One Year Later

mommy and babyOne year ago I met my baby girl for the first time.  She was wet, warm, squirmy, and loud.  She seemed larger than I had imagined she would be and her face was all squished.  Although wrinkled, her fingers were long and slender like her dad’s.  It was such a rush and mix of emotions.  I experienced surprise when then pulled her out and quickly placed her on my chest.  Then I had a rush of fear with the thought of “Oh crap.  I have a baby now.”  Then I felt absolute joy holding her and nursing her for the first time.  As I watched her eat, I was so proud and amazed.  She came out already knowing what to do!  Then I uncovered the blanket they wrapped her in and laughed out loud because her legs were covered in poop.  What a crazy first hour.

1st bdayIt’s now a year later and and now I’m feeling a similar mix of emotions.  I’m feeling nostalgic for the first day I met her and all that has happened this past year.  I’m so proud of all that she can do already.  How did we get from this:

to this?

When she figures something out for the first time, I always think “GENIUS” but in reality it’s just normal.

How can one little person elicit so many conflicting emotions at once?  While I’m in the middle of a frustrated fury holding a crying baby throwing her head back, she’ll suddenly stop and place her head and cheek on my chest to give me a hug.  The frustration immediately disappears and my heart just melts.  What a stinker.  This is going to be how she’ll get a pony from her dad one day.

I’m excited to see what she’ll accomplish this coming year and I’m also nervous about all the things I will need to learn and do as a parent.  I think this is when it gets harder.  She’s going to be running soon and I won’t be able to catch up.

I’m so happy to be celebrating her first year of life and there are lots of moments I’d love to relive.  Luckily I kept up with littlejanie.org and managed to take a photo of her every day this past year.

cakeHappy Birthday, Baby Girl.  It’s been a fun ride so far and looking forward to what you have in store for us this next year.  Love you.

Dinner with the Big Kids

Kumquat and I had dinner with Michelle, Reese, and Jack tonight.  We met up at Brickhouse Cafe and had a nice time catching up.  It’s amazing how much the kids have grown and changed since we last saw them back in February.  I miss the days when they lived just a few steps away but I’m glad that they still have to come into SF from Orinda each day for work and school.

jackJack was such a big boy coloring quietly while we waited for our food.

reeseReese joined in too and she’s doing great at just 2 years of age!!

kumquatKumquat sat and ate her orange dinner today.  It was a funny coincidence that the stuff I had in the fridge for her were carrots, sweet potatoes, and salmon.  Even her fork is orange!  Weird.

Anyway, it was fun to hang out with you guys this evening!  Can’t wait to see your new house!

Sick Day

Yesterday I felt like crap but I managed to power through the day.  Once I got home I was feeling a little better but then 6 pm rolled around and I started getting the chills and my entire body was aching.  I’m not sure this is because I have a sore throat, headache, fever, and no nasal congestion or coughing.  Could I just have some kind of infection that I can’t see or feel?

I went to bed around 8 and shivered, tossed, and turned under the covers wearing three layers and socks.  At about 10, I woke from a short nap and took my temp.  It was 100.6!!  It had been a very long time since the last time I had a fever and it is NO FUN.  I woke up at 6 am with my alarm and I was in no condition to go to work.  So, I called in sick for the day.  When I took my temp in the morning it was still 99.6 and I had the chills again.

lunchAfter a morning nap, I felt good enough to take a walk.  So I went to lunch by myself at 12 when Mirian came back to put Kaylee down for her nap.  I got a spicy tuna roll and a tempura roll, which really hit the spot.

pedicureAfter lunch I went next door for a pedicure.  Their massage chair was AWESOME and it was just what I needed for my body aches.  The lady also gave me an extra-long foot/leg massage that helped too.  Aaah…

Thank goodness for Tylenol because it really helped reduce the symptoms.  The only catch was that I had to take it every 8 hours or else the chills and fever would kick in again.  Too bad it doesn’t make the sore throat go away.  So, I think I’m gonna be ok for work tomorrow but I’ll have to make sure I drink my fluids tonight and bring a bottle of Tylenol with me.  Wish me luck!

Taiko!!!

doorApril is OT Month and every year we spend an afternoon in a team building activity and then finish the day with a dinner.

taikoThis year, we went KM’s taiko studio on Thursday for an afternoon of drumming. The group actually made these drums by hand!  Amazing.

drummingI had always wanted to try taiko and it was so much fun!  We made lots of noise and everyone caught on rather quickly.  My T-Rex arms got quite a workout too!


Here’s a quick video of us in action.  Not bad for our first time, huh?!  Of course I’m not in the video since I was behind the camera but I was on the drum on the high stand, which was my favorite.  Click here if you can’t see the video above.

groupHappy Occupational Therapy Month!!

Bay Bridge

bridge lightsThe Bay Bridge has a special light display that started last month.  It’s on the western span of the bridge and you can see if from The Embarcadero.  I hadn’t seen it yet so after the baby went to sleep, I took Koa for a long walk down to see the lights.

Here’s one part of the show.

Here’s another part of the show.

It’s going to be on display until 2015 and turns on a dusk and turns off at 2am everyday.  Pretty cool!

muniIt was pretty late when it was time to head back so the dog and I took Muni home.  Koa’s ridden Muni and the bus before but I guess it had been a while because when we got on, he was shakin’ in his britches the whole way home.  Silly dog.

And it starts again…

IMG_1607Baseball season officially started in my neighborhood this afternoon.  Attendance was high since it’s the first home game since winning the World Series last fall and there was a big ceremony for the new championship flag.  I was home early to go to our tax appointment and avoided most of the activity but getting off the freeway when we got home was not fun.