Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Christmas Eve: Celebration with anticipation

We soaked up the moments like a sponge with Christmas in our new home. Eric has never been present with so many new toys all at once. We dined on Nana Mary's eggplant parm recipe and watch the cousins (Sam,Eric,and Maylen) tear paper and oogle over each others gifts. A great time was had by all (until of course it was time to go to bed).







We soaked up the moments like a sponge with Christmas in our new home. Eric has never been present with so many new toys all at once. We dined on Nana Mary's eggplant parm recipe and watch the cousins (Sam,Eric,and Maylen) tear paper and oogle over each others gifts. A great time was had by all (until of course it was time to go to bed).

Monday, December 22, 2008

Before Christmas....

Turkey Time

We better share with you some our fabulous Thanksgiving activities. These days Christmas season seems to start the day after Halloween making Thanksgiving complete overshadowed.

Thanksgiving (and the Pilgrims) really deserve to be the center of attention on their day. After all, we have so much to be thankful for.

This Thanksgiving we didn't need to ask every family member for a history and physical prior to our visit which really took a load off. Actually, it took A LOT of loads off. This holiday season starting with Turkey day we have been able to interact with the world pretty much like everyone else does and not shield Eric from every runny nose, cough, or otherwise especially since he is now the one with the runny nose. I can actually be in the same room with someone who has a cold with going into a panic. This is good news and has allowed us to enjoy the company of family and friends and let Eric really explore. He loves parties and now says, "Yeaahh, Party!" accompanied by many claps.

We spent Thanksgiving weekend at Oma and Opa's house on the lake. Uncle Susie (as Eric says, Uncle Mike, Maylen, and Sam were all present. Sam and Eric ran circles around each other and loved it. Here are some photos:

Grass Valley toy store with cousins


Early Christmas suitcases from Oma. Maylen is sporting the orange one


Watching movies with Maylen, Sam and Julia & CJ Hoever

Monday, December 15, 2008

Visit to Chico

We had a great visit to Aunt Courtney and Uncle Sean's house. Eric was delighted to have not one, not two, but five doggies to play with. Sean and Courtney had a night of doggie duty with the 3 family dogs and two of their own. Everyone got along superbly





Eric also thrilled to have access to many of Sean's disney movies. Staying with Aunt Courtney and Uncle Sean is COOL. He is still talking about it including saying night, night to Bubby (AKA Buffy dog) and Rocky.

I also want to throw a shout out to Aunt Courtney for giving me the best haircut I have ever had. I know that Sean says this every time she cuts my hair so how is she to really know. Well, I am tell you write here for the world to read that Eric LOVES my doo and so do I.




Aaah Chico

Saturday, December 13, 2008

WOW



Last night Momma and Dadda had a rare night out on the town. It was Clif Bar & Company"s annual holiday party. We wined, dined, and danced at a hip art gallery on the west side of Oakland.

Over my eight years working at Clif, they have taken good care of us. The friendship and camaraderie truly made itself evident when many of these friends provided the support that only local friends can during tough times. We were reminiscing with a few of them last night about at the party about when Eric was born and suddenly realized that it was two years to the date of targeted due date and two years that he has been lighting up our home with his smiles and energy. WOW - the time we spent in the hospital with him is so far from our minds today that this once significant date nearly slipped past us.

Eric is now TWO, no more age adjusting by subtracting three month, no more stuttering when someone asks me how old he is, and of course no more sheltering him from every runny nose on the planet. He repeats everything and it getting clearer with every new word. He knows his A B C's and can count to 10 in English and Spanish. He loves tennis, guitars, trains, trucks, and tools. He weighs 25 lbs and is about 33 inches tall. His show size just jumped to 7 and we buy him 2T clothes these days. He is as 2 as 2 can be and then some and we love it.

Here is a pic of Eric and Dadda enjoying our backyard in early November. It was one of those spectacularly warm fall days.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Eric's first Presidential election




This morning there was a picture of John McCain pulled up on my computer news. Eric immediately recognized this man.....as Opa (aka Terry or Grandpa). Apparently not only does my dad think Opa Terry resembles Jimmy Carter, but his Grandson thinks he is John McCain. It must be the hair.

