Birthday No.1

Gavin recently turned one. And I almost didn't do anything to celebrate it. Poor, poor second child that he is. But we had family in town and I figured it would be fun to have a little party. So I used this rainbow stacker I bought for him as inspiration...and away we went.


My nephew and I got together and learned how to make balloon animals to decorate the table. We spent an entire afternoon twisting and turning these creatures. Now I have mad balloon-making skillz. Book me for your next party.


I also grabbed an assortment of soda pop in colorful hues to go with dinner. We decided to pour and pass, so we could try several different flavors. The crowd favorite? High Mountain Huckleberry--out of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. A surprising runnerup? Dr. Brown's Celery Soda. Interestingly good.


And the cake? A six-layer stack of colors sandwiched between whipped vanilla frosting. It was super easy to make and just the right touch for the colorful occasion.


It was a good day. Sadly Gavin spent the celebration in a bit of a daze because he had received two vaccines earlier in the day and was feeling sluggish. But he managed to down a slice of cake in honor of himself.

Stay tuned for more updates and pictures of the birthday boy.

He's a Walker

Captured on the Flip earlier today, Gavin is officially off the floor!




Also captured on the Flip (by Owen I presume), was this:




And this:

One Dirty Summer

Summer has begun. And it looks like we're in for a dirty one.

First trip to the strawberry farm:


First trip to the beach:

It's gonna be awesome.

Preschool Grad

It's official. Owen successfully completed his first year of formal (but really, informal) schooling. I wasn't so sure it would happen at the beginning of the year. Take a look at the first day of school:


Notice I'm also pictured bending down next to Owen. I'm kindly asking (firmly ordering) him to join his classmates and smile (get in the picture or else!)


And here he is on the last day of school:


Truly happy! Letters and numbers aside, he was sitting willingly in this photo. I'd say that's measurable growth. He had a great year with a wonderful teacher and super cute friends.

*All in all, he made it into about half the photos throughout the year. Not bad considering, well....considering he's Owen.

Separate Lives

Lately I've been thinking a lot about how drastically different my life is compared to that of my husband. He works late and is gone a lot. Which means I work late and single-parent a lot. Our work involves very separate things. And though we live under the same roof, we spend very little time together under that roof.

Mark's job involves the next big thing in the tech industry.
My job involves the next big thing in Gavin's diaper.

Mark accumulates sky miles.
I accumulate high piles...of laundry.

A couple weeks ago Mark had a chance encounter with Snoop Dogg.
A couple weeks ago I checked out the children's book Stray Dog.

For Mark, there is always another meeting, presentation, or conference call.
For me, there is always another feeding, play date, or trip to the mall.

Mark gets to buy the iPad, Kindle or other techy things for "research purposes".
I get to buy diapers, groceries or cleaning supplies for "household purposes".

Mark is always connected to his computer or phone.
I am mostly disconnected while I stay at home.

You get the picture. I guess I am just surprised by what little interaction (especially one-on-one) we have at this stage in our lives. I once heard a woman--mother of four whose husband traveled a lot--say that she made lists throughout the day of things she wanted to discuss with her husband. When he'd call to check in or return home from a business trip she'd go down the list and talk with him. At the time I thought, "How sad that she and her husband can't have a regular conversation without pulling out her paper and pen."

Then the other day I was going through stacks of papers, organizing things, and trying to make plans. And I realized there were a lot of things I needed to discuss with Mark. Calendar items...long-term goals...just plain "guess what the kids did today" talk. And the thought occurred to me to make a list. Yikes! Has it really come to this? Yes. Yes it has.

But if it's any consolation...at least we're both focused on the future. We're working hard to create successful products/children someday.

Dinner is Served

Apparently I've been all kinds of productive lately. First crafting, now cooking. It's really quite miraculous, the feat you are about to witness. I have been reading and thinking a lot about healthy eating lately. And all that thinking motivated me to try out some new recipes--all healthy ones.

Now to any other joe this might seem like the norm. Prepare a well-balanced meal for your family every night? Of course! But things have gotten very laxed around this house. Generally I don't feed my family garbage, but I'm not the type to "watch what I eat" either. Most nights I consider it a success just to get food on the table, no matter if it's grilled cheese sandwiches or cold cereal. But for the past week or so I made a concerted effort to prepare only healthy dishes for my boys. And here is some evidence of those efforts.

