First time playing with a hose

We had the hose giving the cherry and peach trees a good soaking this afternoon, when Davey stumbled across it. It was the first time he'd seen the hose in use without a nozzle of some kind. Oh boy, but he certainly enjoyed playing with it! I know, big surprise.





Later, not too long before bedtime, we had the TV on and David switched the channel to HBO-Family, where Curious George was playing. This was the second time I'd let him watch a "movie," and he really loved it. We watched maybe 20 minutes, but in those 20 minutes he had a GREAT time. We won't make a habit of letting him watch TV but this was a nice treat for him.

Blueberry coffee cake makes Davey happy

Blueberry coffee cake makes Davey happy, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Davey was quite happy last night, getting one of his favorite dishes for dinner: pasta e fagioli and then blueberry/ginger/cinnamon coffee cake for dessert.

He ate 1-1/2 bowls of the soup. Devoured is a more apt word. Then he tore in to a slice of the coffee cake.

All smiles at the dinner table!



Later he was full of energy, running around in his new sandals that Grandma Julia bought for him the other day, bouncing off the furniture, reading books, riding Pinto (his rocking horse), building with blocks. Happy Davey!

Oh -- videos on Youtube of tonight's culinary exploits.

Dairy? That Davey can eat?

Dary? That Davey can eat?, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Oh my gosh... I think I may have found a dairy that Davey can have!!

I stopped at the Bellwether Farms stand at the farmer's market this morning and their sheep's milk yogurt container said that it was a delicious alternative for people who are allergic to cow milk based yogurt! They gave out tastings (very good, by the way) and a dab on Davey's cheek did not result in hives on his face!

I bought a container of their vanilla flavor (hey, vanilla bean specks in it and it's organic, too) to try at home. I gave him a spoonful after lunch and he had no signs of allergy. A while later he ate a few more bites and still no rash!

Oh my goodness... If this works out we'll have to source sheep milk, yogurt and gosh... cheese? Could it be possible?!

Oh, and on a language note: As I brought him in to the living room after changing his diaper, he pointed at the TV, which had the Giants vs Marlins game on, and said, "BASEBALL!"

That's our boy!

A banner day

Davey, Grandma and the chicks
Originally uploaded by jessicafm

On Thursday, when Mom came to take care of Davey for the afternoon, she brought along a few surprise guests: chicks! She's raising four new chicks and they're too young to go in to the coop with the grown girls. Like human babies, they need food and water every couple of hours, and they need warmth. So Mom brought them to our house for the afternoon, while she was Davey's care giver. Oh boy, you can imagine how much Davey enjoyed them! Here's a little video of when he got to pet one. The rest of the time he ran around and laid atop the cage, squealing with delight.

Also on Thursday, Marina told me that Davey was "playing with a beautiful little two year old girl" at the playground that morning. Apparently he and a little girl were chasing each other back and forth. That was lovely news to hear as that was the first time he'd played with another child, rather than playing near another child. Then, later that day Mom took him to a different playground and he played chase with another beautiful little girl. What do you know about that?

Playing with other children. Pretty girls.

That's our boy!!

A very fun weekend

Well, what a hell of a weekend! My cousin, Jocelyn, and her friend, Jill, came out for a visit from Minnesota this past weekend. They arrived late Thursday night and headed up to Polly's house to stay for the weekend. Ostensibly they were here for a friend's wedding, but they spent a whole lot of time wine tasting and playing with Freibergs when they weren't at the actual wedding.

Friday afternoon Davey and I headed up to Polly's house to have dinner with Polly, Prescott, Rozzie, Jocelyn and Jill (Mark was working at the store that night). Being so hot, nobody felt like cooking, so we had a dinner of cold cuts, cheese and other assorted cold things, nibbling the evening away.

Saturday Joc and Jill went wine tasting while Davey and I headed up to Bonnie's house on the Russian River. We got there around lunch time.