The night of the election Aaron and I listened to our president-elect's acceptance speech with ears wide. Since then "Yes we can" has become a theme for our country. These are words every two to five year old boy in the country already knows. These are not only the words of our new President but also Bob the Builder who is always shouting is motto,"Can we fix it? Yes we can!" Eric refers to Bob as Bob We Can. Aunt Susie and Uncle Mike most certainly recognize Bob's motto too as cousin Sam is a fan of Bob.

Bob the Builder teaches many lessons all with the Yes We Can anthem. Kids teach us so much. Our country certainly needs to hear this resounding Yes We Can more often and we finally have a leader who believes it.

I am proud that we have man as President that can be a role model for our children as a true leader, not just someone who resides in the white house and makes decisions on our country's behalf, but someone who inspires hope and has the ability to inspire the people in our country and others to simply do better. This is the first politician I have seen since I have been old enough to vote that empowers not just government but also the people that government is by and for. That is exciting.

Obama is no savior,golden child, or sole answer to all of the challenges our country faces. He is the right man to lead our government and our people to take care of our country and our people by doing better and living better. Just by running in this election he inspired more people than ever before to vote, whether right or left. For so long so many have felt that as one person they could not make a difference. Obama is inspiring people to get out shout "Can we fix it? Yes we can."

One day I will feel proud to tell Eric that he witnessed that start of a new era November 4, 2008 - where the people began to rise above fear and struggle in the name of hope. After all,(as I once heard a cancer survivor say) hope is the only option.

With that here is a Eric with some good eats.....

Monday, November 03, 2008

Night, Night all done Momma

Momma is back from her work trip to the Chicago and New York. It was a lot of good work, but I am happy to be home.

Since being back Eric has greeted me in the mornings with " Momma night night all done," - translation - Momma get up, get up. Lets play.

Friday afternoon Eric and I went to Fillmore street and celebrated Halloween with some trick -o- treating, pumpkin lattes (for Momma) and chocolate from Bittersweet. We were also lucky to bump into a free photo session for those in costume. Check it out http://kathioleary.smugmug.com/gallery/6427612_xTU8X/1/407193352_S3UmF

Sunday, October 05, 2008

Summer Weddings

Bridemades pre-wedding in Portland. Aaron and Eric were good to put up with all the girlie time that goes on while girls get ready for wedding days.



Yes, we know it is October but I didn't want to get one day more into fall without recognizing that Eric attended the weddings of two of Momma's best friends this summer.

First wedding was in July - Heidi & Shane- Heidi and Eric's Momma have been friends since they were five years old and met in basic classes figure skating.




Eric definitely likes to dance and groove and at the wedding of longtime college buddy of Momma's, Amy who married Brian, he had plenty of girls to dance with.

Molly (the "older" woman from Anchorage) and Anabelle (the sweetheart from Seattle)


Struttin' in his plaid wedding suit and given himself and occasional kiss in the mirror on the dance floor


Dancing and dancing


Amy and Brian cutting that wedding cake that we ate plenty of


The girls all ready to go leave Jen's room at the Lusso and head over to the Fox Theater in Spokane


We are so happy that our family could be part of these most fun weddings of our dearest friends. Major good times had by all.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

The only constant is change

After several years of measuring the seasons from the changing plum tree out our back window at 221 17th avenue, we have moved on.

We traded the familiar sounds of the coastal fog horn, the hum of the California 1, and the bumpity-bump of highway 101 for the hum of the BART (off in the far distance), the whistling train, and best of all, the rooster next door.

Before we took the glorious trip to Montana we up and moved everything we own from San Francisco to a quaint island in the bay called Alameda. We are now happy homeowners in a neighborhood where neighbors talk for hours on their front porches and every holiday is a decorative affair. Eric has a backyard he can run in at anytime and a room right off the kitchen so Mom can easily keep track of his every move.

While we loved our neighborhood in San Francisco, it was time for a change. All the signs were telling us so. Our lovely landlords, Moses & Hatsy, sold our duplex, the coffee shop (California Grind) on the corner closed, and the daunting task of finding a pre-school in the city was right around the corner. So when the right house, in the right place, at the right price presented itself we put ourselves out on a limb and jumped in.

