Sea and trees

 We went to Monterey to see Gaga and Saba this weekend; there is often a gorgeous sunset in their backyard and this time there was also a delicious view in the tub. Lilit even let him fashion her a faux-hawk.  That's love.

 Leeor and Gaga.  I am one lucky daughter-in-law.

***

 Earlier in the week--the kids were thrilled with their "kooky faces" dinner of quesadilla and carrots.  It gets a little hectic with work and I can't always cook.  It seems to work out that they eat enough good food.  And take their vitamins.

 These two are so funny in the morning.  Like I've said before, the truly photogenic moments seem to happen after I've already left for work.

 This girl is pure magic.

 ***

Last weekend, we went for a family bike ride around town.  We scored a nice second-hand bike for me and could finally go out on wheels together.  Avi announced, "It's okay if Lilit wants to sleep on me." So she did.

 She has been loving her Hello Kitty glasses from Aunt Kathleen.

 And just generally being her lovely, doughy-sweet self.

 She is such a different 2 year old than what I remember from 2 year old Avi.  But with all the requisite 2 year old stuff.  Lulu loves her independence until she doesn't and insists on nothing but her mama.

 How could I mind?

 We woke up after Lilit's birthday party last Sunday and decided to join our neighbors for an impromptu trip to Shell Beach, which is just past Inverness.  I let my mind drift toward the fantastic on the drive there and back, surrounded by sea and trees, awash in the light outside and the love in the car.

 Don't get me wrong, I love Berkeley.  But my small-town heart sometimes longs for a perch closer to the wilds of the coast.  I feel it every time we go to Monterey or the North bay.

 For now, our weekend jaunts more than satisfy.

 The present is especially good now that I don't work on the weekend.

 These two crack me up with their serious faces.  Leeor informed me he wants the kids "all to himself" for Father's Day.  Because if I'm around, they tend to insist, "Mama does it!" whatever the it of the moment is.  And the only good thing about my 18 months of Saturday work is that Leeor got to be the preferred parent twice a month.  He's really good at it.

And Avi is on the move, growing faster than I can keep his lanky body filled with enough food to stave off a low-blood sugar meltdown.  He's eerily like me, turning on a dime when he's hungry, flopping around like a sweaty fish when he sleeps, trying to please everyone around him.

I hope the kids will be glad for all these little stories here, that preserving our weekend outings (and staying in times) is as meaningful for them as it has been for me to write it all down, to reflect and savor this fleeing time between conception and adulthood.

Avi's blurry form is a good metaphor for this time--I can barely keep up enough to recount it.  And there's more tomorrow.