Dana Point Harbor Pictures

Each Wednesday, Einar and I try to meet some other moms and babies for a walk at Dana Point Harbor. It's a quick 5 minute drive for us, which is good since we are usually running late. We meet at 9am and since Einar and I wake up anytime between 7:30 and 9 it can be touch and go to get there before the group takes off. The walks aren't usually very taxing, but it is nice to get together with the others and the weather is lovely nearly every week. The harbor is home to two tall ships as well as a marina and restaurants and shops.

As you can see, Einar is very interested in helping with the dishes. I'll have to show him these pictures when he's 12 and trying to get out of that job. It's nearly impossible to load the dishwasher without him scurrying over to "help." Today I coouldn't keep him from yanking my cookbooks down off of the shelf. At least 10 times he had to be removed from the temptation with a firm 'No.' Eventually we had to leave the house to preserve both my sanity and the cookbooks.

Tonight Jared is staying really late at work because the guys can't seem to clean the barracks properly for an inspection. His job is not to do the cleaning but to stay until it is done to satisfaction. At least last night he was able to come home early and the three of us went out for pizza and to get some more loose leaf tea from Peet's Coffee. We've been drinking quite a bit of tea lately and even Jared has developed an interest is good teas after watching a tea episode of Good Eats a few weeks ago.

My eyes are getting tires so I might have to go to bed before Jared comes home. At least he'll have a warm bed to fall into and the other good thing is that tomorrow is Friday.

First Ear Infection

Does anyone recognize the "pink stuff" that Einar is holding? Yep, it's Amoxycilin to treat Einar's first ear infection. Things were just not quite right with the little guy so we took him to the Naval Hospital to have him checked out. He'd been having meltdowns when meltdowns just aren't his style as well as throwing a fit when put down on the changing table--anything that would make his ears shift quickly. He still is a pretty happy guy for having a raging infection in his left ear, but I think he'll be even better in a few days.

Today before we drove down to the extreme opposite end of Camp Pendleton to visit the hospital (1 hour each way) Jared got up early and made us a delicious breakfast of waffles. Then he took off to get his haircut, wash his car, and workout in the weight room on base. After he got home, he met us in Laguna Hills at a restaurant called Islands where we had hamburgers with my friend Susan, her two kids, and her mother Jean.

Now Einar is in bed and Jared and I are going to watch the Straight Story. It's a Netflix DVD that Tor whole-heartedly recommended when he was in college. WE haven't seen it yet so I'll have to let him know what we think.

Ball Obsession

At the moment, Einar is obsessed with plastic balls that he can hold in his hands. No longer is the sound of him coming to find me the rapid pat-pat of his palms slapping the hardwood as he crawls. More often then not now, it is the sound of his elbows hitting the floor first and then maybe the brief contact of a hollow plastic ball on the floor. His legs somehow follow and it kind of sounds like the thump and drag sounds of a monster in a scary movie when it is really only a little boy who is trying to get around the house while holding a ball in each of his hands--it's quite comical.

The balls get quite a bit of Einar-time and if I want to get his attention, I'll find one of the 6 of them and roll it towards him. Two days ago he only had two in his possession and we spent awhile before Jared got home trying to find the rest. He crawled over to the desk and hunkered down with his butt in the air and tried to see if any of them had rolled under the desk. He found 2 balls and one of his shapes for the shape-sorter (now we have all 12 shapes again). After a bit more searching, we found the rest of the balls and then played with all of them for awhile.

He also likes putting them in shoes. Jared has found them in his slippers. I found him putting three of the balls in my ski boots. I didn't take them out while he was in the room and waited till later. This morning when he woke up, he went over to the ski boot and was looking inside for his hidden treasures--much like a dog that buries toys and bones in the backyard for future use. Einar is really starting to figure things out!