Alameda offers many of the things we have always loved in San Francisco, only it also has fewer cars and warm evenings. Our neighborhood suits us perfectly with a great coffee shop, emerging and established neighborhood markets, hardware stores, and odds-&-ends boutiques. The beach and two fabulous parks are also short walks. Eric loves his parks, yard, and new dog friends Bo & Jack.

After experiencing several moves over the years I have learned that "home" is not the walls, structure, or building. You bring home with you where ever you live because home is a sense of being; comfortable, happy, and surrounded by family and friends. We are home for sure.

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Oh yeah its your birthday



Today is a big day, Eric's 2nd birthday. Two years have made Eric's dramatic (tramatic) birth fade into our pasts as he illuminates our world with his curly blonde fro and his high energy, enthusastic curiosity.

Today is the day he is 2 - no more adjusting his age by subtracting 3 months - because he is now caught up to his birth date in strength and development. In our minds he has always been ahead (not catching up from behind). Being born a preemie isn't a matter of catching up, it is a matter of getting an earlier start and needing a little more support along the way.

Eric has hit age two at full speed literally and figuratively. Today for example he lead the way on the trail at Monterey Dunes state park yelling "ruuuun Momma, ruuuun Dadda". He also woke up this morning (6:10am) straight away yelling "kids,kids" as he new his cousins were staying with us the Monterey condo and he didn't want to waste one second of fun standing in the pack n' play.


A few months ago the developmental therapist had some concerns that Eric may have bit of a speech delay but, our intuition told us otherwise, and we were right. In the last month his vocabulary has astounded us. Also in the last month he has been putting words together and speaking in phrases. His first phrase was "Amy's house" after staying the night at our friend's house on our road trip. He also continues to be bilingual and speak Spanish, especially when he see Maria.





Turning 2 has brought with it many changes. Eric has a new room in our new house in Alameda that we moved into days before leaving on our Washington/Montana road trip. He is now also old enough to start daycare and be around other germy kids. He starts at a day care next week. They have all his favorite things, trains, books, tractors, kids, and a dog. I think this change is harder on Maria and me than it will be for Eric.

I embrace these worries because these all seem like "normal" mom worries versus the struggles we faced two years ago.

Those struggles have made us better parents who are more present and find nothing Eric does ordinary. We are blessed everyday with the extroidinary moments we share as a family and are reminded not to sweat that small stuff and roll with the newness of each day.

So, how did we celebrate this big birthday. We spent four days in Monterey with Oma and Opa Thies and Uncle Mike, Aunt Susie, Cousin Sam, and Cousin Maylen. We flew kits, played in the sand, visited Dennis the Menis park, and strolled through the Elkhorn Slough State Reserve.

We topped the day with birthday cakes shaped like cars, balloons, and a party of fun and gifts. Today is another celebration for Eric and beautiful reflection into how far our family has come.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Lake McDonald & ice cream

Hiking in Glacier Park


Soo many tractors


Montana bears are cool




Ice cream with Dada and Grandma (whom Eric keeps calling A-m-y) at Apgar Village after a hike along Lake McDonald

Where to begin

I have so much to catch you up on and so many pictures to share from this summer I hardly now where to begin. I have also come to the conclusion that I do not need to choose a voice to write in on this blog so just get used to the fact that sometimes "I"is "Mom" and "Mom" is "I" and "Tara" is Mom and I and or even Eric.

Now that I have cleared that up let me begin in Montana where we are right now.

That is right, after a short plane ride to Spokane with two days at "Amy's house" (Eric now refers to every house as Amy's house - sorry Brian), and an early morning 8 hour train we are at the KOA camp ground in West Glacier.

Giant Wagon at Riverside Park Spokane, WA


West Glacier train station


This is Eric's first trip to Big Sky country to see his grandparents. Eric is now the great repeater and picking up words faster than he can say them. His new Montana words are mountains, trees, tractors, grass, rocks, and trucks. Every red truck is of course Maria's red truck.

