We Survived! Two Weeks without Dad

Colin returns tomorrow from a looong business trip (New York, London, Dusseldorf, Munich, Paris). Emmett and I have kept busy in Daddy's absence: lots of trips to the park and library, a road trip to Monterey with Uncle Mike, Aunt Mer, and Nick, and plenty of playdates with our neighborhood pals.

What will Daddy find to be different about his 14 month old? Let's see. First, folks continually comment that Emmett's hair is getting "blonder and blonder". I didn't think this could possibly true until I sat down tonight to watch some old videos of E taken over the past year. It's true! We now have a little West coast blondie amongst us!
Emmett recently started to show an interest in climbing. He's not gotten himself up too high yet and I am not looking forward to the day when he can scale the living room furniture. Emmett's vocab continues to grow - he now has a host of single "words" and is just starting to combine two word approximations - typically "moh" (more) with the food item. Emmett has also learned to say his third "person": Mehdeh (Aunt Meredith)! And, Colin will be relieved to know that E has not forgotten his Daddy. Tonight when I took out a family photo album that Emmett had not seen in months, Emmett gleefully pointed out all of the pictures of Dada. He also pointed to a photo of Grandpa Harry and said something like "gahma". Close!

Last weekend Mike and Nick ran the half-marathon in Monterey. What an inspiration! Emmett enjoyed hanging out with some of the shorter spectators (babies and dogs) and he had a good time exploring two of the toddler/interactive rooms at the Monterey Aquarium. He thought the big tanks were cool for about five minutes, after which time he gave me a clear "No, no" each time I approached a new tank. Oh well, maybe in a few years we'll try again.

Tonight Emmett demonstrated a new skill that, while amusing at first, will clearly be annoying as soon as tomorrow! He has learned how to "fake cry" and yes, it is truly hilarious. He scrunches his face into a big pout and exclaims, "eh, eh, eh" in a pitiful but very fake manner.

Visit to the SF Children's Zoo

Other Recent Videos:
Animal Sounds
Monster Daddy
Breakfast with Emmett

The "No-No" Stage

A few weeks ago Emmett discovered the power of "no-no" ("nuhnuh") and we've been hearing lots of this ever since! In fact, Emmett has been quite chatty...at his 12 mo appt he had about 10 word approximations that he used spontaneously and he currently has over 20! He continues to enjoy pointing out things in his environment - he learned to say "tsee" (tree) when Grandpa Harry was in town. His favorite foods are "nana", "bihduh", "bibi", "bp-bp" "g-p", "teez" and "ya-ya". What? You can't understand this? Let me translate: bananas, bread, berries, puffs, grapes, cheese, and yogurt. Ok, so maybe only mom and dad can understand Mr. Man's "words", but boy is he trying!

Emmett has been enjoying playing "Monster" with Daddy, so much that he has recently assumed his own "monster laugh". Yes, Emmett has quite the sense of humor these days. It's quite comic to hear a deep throaty laugh emitted from a pipsqueak. In general Emmett is a delightful but LOUD child. He is super active, constantly in motion and constantly filling the house with sound. He's becoming increasingly demanding - though fortunately we have not yet hit the temper-tantrum stage.

Emmett loves to chase birds, play with playdoh, push/pull toys at the Noe Valley Rec Center, and play "Boo" with anyone and everyone! (This is not the tame Peek-A-Boo that a 6 month old might play - this is a "I'm gonna scare your pants off because I'm a big toddler boy now...so watch out!")

Grandma Carlene and Grandpa Harry came to visit us a few weeks ago. It was great to spend time with them and while they were here the entire family, including Uncle Mike, spent a fabulous four-day weekend in Sebastopol (Sonoma County). We enjoyed awesome home-cooked meals, picked apples, figs, and berries daily from the fruit trees in the yard, went biking in wine country, splashed around in the pool, and generally just kicked back and relaxed!

Recent Photos

Sorry for the delay in posting photos. Here are some pictures from August as well as some photos from Emmett's First Birthday Bash.

Recent Videos

Drinking (Take 1)
Drinking (Take 2)
Walking

He's Walking! (Like a drunken man)

Seems like each time I talk to my folks or grandparents, they ask, "Is he walking yet"? E's extended family has been eager to hear the news because when we were together in June, emergence of this skill appeared imminent. Since then E has become increasingly steady on his feet and lo and behold, this weekend he started to consistently take a few steps at a time without support. On Friday he took a few steps at Aunie La's house which caught us off guard and made us smile. He saved the real deal, though, for Daddy's return. (Colin was in Tahoe this weekend for our friend, Dennis' bachelor party.) Yesterday Emmett showed off his fancy footwork for Dad. Auntie Danielle captured the moment on video. Such fun for all of us!

