Baptized and blessed pets

Baptized Holding a Dirty Baseball!

On October second Noah and Eric were baptized by Pastor Dave. The service took place outside in Pastor Dave's backyard (shared with the church). It was also the day of the blessing of the pets, which made it even that more special as dogs, chickens,a bird, and a lizard came to be blessed.

The day was sunny and bright and very special. We have been asked by some why we wanted to have a baptism for Eric and Noah. We are not "religious" so I guess this seems confusing to some. We are however spiritual and believers in something greater than ourselves. Having these two beautiful boys is proof enough for me that there is a God and from what I can tell the lessons God has for us help to seal in all that is holy: faith, hope, love, gratitude, forgiveness, kindness, self-lessness and compassion.

There is something so special about baptizing the boys at this age. Eric will always remember it being 5 and having a memory that is spot on. Don't ever tell him something thinking he will forget. He won't. He will hold you to it at some point. Even if you think it as been so long that he must have forgotten. He didn't.

Noah was baptized holding a dirty old baseball. He loves balls and if that was his only toy he would be happy and entertained always.

At this age they are old enough to participate. Baptism wasn't just something that happened to them. They were so interested and attentative and curious. They each watched the other closely as the seashell of water was poured on there heads. Eric went first so Noah had a clear picture that if big brother was doing it then it was just fine. Noah stood still when it was his turn and Eric leaned in to see the look on Noah's face. Precious.

Here are some photos:

We ride our bikes to church. The pet blessing also included the receiving of the cat you see here.

Our five year old big man

We began this blog five years ago. Today Eric is 5 years old. Happy Birthday to my baby boy! Oh, sorry, I mean big boy Eric.

This many years ago, I remember sitting by Eric's side and my Mom by mine listening to her tell me that one day I would tell Eric the story of how he was born and that he would ask,"Please Mommy, tell the story of how I was born again."

The other day I said to him do you have any idea how small you were when your born (1 pound 14 oz) and he said, "Nope" and went about his playing. In many ways that is how it should be. Him having no idea how different his arrival was from many and how much "catching up" was before him. But to know his own story is to know how strong and determined he really is. So I have begun to share with him how strong he truly is and, yes Mom, tell him the story of how he was born.

Sometimes pictures say more than words.

September 7, 2006

Running fast, smiling, after falling and skinning his knee 

Getting his first real hit at the Clif Bar Company Picnic game

Showing us his beautiful smile and bright blue eyes

Your Momma and Dadda love you more than words. Happy Birthday buddy!

What little boys are made of

The age-old nursery rhyme says girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice and boys are made of snips, snails, and puppy dog tales.

Today, as Noah and I parted for the day and he sent me off with a kiss. For the first time Noah blew me a kiss.

Yes, he enjoys making dirt angels and thinks food in his hair is funny (literally will place food in his hair and proclaim "FUN -ny") but there  is no denying he is sweeter than sugar and full of spice.

I am a biased Momma for sure but, my boys are exceptionally sweet and I have met some little girls at the playground who were not so "sugar & spice" and how dare the treat me little men like that!  Funny to think that all men were once precious little boys. The thought of it has found me being a little bit nicer in those moments where I am  just a little irritated by the seemingly skillful way men can look right at you while you are talking and not hear a word you have said, or their incredible ability to look right through what it is they just can not find.

My boys are not immune to these traits and Eric has demonstrated these gender skills quite well already. Ladies, we can hardly hold it against them because clearly these traits are necessary to survive our genetic trait for being so bossy. We ladies are born delagaters and directors and it starts on the playground.

Here is a video of my boys being sweet boys and doing that playful wrestling-thing that I commonly witness grown men still enjoy. You know, those friendly sucker-punches.

They are joy in action and every day I look at them think "they are as little as they will ever be so don't let the moments escape you."

forearm shiver

Noah gives Graham a cheapshot on the stairs. Five minute major.

CLICK for Video

Pictures from summer 2011

Eric, Noah and friends Graham and Caliegh from Delaware run wild at backyard BBQ

Eric loving the rides at Montana State Fair

Kadillak & Thies kids play with Jake in Bozeman, MT.

Eric and Noah watching some cartoons

Rookie ball in Montana

July 2011

Great Falls Voyagers vs Helena Brewers baseball game. Great Falls, MT

This was Noah's first baseball game. The Voyagers were also Eric's first baseball game during or 2008 visit. Noah kept yelling "ball,ball" and heckled Orbit, the mascot, from a safe distance.

Eric move up for a closer look at the field and a player tossed him a piece of bubble gum. He was beside himself! He also had a really hard time containing himself as he waited for Orbit to come by for a high-five.

We had a good chuckle when Eric hollered out to me across the stands," Hey Mom, our team is losing".

Here is a picture of Eric chumming with Orbit while Momma tries to move Noah in close enough to get in the frame.

Splip slidin' Montana summer action

Hot summer days in Montana bring out the best in Grandma & Grandpa's backyard

Two peas in Grandpa Jerry's recliner

Boys are busy moving, shaking, dancing, and pulling things out faster than you can say "no, no not Grandma's antique glass vase." They run, play, and are full of energy and it is awesome, except when you are trying to get out the door and things little turn into a zoo (or a three ring circus). Both analogies are suitable for most households I have witnessed including ours.

