There's a lot going on these days -- in my world, in my body, in my mind. I'm a little bit overwhelmed. Job & work stuff makes me stressed. Packing up the teeny tiny clothes that Emry, in his 2-month-old plumpness, has already outgrown makes me nostalgic. Elan has been doing an A+ job of pushing my buttons, and then I get mad, and then I get sad that I feel mad and overwhelmed and nostalgic and stressed. All at the same time.Maybe there are some post-partum hormones going ... more

Last night, to celebrate Winter Solstice, we went to Muir Woods.It seemed fitting to welcome the longest night of the year in a place full of fern-filled shadows, where the redwoods block much of the sun even on a summer day.Luminarias lit the trails.The ground was soaked, the air filled with the damp, fecund smells of wet wood, crushed redwood needles, and muddy earth. It didn't rain, but drops of water sometimes found their way through the redwood canopy to land on an unsuspecting baby's head. He didn't ... more

Before we moved here, I always thought that if I ever bought a house in Berkeley, I'd want a Japanese maple. And then we found our little place. This tree is around forty years old, and nearly every window in our house looks out at it. I love how this tree visually marks the seasons for us even from inside our home. I adore it year-round, though fall is its most spectacular show.In the car, Elan and I were talking about the autumn color show that's taken over Berkeley. ... more

I realized Halloween has come and gone and I never posted pictures. So here they are.Elan was a rainbow bat.Mikhail's mom Karen made the bat wings. Aren't they awesome?He and I came up with the rainbow bat costume idea in the car one day. I asked him what he wanted to be for Halloween, and he said "a bat." We riffed for a while about possible bat colors, and eventually landed on "rainbow."I didn't think the idea would stick, but it did.Meanwhile, Emry was world's cutest peepod.And later, when the ... more

This is my boy.We think he looks a little like an Ewok.He woke up at 5:30 this morning. Mama was not pleased.Of course, I had already been up since 4. Pregnant insomnia. That one good night's sleep with the Valerian was awesome, but I guess it was a one-shot deal.Here he is with Doggie in the pocket of his new apron. In our house, we call this a "morale-boosting outfit." As in, the cuteness factor boosts Mama and Dada's morale.He's even taken to helping with the ... more