Then, a few hours later, Polly and the kids arrived. A couple hours after that, Joc and Jill arrived, a little tired but happy from a day of wine tasting in Napa. Mark arrived a couple hours after them, after he finished working. Bonnie was an amazing hostess as she housed and fed all 10 of us guests!

Well, everyone brought something to share, but Bonnie provided the lionshare of dinner and had boundless energy and love. Thank you Bonnie! Mark, Polly and the kids even got to sit around a camp fire that night, make s'mores and tell ghost stories.



Sunday we all spend pretty much lazing around the house, spending time in or on the shores of the river, playing badminton, nibbling on goodies lying about, talking... it was very relaxing. Eventually, Jocelyn and Jill dolled up and went to their friend's wedding. Then Polly and the kids filtered out. Then Davey and I headed home to get there in time for me to make him some dinner. Mark stayed behind to watch a movie with Bonnie and came home once it was over.



Monday, most people had to work, except Jocelyn and Jill who had one more day of vacation. They headed out to Tomales Bay and picked up 100 oysters! Then they headed back to Napa for more wine tasting before meeting all of us again, this time at Dad's house for an oyster barbecue. Dad bought chicken to barbecue and made a delicious Thai prawn curry over brown basmati rice. Gregg did the honors in terms of grilling the chicken and Polly was the oyster shucking queen!



I made a barbecue sauce and a spicy garlic butter for the oysters and spent much of the evening applying sauces to the oysters on the grill and putting the cooked oysters on a platter. Those were damned fine oysters, let me tell ya!



There were three bottles of champagne, a few bottles of wine, great food, dancing, singing and a lot of love. It was a great evening and a terrific way to send Jocelyn and Jill back home, on their 12:30am flight back to Minnesota.



You're welcome to come back anytime and we love you!

Doggie Joy

Doggie Joy
Originally uploaded by jessicafm

David most absolutely loves animals. Especially this dog, Cosmo.

Smart little punk!

Davey at the Oysterfest, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

I just went to put Mark's bag of sunflower seeds back in to the pantry when Davey snaked in front of me and pulled out the big tub of animal crackers. I thought, "No big deal. The lid is screwed on." Well, he sat in front of the container and very decisively used both hands to quickly unscrew the lid. Then he held the lid in his left hand, grabbed a handful of cookies with his right hand and put the lid back on with his left.

Damn.

Amazement

Smiley and clean, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Every day Davey amazes me just a little bit, or sometimes a lot, more. Yes, he's sweet and silly and smart and loving... all the things every parent says and that I've gotten so familiar with. But sometimes he just does things that strike me. Wow.

Such as yesterday he was playing in the wading pool and had three things he was playing with: a rubber duck, a ball and a water bottle. He wanted to hold all things and he very, very quickly, in one try, figured out how to hold the duck and the ball in one hand. He figured out what he needed to do instantly and had the coordination to do it. So cool!

There are a few signs that he regularly uses to communicate with us, and has for a long time: eat, drink, finished/done, hi/bye. A few days ago when he obviously wanted more of something I showed him the sign for "more" and he immediately mimicked it back to me. Ever since then he's been using that sign consistently when he wants more of whatever he's eating or playing with.

Brag, brag, brag, I know.

But then there's the spontaneous hugs he gives... and such hugs. sigh

Plus he figured out how to kiss (sort of) recently. First it was when I'd say, "Can I have a kiss?" He'd climb up and put his open mouth on my lips. Now he spontaneously goes up to Mark and I and kisses us.

Love!

Attaaaaack!

Wrestling, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Davey gives me a kiss

Davey gives me a kiss, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

What a nice mother's day present!

Our newest car

Our newest car, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Yep, it's official. Mark sold our Porsche Cabriolet and bought this 1958 Porsche Speedster. He brought it home yesterday to show to Davey and I for the first time. It IS a beauty! Mark took me for a quick spin, and it drives nicely. I need to get behind the wheel now. :-)

Now the car is back up at his Dad's, who's going to do a bit more work on it to make it run top-notch. Then it'll come back to live with us.

