

Christmas Eve Gift

Hah, that's right. I said it first. And you can't say it back to me because this is a blog. So nerh.

Anyhow, we've been having a good old time over here in London, taking it easy, seeing the sights. Went down to Brighton a few days ago via car. Lots of hassle, but got some good pictures.

We took Dad and Elijah down the pier in the last hours of the day. All the rides cost £1 each (end of year sale), so Bruno and I rode the bumper cars (they call them dodgems) twice. I wanted to go on the haunted house ride but it was closed due to maintenance. Anyhow, we parked the baby with Dad and gave him free rein to take pictures. Here's some of what he came up with.


Me, about to ram Bruno's car. I was laughing so hard.



Getting ready to go. In case you couldn't tell, it was outdoors and cold with all the wind from the ocean!


Dad and Bruno walking down the pier.


Dad insisted I upload this because to him it looks cool. Apparently that "coolness" outweighs my red eyes and poleaxed expression. Dad, consider this an extra Christmas present. You may pay me back in chocolate.



Elijah watching the parade of lanterns in Brighton with his grandma. We ate at a Mexican place on the parade route to get a good view with some peace and quiet.



Last, but not least, I had to do a little bit of lifeguarding. Bruno, as you can see, was simply ecstatic at being saved from a watery peril.

Quick Update

Sorry I haven't posted for ages, and hello to all the old (and new) visitors! Dad arrived here yesterday and has been busy making himself very useful (can't fault a guy who changes diapers) despite jet lag.

A few pictures while I'm here...

Elijah, wondering why his mug hasn't been plastered all over this blog lately.

"Grandpa's handing me something meant to be chewed on? Oh, hahaha, you've got to be kidding me, no way I'll bite that...."

"Mmmm.. BOOK. I eat it. Om nom nom...."

Grandpa and a wannabe 4.5 month old walker.

Quote Wall and Happy Thanksgiving

Elijah in a foam "Bumbo" chair, which allows him to sit up straight with support. In the background, our living room is still in disarray from getting new windows put in.

Just posting a few pictures while I've got time, and two Bruno-quotes (rated PG, watch out!).

Bruno: "Did... did he just... throw up on his own butt?" (The answer is yes, after some creative daddy-acrobatics exacerbated the, uh, situation.)

Bruno: "If I go into it thinking it's a bad diaper, but it actually isn't, it still counts as a bad diaper change."

Happy Thanksgiving to all! I wish they celebrated it in the UK. Right now, Elijah is "napping" in his swing, which consists of me shushing him every few minutes and playing a peaceful song in the background. Current choice: "Be Still My Soul," by Libera. Beautiful song.