Grilled Chicken Tacos with Mango Slaw and Avocado Lime Dressing
(Yes, even the dressing was healthy)


Dijon Crusted Pork Tenderloin With Artichokes and Fresh Fruit


Gourmet Rotisserie Chicken and Potatoes, Roasted Corn and Fresh Cherries
(This dinner was compliments of our weekly farmer's market. I love the chicken and that corn is to die for!)


Grilled Steak with Quinoa Salad


Italian Chicken Vegetable Soup


Kashi Roasted Vegetable and Margharita Pizza with Fresh Fruit
(This one was a shortcut meal from the freezer, but it was delicious!)


Yes, preparing a good healthy meal each night is work. Especially when you've got a 10-month old suction-cupped to your leg at all times and a restless toddler in the background. But I think my efforts were fruitful. It felt good to be eating right. As in...it felt good to know I was feeding my family a well-balanced meal AND it felt good to eat well. I highly recommend it.

But tomorrow night I think it's cocoa puffs for dinner. You're welcome Owen.

Refashioned

We recently held a weeknight church meeting on the topic of Provident Living. We focused on topics ranging from gardening and budgeting to storing food in our pantry. Going along with the theme, I decided to create a display table showcasing some ways to repurpose or refashion clothing. It's something I've seen a lot on the web lately and I thought it would be fun to share some ideas to reuse clothing, which seems so disposable sometimes.

There are some great ideas out there, but I didn't have a lot of time to sit and do projects. So I chose some simple ones that took anywhere from 10 minutes to a single afternoon to complete.

This one was the easiest by far. Seriously, it took just a few minutes to turn this t-shirt into a fun summer tote.

Another simple idea is to turn a cardigan into a pillow cover. So easy and so cute. No messing with a zipper or other closure. The cardigan does it for you!

I love this idea of turning a man's sweater into a boy's sweater vest. My friend Marissa shared this one with me and I couldn't wait to get my hand's on one of Mark's old sweaters to try it out. Unfortunately Mark isn't really a sweater guy. He had nothing for me to work with so I ran to the thrift store and picked this one up. Not too bad for a couple dollars.

And my favorite refashion has to be this one. Using a man's dress shirt to make a girl's shirt dress. This particular dress shirt was a favorite of Mark's. It used to be his dad's and was passed on to Mark, who wore it out almost completely. There was a hole near the collar and the underarms were faded. But he just couldn't get rid of it. Sentimental shirt turned shirt dress.

Now we don't have a little girl....but if we ever do I think she might just look adorable if we paired that shirt dress with one of these sweaters. They were purchased awhile back at Anthropologie just in case we ever had a girl. Too cute!

There are so many possibilities out there for reusing clothing and other items. I was pretty inspired by these little projects and hope I can find time to do more.

No Training Wheels

I think I was six or seven before I learned to ride a bike without training wheels. So I was pretty impressed tonight when I saw this!



Just three years old! No running alongside his bike, helping him balance, then letting go while he wobbles around a bit. Smooth sailing from the get go! But how did he do it?

Well I suppose it started about a year ago when we got him a Skuut balance bike. He rode that thing around until he was able to cruise at top speeds with his feet off the ground. Then we bought him a regular pedal bike. He didn't take to the pedals very easily at first. He got frustrated because he couldn't go as fast as he could on the Skuut. So we decided to put training wheels on while he got the hang of it.

Then tonight the training wheels came off for the first time. And just like that, he rode like a pro.

Gotta Love Gav

At nine months old, here's what I love.


His nicknames. I never thought he'd have one when we named him. Sure we call Owen just plain "O". But we call Gavin anything from "Gav-man, Gavzilla, Gav-monster, Gavies, Gavers" to just plain "Gav".


His chub. I can already tell he's starting to lose his rolls of baby fat now that he's on the go. But it hasn't left his cheeks, his thighs, his wrists and ankles. He weighs a sturdy 22 lbs. And he is comfortably fitting in clothing that's one size up.


