Hanging Out

One of our favorite things to do during our breaks up north are to take naps... something that the whirl of life in Southern California doesn't always allow us to do. Cairo is even taking better naps. As usual, I can't seem to resist snapping a picture of Erik and Cairo napping together...

Cairo is definitely in chill mode. She has spent a lot of time relaxing on her boppy. Notice her legs crossed at the ankles in the second picture.


While up here, Cairo has also got to spend quality time with her cousin Mei. At five weeks Cairo's senior, Mei has lots of things she can teach Cairo. It is too bad that we don't live close to one another all year. Yesterday, Uncle Nick, Aunt Kyoko, and Mei gave Cairo a crawling lesson up the hall at G & G Dedini's. Not too much progress yet, but she is getting better at spending time on her tummy.

No trip up here is complete without a Piano lesson with Grandma. Yesterday, Cairo enjoyed two lessons with Mei. Cairo is showing improvement on hitting the keys (whether it is with her head or her hands)rather than just feeling them. Mei is a pro and pounds out one jazzy tune after another...

Christmas Day

So, it is a few days after the fact, but I thought that I would get a few pictures up from Christmas before the year ended...

On Christmas morning, the family came over and had breakfast. Erik made a yummy meal traditional to my Christmas mornings- Eggs a la Golden Rod. Unfortunately, I only enjoyed a small portion of it. Little did I know at the time, but I was just starting a lovely bought of the stomach flu (which I then gave to Erik... thankfully Cairo missed getting it!)



After breakfast, we all sat around the tree and opened presents. Cairo, as the night before, wasn't all that interested in opening presents, rather she enjoyed playing with the stuff she found inside them... especially the books. With the worry of lead in plastic toys and the overall questioning of the safeness of the baby toys lately, Grandma Jill bought Cairo a special Montessori toy made of wood (definitely lead free). It is nice to know that she can play with it and we can be confident that she isn't ingesting harmful substances.




After opening presents and visiting a while, everyone left to get ready to head down to Ferndale for dinner (we didn't make it this year). A few hours later, my best friend Katie came over and spent the rest of Christmas Day with us. We watched movies; Erik, Katie, and Cairo enjoyed their Christmas dinner; we opened more presents; and we just hung out and enjoyed being where we were. While sitting on Katie's lap, Cairo got to eat a solid banana for the first time. We put the banana in a small mesh bag and Cairo was able to suck and chew on it without us worrying about her choking on a large chunk of it.

Cairo's new Cousin

Around July 9th, Cairo will become a big cousin when "Peanut" Hazen arrives. Heather is 12 weeks pregnant and plans to bring the fourth of July in very hot, pregnant, and uncomfortable. We can't wait! Cairo is excited to show her new cousin all the neat stuff she learned this year.

What a way to learn about it, though! My mom called me and yelled into the phone, "is your sister pregnant?" I said, "what! No!" Then my mom hung up on me, no explanation, nothing. I am just sitting there wondering what the hell just happened. Then, I try calling her back to get answers and she wouldn't answer the phone. It seems that Heather e-mailed my mom and dad this morning with an e-mail saying that her, Paul, and Peanut made it back to New York safety. Then, she attached an ultrasound from last Friday.

Here is our first look at Baby Hazen- almost 2 inches long.


P.S. I think "Peanut" is going to be a girl.

Family Picture

We don't have many pictures of the three of us... and it isn't hard to see why. Get us together and no matter how many times we tried, either someone was cranky, or not looking at the camera, or not smiling, or goofing around (who us!). Here is the product of a few attempts at a family Christmas picture. I think the last one is the best!

Christmas Eve

For Christmas this year, Erik, Cairo, and I spent it with his family. Every Christmas Eve, the family treks to Grandma Dedini's house in Ferndale for dinner and presents. It was nice seeing everyone, especially all those who we hadn't seen since last Christmas Eve (before the baby news was out).

Prior to dinner, Cairo got to spend some quality time with her cousin Mei. Boy can Mei move! Mei crawls all over the place, climbs over things, and loves to take things apart. Mei will wave goodbye, clap her hands, point, and, to say hi, she presses her forehead against yours. Cairo has some catching up to do! While they are the same size now (except for Cairo's head, which is large... for her big brains), one can definitely see the five week difference in their development. While I am impatient to see Cairo start crawling around (she is 100% not interested in crawling, scooting, or doing anything other than chewing on her books and talking), I have been reminded that when Cairo does start moving around I will not have a moments rest trying to keep up with her and keep things away from her. So, I am going to enjoy her non-mobility and know that in time it will come. Maybe over the remaining week and a half Mei can show Cairo a thing or two.




After a yummy dinner, Nick put on the Santa hat and delivered the presents. Overall, Cairo seemed to enjoy the sound of the wrapping paper and the taste of it even more, though she was nearing her limit of stimulation and new people (aka was getting cranky). In the end, Grandma Jill helped her unwrap a few presents. Cairo got a few presents that were bigger than she was. One was a really cool drum and percussion set that Cairo will enjoy making lots of noise with. Mei got a matching set. Now, the two of them can get together and rock out.




Her favorite present was a crinkly "newspaper" from Japan that Nick, Kyoko, and Mei gave her. It has a fabric outside and cellophane-like inside. Well, Cairo attacked it with a vengeance and still does everytime she gets her hands on it.

We have a Tooth!!!

All Cairo wanted for Christmas was her two front teeth... well, at least she got one! On Cairo's 6 month anniversary (December 20th) her first tooth poked through on the lower left side. Auntie Heather and Cairo were sitting together on the couch and Cairo took Auntie Heather's finger, inserted it into her (Cairo's) mouth, and chomped. Heather said, "Ouch, does Cairo have teeth?" I said, "No." Heather said, "'Cause I just felt something sharp." I put my finger into Cairo's mouth and, sure enough, her very first tooth had poked through. No fussing, no excessive drooling, no sleepless nights- we just had a tooth. Hopefully the rest of her teething goes as smoothly.

Early Christmas

This year Erik, Cairo, and I are spending Christmas up north in Bayside. Before we left, and before G and G Biggle went on a Mexican Riviera Cruise, we celebrated Christmas. Here are several pictures of Cairo opening presents.