Very Tidy

It seems that it has already been a nearly a month since my last blog. Folks, family, and friends I would love to make a living blogging away but now just isn't the time. In the last month Aaron and I have been logging some crazy work hours, which really just good fortune in this "economy thing". Between working 12 hour days and helping Eric recover from pneumonia we managed to get some skiing, attend Sam & Maylen's birthday celebration, and almost get the new dishwasher in.

Eric is talking A LOT and we love it. He is putting together sentences (in his own way) and surprises me with how sharp he is. Today he looked at a picture of a "man" he colored at day care and said "dat Barack Obama". Sure enough he had colored the President. Colors aren't yet his strong point but in good time.

He is also very tidy and likes things in their place. For example the wrapper from the juice straw goes immediately in the garbage and all trucks get parked in their garage. Yesterday we were at the store blow-dryer shopping (which is right up there with vacuum shopping on Eric "top things to do when it is raining outside) and he hands me something and says, "trash Momma, put in da trash". What had he just handed me? A booger he picked from his nose. Guess he didn't feel comfortable just dropping the booger in the ground.

Whoa 2009

So I started this post a few weeks ago and here we are approaching the end of January already. So Happy New Year AND Happy Inauguration Day too.

Happy 2009 from Momma, Eric, and Dadda. Seriously folks 2009!

Of course this has Momma reflecting on all that 2008 brought to us and all our family and friends. Eric has made major strides this year and I have attempted to list as many as I can think of (in no specific order because if I have to apply order I will never get this posted) and is by no means all inclusive:

1) Mastered walking
2) Identified every single garbage can within sight in San Francisco
3) Speaking two languages
4) Took two trips on an airplane 1st to Boston & 2nd to Spokane
5) Took a road trip to Portland
6) Saw snow and skiers in Tahoe
7) Met is Great Nana Mary and Great Papa Ralph for the first time
8) Camped overnight at Castle Craggs
9) Got to know his cousins: Sam, Maylen, Dylann, and Madison
10) Went hiking in Glacier Park
11) Attended two weddings that Momma was in
12) Attended his first day care classes in San Francisco (didn't go well)

13) Watched hundreds of garbage truck and Odwalla delivary trucks on 17th avenue
14) Attended the Montana Annual Wood Carvers Convention with Grandma and Grandpa in Glacier Park
15) Played at two different water parks
16) Learned to hold his own against dogs: Semi, Barney, Buffy, Rocky, and Howie. "Down Barney, down
17) Learned to go down the slide all by himself
18) Began enjoying the arts with his first visit to the Chihuly exhibit at the De Young
19) Began particpating in the arts by drawing with crayons
20) Learned to count to ten in English and Spanish
21) Learned his A B C's
22) Reached the 25 pound mark
23) Caught up to his birth age
24) Adjusted to some big changes: new house, new neighborhood, the move, full-time Maria care to full-time day care.
25) His first dental cleaning
26)His first bike ride
27) Saying momma
28) Giving high fives & knuckles
29) Learning the names of all the Thomas the Train characters
30) Sleeping through the night - most of the time
31) Attending his first baseball game
33) Going to the Grocery store for the first time (remember, these are big milestones when you start out being shelter from every cough, sneeze, and runny nose out there)
34) Playing in the snow at Tahoe & riding the gondola at North star
I could go on an on. We have had a really good year and are full of gratitude for every moment. 2008 was a special year of growing and learning and moving on. Eric's energy and enthusiasm for everything, often all at the same time (Jack Karouac fans does this sound familiar?) is precious and us thrust is into 2009 game for more.

"They dance down the streets like dingledodies, and shambled I shambled after them as I’ve shambled after people all my life, after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desires of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a common place thing, but burn burn burn like the fabulous roman candle exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes “awww”?!"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA

We are jumping for joy! Why? Because it is Grandma Lorraines Birthday today!





Enjoy ice cream!
EAT CAKE!

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).

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

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

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.

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.....

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

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.

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.

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.