His eating habits. Piggy likes his food. And though he only has two teeth with a third on the way, he'll eat just about anything; especially if we're eating it. A little-known fact? He grunts whenever he wants something. And if he goes unnoticed for long, he adds a terribly high-pitched screech that is almost unbearable (think ringwraiths from Lord of the Rings).


His dramatics. I don't know if it's having an older brother around, but he has quickly learned how to get noticed. When he wants your attention he will pull himself up onto something, let go, and just drop backwards onto the floor. This purposeful routine usually leads to a cry of pain...and of course, attention. If ever he wants something Owen has or gets something taken away by Owen, he'll look up at me with a grunt or shriek that means, "You're going to do something about that, right?"


His keeping up. If I put him down and turn my back for even a minute, he's gone. He doesn't stay in one place for long. He is either crawling, cruising along, or climbing up anything in sight (namely our stairs). Always trying to keep up with us, he is on the go.


His hair. It's always been somewhat of a mixture of things. Short and long. Calic here, calic there. Blonde, sandy, reddish. But it's finally filling in nicely. And I quite like the color. We've given him a couple haircuts already, but I'm still not quite sure what his "look" should be. It grows in a forward pattern, making it difficult to keep out of his eyes. I can't work up the courage to buzz it super short or anything. Guess I'll just let it do its thing.


His smile. He is seriously happy a lot. He has his normal smile, and then there's his total mouth-gaping-open smile like he just can't contain himself. Even his eyebrows seem to smile, adding an all-around effect. He lights up when he sees me, Mark, or Owen especially. He loves to be chased and tickled. We have even got him to clap and wave to us. All the while smiling.

With looks and charm like his, there's sure a lot to love.

"Owen is me and Gavin is you"

Those were the words spoken by Mark on Sunday night. And they pretty much sum up my thoughts too. Why do I feel the need to pick apart my children's traits and put them in a category of "yours" and "mine"? Is that natural? Because I find myself doing it all the time.

Gavin has my hair texture because it is so fine. Owen's hair is more thick and coarse like Mark's.

Owen is a heavy sleeper (like Mark). He can pretty much sleep through anything. Gavin, on the other hand, is a light sleeper (like me) who wakes at the drop of a hat.

Gavin seems to have my temperament as a child--calm and easy-going. Whereas Owen seems to have Mark's childhood disposition--emotional and strong-willed.

And really, how could you NOT compare their looks?

At one month:


At four months:


At eight months:


I could go on but I know that our children cannot be labeled in every category. They each have their very own personality with unique traits that neither Mark nor I possess. And as they grow up they'll become more and less like us. But for the time being, I'm sticking with Mark--Gavin is me and Owen is he.

One of Those Nights

8:30pm
Both boys were in bed. I did the dishes, tidied up the last of the toys, folded two loads of laundry, and read a couple chapters in my book.

10:20pm
Tucked myself in and went to sleep.

Just before midnight
Mark returned from a business trip. I noticed him, then promptly dozed off.

Just after midnight
Gavin awoke with a mild cry. We listened to see if he would go back to sleep. No luck. Since he'd been teething I knew what he wanted, so I decided to nurse him and put him back to bed.

Sometime between 1am and 3am
Owen showed up by my side and announced that he wet his bed. I followed him back to his room where we changed his pjs and his sheets.

3:45am
Woke up to Owen yelling "Mooooommmmmy". Stumbled to his room to find him covered in puke. He was shivering and soiled and required a bath.

4:00am
Filled the tub and soaped the kid up. Threw his soiled clothes and sheets in the growing pile of laundry to do in the morning. Put him back in bed.

4:45am
Gavin awoke with a tiny wimper. I decided to let him cry it out.

5:45am
Still crying it out. Then came another cry from Owen's room. He had puked again, this time in the kitchen pot I had provided after the last incident. We cleaned up his face and mouth in the bathroom and rinsed out the pot. Meanwhile Gavin was still crying in his room.

6am
Mark finally awoke for the first time since his midnight arrival. He tried to coaxe Gavin back to sleep while I tucked Owen back in. Gavin wasn't having it. Mark, in an effort to help, decided to prepare a small bottle of stored milk from the fridge so I could get some sleep.

