It started with a beautiful sunset at Bonnie and Charlie's.

There was much music and tamales delicisios.

The spoils and signs of a great party.

Sean and I went to the L.A. Zoo yesterday with four other new moms and their babes.

I feel very lucky to have met these other moms. We are new moms and we are a new breed of mothers. Most of us met in a Bradley birth class or in yoga where we were trained in the art of the natural birth. Natural basically means as few interventions as possible, and most of us were able to give birth without epidurals or other drugs, though we all did choose to give birth in hospitals.

My name is Xander and my mom Michelle is really cool!

When we were studying to become parents, G and I decided we would follow the Attachment style of parenting. Some of the other parents we have met, in our neighborhood no less, adhere to the same principles. The goal is to raise healthy, empathetic, independent, and confident kids. Meeting these moms was like meeting someone who likes the same music or reads the same books. Instant relief and companionship.

I'm Colette, but you can call me "Coco" if you please. My mom Lori is from Alabama!

We plan to give our babies breastmilk and only breastmilk for the first six months. We co-sleep with our babies, wear slings or baby bjorns a majority of the time, and never let them "cry it out".

Coco and Sean were both born with dark hair.

This is the Geologist Alexis and Sofia, taking it easy!

Here is Lady Tamsin and not-so-hairy Harry George.

Being new parents, it feels good to have a plan and to adapt and mold that plan to each child's temperament. Raising kids is not an exact science, too many variables and not enough sleep.

Hanging out with Sean all the time makes me feel like the luckiest person in the whole world, I am thrilled he chose me to be his mom. Right now he lays across my lap testing out his stomach balancing skills, babbling all the while.

Stace and her wonderful fiance, Keith, dropped in last night. They live in the gorgeous town of Aspen, Co. They brought their parti poodle named Max. Apparently "parti" means "multi-colored" in French, Max and his kin were originally bred to be French hunting dogs.

We had a visit from our friend Oscar (pictured) and his little brother Ludo (not pictured) on New Year's Day. They tested our backyard for durability and gave us a flash forward to the future when Sean is 4 (Ludo) and and to when he is 6 (Oscar). I cannot wait! They are wonderful kids, with excellent parents Mark & Wiebke.

Sean got this awesome outfit from Aunt Kelly and Uncle Jay, he does some serious lounging in it!

I hope everyone out there had a spectacular 2002. I feel so overwhelmed with love for family and friends who made this a crazy good, no make that GREAT, year. Having Sean become part of our family has made this a remarkable and memorable year, he brings me such ultimate and total joy each and every day. Becoming a mom has been both strange and wonderful, and I'm quite sure it only gets more bizarre from here on out. Sometimes I feel too young and overwhelmed with the responsibility of a baby. The rest of the time I just stare at him in amazement and hope that he knows how much I love him.

Happy New Year, here is to many many more to come!!!!