Baby's first earthquake

Sara was sitting on the floor next to the computer playing with a book when the earthquake hit this morning at around 11:45. I grabbed her, crawled under the desk, and then turned off the power supplies down there. She started to whine a little, either from the noise or because she sensed my tenseness. I assured her (and myself!) everything was okay in a too-loud voice. I guess I couldn't quite control my modulation!

Five minutes later she was smiling and cooing, but my heart was still racing a bit! I'm glad everyone's okay. :)

A mystery!

I read a lot of mysteries as a kid. I read a few Nancy Drews, but I was actually partial to the Bobbsey Twins. Anyway, for whatever reason, I have not read a lot of mysteries as an adult. In preparation for my Germany trip back in April/May, I had bought several "quick reads," and among them was the mystery One for the Money by Janet Evanovich, the first in her Stephanie Plum series, which I believe is now up to 13 titles. Reading this book was effortless: like watching a quick, clever movie. The writing is terse and direct and often quite funny. The main character is very likable, and I can easily see myself reading my way through the rest of the series. Thumbs up!

The most delicious sound

Sara is a very content baby in general, and she smiles quite a bit, but she doesn't laugh a ton. Every once in a while, though, something hits her funny bone in the just the right way. Today, it was me making a ridiculous fish face at her as she lay on the changing table.

Is there any better sound than one's own child's laughter?

The only thing better than pigtails...

...is piggies with bows.

Wii!...and my Sajo

Larry and I got a Wii yesterday! It's my belated birthday present that I chose instead of a new cell phone. Oh my, we have been having so much fun with it! It's kind of funny, actually, because we've been laughing our heads off at these silly games that are very reminiscent of Atari or the first Nintendo. I guess that's the kind I like, though. Laser hockey rocks!

In other news, Sara has been saying "mama" like crazy the past couple of days, and I think she's starting to understand that that means me! Aside from staring at me as she said it, Larry was asking her tonight, "Where's Mama?" and she kept turning and looking at me!

These are exciting days!

Brain candy

Today I finished reading The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella. Now, this is part of the Chick Lit (Brit Chick Lit, actually) genre, but I can't say it's a great one. Mind you, I don't expect too much from chick lit, but they should be funny, quick reads, and get me caring about the characters. This one was pretty predictable and didn't really suck me in emotionally. That said, I did stay up late reading it, and it made me laugh aloud more than once. It's a good beach book but not one of the better books in its genre. I'd give it about a 6 out of 10.

Just because I love this look

As much as I love the sprout, I think pigtails might be even cuter!

"Mamama!"

Yes! The moment I have been waiting for has arrived! Baby Girl has finally said "Mama!" Does she know what it means? Um, no. Is she saying it all the time? No. But she's saying it every now and then!

What's especially funny is when I say "Mama" to her and she says "Dada" back to me. It's like that commercial but in reverse.

Anyway, here is video proof of her saying "Mama" with a wee bit (okay, a ton) of coaxing from Mommy and Daddy.

Fun with friends and family!

Last Thursday my friend Kim came over with her precious daughter Caitlin. Caitlin is three months younger than Sara but outweighs her by a few ounces! She is an absolutely delicious, sweet little butterball. I couldn't get enough of those cheeks!
Caitlin grabbed Sara's hand! Too cute!


Then, on Saturday afternoon, Auntie Dude (aka Julie) came to hang out with Lil' Dude (aka Sara). They both had a ball.



Then, on Monday, we went down to Mission Viejo to visit Vicki, Billie, Megan, and Grandma. Megan's friend Chloe was over, and the girls really fawned over Sara while she floated around the pool in her raft from Alex and Carla.
Aren't those pigtails to die for?


Then we were treated to a yummy barbecue!


I should also mention that Alex and Carla and Tanja and Ryan also visited us over the weekend, but I didn't take any pictures.

I guess you could say the social calendar has been keeping us busy! ;)

Book review

This weekend I finally finished reading The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I really regret that it took me so long to finish, because I know that it greatly disrupted the flow of the book (duh). Despite my snail's pace in reading it, I ended up quite enjoying it. It reminded me a little of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's style. It was kind of melodramatic and whimsical and heavy all at the same time. It's definitely a book for people who love books. Thumbs up!

Three weekends in a row!

Phew! We just got back from our third trailer trip in as many weeks, and it was a good one!

We spent the 4th of July weekend up in Santa Barbara, and it was another wonderful trip. We stayed at El Capitan State Beach, which was really nice. It offered privacy and trees, and yet we were just a two or three minute walk from the beach!

Some trip highlights:

We hung out at the campsite.


We took Sara for bike rides in her new trailer!


We went down to the beach, of course.



We took a road trip to check out some of the nearby beaches. The most interesting to us was Surf Beach up by Vandenberg Air Force Base. It was practically empty and the surf was a lot rougher. Very beautiful!




We also took lots of naps. :)


The beach also provided us with a great view of the Gap fire in Goleta, and Larry managed to get some incredible shots of it. It was a disturbingly beautiful sight.


For the most part our air quality was still pretty good, but on our last night in Santa Barbara, the wind shifted, and we could smell the smoke and see the ash falling.

We'll be spending a few weekends at home now, but it has been a great little run!

Eight months old (sniff, sniff)

I guess there's nothing like having a child to make you feel like time is absolutely ZIPPING by! I can't believe that Sara's first year is, as my friend Dawn pointed out, already two thirds over!

I'm still really enjoying this age. Sara is getting very curious about the world around her. If something is within reach, she will grab for it and probably try to eat it. She seems to have a taste for paper... yech. She has gotten quite good at clapping, and will kind of do it on demand (after a delay). She is very excited about her index fingers at the moment. She uses them all the time to try to touch and grasp things. She has also taken to rocking back and forth when she's sitting. I'm sure this is leading up to mobility, so I'll just enjoy this time when I can put her in one spot, walk away, and be reasonably certain she'll be in the same general area when I return.

We're up to eating solid foods twice a day and are about to add a third feeding. So far her favorites are the cereals, sweet potatoes, pears, and bananas. I guess she has a sweet teeth like her momma and her opa!

We're just continuing to enjoy our sweet baby girl! Life is sweet!


Click to view a larger version of the slideshow. Enjoy!