6:15am
Mark brings Gavin to me and reports that he spilled the milk while warming it and there would be no bottle. I proceeded to nurse Gavin back to sleep.

6:25am
Finally back in my bed to sleep for the night.

7:00am
Owen puked for the third time and decided to be up for the day. I turn on some morning cartoons for him and headed back to bed.

8:00am
Gavin woke up for the day.

8:15am
Mark showered and left town on another business trip.

I don't know who to feel more sorry for....Owen (who has now thrown up about 8 times), myself (exhausted and sleep-deprived), or Mark (who spent 8 hours at home between travels enjoying a night of "pure bliss".)

See what you're missing out on when you're gone, honey?

The Runaway

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Most days Owen gives me a run for my money. Which is fine. But when he gives other adults this same challenge...in public...it's no good. For instance, he has been known to run out of the nursery at church when he doesn't want to stay. He is very sly. He waits until the moment when he doesn't think anyone is watching, and he darts for a slight opening in the door. This first happened almost a year ago and caused quite a stir with the adults who were helping out in nursery. He was halfway across the church building before they could catch up to him and "help him find his mommy". I was a little surprised at his craftiness and very embarrassed.

It happened during the first few days of preschool. I dropped him off. There was hesitation, but I knew it wouldn't help for me to linger. So I squeezed him goodbye and said I'd pick him up in a couple hours. I made it all the way to my car and began backing out. Sure enough, Owen showed up just as I was leaving. His preschool teacher was distraught at seeing one of her students dash out the door to make a getaway. I felt so bad.

In January he moved from the nursery to a primary class. A new environment? An unsuspecting teacher? Of course he was off and running in no time. A flustered primary teacher and one other parent chased him through the building until he found me and suctioned himself to my leg. They were very apologetic, explaining that he took off without warning and they were sure he was headed out the door and into the street. I was not surprised a bit. But I was embarrassed.

And just last week it happened again. He was being picked up by a friend for a playdate. He insisted that I stand outside and wave goodbye to him as he rode to his friend's house. It was stormy that day and I was eager to head back inside to get out of the rain. I failed to wave to him long enough. He wasn't satisfied. So unbeknownst to me, he waited until the car got out of the driveway and to the end of our culdesac. Then he unbuckled his seatbelt, opened his door, and took off running toward home. WHILE THE CAR WAS MOVING! The mother of his little friend just about had a heart attack as she put the car in park and leaped out her door to chase him down. He reached our house first. But she was not far behind, rattling off a frantic explanation of what had just happened.

So...any bets on when he'll try to run away from home? I'm just waiting.

On My Phone

I can't manage to get my act together enough to write up an actual post. So I'll let my last five iphone photos tell the story. (Not too impressed with the quality of my phone camera, but whatever.}

Dinner time is tricky these days. Most nights Owen is talking my ear off and begging me to chase him while Gavin is stuck like glue to my ankles. But on this particular night Owen took charge of entertaining Gavin. I thought his attention to style was a nice touch.

California in late winter. Gotta love it. Here's Mark, Owen, and our little buddy Wyatt hanging out at the park.

We have an "in" at the fire station. We got a personal tour of the newly-built station where our brother-in-law works in Utah. I even took my turn sliding down the fire pole. Sorry, no picture.

One of Owen's favorite parts of traveling...the taxi ride to and from the airport. He usually talks the ear off of the poor driver. This time he settled in and enjoyed the ride. I guess he had used up his dialogue on the plane ride. Grandma Solomon had given him a small notebook and some stickers. And he spent a good hour on the plane "writing" in his notebook. All the while he would say out loud what he was writing. It went something like this:
Dear Dad, please be nice to me.
(next line)
Dear Mom, you need to be nice to me.
(next line)
Dear Grandma, be nice to me.
(next line)
Dear Gavin, stop pulling people's hair.
Well if that isn't a good glimpse into Owen's life, I don't know what is. Such a sad childhood he has. Maybe I should be nicer to him.

