It’s been so long.  I’m trying to get back in touch with myself, really.  I am simultaneously writing in my journal and posting this blog, so that I can multi-task being in touch with my own thoughts – pretty sad, no?  It’s hot.  It’s summer in San Diego.  The grass is brownish.  I’m really not used to the weather here, and have been missing the Bay Area so much.  Torrey is now 9 months, almost 10 months, and is cuter and sweeter than ever.  Aiko is a fiesty 2 and a half year old, she is constantly surprising me with her depth.  I am not meant to be a stay at home mom, though.   I’m just not cut out for it, and am trying to figure out what to do as my next step.  It’s not just that I miss having a purpose outside of my family, it’s also that I don’t feel like I am a good mom when I’m always with the girls.  Hopefully the next entry will find me more at peace with the self-family-work balance.

This has been an incredible week!  Bruce got a job, at an industrial design company in La Jolla, Darin and Melissa had their baby boy, Alden Kai Busby, and my brother Dave moved out to San Diego.  That was all just last Wednesday.  Since then, Torrey has reached some milestones, as she approaches her six month birthday!  She has started to say “ma ma”, she has sat up on her own for almost a minute or so, she has gone on the swing at the park, sat in a highchair at a restaurant, and tomorrow will be having her first swimming lesson!  What an amazing time for her, she just seems to be growing by leaps and bounds.  She is also getting close to rolling over on her own, from her back to her front, and seems to be enjoying her tummy time much more than before.  So, many exciting milestones in our lives, all around April Fool’s Day, 2009.

This week we’ll be heading to Anza Borrego State Park for our first camping trip with both Torrey and Aiko.  It will be our first camping trip since July of 2007, when we went with Aiko up the west coast, driving through northern California and Oregon and on to Washington.  I’m looking forward to seeing Bruce’s teepee tent once again, and hoping that we’ll all enjoy the trip.  It’s only for a night, but with the two little ones I know it will be interesting. I’m really looking forward to seeing the desert in bloom and going on some nice hikes with Tutu and Patu (Ken and Maile, Bruce’s parents).

I know Aiko will love her first s’more!

Sadly it’s been 6 whole months since I posted anything here, not that anyone cares except for me!  But yes, in October came the birth of our second baby girl, Torrey, who like her older sister is gorgeous and healthy.  She is now approaching her 3 month birthday.  In September I left my job of the past three years at the Nature Conservancy (nature.org) – which was quite difficult for me.  I had an amazing time while working in the Conservation Science and Planning department of the California chapter, and got to know and admire my many colleagues there immensely.  The decision to leave was based on our decision to move to San Diego, so after Torrey was born we spent a few weeks enjoying her (and suffering from sleep deprivation) and then began to pack our belongings.  We moved out of Oakland on December 1 and arrived in San Diego the very next day to our new home in Pacific Beach.

We are enjoying being near Bruce’s parents and my mom, as well as having Bruce’s brother and his wife in town too.

But, needless to say we are missing our life and friends in the Bay Area.

It’s hard to believe that it’s already the middle of the year, and that spring is almost over and summer is soon upon us!  Bruce’s art opening was fantastic – albeit I may be somewhat biased, but I thought his work looked great and the event was really fun.  We had a great time visiting with family and friends in Los Angeles.

All is well – the news is that we are having another baby girl!  We now need to get cracking on thinking of names…it should be fun!

Aiko is 18 months today, she’s really turning into such a big girl – and she is so much fun.  Her favorite things are putting keys into keyholes, pretending to talk on the cell phone, and saying hello to strangers.

Well, it’s been a while. 3 months in fact, all of which have been rough for me, as I am pregnant again and have been battling with severe “morning sickness” which of course is an all day, everyday affair for me. Life in Oakland is good though, Aiko is amazing and loving, and everyday surprises me with her understanding of so much that is going on around her. Bruce has a show at the Santa Monica Museum of Art next month, and has been working crazily to finish his new work for the show. http://www.smmoa.org/site/exhibits/onViewNow.html

I am looking forward to the arrival of our newest one, but glad it’s still 6 months away. Lots of things to do before then…

Thanks to Amy for inspiring me to write – and her recommendation of the site ETSY http://www.etsy.com/

I can’t wait to see if there’s anything out there that I must have!

As a newcomer to the blog world, I am still learning the ropes. I have a lot to learn. I’d like to add photos and videos and songs and of course, write oodles and oodles about my life and musings, but the problem is that I am just not dedicated enough. There is a reason for this, and I can’t blame it on a lack of time. I’ll admit it – it’s Facebook. It has stifled my creativity and ability to write – all I want to do is add more friends and look of photos of my friends and their babies! Maybe next time I’ll get it together to do more with this space. In the meantime, here are some coworkers’ baby (and baby to come) blogs – they are much more dedicated than myself!

http://lilchimpy.blogspot.com/

http://ransomedoff.blogspot.com/

http://klausmeyerkid.blogspot.com/

I have been so tired lately.  It feels like I’m spinning in circles cooking, cleaning, working, eating, changing diapers, giving a bath, and then at night I feel like I can’t even properly relax because of the fatigue.  Sigh.

This week will be the first time I’m apart from Aiko for 2 nights because of work.  I feel really anxious about it, but I know she will be fine with Bruce.

Maybe I’ll get some “rest”

We went down to San Diego for the holidays. It was fun to unwrap presents and make gingerbread cookies and sit by the fire with my family.  My baby Aiko loves her grandparents and especially their dog Kula, who really isn’t that interested in return.

The nicest gift we received was a hawaiian style baby quilt that included photos of all of Aiko’s family members, Grandpa Ben, Obachan, Grandpa Ken, Tutu, Uncle Dave, Uncle Darin, Aunt Melissa, Dada, Mama and Aiko herself.

I am looking forward to the new year and going hiking with our new backpack baby carrier in the Oakland hills!