It's time for an update on what we've been up to! Lola is doing great. She is just a few days shy of 6 months and she is adorable, engaging, winsome, but also independent, stubborn and goofy!
We went to a friend's party on Sunday where Lola got to meet other babies as well as a bunch of our friends. At first she was a bit shy but then she warmed up quickly (it helped to be in the comfort of my or Michael's arms).
She's also got two teeth coming in on the bottom, it's super exciting (for us) and super irritating (for her).
All she wants to do nowadays is go outside, as evidenced by this picture where she has figured out how to open the door - just lacks the strength to actually pull it open (but not for long).
My sister also has huge news - she just graduated from Harvard Law School, with honors(!), president of her class(!) was given an award recognizing her for her service and embodiment of all the virtues (!!), and spoke at Class Day(!!)...clearly I am beyond proud of her. Plus, on top of all that, she got married! It was a small, impromptu ceremony at city hall in Boston, and they will renew their vows and do a big party next year, but still. I found myself wistfully wishing that I hadn't returned to work yet, because then maybe I could have done a (admittedly crazy) three day trip back to the U.S. to attend and celebrate. You see why I was feeling doubly sad about not being present. Living far away is so tough when it comes to these life milestones.
A lot has also been happening here on the work front. After the trip to Singapore, I came back and was asked (well, asked in a way that I couldn't say no) to go to Beijing to make a presentation to a client. It was insane because I ended up speaking along with two other colleagues in one of the largest and most formal convention rooms of a huge client (pretty intimidating) at a podium with two microphones (also pretty intimidating) in front of one of the largest LCD screens in all of China (pretty daunting) in front of approximately 150 people (pretty daunting) including the chairman and board of directors of the company (really daunting) in Chinese (really freaking scary). I am usually a pretty confident public speaker but this one was pretty challenging! That ordeal took hours and hours of preparation and maybe a year off my life. The trip also marked my first ever night spent without Lola - I had such a hard time leaving for the airport that day. The only highlight of my trip was probably my return flight back, when I got to watch a movie from start to finish uninterrupted, go to the bathroom when I wanted, eat my meal while it was still hot, etc. etc. (solo business travel is amazing after traveling with kids!)
Otherwise, I've just narrowly escaped yet another work trip this week (I didn't really expect the pace of travel to pick up so quickly after my return) but am otherwise pretty busily engaged on a deal. I attended an all day management session today that only allowed me to see Lola quickly this morning before I left and to catch her for a quick feed and a cuddle goodnight after I returned. It's been a bit tough, but then that makes me more determined to really maximize my time with her on weekends (to the extent possible).
We went to a friend's party on Sunday where Lola got to meet other babies as well as a bunch of our friends. At first she was a bit shy but then she warmed up quickly (it helped to be in the comfort of my or Michael's arms).
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| En route to party, traveling like a boss |
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| And at the party! |
She's also got two teeth coming in on the bottom, it's super exciting (for us) and super irritating (for her).
All she wants to do nowadays is go outside, as evidenced by this picture where she has figured out how to open the door - just lacks the strength to actually pull it open (but not for long).
My sister also has huge news - she just graduated from Harvard Law School, with honors(!), president of her class(!) was given an award recognizing her for her service and embodiment of all the virtues (!!), and spoke at Class Day(!!)...clearly I am beyond proud of her. Plus, on top of all that, she got married! It was a small, impromptu ceremony at city hall in Boston, and they will renew their vows and do a big party next year, but still. I found myself wistfully wishing that I hadn't returned to work yet, because then maybe I could have done a (admittedly crazy) three day trip back to the U.S. to attend and celebrate. You see why I was feeling doubly sad about not being present. Living far away is so tough when it comes to these life milestones.
A lot has also been happening here on the work front. After the trip to Singapore, I came back and was asked (well, asked in a way that I couldn't say no) to go to Beijing to make a presentation to a client. It was insane because I ended up speaking along with two other colleagues in one of the largest and most formal convention rooms of a huge client (pretty intimidating) at a podium with two microphones (also pretty intimidating) in front of one of the largest LCD screens in all of China (pretty daunting) in front of approximately 150 people (pretty daunting) including the chairman and board of directors of the company (really daunting) in Chinese (really freaking scary). I am usually a pretty confident public speaker but this one was pretty challenging! That ordeal took hours and hours of preparation and maybe a year off my life. The trip also marked my first ever night spent without Lola - I had such a hard time leaving for the airport that day. The only highlight of my trip was probably my return flight back, when I got to watch a movie from start to finish uninterrupted, go to the bathroom when I wanted, eat my meal while it was still hot, etc. etc. (solo business travel is amazing after traveling with kids!)
Otherwise, I've just narrowly escaped yet another work trip this week (I didn't really expect the pace of travel to pick up so quickly after my return) but am otherwise pretty busily engaged on a deal. I attended an all day management session today that only allowed me to see Lola quickly this morning before I left and to catch her for a quick feed and a cuddle goodnight after I returned. It's been a bit tough, but then that makes me more determined to really maximize my time with her on weekends (to the extent possible).
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