My Baby is pretty darn amazing.

Well, the world might be all excited about a new year. But, for me the fireworks should be for my little one's giant grins or her little milestones. Brian, Eloise, and I have spent the last couple of weeks aboard Nomad with only short forays ashore or to town. We go to the beaches around the area and have Eloise splash in the quiet shallow spots. It's a far cry from Brian's solo days of chasing surf, but this family life stuff suits.

The week before Christmas, found us down in the Coramandel peninsula region exploring anchorages tucked in cattle grazing lands.

We spent Christmas with our good friends John and Annette and their family. One of my highlights was seeing octogenarian, Grandma Sheila, sitting on the floor next to Eloise, playing and chatting with her.

With the new year we have a friend from Santa Cruz, Tiffany Harmon, aboard for a few days before she heads off to road trip through New Zealand. She brought us a fresh infusion of diapers! ... as well as a few other treats from home. We're also really grateful to have Tiffany teaching us how to teach Eloise to swim.

Eloise continues to be a very contented baby. Her first tooth is still working its way in and upsetting her nap schedule a bit but all in all, she is happy. She delights in splashing water so hard that it covers her face makes her sputter. She figured out how to sit up (when we place her) right before Christmas, and now she plays contentedly on her own, sitting with pillows around her under the galley table. She inchwormed herself one morning about 3 inches. That was a big deal to me. ;) In the cockpit, when she's on her back, she can push her self backwards a few feet. And she continues to delight in bouncing in all forms. The term "bouncing baby" really is accurate. But her biggest accomplishment is to charm the hearts of all who meet her. She spreads smiles wherever she goes.

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