Not sure when Davey will get his first ride in this beauty. I think his car seat is too tall to fit in it with the top up! And, of course, there isn't a back seat in a Speedster, so... wait, come to think of it, I don't think there are even seat belts anyway.

Ridin' to town!

Ridin' to town!
Originally uploaded by jessicafm

Davey's really getting the hang of riding on his horse!

Riding his horse

Riding his horse
Originally uploaded by jessicafm

Davey now enjoys riding his rocking horse. Just a few days ago I saw him mount the horse and start to rock back and forth. This was the first time I'd seen this kind of interest since he received it as a gift from Grandma Linda last Christmas. Now he mounts, rides and dismounts on his own and with a smile.

Aw, my cute boy!

Tide pooling on a beautiful Sunday

Hermit Crab, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Today the forecast was for beautiful weather all over the San Francisco Bay Area. The Summer fog hasn't yet crept in, so the coast would be clear but a little cooler than the high 80s forecast for inland (read: home). I looked at the tide charts and low tide at Agate Beach in Bolinas was scheduled for 1:50pm. How perfect!

We put together a picnic lunch for Davey, left at 11am, stopped at a deli to pick up sandwiches for Mark and I and hit the road for Bolinas. It was Davey's nap time and he was literally asleep by the time he was buckled in to his car seat in the deli parking space. He slept for the hour long drive to Agate Beach. Wow, what great tide-pools!

Polly and Rozzie met us in the parking lot with their own lunches. We walked down the short path to Agate "Beach," which is more rock than beach, and picked a mostly flat area for our little lunch-time picnic. After eating a bit, it was time to explore, and explore we did.

Davey seemed to find it interesting but really wanted to get down an walk. The couple times I let him walk, he'd step in the water and risk slipping (on the kelp). He did trip a couple times, getting (very) minor abrasions on his shin. He never hurt himself badly enough to get upset. The only reason he ever got upset was when he wanted to get down!! After a while we went back to the beach area to get Davey a drink. Mark and Davey then wandered down the beach, where it was safe(r) for Davey to run around, while I joined Polly and Rozzie on the reef.

Ah, the temperature was wonderful, the sea life beautiful, the company marvelous.

We'll be back!

Just plain silly

Just plain silly
Originally uploaded by jessicafm

David sure can make me laugh sometimes. What a funny little guy. Lucky us!

Oh man...

Dirty, smiling pumpkin, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

...do I love this boy!!

What kind of spider is this?

What kind of spider is this?, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Seen stalking insects in a very sparse web on my home office window. Now I don't know where it went. Eek!

Can't. Stay. Awake.

Can't. Stay. Awake.
Originally uploaded by jessicafm

Ah, poor baby. Davey's definitely not up to his usual self today. At 4:30 this morning he was very, very upset and insisted that someone (Mark) get up with him. He promptly drank an entire cup of soy milk. Then Mark brought him to bed with us an he went back to sleep until about 6:30.

He was in a pretty darned good and perky mood all day. However he hd diarrhea and absolutely would not take a nap. We tried putting him down twice, giving him plenty of time to put himself to sleep. He just wouldn't do it. One time Mom tried taking him for a stroll, he in his sleep sack, but after half a block, she said he was wide awake, babbling and excited to be out in the world.

He got to go to the park, go for two strolls, play with Marina, Bonnie, Cosmo (Bonnie's miniature pincer) and my mom (and me, of course). When I changed his diaper in the late afternoon, as dinner was cooking, I saw that he had a mean diaper rash beginning (from the diarrhea, I'm sure) so to his delight, I let him run around naked in the back yard for a while.

Finally, I sat him down for dinner at 5:15. He ate a bite or two, chugged soy milk and then started fussing. What you see in this video is what I saw just before I got him out of his chair, in to his sleep sack and in to his crib. Thankfully, as he's got that rash starting, I'd liberally applied diaper creme in his last diaper. Now he is OUT, asleep, much earlier than his usual bedtime.

