Goodbye Papasan, Hello Jumperoo!

Thanks Lola!

If you've been following this blog you know that Lola has been taking care of Hannah for the last two weeks. Lola has just finished those two weeks and has gone back home this past Saturday. Thank you so much for the help! Mom and Dad are very grateful, and Hannah misses you already!

It's now mom's turn to take care of HannahBear.  Have fun girls!

Valentines Day at Huntington Library

On Valentines day the whole family went to the Huntington Library in San Marino!  It was the first time for both Hannah and Grandma.   Unfortunately since it's winter, we didn't get to see many flowers in bloom.  Oh well.

Of course we gravitated towards the Japanese and Chinese Gardens.  

Hannah likes to touch leaves an flowers when we go out on walks.  We tried to this time as well, but mom busted us.  Whoops!

We had tea and hot meat-filled buns in the Chinese Gardens.  The tea was nice,  but the buns tasted like freezerburn.  WTF?

This only got us in the mood for some real (relatively speaking)  Chinese Food.  So since we were close to Alhambra we decided to stop by our favorite Chinese Restaurant in L.A. -- Regent Cafe (although now it's known as Harbor Kitchen).

Uh-oh...get ready for a GRATUITOUS FOOD PHOTO!

Beef Chow Fun...mmmmmmmm!!!

Only one more month until solid foods, Hannah!

Checking In...

Grandma has been taking care of Hannah for the past week and a half. How are they doing?

They are doing absolutely fine! Hannah mostly behaves when Mommy and Daddy are home...

...mostly....

...until Mom and Dad leave for work....

...leaving Grandma all alone....

...with no one around...

...that's when it happens....

"I OWN YOU!!!!!"

We Had A Time...

I've only been away at work for a week and I already miss Hannah to pieces!!!! I can't help but reminisce about the good times we had this winter:

Playing at the Park

Taking Daily Strolls

Making Starbucks and Jamba Juice Runs -- thanks Jeff and Lesley ;)

Hangin' With Friends and Family

Reading Magazines Together 

Playing Video Games

I'm so jealous of Mom!

Lola to the Rescue!

Daddy started work on Monday. And Mommy won't be able to start her Mommy Duties until a week and a half from now. So just who the heck is taking care of Hannah? Why Lola of course!


You can tell this is an early photo. Grandma looks energetic and ready to take care of her granddaughter.   Just you wait, Grandma...just you wait...

Thank You Netflix!

Hannah can only sleep one of three ways: either in a carseat after a long walk (and usually some crying), in a carseat during a ride on a freeway going at a constant rate of 45 mph or more (seriously), or in our arms being "bounced." By bounced, I mean holding Hannah in our arms and slowly moving up and down on a Yoga Ball. The vertical motion puts her to sleep fairly quickly.

Unfortunately, Hannah has the bad habit of often waking up when we place her in the bassinet from this position. So sometimes we'll swaddle her and then put her down, and she'll continue to sleep. But there are days where we won't be able to put her in the bassinet at all her without her waking up. So we could be holding her in our arms for over an hour! I'm sure by now you've guessed how we've been passing that time.

Just to give you an idea on just how much we've been bouncing her, here is a list of most of the shows/movies I've seen in the 2 months I've been taking care of Hannah:

The Wire: Season One, Prison Break: Season One, Mad Men: Season One, The Godfather Part I & II, Great Escape,Wanted,Hancock,Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures, Billy Wilder Speaks, Tropic Thunder, Iron Man, The Office Special, Wall-E with Pixar Doc, 30 Days of Night, 44 Minutes, House Bunny, Zodiac, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Horton Hears A Who, Radio Days, Kung Fu Panda, Taking Pelham One Two Three, Volver, Red Beard, Serpico, Downfall, Wild Strawberries, Whisper of the Heart, Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, Brief Encounter, Rules of the Game, Yi-yi, Citizen Ruth, Forbidden Zone, Zack and Miri Make a Porno

And of course, I can't just watch the movies normally. I need to turn the sound off and watch the movies with subtitles so I won't wake up Hannah. Also, I can't watch comedies -- my laughter will often wake her up. So since I need to read subtitles anyway I've been catching up on my foreign movies. I've seen a lot of good ones: Downfall and Red Beard come to mind. The downside there though is foreign dramas are usually a somber experience and when I'm bouncing her repeatedly for hours a day, these movies often fill my head with questions like "Is This What My Life Has Become?" and "How Much Of My Own Happiness Should I Sacrifice So That My Daughter Can Live A Good Life?" And "Why Are Japanese People So Cool?"