And the new Gavin face. This little guy got his first two teeth in the space of a week. We left town to find the first one poking through the gums. And we returned just as the second was coming in. Now he makes all sorts of cute faces as he checks out his new teeth with his lips and tongue.

The Difference a Week Makes

So all that stuff I said about my baby sleeping through the night...lies. All lies. Within a matter of a week we are basically back to business as usual.

I blame it on sickness. We have been sick for the umpteenth time this winter. And the sickness seemed to unravel all the beautiful progress we made. Inconsistent, non-existent sleep. Poor Gavin. He has cried more in the last 5 days than he has in his whole lifetime. I HATE IT.

With his health on the mend, his sleep has yet to catch up. He cried for almost an hour and a half tonight before nodding off. All this (lack of) sleep has sent me back to the books to see if there's something more I can be doing. And interestingly, the books are lame. They have nothing to offer me that I hadn't previously thought or tried. In fact they vary in theory; even directly contradicting one another.

One book says to let your child cry it out (no matter how long) so they can teach themselves how to fall asleep. If you interfere with this practice process, you are not allowing your child to become independent.

Another book says crying it out makes your child feel that they have been abandoned when they need you most. An infant's wants are the same as their needs until they are about one year of age. So if they want to be comforted to go to sleep (ie. whatever that may entail), then comfort them.

Sickness aside, Gavin has never been much of a sleepaholic. So it all comes down to this. You read about sleep practices, consider your own intuition, and make the best decision for your own child. Easy, right?

Maybe I'll just invent a special potion that will cure his sleep ills.

The Difference a Month Makes

One month ago we were getting ready for (in need of) a nice long holiday break.

Watching our baby roll over.
Waiting for him to sleep through the night.
Wondering if we should start him on solid foods.

Watching our toddler fight us tooth and nail.
Waiting for him to snap out of it.
Wondering how often he would be in "time out" during the trip.

And now? Well. Our wonder (verb) has changed to wonder (noun).

At six months old, Gavin weighs a whopping 20 lbs. He is happy as ever. He has readily taken to spoon feeding, though milk is still his food of choice. He thinks sitting up is old news and has moved on to crawling. He also tries to pull himself up on everything in sight. This little one is ON THE GO! I don't know where he gets the energy. He refuses to sleep most of the time. [Enter the "cry it out" phase.] He's far from consistent, but he's finally slept through the night--a record 10-hour stretch last week.


It seems Owen has turned a corner too. Even entered a new stage. He was very hard to deal with before the holidays. Let's be honest, he has been a struggle off and on since he was maybe 18 months old. He has a strong mind and a stronger will. Yet, he was remarkably good during our holiday travels. And he's continued the pattern since then. I'm not saying we're in the clear. But I am stunned by how much he has conformed. Mark and I have had a number of conversations about how different things are. He is so pleasant to be around!


One thing is for sure. Gavin LOVES Owen. And Owen LOVES Gavin. I can't believe how much I love the two of them together. What a great combination. I get all excited thinking of them growing up together, sharing life experiences. Anyway, I marvel at my boys and the difference one month has made.

(Photo was taken on one of my favorite days last year-Thanksgiving Day at the San Francisco Zoo. Me and my boys. Beautiful weather. Perfect day.)

Home Again

Our holiday travels proved successful. We had a fantastic time catching up with family and old friends. And a highlight of the trip was the return of my two youngest brothers from Chile (where they were serving church missions for the past two years). It was so great to see them again and hear about their experiences abroad. And as is customary each year, we took a family photo to send out with the annual Christmas card. It was awesome to have all six siblings in the picture together with their respective families. I am amazed by how much we've grown over the years. We started sending out the annual card when I was just ten years old. Our family was young and cute then. I suppose some of us are still cute and relatively young, but we have more than doubled in number. Amazing.


Notice we are all wearing Chilean scarves. A piece of Chile brought back by my brothers. Also of interest...Owen could not get Bryant and Brad straight for some reason. So he resorted to calling them the "white-faced one" and the "dark-faced one". Weird? Yes. Which is which? You tell me.

Santa

Today I found this paper sitting on a table by the couch. Quite the list, I must say. It was written by my 9-yr old niece, Olivia. I think numbers 23 and 26 need special mention. I mean who DOESN'T want a a big fluffy eskimo jacket and fancy stuff?

