It was a long road, but our trip to Australia in April was fantastic!
Our first stop was Adelaide (in the southern part of the country for those non-Aussies), where we spent about 10 days visiting with Julian's extended family. We stayed at Nana's house, and she worked so hard to keep us fed and comfortable. It truly felt like a relaxing vacation, and it was obvious that the girls were comfortable, too. Adele and Nadia warmed up quickly to their Super Nana. Pop and Nana arrived in Adelaide a few days after us, and soon it was a full house, with visitors in and out throughout the day. Uncle Peter even decided to show up and surprise us all! In Adelaide, we went to the beach, picnicked in the botanical gardens, and celebrated Easter with a family gathering and feast.
The second part of our trip took us to Melbourne, where we stayed with Ros, Peter, and their son, Chris. At their home, Nadia and Adele discovered the delight of climbing stairs! Julian enjoyed spending time in his old haunts, as he attended uni in Melbourne. We took walks around the city, went to the aquarium, shopped at the Victoria markets, and visited with more friends and family. Again, our hosts took such good care of us.
Julian, Adele, Nadia, and I would like to say how lovely it was spending time with everyone in Australia. You all make our long journey worthwhile. Thank you to Super Nana and Ros & Co. for being such gracious hosts - we greatly appreciated your efforts.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
A Packing Party!
Julian and I would like to extend a HUGE thank you to the lovely friends who came to our idea of a party - a packing party! So, thank you, Shankar, Josh, Shelley, Karl, Cynthia, little Athena, and Megan! You made a daunting task not only do-able, but fun. Adele and Nadia enjoyed meeting their peer, Athena, and they loved being held by everyone & playing outside all day long.
We feel very blessed to have had you all in our lives here in California, and we hope that our paths intertwine again in the future. Please visit us in Pittsburgh or wherever we end up down life's road. Our home is always open to any of our friends.
We'll spend the next few days finishing up sorting & packing (the kitchen looms!), and then on Wednesday we'll be off to Australia.
We feel very blessed to have had you all in our lives here in California, and we hope that our paths intertwine again in the future. Please visit us in Pittsburgh or wherever we end up down life's road. Our home is always open to any of our friends.
We'll spend the next few days finishing up sorting & packing (the kitchen looms!), and then on Wednesday we'll be off to Australia.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
March Madness
My cousin Anna inquired as to when I intended to post something new on the blog. Well, Anna, here's a post for you! It's only been 4 months since our last one - sorry!!
Spring has sprung here in California. It's beautiful - blossoming trees, blooming flowers, green hills, and crisp breezes. The feeling of spring's renewal is one of the most delicious gifts of this earth. At our home, we are blessed with a flowering crap apple tree which greets us at our front door with its myriad shades of pink. The babies have taken notice of the tree, as they seem to with many aspects of nature; they have always preferred being outdoors over the confines of a house. I must say I agree with their inclination!
While the buds are blooming, we are packing. The month of March has brought us a new home in Pittsburgh, PA. We can't wait to see it once we arrive, and we hope that we like it ;)) We are very much looking forward to having family and friends much closer, and to a more affordable cost of living. We'd also like a dog and a cat (or a few of each). Nadia and Adele adore cats and dogs, and they even love wet, sloppy, doggy kisses!
After we ship our belongings across the country but before we head east, this family of four will be traveling to Australia for some long awaited visiting with Julian's extended family. Nana and Pop will also meet us there! The flight will be somewhat of a long haul, and I only wish that Quantas would offer in-flight nannies for the babies and sleeping pills for the parents! We will be sure to report back on our adventures; we'll be traveling April 1- 20th.
Nadia and Adele are pulling up and cruising a bit, which means that walking isn't too far in the future. They love to vocalize and sing. Adele yodels, "Deedle doodle doddle deedle doodle do!" Nadia mimics a low-pitched noise that Mommy makes when they play together, and it's hilarious, "Rrrraraaarraaaarr!" Both babies like to sample lots of different foods - pasta, quesadillas, cheese, beans, veggies & fruits - and are still eating lots of milk, too. They don't smile frequently for strangers unless the stranger has fur, a tail, and fuzzy ears. They put EVERYTHING in their mouths... it's really annoying to have to vaccuum everyday lest one of them choke on a foreign object, along with not being able to let them crawl around much outside (in goes the leaf, the stick, the dirt, the flower, the bug, etc.). Overall, Adele and Nadia are doing very well and keep us smiling :)
We hope that you are all enjoying spring and it's freshness. We are so happy to be seeing many of our relatives and friends soon!
