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In September we celebrated Maddox’s 1st Birthday by going down to LA to visit the grandparents. The theme of the week was Country Fair. We stayed at the Pomona fairgrounds where the LA County Fair is hosted so we could come and go to the fair as often as we pleased. I’m a HUGE fan of the Fair. I love everything about it (except the Midway). I love the farm animals, the food on a stick, the pulled pork and bbq ribs, the lemonade, the crafts, the homemade food contests, the buildings upon buildings filled with gadgets and got-to-have do-dads, the tram, the photography exhibits, the beer, the wine tent, the plant showrooms, and the childhood memories that all of those things bring back.

Maddox loves watching the animals, but wasn’t so sure about them when they were so close. He realized while he was busy looking one way at the goats, a sheep could sneak up from the other way and nudge his foot. He held his legs up as high as he could and his toes curled in for protection.

Eventually he decided it was safer to watch from atop Daddy’s shoulders.

This year the Fair had an African Safari theme. There was a whole area set up with exotic animals and “Rangers” standing by to answer questions. We saw camels, zebras, ostrich, wild dogs, a hedgehog, porcupine, and several other animals that I don’t remember. I think overall Maddox preferred the domestic farm animals area because we could get up close and personal.

Late one night with Maddox asleep in the Ergo, I was able to “pet” the albino hedgehog. It vibrated and stuck me every time I touched it. Later I went back during the day and pet the thing while it was asleep (no pricking). Ha!

[Drinks in hand, Yay for the Fair!]

Last weekend we visited the Tilden Park Little Farm in Berkeley. They allow you to bring in celery and lettuce to feed the animals. Maddox and I had been once before but we hadn’t known to bring something to feed.  This time we were ready for those animals! The goats were very pushy and demanding. If they caught a glimpse of green they would stuck as much of their body thorough the fence as they could.  Some could get a full leg out in hopes of getting the attention of some little kid with celery. Maddox was a bit fearful (and rightfully so).

{I think this photo is kind of funny with the celery in focus}

He was much more relaxed around the black sheep. They were far more pleasant to be around. Maddox fed one of the sheep all by himself.  Very cute.  Unfortunately we don’t have a photo of that (it was over as soon as the sheep touched the celery).

The farm is super cute. It is situated on a gentle slope surrounded by trees. There are cows, sheep, pigs (that were inside trying to stay cool on this visit), rabbits, ducks, chickens, turkeys, and goats.

After we fed the animals and checked out the chickens for a while we played a little ball on the grass and had some snacks. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

I woke Dallas up this morning with some happy birthday songs played on the bedroom speakers – an instrumental version, and a NKOTB version. We opened gifts and had a birthday breakfast before he went off to work. Happy Birthday!

These photos are from a picnic about a month ago up in Tilden Park, Berkeley.

We went up north and spent the day with family. Maddox was given a head start for the easter egg hunt! He did really well. I found the egg then held him near it and he would lean over and pick it up. It took a couple times for him to realize what he was supposed to be doing – but he did get it!  Over and over again, we collected eggs from around the yard. He really enjoyed chewing on the plastic eggs, but even more than that he loved the grass. It occurred to me that he has never actually sat on grass. Is that sad? He stroked it, and picked it and ate it. Good day in the country.

On Christmas Eve we enjoyed a spectacular meal with my parents at Michael Mina in San Francisco. Delish!!

We started off with a bottle of Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose (one of my favorite celebratory wines). Then with dinner we shared a bottle of  1983 Château Margaux that my father brought up from his cellar. 

This is was what I ordered:

Pork ~ Terrine, Belly, Short Rib
• Tête de Cochon, Foie Gras, Cornichon Gelée
• Frisée au Lardon, Quail Egg, Sherry Mignonette
• Bourguignon, Forest Mushrooms, Potato Gnocchi

Brandt Farm Beef ~ Steakhouse Sides
• Filet Tail, Sweet Carrots, Béarnaise Reduction
• Short Rib, La Ratte Potatoes, Natural Jus
• Dry Aged Rib-eye, Forest Mushrooms, Sauce Bordelaise

Quince ~ Fall Spices
• Membrillo, Sablé, Spiced Yogurt
• Orange Blossom Doughnuts, Cardamom, Quince Jelly
• Cobbler, Frangipane, Ginger Ice Cream

(It didn’t seem worth waking the baby up for the photo)

An afternoon at Downtown Disney…

Dallas’ company had their holiday party at Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disney, a place I never knew existed before. I had a good time seeing all my friends, but left the whole Disney compound left me feeling generally unimpressed and overspent. I am pretty sure I would have felt differently had I actually gone to California Adventure or Disneyland itself. But we just rolled in Friday and back out on Sunday. 

Maddox and I at the lunch table:

Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel Christmas Tree:

The family arrives tomorrow and we are all ready with our sparkly tree and wrapped gifts!  Merry Christmas everyone!

As is the tradition, we headed up to Auburn, CA to celebrate Thanksgiving with the whole Kashuba family. It was Maddox’s first visit and I think he did really well.  8-)

It was fun to be able to spend some time in nature and enjoy the simplicity of it all. From the couch you can see deer wandering by the large picture window. Many of them had a fawn in tow. 

Tonight we went out to our first social event with the baby in tow. Up until tonight we had been to 3 doctor’s appointments (2 for me, 1 for Maddox), and one trip to Natural Resources, which is only blocks from our house. The big difference right off the bat is that the hospital (and actually NR) is set up for us. They don’t mind if I whip out a boob out to feed, they have a nice bed or changing table for diaper changes, they have running water and a sink, a trash can with lid, and even anti-bacterial hand junk. For our first outings it was super nice to have these amenities, it gave us the chance to ease into it all. 

I wasn’t sure if we were going to be in over our heads taking on this dinner tonight. It was a super special sneak peek dinner at Nettie’s Crab Shack that we had been looking forward to for a while. We put Maddox in his car seat in the stroller and there he slept for almost the entire meal. It went off without a hitch! He woke up around the time we were ready to leave, so I whisked him to the restroom, changed him on the sink/countertop (like a pro, I might add), and even gave him about a 10 min feeding standing up before returning to the table. This was enough to get him home without incident. At this point its all a crap shoot as far as timing goes. Every day is different, so we don’t really know when he’ll be asleep, awake, or nursing.

I was such a proud parent tonight walking down Union Street pushing the stroller. It was like our coming out to the public. This was me and my husband out with our baby in the real world. A little family. Pretty amazing stuff.

No hands to type…
Here is a photo from our second night at the hospital. That night it was just me and Maddox.