While doing a little more research/planning I started remembering all the neat things about China and Beijing, and it’s getting me pretty excited.  I can’t wait to go exploring with my husband and son this time.

We decided we’d tag along on Mick’s business trip eight days before our departure date…leaving us scrambling around town and getting all Sam’s legal documents in order.

It might look like Mick is the proud Mufasa showing off his lion cub Simba.  Not the case.  Here is a sorry attempt to get Sam his pics for his Visa.  We tried suggesting to the lovely worker that it might work best putting him on the floor, as opposed to Mick awkwardly hiding behind/under him.  Eventually he caught on.

Whenever people hear that I’m taking my three-month old to Beijing I get a lot of ‘You brave girl!’  Accompanied with a ‘you’re so crazy’ look.  Perhaps I’m both.

While buying our power converters today the lady helping us happened to be from China.  In her broken accent she confirmed three times that I knew the flight was twelve hours.  yes. yes. and yes.  If anyone has any suggestions for traveling long flights with a little one or traveling internationally, I’ll gladly take them.

PS Don’t judge my mother skills with Sam’s outfit.  The only time he was awake today was to eat.  Luckily he’s going through his growth spurt BEFORE our trip.  Hence him in his jammies.  Luckily his visa pics aren’t permanent like his passport pics.  You better believe he looked cute for those.

So. stinkin. cute. This kid looked right up at the camera man and gave his best no-teeth smile. Beijing, here we come!!

We are experiencing record highs here in the city. 90+ with no AC is uncomfortably hot. I take back all my complaining about the cold, foggy, SF summers. Just kidding. I don’t take it back. I just wish we had some AC. Or a ceiling fan.  Next year we’ll be able to turn on the sprinkler and run through the cool water.  Oooh I can’t wait!

After a month of vacationing I’ve returned home to poor little Sammy being sick with an ear infection. It is a little difficult to judge if his fever has gone down because it’s too stinkin hot! Okay, Okay. I’ll stop complaining. SF usually does have pretty perfect weather. Just when it’s not raining. Or foggy. Or super hot. I promise I’ll get some posts up once we get a little more settled in. I’ve started up a few design projects as well, so I can’t wait to show you some new finds.
Toodles!!

Somebody has his days and nights mixed up.  Perhaps he’s trying to be on the same schedule as his dad who is on the other side of the world.  Sam’s not crying.  He’s just not sleeping.

I have him sleep in his little bouncy seat on the floor.  There he is.  Kicking and flailing his arms.  I’ve re-swaddled him about three times now hoping this will help him sleep.  Not the case.  Once I stop hearing his noises I slowly peak my head over to see if he’s finally fallen asleep.  Nope.  His big blue eyes are just waiting to say hi to me.

I guess I could go to sleep.  But there is just something unsettling about going to sleep when my child is wide awake.  Ask me this tomorrow morning and I might  have changed my perspective.

Mick is in China this week on business (did you know Zinch opened an office out there?), so I thought it’d be the perfect opportunity to hang out with my parents this week.  Ever since June they’ve been empty nesters, so of course my mom jumps at the opportunity to hang out with me and her new grandson.

What is it about being at your parents’ house that makes things so good?  I don’t cook.  I don’t clean.  I sleep in.  Swim in the morning. Do an activity during the middle of the day.  Take a loooong afternoon nap.  Wake up.  Hang out.  Eat dinner.  And Swim again. Yes, I’m still taking care of Sammy.  He has now joined me in this daily routine.  Making it even better.

Today we gathered up the all the local Decker grandkids and went to the Phoenix Children’s museum.  My mom was being a fun grandma and played with the kids in the playground…only to get herself stuck.

No mom, you can’t go out the way you came.  I was getting claustrophobic just looking (laughing) at her.

I was surprised to see that they had an Infant Play Area.  So I excitedly took Sam over to check it out.  I was expecting to see some really cool ceiling fixtures or a lot of black and white decorations.  Nope.  Just these industrial-looking mushrooms to plop the babies on.  LAME.  He lasted about two minutes.  I lasted one.  On to the cool wall of CD’s.