In general, Month 10 has brought us much joy. Emmett has had frequent playdates with his buddy, Jacqueline. He has learned to clap and throw balls. His favorite pastimes include ball play, drinking banana blueberry smoothies from an open cup and playing outdoors. We recently purchased a "water table" for the backyard. This table is a huge source of entertainment - Emmett absolutely loves to splash around and explore his water toys. Yes, between the water table, deck stairs, neighborhood cats, and flowers, the backyard has become E's favorite place to be these days. Emmett makes this preference pretty clear - today at 7:15am he banged on the back door and when this failed to get mama to open the door he brought me one of his shoes! Ha! We'll be sure to take and post lots of photos next month when our little man celebrates his first birthday!

Sarah Wert Photography

A friend of ours, Tim Johnson, gave us a very thoughtful gift when Emmett was born - a photo shoot with a professional photographer. We opted for a very casual shoot at home. Here are a few of our favorite pictures taken on that day in May. You can also check out Sarah's general photography skills on her website.

First Trip to the Zoo

Today Emmett went to the SF Zoo for the first time. While it served as a nice variation to our typical Friday routine, I think that the concept was a bit lost on my sweet 10.5 month old. Six months from now the experience should be a bit more engaging. Today the highlights for Emmett included:
-the water fountain with seagulls
-the sprinkler system
-the peacock that happened to cross the sidewalk six feet in front of us
-the ring-tailed lemurs (they actually move quickly and are easy to spot with their black and white tails)
-pink flamingos (maybe it was the stench more than the sight)
-plants two feet in front of him (hello boy, we have these in our backyard!)
-man-made streams and waterfalls

Yes, even the giraffes and zebras were apparently "ho-hum" to Mr. Man. Guess we'll stick with the neighborhood cats, dogs, birds, and the wild animals in 2D until E develops a more refined appreciation for these rare beasts! All in all, it was a fun trip, including a Merry-Go-Ride with his sweetheart, Jacqueline.

Sorry for the delay...

Here are some Emmett photos from Month 8 and Month 9.

Photos from East Coast Trip

Here are some photos of Emmett with the Willa family courtesy of Grandma Linda. These were taken in mid-June on Long Island and Cape Cod.

The 1974 Schwinn Le Tour

From Schwinn Le Tour 1974

I found this gem crammed in a forgotten shed on Long Island. It was long neglected - deformed brake calipers, rusty cables, a rear derailleur twisted out of recognition. Recognizing the true worth of this marvel, I pried it loose from the tangle of heirloom tomato seeds and Smith and Hawken shovels.

I shipped it out to my bicycle trauma facility in San Francisco and started work.
After a battery of treatments, including:

- 3 weekends
- 3 recablings
- New redrailleur
- New front brakes
- New saddle

the bike was back to new. Pity the man who neglected it.

Photos

10 Months Today!

Sorry we've been negligent about posting updates. We've had a busy summer so far! Emmett and I, along with Aunt Kerri, traveled to the east coast in June. We spent a few days on Long Island visiting both sets of grandparents. Emmett also met his great-grandma, Evie, who made the trip up from Florida to meet Mr. Man. While on LI we had a few playdates with E's Parisian pal, Oscar. Then we traveled to Cape Cod, where Emmett met his other great-grandma, Bea, and lots of cousins/great-aunts/uncles once removed (or second cousins - so confusing)! Daddy joined us on the Cape. Lucky Dad - the benefits of being with the fam, without dealing with an infant on the airplane!

Emmett has been lots of fun these past two months. At 8.5 months he started to show signs of imitation - patting objects, imitating specific vocalizations. At 9 months he started to wave - first as imitation, then in response to a greeting, now spontaneously. He's attempting to imitate several sounds and has started to use a few baby signs, "eat" and "up". We've been feeling quite pleased with Emmett's easy-going personality. That said, this past week Emmett has been quite demanding - lots of whining / testing...making mommy put her skills as a Behavior Analyst to work! We promise to post some pictures soon.

Recent Videos

Emmett Walking (sort of)

First "Word"

E's First Word: kkxee cah (KITTY CAT!)

For the past few months we've heard lots of infant babble...coo, ahh, dadada, mamama, nanana. Over the past week or so we've noticed that when Emmett sees Sheba he says, "kkee". This morning he started to alternate between "kkee" and "cah" while looking at a picture of a cat in a new animals picture book!

Videos of Man on the Move

Crawling

Climbing

Standing

Emmett vs. Sheeba - Round 1

Recent Photos

Here are a few random shots from Month 7 as well as some photos from our recent trip to Kauai.

