Monaloca

Guess where Grandma and Grandpa Weiss just travelled? Meli and Kai had fun wearing their new shirts!

Even more exciting – at least for Kai – is his Halloween costume. This video shows it all, including Melina laughing hysterically at her brother from the peanut gallery.

At a Halloween party over the weekend one adult tried to tell Kai how Wolverine’s claws were made of a special alloy. Kai looked at her then down at his costume claws and responded, “Actually, they’re made of plastic.”

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Melina and I are taking advantage of the last few weeks of warm weather before a cooler fall rolls in. We’re also enjoying meeting up with friends on a near-daily basis before I return to work in just one month. (Yikes!)

Now on our walks we can stop at the park not just to gaze up at the trees but also for a swing ride. Whee! Last week Jennie (Raycer’s mom) hosted a yoga mom gathering at her house – take a look at most of us in the photo. Sapna and Jen and their boys are missing.

We caught up with Sapna and little Suli this morning at the Little Farm in Tilden Park. The kiddos were more interested in looking (and grabbing) at each other than the animals. They also attempted to “share” one of Suli’s toys. (Melina sucked on one end, Suli on the other. Nice.) We topped off our morning with a leisurely walk to Jewel Lake. And we’ll finish off our day with a sangria play date at another friend’s house. Yup, we’re definitely having fun.

Finally, take a look at our social butterfly chatting away with friend Melia. The video (social butterflies 1, social butterflies 2) is from early October, but super cute – in our humble opinions!

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Last weekend we kept busy with visitors from both sides of the family. Grandma Rapoza returned for a few final days with us before flying back to Hawaii, plus Cyndie (Joey’s sis) and Rich (her husband) flew up from LA to meet their newest niece, and my own sis Stacie drove up with German and the twins for a quick visit on Saturday. Finally, Melina got to see Great Uncle Sonny and Great Auntie Marie on Monday when they picked up Grandma to take her to San Jose before her flight home. Whew, what a weekend!

Speaking of aunties, cousins, and the Rapoza side of the family: For those who don’t know, Melina is Grandma Rapoza’s 13th grandchild. The two oldest grandchildren (Melina’s first cousins) are older than me, and a bunch are right around my age. Eight great-grandchildren, ages 1-19, also factor into the mix. Not sure what they are technically to Kai and Meli – second cousins? First cousins once removed? We just call them all cousins!

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Wow. Our little girl is turning into a real little person! Just look at all her latest, four-month-old tricks.

She loves her toes and grabs at them – or anything else within reach – constantly. She tries to shove everything in her mouth, including a huge stuffed cube and a grabbing ball that will never ever fit. It frustrates her to no end.

She had her first swing ride at the park the other day! As you can see in the photo below, she’s just chillin’ and taking it all in.

She laughs hysterically, especially when her brother is involved. As Joey puts it, Kai is probably like a hugely animated, life-size cartoon character to her.

Her exersaucer and other new playthings entertain her for long stretches. But when she starts to tire she’ll cry out for me when I leave the room, even for a minute.

For the past two nights she’s slept through the ENTIRE night: 7:30pm – 7 or 8am. Didn’t wake up once. I’ve probably jinxed this mini trend by posting it here, but it’s too exciting to keep to ourselves!

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I wanted to post a few family pics from when Joey was on bonding leave. On the left you’ll see all of us in front of Green Griffon Games – daddy’s store! Note to locals: This is a GREAT place to buy gifts for the holidays. The store’s on MLK between Virginia and Cedar.

On the right you’ll see Meli and me looking at the barber shop’s big mirror right after daddy got a haircut. Melina’s hair, on the other hand, continues to grow straight up. We love it.

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We’ve certainly been busy since Joey went on bonding leave nearly four weeks ago. It’s hard to believe he has to return to work on Monday.

We had a great, week-long visit from Grandma Rapoza – and it included a trip to the pumpkin patch. Grandma returns for a few days next week before heading back to Hawaii.

Meli also had her first daddy playdate along with Raycer and his daddy Dave. Turns out Dave has all sorts of new daddy tricks for Raycer. Soon Melina will be asking to turn upside-down, too.

In other news, Melina got into our top choice daycare starting mid November. I’ll be returning to work part time (to my previous job as a Web writer) in late November, after a few days of mommy transition time at daycare. I’ve also built in one day/week to write. I have mixed feelings about re-gaining some of my adult identity while giving up around-the-clock time with the Jelly Bean. Ask me how it’s going come New Years…

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Last week Melina had her first Sears photo shoot – with nine other babes from our Berkeley moms group. Yikes!

Upon learning the babies’ ages (3.5 to 5 months – Melina is right in the middle, age-wise) the photographer lamented, “Oooooh, the most awkward age to photograph…”

Despite the chaos, a few tears, and some overheating in Halloween costumes, we were all pretty happy with the results.

As a bonus, Grandma Rapoza and Daddy got to watch the whole event unfold. We all got a kick out of it.

Babies names on the tummy time photo (right) are: Front – Sofia, Joey, Dahlia, Tavi, Lily, Melina; Back – Wyatt, Connor, Melia, Emma.

Good job, babies!

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I love the four-year-old Kai. Not that I didn’t love him when he was three, two, or one, but at age four he’s reached a new level of maturity, interaction, and FUN. He still has attitude to spare, but he is a little boy, after all.

Recently Kai’s mom was on vacation for 2 1/2 weeks, which meant we had him full-time. While having two kids FT was a challenge, getting such uninterrupted time with Kai let us hit a real groove as a family. I write a lot about Melina’s “new tricks.” Here are some of Kai’s from the past few months.

• He actually tries to color inside the lines! And he can draw stick people, though they’re usually all head and limbs. The funny part is that he knows something’s not quite right but often can’t quite figure out what’s missing.
• Like all pre-schoolers, he likes to tell his daddy, “You’re the best Daddy in the whole wide world!” He’ll then turn to me and say, “You’re the best Lynn in the whole wide world!” Nice. Why be stepmom when I can be Lynn?
• He loves to make his sister laugh. On a recent car drive, I had to sit in back between the two car-seated kids. Melina woke up cranky, so Kai and I spent the next 10 minutes amusing her with silly names like “Jellyfish Pie,” “Squishyface,” and “Bumble Bean.” She ate it all up with roaring giggles.
• I’ve started taking Kai to kids yoga at a studio down the street (see pic). We’ve gone twice so far, and his favorite part is rolling and jumping on the big exercise balls before class starts. My favorite part is getting to spend quality Lynn/Kai time with my stepson.

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Come one come all – the official “Hot Flashes” launch party is this Friday at Book Passage in Corte Madera. I’ll be reading a short excerpt from “Salt Melts Like Snow,” and my whole family (Joey, both kids, my folks) will be their to “cheer” me on.

To learn more visit the new “Hot Flashes” website.

Event info:
Friday, September 28, 7pm
Book Passage: 51 Tamal Vista Way, Corte Madera

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We had our first “big family” vacation last week: My folks rented a house right across the beach in Capitola. Our family joined my sis and hers, and Grandma and Grandpa Weiss watch the chaos and delight of four kids aged three months to four years.

Some highlights included trips to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, where we all – even little Meli – rode the carousel. We also enjoyed sand time on the beach and walks around the tiny downtown. Once the kids were down for the night, the four of us new parents left Grandma and Grandpa in charge and walked across the street to a cozy wine bar.

I posted some vacation pics on Flick’r. Enjoy!

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