Einar is a Giant!

Do you remember those new yard sticks that I told you all about? The night that I installed them Einar figured out how to snap the one in the kitchen and then he got lots of pleasure teasing me by using the broken piece to bang on a cake pan and make lots of happy music. Jared caught him asleep with it in bed too.

On Wednesday I took him for his one-year check-up and everyone at the hospital thought he was a giant. He is way off the charts in height and already weighs in at 24lbs 13oz--15lbs more than when he was born. He also got 4 shots including his first for Measles, Mumps and Rubella and one for chickenpox. Those two caused a bit of swelling in his little thighs, but with some Tylenol and lots and lots of sleep he's doing much better now. Wednesday night he slept for 13 hours and last night was a solid 11 before I had to wake him up to go pick up little Kailani who is staying with us today.

They are both taking naps, but it sounds like Kailani might be waking up from her nap.

Active Einar

If you haven't guessed by now, Einar likes movement. One of his favorite activities is now spinning. Jared puts him in the desk chair and spins him and they both just laugh and have a grand old time. We think that he will be someone who enjoys the high-flying, fast, and scary for the rest of us rides at the amusement parks.

He has also been getting into EVERYTHING! Before cooking dinner tonight I made a point of going out and finding 5 yard sticks to insert in my various drawer handles to try and keep him out of things a bit. I have stepped on a few too many of my kitchen utensils that he had pulled out of our drawers and I was worried about the safety of our china that we keep in our purple buffet cabinet. I guess I need to be concerned about things that are close to the edge of the table as well. Right before dinner he reached up and yanked Jared's placemat off of the table along with the plate and silverware. Nothing broke and there wasn't any crying from the surprise, but I don't think that's the last of the shenanigans that we will see!

Hanging out with cousin Sammy

Last night Jennifer, Mary and Sammy came into town for a visit. When Einar woke up this morning he had to check out his cousin Sammy a bit closer. When they had met before Einar was recovering from a cold and really interested in poking with his fingers and not being gentle at all--he didn't get too close during that visit. They've been very curious about each other today and Einar gets a very concerned look on his face when Sammy cries and she just watches him as he motors around the living room. They both seem to like Einar's new easy chair and ottoman.

Today we woke up to waffles that Jared made us for breakfast and then the kids took naps. Unfortunately that was the last nap for Einar all day despite several further attempts later in the afternoon. Once we got out of the house and got everyone into the car, we went to Mission Viejo for carne asada burritos from Albertacos. It was a gorgeous clear day and we enjoyed our burritos with the sun on our backs and shoulders at an outside table. Afterwards we drove down to an overlook off of Interstate 5 to watch some of the navy boats that were offshore doing some manuevers. There were an amazing number of squirrels living at this overlook, so Dad when you are down here next time I'll have to take you there for an amazing squirrel fix. We also drove through base a bit for the novelty of it and went to the exchange and commissary for some Pepsi.

Einar finally went down around 8pm. I think he was just having fun with all of the new people and was a bit wired from the excitement of going for a ride with everyone in the car while sitting forward facing. Being a napskipper didn't seem to make a difference in his happy attitude and I guess we'll try again tomorrow.

Happy Camper in the Back Seat

Einar likes his new positioning in the car. He might also like men in uniforms. Can you tell by the way he's looking at Officer Chris Goodwin who helped switch around his seat? We went this morning to the CHP office down the road for our carseat appointment and did the switcharoo. Not only do we have more room for passengers to sit in the front seat, but Einar no longer thinks that I disappear after he is put into his seat--before I just became "mom's voice." He was grinning and giggling all the way home and it was fun looking around and seeing him having so much fun.

After we got home it was time for his breakfast--milk will only hold a guy so long. He had a blueberry cereal bar, some wheat 'n' bran squares, water, and applesauce mixed with cereal. He has been practicing for a few days with the spoon, but the dexterity is still not quite developed enough yet. His eyes definitely watch my every move at the table and it seems that he understands what a spoon is and has the desire to do it himself. At least when the applesauce is mixed with the cereal it becomes thicker and doesn't splatter so much when it is dropped or thrown.

The wooden puzzles that he got for his birthday occupied his attention for awhile after breakfast and then it became clear that it was nap time for both Einar and Mom. He's still asleep and I've just finished a veggie burger for lunch. Einar will be sorry that he missed lunch because he really likes the Dr. Praegger's California Veggie Burgers that I brought home from Costco. At least i have some time to play on the computer a bit before he comes upstairs and wants to push buttons on the keyboard.

Jared is coming home tonight! His class in Coronado is nearly over and he has to turn over his room down there today. He will also have Monday off for President's Day so we will all be able to hang out with Jennifer and Mary when they bring Sammy down to visit.

Happy Birthday Einar!

The little guy turned One on Saturday and we celebrated with a fabulous party thrown in his honor. All four of his grandparents came down to spend time with the birthday boy and we also invited a couple of his new California friends and his San Clemente Church Grandma. In the morning while his parents went downtown for haircuts, Einar hung out at home with the granparents. When I got home I frosted cupcakes and the two little cakes for the birthday boys (Einar's friend Nathan turned 1 on Tuesday so we had a double party for him too). For lunch we served salad, broccolli, roasted turkey breast (too bad we didn't do the whole turkey because there weren't any leftovers!) and fresh rolls that Grandpa Lee made that morning.

