Into The Woods

We took a nice hike in the cool woods with our bundle of joy. We caught a glimpse of a coyote and heard a few rustlings, but mostly just admired the trees and the mountains.

Jemma in the Country

Here's Jemma on the outdoor table, soaking in the cool air under the hot sun. Lila, Oscar & Carla's schnauzer, was very curious and Jemma seemed to enjoy their meeting. Because it was so cold, Jemma lived in her lucky Chinese hat, a gift from her orphanage sister, AnWei. Thanks, Wei Wei!

Turkey Talk

For Jemma's first Thanksgiving we rented a small cabin in Wrightwood, a quaint town in the Angeles National Forest known for a small ski resort called Mountain High. Our friends Oscar and Carla joined us and we ate delicous Thanksgiving food two nights in a row. We also went hiking, played games by the fire, played horshoes in the yard, threw balls for dogs (Rua) and when we weren't inhaling the smoke from the fire, we breathed clean air into our lungs. Jemma loved it--except the going to bed part. Jemma's in such a great routine at home, but change one thing and the sleep goes haywire. In fairness to her, it was cold in our room and even two layers of pajamas, a hat and two blankets couldn't warm her bones. Her poor little hands were freezing and she cried and cried. Luckily, she's a happy baby even sleep deprived. The adults on the other hand...

It's A Zoo Out There

We had a wonderful day with our friends Mary Frances and Grace Li Qi at the zoo. We saw giraffes, an elephant, lions, zebras, chimpanzees, flamingos, antelopes, kangaroos... We saw a baby kanga jump out of his mommy's pouch, bounce around and then jump right back into his mama's pouch - it took our breath away.

Doting Grandma

MeeMa helped give Jemma a bath every night. She also helped on that special night when Jemma decided to go boom boom in the bath--another milestone for Jemma! Jemma loved MeeMa's painted red nails and she especially liked MeeMa's diamond bracelet, but MeeMa didn't want to give that up yet--good try, Jemma! However, MeeMa parted with her jade bracelet, the one she bought in China twenty years ago. Jemma clutches this bracelet--perhaps because part of her name, the "Cui" of AnCui, refers to the color jade green. Too bad Jemma's name didn't translate to diamond...

Potchki, Potchki, Kicchela

Ellen's mom and dad, MeeMa and PopPop, kept singing a made-up Yiddish song to Jemma, "Potchki, Potchki, Kicchela", something to do with clapping hands. Jemma loved hearing them sing it. And she loved them. Among many gifts they gave her is a dog that plays, "Singing In The Rain" and taps his feet and shuffles with an umbrella. MeeMa and PopPop played that dog so much, even when Jemma woke in the middle of the night when they were babysitting-- oops. P.S.--after someone read this blog, we learned that this is not a made-up song at all. In fact, there's a second verse, "Poppa Kaifen Schechela". So the song translates to "Clap hands, clap hands, daddy's buying shoes." Definitely a song from the depression era, but nonetheless, we can't stop singing it. "Potchki, Potchki, Kicchela, Poppa Kaifen Schechela..."

Aunts and Uncles Rule

This is Aunt Haewon and Uncle John - they came to play with the babies, and play they did! They gave the parents a little break and the babies just loved them.

Babies Rule

Jemma's friends came to play but kept getting swept up by their adoring parents. On top is Stella with Mama MaryAnne, then there's Michayla with Mark & Nicki and Rosie, getting the biggest smooch of all, with Wayne. These babies are so damn kissable.

Twins!

Having one baby is hard work, but two is four times as hard. Here are Doug and Sidney and Andrea and Emma, aren't they adorable? And their babies are pretty cute, too.

Calling All Kids

Jemma invited all the kids to come meet her grandparents, MeeMa & PopPop. Everyone played and played and played, and ate pie and cake and drank wine and apple cider... Every Sunday should be like this!

