What's the haps @ 2 Inyo?

This is my last post to 2 Inyo. . .soon you will be able to read all about life with Mel on our new blog. I have lots to post and was going to save this entry too but melina keeps asking me if I sent out her b-day list. The kid loves birthdays that is for sure! So, for her and all of you who have been asking, here is what Mel would like for her birthday:

1. Dorothy costume from the Wizard of Oz
2. Magician costume
3. Big, sturdy sandbox
4. Wizard of Oz book
5. Dora books--Super Babies and the Dance ones

What she needs. . .clothes. She is outgrowing things daily. She is 37 inches tall and about 36lbs. Wearing size 4T at least.

Melina has been asking to go roller skating for several months now. Not sure where she got the idea. . I think around Christmas she got a present that was a doll on roller skates and that may have sparked it. Anyway, I finally took her and she had a blast. I found a tiny tots roller skating class at a place that I roller skated as a child. It has not changed at all! We had a great time. Unfortunately it is a bit far (about an hour) so I am not sure how often we will go, but I promised to take her again this week. I have a great video of her, but of course no idea how to upload it!

Thanks Val!

Safety first---Melina is the first to remind us that she MUST wear a helmet before getting on her bike.

A few weeks ago Bill and Melina were walking home and Mel told him that the luna was smiling at her. She loves the moon, mom showed her where it was when she was just a baby and Melina has been fixated on it since then. She always points out the moon/luna and stars to us.

So the other evening she and I were out for a walk and she told me she wanted to go to the moon and touch it. I told her she could when she grows up and I bet she would love it. She asked if I would come with her and I told her probably not because mommy gets motion sickness something awful. She said OK mommy, I will take a picture of me on the moon for you and bring it back. So cute. Now she walks around telling people she is going to be an astronaut. Well, she got to try it out at the discovery museum in Truckee!

Mel and Owen in the snow

We're back from Tahoe and everyone had a great time. Chad posted some pics on flickr so you can check them out here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecrowells/sets/72157603780679210/

We spent the first week of the new year in Kauai with some friends. They have a son Mel's age so the kids had been talking about swimming, the beach and turtles for weeks. We had beautiful weather all week, it didn't rain once which is rare in Jan in Princeville! Must be Bill's good luck--he really does have the best luck.

Day 1 at the beach (Kee'e). Got to the house about 1am, at the beach by 8am--Melina was SO excited!

Come on daddy, let's surf!

Melina as a mermaid

We went to a luau at the Princeville Resort and Melina had a blast! Ok, this shot is a little close. They kept passing out the Mai Tais though and who am I to pass up a cocktail with an umbrella when I'm on the beach?! Good thing we could walk home!

Mel wanted to go on stage and try out the hula

She loved the dancers, especially the ones with the fire

Our last beach day

Last surfing lesson before we had to catch a plane home.

We went to the Fairmont the weekend before Christmas for a little pre-Christmas family celebration. We all had a great time, especially Melina! (I know I am WAY behind on posting these pics)

Melina running around the rooftop garden

Riding the cable car for the first time

It was Bill's first time on the cable car too. . .what tourists!

Mel enjoying her dessert at dinner. Special treat night

A little bath to wash off all the ice cream that didn't make it in her mouth.

Breakfast in bed. . .I could get used to this!

A little R&R with daddy after a big breakfast

Sightseeing and visiting the big Christmas tree

Melina and her daddy

Can't forget about itty!

Thought we would kick off the new year with a little family hike.

It is raining here so we had to move our painting projects inside. Mel keeps singing "rain rain go away." Guess Seattle is not top on her list to move to.

Potty break from painting.

Melina had her second dentist appt today. She was in heaven and keeps asking to go back. They have TVs in the ceiling with headphones and Dora on the TV. She reclined her chair and did everything the dentist asked without any problem. She has all her teeth now so teething should be behind us for a while thank goodness.

We just returned from KY and had a very nice visit. We went in for Thanksgiving and we able to stay a couple extra days so we were also able to visit the Louisville Zoo (which was great! They have a baby elephant).

It is so hard to take a picture with a 2 year old!

Of course, the one picture Melina is looking at the camera, no one else was ready

Practicing on the balance beam with cousin Seth and Phyllis

As I type this Melina is on my lap saying "I want to have a party again mommy!" We celebrated my birthday yesterday with my parents and Melina made the cupcakes. We all decorated our own and of course she would like to have a party everyday!

Melina did not find it humorous this AM when I insisted on taking her picture in her "all bundled up" outfit. Bill took her in the stroller this morning when he went jogging and it was cold at 6am so I told her to make sure she was bundled up. I thought it was cute.

Our Saturday began like any other ordinary Saturday morning. I took Mel to the gym with me and then she had soccer practice. After practice we went to the winter faire at the local school here and she had a blast checking out the fire engine, sledding and seeing all her little friends. We came home, she napped and Bill and I got ready to go out. We actually had plans and were very excited to be going to a party to celebrate a friend’s birthday. We got all dressed, packed up Mel to take her to my parent’s house for the night and set off. About 5 miles down the road Mel started to fuss and Bill offered her a snack to which she said “no daddy, I blahhhhh.” Vomit everywhere. Projectile vomit all over the car, Melina, her towelie, Bill’s hair I think too. Wish I had a camera to take a picture of Bill's face (you know how much he loves that car). We immediately pulled over and checked things out. It was obvious we weren’t going to be going anywhere. Back home, vomit, vomit and more vomit. Poor kid. So much for making plans and so much for my new silk shirt. Oh well, such is life. Right now everything is on hold. Looks like we are home bound for a while. Ah, life with children.

Dear Santa,

I saw you in the store yesterday and since you were so busy I thought I better send you a letter too with my requests. As my mommy pointed out, I do not need an x-box 360 or a Halo 3 game. I don't even know what those things are and I am sure they are not toddler appropriate. Like you said Santa, it was not nice of my daddy to use my letter for his requests, not nice at all. So, for your convenience I have modified my Christmas list for make things easier for you:

1. A rain jacket size 3T or 4T (I am tall)
2. Red crocs (size 7-8)
3. Renewal of my annual SF Zoo Pass
4. I need some PJs, size 4t
5. Music cds suitable for a tiny tulip
6. Books
7. Clothes, well, more like outfits. Size 3 - 4t
8. Toddler-sized Dora backpack
9. Renewal of my Discovery Museum Pass
10.One of those cool bikes without pedals (I think they are real expensive though)

My mommy and daddy said I have too many toys and since they are thinking about moving I better not ask for any toys this year. That's ok because I really do have plenty.

