I know 'year in review' blog entries are a little trendy, but I like how it jogs my memory, and archives some events for the year. While certain months were more notable than others, I've tried to write something of substance for each month. January 2009: I was secretly pregnant for the first part of this month. Mid-month, I finished my first trimester, so I revealed impending baby to boss man and coworkers. Pretty exciting times. My friend Janet, came from Austin, TX for a bay area visit. Barack Obama inaugurated. Drew and I watched with neighbors at our library February 2009: Drew and I had our first date 10 years ago. Drew surprised me with a nice picnic on our anniversary, 2/2. I flew to Texas to visit friends Janet and Karla--I had a great vacation. Ten Years together March 2009: We put solar panels. Monsters vs. Aliens was released by Dreamworks Animation--Drew and coworkers. We saw a special screening of it. We also enjoyed seeing Wicked! in San Francisco. April 2009: Started the month with a fun trip to LA. Visited friends Ali and Max, trip to the Getty, and saw our friends Dave and Lisa get married on the beach. Later that month, I went with my mom to Portland, OR to visit my cousin, Karli and family. Friend Amanda painted Ari's nursery for me (I helped a little). May 2009: This was a hard month. The hardest month I've ever had at work. I wanted to quit sometimes, but I didn't. Enough said. June 2009: Friends Ali and Max got married at The Lair of the Bear. We took Apollo and stayed at a little cabin. I had to miss a different wedding for our friends on the east coast. Drew went, and I was sad. Worse, I was so miserable as the bay area seemed to have the hottest weekend ever, and I was mighty pregnant. Apollo and I laid around the house like beached whales. Max, Ali, and me July 2009: I had a birthday. As did my mother, my late great-grandmother, my nephew (his 0th), two of drew's aunts, his cousin, his grandmother, and our son Ari (his 0th). Ari was born July 31st at 7lbs 2oz, and 21 inches. Ari, seconds old, and me August 2009: Recovering from childbirth and related complications. Welcomed best-friend-lauren back from India, once again. September 2009: Went to Ari's first wedding- actually, my cousin Gillian's wedding. Still recovering from various postpartum issues...slow, hard recovery. Quick trip to Mendocino for our 3rd wedding anniversary. We took Ari and Apollo-it was pretty relaxing. With the whole family, 3 years of marriage October 2009: I celebrate Drew's 30th birthday a year late. The baby boy seems to be growing well. Drew at "30", Ari at 2 months November 2009: I was still having postpartum complications, but getting better for the most part. Drew had work in LA, and I decided to go with him, and bring Ari. I caught up with good ol' friend, Paula, from Iowa. And we went to the Adam Carolla and friends benefit for Bald Bryan. Drew's sister and brother-in-law came up from San Diego, and met Ari for the first time. Overall, a very nice trip. Aunt Stephanie and Ari December 2009: We take another roadtrip-this time to Oregon- to visit cousins and friends. With my return to work the following month, we scramble for some childcare for Ari. After a somewhat lengthy search, we find a daycare we are pretty happy with. Close out an emotional and eventful year. Ari continues to grow and be amazing. For more details on Ari, one can subscribe to the super secret Ari blog. But you have to email me to get an invitation. Cousin Karli, Ari, and me
Wed May 12 23:38:59 Belated Year in Review: 
Well, it has been almost two months since I wrote here, at ~40 weeks pregnant. The baby is about 7 weeks old, and doing well. We're busy over here, but I hope to still post to this blog from time to time. Life is very different here; we run on cyclical 3 hours schedules of sleep, but still manage to get out to do 'normal' things like see a movie or visit friends; usually just abbreviated versions of these pastimes though. We just returned from celebrating our three year anniversary in Mendocino, with the baby and the dog. :) Other than that, not much to report. I have been somewhat keeping up with the baby blog Drew made for our baby boy. However, it is private, so if you'd like to see what he is up to, email me your yahoo, gmail, or aol email address (or other openID account name). I'm way behind my other projects, and other little things I want to do. A running list: Write to Kelsi blog Make DMV appointment Make a soft headboard for our bed Store baby's newborn clothes and organize 3 month+ clothes for wearing now done, and repeated. 