For dinner everyone came over.  It wouldn’t be a Decker summer without a BBQ and swimming.  I love it when my family gets together just to eat and swim.  My dad is getting savvy with his TV system and he had pictures of past vacations playing on the TV.  It was nice to look back and reminisce about fun trips while munching on fresh, cold watermelon.

I took Sam swimming for the first time this evening.  He loved it!  The water here is so warm it was like a giant bathtub.  I took pictures, but I look chubby and white.  And I’m vain and don’t want to post them.  Just trust me, Sam looked really cute in his little swim trunks all relaxed.

To end the perfect day I actually got to chat with Mick a little online.  He misses us and we miss him; but we’re making the most of being away from each other.  He’s learning and loving the startup life, and I’m getting a much needed vacation.  I’m now relaxing in my bed with our family dog right beside me.   Her breath smells.   And she’s being ultra stubborn and moving right back next to me whenever I shove her away.  I’m trying to have Sammy’s grunts distract me from her bad breath.  But it’s just not working.  Oh well, at least I have a cuddle buddy for the night.

We’ve been in Utah all week, giving Sam the opportunity to meet his cousins.  Pictures to follow once I get a breathing second.  In two weeks Sam and I will get to meet my little niece.  Look at her! Already studious like her parents:

Sam had his first date last week with pretty little Holland.

I didn’t do a good job chaperoning cause when I left to go to ladies room Sam already made his move.  Look at him sneak his arm around her:

He’s avoiding eye contact because he knows he’s not being the best gentleman: taking advantage of her while she’s asleep.  Not a good thing.  *sigh* I’ve got a lot to teach this boy.

The Urban Mom.  Yes, it’s fun living in such a hip city.  But trust me–sometimes it’s difficult getting around.

We live in a very hilly part of the city.  So hilly that when I’m pushing our stroller up the hills I’m at 45 degrees panting all the way up.  Needless to say my runs are quite difficult and pretty short.  After not seriously running for two months I’ve been itching to go out and just run.  I thought the Embarcadero was a flat enough terrain with no lights that I can just run my little heart out.  I’ve been wanting to do this for weeks now, but have been turned off from the thought of the stress of it.  So what do I do when I want to try something new?  I recruit a friend.  Smart move on my part because I don’t think I could have done this on my own.  At least not the first time.

I won’t go into the details of our adventure, but I’m sure glad we did it.  While I only went about half as far as I wanted to (I keep telling myself: “I’m a new mom, I’m a new mom”),  it was so nice to get my lungs working (burning) and legs moving (dragging like a ton of bricks).

Lessons learned:

While the Embarcadero is flat with no stop lights, there are a lot of people; and trying to maneuver with a skittish dog and a running stroller is quite difficult.  Although, my sweet friend took one or the other most of the time.  I was prideful sometimes and wanted to see if I could do it myself.

Pixi is cute when she is either very tamed on my leash or being held.  Otherwise she’s a nuisance when there’s so much going on.

Sometimes there are breakdowns while driving: the baby is screaming and the dog is whining and scratching -trying to get out of her carrying case.  But like my mom says, “If they’re fed and changed, there’s nothing you can do.  Stay calm.”  That’s a lot easier said than done.  It is, however, easier to take your mind off the situation when you have a friend to discuss last night’s Bachelor with.

All in all it was a fun afternoon.  It was a good run, and we even stopped by the farmer’s market to finish our adventure.  There’s nothing like a sweet, fresh peach after a sweaty run.

It’s no secret we like to dance.  It was, however, a secret to me that Mick was on the dance team while at school at Princeton.  Okay, maybe not a secret; but he was really nervous to tell me when we were dating.  When you think dance team you think leotards, pirouettes, and plies right? Me too.  Hence the hesitation from my then-long-distance-boyfriend; now husband.  Long explanation short: Mick danced hip hop while at school.

That’s not the point of this post.  Whenever I cook something new and/or good Mick does the happy dance.  I know I’ve done a good job when his feet start pivoting and his hips start swinging.  The funny part is he’s never known he does this.  Last night after broiling s’mores the happy dance came out I called him out on it.  Who knew something so simple would get such a reaction?

Hipsters, street performers, fresh produce, amazing sausage breakfast sandwiches.  Love me a farmer’s market down by the ferry building.  While Brother Ben and his wife Kati were in town we thought we’d get fresh produce for our BBQ later that day.  Let it me known the San Francisco farmer’s market is not cheap.  Not cheap at all.  We’ve made it a Saturday morning  adventure in the past; but only to get breakfast. Leave it to us to get sausage sandwiches over fresh, locally grown produce.  But my brother is quite the salsa maker and we thought it’d be fun to get some fresh ingredients.  After looking at the prices, our efforts made it as far as fresh greens for our summer salad.  We left the market with stomachs full of breakfast food, samples from vendors, crisp salad greens, and a bunch of lavender for my bedside table.  And then went to Safeway for our tomatoes.

When ended up having a very pleasant afternoon christening our grill, cooking in the kitchen, and watching the USA vs Gana game in the World Cup.

High of the day: spending the day with family.  Low of the day: USA loosing.  Which, really, isn’t that big of low when you have good company.  I love family.

This was taken from this photo shoot.  Four weeks ago.  It’s amazing how much he’s changed since then.  He’s getting to be just how I like them: chubby and bald.  Okay, maybe not bald.  But it is nice to finally see some meat on his bones.

It’s getting easier and easier to get this little guy to smile.  So fun!

Pixi is no longer my shadow.  She is now Sam’s.  Most of the time Sam and I are always together, but when I do have to leave him alone she’s there watching him for me.

Yesterday I came home, set Sam on the bed, and emptied the groceries.  I go in to peak on him and this is what I see:

Monday was a really rough day.  Sam was being difficult.  I think Pixi could sense my frustration cause she hops up on my lap and gives me loves.  It’s so nice having an extra set of paws to help.

Between our adorable son and fun city we get a lot of visitors…and we love it!  It gives us an opportunity to do fun activities and reminds us of how cool a place we live in.  A few weeks ago my brother Benjamin and his wife Kati came to visit us and meet little Sam.  The cool weather was a nice break for them from the Arizona heat, but I don’t know if they were expecting it THIS cold.  We pulled out our thick jackets and scarves and went to our first Giant’s game.  The stadium is a really neat stadium, but it’s right on the water which brings quite the chilly breeze.  Luckily we all bundled up and actually had a really fun evening.

Sam and Mick bonded at their first baseball game.  And Mick kept Sam nice and quite throughout the game by dropping him little pieces from his hot dog.  Kidding.

Dear Dad,

Thanks for being awesome.  You rock.  Remember after my first bath you blow-dried my hair?  I didn’t really know what to think of it…

But now I understand when you blow on my head you’re giving me a cool hair-do.

Hopefully you had a good Father’s Day.  Mom and I worked really hard on the actions to that song.  I think next year I’ll be better.  Thanks for being a great dad.  I’m one lucky little boy.

Love,

Sammy

In honor of Father’s Day we had Mick’s family come out this weekend… never mind the fact that the US Open was going on and the boys had tickets to go see it. :)  This past weekend Sam got to know his Grandma Bella more, I got some much needed sleep, and Mick and his brothers and father got to rub shoulders with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

While Sam didn’t get to attend the tournament THIS year, he still dressed appropriately for the occasion.  Teaching him early.

Our friends watched Pixi while were in the hospital on Sam’s birthday.  Luckily they have an adorable little miniature dachshund that plays really well with Pixi.  I can’t get over this video, and how cute it is!!! Poor Pixi has been a little neglected these past few weeks.  I think she’s due for another play date with her girlfriend Frankie.

Thank you all for your advice and reassurance.  I really do enjoy being a mother and my time with Sam.  I think it was just a rough night.  I just want to clarify Mick does get me flowers for special occasions: Birthday, Anniversary, V-Day.  I just like the “just because” flowers.  Ya know?

It’s a bad sign when my son has cuter shoes than me.