{Month of May}

"As full of spirit as the month of May, and as gorgeous as the sun in Midsummer" 

- William Shakespeare

Just wanted to get some memories from the month of May recorded - it was quite a lovely month, overall.

The Saturday before mothers day I was blessed to participate in an interfaith choral workshop with Craig Jessop for the Bay area. We had 6 hours of rehearsal during the day and a concert at night.  Sean and the girls hung out around the neighborhood where we were having rehearsal and brought Miriam to me a couple times for me to nurse her [she hadn't yet learned to take a bottle].

 It was amazing. We learned over 10 songs either written or arranged by Mack Wilburg. It was a seriously amazing experience. It was so good to put on my "musician" hat and just bask in the music. It was beautiful music and a beautiful experience.

 We sang in the Standford Memorial church - beautiful old style church. It reminded me of all the cathedrals we saw in Europe. Beautiful!

 Unfortunately I suffered my first full blown  panic attack and had to leave the stage half way through the concert.  Kind of a terrifying experience, to be honest.

We got to talk to this handsome kid for Mothers day - I miss him so much. Cannot wait for him to get home this fall! We talked to the lovely Sister McQuay as well, but I didn't snap a picture of her. She comes home this summer!!!

 Some park dates!

Despite what this picture looks like, Miriam is not about to fly away :)

 Walking the baby around in her swimsuit lol

 Helping me cook dinner!

Snugly babies

  

One Sunday morning we got Miriam all ready and put her on Evette's bed while the rest of us rushed around to get dressed and we come back and she is OUT! Sleepy baby

 Seriously, that smile.

Evette loves to snuggle with her "black baby" during every naptime and bedtime. It's adorable.

There's been a lot of strumming around here

Who knew that cutting up a piece of yarn could keep a toddler entertained for hours?! well, it does. Check out Miriam in the background enjoying our makeshift "play gym"

Loves to read - caught her relaxing in Miriam's carseat

Just hanging out!

 I curled Evette's hair before church the other day - adorable!! The curl stayed in much better than I thought it would!!

Walking Georgie the dog [She got this dog from Brenden and Natalie in Christmas 2012 and it is one of the most loved and used toys here at our house. She loves to take Georgie everywhere!]

She packed her little purse up with books so she would have something to keep her busy while we were at a doctor's visit for Miriam.

 We went out to eat at a Thai restaurant and the waiter was completely smitten with Evette and gave her this little hair clip. So funny and cute.

 Evette helping Miss Miriam eat her bananas for breakfast!

Evette is now a real part of this family since we got her some green pumas. Congrats, girl.

My little yogi doing downward dog.

Practicing sitting up! Big girl.

Loving the local farmers market! Such great food!!!

Memorial Day for us was pretty chill. We started the morning with a nice family run, crepes for brunch, an then chilling at the pool.... 

...and then after nap time we went and explored downtown San Mateo. It was so fun to get acquainted with our city...That evening we went on a double date WITHOUT the kids. You guys, this is a big deal. We haven't got on a real date sans kids since "kid" became "kidS". We double with a friend from highschool, Scott, who lives in the area, and his girlfriend. So fun! So nice!

Good work, May! You done good.

First month on the new job

Last week marked 4 weeks on my new job at Visa, and I'm delighted to report that it has held up to, and in many ways exceeded, my expectations for the role.

The work has been very interesting - I've done mini projects on corporate planning, business development, and competitor monitoring, and am currently working on two longer-term projects around specific opportunities/threats Visa is facing. Very fascinating stuff and while the learning curve has been steep (I've never had any exposure to the payments industry or even financial services more broadly), I feel like I'm getting my bearings quickly (thank goodness for the practice consulting gave in that regard...) and already contributing.

My manager and the rest of the VP ranks (equivalent to the partners in the consulting world) have been excellent to work with - far more approachable and personable than what I was used to at Oliver Wyman. It's telling that I have 30 minutes dedicated to speak with my manager (a VP) every Wednesday afternoon, not to discuss specific project work (because I may or may not be working on a project for him), but just to see how I'm doing both professionally and personally. The majority of our last chat ended up being about  schooling and other activity options for Evette. He's a great guy, and the rest of the VPs are equally great.

Work/life balance has been divine. I get to the office around 8 AM and am out at 5 PM. Last week I had to put in several hours after I'd got home and my project manager apologized to me several times for that "inconvenience". I didn't bring my work laptop home this weekend. My commute is a 7 minute walk to a shuttle stop and a 10-15 minute shuttle ride to the office. Compare all of that to travelling Monday-Thursday every week, working ~12-14 hours for each of those days, and expecting to be pulled into something over the weekend. Again I say, it's been divine.

My first day of work...

{Happy 4 Months!!}

Miriam turned 4 months last week!! 

On Thursday we took Miriam in for her 4 month check up - she's doing superbly! She's so tiny! It's funny to me that Evette and Miriam were nearly identical in birth weight [1 oz difference] but Evette was always near the 85-95th percentile for weight during the first year of her life and Miriam came in at 18th percentile for weight this checkup. 18th! 18th for weight, 20th for head circumference and and 85th for height. She's my tall skinny baby! 

At 4 months she just barely moved into size 3-6 month clothing, is in size 1-2 diapers, and is eating 3-4 hours during the day and night. She has rolled over twice but doesn't really care to work on it. 

We've started to get somewhat a schedule going with this little one [I say that know that it'll all change in 2 weeks because that's how babies are :) ]. Bed around 7:30 and then starts her day around 7:30 and she has a morning, afternoon, and evening nap.

We've started a little bit on solid foods and she LOVES them! Banana, applesauce, and avocado, mainly. She's loving it and has gotten really good at keeping it her mouth lol

Just in this last week or two she finally started to get little fat rolls but she still is my tiny baby

She honestly is the happiest baby in the world. Always full of smiles and giggles. I mean the second she hears my voice or sees my face [or Sean's or especially Evette's] she just starts cooing and smiling. She's so happy.

It's fun to see her cute little personality start to develop

She's also really started to master the use of her hands!

And she's absolutely beautiful, is she not?
I could seriously eat her up.

It's so fun to have two little girls who are so different in so many ways, but so similar in others, be such amazing friends.

4 Months!!

Throwback to when Evette was 4 months - January 2012.

{Ano Nuevo}

 This last Sunday after church we took a drive over to Ano Nuevo state park. It was beautiful! We went on a couple mile walk around some of the most beautiful land I've ever seen!

  

We had to leave the stroller halfway through the walk and pick it up on the way back because of all the sand - no can do.

So this is how little one got carried around :)

Does that not just take your breath away?

We got to see some elephant seals, too! So crazy!

 

Yes, those are dozens and dozens of seals lying all over the beach!

Look at them!

 Studying some bones of the elephant seals

Walking to another beach to take a look at them!

My favorite little Mini Me.

Love these two.

 Scoping out those seals

It was so good to be out in nature - to soak up the goodness and beauty that is all around. It was so healing. Hearing the waves crash against the shore, and watching the birds fly through the air helps to remind me of the order in which this earth was created. There are laws and patterns to keep this world spinning. The Lord is aware of it all. ALL of it. He is aware. He knows. He cares. He will keep the world spinning.