Settling in

Dylan is really taking to his new city and new home! We moved up to the Bay Area at the end of October so that Jason could start his new job at Twitter. We were at a corporate apartment in the city for a couple weeks, and got to take in some SF sights, including Pier 39 and Golden Gate Park. And then at the beginning of November, we moved into our new house in Oakland.

Dylan has been changing every day and it's been so much fun and such a privilege to watch. He has so many funny quirks these days.

When you ask him for a kiss, instead of giving you one (which I've tried to teach him many times), he bows his head so that you can kiss him. Like a prince :)

He's getting very opinionated about what he wants to do these days. Since his vocabulary is still pretty limited, he'll come over to you, grab your hand, and drag you over to whatever captures his interest at that moment.

After months of coaching him to call me "mama," I thought I had finally made an impact when he started saying "mehm!" to me very often. I figured he had skipped "mama" and gone right to "mom." But then I figured out that's his word for "Excuse me! I'd like you to do something for me right now!" I guess I still have to wait for "mama" :)

He loves animals and points to every dog, cat, squirrel and bird that we pass. We've been to a couple parks lately with so many dogs that he doesn't even know which way to run. And just in the past couple weeks, he's been doing the funniest thing with his books. Any book that we read with an animal in it, he'll lean his cheek down and caress the picture of the animal - almost give the book a hug. It's hysterical.

He's obsessed with the trash. Not only does he grab anything that even resembles trash and run to the nearest can, he even inspects the carpets for pieces of lint that might need throwing out, or sticks at the park that he feels belong in the trash. He still loves snacks, but I swear that half the time that he asks for one, it's so he can throw out the wrapper.

And he very recently discovered how to make himself dizzy by spinning around in circles. And then falling down. And then cracking up. He does it over and over and Jason tells me that it's probably only going to get worse.

He's so much fun to spend time with and growing up every day!

MB pier

We had these pictures taken months ago, and I completely forgot to post them!

Last days in Manhattan Beach

We moved up to the Bay Area this week! We're very excited to start a new chapter (and especially excited to be near Mary, Matt, Alice and Jojo!), but will definitely miss a lot about So Cal. So we tried to pack in as much fun as possible in our last few weeks.

 Navigating the "rock floor" and meeting a grizzly at the Natural History Museum

Goofing around at home

 We had an apple tree in our backyard, and every day for the last couple of months, Dylan ran up to it every time we go in the yard and demanded a new apple. I'd guess he's been eating about 4 apples a day, until he finally ate it dry last week. He loves his apples!

 Creating a masterpiece

 Enjoying the Long Beach Aquarium

Pumpkin patching

 Playing the tennis ball game that he invented

 He now insists on feeding himself yogurt with a spoon

 Getting into the Mardi Gras spirit a little early

 Enjoying the day at Knott's Berry Farm

 Some diaper-free time

 Enjoying the last few beach and backyard days

 Last days at My Gym, including an awesome Halloween party

 Last lunches at mom and dad's favorite spots