Thanks Santa and Merry Christmas!
Melina J.

Melina is really into building things. She spent the weekend with my mom and we swear everytime she does she comes home smarter! Tonight she worked for quite some time building the perfect fort for her teddy bear. She described every step to us as she did it and talked to teddy bear asking him for his imput along the way. Bill and I sat there a bit speechless.

Discussing teddy bear's needs

Consulting with daddy

Trying it out so far

Making modifications

This weekend was the annual Halloween Parade. Mel was a panda this year.

So this past weekend we went to visit some friends. We had planned this visit for weeks (maybe even months)--schedules, nap times, etc--we finally had a date and we all looking forward to catching up. We headed out after Melina's Halloween party and got to the hotel a couple hours later. Melina decided there was no way she was going to nap since there was so much to do in the hotel room (climbing in and out of the closet door was her favorite) so she and I headed to the pool while Bill worked. I had a great dinner with friends and Bill and Mel had a date night and then went shopping.

All seemed fine when I got back to the hotel about 11:30pm. Bill was watching a movie and Melina was sound asleep. Not sure what happened but about 1am Mel woke up. At first she just wanted to use the potty. Fine. Well then she wouldn't go back to sleep. She used the potty excuse several more times so we let her go sit on the potty---what are you going to do, tell her no? Anyway, it was just downhill from there. She was up all night, extremely hyper. She wanted to play, scream, cry, anything but sleep. I think she woke up the entire floor. At about 4:30am I had had it and wanted to pack up and drive home. Bill convinced me it was a bad idea and we stuck it out with her for another couple of hours. By 7, we were out of there and let me just say it was not a pretty sight. Driving home after being up all night, all Sunday plans of having breakfast, going to the park by the hotel and spending the day with our friends at the kids museum down there gone, I swore it was the end of travel for us. All future trips were going to be cancelled.

Well after a nap I regained some perspective and decided it would be silly to cancel trips, we didn't buy the travel insurance anyway! We only have two booked right now anyway (KY and Cabo), and even though I know we are going to CH next summer I think I will hold off on booking tickets for a while.

All was not lost, since we were home we did go to the p'patch yesterday afternoon and Mel picked out her pumpkin.

You would never know this kid was up all night!

Ok, starting to look a little tired

Today Mel had a Halloween party to attend so she got dressed up in her Panda costume and told everyone she was Ling Ling the Panda and ate bamboo. The party was fun although the outdoor area seemed to be the biggest hit. The panda hat had to come off as it was about 80 degrees today!

Swinging panda

Wow, this panda costume makes me fly down the slide!

This weekend was baby Bryce's welcome to the world party. My cousin Annette had a baby boy in September and since she had to spend the last part of her pregnancy on bed rest, her baby shower was moved to October so we all got to meet Bryce. Quite a little cutie! That makes 3 boys and 3 girls for cousins on the Marca side now. Funny, for my first cousins there are 4 girls and 4 boys. Wonder if it will work out the same way. The part was great, they did an amazing job. It was a carnival theme and plenty to do for everyone. I love themed parties, they make life as a parent much easier : )

The day after the party we all got together at Mom and Dad's for a BBQ. The kids all got to play together and all of us got a chance to catch up on life and such. A very rare opportunity these days! It was a really nice weekend.

Here is a pic of Mel and Emma--as you can see 2 year olds are very hard to photograph!

We took Melina to Train Town today and of course she loved it. She wanted to go on all the rides and fortunately for her, so did Bill!

We spent the last four days in Graeagle with the family. We rented a house (which was HUGE) and had a great time. Lots of time to hike, play in the woods, golf and just hang out. Not a whole lot happening in Graeagle so you better really like your company! Fortunately for us, we did.

A walk down to the golf course to check things out. Our house was on the 11th hole so we were nice and close.

Melina practicing her golf swing with her Nono.

Melina with daddy and her fishing stick.

Melina relaxing on the deck after her long hike

The house. . .

Melina found the perfect walking stick and her Auntie pulled all the rough ends off of it for her. She needed it for her hike since she walked most of the way!

Mel stopped at the snow patches to check them all out. That kid loves snow!

Hit a snag in the trail, but Auntie Val carried her right over the log bridge.

Melina, our guide.

Nona, where are you???

A little fishing in the local lake. . .

A little rest before the big hike.

Snack time before the hike.

More fishing along the hike. Showing Nona all the fish.

Melina wanted to bake a cake yesterday. We read how George made a cake in her Curious George birthday book so all she wanted to do was to bake a cake like George, so we did. Bill had to go to the store and get us eggs, but we kept busy while he was gone. She mixed, measured, poured and stirred for quite some time. Oh and shake too. We were almost done and she said "Mommy, we forgot to shake, we MUST shake." So I gave her the pepper (to go in a different bowl obviously, not the cake bowl). She loves baking and cooking. We took a toddler baking class together a couple of months ago and it was a disaster---the teacher moved so slow that she (and I) were bored instantly. Melina had no interest in baking the bread during that class because the teacher was teaching the class like the kids were 10, not under 2! Anyway, we skipped the rest of the classes and have been baking and cooking together at home and at Nono and Nona's house. She is having a blast.

July 30, 2007
I thought I had posted an update after her 2 year appt. but I can't find it. Hmm. Well, I will write it again since some of you have asked how her 2 year check-up went. All went very well. She was 35 inches tall and just over 29lbs. Her doctor gave us percentiles but I already forgot where she fell--I think in the 70% for both or something like that. He said she is a healthy little girl and thriving. Her vocabulary is excellent and she is talking non-stop and in sentences, learning cause and effect, etc, which is where we want her to be. For example, she saw a baby crying (probably got a shot) and said "mommy baby is crying, baby got hurt. baby is sad." It is really amazing how she is learning about emotions and understands when people are happy, sad, upset, etc.

She had to get one shot which we heard about for days "I have a boo-boo. See here on my leg. Band-aid--shot---oww."