This week hasn't been too exciting. I've been trying to get over a nasty cough/yucky chest congestion thing and have taken it pretty easy this week. Einar helps me get the mail each afternoon from the garage and then crawls all the way back into the house and upstairs. Yesterday I took him to a playgroup in a park where he got to not only play with 5 or six kids around his age, but he also got to scavenge Ritz crackers and raisins that they were dropping from the snacks. He is definitely an opportunist when it comes to food. The five-second rule isn't in his books, it's more like if it's within his reach, he might as well give it a try--yum.

At the moment, he's sleeping and I've just finished some lunch and have taken the bread out of the oven. When he wakes up, it will be time to head to the Commissary and Costco to get some groceries in the house for the weekend.

On Monday afternoon, I took some time off by going to a movie and then enjoying a latte and a People magazine while sitting on a beautiful sandy beach just north of us in Laguna Beach. While I was gone, Einar and Jared went running and then did some weight lifting on the back patio. From what I hear, the pictures weren't posed--Einar just went up to the bar and was trying to do what he'd seen his dad doing. Don't worry, we won't be turning him into a young Hercules anytime soon.

Kermit's Travel Plans for 2006

2006 is shaping up to be a big year for the frog. 2005 was completely life-altering for him with the birth of Einar and Kermit's immediate change of position within the family--no longer the go anywhere frog, there doesn't even seem to be any room in the diaper bag for adventure-starved frogs! The move to California was exciting, but winter down here does seem to dry out frog skin a lot like Nevada. So when he was forgotton on the Christmas trip to Seattle, Kermit started to get fed up with his situation and started begging for some adventures of his own. He's a pretty persuasive frog who is now planning his trip to Heidelburg, Germany in March. He pulled out the map and made me open a beer for him so that he'll be ready.

Einar and I will be joining him on the trip to participate in the baptisms of Marlene and Amelia Cooper (Karin's two girls--the ones who visited us in San Clemente before Christmas). Karin is having them baptised in her church back home and has asked me to be one of the Godmothers. Unfortunately, Jared will be doing his boat training in San Diego during this time and won't be able to join us on the trip. We will be meeting Paula Grassell in Philadelphia after the first leg of our flight so we'll get to travel with her. I hope Kermit starts learning some German for this trip because I don't think that my Japanese is going to do us much good.

For Christmas, Kermit also got a certificate for a trip to the World Dragonboat Championships in Toronto, Canada this August. He can't wait for that trip and has been using his new dragonboat paddle in Einar's new bathtub. He doesn't practice nearly as much as Lee and Jean, but he's working up a killer cheer for the finish line.

As for a trip to Okinawa with Jared when he's deployed, Kermit will have to wait till at least after the races and will have to use more of his persuasive skills on Jared who still doesn't see the need for a frog to hang around with him on deployment. Kermit is trying to come up with a job that only a frog can do for Jared in Okinawa. Good Luck, Kermit!

Rip Van Einar

That is the little guy's new nickname that Jared and I use whenever he sleeps for an extraordinary length of time. Last night he went to bed just after 8 and woke up this morning almost 12 hours later! He usually wakes up around 8 am or so, but after waking for a snack or two in the darkest hours of the night. When Jared left for work this morning, he said, "Say Hi to Rip when he wakes up this morning!"

Yes, Jared is working on a Saturday this week =(. He's had several very long days this week and yesterday didn't even get to see Einar because he left long before he woke up and returned home about a half an hour after he'd gone to bed. Hopefully today will be better for Einar and Jared interaction.

Well, Einar just went back to bed for his first of today's naps. He managed to make it an hour and a half after waking this morning before needing more sleep. I was considering going to the commissary at 10 to beat the crowds of payday weekend, but I think I'll be changing my plans today. Maybe we'll just be walking down to Trader Joe's this morning to get our eggs and garlic.

Yesterday I took the day off, only cooking my oatmeal for breakfast, eating lunch with a friend and leftovers for dinner. Einar and I played all day and it was great. No dishes and no putting away the Tupperware and toys for the day. Today it's back to normal activities.

If you get a call from the guy in the pictures, make sure that you tell him to hang up the phone when he's done!