Apple of Our Eye

Jemma loved the orchards, or so we think. We were won over by the antique Arkansas Black Apples--big, black, plumb, super crisp apples. We bought a few bags at Ye Olde Apple Shoppe along with apple cobbler, apple butter, apple pie... When we got home, we made baked apples for weeks.

Orchard Hopping

What would fall be without a trip to the country for apple picking. Our dear friends, Clara, Shannon and their daughter Franny, caravanned with us to Oak Glen to visit the orchards. We stayed put at Riley's Orchard 'cause they had a jamboree going down and they were smoking ribs and tri-tip. We enjoyed a good bbq meal out on a picnic bench in the cool mountain air. It was a great way to spend a Saturday.

A Toast To Pineapple

Jemma's eating up a storm, gobbling each new food we introduce to her. She's putting on the pounds and weighed in at 17lbs,4oz. the other day. Wow! Still only in the 10th percentile on the American charts, but we like to think of her as a perfect 10. It's just so nice to prepare food for her and watch her explore the new textures and tastes. Jemma loves her toasted brown rice bread in the morning and she's wild about the pineapple. Last week we introduced tofu, tahini and asparagus, next week - caviar!

The Whole Fam Damily

It's hard to get the Lawlers in one place at the same time - but here we are for a quick snapshot. Following this photo, all hell broke loose.

It's The Great Pumpkin, Chairman Mao

Jemma's first Halloween - she's a happy little squash.

Fashion Queen

Okay, the dress is a little bit long, but c'mon, is she cute or what?!

Burrito Babe

We wrap our little girl like a burrito in her towel after every bath.

Splashin' With Sophie

Jemma's real aunties, Sharon and Debbie, and great aunties, Tina and Shirley and Joan and Sandy and Pearly and Dorothy and numerous others, are all on the east coast. So, she's had to improvise out here in La La land and lucky for her, Jemma has a doting Aunt Sophie (who promised to pay for dance lessons and her first pair of Jimmy Choo's).

Taking A Stand

The standing is getting out of control - literally. Jemma took several falls right on her head! But she's a sturdy girl and was not detered to get up and try again. Pulling up on the chair had a special bonus that day - her old pal Rua was lazing around there.

The Prince In His Lair

Ollie does not engage in the frivolous frolicking between Jemma and Rua. It's too messy and well, frankly, active. Additionally, Ollie would like to make it very clear that he is not a dog, but rather, a little boy in a dog suit.

Paw Play

As you can see, we can't get enough of Jemma and Rua's floor play. Rua grunts with joy and Jemma howls with laughter - they are the most delightful sounds.

Pulling Her Leg

Crawling isn't good enough for Jemma. No, she has to go and start pulling herself up on things. As you can see, she's very proud of her accomplishment.

Can You Say Buffet?

Jemma has been requesting "finger foods" so we made a delicious plate of organic cooked zucchini, avocado (big favorite!) and pears. She grabs a handful of tiny morsels and is lucky if a few get into her mouth - but she's persistent. We have a play mirror set up 'cause she loves to watch herself eat. And Ollie has learned that by sitting under her chair he will reap the benefits of manna from heaven.

If You're Happy And You Know It...

Jemma started clapping her hands last week. Thank goodness, 'cause we need an audience...

The Lawler Crawler

For some time now, Jemma has been crawling "combat style" using elbows and inner thighs to propel her forward. But this week, on her 10 month birthday to be exact, she did the real regulation crawl on all fours and has been moving all over the house ever since. The days of watching her roll around in a 4ft square area are over. Let the childproofing begin... again.

Along Came A Spider

This little lady crawled into our house the other night - we took off our weatherstripping in order to do another coat of polyurethane thus allowing for a little crawl space under the door. She was HUGE – filling up the threshold and proud of it. We have always thought of spiders as good luck tokens so we thought it wise to blog the bug.

Shower Power

Jemma loves her nightly baths and her favorite part is the sprayer faucet. She sticks her whole face in it just to get a swig of our flouride-laden, LA water. We have a feeling the transition to showers will be very easy for Jemma.