9 month old wearing 18 month clothing Finish 'thank you' cards -I think I've finally done most of these. some were very embarrassingly late Mail belated birthday present did it. I think she liked. Make dentist appointment done 10/2009, but due for my next Make protectant treatment for wood deck Organize details for upcoming TX and east coast trips been to TX and East Coast with Ari Look into daycare options for next year very happy w our choice Go to a 'mother's club' event went with Jaime 1/2010; kind of a bust--but I love the babysitting co-op Visit family in Chico visited 12/2009 Go to yoga regularly Go on long (4+ mile) walks again Major cleaning of house (not just picking up or light cleaning)...always Research possible second car purchase love our second honda insight Organize med receipt paperwork Look into Kaiser baby group classes Go to another empty movie theatre with Drew and baby and watch another movie uninterrupted we did this 5 times!!! I think these days are over now Make plans to see friends in San Rafael Make plans to have my favorite chinese food with an old friend in Berkeley Establish a more regular daily routine for baby and me which involves us leaving the house every day Write my masters thesis! Take Apollo on more walks ....that's it for now. Here is our creation: ![[Comments]](/nb/themes/Default/comments.png "2 comments")
(2) Sat Sep 19 20:49:03 baby got born!: 
Not much new here in ~3 days, but I did sell my car. It was a two seater (Honda Insight Hybrid), and not very practical for carrying a baby around. I'm quite proud as I owned the car for ~6 years, and sold it for not very much less than what I bought it for. But really it was just luck-I bought my (used) hybrid when gas was ~$1.60/gallon. Not expecting to be as lucky on the next car purchase. I talked to my doctor yesterday. We decided to hold off on inducing until after the weekend. If nothing happens on its own, I will go in Sunday evening to begin the long process. But I'm *really* hoping something will happen before then. I'm still not over my cold, so hopefully the extra time will give me a chance to get better. Also, I'm still feeling relatively okay, though definitely more tired; and in need of a nap everyday. In the meantime, I'm continuing to do a little tidying and organizing, and watching the great show "Battlestar Galactica" on DVD. (5) Thu Jul 30 11:08:54 two days past due date:
Me last night, with the Apollo who doesn't fly Vipers very well:
My due date begins in less than an hour, but as of today, I have not 'progressed' from 3 weeks ago. I am feeling alright and am taking the extra time to get chores done. In fact, I had a ridiculous spurt of energy this weekend and got the following accomplished (some with drew's help): (3) Mon Jul 27 23:35:24 estimated due date-July 28:
Today was my 29th birthday and, coincidentally, my last day of work. I have a 6 month maternity leave. I thought taking ~2 weeks before the due date was extravagant, but I really think it is best. I was starting to have a pretty hard time getting through the day. Not much else is new. We get a lot of questions about names; we have a list of many names but aren't spending much time thinking about them now. Rather, we just add to the list whenever we hear names we like and figure we'll figure it out when we need to. It is hard to imagine what to name someone we've never met. I'm not worried about it being hard to choose once we see him. In the meantime, if you have boy name suggestions, please pass them along. I'm at a loss for more to say. Hope to have some sort of 'nesting' instinct kick in soon, as there is still a lot that could be done. But nothing critical. Except have a baby. Holy crap. (3) Thu Jul 09 23:23:14 on leave: 
I asked drew last night if he thought Steve Jobs bought his new liver. He immediately replied that he wasn't sure but if anyone deserves to pay for an upgrade, it is him. I laughed harder than I had in weeks. Drew has heard my complaints about upgrading my first generation ipod touch software, which I put off for 1.5 years, such that it cost me $5 rather than $20. Open source programming is very important to drew. That said, I'm pretty sure I'm on the verge of purchasing the iphone GS; though I am still intrigued by the Palm Pre, and loyal to Palm since they have been the maker of my smartphone for 5+ years. I'm wrapping up this pregnancy. Officially 8 months; with a little more than 4 weeks left. We're having a boy; the room is painted, bassinet is ready, cloth diapers and clothes are washed. We're still trying to wrap up some home projects before he comes, but this is hindered by my new need to have a daily nap after work. I feel the baby move less than everyone would like, and was sent to labor and delivery yesterday. The non-stress test was okay, though he still didn't move much (3 times in 75 mins). My doctor wants me to be seen more, so I will be back on Monday. Apollo is doing fairly well though since my last post, he was severly ill in May (for 6 days; constant diarrhea and vomitting for 6 days) and he was attached by a doberman at our local 'dog' park 11 days ago. Most of his wounds are doing well, but one has gotten worse rather than heal. We went to the vet today and he wasn't too concerned; just monitor and more neosporin as it apparently is okay if he licks some neosporin as the antibiotics aren't absorbed orally. That's it for now. Perhaps I will be posting some more as I take a 6 month leave from work soon. But maybe not. (3) Thu Jun 25 20:39:40 pay for that upgrade: 
