HaYAH!

With the addition of one black stripe on his novice Tae Kwon Do belt, Joey's well on his way to a black belt -- obviously a requirement for any boy with two younger sisters.

Here he is after his test today, receiving his stripe that is, in fact, made of electrical tape. Is his belt no longer machine washable??

Joey and his Tae Kwon Do buddy, James, are goofy and inseparable. Joey loves James because a) he has the same name as a Thomas train, b) he loves to play Super Spy after Tae Kwon Do every week, and c) James thinks Joey is hilarious.

Joey and James performed the X-Block portion of their test together. When Joey told me the name of these moves, he called them "sex blocks." Joey's the one on the left, shouting out "HaYAH!" like a future Army Ranger.

He may look intense, and he may have the most exuberant and loudest "haYAH!" in the bunch, but he's definitely not the toughest. He limped out of the studio after his test, convinced that he'd broken his foot on the paddles he was kicking.

One small stripe, one giant wound.

Molly's First Gobble

Molly made her first foray into the world of solid food the day after Thanksgiving. Skipping ahead of rice cereal and baby purees, she dove right into a mashed-up banana. I think she may have fallen head over heels for fruit, just like Clara did at the same age!

Ten Little (Pilgrims and) Indians

Is there anything cuter than four year-old boys wearing pilgrim hats and Indian headdresses?











Why yes, there is... when all ten bow their heads and pray together (and sneak one or two squirrelly looks at their mommy).




We're counting our blessings over here, and hope you are, too! Happy Thanksgiving!

Things We Love Right Now

1. Clara Jane calls her jeans "janes."

2. Joey almost always calls his littlest sister "Miss Molly May."

3. Clara fancies herself a little lady, and is currently obsessed with dancing and chapstick. But she's not afraid to let loose once in a while.

4. Having been weaned (mostly) from her fingers and her thumb, resourceful Molly has discovered her toes will work just as well.
 
 

 
5. Davis has finally embraced having children in the house.
 

 
6. Our baby is smiley, looks like an angel while she's sleeping, and has the best chortle around.

7. Joey loves to build. Lincoln Logs, magnetic tiles, and Mega Blocks all keep him busy for long periods of time. When he's not building structures like this...

... he's building tools like "the Snapper." (He cleaned up a toilet paper disaster in the bathroom "not with my fingers, not with my toes... with THIS!!")

8. Clara is turning into a little prankster and clown, who loves to say absurd things followed by, "Just kidding!!"

9. Joey and Clara always hug each other when they're reunited at the end of the school day.

10. Clara insists on calling a turkey a "churkey."

So much to be thankful for! Hope you have a happy Churkey Day!

Tall, Dark, and Handsome

Molly had her second playdate today with the dashing Brady Young. Well, it may have been more of a mommy date, but Brady was already making some moves. He may be only six weeks old, but he's only an inch shorter than Molly, and gaining quickly! Here, he wows her with a new move: the casual smile.




I'll do my very best to foster this fledgling courtship, since I highly approve of my potential in-laws :)

Thanks to Brady's mommy, Lori, for a fun shopping and lunch excursion that felt almost decadently relaxing, without the "big kids" in tow!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

What Fall Looks Like Here

We've made a lot of changes to our new house, but one thing has remained unchanged -- the gorgeous, 50 year-old liquid amber trees in our front yard that have marked the change of seasons for many, many years.

We've had more than one neighbor tell us that they know it's autumn because of the leaves on our trees, and as San Francisco transplants, it's been fun to experience the drop in temperature, feel the crispness in the air, and see the trees gracing our front lawn come alive in shades of magenta, copper, and gold.

We had all of the cousins over at various points in the last two weeks, and inevitably we ended up in the front yard, playing on bikes, stomping on leaves, and rolling around on the lawn.

Joey couldn't wait to show off his biking skills to the Stecher girls, and Megan gamely brought her own bike for its maiden voyage. She was a little hesitant about moving up from a trike, though, and hopped off shortly after I snapped this picture!

The rest of the girly crew was happy to pose on "mermaid rocks," play with pumpkins, and flirt with Mop. 

A couple of days later, cousin Marco came over to play hide n'seek, ride scooters, and watch the Giants win the World Series!

Finally, cousins Lucy and Tommy spent the day with us on Monday with Grandma Cecchin and Meredith, after watching Joey's Tae Kwon Do and Clara's dance class. We attempted a shot of all the Cecchin grand-girls...and will make another attempt soon! ;)

"Maldy" at Six Months

At six months old, Molly has earned a new nickname. With her gorgeous copper-colored hair falling out by the minute (especially after a cradle cap scrub this week!), she's getting balder and balder, and Clara's pronunciation of her name is becoming more and more fitting: Maldy.

She still has a personality that can be both devastatingly sweet and ridiculously salty. She has eyes that seem to look right inside you, and a temper that can be ignited at the smallest of injustices. She loves to watch your every move, but can be a demanding little drama queen if you're not watching her every move.