This type of energy can test unsuspecting grandparents whom have, since their children have "left the building", grown accustom to well planned, timely, and organized exits from the house.

This was the case when leaving for our fishing trip. Then Eric reminded us. "Grandma do you have PBS Kids?" Voila! The power of well-timed TV exposure. Sesame Street was on and captivation ensued as the boys dominated Grandpa Jerry's recliner and cozied up together with Elmo.

We were ready to go a half-hour earlier than planned.

First fishing trip

Eric has perfected his casting in his first fishing trip. Wadsworth park was the fishing hole destination scoped out be grandma and grandpa. While fishing commences Noah snoozes in the Montana summer breeze.

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Montana here we come

We are off on our summer adventure to Momma's homeland. This is Eric's second visit and Noah's first trip to Montana. Excitement is high and the anticipation is uncontainable.

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15 Months and sooooo big

At Noah's 15 month check-up we found out many fun facts. He is bigger than the average 15 month old, weighing in at 24.6 pounds, reaching heights of 33 inches, and in the 93% for height and about 50% for weight. Tall guy. He has all his teeth and loves nothing more than to chomp down one most any and all fruit, meat, and cheese. Unlike Eric he has little interest in bread, crackers, cereal, BUT of course he LOVES Z Bars.

Noah is walking, walking everywhere and since his first birthday he has been doing laps around the house. Noah has increased the speed, which is one of the reasons for the lack of posts lately. Well that, and two parents who are at major crossroads in the career but that is another story. Chasing after Noah is a full time job no doubt.

This boy also has a lot to say and is really coming into his own as he learns to express himself more clearly. He uses sign language for please, milk, more, and all done and is so thrilled when you are able to guess what he is asking for, as if we are playing charades and you have finally got it.

Not only his he excellent at mimic sounds and tones of words he is also excellent and just spitting out words seemingly at random. We walked out the front door and he exclaimed "bike" and indeed, there was a man riding by the house on his bike. He says no, no in the most polite, soft spoken way and adds a shake of his head for emphasis. He also answers your questions with and very enthusiastic "yeah". "Noah, would you like more milk?" "Yeah!" head bobbing with a huge smile on his face.

He loves animals. Eric has shown little interest in animals but Noah is attracted to them. Bo the black lab next door will bark and we will hear him from  in our house and Noah will smile and so Bo while he points outside to the backyard. He chases pigeons relentlessly and had points out birds in the sky.

Noah loves to rough-house and that playful, brotherly love sort of way which is new to Aaron and I growing up with siblings of the opposite sex. This is not to say we each didn't have moments were we slugged our brother or sister. We just didn't do it for play.

Best of all Noah loves to be cozy and snuggle. His snuggle time is in the morning and the evening. He just wants to be held and loved and shows he love for you in overwhelming return.

Happy Father's Day

Father's Day began with Momma whispering to Eric that she needed his help. Momma then told Eric we were wrapping Dadda's Father's Day present, a Giants hat and WorldChamps t-shirt. Eric excitedly handed the present to Dadda and whispered to Dadda, " Here is your surprise Giants hat and WorldChamps t-shirt." Surprises are just to exciting to keep secret.

Here some great Father's Moments:

Baseball, football, and purple couch ball

Time to brush teeth

When it comes to brushing teeth Noah and Eric are exact opposites. Noah asks to brush his teeth by rubbing is fingers on his teeth and giving "unh,unh" grunts while Eric runs the other direction the minute you say brush teeth time.

We used to have to forcibly pin Eric down to get a tooth brush in his mouth and even when we did I don't think we got much brushing accomplished. Noah is like" Yes! Let's do the tooth massages!" Anything that big brother does that Noah can do too is enthusiastically embraced by Noah.


Noah also has a few clear words in his vocabulary that he practices in the car to himself. "No" and "hi". He also say Buh, buh for ball and balloon. And, if he has also found a word for Elmo that sounds pretty close, which is another opposite from Eric who found zero interest in Elmo. He says aaapple wtih a long "a" sound. We haven't decided if he is saying up or help when he says "hep" which in context we seem to make a good guess.

If Eric hollers out, Noah will holler out in the exact same connotation which is pretty cute.

Silly Mommy for sure

Momma is going to have to bring up the commitment level a bit when it comes to getting out on those weekend runs. Why? Because somehow my name was drawn to run this event



and the Nike Women's Marathon (did I really put my name in for the FULL on purpose? Silly Mommy! What was I thinking!)

What this means is that I am going to have to get back into running with the kids. Eric has been in the baby jogger many times over his 4.5 years. Noah, hasn't logged as much time in the jogger partially because we live in a super flat place and I can run with in the "rockstar" stroller. Yes we have a multitude if wheeling choices that take over the garage so much that we can't get the car in.

One of those wheeled options is Eric's bike. So for the first time I took him with on a run while he road his push bike. I knew 5 miles was ambitious but had a planned stop at the beach and potentially the the park. He did great and we had a few races between stop signs. After our stop at the park I did some cross training. Because Eric was pooped I put him on my back piggy-back style and clasped the mini-push bike in my fists for the 6 blocks we had left. We both had a blast!

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!

http://www1.snapfish.com/snapfish/mmsshareconfirm/slideShowOid=1023201016/ownerid=2562583/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALBMMS/

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.