Her doctor did say we needed to make sure she was getting enough iron. We don't eat a lot of meat in our house so he wanted to be sure she was getting plenty of iron from other sources. Fortunately she loves spinach and beans.

I know, I know, we need to update the website. Thank you all so much for your constant reminders : ) We are busy over here! As most of you know, I took a break from my consultant gig this summer and cut my hours from 30/wk back to 5/wk. Huge shift. Being a stay-at-home mom (and engaged as Oprah likes to say) is SO much harder than working. Now I understand why so many moms go back to work! Anyway here is a picture of Mel playing with cousin Owen's drum set. More pictures to come I promise. I might have to get a job to have the time to post them though!!

Today was Melina's first day of Italian ('talian as she calls it) summer school. She loved it. This week is cooking so today they baked cookies. She had a great time. Ate lunch off of china. . . hope she doesn't get too spoiled there!

We celebrated Melina's 2nd Birthday party at Gymboree. We celebrated a little early this year so mom could attend before she left for CH. Melina had a blast!

Dave (Bill's dad) came out for a visit this week to celebrate Melina's Birthday. Melina had a great time time with him.

Melina showing off her swimming skills

Opening presents from Dave and Phyllis

Having tea in her new house that he bought for her for her b-day

Bill organized a toy drive for our local park. It was quite successful!

http://www.marinij.com/fairfax/ci_6155631

Melina went to a superhero birthday party today and dressed up as supergirl. She had a blast!

Melina has started putting short sentences together and some of them are a crack up. It made me realize that I should be writing some of these down so I remember them!

Our first night in Hawaii Bill was concerned that she would climb out of the hotel crib so he wheeled her into our room once she fell asleep (the place was huge, much bigger than our house!). She woke up about 3am and said "daddy, bathing suit, swim, now!" and then went back to sleep. I laughed so hard I had trouble falling back asleep.

She saw turtles in Hawaii and explained to one little boy "my turtle, don't touch, turtle is hungry." what?

Everything is "mine" these days. My beach, my pool, my airplane, my park, etc. But, interestingly enough, when we go to my parent's house everything is Nono's. Nono's house, nono's pool, nono's car. I guess he is the only one who is able to "own" anything other than her!

On our walk the other night I asked her to put her hood back on which she did and then turned around to me and said "ok mama, you put your hood on too." I was sweating about 10 minutes later so I tried to sneak it off, she caught me and smiled and said "mamaaaa, hood, where are you hood??"

My favorites:

I love you (more like I wuv you)--20 months
Bless you mommy (one of my very favorites after I sneeze)--21 months
Excuse me (more like 'scuse me)--20 months

She has known all her body parts in English and Italian for quite some time now, but now she knows them in Swedish too (thanks to her babysitter). It is a crack up.

My cousin Duane got married this past weekend so all the cousins were in town for the wedding. Melina got to meet her cousin Anessa and also play with cousin Emma again. Here are some pictures of Mel and Emma at the park:

Mel's been wearing her sunglasses, getting ready for our Hawaii trip next month. She and her doll are learning to hula dance.

Because we don't have enough Melina stuff in our house, Bill thought a puppet show would be a nice addition to our living room. Oh well, she loves it and how much space do he and I really need?!

Sunday was Liam's 3rd birthday party--pizza at the park. Our kind of party! Mel had a blast

Saturday was Toddler Day at the ranch. Melina and Noah were both very excited to see all the animals and run around the ranch splashing in the mud puddles.

Let's go!

There was face/hand painting. Melina had a butterfly painted on her hand

Mel having a little snack from the garden.

Melina and Noah had a chance to wash the fresh chicken egg before they were going to cook it for them for breakfast. But, mel washed it a little too much and it had a bit of an accident.

Melina pet the sheep and the goats

This picture is a couple months old, but I think it is really cute. Mel was telling her shadow to jump and they were jumping down the street together.

My Nona made a HUGE bunny cake for the big easter egg hunt at my friend (and neighbor) Cece's house. It was so good!

My daddy tried to take my egg. . . .well not really the egg, just what was inside.

More searching. . .

Found a helper. . .

Thought I would try out a different strategy--riding around to find eggs

Saturday we went to Mel's little friend Noah's house for a Easter Extravaganza. Mel's first egg hunt where she was on her own cruising around and actually searching for eggs. She loved it, all the kids loved it.

And the hunt begins. . .

A little break after brunch and all the egg hunting. . .

How will I carry all these eggs?!

I think I've got it. . .

More searching back home. . .

We went to Tahoe this weekend and Melina got a chance to see snow and have some fun making snow angels.

Another day of painting at the discovery museum. This week we had our weekly playdate there with my mom's group. I love that someone else cleans up! We go very often, probably twice a week : ) A very nice break.

The dumptrucks are one of Mel's favorite activities at the discovery museum

Safety first. . . .

The weather has been beautiful here! We took Melina to the zoo on Sunday to see all the animals. She loved the lions and the petting zoo.

Ok, so I realize this is not going to be very exciting for other people, but it is for us so I had to share.

Guess who pooped on the potty? Yep, little Mel is now a potty queen. She has been into the potty for about a month now, talking about it and watching it. I have been reluctant to start the whole potty-training thing due to lack of time. Lame I know, but diapers are so convenient right now with both of us working and Melina always on the go since she can't stand to be inside for more than 30 minutes at a time. I can't even begin to think about finding a bathroom everywhere we go.

But, yesterday she woke up from her nap and said "mama, poo-poo." I asked her if she poo-poo'd and needed changing. She said "no" and ran into the bathroom, picked up her little potty that fits on the big potty and said "up." We took off her diaper and I put her on the Pooh (the irony I know) toilet and she sat there and talked and talked. I pulled up a seat and we hung out. After about 5 minutes she asked for a book. Brought her a book and she read an pooped, talking the whole time. She finished, said bye-bye, we flushed and that was it. About 3 hours later she said "mama, potty," and we went back, she pee'd and was so darn proud of herself. She should be, I am so proud of her too. Now what?

Melina is doing excellent on her sharing this week

Bill took Melina out for a walk so I could clean the house this morning. There are definitely times I am very thankful we have such a small house! They are still out so I have a few extra minutes before we head out for our morning activities (today is painting at the discovery museum) and thought I would write about Bill's birthday. People keep asking what we did, how his big bday was so I thought I would write a quick note about it.

