What's in a name? the remix

My second pregnancy has almost come to an end. Here I am at the top of the ninth. And as of last Wednesday Daniel and I had no names for this coming baby. Really none. So we took a suggestion from my friend Jolie who's life path echos mine. At her mother's suggestion, she went out to dinner with her partner and with no distractions came up with a list of names.
So last Thursday after Joaquin was in bed and my friend and neighbor Erin was at the dining room table, Daniel and I went out for Japanese food. I brought along a lovely book called "What shall we name the baby?" published in 1935. The result is a list of boy and girl names since the gender of this coming pup is unknown.
Here are some of the parameters for names we will choose. It must sound good with Joaquin. It must be pronounceable in French and Spanish. No last name first names. Which are your favorites?

Boys Names
Javier
Sebastian
Matias
Mateo
Francisco
Enzo*
Andres*

Girl Names
Alma
Calista
Catalina
Celeste
Celestina
Mirabelle
Nora
Simone
Raquel
*middle name choices

And here are two recent pregnancy pictures.

Tree Climber

Suddenly Joaquin can climb a tree! Okay it's more of a very sturdy bush called echium. I look over and there is Joaquin two feet off the ground. His face is calm, his demeanor calm and he appears very in control. Two feet off the ground is alot when you're just over three feet tall. I slowly saunter over to be in arms reach. Joaquin seems to understand how to balance his weight between his hands and feet and neatly climbs down, just to climb up again.
I like to think he got Daniel's adventuresome-ness and my balance.

Joaquin's newest friend

Joaquin is getting used to Siobhan. "Baby" says Joaquin when I point to Siobhan. "Yes, she's a tiny baby" I respond.
Siobhan's mama of four weeks, Erin, is one of my closest friends. The first time I held Siobhan, Joaquin suddenly urgently wanted to be in my arms and was none to pleased to see the tiny baby in my other arm.

I made Erin the quilt that Joaquin and Siobhan are modeling in this photo. It's a friendship baby quilt. I gave out squares of fabric to Erin's friends and family. The squares in the center are all designed by her friends. This is the second baby quilt I have made. I actually really enjoy making these quilts because they look so fantastic when done- minor puckering and asymmetries aside.

The Joy of Not Cooking

My mom made us get a microwave. She offered to buy one, even the very particular now discontinued Sharp Half Pint. I didn't let her take me shopping for the microwave. Mostly because I would always rather spend the day with her and Joaquin at the park. But after her last visit, she commented that Brenda looked really excited at the idea of a microwave. Since Brenda is the best nanny I could ever have hoped for and a gift to my life that I thank at least once a week, I decided we needed a microwave.
One rainy day in January, Daniel, the baby and I drove to Target. We picked out the smallest microwave they had.
Oh so quickly I fell in love with this new fangled gadget. I microwaved sweet potatoes- Joaquin's favorite- in minutes. His oatmeal no longer meant a crusted pan in the sink all day. And on and on. Why didn't anyone tell me, I mean really look me in the eye and tell me that a toddler needs a microwave. A need a microwave more than I need a baby monitor, or a even a crib (he sleeps in a portable pack-n-play).
So while I am waxing poetic about my microwave, Joaquin's scrambled egg is cooking in a minute and a half in a little ramekin. Perhaps serving microwaved eggs to your kid is crossing the line. But the clean-up so easy. The funny part is now when Joaquin is hungry, he stands in front of the microwave and does a pointing-wiggling-and-fussing kind of dance. He thinks that's where food comes from. A magic silver box.

Bluegrass Foot Stompin'

I love it when Joaquin dances. Some parents teach their kids the colors, I am teaching him dance moves. He can do a twirl. We ask him to 'dar vuelta' and he turns around.

Little Firefighter

We play at Habitot, a great Berkeley little children's play place. With all the recent rain, we have been there often.

At the park

Ive been short on photos and post lately. Here are a few pictures taken with my new-to-me iphone.