On the porch at the West Glacier Diner


We went into Glacier Park and drove the spectacular Going to the Sun Highway. Eric found the winding mountain drive to Logan Pass the perfect time to nap so he would be sure to have plenty of energy to R-U-N the entire mile loop at the Trail of the Cedars. When he sees a trail or pathway before him he declares "r-u-n" and he is off with the quickest turnover you have ever seen. With speed and endurance he is bound to break records as distance runner with a kick.

Taking a break from the run on the trail with Grandma

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Promised Pictures

I promised Grandpa Ralph I would post some pictures since I have complete neglected to give visuals from all the activities we had going on last month.

Pictures take a bit of time and between working full time, playing with Eric,buying a house, packing up all of belongings, taking Eric to classes, making it to standing appointments, searching for day care, and helping Maria find the perfect job, I have been a little busy. Oh yes I did just say "buying a house". More detes on that to come For now is picture time.

Getting "cultured" at the Chihully exhibit at the new De Young Museum



Lounging with Panda

Eric takes his a dip in the bear at Lake Wildwood in June


Lunch with Great Grandma Ruth at Lake Wildwood in June

I promised Grandpa Ralph I would post some pictures since I have complete neglected to give visuals from all the activities we had going on last month.

Pictures take a bit of time and between working full time, playing with Eric,buying a house, packing up all of belongings, taking Eric to classes, making it to standing appointments, searching for day care, and helping Maria find the perfect job, I have been a little busy. Oh yes I did just say "buying a house". More detes on that to come For now is picture time.

Friday, July 18, 2008

Fun times

Let's start with Eric's first big road trip and camping experience. 4th of July weekend we embarked on a ten hour drive to Portland for Heidi Ackerman's wedding to Shane Gentry.


The ride started with Eric making sure we acknowledged each and every truck and trailer we encountered. At first we made a game of it and tried to count them but we soon lost count. Maybe the smoke haze from all the fires blocked a few trucks out of sight.

As the sun began setting 5 hours into our drive we decided to pull off at Castle Craggs State Park near Shasta, pitch our tent,get the sleep sacks and sack out. Eric loved it and loved snuggling up in the tent with Mom and Dad. He even slept through the train, which to us sounded like it was driving through our tent. Eric slept so well that we have now kept the tent handy for popping up in Eric's bedroom.

Upon starting the car for our next day's drive we were greeted with the "check-engine light" which lead us to a few small mechanics that didn't have time to squeeze in and engine check. One mechanic was nice enough to tell us that if the light starts flashing stop immediately. Well, with one call to a beholder of an iPhone we were able make an appointment at the nearest Toyota dealership from I-5for an engine check which ended up being 50 miles away in Medford, Oregon. It was a great pit stop equipped with coffee, helpful people, and a toy area for kids.

After the Corolla's check-up we were good to go and back on our way to Portland. We spent our first night in Portland at Heidi and Shane's house who have never had to consider the curosity of a 21 month old who will be into everything within reach. There were so many cool things within his reach at their lovely home that I had to strap him into his stroller and retreat to the outside before Eric had eaten cat food for breakfast and rearranged the martini glasses in the floor-level glass cabinet.

We had a great time at Heidi's rehearsol dinner and all cleaned up for a fun day of wedding festivities in Portland. Eric was happy to spend a few hours with Keeley, Diana, & Lori so Aaron could get gussied up while Mom was tied up with bridesmaid duties.


Eric and Spencer had a fun Friday night dinner at Eric's city flat. Such party boys. Spencer is proficient at teaching Eric the alphabet and how to sing AAABBBEEEBUU as Eric pushes him to run faster.

Eric isn't reciting the alphabet yet but he is certainly into repeating as many words as he can. His most used new words are "Noooo, all-du (all done), Hot-doge (hot doge), aPPle, Tee (truck).

Speaking for trucks I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Eric has found some great deals on tractors, trucks and trailers in the issue of Tractor House he picked up at the 7-11 off of I-5.


Pics to be uploaded soon

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Saturday with the crew

Ryan, Spencer, and Eric have been friends since they were born at 24,25, and 26 weeks respectively. We meet up every other month or so the boys can compare notes and get in some bonding time.

Here is our Saturday afternoon at our usual meeting ground, Pioneer Park in Novato