Peek.

. . . a boo. I see you. I am finally coming out from beneath that virtual rock I have been hiding under.

What's been happening while I've been hibernating? Leaps and bounds I tell you, leaps and bounds. Noah has been growing in leaps and bounds. He's walking consistently as of this past week, he's talking--"banana" is by far the most impressive member of his very new dictionary--and he's destroying. As I have been absent from my orphaned mama blog, Noah has been sprouting at an ever alarming pace. Therefore, I shall be absent no more--MAMA IS BACK--you have my word, as there is just too much occurring each and every day not to document and share it all with my fellow friends, family and readers.

So here we are to report on the latest happenings in the Surette-Nelson abode . . .

Getting reacquainted with home, our cats, our life-pace here in SoCal has been a long standing project. This past week was Dean's first back to work full time since we've been back, Noah and I had a debilitating stomach bug through it all, and the past six days have been a record setting event of rain, hail, wind and storms for Los Angeles. Between bouts of nausea, Noah and I schlepped ourselves out of our frequent fits of cabin fever to enjoy several indoor playgrounds round about the city--"Amy's Playground" in South Pasadena, "Naya's Garden" in Silverlake and "Kidspace Children's Museum" in Pasadena. We have playdated, walked in the rain and had cozy dinner parties with our bestest of mommy & babe duos, Asami & Kai. And on Friday, we went with some of our favorite baby and mommy pairs, dragging Daddy along behind us, for a zenning dose of "Mommy, Me & Daddy Too Yoga" at "Golden Bridge" in Hollywood. All I can say is--blissful, simply blissful. The first 45 minutes are spent with the adults stretching and straining while the little ones romp and wobble about and the second half is a singing and dance freeplay for all. The event was capped off with some tantalizing mung bean and rice stew, garbanzo bean dhaal and a walloping vegan red velvet cupcake. We have decided to make it a weekly family outing and look forward to next week!

Now, on into our weekend we venture. With a new stroller (we bought the Quinny Buzz this week!) and finally a blue sky and some sunshine, we are ready to take on the weekend with great gusto. By nightfall, I shall slave away at my incredibly tardy Christmas and First Birthday thank you's for Noah Finn that have yet to write themselves and hop in with the outgoing mail--and finish the book on that I've been delving into before zonking out on the couch--"Nothing To Envy: Ordinary Lives In North Korea" by Barbara Demick. While not especially well written, it is interestingly informative and a startlingly stark reminder of how lucky I am to have not been born in North Korea.

In the meantime, happy Saturday to all and welcome back, to me!

P.S. New pictures from our December on the left coast are up on flickr and new videos will be up on YouTube by Monday.