I surprised him with a couple of days in Carmel and we had a great time. We stayed at the Hyatt Highlands which is beautiful. It is on a cliff overlooking the ocean. We stayed there 2 nights and had a great time. It was nice to kick back and lounge in the hot-tub, read uninterrupted, whale watch while cocktailing, read an entire paper and drink hot coffee!! Kind of made me feel like it was my birthday too!

We got back Tuesday night and picked up Mel from my parent's house. We had Bill's annual bday dinner (for those of you who don't know, my mom makes dinner of your choice and whatever dessert you want on your birthday). Bill, having the elite taste he does, always comes up with something very interesting. This year his cake was a torte. Delicious, but my goodness, thank you to my mom, because I certainly am not about to spend a day making a specialty torte! I did make cupcakes for him on Wed night though--Bill likes his birthday celebration to go on for several days.

Anyway, that was what we did. I thought it was great. Bill can add in his own two cents, but I am pretty sure he would agree.

Mel got some new snow boots and is all ready for Tahoe. Now, if we could just get away and go. . .

Mel had her 18 month check-up appt on Tuesday. She clapped and yelled YAAAA when I pulled into the parking lot. Ok, maybe I have taken her there a couple of times, but hey I am a first time mom and better to be safe than sorry. So, her appt went very well. She weighs 25lbs and is almost 32 inches. I mentioned that she had 10 more to go before Disneyland and our nurse (who worked at Marine World) said it is 43 inches for most rides. Hmm, we have a way to go. Melina is in the 55% percentile for height and 50% for weight. Her head circumference is a bit on the high end, but she wears it well!

Her pediatrician was very impressed with her communication skills and her determination as she was normal Mel in there. Thank goodness both Bill and I were there so I could actually go through my list, ask my questions and hear the responses. We had very important questions such as toothpaste/no toothpaste, start potty/hold off on potty, rash or dry skin, 40 oz of milk a bad thing, etc. :)

All went well and then the shots. Poor thing got 4 shots, 2 in each leg. After her nap that day, when I went in to get her, she pointed to her band-aids and said "ouchie mama, ouchie." It was really sad. She had a fever for a full day and walked like Frankenstein because her little legs were so sore.

Did we post x-mas pictures? I can't remember. . . doesn't look like it. Hmm, well in case you haven't seen pics, here are a few:

Mel in her Christmas dress. It was so cute on her, yet we could not get a good picture!

Mel attempting to call Dorothy to thank her for the bear she is holding

Mel and daddy reading her new Elmo book from Cousin Seth

Bill and I are debating what to about CH this year. Of course, we want to go, but the idea of flying after the last couple of flights with Melina has us both hesitant (me more than him). On our last trip (we went to KY) Melina caught a cold on the plane ride home and was sick for almost 6 weeks. It was terrible and not something I want to go through again anytime soon.

But, we have a ton of FF miles and we need to use them. We have offered them to several people to use to come visit us but no one wants them. People are busy these days and a free trip is certainly not a "vacation" when you are going to visit someone with a child so I understand. So, as much as I despise the tedious process of redeeming airline miles, I have been thinking about destinations for us. Bill would like to go to Hawaii maybe over x-mas time this year. We had planned on going to Disneyland in December but I think we will wait a bit longer. I have heard 3 is a good age and before that is just too much work. We'll see.

So, in trying to decide on CH this summer or not I went back and looked through pics from last summer. I love it over there, we all do. Here are some of my favorites from last summer.

Making the bed used to be such an easy task. These days it is still easy but takes about three times as long. First, everything is pulled off the bed. Then Clyde jumps in the bed, Melina runs up beside him and says ”up” so up she goes and the two of them sit there waiting. . . .the sheet goes on and she cracks up and rolls around. Clyde chases the corners trying to catch them which just makes her crack up more. The comforter goes on and Clyde takes off. Melina insists that we sing the parachute song from either Gymboree and Tumbling while I fluff the comforter. Once that is done, we put the pillows on the bed and then both flop down and bounce around. Gone are the days of having a neat looking bed, but hey, at least it is made.

I heard Melina digging through her toy bucket this morning and then the pitter-patter of her little feet down the hallway. She was making a sound I couldn’t quite make out. I was doing the dishes and she came up and grabbed my leg. When I looked down I realized she had her bee puppet and was running around saying bzzzzz. She quickly departed from my leg and headed back down the hallway chasing Clyde with her bee puppet saying bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

So I was recently informed that kids should know 20 words by 15 months. Meaning, they should know what twenty things actually are. Walking around saying dada and calling everything dada doesn't count.

Well Melina has always been a chatterbox, but after hearing about the 20 words/15 months thing, I started to pay very close attention and we started counting. Phew, we are in good shape. Cross that parenting worry off my list. Now onto learning to share. . . . .

Here are her words so far (in no particular order):

Kitty (itty-itty was her first word at about 9 months). Actually, Dada was her first word a while ago, but Bill drilled that one into her so not sure if it really counts.
Clyde
Papa
Mama
Nono
Nona
Car
Keys
Banana
Ball
Elmo
Pumpkin
Cup
More
Cheese
Cake
Baby
Up
Cece
Uh-oh
Thanks
Santa
Bye-bye
No
Cho-cho (pacifier in Italian)
Occhi (eyes)
Naso (nose)
Boca (mouth)
Baci (kiss)

Halloween night was exhausting! I had to take a seat at Cece's house and rest up for a bit. She thought my daddy was real funny taking this picture.

Saturday morning was the big Pixie Park Parade. All the kids got dressed up, there were all kinds of fun things--a juggler, pictures, a real cowboy, a fire truck for all the kids to ride on, a police car, tractor, magic show, pumpkins and balloons for all, all kinds of fun stuff. Most importantly, they had tons of food and Peets coffee for the parents : )

Hanging out on the lawn with mom

Fun times with Nona!

A tired little monkey at the end of the parade. It is tough being so cute!

Saturdays are my special mornings with my daddy. He takes me to tumbling. Today my mommy came and took pictures. Look at me fly!

Oh look at those rings. . . come on daddy, let's go to the rings now!

What fun!!

Today the Ross Valley Mom's Group hosted an afternoon at the Pumpkin Patch so we went with our playgroup for some pumpkin fun.

