Biker party in Monterey

CLIF sponsors the "kick-off-bike-event of the season each year called Sea Otter Classic. This is not just bike racing but a celebration of everything bike. It draws every kind of biker (well, the ones without motors) from many different walks of life. In 2005 Momma, reluctantly agreed to join the CLIF office mountain biking team (complete rookie amateurs mind you). At the time I was pushing my comfort zone riding some single track and trying to learn some new skills. I am great climber and can ride forever so I thought "sure I can deal in cross-country race". Then I was told each team member had to do this "not very" technical downhill course. Any amount of technical is too much technical for me and then add the word downhill and that is TROUBLE. But I couldn't get out of it. I signed the dotted line and I was in. Five minutes before my turn at the starting gate I lean in and tell my fellow CLIFmate, Inger, that there is slight chance I could be pregnant (reminder this was in 2005)and that if I was it was so early it couldn't even be confirmed but I had suspicion and I was right! Six months later Eric was born and we hadn't been back to Sea Otter until this spring.

Bringing our bike-loving-boys back here felt like a pilgrimage. This time the only person who brought his bike was Eric and he rocked the trails like and expert. With out even a glance in our direction he was off!

There isn't a more family-friendly,down-to-earth event than this, and for our family no better way to mix business with pleasure. The reason we went was because Momma(me) was giving a nutrition seminar at the ladies day.

CLIF threw a rockin party with our in-house CLIF band, the Dung Beetles, and all the Pyramid and CLIF BAR wine you could drink.

Noah and Eric rocked out to the music and kept energy levels high with breaks for snacks.

Eric is a true fan of CLIF SHOT bloks and made himself at home in the booth recharging on them. He needed them too because he spent four hours in the super slide, Lightening McQueen bounce house slide!

First ski lesson & over night

A couple of weeks ago we headed about to Squaw Valley Ski resort with the CLIF gang and had a blast despite their being SO much snow that the couldn't even open a quarter of the mountain while the tried to deal with it and the fact that the wind was gusting between 30-75mph. I have never been nervous on a ski lift before that is not until I experienced what must have been 75mph gust while I was on the chair by myself. Whoooeee, it was rockin like a cradle and grab the bar.

I still managed to enjoy the snow and so did Eric. He got out on skis for his first ever formal lesson. He was a half done in the morning, Eric's high time for vigor and verve. When we dropped him off they whisked him away in a sea of snow gear, instructors and fellow classmates. His lower lip protruded out ever so slightly as did mean. "No see ya later or have a good time" just mid waiver signature and he was off.

He did great! With the truest sign of success being that he was happy and smiling when I picked up at noon and couldn't wait to get his gear back on. He was particularly excited to have his own helmet and goggles. I think that was actually the best part about the whole thing to him. It as also a bonus that he new is fellow ski classmates, Liam and Sara, from CLIF School Base Camp.

Below are some pictures of the preparations. I didn't get any of the actually skiing because heck if I was going to release my fingers from the warmth of my mittens while out there. Plus, I was busying skiing as much as I could with Aaron during Eric's class time.

There were zero complaints with the multiple layers and gear. Amazing really.

Like father, like son. Eric told me that his jacket was very "similar to Daddy's". First time I have ever heard him use the word similar. He really picks up on everything and anything we say!

"Daddy, this is how you strap on your boots. See, like me Daddy."

Eric and Logan (Base Camp buddy) tromping through the condo in our ski boots and having a great time.

During all of this action Noah was having his first overnight with Oma & Opa. This means his first night away from Eric, Momma & Dadda all at this same time. He did great and use his charming ways to work his way into Oma & Opa's California king (bed).I knew Momma wasn't the only one they couldn't resist.

Noah after we got home enjoying the water, dirt, and mud out our back door after all the heavy rains.

Happy Birthday Papa Ralph!!

Cut and past the the link below into your browser for birthday wishes from the grand-kids!

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Dancing innate. Rhythm.....

Noah loves music and so does his best school buddy Taavi. Taavi's signature move is the deep knee bends and Noah's the expansive hip swings, which can really get going at times. Here they swap dance moves and groove to the "monkey" song, a fan favorite.

Happy St. Patricks Day Guys

A Saturday afternoon

One of Momma's most dearest friends, Susanne, recently spent a Saturday afternoon with play Eric, Noah, and me.

As Eric would say, "Susanne has ever met me and Noah." Use see, Eric uses the word "ever" in place of the word "never".  So this means that Susanne has never met Eric and Noah before, which is hard to believe given she is one of the kind friends that knows me just about better than I know myself.

In true friend form, after the boys were settled in for their nap we had lunch and talked and talked.........