Of course you want to know how the cake eating went....I put the cake down in front of Einar with the #1 candle lit and I blew it out for him before he grabbed the wick. Then he picked up the plate and threw the cake down on the floor. Well that wasn't going to work well, so I picked it up for him and put it frosting-side down on the table in front of him and he thought that was much better. It turned into a pile of crumbs, but I think that quite a bit of it ended up in Einar as well. I had made banana cake for him since he really likes bananas. He also enjoyed the scoop of ice cream that Jared fed him.

I will write more later today, but now I must go down and wake up Einar so that we can make our appointment at the California Highway Patrol to get his carseat turned around now that he is one year old and definitely over 20 pounds. They offer appointments so that you can be sure that your seat is installed properly. The kid gets to ride facing forward now!

p.s. being the father of a one year old is hard work! One of those pictures is of Jared snoozing on the couch during the birthday festivities and I couldn't help myself from getting the camera and snapping a picture of him.

A Night to Remember

Well tonight was an evening for the record books. Jared called around 4 and was already through with work for the day so he suggested that we meet for dinner. We decided on a pizza place in Del Mar--halfway between San Clemente and Coronado--and headed out the door. All was going well until we placed our order and then Einar just started crying. Who knew he didn't want spicy Italian sausage or Mediterranean pizza for dinner?

We couldn't comfort, entertain, or interest him in any of the food. Thankfully it was a relatively noisy restaurant, but even so we ended up leaving in a hurry with our pizza in boxes and a very upset little guy. Not even when we got outside did he settle down. He essentially cried in pain for nearly an hour. We noisily made our way over to the Ralph's grocery store to buy some more Vitamin T (Tylenol) to get Einar dosed up. We figured that it had to be another tooth making its way into the world since I'd seen a bit of a swollen gum earlier in the day. It was so sad and absolutely hair pulling at the same time not being able to do anything to help him feel better.

So much with a nice dinner together as a family. I felt like the best thing to do would be to just get him home even though the hour long ride home was bound to be loud. We had to say good-bye to Jared who made his way back to Coronado to watch the Gilmore Girls and do some more studying. I hated to see him go and the trip Einar and I had to make back to San Clemente. I even offered to take Jared's navigation course for him if he would trade. Einar cried on and off nearly all the way home and crashed about 5 minutes before we pulled into the garage.

I got him inside and changed his diaper and took off his socks. The Tylenol must have kicked in on the ride home because when I took off his shoes and sweaty socks, Einar just started giggling. When I leaned down to make sure he was laughing and not crying, he gave me a grin and then a big raspberry. My little boy came back! I could even see the tip of a tooth peeking through his upper gum when he smiled. Those teeth come in so fast!

He's sleeping now and I have the Vitamin T out on the counter ready to help him with more tooth pain should it start bothering him again.

You read about having to leave restaurants because the baby is inconsolable, but it just hadn't happened to us yet. I just wish we had been able to spend a more relaxing evening with Jared, but thankful that Einar has recovered from his episode. Oh, and this entry doesn't have pictures because although I brought the camera with us, it wasn't really a picture-taking evening.

New Hairstyle for Einar

Now that he has hair, Einar is venturing into the world of crazy hairstyles. Tonight after dinner I styled his hair into a pretty cool mowhawk. During dinner he had smeared so much sweet potato, bread, and yogurt into his hair that I had to scrub his head with a wet wash cloth several times to clean him up and after I was through, his hair was damp and just asking for some attitude. I don't think he really knew what I had done to his hair, but I hope he'll appreciate the pictures in the years to come!

Today we woke up and went to the park after breakfast instead of Einar going back to bed right away. The sun was shining and we met up with some other kids and moms to swing and play in the sand. Einar left the park with sand on his chin from trying to eat it. He also really enjoys the baby swings.

Veggies and Coronado

It's been awhile since I've updated the blog. No excuses, just haven't been taking many pictures or keeping up with my updates. I'll try harder this week.

The past week was the first week that Jared spent in Coronado learning about marine navigation and small boat raids. For three weeks, he'll be gone Monday thru Friday and home on the weekends. Then we'll have a week of normal and then it will be back to Coronado. It makes for long weeks for all of us.

On Friday, Lynn and Dennis came into town and joined Einar and I when we went down to pick Jared up and have dinner with him in Coronado. They stayed until this morning when they headed out for a Death Valley Elderhostel. They'll be back on Friday to celebrate Einar's birthday on Saturday. Mom and Dad will also be coming down on Thursday for the first birthday. Don't worry, I will take pictures on Saturday.

The vegetable picture is from last Tuesday. Einar and I pick up our CSA (consumer supported agriculture) basket on Tuesday afternoons.

Now it's bedtime for all of us. Einar has recovered from his ear infection and I've just about kicked my bug as well. I think sleep will probably help me finish it all. Jared just went down to bed since his alarm is set for 4am. I think I'll follow. Good night.