Man on the Move!

Our little Emmett is certainly a busy, busy man these days. During the past month he's been crawling backwards, turning sideways, perfecting his "downwards dog" yoga pose and then...finally...on Mother's Day Emmett began to crawl forward with ease! Two days later, on his eight month bday, E began to stand up in his crib (even though it has been lowered to the lowest notch) and today he climbed up several steps in the office!

During Month 7 Emmett added some new sounds to his repertoire - "mama", "mumum", "nana", and "baba". He's chatting up a storm and he's still got a terrific sense of humor. Emmett also started to attend baby swim lessons this month, partially in preparation for our family vacation to Hawaii.

Family Time

Emmett spent lots of time with his grandparents this month. First Grandpa Harry and Grandma Carlene flew out to SF for a visit. During their stay, Emmett enjoyed his first hike in Marin, multiple trips to the Farmers' Market and good old fashioned backyard fun! This trip was followed by a visit from Grandma Linda and Grandpa Ron. Although Gramps' kids teased him about his new look, Emmett was a big fan!

Month 6 milestones:

-"Wra, wra, wra!!!" Not exactly the first consonant-vowel combo that I thought we'd hear, but it was super fun to listen to Emmett experiment with this new sound one Sunday afternoon when we were on a city hike. (He loves his big boy hiking backpack - particularly when Mommy carries him as he can tug that tempting ponytail.) The little doggie sound quickly turned into a "dadada" which morphed again this week into massive bubble blowing raspberries.
-Shimmy, shimmy, shimmy....Emmie is on the move. He can turn himself around and push himself backwards...not quite crawling forwards yet.
-Em's diet continues to expand - he loves all kinds of veggies, fruits and meat (yes, he even now enjoys the once dreaded carrots)! No teeth yet...but boy do we love his sweet gummy grin!

Here are some photos from Month 6.

Back to Front

Mommy was very excited this week when Emmett learned to roll from his back to his tummy. He's been rolling the other way for a few months now, but this method of flipping is new, new new. E is also starting to show emerging crawling ("shimmying") skills.

Video "Back to Front"

Emmett Videos

Bouncing on Bed with Mr. Giggly

Emmett's Favorite Song

Frere Jacques - Excuse the Mispronunciations!

Veggies? Blech!

Happy Half-Birthday Em!

Our "Mr. Man" is 6 months old today! The past month has been filled with lots of new developments. Emmett has grown physically stronger - he rolls, rolls, rolls and can now sit up on his own. He's eating solid foods - loves avocados, bananas, apples, and egg yolk - not fond of veggies yet. Emmett has grown increasingly chatty, though he's still in the "vowel stage" and hasn't experimented yet with consonant-vowel babble. Em continues to be Mr. Smileypants - his laughter really lights up a room. Our friends have teasingly asked whether or not we're feeding him giggle juice! Here are some photos from month 5.

Emmie Month 4

Emmett has grown increasingly delightful over the past month. He's grown in size and spirit! Em now weighs 15.5 pounds and is quite the social little guy. He's become a flirt with his posse of adult lady friends - he's taken to picking up his pant legs to show off his chunky thighs while batting his eyelashes and grinning ear to ear.

Emmett turns 5 months tomorrow. Hard to believe that this sweet little boy is the same child who gave us such a hard time a few months ago. E has started to eat some solid food. He loves pureed bananas and avocados. He's also tasted sweet potatoes and egg yolk. We're trying to keep the solid food to a minimum until his 6 month well visit, however if E had it his way he'd be eating solid foods at every meal! He's hilarious at the dinner table. He strains forward and tries to plant his face in our plates!

Em started to roll over a week and a half ago much to the delight of his fan club. Hooray Emmie!
Here are a few photos from E's 4th month of life.

Hosed!

A couple of weeks ago, our dishwasher hose burst, flooding the kitchen and causing general mayhem. Fortunately, there wasn't much to clean up beyone the kitchen floor. Unfortunately, most of the water ended up in the basement walls.

Here are mug shots of the culprit:




We think a mouse chewed away at the metal sleeve, leaving the rubber to slowly expand and burst.

An Interstate Through Fisherman's Wharf?

In the fifties there was a plan afoot to build freeways through Fisherman's Wharf, Glen Park and the Great Highway (the road that abuts the Pacific Ocean). These and more fun facts here. Community opposition shot down most of the proposed roads, leaving us with the pedestrian/bike friendly city that we love and gloat about today.

Planners in LA concocted similar highway expansion plans, which were largely implemented.