Today baby Tres is 14 weeks in the womb. I’m bumping out a smidge, feeling appropriately frustrated with my wardrobe options, and I spent the morning rearranging furniture (mostly small/lighter pieces, don’t freak out). Seems pretty normal. Earlier this week I visited the lab and sent in some blood for prenatal testing. I’m not sure how to explain how taking this step is...
My sister and I celebrate November birthdays a week a part. This year what I wanted most was a getaway with her, remembering back to June when the two of us got to spend almost two weeks in Italy. We managed to pull of a 24-hour girls getaway with our mom in San Francisco. It was quick, yes, but so worth it. While we...
I have some catching up to do here…on all fronts. But I’ll start with the most significant, and most recent… Our world has been rocked this week by the passing of Tyler’s brother, Nick, after a long endurance run with lymphoma. His health started declining quickly after a most recent round of chemo challenged his already weak body. We got “the call” over the...
Happy November 3rd! We spent our first night of November in a yurt. Did I say yurt? I meant damp icebox. But of course we were all squished in the same double futon bed – all 5 of us. Did I say 5? Yep. We’re expecting to be a quintet come early June. We got a sneak peak at the little blob (did I...
I think of it as THE wedding because it was like none other. A month later and I am still moved as I go through images and memories thinking of what to share here. As tempted as I am to share all the tiny details of Nick and Victoria’s day, I realize that much of my experience was privileged. Being both sister-in-law-helper and...
This is what a ginormous 3 year old looks like: This is the first birthday I’d say he “gets it” that it’s his special day. He went to school (his 3rd day) and they sang and gave him a birthday bag to take home. He was proud of the cookies he brought to share. Then he went on a man-adventure with daddy that involved...
First Day of School — for the fashionably late. Because we were in Denver for almost two months, the kids only just started school this week. Whitney was so excited she put on her backpack and shoes with her pajamas and barely agreed to eat breakfast and put real clothes on. She rode the bus like a champ and came home and clearly pronounced...
Want to walk with us? Saturday, October 18th: 10am Lake Cunningham Park, San Jose Every year the Silicon Valley Down Syndrome Network (SVDSN) hosts a huge event, The Buddy Walk, that raises awareness and funds for the Down Syndrome community. We’ve been a part of this community since before Whitney was even born, sharing in the resources and advice of families that are steps...
Summer of 2011. We were shocked. Nick’s such a strong and healthy guy, and just the most considerate person. And he’s so young…cancer? No way. I’ve mentioned my brother-in-law a few times on this blog (visiting last June, family holiday, Valentine’s love, current road trip). My husband’s family is generally rather quiet and private, so the idea of sharing health information and other personal...
Friends, it wasn’t the prettiest day in motherhood today. I’m certain you’d understand my list of excuses and justifications, and really, it wasn’t all that bad…but it didn’t take long after my hopeful day-survival plan was drafted over my morning cup of coffee before the frazzled-mom alter ego showed up. I”ll spare you all the details, but I have to share that I happened to...
So much for the simplicity and decluttering sentiments of a month ago! I got swept up in a whirlwind in the last two weeks…twisted around with some crazy party planning, a few solo days with the kids, and of course some more scenic adventures. Here’s a little catch up for you. The biggest event was a surprise bridal shower I threw for my soon-to-be sister-in-law....
I made a lightning trip home to San Jose, then to LA for my cousin’s wedding, and back to Denver this weekend. I was home long enough to pick up my French Press and glean a bucket of produce from the garden to drop at the neighbor’s. I caught up with my sister’s crazy full life over pedicures. And I stayed back in my...
One of the hardest things about coming to Denver was that Whitney would be missing school. We love Whitney’s teacher at her public Pre-K program. Whitney likes going to school and we really saw her development progress throughout the year last year. She has an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) with goals in various developmental areas. Some of her cognitive goals are about recognizing colors/shapes/letters,...
This weekend we went to Uncle Ron’s car show up in Loveland. We drove through a crazy thunderstorm to get there but shortly after we arrived the sun came out and proud car owners were squeegeeing off their prized beauties. Dylan’s word of the day was “awesome” … “Wow! look at that awesome blue car…and over there, another awesome car, it’s green and black!”...
When we packed up our little sedan to move to Colorado for a couple of weeks I spent the last few hours picking up messes and cleaning out rooms for some friends who would be staying in our place. By the time we left our house was like a different house – so much cleaner than usual, and it felt great! While picking up...
A week ago we packed up the car and headed out on our most ambitious (and last minute) adventure yet. A week prior we had heard concerning news about Tyler’s brother’s fight with cancer and soon after that we opted to seize the day and come be with him in Colorado. And so we ventured East. I started a collection of “out the window”...
Whitney is four! Last Saturday we celebrated with family and she marched in her annual parade and blew out candles in a giant doughnut. We’ve been constantly talking about birthdays this week. We’ll sing her “Happy Birthday, Whitney,” and she smiles and scrunches her shoulders and almost always passes it along to someone else (“Happy Birthday, Mama!”). At lunch today she turned to Tyler...
It’s no question (or surprise for me) that Daddy is absolutely adored by our two munchkins. He works from a home office every day but one during the week and on that one day it is so noticeable that something’s missing form our home. Last week on daddy’s day “in the city office” I was having breakfast with the kids and Whitney says “I...
We went on a family adventure last weekend to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I was sort of anticipating saying “okay kids, c’mon, over here there are MORE fish” because aquariums are just tanks and tanks of boring old fish, right? WRONG. What a fantastic place to take kids, especially when they are little! Why? Tons of brightly colored and oddly shaped moving things are...
Ladies and Gentlemen, Today I took my toddlers to the beach by myself. and survived. I’ve been wanting to earn my Motherhood Beach Badge for so long, but it has been a way-too-intimidating hurdle for me. There’s mess, gear, parking, cars…and what about rogue waves? Conquering this feat today was motivated by hot weather reports and sheer desperation: we just can’t repeat the past two...
After much anticipation (and years of jumping on the bed), Whitney has finally reached the JUMP milestone. Yay! For those of you who might not have the opportunity to witness the many little steps that make up something like jumping (since most often a kid hits a certain point and you say “jump” and he just does it, right?) here’s what it looked like...
Proof that the neighborhood kitty actually let us pet her once… He rides in his own now, and pops his back foot. Fell asleep reading…just like his daddy. Best way to eat greens…a daily ritual for us now. Home made root chips. Not bad! Not a big fan of hot oil splatter burns, though. 🙁 Child labor. But if Daddy’s doing it, it must...
Two of my favorite things to do that fuel my soul are gardening and photography. The harvest is okay so far…not a lot, but I’m ever-hopeful, and constantly learning and changing up different things. May’s highlights were cherries, peas, and some greens. In June we picked little carrots, cabbage, and started getting cucumbers and beans. Here are a few favorite shots since spring. As...
Me: “Dylan, tell Daddy where we went after nap!” Dylan: “poo poo” Me: “Dylan, which book do you want to read?” Dylan: “poo poo” Whitney: “poo poo” <sigh> The potty talk has begun. I should have seen it coming when a few months ago the ketchup bottle squirted and Dylan started laughing uncontrollably. Is it coincidence that bathroom humor is kicking in shortly after...