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Maddox and I have been starting to get our groove back. We are starting to think about falling into a routine here in the new house. With Halloween travel behind us we have a few weeks to settle in and unpack. Part of our daily routine is taking Charlotte to the new dog park (Stern Grove) which we all really enjoy. It is so relaxing. There are trees, and ducks, and dogs – all things Maddox knows well and loves to point out. He also enjoys holding a stick while we walk around. Inevitably though, Charlotte yanks the stick from his hand and chews it to bits while Maddox just stares in disbelief. Life with a dog.

After days of packing, work people in and out, agent phone calls, bank delays, and 2 moving trucks – we finally transition into our new home. Although our “stuff” life is in disarray, my emotional health has already greatly improved, and Maddox seems to be sleeping better (though I know I shouldn’t get too excited yet). The house itself is fantastic, the neighborhood is amazing, and the people have been so nice! The local Italian restaurant owner noticed our moving trucks and brought us over a free large pizza. It hit the spot. The neighbors behind us in the nursing home sent us a gorgeous flower arrangement, and people stop to talk WITHOUT asking for money!

We are a stones throw from a cute village with most things we need (Coffee, Hardware, Pharmacy, Toy Store). Also we are right by a MUNI stop which makes it super convenient for Dallas to get to work, and for people to visit. I’m totally in the Honeymoon Period with this new house and neighborhood. I look forward to raising a family here and calling it home for a long time to come.

[Our new back yard]

Every morning Maddox and I go out to the yard to let the dog out and just sit and enjoy the trees and fresh air. Its a very relaxing 15 minutes and a great way to start the day on the right foot. I went out to the yard today to rake some leaves and do a general poke and prod of the yard. While I tinkered, Maddox played and hung out without my needing to intervene to say things like “Don’t put that in your mouth”, or “No”, or “Don’t go over there”.

Maddox dug in the dirt with a spoon for a while, and he tried to help me rake, but the rake was too heavy. Now I see why “They” make kid sized everything (brooms, play vacuums, kitchen appliances, cell phones etc). Just this week I was pa-shawing them, now I want a baby broom or rake. Maddox just loves emulating and helping, it seems a shame not to give him the opportunity. Also today while I was raking he started yelling “Da! Da!” to get my attention and was pointing under the stairs. I look over and Charlotte is going to town digging a hole in our new yard! It was so funny that Maddox totally told on Charlotte!

[Charlotte on squirrel patrol]

Its been a busy couple weeks! We just moved into a new home in a new neighborhood. Grandma was here to help during the transition which was an immense help. She was able to hang out with Maddox, and we were able to focus on getting our house ready to sell, get our new house through escrow, pack and move!

Turns out we have a LOT of stuff. It will take us weeks to unpack. We set a really early date for a housewarming party, so that will help light a fire under us. Multiple people have told us to just get it out of a box. Whatever it is, get it out. Even if it is in a pile in the corner, its better than in a box. I guess the thinking is that if it stays in a box too long, we’ll forget it, and never unpack it. So I’ve been doing the best I can to unpack quickly, but it isn’t the easiest thing to do with a 1 year old around.

Packing with a 1 year old was equally difficult (though in the end we hired packers to help out). We would pack things in a box, and Maddox would pull them out again. It was impossible to make much progress without the hired help and the help of some very nice friends.

I must say he has been much more helpful with the unpacking! He loves pulling things out of boxes. So I have him unpack things like dvds and books. The dvds end up all over the room, but for some reason he is fairly gentle with the books and enjoys stacking them. He is quite the little helper these days. Today he helped me push the shopping cart. I was wearing him in the Baby Ergo and he had his hand right next to mine on the shopping cart. He helped me clean up a spill today with a towel. So cute! I love all the imitation that he has been doing lately.

The other day on the shuttle between the airport and the parking lot he held on to the bar just like I was. Everybody on the bus thought it was hilariously cute (and it was). I took an iPhone photo to remember it:

Yesterday for the first time Maddox was able to push his little cart across the kitchen. I’m so proud! It is funny how stiff his legs are, but he’s doing it!
Go Go Maddox!

(Also in this video is the famous pointing)

[Sorry for the crappy video quality. I forgot to change camera settings before I filmed]

Maddox is quickly turning into a little boy. Every day he does something new that surprises me. It is apparent that he is paying attention to everything. We were sitting on the back steps early in the morning and a neighbor’s dog barked. Maddox started patting his leg and saying “Da! Da!”. He says “Da” for everything, but with different inflections. The patting his leg is the sign for “dog”. It was neat to see that he had been watching and learning.

We started baby swim lessons this week at UCSF Mission Bay. The pool is indoor and heated. It is on the second floor with one entire wall of windows overlooking the San Francisco Bay. Not a bad way to spend a Monday morning! So far the class is baby socializing and getting used to to doing water things while singing songs and hanging out with Mom. Maddox even went under water twice (on purpose)! To get the babies to hold their breath and close their eyes, you blow in the baby’s face then quickly dunk them while pulling them under water toward you.

The soundtrack to my life right now is “DA”.  Everything is da.  He has said it about a hundred zillion times just since I started writing this post. It’s amazing how many inflections and intonations he can make with just one word. It means cow, dog, cat, what is that?, I want that, daddy, drink, Lets go over there, and on and on.

Pointing is the other big thing. He points at EVERYTHING. The pointing is most often accompanied by a “Da!”. He will point one way with one hand and the other way with the other hand when there is just so much to look at he can’t decide what is best. Other times when he really really wants something and he wants to make sure you know what it is, he points with all his might and stares at the object until it almost catches fire. Then there is the Double Point – both arms outstretched and pointing at a single object. Often the Double Point is at a person that he wants to go to, or be picked up by.

but too cute not to share!

In keeping with the weeks theme of Country Fair, the birthday party was all decked out. It was held at the grandparent’s house, in the front yard. We had all the must-have fair elements – Grandpa’s Blue Ribbon Chili, corndogs, lemonade, watermelon, a bull head for roping, and even a petting zoo (one rabbit)!

Thank you everyone who came out to help us celebrate!  It would not have been a celebration without our good friends and all our new baby and little girl friends!

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 Friday it was about a million degrees here in SF. We called up our friend Juniper (22 months ish) to meet up at a community pool.  With logistics such as naps and lunches and parking to deal with, I decided to just go to the hardware store and pick up a $10 kiddie pool.  It was a hit.

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.

Its official.  The kid is crawling. July 18th Maddox started crawling for reals. Life has been changed forever. He is a little less complainy because he can get around himself and reach more things, but on the other hand he is more complainy because there are more things he is not allowed to have.  Also he doesn’t want to be held very much these days.  All he wants to do is crawl and pull things off shelves. I’m still trying to find a good place in the city to take him to crawl that is free from urban debris.

Here are a couple videos of Maddox in action: