Kokochi

Happy Daddy-o Day!

Here's to the day for a very amazing & sweet daddy! Tesla loves her daddy, and so do I. I can't begin to list all the ways Dav is a wonderful, very involved Daddy. With each day that Tesla grows, we know she knows we love her, love hanging around with her, and love watching all the new stuff she does.

And here's a cheer to the other daddy's we know, especially Ian and Jeremy, and my dad, who showed us what great daddy-ing is all about.

We just had brunch. And per Dav's request, we are having fondue tonight!

Thinking of Finland

Right now, it's summer and wonderful in Finland. And I just got my very first email from Julia (yay!! love that!!). She says she would like to have her March birthday at the Lumi Linna snowcastle. I'm eagerly eating up any news from them, and their new adventure. Love the thought of Julia having a party in a Snow Castle!

Alameda to Finland

My brother and family just left for Finland! Yep...for 2 years, for Ian's work at Nokia, they will live in Helsinki. It'll be a great experience but it's hard for all of us, especially the kids. We were lucky to have dinner all together the night before they flew off.

And they had a lovely going-away party; the whole neighborhood was out to support them and wish them well. They are renting out their house in Alameda, and the neighbors promised to take care of the house for them. They have a great home here, with tons of friends for the kids,so it's hard for sure.

Things happened very quickly once the decision was made. I'm very happy I got to squeeze in an RV camping night with the kids, as I had promised many months ago. It was the first time we were together without parents which was special - not that we did anything too wild ; )

I have mixed emotions: so happy and excited for them. The kids will grow in many ways. But sad because it's been such a rare moment when Ian and I lived so close together since we've had such international lives. And to have Tesla become close with Julia and Tyler was important. She LOVED loved loved seeing them.

The Kennedy clan will be missed!

Waka is a girl

Been so long since I've blogged about my kitties, but now that Tesla, Waka, and Katsuo are establishing a comfortable relationship together, I'm bound to mention my cats as I continue to focus on Tesla.

Today, I announced I needed to brush Wakame to which Tesla said, "I do it" and ran to get the brush. She tried indeed, but Waka wouldn't have it. As I brushed her, Tesla started talking about how he does this and that. I explained in English that Waka was a girl, so Tesla should say "she."

Tesla clearly hadn't considered this. In fact, she stuttered saying something along the lines of, "no, he is Waka, Waka is a cat, not a girl. I am a girl!"

I never thought of explaining that animals can be a girl or boy. She has referred to Wanwan (her V.I.P. stuffed doggy) as a boy via "he" and we thought that was a choice. But now I think she assumed all animals were a "he."

It was one of those moments where I could almost see the light bulb go off in her brain. Of course, Waka could be a girl! I am a girl too! Kats is a boy! Indeed, she went running down the hallway to daddy, and I heard bits of their conversation where I heard words about Waka, girl, Telsa, girl, Kats, boy. I think she got it, and was delighted with the discovery.

FB Fun

From Anil Dash. This made me really crack up.

Dancing Tesla

I'm finally uploading a bunch of stuff on Flickr, including a video of T having fun dancing at Strawberry.

And this from the free music event at Treasure Island which was super friendly and beautiful to see the city from Treasure Island. What a city we live in!

Tesla's words

Daddy came home from a visit to an old friend, Michael Ray and family (whom we visited in DC when I was pregnant), in Kansas City. He talked to Tesla (who was quite happy to see daddy!) about Michael's daughter who is about 6 months older than Tesla. She then went into a rather incoherent talk about her baby sister's daughter. We're not quite sure where that came from or what she was saying...is she in touch with some future we're not aware of?

Whatever meaning, it's fun to hear her stories!

getting there...

Today Tesla spent most of her day in "big girl" underwear. Granted we didn't go too far from the house all day, but she had no mishaps! We went to gym class in the morning, with her in her underwear, then went to a coffee shop where she peed in the potty. Later at home, other than her nap, she was in undies. In the evening, she finally asked for a diaper which I put on her knowing she probably felt the need for #2, which she did. I've read about #2 being harder...that some kids will be potty trained for pee, but want diapers for for #2. She's used her potty for #2, but only after sitting on it forever while getting to watch Sesame Street or Handy Manny.

Details that I'm sure are not interesting for many, but for me, it's huge!

Russian River Blog

A friend's blog I follow is lovely in the sense that we wish we were there right with him experiencing all he encounters. He joined us in last year's BM, and look forward to hanging out together in green nature, although we've had little of that time.

Dav and I wonder where to live with sustainability in mind, and sometimes consider getting out of the city someday. Nik made the move, so his blog is like a window into a possible alternative lifestyle.

Be a Marrow Donor

I've been on the registry to be a bone marrow donor since 1996. Especially as an ethnically mixed person, it's super important because there are fewer minority registrants, and it's much harder for a mixed person needing a donor to find a match. Back in 1996, I got free tests done as a campaign to get mixed folk in the registry. I've been very diligent of always updating my information so they can track me down should the need arise.

They just started a new campaign, updating their website, etc. It can save a life, and your marrow can be replenished. If you haven't, please join.