Spring has sprung here in California. It's beautiful - blossoming trees, blooming flowers, green hills, and crisp breezes. The feeling of spring's renewal is one of the most delicious gifts of this earth. At our home, we are blessed with a flowering crap apple tree which greets us at our front door with its myriad shades of pink. The babies have taken notice of the tree, as they seem to with many aspects of nature; they have always preferred being outdoors over the confines of a house. I must say I agree with their inclination!
While the buds are blooming, we are packing. The month of March has brought us a new home in Pittsburgh, PA. We can't wait to see it once we arrive, and we hope that we like it ;)) We are very much looking forward to having family and friends much closer, and to a more affordable cost of living. We'd also like a dog and a cat (or a few of each). Nadia and Adele adore cats and dogs, and they even love wet, sloppy, doggy kisses!
After we ship our belongings across the country but before we head east, this family of four will be traveling to Australia for some long awaited visiting with Julian's extended family. Nana and Pop will also meet us there! The flight will be somewhat of a long haul, and I only wish that Quantas would offer in-flight nannies for the babies and sleeping pills for the parents! We will be sure to report back on our adventures; we'll be traveling April 1- 20th.
Nadia and Adele are pulling up and cruising a bit, which means that walking isn't too far in the future. They love to vocalize and sing. Adele yodels, "Deedle doodle doddle deedle doodle do!" Nadia mimics a low-pitched noise that Mommy makes when they play together, and it's hilarious, "Rrrraraaarraaaarr!" Both babies like to sample lots of different foods - pasta, quesadillas, cheese, beans, veggies & fruits - and are still eating lots of milk, too. They don't smile frequently for strangers unless the stranger has fur, a tail, and fuzzy ears. They put EVERYTHING in their mouths... it's really annoying to have to vaccuum everyday lest one of them choke on a foreign object, along with not being able to let them crawl around much outside (in goes the leaf, the stick, the dirt, the flower, the bug, etc.). Overall, Adele and Nadia are doing very well and keep us smiling :)
We hope that you are all enjoying spring and it's freshness. We are so happy to be seeing many of our relatives and friends soon!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Cooked Chicken
I finally have a bit of time to add a blog post, as Julian and I are roasting a chicken. We thought it would have finished cooking about an hour ago, but what the heck do we know?? Combine a long time vegetarian with a twenty-something male, and you're in for trouble when it comes to roasts. So here we sit.
It's been a busy past month. We've had more teeth (Nadia's top two), busy at work for Julian, not much sleep, and lots of headaches for both parents. Add to that a visit from Grandma, a broken ankle, and a long-time pet passing away :(
Here is a cute photo of Raja and Riverside, both of whom are now hanging out on the big farm with all of our other beloved pets. This photo is of the cats in my bath tub when I lived in Washington, DC. They relished drinking water from the tap. Aren't they sweet?
We miss you, boys! Thanks for being a part of our lives!
The girls are growing like weeds. They no longer share a crib at night b/c we noticed that they seemed to be waking each other up more often. Whereas when they were little they would move toward one another to snuggle, more recently they would nuzzle into opposite corners of the crib!
They both have army crawling down pat and zoom around the living room. So far both Adele and Nadia have chewed on laptop power cables, and Nadia was caught licking my shoe.
As only parents can be proud, we must mention now that the girls are regularly going potty on their little potties. We will spare you photos of the evidence. Julian and I are quite pleased for what this means as far as potty-training down the road, with hopes for an easy and early transition. Hooray for poo!
Adele and Nadia have also entered the separation anxiety phase, which means that if you aren't Mom or Dad or someone that they regularly see (which is just about everyone else in the world aside from our lovely neighbor, Sarah), then you are obviously not to be trusted and in fact produce great fright. When Grandma showed up, she spent a quiet hour sitting on the floor near them so that they could get used to her before beginning any sort of back and forth interaction. After that initial time, the girls were just fine and did not take long to greet their grandma with a smile.
