Not So "Solid" Attempt

Miss Jane turned 6 months on Tuesday and our pediatrician suggested that we start with vegetables first (supposedly that is how the Europeans do it) and so I gave her peas. Below chronicles her foray into the world of food. Here she is staring it down

With trepidation

She tasted a bite and then for the next bite wanted to do it herself

Not too much escaped early on (only a little bit on her face)

And then some more came out

And then LOTS more

Finally, she just decided that it was better to just blow raspberries. 

So, she actually ate the most on Day 1 of peas. Over the past few days, less and less had stayed in her mouth and more has ended up in her bib.Last night, Jane started to cry after only a few spoonfulls.  I was talking with my friend today about this issue and she thinks that I might need to water it down even more to start with because she might not be used to the texture yet and to ease into it a bit more. She also suggested doing very liquidy rice cereal with milk. Has anyone else had this problem? Any suggestions?? 

P.S. she looks so happy and smiling in the later photos but she wasn't all THAT happy eating- she just honestly LOVES the camera :-) 

The Googler and the Googoo-er

The Googler and the Googoo-er

Several years ago when our nephew Charles was born, we stumbled upon this ADORABLE onesie that was not only cute but clever and so we bought it for him. I really wanted one for baby Jane since her daddy is a Googler and so my sister Sarah was kind enough to give it to me as a mother's day gift. 

She is already starting to play with her baby laptop (though she really likes to close it) so she is on her way with basic programming :-) 

I hope this Googoo-er follows in the footsteps of this Googler

And I just can't resist those smiles

San Mateo Central Park

Since Jane is so active and needs constant entertainment, it means that I have been trying to find some new places in the bay area to keep us both engaged and so I have been going to more parks. I heard about the Japanese Garden at San Mateo Central Park and so we ventured out there one Monday afternoon. It is small but was free





This little gazebo area in the rest of the park was also very beautiful with all of the flowers in bloom

Yountville

It is pretty sad that I have lived in the bay area for nearly 5 years and it was only a couple of weeks ago that I FINALLY made it to the Napa Valley. One Saturday, Jane and I decided that we needed to go on a big adventure and so the two of us headed up to Yountville, the Napa Valley town that I knew the most about. It really was beautiful to see all of the vineyards right in the middle of town

 I took this photo so that you could literally see that the vineyard is just next to the main street.

I absolutely LOVE Top Chef and other cooking shows although I'm not a cook myself (definitely more of a baker) and I really like good food though I wouldn't call myself a "foodie" since I'm still quite picky about things. So I knew that I had to go to Yountville to hit Bouchon Bakery. There was a line that moved quite quickly- about 15 minutes- until I was able to get Thomas Keller's famous ho-ho, banana caramel cupcake, and a few macaroons (the caramel one was the best- the raspberry was so so and the vanilla was ok but the caramel was the winner)

No sharing of these delicious treats, though Jane seemed content with her bottle (for now at least!)

The ho-ho was good but the cupcake was divine! The frosting was a whipped cream based kind and it was so light and airy compared with the more dense banana caramel filling of the cupcake.This bakery was the main reason for my trip so I was happy that it didn't disappoint

Since it was my first trip to Yountville, I didn't want to miss anything so I stopped off at the visitors center and asked what items were "not to be missed". One of the women told me that I couldn't miss the toadstool stone sculptures. I definitely would have missed them because in my mind, they are ok but there were so many other more memorable places.

The other woman at the visitor's center gave me the great tip of walking all the way up to the French Laundry to see their gardens across the street. This really was a definitely must see. Maybe one day we can have a meal here . . . . 

The gardens were very well kept and they had the perfect bench where Jane and I were able to sit and enjoy the beautiful view

To my complete and utter delight, while we were sitting there, one of the French Laundry chefs came out and tasted some of the herbs and picked some!! I managed to be discrete with my photo taking but I really was so excited to see the actual process. 

