Eli has a thing for hats… Always has. As you can see from this small sampling:
Wearing Dad's Sailing Cap
With one of many knit caps!
This counts right?
Look, I am wearing another knit cap.
All Hat, No Cattle
Can't have enough!
This last was was given to Eli by Rand and Geraldine. Thanks you two!
Without a doubt, you are the most amazing woman I know. From our first meeting to seeing your face before I go to sleep at night, I count my blessing to be in your life. You bring such wisdom, patience, caring, joy and love to every encounter and in each you are my mentor and role model.
My dear and wonderful Marissa, happy birthday. I so look forward to all our future years together.
Captain Mars!
A few weeks ago, I posted on Twitter and Facebook that @EliKaiser was walking.
“The word: @elikaiser is walking! He hasn’t done so for @nkaiser and I yet, but Eli’s grandparents swear by it!”
And since I didn’t see Eli taking steps, but I was shooting lots of video and lots of pictures, I posted this picture of a very proud Eli:
Eli's proud "walking" face
That was on August 24. It’s now September 11, and Eli chose this day to take a few steps–for real! And I got it on video! Enjoy!
Maybe it was the presence of Allison Koester, visiting from D.C. after moving from Seattle 2 months ago. Or maybe it was the influence of 19 month old Marion Smith, who walked circles around Eli all day yesterday at Grandma and Grandpa Smith’s house.
Eli watches Marion making "soup" in the dog's dish
Either way, he’s walking. It’s exciting and scary, all at the same time.
It was one of those days in New York where you absolutely knew that it is going to be a scorcher of a day, and yet there was a slight chill in the air. The skies were blue and, simply, it started out as one of those days where you were happy to be living it.
On my way downtown that morning, I specifically got off a train stop early to take advantage and enjoy it.
I was at some small conference or another a few blocks from the World Trade Center when we felt the room and building around us shake. My immediate thought was that there must have been some type of subway accident, as the amount of energy needed to move the building must have been huge…
It wasn’t until I received an email on my pager from my mother in Seattle that I learned what had actually happened.
I left the conference and walked outside and saw, not the towers (it is really a built up part of town), but rather the burning debris and embers that were slowing falling to the ground. It was all so surreal and beyond my limited understanding that I stood there awestruck for quite a few minutes.
Fortunately, I was able to get home to the Upper West Side before the subway system was shut down and was horrified to see the second tower come down on CNN with the rest of the World.
I lived through a number of things that permanently changed my perspective on life that day and the following few days after:
One memory that I hope will live with me for the rest of my life is the one where I was walking south on Broadway to Lincoln Center. The news had mentioned that emergency services had set up a blood donation and volunteer area there. That if you could help, please head down there.
I started walking. From 98th St. The closer I got with every passing block the harder it got as the throngs of people kept getting larger and larger. People were coming out of the woodwork to help, to volunteer, and to give blood. We still didn’t know quite what had happened or why, but it didn’t matter. People wanted and needed to help.
It was just one of a number of powerful realizations.
Another, was the horrible, tragic and sorrowfully beautiful memorials. Every park, square, and open space was turned into a living memorial of those that had been lost. Flowers. Candles. The photographs. It was such to wrench the soul. Whole parks began to embody the loss of that day. Trails through the mementoes of loss and love began to form and every single person who gathered and shared in those moments paid silent homage to those that were no longer with us.
New York is not just a city. It is a living, breathing entity of our creation. It can rejoice, it can grow and stagnate, and it can experience pain and loss. It will always hold a special place in my heart and soul.
My family was true to every definition of what it means to be a mother, father, sister, brother.
Lastly, to those who head into danger whether for duty, job or calling. You are the true heroes of this world. I thank you.
I will let the photos speak for themselves…
I believe the one taken of my father was sometime around 1960. The one of Eli was taken this evening… Marissa thought the similarity was a bit uncanny.
This past weekend we finally had a chance to try out Eli’s bike carrier. As you can see, Eli has grown a bit since we received the carrier for Christmas. Photos like this surprise the heck out of me. In only four months he has gotten so big… Latest tally: six teeth, 1/3 of a head of hair (a natural mohawk ), and now he is high-fiving, crawling, and pulling himself up into a standing position.
Eli Then (at Christmas 2010)
Eli Now (this past weekend [04/09/11
Last weekend, we packed up the truck and the kid, dropped the dog off at a friend’s, and headed to Packwood. Ailey had organized a Kaiser-kids ski weekend (sans Clayton, who had some prior commitments), and we all piled into adjoining cabins at the Mountain View Lodge, conveniently located 20 minutes away from White Pass Ski Resort.