Off in search of that perfect pumpkin!

Still looking. . .

Mel playing (more like climbing over Noah)in the jumpy house with her friends

Our mom's group had their Halloween Party this weekend. Mel went as a ladybug.

And giggles with his Uncle Bill.

I had so much fun in KY, and I especially liked staying at my mamaw Betty's.

She loved the baby chicks. . .

Back at the house, she opened presents Carolyn had brought her. My goodness, look at that look when I tried to help!

And the end result, after she got it open. . .

This is me in the park today, mastering walking on sand.

Little Melina *Really* started cruising today.

Take a look.

I went to KY a few weeks ago to meet my Great Grandmas, all my great aunts and uncles and to see the rest of my family. I had so much fun.

Here I am packing, trying to decide what to bring. . .how will it all fit?!

We went to the Aquarium to see all the fish. Wow! What fun!!

My daddy let me touch a shark and I still have all my tiny fingers!

Then, my Grandpa took us all out to dinner. I loved my mashed potatoes and I got to drink out of a big girl straw cup. Here I am after dinner with my aunties and Grandpa.

Here we are again with daddy and cousin Seth too!

On Sunday, Grandpa let me pet the horses. I was so close to them! Poor Phyllis got shocked from the fence though so that wasn't so fun for her. Grandpa laughed and laughed though (with Phyllis) and I did too. Wow, those horses are big!!

More pictures to come. . . .

Mel in the tub, having a good scrub. . .

Oh, how she love her "towelie." She takes it everywhere

Yesterday was my first day back at work. It was kind of crazy because I had to go to SF and I brought Mel with me. Bill watched her while I had my meetings. She had a good time and enjoyed the adventure. Today she had a babysitter for the first time. My little Mel didn't even blink when her new babysitter loaded her up in the stroller and took her to the park. Melina just waved at me and said "bye-bye." I should be happy that she is so outgoing and is happy around people. Maybe she misses me just a little. . .deep down. . .? I think she thinks she is back in CH. Her babysitter is Italian and is only speaking to her in Italian when she is with her. Melina loves it.

We went camping this weekend with Melina and my mom's group (and families). She loved it! She did really well, went to bed a little past her bedtime (7:30pm) but slept all night and didn't even stir during the raccoon brawl!

We left the house at 5:30am this morning. Had a car service pick us up which worked out great. Arrived at the airport just over 2 hours before our flight. Good thing, because the lines were a mile long and we just made our flight. The first leg to Atlanta was awful. We didn’t want to pay the $1200 for a seat for Melina so instead we just paid the taxes and fees to have her as a lap child ($400). It sucked. I thought we were prepared, but oh no, not even close. Nothing like having a 1 year who wants to stand up and walk around confined to a lap of parent squished in an economy seat. Boy, traveling first class to Cabo was so much better! Anyway, we made it, barely made our connection in Atlanta but once we were settled on the plane, Melina settled down and slept for about 6 hours. Yeah!! We also had bulkhead on that leg and they blocked off the middle seat for us. Not that she could sleep in it, but she could sit in it and we also had a place for all the bottles, toys, blankets, etc. Mom and Dad were there to greet us in Milan and that was awesome. No trains, buses, taxies, just the 5 of us in the car and heading to San Carlo for 5 weeks. Melina was so happy to see them and so were we.

Sunday we had a ice cream cake for Melina with my Grandma, Kevin, Val, Owen, Chad, Heidi and Charlie. Mel wore her new little Clyde kitty outfit that Sarah gave her for her bday. She likes to point at it and say "itty-itty."

Melina wanted to be sure cousin was included in the fun

Melina spent her birthday at the water park with my mom's group. We played in the water and had cupcakes for her birthday. She had a great time. On Saturday, we let her eat (well play with) her birthday cake. She loved it!

Ongoing birthday coverage...

We have bubbles everywhere!

I have a new cousin!! His name is Owen. Although I was at the hospital when he was born, I didn't met him until he was 1 week old. My mom told me it would be better to let him grow a little bit before I gave him tiny hugs and kisses. When I met him, I talked to him (using my inside voice) and welcomed him to the world. Then, I read him a book. He liked it. We are going to have so much fun growing up together!

I can sit forward facing now. Yeah for me!!!

Today we went to the Zoo! Melina and I love having Bill home and being able to spend so much time together as a family. We headed to the zoo today and had a great time.

Of course, just as we exited, Melina fell asleep, so this was the start to our zoo visit.

Look Daddy, there is a big black bear!

Taking a little break after the bat visit.

Hah! Isn't this funny with our little screecher. Yes, we had to move on, she yelped a little too much and got the chimps all stirred up.

Oh boy, she loved the goats. I can't wait to see her in CH when they are right in her front yard!

Walking away with daddy. All Melina wants to do now is hold your hand and walk, no sitting for her anymore. Boy, that 11 hour plane ride should be fun!

Getting a better view of the giraffes. . .

Bye Zoo! We'll be back again!

Melina will be 1 year old on Friday! Her Auntie Jackie came over on Sunday and brought her all kinds of fun birthday gifts.

Melina opening her gifts. . .wonder what it could be. . .

An Italian Dictionary book for kids! What perfect timing.

The piano was a huge hit. Melina's new favorite toy by far. Hopefully she has Bill's musical genes and not mine!

It is a birthday party extravaganza this month! There sure are a lot of summer babies! Melina has seven birthday parties this month although she will only be able to make it to four since we are headed to CH soon. Saturday we went to her friend Alisa’s party where she got to play with all the water toys and lots of friends (I forgot my camera so no pics from that day). Sunday we went to little Hannah’s 1st Birthday party where Mel got to swim and play with more friends. Here she is clapping for the birthday girl as Hannah eats her birthday cake. What fun!

Hi. This is my first popsicle. It gave me a rash.

Also, I have a new cousin. His name is Owen. He has a lot of hair. Uncle Kevin and Auntie Val did a great job.

Ok, I'm off to crawling practice. TTYL

We had a picnic at the park and then Melina and Nona played and played. The rest of us napped.

We went to the Conservatory of Flowers today for Mother's Day. It was beautiful and Melina loved all the flowers and butterflies.

