March 20, 2007

One year ago today, we were all in the hospital; I was looking out the window at the Hollywood Hills, Jeremy was making sure I had enough "lemon ice", Carol (our doula) was trying to get me to get into the shower ("it'll make you feel refreshed!"). That's not to mention the guest of honor, Mr Elliot who had his head lodged well in my pelvis and wasn't budging.

Fast forward exactly one year. Elliot is now much more of an actual "human" than he was when he first came squirming out, blue and screeching. The changes astound me if I sit down to consider it all. He's almost walking, talking and interacting. He knows Sadie and the kitties and gets really excited whenever any of them come around.

The day in question, we woke up and had a special breakfast of shredded apples, oranges and bananas (eaten with the fingers of course). Then came PRESENTS!

What could it be?!

Hmm... This looks very iteresting...Wow!! My very own piano!! Yahoo!After we got dressed, we went to the ocean and hiked out to the Point Cabrillo Light House and crawled around in the grass. It was extremely windy, so we didn't stay outside long.

Elliot's favorite place to be is crawling around on the sand, so, in keeping with the theme of the day (Elliot's favorite things to do day) we found a deserted beach to play on. The shells and rocks were very tasty. Next stop was the park. Jeremy and Elliot had lots of fun with the swings and Elliot loves to watch the "big" kids play on the jungle gym.Once we got home and wound down a bit from all the excitment of the day, we had a special dinner and for the first time ever--CAKE! It was a vegan, eggless carrot cake with tofu cream cheese frosting, but he didn't know the difference! And, truth be told, neither did we. Man, I'm a good cook.

Auntie Megan! Auntie Megan!

Last week Auntie Megan came to visit from Kansas City. She went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for a few days before driving up the coast to see us. Since she'd never been to this area, there was so much to show her. We had some great food and even better outings.

At low tide we went to the beach and explored the tide pools.

We checked out the native plants at the Botanical Garden.

And basically enjoyed the unusual springtime sunlight.

Should've been cranberry

Here is my first ever fired, glazed and ready to use MUG! It's a beautiful red sandy clay glazed black and red. What's that you say? Doesn't look red on the top? Well, that's because the piece was in a cool spot in the kiln and didn't get the right amount of heat to turn red. There are small traces of pink in the bottom, but basically, it looks like a clear glaze. Oh the science of glazing... fascinating stuff!

Confusion Hill

Sunday was a glorious sunny day, so we piled the baby, dog and ourselves into the car and motored up the coast. We went north to Legget which is a mere 45 miles away, but takes well over an hour to reach. The road winds along the ocean for a while, then takes a sharp Eastern turn and heads into the redwoods. Here, we wound around enourmous old trees for a while before heading back.

There were three highlights to our journey.

One was by far the most curious....Confusion Hill!! The pictures speak for themselves, but I've gotta say, we were all extremely motion sick after exiting the Gravity House. Who knew your mind could play such tricks!

Then there was the drive through tree. For anyone who has ever driven down through Northern Cal, they undoubtably know of this famous monument. Our car just barely fit and it's a tacky tourist trap, but how cool is it that you can drive through a 2500 yr old tree??!

The next was the beach. We seem to have a knack for catching the tide at its low point in the day and once again found a virtually empty, long sandy beach to comb. We're coming back to eat the huge mussels (after some research on things like red tide).

Grandma visits!

Elliot's (other) favorite person came to visit last weekend! Oh the merriment ensued. Sydney came too, which was such a treat, as she hadn't seen the Fort Bragg house since the '70s! We had a very lovely dinner in Albion, did some window shopping in Mendocino and gabbed a lot about knitting and the Oscars.

There were lots of tickles...

...and toys! Elliot has had the strength to walk now for quite some time, but hasn't the confidence to really go on his own; only walking when encouraged and offered a helping hand. He needed something to help him along, so, instead of pushing the laundry basket around (which scares Mommy as it is anything but stable), Grandma bought a Radio Flyer walker! Now he can carry around his remote controls (he has 6 of them that are all his own) as he pushes the cart, trying to ram the cats.

Our House

Tonight had a magical glow about it. The weather was much warmer than normal today which made the fog roll in as the sunset, casting a warm pink glow over the world. In the rosey air, the spring flowers stood out against the electric green grass...the eucalyptus looked like it was on fire! Ahh, the beautiful coastal evenings.

Last night, I started my first (and looong overdue) knitting class! We're knitting a beautiful little roll neck with a cable down the middle. It's great to have someone teach me how to really read a pattern.. I realised quickly that I really don't know what I'm doing. Haha.

Coastal Living

The passed months have been filled with exploring our new coastal town. I've bought an Almanac Calendar that has all the important information on tides, moons, weather, animal and bird habits and local flora growth. We have made many trips to the beach, but the best was at extreme low tide last month. The calendar marked it as 1.3 feet below normal which is very extreme. It's usually about .6 or .7. So, we loaded up the car with baby and dog and went exploring.

First we went to Ten Mile beach (you guessed it), 10 miles north of town and had to walk at least a mile (ok, it felt like a mile) to the water from the road when normally it's a short 100 yd jaunt. Sadie was confused why it took her 5 mins to go swimming!

The birds were having a great time playing in the shallow skiff that covered the beach out another few hundred feet.