And this photo is our first bona fide "Santa" picture. I don't know why we haven't done it with Owen before now. I guess we're not really into meeting Santa at the mall. But our friends were going and we thought it would be fun. I'm so glad we did it. Everytime I look at the picture it makes me happy.


Hopefully Santa is good to you this year. Have a Merry Christmas!

Dear Grandmas

We have been counting down the days until our Christmas adventure begins. We are so excited to see you both this year (and Grandpas too, of course).

Here are some things you have to look forward to during our visit:


Running your fingers through this. I call it an awkward hair phase. We've got the fuzzy duck look going on. But you'll also get to see the classic after-bath comb over. And don't forget the always-attractive bald spot in back.


Rolls. Lots of them. Especially around the inner thighs, elbows, wrists and ankles. You'll have plenty of chances to squeeze, pinch, and jiggle the chubbs.


Feeding "doggy" Owen. His diet requires special attention. You must set out a handful of Scooby snacks and a bowl of water each day.


Action. And more action! This one jumps off everything. I guess the broken arm incident failed to take the daredevil out of him.


Conversations like this:
Owen: Ethan called me a booty-face. And I told him not to call me that.
Me: You're right, Owen. That's not very nice. We don't call people booty-face.
Owen: Yeah, because we have white faces.

Oh, you're in for a treat. We can't wait to see you!

Grin and Bear It

After the month of November I have developed a whole new appreciation for single parents. Mark had to travel to Taiwain for exactly half the month. Which meant I was on my own for 15 days. Now back in the day when Mark and I were childless and he had to travel for work, it was no big deal. I would say "see ya later" and settle in for some takeout dinner and a movie. Then when we had Owen, if Mark had to travel I would say "I wish you didn't have to go". Then Owen and I would visit family or just pal around to pass the time. And now with two kids, when Mark has to travel, I look at him very seriously and beg, "Please don't leave me!" But of course he has to go. And I try to grin and bear it.

I got by fairly well the first week he was gone. We had our routines. We got invited to dinner with friends. A nice lady from church offered to watch the boys one day so I could get out for a couple hours. I managed to schedule events everyday that would help the week go by quickly. And it was hard. And I was very tired. But it was doable. And then the second week I got even braver. I decided to travel to Boston with the boys to visit my dear friend, Marissa. It would be good for us to leave and have some fun in a new city, I thought. So we took a red-eye flight, nearly missed a whole night's sleep, and began our adventure. Not long after we arrived my friend and her husband and their cutie pie one-year-old all got sick. Nasty cold virus, said the doctor. And things were beginning to look dicey. Then Gavin decided to take his sleep routine and throw it out the window. And things were looking more uncertain. And finally, Owen decided to turn into a problem child (that's saying it nicely) for the remainder of the week. And things looked to be a total bust.

Luckily my friend and I had been through a lot together and we were not ready to give up. She powered through her sickness. We got Gavin mostly on track with sleep. And Owen, well it was a lost cause really. But we went on some amazing outings each day. We got to enjoy the crisp autumn air in Boston. We got to catch up on each others' lives and create new memories. And we almost avoided getting sick ourselves. That pesky virus followed us back home. So we spent the next week fighting off illness. But I didn't care because at that point Mark returned from his travels and took care of us all.

Blessed be my husband. I have a whole new appreciation for him! I finally feel like I have recovered from single-parenthood. Just in the nick of time it seems. Mark has to travel again next week.

Hordes of Gourds

We are all pumpkined out around here. During the month of October we made three trips to local pumpkin patches, bought pumpkins, ate pumpkins, decorated pumpkins, and carved pumpkins. Here's a little glimpse of our punkins among the pumpkins.

I had to include this picture because it captures the boys perfectly. We could not get Owen to pose and smile for a single picture that day. On the other hand, Gavin was all smiles.

Blue-eyed and bundled up, our little chubs.

Domo Arigato, Mr. Owen. We took a preschool fieldtrip to the patch in our costumes.

Gav was a monkey for his first Halloween.

And here are our gourds all aglow on Halloween night.