First Overnight Stay with Auntie Leslie

Diego spent his first night away from mom and dad (since Guatemala and our trip to Lake Atitlan). He stayed with his Auntie Leslie at her house, and they had a great time. Shopping, playing, time with the dogs.....And Diego even slept through the whole night in his playpen in her spare bedroom! Between Leslie, daycare and Christian's days off, I am going to work this month about 7 days and that includes several overnight trips to Charlotte and Newark, NJ. Somehow we're pulling it off, but it is no easy feat. We are so blessed to have Leslie's help....I couldn't work without her living so nearby, and I am really enjoying my work this year so far. It is nice to make trips and consult for short spurts of time every so often. I don't know if I'll ever be able to go back to Monday-Friday regular hours again! I've been spoiled!

Diego is walking all over the place now - letting go of furniture or door jams to walk across the room. He doesn't even need us to be looking anymore - no approval or encouragement required! Lots of butt falls so far, but luckily no major head bangs or split lips...I know, just wait.

We will be traveling, Diego and I, to Seattle, Washington, in a couple of weeks for four days (just before his first birthday, actually). We are going to visit my grandmother, Nanna, and my aunt and family. We will be staying with Diego's god parents, Shane and Tracey. It's a big trip for the two of us in the middle of December, but it is important that I introduce Diego to Nanna as soon as possible, so this month is as good a time as any.

I will head down to Charlotte, NC for another overnight trip this week (Wed-Thurs), but this time Christian will have Diego overnight and one whole day at home. The other day Diego will be in day care, which I know he doesn't love, but it's a safe place for him to be and he doesn't spend many days there at all. In fact, less than I even anticipated when I went searching for a daycare facility.

On a completely separate note, I have decided that drinking Starbuck's in cold weather near Christmastime is more enjoyable than any other time. I used to enjoy Starbuck's in the middle of summer in San Diego, but now I reserve my special cups of joe - gingerbread lattes to be specific - for the times when they are served in cheery red cups and it's either cold or rainy outside. The latte just tastes better that way.

Diego napping with Juggs. 

Happy Thanksgiving! For Diego's first Thanksgiving, we ate dinner with the Evans family in Raleigh! This is Lauren's friend Julie and her daughter, Emma. Thank you Evans Family for a wonderful meal! 

Diego's first ride on the metro! 

Diego and Dady before his big presentation. 

Beautiful Montreal! 

Diego checking out Montreal from the Sky Ride. 

Here we are in front of the biodome in Montreal. 

Diego Walks!

Yesterday, Diego walked with a more deliberate, steady stance than ever before, so we are making it official! He took his first five steps on November 19! Since then, he's been practicing, but grows weary quite quickly. We have captured it on video and in photos, which will get posted as soon as Abuela's camera returns home and sends them via email.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our friends and family (and to anyone who happens to be visiting this site!). With October and November - my busiest work months - almost over, I will have a chance to update this site more often with photos and tales.

Diego learned a new word this past week, too. "Duck!" Pretty much anything that moves is now a "Cat" or a "Duck". Even bears....I think it's funny that his first words are cat and duck. He hasn't said no, though he does nod his head no and yes to show his preference. This makes things like eating or getting down out of the highchair much easier now that he knows how to communicate to us! He points with great interest when he wants something, too.

And We Walked

Living in a city is great. We have walked all over Montreal, though this afternoon we did break down and buy subway tickets because we were tired. While the city is noisy, we have enjoyed brisk morning walks, leisurely afternoon walks, and Christian has taken Diego on nightly (calm down) walks to go get us food. It has been lovely and it makes going to Seattle, San Francisco or Boston for Christian's fellowship all that more appealing. We have also enjoyed the chilly weather, though it isn't nearly as cold here as it usually is this time of year. We're lucky for the mild weather (13-15 C).

We have also eaten our way through Montreal - Croque Monsieur, Goat Cheese appetizers, gnocchi, crepes with ham and cheese, apples and brie, and bananas/strawberries and chocolate (topped with ice cream and whipped cream...yum, yum) and a lot of coffee!

This afternoon I enjoyed a glorious massage and Christian soaked in the hot tub and sauna. It is so nice to be on vacation.....but, home we head tomorrow!

Grammy (Christian's mother, Susie) and Diego on his dedication day. 

Our favorite part of the ceremony....all of the children from the fellowship surround Diego and welcome him, promising to treat him kindly and with respect when he comes to daycare or Sunday School. 

Sleeping Diego with Auntie Ali and Auntie Alese, who were visiting from Texas. 

Happy boy smiling for his daddy! 

Child Dedication Ceremony at Eno River Here we are at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. Sarah York is giving Diego the long awaited Rose (he couldn't keep his eyes or hands off of it the whole ceremony)! 

Busy October Is Gone Already

As you can tell, the month of October has flown by! Our month has been busy with traveling, work, parties and many visitors to Durham. Abuela Anna arrived October 6 and stayed through October 29. She was my Traveling Nanny, taking care of Diego while I worked two weeks in Atlanta and Charlotte for AVID. During the middle week of October, the Herfs (sans Erik) spent 4 glorious days in 85 degree weather at Topsail Beach, just north of Wilmington on the North Carolina coast. We relaxed, ate well, and enjoyed watching Diego marvel at the sand and sea. We also celebrated Dad's 59th birthday and Leslie's 30th. That weekend, Leslie threw herself a party and Sunday was Diego's child dedication ceremony and party at our house. Needless to say, on the 24th, we were all very, very tired! We had many visitors from Washington, Virginia, Maryland, California, Texas and of course North Carolina.

Today I am writing from the 7th floor of the Holiday Inn Select in China Town, Montreal, Canada. It's the only Holiday Inn I've seen that looks like a Chinese temple at the top. We enjoyed some OK chinese food last night, and now Diego is napping. Christian is presenting a case report at the CHEST 2005 conference here in Montreal. I decided to tag along since I had no work scheduled for the week. Diego and I will head out to find crepes and other yummy French food at quaint cafes this morning, meet Christian for lunch, and then tour Old Montreal in the afternoon before the case report presentation at 4:15. Then, we'll go find some more yummy food to celebrate! Yes, I came to Montreal to eat!

October was a very fun month, but I can't believe how fast it passed! Diego is now 10 1/2 months old, has his first pair of tennis shoes (he's very close to walking on his own), and will celebrate 1 year in just a month and a half. I can't believe it.