As you can see we had a well-balanced lunched (not pictured: tomato red pepper soup) Girl Scout cookies go great with Santa Barbara wines. Cheers to Susanne!

Disney on Ice

For the record Momma's desire to skate with Disney on Ice still stands. Eric and I joined Aunt Susie, Sam, and Maylen for the celebration-themed Disney on Ice show at Oracle Arena. Thank you Oma and Opa for such a wonderful Christmas present. We all had a great time and the seats were awesome!

The pictures I took are bad because my camera phone is lacking in low light situations but you can get an idea how wide-eyed the gang was on the edge of their seats.

Eric took his Mickey Mouse popcorn box to sharing day at school and shared his Disney on Ice experience. Made the $7 popcorn worth it.

Peanut butter

Because Eric has a life threatening peanut allergy no one in our household comes within 2000 miles of peanut butter.

Sunflower butter is really close second to peanut butter so we are not missing out on much, but to people who use to eat several peanut butter banana honey sandwiches a week and loved Peanut Butter Puffins it is sometimes just making do.

When asked where I wanted to go to dinner in New York last week I responded with "anywhere that sell peanut butter and jelly sandwiches." If I had to be thousands of miles away from my kiddos I was darn well going to eat a PB&J!

Don't tell Eric because he believes Momma is also allergic to peanuts. I didn't want him to feel like he was alone in his allergy and since we can't have peanuts around or even on our breath I might as well be allergic too.

I remembered a visit to New York City years ago where I had the most delicious PB&J so Danielle and I pilgramaged in the rain to Grey Dog's Coffee in the Village. I ate half of my treat in an instant and saved the other half for dinner.

It was delicious but I must say my pallet has adjusted I do now prefer the safer butter of the sunflower.

As a dietitian and an allergy mom I am always searching out info and found this great resource www.allergymom.com

If you care for a loved one with a food allergy watch this video. Get educated and informed. Eric's allergy is life threatening and with every exposure the reaction is more severe. There is no such thing as a "mild allergy". The best thing about a reaction is that it can be prevented by avoiding the allergen!

10things children with food allergies want to you know

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After a whirlwind week of being fully emersed in nutrition and exploring the streets of New York City and Chicago, Momma is on her way home. Yes, on her way, there is WiFi on the plane. What a world! On this trip I also discovered that I might be one of the only people left in the world that doesn't synch their work email account to their personal phone.

From what I can tell the guys had a great week with Dadda leading the charge at home. I am curious how much bacon they ate while I was away. It was after all, man-food week.

Whenever I travel for work I always mix business with pleasure to keep me busy and from missing the cuddles of my boys. This was actually my first overnights away from the little big man so I was a tad nervouso.

I pounded pavement in both New York City and Chicago. The  running route out my hotel door in New York took me right Times Square. It only took me two "smash and crashes" (to quote Eric's Truck Town book) to figure out that you can not run and gaze at the overly stimulating sites at the same time. Once I made it through that I headed to the west side to run the trail. Even in this urban jungle I had to jump over horse poop. Yuck! I ran by the building where the carriage horses live and they were hosing out there stables. I also saw some great billboards I must mention: Manhattan, where people are openly Gay and secretly Republican and the other, Larry Flynt's Hustler Club - Call Us to Arrange Your Next Company Party. I can see it now, CLIF's next company party that is.

I also soaked up Broadway seeing The Addams Family musical and scored some comp tickets from an eager ad salesmen for Phantom of the Opera. Between running, some shopping, and eating I was busy telling the world about our new CLIF KID foods. In my four days there I also squeezed some much needed girl time with Dani V.

Then it was on to sports nutrition seminars in Chicago. Between classes and meetings I managed to run up Lakeshore Drive and take in some shopping on Michigan avenue.
I am such a nutrition nerd and was excited to sip wine with the nutrition scholars who are practically celebrities in my book!

One thing I should have done more of to prepare for my re-entry into the house of my busy boys was sleep more. Regardless, I can't wait to get back and do what I do best, which is just be Momma

Happy Birthday Nana!

Today is Nana Mary's birthday and we are wishing her great big birthday wishes and sending her warm cozy hugs and smiles. The snail mail is on it's way because in true-Momma-fashion we like to celebrate not just your birthday but your birthmonth!

Happy Birthday Nana! Love all of us!!!Noah ate enough cake for both of you on his birthday! But don't let that stop you.