The whole town of Yountville is filled with quaint and charming restaurants like the one you see here. Sometime I will need to eat at Bouchon and Bottega, Michael Chiarellos's restaurant, which is in the reasonable price range.

 

The tourist office also told me that the largest Veterans community in California is also in Yountville and I LOVED it because I saw so many of them driving around town, like the gentleman above, sharing the road with the cars.

 

I also went to the Napa Art Museum where they had a special exhibit with costumes from the San Francisco Opera and all I know is that I now have to go and see the opera Don Giovanni one day because they had the most amazing costumes and headpieces.

Honestly, it was such a picture perfect day and it made me want to explore Napa Valley even more. Definitely worth the drive and I hope to be back soon

Balancing

At our RS activity day this month, which was fabulous btw (we made homemade sugar scrubs), a sister in the ward shared her insights on having balance in our life and it has made me think about the balancing act that is currently going on in my life. I feel so bad that the blog has been neglected but that has been one of the items that I have had to "let go" to keep everything else. Jane has been only going to babysitters for 3 days a week meaning that I have nearly half of my hours that I need to do sometime during the rest of the week. I have been able to do it but it just means that I work during her nap times and in the evenings when she goes to bed (she has a late bed time of 10:30ish- any earlier and she wakes up in the middle of the night for several hours to play) so it doesn't leave much free time for blogging. But, it is an exchange that I am making now so that I can put the main priorities in my life- William, Jane, work, being RS secretary- first. So just know that if you don't hear from me it is because things are busy and I'm trying to find the right balance of everything :-)

Tummy Time Fun

Jane is to the point where she is starting to actually enjoy tummy time since she can push herself up. She didn't use to like it so we would do it when she was crying already- that way, at least she was getting more exercise than just her lungs.
She can also steamroll across the floor, but only in one direction- she hasn't figured out yet that she can roll the opposite direction when she encounters a barrier. She even rolled herself up into the blanket
She also loves to play on her tummy, particularly with this snail that lights up when she touches it.
She also enjoys checking her cute self out in the mirror :-)
And she just LOVES the camera- she pretty much has huge smiles whenever it comes out. We think it is because of the light that shines to check the flash.
Our days are numbered as she has got the legs figured out and can even push herself into the downward dog yoga pose and she can push herself a few inches but hasn't yet realized that she has to also move her arms as well. This is her in her "crawling" position
You can check out her progress in the video below.

CuriOdyssey

Sorry for my lack of posting- Jane needs continual attention while she is awake and when she does sleep, I have to do work. But, don't worry- we have been up to LOTS of adventures as Jane is much much better when we are out and about rather than staying home. For example, today, we went to CuriOdyssey as a family and then later I took her to the San Jose Museum of Art so that she wouldn't be too bored :-) Apparently she is just how I was at her age so we make a good pair :-)

My friend Alecia mentioned taking her boys to CuriOdyssey and I had never been there so I thought that it would be a fun outing that William would enjoy as well, and he did, as evidenced by the following photo
We made it in time for the otter feedings, which wasn't as exciting as we had hoped- the otters in general are super active so there wasn't much difference.

Jane thought that the animals were okay, but she was mainly interested in the people- and chewing on the Snugli :-)

She did get up close and personal with one of the birds at the aviary.
The birds were the most friendly with us and each other- two golden eagles

and two owls

We also saw a roadrunner (I had never seen one before- props to William for finding it). Cartoons have done a decent job of recreating that motion.

We were able to catch the bob cats on their own because we couldn't really see them during the feeding later on.
In addition to the animals, they also had some indoor exhibits- Jane loved this one because of the change in lights and colors.
The center itself is perched along the bay and provided some stunning views
I love the bend in the trees from the wind- and even though it was a warm day, I was getting goosebumps from the wind off the water.

And for those living in the Bay area, let me know if you are up for going on an adventure and for other fun places to visit!