Next, we went to Jughandle State Beach down the highway and found the most amazing tide pools we've ever seen. It was a little bit of a trek to get down to the tide pools, but it was worth it! We found areas that were near never touched by humans, being covered in water most days. There were abalone shells galore and sea anemones the size of Jeremy's hand!

It has been some time since the last post here. Things have been busy! A recount:




October brought a whirl-wind of packing (Nino helps out left), visiting and soaking in as much So Cal sunlight as possible before our move. It was a bitter sweet month as there were many people, sunny skies and creepy crawlies to leave behind (boo hoo!!!). We were focusing on a better life: clean air, ocean and all the things small town life has to offer.
















November brought the move. With a small group of our closest friends receiding in the rear view mirror, we set out on our journey to a new life. Leaving behind full time desk jobs in cramped cubicles, bumper to bumper freeways, unbreathable air and undrinkable water, we looked forward. Soon, we could smell the salty air and hear the eucalyptus bows blowing in the breeze...

It has now been 3 months since our arrival. Small town life seems to be suiting us so far. Jeremy is taking a painting class at the local college and I have enrolled in a ceramics class. We've found yoga classes and zendos to attend and are slowly building a new social network and weaving ourselves into the fabric of the tight knit community. Sadie loves frolicking in the ocean and chasing the sea gulls down the beach as well as greeting every passer by on our street.

Elliot is nearly walking now and practices by pushing the laundry basket around the house. He has 6 teeth with 2 more close behind (which is no fun for him). Sweet potatoes are his favorite food and if he doesn't eat them at least once a day he gets cranky!

Trip To Northern California

Late September, we took a short trip up the coast to check out our soon-to-be new home. Along the way, we made stops to visit relatives and see the sites...

On the Skunk Train in Fort Bragg.



With Great Grandpa Harry.

The Happiest Place on Earth!!

Yesteray, Elliot had his first trip to Disneyland! Pretty lucky, considering it took me 30 years before my first visit. We all had a blast. Elliot loved Mickey and immediately put Mickey's nose in his mouth after this picture was taken. Our friends Adalbert and Kat went with us and they were able to hold Elliot while we went on the "big kid" rides. We went on nearly every ride in the park and were there all day.


Elliot had a little bit of fun on the carousel. He loved the small rides like Pinnochio and the Dumbo flying ride. He had fun trying to chew on the cord on the BuzzLightyear ride. (Mommy kicked Daddy's butt in the laser tag)

All in all we had a fantastic day. Elliot went through the whole day without so much as a tear. There were no lines, we ate ice cream and french fries and got some Mickey ears embroidered with "Elliot" to commemorate the day. It is indeed the happiest place on earth!

Dinos dinos everywhere!

This weekend, Elliot got a crib! He was very excited to play in it and watch the dinosaurs go round and round.

Elliot now has two teeth--little sharp as razors! I think we're out of the woods as far as his pain goes. Things seem to be settling down and everyone is sleeping again... phew. Also, he no longer needs Lactaid which is great news for everyone. Makes our lives easier and I know Elliot feels better. I'm still not eating dairy, though, as I've gotten used to it and don't want to break the spell.

We've been going to yoga once a week together, which Elliot loves. He now has a few little friends his age to play with while Mommy stretches out her aching muscles. Elliot also gets a little workout in doing Itsy Bitsy Yoga...he can't quite do Downward Dog, but he's great at Cobra!

The taste of "solid" food!

Elliot had his second taste of solid food last night! Still didn't eat much of it, but now that he has his first teeth, he's gotta get used to the feeling of "real" food. Daddy gets the first go at getting the cereal into his mouth. (Help me, Mommy!)



Then it was Mommy's turn. It appears that this spoonful went into his mouth, but he promptly spit it out just after the spoon left his mouth.

We also had fun the other day at my facial. We sat in this beautiful garden and drank tea afterward with some friends...very relaxing and serene.

Going for a facial

Today, Aspen and Elliot are going to Melrose for a much needed (and well deserved!) facial. Elliot will get to hang out with his favorite doula, Carol, while Mommy relaxes. Ah, bliss!

Our new camera is great. Much higher resolution than our "old" one (which was 2 yrs old!!). Here are a few of the cutest pics from the "photo shoot" Jeremy did this morning.

Look at those teeth coming in! Ok, it's a little blurry, but if you look really hard, you can see the patch of white on the bottom gum. We're all very excited about it!



For the rest of the photo shoot, go to the Kodak photo site.

Elliot gets a tooth!

Little Elliot is growing up so quickly! He's now 20 lbs and 26 inches tall. The doctor has told us we can start feeding him "solid" food--meaning mixing rice cereal with breastmilk so he gets used to the different textures. Soon we will be giving him carrots and peas and green beans. So far he seems to like the cereal; even though half of it goes down his front rather than into his belly!

On August 22, I discovered that Elliot's first tooth has finally made its way to the surface and broken through the gum! It's a small white, sharp ridge sticking up from the bottom smack in the middle. The other one is not too far behind--- we can see it poking through, too! This has been making him quite cranky lately, as you can imagine. Jeremy and I are extremely excited about it though!!

Our camera broke a few weeks ago and we just today got another one, so there are a few gaps in the pictures lately. Here is one a few weeks ago.

A Day in the Life...

Today, Elliot and Aspen baked cookies. It was a lot of work, as you can see.