First duo bath

Noah is big enough now to join Eric in the bath tub which is nice because you can to clean in one bath! It also nice because Noah now LOVES the bath. Since his very first path he has disliked the whole event. As soon as he new how to pull up he was pulling himself up and out of the blue infant bath. This action made it easy to clean his underside but you had to be quick as lightening to get him soaped up, rinsed, and clean before he was clawing his way out.

It is so much more fun to be free in the tub and not contain to the infant tub and longer. It is also so much more fun to be with big brother Eric doing what he does and playing with him.

Let me tell you some thing

Eric probably does know more than me given the number of questions he is capable of asking in 60 seconds like " are their sharks in that water? Why aren't they sharks in that water? Why do sharks like salt water and fish like fresh water? Why is your blinker on? Why aren't you passing that car? Did you remember you keys? Did you remember my water bottle? Why is Thies my last name? What bridge is that? What direction is behind us? How many mile is to school? Why is it that many? Is it garbage day? Why isn't it garbage day? Why is that train short? Why is dark now? Why is the sun not out? Why is there fog?"

I don't know what is more incredible, the question rate or that I respond to every one because I don't want to disappoint his fantastic curiosity of the world around him.

After returning from a weekend at Opa and Oma's house Eric also started several statements with "Let me tell you something......" Leave it to kids to pick up common phrases they hear out of our mouths. Opa & Oma probably didn't even realize until reading this just now that Eric undoubtedly pick this one up from him. You always know when to listen up and pay attention to Opa when he starts his sentences this way because he is about to impart some vary well-learned and earned wisdom that will most definitely serve you. Eric knows people will listen when starts sentence with " Let me tell you some thing (some & thing being emphasized separately by Eric) and his more recent evolution  "Let me show you some - thing". He is a fast learner.

Noah's First Birthday 2011 (52 photos), by Tara DelloIacono

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Happy Birth Day Sweetie Pie

My snuggly sweetie pie baby Noah turns the big number "1" today. He knew his closest family and friends were coming over today because just yesterday he perfected his two-step-walk-plop routine to a series of steps that has just made Noah's world enormously bigger. Suddenly new things like the drawer and cupboard handles are at eye level. The outdoors has totally opened up to him as well.

I can not believe it has been one year since our eyes met in that magical moment. I feel like in just a weekend my baby is "all-grown" up. His personality has even matured and he isn't letting Eric or anyone else just bully him around without showing his teeth with an intense grrrr and a good swat from his hand. He is also climbing on everything. Watch out! He is waving and saying hi to people - a new combo  just started today. He is really just exploding with new things he learns each day. This shouldn't surprise anyone because he watches and listens and studies everything and then with little inhibition tries it, even if it is something like saying the word "shoes". He is also doing the sign for more every time I take him out of his high-chair, which I think he thinks is the sign for all-done, but who cares, I know what he means.

The weather has finally been nice enough for us to emerge from the house and stroll around. Here is Noah on one of his first neighborly walk-abouts.

Naya naya naya

Noah is a talker. Tons of baby talk. I have said since his first week that he is very good at expressing himself and he is.


Today while I was washing my hands in the bathroom Noah crawls and toddles over to the toilet paper roll and points while proclaiming "naya, naya , naya". This is him saying "no, no, no" with the exact same tone I use with him when I say it.  Amazing. He has been doing this since the first no-no I gave him for trying to climb onto the dishwasher door. It also amazes me that he now knows what is no-no i.e. the toilet paper. He smiles at you while he is saying it in a way that is like he is asking if this is really a no-no.

Noah is also immensely proud of his achievements and grins ear to ear when accomplishing something like climbing up on couch, rearranging furniture, or taking his first steps, which he is managing in a one to two step fashion.

A power post

Momma here. I have mentioned on many occasions how I wouldn't mind if it was my job (well-paying) to be a blogger on a regular basis. Lately, however, when I have the time I lack the motivation and when I have the motivation I lack the time. Well, at this very second I seem to have both so I am going to post this post Valentine's Day post probably without a photo because that would likely delay the posting because it would take more time that I may get at this early, quite moment before everyone in the house wakes up for another day full of fun and challenge.

Valentine's Day was Monday and I will be honest it has never been a day we celebrate and so expectations are nice and low leaving room for easy surprises with simple pleasures. Aaron and Eric took a visit to Home Depot last weekend where Eric made me a hook to hang on the wall. It was in the shape of a heart which he painted purple and adorned with heart stickers. He was so suppose to keep this a secret until Valentine's Day, which went something like this, "Momma, I have a SECRET (giggle, giggle)! It is a purple heart."