Shoot. I didn't get a chance to give him tonight's dose of antibiotics!

*Update: After an hour of sleep, Davey awoke crying and verrrrry unhappy. He had a bit of a fever and I think he was feeling pretty badly. I gave him a dose of Motrin for the fever and pain associated with an ear ache and teething, his evening dose of antibiotics and he chugged a cup of soy milk. Then he was content to snuggle in my arms for an hour until he fell peacefully back to sleep.

He awoke next at 4am, crying, exactly 8 hours after his previous dose of Motrin. I got up, gave him some Motrin, he chugged a half cup of soy milk, inhaled a cup of soy yogurt and was then content to go back to bed with Mark and I. He awoke next at 6:15am, chirpy and happy and ready for a brand new day.

Tantrum caught on video!

Tantrum caught on video!
Originally uploaded by jessicafm

Davey threw a little bit of a tantrum on Monday evening, after dinner. Mostly I think he was really tired after such a busy day (Giants home opener, ferry rides, napping way earlier than usual) and also dealing with the beginning of a cough (and maybe ear infection?).

For your viewing pleasure... you may revel in our fun of dealing with tantrums.

18 Month Update

Rattling the trash can, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

This morning Davey had his 18 month well-baby check-up and he was in a spectacularly good mood. He was energy boy from the minute I took him from his crib!

While in the the examination room, Davey was happily running around, climbing the chair, pushing the chair around, dancing atop the exam table. He didn't cry or get upset when Dr. Lee examined him or when the nurse measured him. Once he began to fuss a little but quickly turned it around in to a laugh when Dr. Lee palpated his tummy.

Then, joy! Dr. Lee's dog, Lucy, came in to the room. Happy, happy, happy! Squeals of delight from Davey as he got down on the ground and patted the funny little dog. She's mutt with some pekinese in her, as evidenced by her severe under bite. Davey was in heaven.

Results of the visit:
* He's got another ear infection (which I suspected starting yesterday afternoon)
* Weight: 20lbs exactly. That's up 1lb-2oz from 3 months ago.
* Height: 32". Up 1-1/2" from 3 months ago.
* Head: 19-1/8". Up 1/8' from 3 months ago.

He's still not on the weight chart, but he's following along his own growth curve just fine. Height and head-size are still following along the middle of the averages. Davey's doing great!

Because he's got an ear infection, and now on antibiotics for the next ten days, he wasn't given any vaccines today. We'll go back to the doctor in two weeks, they'll check his ear and then, if he's free of infection, he'll get his vaccines.

Upon returning home, Marina was here and Davey had a great time playing with her while Mark and I got a bunch of work done. After lunch Davey fell asleep and, as Mark was home and I was working, Marina left early, knowing Davey wouldn't wake up until after her regular time anyway.

Davey had a good time playing with Mark after he woke and while I continued jamming on work (lots of icons in my life right now).

While griding on work I had the TV on to follow the Olympic Torch Relay fiasco in San Francisco. That was entertaining, even if I was only listening most of the time.

At 3:30 Polly IM'd me, asking if I was coming. D'oh! I was so engrossed with work that I'd nearly spaced out on Prescott's track meet! Prescott's first race was the1600 meter, scheduled to start ~4:10 in Petaluma. Quick, Mark, get Davey together and let's go!

We got there just a few minutes before Prescott's race began. He kicked butt, with a commanding lead most of the race and he handily won. Great run, Presky!

Later his stomach started hurting and it was getting cold and he didn't do nearly as well during his second event, the 800 meter. Regardless, he soldiered through and was a great sport.

By then it was late for Davey's dinner so we headed back to Novato quickly and had dinner at El Encanto where Davey ate chicken I'd brought and Mark's black beans and rice.

All in all? It was a very good day.