Today apollo was missing for about a half hour to an hour. Our electrician left the gate open and he got out. Drew called me and I left work in record time without saying anything to anyone. Driving home was very scary as last night we were at the dog park at dusk when a small black dog got loose. We looked for him for about an hour, but I don't think the owner had found him yet. I was upset about this for a lot of last night, only to have a similar thing happen to us the next day. We're so lucky to live in such a nice neighborhood. One woman apparently found Apollo. A different neighbor I came across down the street told me about the woman who found a nice dog. While Drew and I were out, the same woman must have returned the dog to our electrical workers. We never got a chance to thank the woman who kept Apollo safe, but we hope we meet her soon. (2) Fri May 15 10:47:49 dog gone:
Fifteen minutes after putting my wedding rings on the edge of the bathtub, Drew's keen ear heard a metal sound in the bathroom. He came and asked me how many rings I had. He found my wedding ring, but my engagement ring was missing. We searched around for a bit, Drew even gave Apollo a ball of foil to see where he may try to 'hide' it. However, with each minute, I became more concerned that this would have bad health effects. We have access to a metal detector, so we ran the metal detector over Apollo, even though he sort of ran away from it. I was sure that the detector was giving a 'positive' result, however, Drew was not so sure. It was definitely unreliable. Still panicked, we called vet and got referred to an emergency vet in Palo Alto. Again, feeling a sense of urgency, we took him to the vet. After a 2 hour vomit induced visit with an x-ray, totally over 300 dollars, still no ring. We returned home, ready to resume a search, while checking to be sure Apollo didn't find it first. Of course, we found it plain view in the front bedroom within 3 minutes of being home, since we weren't clouded with the fear or panic that he may have eaten it. He just 'transported' it. Not a great night, but at least it ended well. (5) Thu Jan 22 00:09:03 ring bandit dog:
We're pregnant. I finished my first trimester recently, and amazingly, like clockwork, my textbook first trimester symptoms are disappearing. I got my first night of good sleep last night in at least two months; actually slept until 7:30 am!!! many sleepless nights which has been awful for my concentration at work and general energy level. Also, very glad to finally have an appetite again. I still am looking forward to doing a year in review with photos, but am waiting on Drew to catch up on photo tagging. (5) Thu Jan 15 11:34:46 In other news:
Here is the first (edited) baby photo.
I like how a lot of the blogs I read do this year in review, month by month, so here is my first attempt. January: I spent over a week in Iowa and a weekend in Nevada campaigning for the ill-fated John Edwards campaign. Despite the ending of the campaign, I loved this experience. I met amazing people who worked on the campaign, including and especially Paula from LA, and I loved interacting with the public. Plus: great adventures in the cold snow. My mom, sister, and I were in Las Vegas right before the NV caucus, where I did a little bit of campaigning as well. January was totally defined by my obsession with the primary. February: After John Edwards bowed out, I was squarely in camp Obama, though I still had sadness about Edwards not being successful. I took a trip to West Virginia for work. I cannot say that I liked West Virginia at all. Perhaps that is all I will say about that. March: This month was usual business, combined with Drew's grandfather and my great grandmother ailing. This was a hard time, and lots of time was spent at bedsides. In the end, they ended up dying within one day of eachother. Drew's grandpa Fred was 91 and my great grandmother Ethel was 108! I was accepted onto the Belmont Green Advisory Committee. April: Midway through the month Drew and I attended the memorials of both of our grandparents. I also testified for my first homicide trial. The testimony was long (2 or 3 days?) and the most difficult I had ever given. Overall, I think it went fairly well though. May: I took Drew's grandmother to her native England. I drove her around and she saw 27 friends and family over 8 days. It was a beautiful trip in the English countryside. Drew and I both started biking to work a few days a week. We continued this until mid October when it was too dark. June: This summer was filled with baby and bridal showers. Some I attended, most I helped host. Two babies were born to our friends. John and Karin had a boy early July and Matthew and Rachel had another girl in June. Drew's sister and my sister were both engaged