Eric hasn't yet grasped the concept behind a secret.....that it is something your keep to yourself. This is much like playing hide and seek with him. He hides and before you can even start seeking he bursts out of his "secret" spot all a giggle and laughs. Who can blame him. All that anticipation and excitement is hardly worth containing and much more fun to share than keep to yourself!

getting a morning workout

This is the just-your-size gym at CLIF school. It should come to no surprise that Noah knew exactly what to do. He did take a few bites out of the railing, unable to resist chewing on the rubber foam.

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Eric hits the slopes for the first time

Let the love affair begin......

10 month old stats

Noah is growing by leaps and bounds each day and discovering new talents, new foods, and new sounds by the minute.

He weighs 21 pounds and stretches out to 30 inches. He has teeth, 4 on the top front and 4 on the bottom front. He is working on the back teeth as evidenced by the biting and chewing of everything and sudden dramatic drops to the floor to try and bite the carpet. And not to be forgotten, the AM screaming wake-up calls asking for a some soothing please.

His hair is growing in straight and very blond. He has perfected the speed crawl with shoulders broad and hands slightly turned - kind of like a gorilla. He is attempting to stand on his own for about 30 seconds max and can walk along holding on to the couch. Today stood up from sitting several times and strengthened the muscles for the move by proceeding to complete a set of squats. He raises his hands high in the air each time with a huge grin of excited accomplishment because he knows he a just done something really, really cool.

He eats everything. Although yesterday he had an odd aversion to his previously favorite food, sweet potatoes. Maybe he likes them fresh and these I had popped in the freezer and thawed for later. This week he has discovered cheese. He will not stand for anyone to be eating at the table without him joining them.

He plays with balls, chasing them around like a cat pushing it along and then going to get it pushing it again and going to get it.

He loves to follow his brother around and play with what he is playing with. He loves music and will bounce on your lap if he hears a tune or swing his hips forward and back, forward and back, while standing at his learning table. His favorite objects are the telephone, the dishwasher, and (yuck!) Eric's potty seat. He LOVES peek-a-boo and will play it back hiding his face.


 
His smile is constant except when he is hungry, tired, or getting more teeth. He snuggles, loves to be held and carried and could do without being stuck in a carseat or stroller.

He has been to his first movie and loved his first Christmas. He has added so much fun and so many smiles to every day. That is what is up with the lovable, baby brother Noah!

Holy Infant So Tender

Sometimes I like to believe that Christmas is about celebrating not only the birth of Baby Jesus, but the birth of all babies, so holy and precious. Christmas is the celebration of life. Merry Christmas to all.

Hello Angel

And your name is? and you came from where? I am not sure I trust you yet

Momma on Holiday Eating

Merry Christmas from Momma the Nutrition Expert at (click the link here LUNA)

The rink

The gang finally made it over to Iceland. It has been at least two years since Momma has been one skates. Yes, those are the last pair of professional skates my mom ever bought me back in the day when her car would drive to the west side of town and go only one direction...the 4 Season Ice Rink.

For those of you how don't recall everything Momma needed to learn about life she learned at the "rink". I am not sure when I realized I wasn't going to make an Olympic figure skater but it must have been soon after this photo was taken: (stay tuned...will insert scary photo here)


Momma started skating at the age of 4 so seems fitting time to start Eric. My career started in basic classes after Grandma & Grandpa Bernell & Eric took  me to see my first ice show. I was hooked the minute I saw the costumes and the spot light on the ice. My (still friends - she as my made of honor) friend Heidi was a snowflake.  My Mom's financial sacrifices and my Grandpa's taxi surface to the rink has always been a gift I have been grateful for. Nothing feels as good as cruising around the rink, forwards, backwards, edge to ice, with wind breezing by you. It is the biggest aaaaah.

Eric did really well for it first time out with Momma and we even practiced falling so he wouldn't be afraid to hit the ground. Lord knows I have bruised my tail bone more than once. Aaron has taken Eric on one other occasion and found Eric was more interested in the video games that time around.

Aaron picked up skating recently too. Hockey that is. I will never understand why they don't want toe picks. He saw a beginners class and showed up as a beginner....hardly even knowing how to skate or owning any gear. He found out that apparently beginning hockey lessons includes mostly individuals who already know how to ice skate. This did not discourage his interest in the least. He picked up the skills fast, borrowed some gear, and now is as anxious I am to get our boys comfortable on the ice.

Noah watched us cruise and banged his hands up on the glass waving at us.

 

He is a natural!Winter sports watch out!

Rain day

Today we made the most of a rain day and duck taped the umbrella to the three -wheeler. It worked great. We road to the park where Eric wanted to see how wet the slide was but we never made it to the slide because We were distracted with pine cone soccer and pine cone basket ball. He said the baseball "court ", his word, was too wet.

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