Today is Mother's Day and we began our day at Golden Gate Park at the Merry Go Round. Melina rode the kitty with her dad, Nona (my mom) rode the ostrich and Uncle Kevin took pictures. Melina loved the ride. I didn't ride, just watched. . .motion sickness : )

My Aunt Meredith made me this outfit and I love it!

I love this picture--Mel holds her own bottle now and here she is holding her bottle with one hand and her daddy's hand with the other.

We signed Melina up for swim lessons with her friends Noah and Olivia. Bill and the other dads are taking the little ones to lessons. Here are some pictures of her first swim class.

Sunday morning was brunch with my mom's group and the dads as well. Melina sat next to Noah. He made her laugh and she bumped her head.

Then we took her to the park for some fun in the sand

And of course her favorite, the swing

Saturday was a big day for us here at the house. We worked all day repairing the flood damage. We had been waiting for the rain to stop and thank goodness it finally did! The backyard looks great after a day of hard work and a lot of help from mom and dad. Here is a picture of mom, dad and little Mel taking a break from our big work day.

Melina seems to like her new play area

Melina and Clyde like to play through her crib. It is very cute.

Here is our happy girl this morning in her green sleeper. Her Grandma (Nona) bought it for her for St. Patty's Day and we laughed when she gave it to her because we thought it was so big. Well looks like mom (experienced mom) knows best!

Melina sliding down the Easter Bunny's lap. . .(I don't think the Easter Bunny works with children very often)

Melina and her daddy. She didn't want to leave the Easter Bunny.

Melina waiting for her picture with the Bunny.

We took Melina to an Easter Egg Hunt this morning and then to the Tim Cain sing-a-long. Since it was raining, they moved it inside one of the stores nearby. Here she is dancing to "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Old MacDonald."

Melina loves her Easter dress. Since it is raining and cold here we went for the long sleeve look this year. Maybe next year she'll be able to wear a more "Eastery" type of dress. Perhaps we will have to spend next Easter in Hawaii. . .

Melina is having a great Easter so far. She especially loves the grass in her Easter basket.

Melina in one of my outfits. . . yes, mom saved them.

Our little girl is sick. She has her first fever and is not feeling well at all. You can tell she is not feeling well because the days of her falling asleep in our arms (with the exception of her Grandpa Mel) are long gone. Poor little Melina, she is exhausted.

This entry is for Katie who is getting situated in her new home in London. Go Katie! Life is the same in CA. Weather has been really nice this week so Melina and I have been spending a lot of time at the park. She can swing now which she is very excited about. Oh, and she moved up to Level 2 Gymboree which she is also very excited about. That is about it for life in Fairfax. Hope all is well in London. . .cheerio!

Proof that Melina is my daughter...

Denise came for a visit last week and was able to capture Melina smiling away (with her Grandpa of course). Melina smiles all the time but Bill and I can't seem to catch a good shot on film. Big thanks to Denise (and for coming to visit us)!!

Today we played jump up, jump up and get down

Tummytime is going much better these days. Now that Melina knows how to roll she seems to tolerate tummytime much better. When she has had enough she just rolls herself over.

Merry Christmas to all. We are staying in CA this year with the little one. I miss my family back in KY, but I certainly don't miss traveling over Christmas.

Melina has no idea what is going on, but seems to like all of the lights. And Elmo.

Night two with rice cereal. . . .still not going over so well.

Night one with rice cereal. . . .not going over so well.

We had lunch in Sonoma today and then headed over to the Charles Schulz museum for a little ice skating. It was quite funny watching the crew all ice skate. Melina napped on her Grandpa and then woke up just in time to get in a few little chuckles at the ice skating crew. Fortunately there were no trips to ER.

Melina had a big Thanksgiving. Other than it being her first experience to the whole turkey feast, she met her two aunts (Bill’s sisters) and met her little cousin Emma for the first time. She also saw her cousin Seth again. A lot of excitement for one day!

Like I said... the kid is changing daily. Her new trick is to mimic me or Sharon when we stick our tongue out or give her a rasberry.

Check it:

Happy Halloween!

Melina participated in the parade with her Grandma, who ironically, dressed up like a Grandma for Halloween. Bill and I stood behind her for about 10 minutes looking for her before we heard someone say Mrs. Merritt and she turned around. It was funny.

Someone missed her morning nap today. We went to the Halloween parade at mom's school. Check out our little piggy.

Melina and I seem to have settled into a routine. We aim for an outing a day. I am trying to maintain a balance between not over stimulating her and not going stir crazy from lack of interaction with other adults! So, Mondays we do mommy and me yoga, Tuesday is mom’s group baby hiking club day, Wednesdays Gymboree, Thursdays is our “visiting day”, and Fridays I get together with girlfriends who I went to school with and their little ones. I might also add another mom’s group on Thursdays in San Anselmo, but that is still TBD. Busy, busy. Of course all of this is intertwined with walks around town since little Melina likes motion so much. How is it that she knows the second my feet stop moving? Bright little one and an exhausted mom. I realized the other day that I have become one of “those people.” You know the ones, the people who are always looking for someone to talk to and when you ask them a question (to be polite) they go on and on just so thrilled that someone is actually speaking to them. Yes, I am now one of those people. Nothing makes me happier than when Melina and I are out walking and there are people working on a house in the neighborhood. They are chatters. I have learned all about the local remodeling in the area and a ton about the people who live in these houses. Amazing how much construction people are willing to share about the people who hired them. I’ll have to remember that. Well, for today’s photo, here is a shot of Melina on her Gymbo mat from Gymboree.

Melina is going to be a pig this year for Halloween, but we couldn't resist this little pumpkin outfit. She wore it to the p'patch but wasn't feeling particularly photogenic that day, so we took some pics at home instead. Check back after Halloween and we'll post some pictures of her in her pig costume at the Fairfax Parade.

A couple of shots from our regular Satruday morning photo shoot.

