May-May & E-E

Well, we've now successfully relocated to SW Berkeley, hence my (again) long absence from posting. Thanks to a LOT of help from friends, the move went incredibly smoothly and quickly. In fact, we're more or less settled in, and loving the new place already! (Pictures to come).

The WORST thing about the move, without question, was that it required us to put a 10-minute drive between us and our now former neighbors Eric and Amanda. Eric and Amanda are the best neighbors one could ever hope to have, the sort of neighbors who somehow KNOW when it's been a long week and show up with a lasagna. At our old place, we could -- and often did -- shout up to their windows and have what I'm sure were irritating public discussions for all the other neighbors.

Needless to say, because she is a good judge of character, Fiona adores Eric and Amanda, whom she calls "May-May" and "E-E." In addition to shouting at their windows, we'd also taken to dropping in on them unannounced, and it got to the point where Fiona couldn't pass their driveway without requesting a visit. (Now that I think about it, they might be happy that we've moved!)
In their final act of neighborly kindness (apart from Eric helping us move for 4 hours), E-E and May-May had Fiona over for a playdate, allowing Fiona's mom to pack for the move. From the look of things, everyone had a wonderful time.
We love E-E & May-May, and hope they'll now drop in on us unannounced!!

Visitors

The Gongs will all be moving to a new place in Berkeley this Saturday, so we're currently living amidst the boxes and preoccupied by packing and address forwarding and the like. I am so tired that I can't think of anything witty to say, but the photos keep piling up and the fun events keep flying by, so I need to keep up! Therefore, with very little fanfare, I present to you the following photos and commentary:

We've been truly blessed to have had several special visitors over the past month. First came Dahna and Sarah, college friends from DC (you may recall our visit to their great apartment over the summer). Fiona was so wired after a morning with these fun ladies that this is the best group photo we could pull off:

Then came Jon and Joy Channell and their sweet new baby, Kate. I was Joy's "mentor" (quotes added because she's way more mature than I am!) when she was on staff with the Navigators in NYC, pre-marriage and -baby. Jon & Joy live in Tuscaloosa, AL now, so it was really special to see them in the Bay Area! Fiona and Kate bonded over their hand-chewing techniques.

And then came Nana and Boom. Fiona had a blast with them (and vice versa!), and they were incredibly helpful to our whole family during a crazy weekend that included a major Project Peace fundraiser and the beginning of moving logistics. They did a LOT of fun things with Fiona, many of which I didn't capture -- unfortunately, the ones I did capture all seem to be focused on eating/drinking, but we did more than that! I'll let the photos speak for themselves. Fiona still asks about them every day.

Mothers Day

I know that Mothers Day is the cause of much angst in our society, what with all the expectations and emotions that it entails. It's certainly the cause of much anxiety in my husband, who's always afraid that he'll "mess it up." But I have to say, my 2nd Mothers Day was absolutely perfect!

It started with brunch at Cafe Cacao: chocolate-banana pancakes. Yum! As you can see, Fiona was ready to dig in to my stack, but I did manage to get a few bites.
Then it was off to Children's Fairyland, a great little park right on Oakland's Lake Merritt. This was our first visit -- first of many to come, I'm sure. The 1950s-era park is set up with various scenarios from fairy tales and nursery rhymes, and Fiona loved every minute of it.

Navigating the card maze from Alice in Wonderland:

On the merry-go-round:


In the "crooked house":

She had so much fun, this is what she looked like when she woke up from her nap later that afternoon:
You'll recognize that hairstyle as a "classic Erick."
So, there you have it. A great Mothers Day, the highlight of which was just getting to enjoy time together with my husband and daughter.

Whirlwind update....

Alright, mea culpa (again!) for being a delinquent post-er! Much is going on at Casa Gong these days: 10 weeks until the arrival of Kiddo 2, Erick's winding up his 3rd year at Cal, I just helped throw a major fundraiser for Project Peace, and we have started to pack for our move (to another place in Berkeley) at the end of this month! And, of course, Fiona has had a VEEEERRRY eventful month. Some random highlights:

Our ex-cat (Miko) came to stay with us while Grandmommy and Granddaddy were away. For the first time, Fiona is actually LARGER than Miko, which totally changed the power dynamic. Fiona started out gently....
...which quickly changed to some major bossing-around ("Noooo! Down!" whenever Miko jumps on the dining room table), and the realization that maybe, just maybe, she could actually LIFT Miko.
Suffice it to say that Miko has been acting out a bit lately, and will be happy to return home to Foster City this week!

Fiona has continued her obsession with large shoes.

A major change, however, has been her attitude towards goats! Those of you who followed this blog last summer may recall that Fiona was showing the makings of a full-fledged goat phobia. Well, I'm delighted to inform you that on recent visits to the Tilden Park Little Farm, Fiona has allowed herself to get within a celery-stick's distance of large, aggressive goats. We celebrate her ability to conquer her fear!

More to follow soon -- really!

Style Issues...

We were amused a couple of months ago when Fiona began developing some very fixed ideas about style, emerging as a "shoes and purse girl." Well, as it turns out, "ideas" about fashion do not necessarily equate "fashion sense." As evidenced below.

Fiona determined to wear her father's sandals:

And this is what happens when we let Fiona decide what to wear. Please note that, not only is she wearing 3 layers of clothing, but she has topped off her ensemble with 3 bibs that she dug out of her dresser. (And yes, we did let her leave the house like this -- minus the bibs).

Fiona's Happy Easter!

Fiona had a VERY happy Easter.
On Easter Eve, we went to her Grandparents' house in Foster City for an Easter feast with assorted relatives. The festivities also included two large Easter balloons (one of which sang) and some gifts for Fiona. Naturally, we neglected to take pictures of all the fun!

Easter itself consisted mostly of church, which is usually the highlight of Fiona's week since she gets to spend church with her buddies in the nursery. Today, she was THRILLED to be included in some photos with the BIG GIRLS at church in all their Easter finery.
We took some family photos, which clearly show Fiona's elation (as well as her immodesty and refusal to let go of a clear plastic spoon)...
...and because I've had some comments that evidence of Kiddo #2 isn't obvious in recent photos of me, here you go:
Here is Fiona, exhausted by the end of the day, with maracas from one of her Easter gifts from Nana and Boom. She was too pooped to cha-cha.
Happy Easter, everyone!

Visit to Napa & Sonoma, Part II

After a long delay, we resume where we left off with the adventures of our fearless heroine in the wilds of wine country!

The whole family stayed in Santa Rosa. Fiona loved lounging around in the hotel room.

But the next morning, she was clearly ready to start out on her next adventure. Which was to....

...THE PETRIFIED FOREST! Yes, Fiona got to see what is apparently the largest petrified forest in the world (?), created when nearby St. Helena erupted millions of years ago and buried huge redwood trees in ash. She wasn't initially thrilled with the idea that this might be an educational experience...

...but she soon warmed up when she got a load of the huge petrified tree trunks.

Her favorite part was the hiking, which appears to come naturally to her (picking up the walking stick was her own idea).

On our final morning of vacation, we drove over to Bodega Bay for a morning on the beach. Fiona's response proved once again that we have a beach girl!
Tired but happy, we returned to Berkeley. It was a nice trip!