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.

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

View more presentations or Upload your own.

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.