earlier in the year. I helped throw showers for both of them (one at my house). A very busy month. Drew and I went on our first solo camping trip; just the two of us, at nearby Memorial Park. It was a great success; we had tons of fun and made it home in one piece. July: For my birthday, Drew surprised me with tickets to see 'A Chorus Line'. We had a fun night in SF. My very good friend Janet, who also works with me, was winding down her days in California. I hosted her a big lab-wide going away party. I was so sad to see her go, and am still adjusting. August: I threw my sister a Bachelorette Party at the family cabin in Tahoe. It was a great success other than finding out about John Edwards' infidelity (and how he may have jeopardized the presidency) while up there, Drew went to Glendale again, as he has been several times for work this year. He stayed down there for the SIGGRAPH conference. I spent more than half the month on call for work. Strangely, I never got called out until August 29th. September: Weddings! Drew 'married' his sister by officiating at her wedding in San Diego to her new husband, Brian. Two weeks later, we attended my sister's wedding in Apple Hill. I was 'lady of honor' for both weddings. In between, we celebrated our two year anniversary at South Lake Tahoe. Our friends John, Karin, Liz, and Hugh got us a gift certificate for the Black Bear Inn. We had a great time. After all of this, we went and picked up the newest addition to our family. Apollo. Greatest pup ever. Enough said. October: Drew turned 30 this month. Sadly, because of all the wedding activity/travel, I didn't get it together to have a proper celebration. Instead, we just went to dinner and a movie. I hope to have a 30 (and a half) birthday party early next year. His movie, Madagacar 2, was being released this month and we got to go to a special screening. Apollo and Drew attend Puppy Kindergarten class at the humane society. Apollo meets his first girlfriend there, Roxy. November: Obama! Then, on the heels of victory, I went on a crazy, last minute, brief trip to Japan with friends Rachel and Matthew and their 5 month old baby. It was wonderful and decadent. Right after returning, Drew and I went camping with Apollo and our friends Laurel and Sofia. It was great fun, though it was pouring down rain beginning at 7pm all through the night. Turned out neither of our tents were completely waterproof. It was a great adventure though, and the long dark night helped me recover from my Japan jet lag. December: I finished my last class for my MS in chemistry at San Jose State University! I began classes Fall of 2005. I still have my research to finish up and thesis to write. I plan to do this in the coming months. So glad to be finally done with classes. We had our fifth annual latke party on the eighth night of Hannukah where many of our friends and neighbors came by and celebrated with us. We're looking forward to the year ahead and all the great things to come :) Stay tuned for year in review via photos. (3) Mon Dec 29 21:12:12 Year in Review:
Went to a lovely symphony with drew earlier in the day. (1) Sun Nov 23 23:17:09 Second concert of the day: 
(1) Fri Nov 21 15:55:47 Part 2: 
Apollo and I on the way to the vet (4) Fri Nov 21 15:53:44 Dog is my copilot: 
My friend Glenda is making crafts for babies, some Jewish themed, some not. I bought this pretty 'burp cloth' set as a gift. Check her out. (2) Sat Oct 18 16:36:46 Jewey Crafts: 
So, in September, both drew and I had sisters that got married, and we got a new family member, Apollo. He fits in so nicely. Tonight he was sleeping in the room I left these slippers. I moved the slippers to the room I was in and he followed and nuzzled up against them. So nice. He's practically perfect in every way. Fri Sep 26 22:56:59 Apollo: 
we pick up the little guy one week from today. Sat Sep 13 11:18:32 little Apollo Patel Villafan Perttula : 
Just 2.5 weeks. (2) Tue Sep 02 12:52:50 We get the puppy soon: 
He is so great. We are getting very used to having him around. Will be sad for him to leave tomorrow. Sun Jul 27 08:51:19 Besos is birdwatching: 
We are watching our friends' kitten, Besos, for four days. It is great fun as he is very sweet and cuddly, but also playful. Thu Jul 24 20:57:24 Besos: 
One of my very best friends in the world, Janet, or better known as J.P. is leaving, with her husband, for their new home in Austin. We had a last hurrah in SF complete with japanese food at a favorite restaurant, a nice long walk, and many hours of helping her pack. luckily, when it came time to pack her knife block, I had a great tip from a crime scene I had worked which involved a knife block full of knives. Maybe it isn't all that brilliant, but remember to use tape to secure all the knives to the block. Then they are quite secure in a box full other things. I will miss janet very much. (1) Tue Jul 22 23:08:05 Packing and Janet leaving: 
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