At the end of this week we'll be heading to Pittsburgh for the holidays. Julian's family is flying in to join us, too! We're looking forward to the festivities, and we hope for a white Christmas! Sending our best wishes for a peaceful holiday season to all of you. XOXO
It's been a busy past month. We've had more teeth (Nadia's top two), busy at work for Julian, not much sleep, and lots of headaches for both parents. Add to that a visit from Grandma, a broken ankle, and a long-time pet passing away :(
Here is a cute photo of Raja and Riverside, both of whom are now hanging out on the big farm with all of our other beloved pets. This photo is of the cats in my bath tub when I lived in Washington, DC. They relished drinking water from the tap. Aren't they sweet?
We miss you, boys! Thanks for being a part of our lives!The girls are growing like weeds. They no longer share a crib at night b/c we noticed that they seemed to be waking each other up more often. Whereas when they were little they would move toward one another to snuggle, more recently they would nuzzle into opposite corners of the crib!
They both have army crawling down pat and zoom around the living room. So far both Adele and Nadia have chewed on laptop power cables, and Nadia was caught licking my shoe.
As only parents can be proud, we must mention now that the girls are regularly going potty on their little potties. We will spare you photos of the evidence. Julian and I are quite pleased for what this means as far as potty-training down the road, with hopes for an easy and early transition. Hooray for poo!
Adele and Nadia have also entered the separation anxiety phase, which means that if you aren't Mom or Dad or someone that they regularly see (which is just about everyone else in the world aside from our lovely neighbor, Sarah), then you are obviously not to be trusted and in fact produce great fright. When Grandma showed up, she spent a quiet hour sitting on the floor near them so that they could get used to her before beginning any sort of back and forth interaction. After that initial time, the girls were just fine and did not take long to greet their grandma with a smile.
At the end of this week we'll be heading to Pittsburgh for the holidays. Julian's family is flying in to join us, too! We're looking forward to the festivities, and we hope for a white Christmas! Sending our best wishes for a peaceful holiday season to all of you. XOXO
Monday, November 17, 2008
Who's in pain now?
Some advertising and marketing geniuses at Motrin ran a controversial ad that created quite a buzz from babywearing Moms and Dads all over the internet - message boards, blogs, twitters. Somebody at Motrin eventually noticed all of the bad press and flood of negative emails being sent their way, as the ad was removed from their website (which is, incidentally, still down for service). Lucky for them, they likely have enough ibuprofen to go around the office this Monday morning :)
Here's the ad, from YouTube. They must not have consulted real parents before running this ad!
Here's the ad, from YouTube. They must not have consulted real parents before running this ad!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Election Day
We all walked to the polls this morning, conveniently located only one block away at a Baptist Church. Of the four family members, only one of us was able to vote. We discussed the candidates and decided that majority rules for that one vote (this is a democracy, after all). Who did we vote for?
Here's a clue. On our walk, we found a political sign that gave us a good chuckle. Let's just say we agree with these folks, and we did not vote for Geezer and Dingbat :)
Here's a clue. On our walk, we found a political sign that gave us a good chuckle. Let's just say we agree with these folks, and we did not vote for Geezer and Dingbat :)
(Yes, that's a coffee for mommy and a coffee for Nadia.)
Sunday, October 26, 2008
We finally updated the photos. Sorry it took so long; we've both been sick. See the new 5+ album for recent pictures!
Updates on the babies:
Adele has been rocking on her hands and knees for about two weeks now. We're wondering when it will propel into forward motion. Nadia has gotten up on her hands and knees a couple of times, but she doesn't seem as interested as Adele. In general Adele loves to move and shake while Nadia is more inclined to lay low. Adele is always looking at things, trying to figure them out. She'll watch something, calculate, and then deliberately move her hands towards the object if it is within reach. If Nadia takes interest in an object, she'll lunge at it with arms widespread and mouth open, ready to , well, eat it. Yum.
Updates on the babies:
Adele has been rocking on her hands and knees for about two weeks now. We're wondering when it will propel into forward motion. Nadia has gotten up on her hands and knees a couple of times, but she doesn't seem as interested as Adele. In general Adele loves to move and shake while Nadia is more inclined to lay low. Adele is always looking at things, trying to figure them out. She'll watch something, calculate, and then deliberately move her hands towards the object if it is within reach. If Nadia takes interest in an object, she'll lunge at it with arms widespread and mouth open, ready to , well, eat it. Yum.
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