Her lip surgery put floor time mostly on hold, so she's still perfecting rolling, but her other professional accomplishments include learning how to chuckle, learning how to sit up like a wobbly gorilla, and learning to sleep through the night in her crib (going on two nights post surgery!). Next on the agenda? Solid food!

Her 6-month check-up consisted of her flirting outrageously with her doctor, and then spitting up all over the table. She then made friends with a nurse, who snuck in four shots while Molly alternately yelped and smiled.

Our little munchkin started out as the most petite in her pack of siblings, and she's still the smallest of all three at six months. She's 15 pounds even, and 24 inches long, putting her in the 40th percentile for weight, and the 25th percentile for height.

For fun, I looked back to see how Joey and Clara stacked up at the same age, and was appalled that Joey weighed 50 percent more than Molly does. He weighed a back-breaking 22 pounds, and was only one inch longer than she is. Here was our little butterball:

Clara wasn't too shabby herself. She weighed 18 pounds, and was 25.5 inches long, making her the tallest of all three at that age. Here she is, showing off her rolls:

Sniff. These six months have flown by way too fast. Can time slow down??

D.C. by Stroller: A Guide for Infants

Despite her young age, Molly May Cecchin has travelled to Lake Tahoe, Napa, and Los Angeles. Here, our travel correspondent reports on Washington D.C.

Let's be frank: trekking across the country with your parents is not for the faint of heart. They're travelling with all this extra baggage, tripping over themselves while they fold up awkward strollers, flagged as they go through security, super paranoid about nap times, and are, as a rule, pretty sleep-deprived and exhausted travelling companions. But they are a necessary evil, if you're an infant like me.

The three of us did a whirlwind tour of Washington, D.C. two weeks ago that made all the airplane diaper changes so worth it. We had a rocky start, when I really misjudged the right time to projectile vomit all over myself, my car seat, my clothes, and my monkey pacifier. Yeah, that happened in the security line. We had to cut our losses and throw away some items before even getting in the air, but such is the life of a jet-setting baby.

I do want to pause and pay tribute to that monkey binky, though, which really served me well for my first, warm-up flight to Orange County, a couple of days prior to my five-hour jaunt to D.C.

After a quick outfit change -- and I do mean quick! Mommy might qualify for Baby Olympics! -- we made it onto the plane just seconds before the stewardess closed the door. I politely let Mommy read her Kindle for the better part of the flight and cat-napped, knowing I needed to be perky and ready to hit the ground running when we landed in D.C. And boy, was I right! They stowed me in a jogging stroller, and we all did some speed-walking to take in a lot of the major sights along the Mall. We especially loved seeing all the monuments come alive at night!

This is so typical for infant travel, but it still annoys me: You would hardly know I was even there, since in most of these photos I'm hidden in the stroller, covered by a Hooter Hider, or just (rudely) cut out of the shot. Trust me, things get better when you reach toddlerhood.

The Mall

 Washington Monument

World War II Memorial

View of Washington Monument from Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Oh, wait! I actually emerged for some photos!

The White House

Phew! We didn't get to bed that night until about 10 p.m. I got lots of strange looks, but people, I was still on Pacific time, okay?

We had grand plans to get up early the next morning, but those luxurious hotel black-out curtains kept us all snoozing almost past breakfast time. I took my first shower, and lounged around a little before we headed out. Toes are so underrated!!

We finally headed out, and boarded a tour bus for a trip to Arlington National Cemetery.

We did lots of other fun things that day, like the Smithsonian Museum of American History, but Mommy's camera battery died. We recharged it just in time for our private tour of the Capitol the next day. Shortly after this picture was taken, we ditched that bulky stroller in Senator Shelby's office (R-Alabama), and set out in the Bjorn for a walk with one of his staff members, Jim, an attorney who actually helped author the Credit Card Bill. His brother works with Daddy back in San Francisco, and he knew all the ins and outs of the buildings, told all sorts of interesting stories, and we even got to hitch a ride on the underground trolley that connects the Senate and House chambers to the staff office buildings!

The Capitol was much more ornate inside than we expected -- it even inspired Daddy to take a ton of pictures of architectural features! Who knew he had that in him?

Our last stop was the Supreme Court Building, and Jim was nice enough to take a picture of all three of us. Maybe they should have woken me up for this.

Yes, Mommy is wearing tennis shoes. Don't judge. Do you see that load of bricks that's strapped to her shoulders?

We squeezed in a trip to the Air and Space Museum, and then celebrated our last night in the city with a dinner at Old Ebbitt's Grill, right around the corner from our hotel, and right across the street from the White House.

Thumbsucking and good wine: quite a pairing!

So pack your Bjorn, your Ergo, or your carrier of choice, and don't be afraid to tackle our nation's capital!