SCENES FROM A BIRTHDAY PARTY

Noa began her party with some raucous swinging.......................


Noa is sharing a toy with her new friend, Noah. Noah and his Mommy, Michelle, live in our neighborhood. That is her pregnant belly in the picture--she is due in September!


This is Hadassah. She is the daughter of our new friends, Abby and Nathan. Hadassah will be turning one in August. She's a real cutie.


This is Noa's new friends, Bava, with her parents Jason and Krissy. We met them in our swim class. They are very cool people. Bava is an excellent swimmer!


Here is Noa sitting on Daddy's lap enjoying conversation with her guests.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NOA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I cannot believe that a year has passed since this amazing bean came into our lives.



She is blooming and changing so much, no longer a lump of an infant, but an alert, engaging little person with quirks and talents and a real personality.

We had a whirlwind trip to California this past week. I call it the Noa 1st Birthday World Tour. She stopped in several cities and played to hundreds of adoring fans........

Her birthday party is tomorrow, and Noa has invited her new friends Owen, Izzy, Maddy, Hadassah, and Noah (and of course, their parents), and her Grandpa and Nana and Uncle Bobby. Jeremy is working overtime perfecting the perfect sugar-free carrot cake.

We are both clear that we don't want Noa to eat loads of sugar, so we decided to find a healthier alternative. It is tricky though. You want your kid to eat healthy foods, but you also don't want your kid to be known as "that kid"--the kid who brings a baggie of carrot sticks with them to birthday parties because their parents only let them eat wheat germ and raw foods.

Anyway, here are some random pics of Noa's trip to Cali. Happy Birthday Wee--Enjoy your next trip around the sun!


Here are two shots of Noa trying to ingest as much pool water as she can before I intervene...


Mmmmmm. Amoeba-y goodness.....


Here is a shot of her the day before we left, in the dress her Auntie Mia got her. It is a 3-6 month size, so it is a little snug.


We stayed a few days with our friends Zak and Morgan and their son James at their place in Grass Valley. They have an amazing view of the Sierras from their deck.


Noa and James get their groove on Matthew McConaughey style, naked playing the bongos.

Noa looks to James for some guidance about the best way to extract the toys from the pool. They are workin' the sunhats.

Another shot of Miss Noa Bean. Oh so serious......

One Year Ago It Began.............

It is 5:30 pm PST. One year ago, Jeremy and I were lying on our bed wondering whether Noa was ever going to be born. She was two weeks late and I was scheduled for an induction the following morning. I absolutely DID NOT want to be induced. We had tried everything--herbs, spicy foods, acupuncture, you name it, and still no baby. As we were talking, I said, "Ugh! What are we going to do?" and in the next moment, my water broke.

Thus, she was on her way to us!

A Break from All the Cuteness to Express Some Mommy/Human Outrage!

I was listening to NPR this morning when I heard a disturbing report that said that big oil company BP was given the green light to dump tons of toxic chemicals into Lake Michigan in order to pave the way for their expansion.

You can read the whole article here.

This is absolutely sickening! I cannot understand what type of mind thinks that this is a good decision, to pollute our freshwater and our environment in the interest of making money. Do these jerks really think that they are exempt from from the consequences of their actions, or do they think that their piles and piles of money are going to protect them and their families from the damage they are doing?

When I see people behave in such a short-sighted and entitled way, it makes me think that all the rich CEO's know something we don't, like that they have already begun to colonize another planet or something because they sure act like they wont be absolutely F@*cked along with the rest of us when this planet finally has enough and snuffs out our ungrateful behinds.

If you are as outraged and appalled as I am, I encourage you to do something, anything to have your voice be heard. Write to your local politicians, protest, definitely BOYCOTT BP!!!!! (And perhaps all oil companies for that matter...) Walk when you can walk somewhere, ride your bike.

We just cannot let this stuff keep happening.

Rant over. (for now)

Another Slide Conquered!

Noa is the Slide Queen. She is absolutely fearless. She can launch herself down the straightaways, and now, she has mastered the spiral slide. Check out her technique--she is ready for the Olympic bobsled team! Thanks to Sandro, special guest cinematographer.



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