Meet Noa's Nana Juana and Grandpa Bob

Noa doesn't get a chance to see her Nana and Bobba as much as she would like. We decided to help her out with this comparable alternative.

Tee hee- Meet the South Park Gluskins

First off, thanks to Rebecca for so aptly modeling such a great source of time suckage. I spent WAY too much time figuring this out, getting it cropped and posted to my blog. Noa is off in dreamland and perhaps I should be doing something productive, or maternal, or perhaps I should be sleeping myself, but this captured my focus and I couldn't stop until I got it.

Click here if you want to create your own south park likeness.

I can't stop laughing. I think the one of Jeremy is the best.


Sleep-deprived mommy and daddy.....................



and their drooly, adorable babe.



Noa and I had lunch with my friend, Elizabeth and her 2.4 year old son, Mason, and then we went to the Mother Ship (the super huge Longs Drug Store in Oakland) and got ourselves a two- foot xmas tree. When we were in the store, EVERYONE wanted to touch Noa and I wasn't sure how to handle it. Do people do this with every baby they see, or are people especially drawn to her? I swear, it is like moths bouncing off a lightbulb or something. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see that people will try to walk past her and then they pause, as though they get caught in her force field and turn and make a bee-line toward her. Of course, I think she is the most amazing thing, and I am glad other people appreciate her wonderful-ness, but I also want to make sure that I am protecting her space and teaching her that she has a right to have her boundaries. This task is definitely going to be a work in progress seeing as I am a recovering people-pleaser. I want her to grow up knowing that "No" is a complete sentence. I am realizing that there are so many things I want her to learn and feel confident about, and in order to guide her, I will have to learn them first.

Happy Thanksgiving!

What weighs 12 pounds and brought a smile to our faces today?




Well, yes, that made us happy, but I was talking about this:

Scenes from a Sunny Sunday

It is just a shame that this baby is sooooo unhappy........................


Incognito to avoid the papparazzi.......................................



Enjoying the sunshine at the farmer's market at Jack london Square. Amazing close-up. What a face!

Movin' on Up

Well, it was bound to happen! After months of diligence and ambition, Noa received a promotion at work! Here she is in her new office..... As you can see from the expression on her face, the new job description is a bit more challenging and requires some deep focus.


For those of you who don't remember, Here is a shot of Noa at her old workplace.


When she took the job, we all pretty much understood that it would be nothing more than a stepping stone to bigger and better things. It didn't take long for her to outgrow the duties of the job and yearn for something more.

We are so proud of her promotion. She has worked hard and took her old position as far as she could. We are expecting big things from her in the future.



She is settling in quite nicely.

A few random pics for your enjoyment

Noa giving her commentary on tv......




A sweet close up.............




Post-bath fashion

Back by popular demand

RAAARRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Noa's first Halloween !

I know, I know! Several of you rabid Noa fans have (kindly) pointed out that I haven't updated the blog in a while, so I re-commit myself to making sure that everyone gets their regular dose of this amazing girl.

She is changing so much. She just crossed the three month mark and she is growing and stretching her little capacities. Right now, she is asleep BY HERSELF in the bedroom. Hallelujah. It used to be that she could only sleep if she had direct physical contact with Jeremy or me. Sweet, but not always convenient and definitely hard on the back (for Jeremy) and shoulder (for me). At night, Jeremy would wear her in the sling from 7pm until 10 or 11 and then we would swaddle her and I would nurse her to sleep in our bed. A few weeks ago, it was approaching the time that Jeremy was to don the sling and it occurred to me that I could try to swaddle her and put her to bed at 7 rather than waiting the 3-4 hours and much to our surprise, it worked! I stayed with her until she fell asleep and then I was able to take leave and have a normal evening. This is how it has been now for 2 weeks! It is great that she is feeling more confident to sleep on her own, but is is also great for me to feel like I get to be a separate human being at least for a few hours. Now by 10 or 11, I am eager to go to bed and snuggle up next to her, I missed her so much. How could anyone resist this face?????





Tonight, we took her to bed, turned on some lullabies, read a few stories, swaddled her, and off to sleep she went.

The lullabies are quite beautiful. The CD was a gift from Laura (thanks Laura!) and it is so enchanting and perfect. The first song is called Naima, and it is an african lullaby for the singer's daughter. Amazing. There have been other songs that I have listened to recently that move me to tears at their ability to capture and express the love a mother feels for her baby. (Much to my chagrin, 2 of the songs that bring me to tears every time are sung by Celine Dion. I am not proud of this and all I can do is blame it on hormones....) As I listen to the songs, I am moved to create something for Noa.

But I wasn't blessed with a beautiful singing voice, so I cannot offer her a song, but I have been blessed with the love of writing (and I dare say a knack for it) so I have been inspired to write a children's book for Noa. I informally started it in my head when I was still pregnant with her, and now it is time to bring the words out of my head and out onto paper. I am saying it here so that I will be accountable. I will keep you updated with my progress.

Anyhoo.... with that said, I will add that Noa doesn't seem to care that I can't carry a tune. She greets every off-pitch rendition of the Puff the Magic Dragon or the ABC's with the sweetest smile in the world. She is very encouraging. I like that in a baby.