In a completely unrelated note, check out this cool picture I took:

I'm just sayin'...

Anthony Bourdain Is A Wuss...

Hannah has a taste for exotic foods. Here's a small sample of what she likes to gnaw on:

Monkeys

Chimpanzees

Mice

Dragonflies

Giraffes

Monsters (Cookie)

Elephants

PEOPLE!!!!!!!!

Extremely Rare Footage Found!

For a period of only a week, Hannah had a habit of licking/smacking her lips -- and it was soooo cute! The bad news is: she doesn't do it anymore. But the good news is: we have a movie of it!



Had I known this was just a short phase I would have filmed Hannah doing this for hours, cut the footage together, released the movie in the theaters, and smoked some Cuban cigars as I watched all the money roll in. It would also give everyone a reason to watch this year's Oscars in the process. Instead we just have 30 seconds of Hannah licking her lips in a post-apocalyptic setting. And we're still happy to have it!

Visit to Mom's Office

Daddy thought it would be nice for Hannah to know that Mom has another job other than Milk Dispenser, so a few days ago we visited Mom at work!

Hannah got to meet some of Mom's super cool co-workers.

Doesn't she look right at home in Juli's arms?

Sorry to everyone we missed! We'll stop by again soon I'm sure.

Her Mother's Daughter

Some of you have mentioned that Hannah's hair is insane and she must have inherited that particular feature from her Dad. Not so! Check out these comparison photos of mom at 4 months with their Lolas:

I still can't get over the resemblance!

Playdates with Margot

For the past couple of weeks, Margot and her dad have been coming over and hanging out with us.
One parent with two kids? I am overwhelmed just looking at these pictures!

Sibling Rivalry

We tried to formally introduce Hannah and Shady to each other, but as soon as Hannah got in Shady's personal space, Shady hissed at Hannah! Shady, we're cutting you out of our will...

Hannah Makes Even More Grown Up Friends

More people Hannah got to meet for the first time:

Eric

Lena and Andrew

J. Lo

Nevalee, Tanner, Brandy and Craig

I think Hannah may need a Facebook account soon!

Open Letter to Nikon and/or Canon

Dear Nikon and/or Canon,

I'm writing this letter to thank you for the stellar products you have been offering the average consumer. I use both your cameras for this blog. However, I do think there is room for improvement.

The best ideas are usually the most simple. Take the Nintendo Wii for example -- its motion sensitive controller is an idea that's simple yet this feature is one millions of people didn't know they wanted. I think you know how they turned out. Well, I have an idea that is as equally revolutionary for your cameras and will undoubtedly give one of your companies -- whoever decides to adopt it first -- a clear advantage over the other.

I'm talking, of course, about Booger Reduction.

Think about it. Millions of people purchase your cameras in order to catch the first few months of their child's lives. And let's face it, babies are booger factories. Using our daughter as an example, Hannah cries loudly and stops suddenly several times a day. This is a recipe for mucus. In fact, half the pictures we take of her have boogers in them. Booger Reduction will remove all those unsightly snot bombs from these snapshots and make everyone's photos more family friendly.


Think of how much the user-friendly feature known as Red Eye Reduction made your cameras much more accesible to the American public. No Photoshop skills necessary! Booger Reduction will do the same.

You now have the knowledge to make millions of dollars and obliterate the competition. All I ask is a small donation for this unfallible idea. You can make a donation through Paypal on this blog. All proceeds will go to Hannah's Berkeley Education Fund. Thanks again.

Neil
Hannah's Dad/Super Genius