Melina continues to sleep through the night and Clyde is home. Life is good at 2 Inyo these days. It is Saturday morning and the house is quite, everyone is still sleeping. I thought I would take a moment and write a little update since I have been neglecting my entries the last few weeks. I spoke to a friend this past week who just got home from the hospital after giving birth to a beautiful baby boy. I was very quickly reminded how difficult that first week was. She has a breastfeeding sleeper like Melina which makes feeding time somewhat frustrating. I can still picture Melina’s little 6lb 11oz body stripped down to a diaper and the lactation consultant standing over us tickling her toes and drenching her with a wet rag to wake her up. After an hour and a half feeding, half hour break while Bill changed her and burped her, it was time to do it all over again. Is it bad to say that I am glad those days have passed? All I could offer my friend was support and encouragement that she is doing beautifully, is feeling exactly how she is supposed to (tired, frustrated, happy, etc) and the best advice that I was given---hang in there, breathe, it gets a little easier every day.

Life has become a little easier each day. Easier being the key word—not easy. I must say though that life greatly improved once she began sleeping through the night—about 4 weeks ago (thank you Babywise). Amazing how you are so much more capable of taking on the day when you have had some sleep! Melina and I are also beginning to understand each other which helps immensely. I am able to somewhat distinguish hunger cries from wet diaper cries from boredom cries. She can interact now and is able to play with some of her activity sets. She sure is cute. I can’t wait for Halloween—so far she has three costumes so we will be going to a lot of Halloween parties! She has a cow, a pig and of course, a pumpkin. Perhaps we can dress her up when we take her to the pumpkin patch as well. Stay tuned for some new pictures. . .

This is the first recorded evidence of Melina smiling at me. I was singing "Brass Monkey" to her... slightly edited for content of course.

Instead of "wherever we go, we take monkey with us", we take monkey mittens.

That's how we roll.

Melina at 3 weeks with mom and dad

We hit the seven week mark today and it seems like ages ago that I gave birth. I am sure you have all heard the labor story by now and yes, it is still fresh in my memory. I understand now why many people wait a couple of years before having their next child.

Melina is growing away and weighs about 10lbs now. She talks (well we call it talking), smiles and is developing her little personality each day. So much has happened in the last 7 weeks. She has met all her grandparents, many friends, neighbors and even some of the local creek go-ers. We’ve been on daily walks, many adventures around Marin and even out to dinner a couple of times and made it through the entire meal! We have also had our share of spit-ups, diaper blow-outs, flying pee and even our first ER visit (which was scary, but all is OK). Speaking of the bodily fluids, how can something so small have so much poop come out? I had to part with outfit number three today. So far I have had to trash three outfits, three changing pads, one pair of PJ’s and a pair of Bill’s khakis. There is only so much spray and wash can do. Oh, and to follow-up with those of you who heard about the couch incident, believe it or not, it is covered under our Macys couch warranty. I am not one for warranties, but boy was that money well spent.

All in all, life is good. Melina is a joy and we are loving watching her grow each day.

Today was my first day back at work, and I really missed Sharon and Melina because I have spent the last three weeks solid with them.

Melina was hungry when I got home, so I started to feed her. Sharon forgot to mention that she hadn't had a BM all day. As I was feeding her, I noticed that she was farting a lot. Loudly. That's my girl I thought... until I lifted her up to burp her. Our little dear had aparently had blow out on my lap.

Probably won't be the last time... at least we thought ahead enough to buy lots of spray and wash.

Sharon and I have been slowly trying out all the baby gadgets that we bought for little Mel.

Today was baby bjorn day. I have to say, it looks ridiculous, and I know that passersby were openly mocking me, but it sure is a lot less effort than putting together the stroller / car seat travel system every time we want to walk uptown.

Let's just say the little one was not as enthusiastic as her dad.

Check it out... if that isn't a classic guitar solo pose, I don't know what is.

Melina has a belly button as of 4pm today.

The cord was misplaced temporarily, but was found before Clyde could start playing with it.

I have to admit, I really like the new "Thrive" campaign that Kaiser Permanente is running in northern California.

With that said, you can imagine my surprise when I found my family's experience with the Kaiser facility in San Francisco last Wednesday night / early Thursday morning squarely at odds with the "Thrive" campaign's promises of caring and wellness.

In addition to "celebrating broccoli, SPF 30 sunscreen, all kinds of exercise, (and) faith in optimism...", apparently Kaiser SF also believes in the power of having a 38-week pregnant patient with contractions that are 3 minutes apart wait for 9 hours to be admitted to the hospital. They must also believe in empowering the patient to problem solve at 4 o'clock in the morning by offering the choice of going home (with contractions 3 minutes part) or *driving* to the nearest Kaiser facility, which is over an hour away. At 4 in the morning... on a foggy night... with a wife in major pain. The reason given was that they didn't have the staff to "offer us care".

What a truly crappy experience. Just poor. We were treated like we walked into a trauma unit with a paper cut.

When Sharon called to tell Kaiser SF L&D that she was coming in, she should have been told at that point to either stay home or go to another facility... seems pretty straightforward, doesn't it?

The crappy experience was personified by the attending labor and deliver physician that night. I won't name names, but I should. After several hours of waiting, she graced us with her presence and gave my wife one of the roughest physical exams I have ever seen. The doc was obviously frustrated by whatever else was going on in the unit that night, and she was definitely letting it affect her performance. She asked where we lived, and when we said Fairfax, she rolled her eyes and huffed... obviously hoping we were close enough to send home. Seriously, what a witch. To top it all off, as she was leaving the room, she stole the copy of People that someone had bought Sharon to pass the time. She just grabbed it and walked out. Truly weird.

When I asked Dr. Personality how we were supposed to manage Sharon's pain on the drive up north, she agreed to getting us an ambulance to Santa Rosa. Not optimal, but it was the best deal we had, so we took it. A little after 4 we were on our way out. To add insult to injury, Doctor Satan waited until the EMTs had Sharon on a gurney and on her way down the hall before announcing that she needed to do one final exam.

Words can't express the relief I felt as we left the facility. It was clear that the attending had zero interest or motivation in providing us care that night. She wanted us to be someone else's problem. Not exactly the experience Kaiser is going for, I have to think.

The scary thing is, the more people in Marin we tell this story to, the more we hear of similar experiences.

There is a happy ending...
The staff at Santa Rosa was fabulous. They took such good care of us and really made us feel comfortable during one of the most intense experiences our family has had.

Most importantly, we had a beautiful and healthy little girl.

Howdy All!

We have a little girl, Melina Grace Johnston. Born on July 14th at 2:19 pm.

Sharon and I have been coasting on about 3 hours sleep a day since Wednesday, so until I have time to write up our version of the story, I thought I would share Grandpa Mel's, all the way from San Carlo Switzerland.

