Tummy time

Finally! It looks like we've found a way for Vivian to practice spending time on her tummy. Usually, she throws a fit within a minute of being positioned on her stomach, then rolls on her back. Our friend and mother of two, Amy, suggested placing a pillow below her upper body so that she's lying more on an upward incline. This puts less stress on her neck.

Now she hangs out like this for 5 minutes or so. Sweet! Eventually, we'll work our way up to a flat surface. Then comes sitting up and crawling, I guess. That's when we buy a cute, fuzzy straight jacket for Viv to wear when Daddy has to work.

Rollerskating with the Karbans

Here's a vid that I wanted to post as soon as we returned from our trip over the holidays, but didn't have time until now. I cannot rollerskate to save my life, so I was designated the videographer.

Weekends with Viv

Vivian's two bottom teeth came in about a month ago (see photo) and it feels like her top teeth are just about ready to make the scene. She loves to chew on the stuffed pea pod Nay-Nay bought her,
and is just starting to roll over (with help).

She likes to grab my hair and watch Dad's funny dances. She's not even close to sleeping through the night, but thankfully is learning to entertain herself more. We occasionally wake up to hear her laughing at her new favorite toy -- her feet.

The Sheas (Tom, Jo, Johnny and Tommy) visit us in San Francisco

Myryah's brother Tom and Family came to San Francisco for their first time for a long weekend.

We tried to take them to all the sites we thought might be the most memorable to them. Places like The Wharf (mainly, to see the sea lions), Ghiradelli Square, The Exploratorium, Lombard Street, Land's End (the place where we got married), the Marin Headlands, the giant redwoods of Muir Woods Nat'l Park [ says Tommy: "For God's sake, Dad, it's just a tree!" ]...



...and Ocean Beach. The best part of their visit for me was to watch the boys play in the cold water at Ocean Beach. They literally got soaked head to toe with their clothes on. They helped me remember how it was to be a boy their age, with no thought of how cold the water was. Just that it was new and crazy and fun.


I think that the highlight of the trip for them was playing Wii video games at Cindy & Steve's apartment next door. Before starting, Johnny spent a lot of time creating his avatar, some dude named Michael whom he claims to be a friend of his and bears a striking resemblance to John C. Riley. It was hilarious watching the boys duke it out with their Wii controllers, never mind what was happening on the screen. While frantically swinging the controllers Tommy got a stomach cramp and had to take a quick break. This made him cry with frustration (just a little). I wish I had my video camera.

Panasonic ARC IV Nano Shaver (PA880)

Panasonic ARC IV Nano Shaver (PA880)

When it comes to shavers, this is the latest slickest creation from Panasonic and well...it is really good! In the past I have tried a number of conventional razors like Gillette Mach 3 and a generic electric rotary shaver from Norelco but was never happy with any of them. They did a mediocre job shaving my face and a good job irritating it and looked ugly doing so. If any of this sounds familiar then look no further than Panasonic ARC IV Nano Shaver! Now this is one good looking shaver - slick and very refined. It is very well built from high quality materials. The front of the handle looks as if it is made of black anodized brushed aluminum and it houses a fancy multifunction backlit LCD display and a shiny single button - the only button needed to operate this sophisticated machine. A couple hours of charge will last you a couple of weeks of average intensity use. Cleaning is as easy as it gets; just pour some liquid soap on top of the foil and press and hold the main button for about 10 seconds which will enable the cleaning mode. Immediately rinse with tap water for about 20 second or until the shaver turns off by itself. Now just squeeze the sides of the floating head to pop it off and let it all dry. Floating head could be locked into position if so desired but otherwise offers up-and-down as well as left-to-right swivel motion. Four independent floating foils quickly adapt to contours of the face. The informative LCD display indicates the duration of the current shave and the battery level is presented both graphically and numerically as a % value. The shaver will also flash the "clean now" icon when it is time to clean it. Now with this shaver you get what you pay for. According to Panasonic this shaver sports stainless steel blades honed with the latest nanotechnology to prolong the sharpness. All this nano goodness is hiding under world's thinnest three dimensional hole pattern stainless steel foil, which is why you get the closest possible shave. And of course you can shave wet or dry, with or without foam, in the shower or out! The charger is dual voltage for international travel and it even comes with a travel pouch. Now it is worth mentioning that this shaver is sold exclusively by Sharper Image and can be purchased from Amazon where it is also sold by Sharper Image. Did I mention this thing is cordless? :)

3 year update:
Amazing product! It has been a little over 3 years since we acquired this shaver. We have been using it pretty much every other day ever since and we are happy to report that it still runs like new. Still using the original blade and battery and while the blade is not nearly as sharp now as the day we got it the battery seems to hold the charge just as well. All in all this one great product that just keeps working!

Vivian in a dress

This entry is for you, Dad. See, we don't always dress our daughter like a boy!

We're back in San Francisco after more than a month of traveling. New York, Detroit, Maryland... Vivian's getting a lot of mileage, so to speak, out of her middle name (Faer = traveler in old English).