Self-feeding Experiment

Self-feeding is definitely a skill that requires a bunch of practice unfortunately. Einar is experimenting with all of the different textures of foods now and would rather get them to his mouth by himself, thank you very much. He no longer sits there willingly like a little bird with its mouth open while we spoon in dinner. No, the turns away his head and waves his hands in front of his face. Now every meal is going to be a production as you can see by the most recent pictures. Those are of today's lunch of Jared's turkey and rice.

This morning, Einar and I met 3 other moms and babies down at Dana Point Harbor to walk in the sunshine. It was a very mild morning with lots of sunshine and the ocean was beautiful. All four babies fell asleep on the walk today for the first time ever so we actually got in some good walking. Normally, at least one of the littlest ones won't stop crying and needs a diaper change or some milk so we stop for awhile and just chat while those needs are being met. Of course Einar is never one of those needy ones on our walks after all of his great walking practice around Greenlake.

I just took out two yummy looking loaves of banana bread that I made after one two many frozen bananas jumping out of the freezer when I opened the door. Einar's drinking up a bottle on my lap while I type and I think it's time for a refill. It might be time for a banana bread snack for me. Then as you may have guessed, I'll be mopping the floor. All of the chunky pieces are up of course, but the mop is required for this situation. Perhaps I should trade in some of that Starbucks stock for stock in Swiffer or Mr. Clean, maybe Lysol.

Was it Christmas only a week-an-a-half ago?

With the weather the way it is today and yesterday, I'd swear that we were already heading into the summer months. Yesterday it was in the 80's and today it is in the upper 70's. Einar and I are wearing shorts and t-shirts today and right now he's just in a onesie and not even wearing a pair of socks. I took off his outfit when he sat down for a late lunch of cheerios, an apple slice, bananas, and yogurt-cereal mix--the laundry is easier that way.

I've included a picture of Einar the way that I'd like to see him in about 30 minutes--asleep. It's approaching 4 and we got back from the commissary awhile ago and now it's about time for a nap. He has figured out and is diligently practicing fitting whatever toys or objects through the banister railing and watching them all fall down to the first floor. I guess he saw us throw towels and things down to the hamper one to many times. He is good at putting things into baskets and helping that way, so later on after his nap I'll employ him to help me put everything into a laundry basket to bring it back upstairs. That way he can do it all again!

Yesterday we went to Laguna Beach and babysat all day for a friend of mine who has gone back to work, but is still waiting for a place in the daycare near her office. So Einar and I spent the day with Kailani who is almost 5 months old. I had spent Wednesday night tossing and turning being anxious about watching the two of them in Kailani's place since it isn't set up yet for an inquisitive cruiser quite yet, but Einar was great all day. He and Kailani took 3 simulatneous naps and I even got to partake in two of them. Lunch for me was during the middle nap. We walked to the park where they watched the other kids play while drinking there lunch milk. Einar even got to swing on the baby swing. We were both exhausted when we got home, but the day turned out pretty well.

I'm going to start turning that picture into a reality. Say good-nap Einar!

Einar's Tour of Trees

Well, since we are still within the 12 Days of Christmas and it's not Epiphany yet, I present you with "Einar's Tour of Trees." While we were in Seattle for the holidays, Einar visited many gorgeous trees and we wanted to showcase them on the blog.

I know that those of you who check the site on a regular basis have a good reason to wonder where I've been the last few days. We got home safely, but extremely late on Sunday night after a really bumpy ride on the airplane. Monday brought a Pacific storm to the area with tons of horizontal rain and an urge to just hunker down in fuzzy fleece and snuggle up in our home. Miraculously, the sun and blue sky returned on Tuesday with no sign of the previous day's storm except for all of the palm tree debris in the streets. Today Jared returned to work and Einar and I enjoyed a gorgeous shorts and t-shirt day by doing some laundry, taking a walk, and then sitting out in our front yard for awhile with a book for me and a nap in the stroller for the little guy.