Category Archives: holidays

birthdays, family, holidays

Creeping up on Halloween

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Halloween is coming up in just a couple days and we’re definitely finishing out October strong. Last weekend we had the surprise portion of my mom’s 50th birthday party (two weeks after her actual birthday) and it turned out great. Peter stepped up and pretty much planned the whole thing with just a little input from Sam (mom’s husband) and me. The party was catered and the morning of, Sam took his parents (who were in town from Oklahoma) and mom out to breakfast as a distraction. While they were gone, mom’s mom Jacquie came over to the house and helped get things set up. Peter’s girlfriend Bryn and friend Ject (sp?) from Thailand also arrived early to set up while I grabbed beverages and last-minute supplies. Guests started arriving around noon and helped with set-up and decorating as well. Mom arrived right on time and seem thoroughly surprised. I think having this party two weeks after her birthday really helped with the surprise element. Halfway through the party Keana started getting really tired but wouldn’t lay down without both Sarah and I. So the three of us cuddled up in the spare bedroom in mom’s house and were able to get a little sleep. It brought back fond memories of when Keana was first born and we all shared a bed. And, just like old times, I was barely hanging on a sliver of the edge of the bed, with one arm underneath me falling asleep and Keana snuggled right up next to me. I loved it. Because of our little nap we missed the pie ceremony and birthday speech, but that’s just the way things go now.

Last week flew by, we fought off Keana’s cold that she had last week, and found this weekend arrive seemingly out of nowhere. Yesterday our little homebirth group got together for a little Halloween soirée. The theme was cross-dressing for the adults and I think the babies were a little confused but thoroughly entertained—or at least we adults were. All the babies were adorable in their little costumes of course, and we had a great time as usual. When we all get together, it’s always a little bit of mayhem, but always good to see everyone and get the babies together.

And now it’s Sunday. I bbq’d some chicken outside in the dark this evening, and Sarah padded the kiddy-pool outside with a little quilt and she and baby shmooped around in it staying just under the smoke. Then they danced around their shadows waiting for the meat to finish cooking, singing silly songs, and I grilled away and drank a beer. Now Sarah’s eating mochi ice cream while I finish this thing up. Fall feels like it’s really here now and life is good as usual.

family, holidays

Seasons change

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The backyard is filling up with leaves, the World Series is on its way, Shelby my coworker has already carved her pumpkin and its getting dark earlier and earlier. This can only mean another year is on its final lap. That last moment where we can all breathe right before Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa and New Years bum rush us and leave us all on our asses wondering where the hell it all went.

This is Keana’s second round of holidays already and the tradition solidification process is already well on its way. She continues to change on a seemingly hourly basis. For those of you who don’t have kids or have forgotten, she is almost a year and seven months now, and eats everything we eat, sans the processed foods and sugar of course. She can form crude sentences now like, “I hold you”, “Mama sleeping” and “Shoes on”. What’s really amazing is she’s starting to grasp what seem like really complex associations. For instance if someone stays over—as Grandma Linda and Grandpa Sam have recently—she asks the next morning, “Grandma here?”. Now just about every morning I get her up she asks about Grandma or Tia or if “Mama sleeping?”. Really fun and amazing.

Adorable, amazing and “smarter than I am even now” continue to inadequately describe little Miss Keana. The more and more she wants to do things on her own and try out new things, the more we realize that she is becoming the little person she was meant to be.

development, family, holidays, trips

1500 mph and Accelerating

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A friend of mine once said it’s amazing how fast time and money disappear once you have a baby. Sarah and I have found both to be true. But what better investment for time and money than the one they call Keana?

Halloween: There’s nothing scary about a baby. Wait, maybe I mean there’s nothing scarier than a baby? This baby crawling around our living room relies on us for everything. That’s scary. Just about everything she’s learning right now comes from us. That’s scary. When she pulls herself up on the furniture, then balances with one hand while reaching for something completely out of her reach all the while tottering on legs tingling with new muscle sensations. That’s scary. The fact that Keana will some day want to go to some Halloween party- instead of hanging out with us- with teenage boys that are surely stupider and more dangerous than I was when I was their age…that’s scary as hell! But on the surface…no…there’s nothing scary about a baby.

This year Keana was a little Giants player dressed up in her Giants outfit that Kacie gave her. Halloween night we carved pumpkins, made a music video to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, and passed out candy. Not much else you can do on Halloween with a baby that’s not very scary.

Visits: While Papa’s been visiting PA for work, Mama and Baby have had visitors and have been visiting on their own. In November Grandma Jennie came out for a couple days and Sarah and Keana went back to Fresno to visit Sarah’s high school friends Katrina, Mary, and Gina. They also visited with Grandpa Robert and Nana Cin and had blast with all parties in attendance, everywhere. Keana also had her first trip to the bar when we went down to Pescadero and visited with Auntie Sara, Sam, Jack, Sandy, Byron, Mollie, Leiban, and the whole Duarte’s gang. Grandma Linda was also up last week visiting and hopes to make it a semi-regular thing since she’s so close.

Thanksgiving: The real question this year is what DON’T we have to be thankful for? We shared Thanksgiving with family friends at Rhonda and Baptiste’s house in San Jose. Everyone who came to dinner had a customized crown to wear (which was required to eat), so beat that!

Eating: Keana has recently begun sampling the wondrous array of food items on this planet called “vegetables”. So far she’s tried sweet potato, squash, and avocado. She was skeptical at first, and even a little concerned, but has started to enjoy it. Her two front, bottom teeth are coming in nicely and they’re almost halfway up. She teethes pretty intensely at times, grimacing and munching down on many objects with fierce little baby force.

Sleeping: Keana is a great sleeper. She usually takes a couple naps a day and mostly sleeps through the night, waking occasionally to fill her tiny stomach. She has a few rough nights on and off which keep poor Mama- and sometimes Papa- from actually recovering from the busy days, but as a whole, she is a great little sleeper.

Mobility: Keana is now crawling at astonishing speeds. When motivated- for instance in pursuit of the cat- she can really make her way across the room quite quickly. She has also started pulling herself up on furniture and legs, and takes decent steps to advance her position. Keana’s also taking a liking to pointing at objects and where she wants to go. She’s been able to sign for milk and clap for a while, but now she also waves goodbye (and hello!). It’s really enough to make your heart melt; imagine little Keana, standing in her crib, waving goodbye as you’re heading out the door for work!

Christmas: It’s just around the corner and we’ve been busy making Keana’s first Christmas a great one. Last Saturday we went down the street and got a great tree and decorated it Monday night with Tia Iana. Uncle Peter called from Thailand, so in a way, he was there too. She loves playing with the tree and especially loves to point at and touch all the different ornaments. This weekend we’re going to Fresno for a Solstice Party at Nino and Mia’s and having early Christmas with Grandpa Robert and Nana Cin (and hopefully Great Grandma Bev too!). Then on the 20th is the Peterson family Christmas and we’re very excited about seeing Great Uncle Vic, Great Aunt Kristie, and second cousins McKenna, Cassidy, and Riley for the first time. THEN, on the 21st, is Great Grandma and Grandpa Peterson’s 50th wedding anniversary, so we’ll be in Los Altos for that. I think we’ll have our own 4th Annual Christmas Party on the 23rd, Christmas Eve mellow-styles on the 24th, and on the 25th, Grandma Jennie, Grandpa John, Grandma Linda, Grandpa Sam, Uncle Michael, and Tia Iana will be coming over to our house for Christmas Clamb Bake 2005. Soooo… if you want to spend time with us and you’re not on the list, sorry. Please call back soon for 2006 reservations.