It seems we are well on our way to meeting little Melina in person, but then again, maybe not. Went to the doctor Tuesday and was told I am now 80% effaced and 2-3 cm dilated. My doctor said we need to be ready as little Mel can decide to come out any day now. She hopes to see me at my next appt on the 12th, but said she would not be shocked if I went into labor before that. However, she also said that it would be a good idea to make an appt to see her on the 1st of August just in case Melina is not out. She will want to “encourage” her out on the 1st. So, who really knows? All I know is that if we make it past my due date she is going to weigh close to 10 lbs and that is not sounding like a fun afternoon for anyone. Today is Thursday so if she is on my “SF parking schedule” then perhaps she will decide this weekend is a good time to head out into the world. We’ll see. In the meantime, I am trying my best to shake this cold I caught. Spending a lot of time resting and remembering the days when popping a few cold medicine pills and cough syrup would have cured this problem in no time. I can’t remember the last time I had to “ride out” a cold—if ever. Oh well, new experiences! My handsome boy Clyde is not handling all of this very well. I wonder if he senses something. Sure do wish he could talk.

Well, our little chublet is pushing 7 lbs this week. My doctor continues to believe that she will be early, just not sure when. (Since she is my daughter, I can’t imagine the thought would even cross her mind to be late : ) We’re ready for her, as ready as you can be, so early is OK with me. However, I must say, it would be nice to have more of a ballpark idea as to when she might come out. With every sudden move or contraction I wonder, “is this it?” “could she be coming this early?” Last night the little one was all worked up after her storytime and was using her foot to push into my rib and burrow her head farther down as if she was trying to get out. I for one did not really appreciate the sensation but felt bad for her if she was in fact trying to get out. My body has more prep work to do. As of Tuesday I am 50% effaced, but have not started dilating yet. She has not dropped yet, so I am guessing we still have a while to go. I am tying up all my loose ends and starting on Wed 13th planning on staying close to home, feet up and bags packed in the car. Just keeping my fingers crossed that we can make it to the 20th—after 9pm so mom can be there!

Wow... we are 34 weeks in. 6 to go, plus or minus one.

The time is really flying by. We are slowly getting the house in order, and just have a few more things to do to the nursery.

Here are a few snaps:

The crib.

The kitty shoes that Sharon loves.

Sharon & Clyde.

The start of Melina's college fund (the pink pig).

Audio from the heart monitor on our 5/27 visit.

Melina is clocking in at around 155bpm.

http://www.2inyo.com/files/melina.wav

Ok, we have been bad on keeping up the blog entries so here is mine. A little update on life at 2 Inyo. It is a long one so get comfy!

Yes, Kauai was awesome and we are so happy that we were able to go. A big thanks to mom and dad for making that happen! We had a wonderful time and had a much needed rest since “Project baby” has now kicked into full gear!

As we approach the single digits in our 40 week countdown, I am finding that I am beginning to wear a “project manager” hat more and more each day. Bill has been busy working through my color coded spreadsheet of “Project Baby” to-do’s and doing so happily : ) My mom has been a trooper, down here many weekends working her little buns off. She can outwork anyone I know and we have gotten so much accomplished the last month. My dad returned from CH last week and was down here yesterday helping me and working through the list I had created for him of Project Baby to-do items. Kevin brought his ultra hi-tech vacuum down and vacuumed my house and all my furniture for me because I was concerned my little Jackie's allergies would act up when she came over this weekend. I feel very fortunate to have such a wonderful husband, supportive family and friends so close by. Not once has anyone made a comment (to me at least : ) about my lists, spreadsheets, immediate and yet sometimes random needs and it feels really great. For example, I think about how lucky I was when I was on bed rest and how (although incredibly bored) I was so taken care of. (Keep in mind, when you have to lay still for 2 weeks and not move 24/7 except to take a 5 minute shower, even the littlest thing can set you off.) I felt truly blessed to have Bill taking such (extra) special care of me everyday, Kevin visiting and doing all kinds of random things like vacuuming my couch immediately when I noticed I was laying on crumbs, Valerie coming down to help Kevin wash my cat the moment I noticed a piece of cat litter stuck to his paw, Heather coming to visit to cook and wash my sheets for me. And my mom, of course, my mom, who gardened, did laundry, cleaned, brought prepared meals for us and scrubbed every last black dot I noticed in the living room off of the desks, ceiling, etc. All of you who came to visit, called, sent entertainment, etc, thank you. It really meant so much to me.

Today I spent time filling out a rough draft of the birth plan as well as my list of key people once labor hits. I have my brother and Valerie listed for just about everything except providing the moon and stars! I feel very fortunate that we have family and friends that are so loving, giving, and most importantly tolerant of me and my “lists” these days!

I am feeling good, big, but very good. Thank you all for your calls, emails and visits checking up on us. Melina is one lucky little girl and I can’t wait to meet her, only 8 weeks left to go!!!

Sharon and I had our 20 week ultrasound yesterday. In short... IT"S A GIRL!

At least, we think so. There is a margin for error there, so we won't know for sure until the litte one pops out.

We have had some ups and downs witht he pregnancy so far, but I couldn't have been happier yesterday after we got out of the ultrasound. Everything looks great.

I think I officially fell in love with our little one when I saw the closeups of the tiny little heart beating. It's getting pretty real :)

So, in an effort to share the love, some pics!

Sharon and I have our big-time sonogram on Thursday, which, among other things, should tell us if we are having a boy or a girl.

Very exciting. I don't know why, but I am hoping for a girl.

We'll see!

Today we hit the 19 weeks mark. Almost halfway through our pregnancy. It is amazing how fast the time is flying by. Our baby is the size of a small zucchini today. I think it is funny how they refer to a baby’s grow status in terms of vegetables. I suppose it is something everyone is familiar with. So, our little zucchini is happily growing away. We are busy reading to the baby, singing to the baby (well I am), and letting the baby get to know Clyde by having Clyde purr on my stomach. Bill bought a baby heart monitor this weekend to listen to the baby’s heartbeat. We have yet to find it, but have heard all kinds of digestive happenings in my belly, my heartbeat and Clyde’s purring, so we know it works. At my doctor’s appt this week I will have her show us where exactly to listen.