Hazel's pretty pink ski boots
Since our small Kaiser clan is still getting the hang of packing up for a ski weekend, we were a few hours off our desired arrival time and completely missed the pizza dinner. Miraculously, Hazel was still awake to greet us at 10 p.m., and stayed awake staring and sometimes crying as Unc Nate, Aunt Ailey, Uncle Ritchie, and her dad drank beers into the late evening. Eryn managed to sleep thanks to earplugs and an eye mask, and I never really woke up from the car ride thanks to some powerful muscle relaxers. (Just my luck, the very morning we planned to leave for White Pass Ski Weekend, my back went into spasms. This is the first re-occurrence of back pain since before I was pregnant… Sigh. I REALLY didn’t miss it.)
We all managed to wake up in the morning somewhat rested (despite the fact that Eli woke up and cried several times throughout the night), and we hit the ground running with a hearty breakfast and a lot of ski and baby gear… and some baby ski gear.
Hazel and the stickers
Eli and the stickers
I learned what being a “lodge mom” is all about, and I even managed to get a little work done. The conditions were meh, so I didn’t miss much except for maybe a beer in the ski yurt. What I got to enjoy instead was some really precious time with Eli and Hazel, and I don’t regret not skiing. Eli is enamored with his big cousin Hazel, and Hazel shared her toys, her books, and her stickers with Eli.
Hazel also had a big milestone that day: she skied for the first time without anyone holding her. Brian said he almost shed a tear, right there on the magic carpet. We were all very proud.
But the most precious moment of the weekend had to have been that evening. We were all back at the lodge chilling, relaxing and getting dinner ready, while the kids played around. We decided to set Eli next to his aunt and his cousin and this cuteness ensued. I LOVE this video!
Oh, and in case you haven’t had enough, here’s some more:
"Baby E-ii, I love you!"
Eli thinks his cousin is SO cool
Happiest kids ever
This is late… Way late. As in almost a month late…
We visited Hawaii at the beginning of December.
Here’s a picture of Eli on the way over:
When does this flight end?
Regardless, we had a great time. Saw friends and family and enjoyed the sun and the waves. I really enjoyed hearing the newscasters telling everyone to bundle up as it was going to be in the low 70′s during the morning. The ended the broadcast by looking at one-another and saying “Brrrrrrr”
70 degrees? This place is P A R A D I S E
Eli Likey
Eli enjoyed pool time!
A Hawaiian Christmas:
Meeting Chris and Tanya’s newborn, Zack:
BFFs Forever.
Can’t Beat an Island Sunset
Heading over the Pali Highway
Not a bad view from the top of the world!
Surrounded by Beaches
When do we head back?
We returned from Texas the Monday before Thanksgiving, which as many may recall was the #snOMG “apocalypse.” That was the storm that shut down Seattle and left us stranded on the plane on the tarmac for over four excitement-filled hours. It was an interesting ending to an amazing trip through the heartland of Texas.
Boots and Hat at the Ready: Texas Bound
We saw family, had dinner with friends, went two-stepping (poorly) and enjoyed a lot of what makes the Lone Star State what it is. Once we landed in Texas we were off and running on what would become a 1,007 mile odyssey from Houston to Kerrville, Fredericksburg, Blanco, Seguine, Yoakum, Victoria and back to Houston. Eli was fortunate to meet cousins (some once removed, others twice, and a few that were even more than that), friends, aunts, uncles, great aunts and his great grandfather.
My parents had invited us to join them on this trip to see everyone under the auspices of making the “Night at Old Pearl City: dance at Turner Hall.” We were promised lots of Polka and Texas two-stepping, and we were not let down! Marissa and I had a great time and enjoyed every minute of the dance, though our feet are a bit worse for wear… (I simply can’t dance).
For a run down of the itinerary:
Tuesday, Nov 16th: Fly into Houston. We were looking forward to seeing Jap and Louise Lott and we ended up staying with their daughter Cindy and her husband Mark. It was 80-degrees in Houston and beautiful clear skies.
In good hands!
At some point I will share stories about Jap and Louise. A few years ago they celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary and are simply an amazing and inspirational couple. He was a fighter pilot in WWII in the Pacific and generally quite the hell raiser. They are kin through my Grandpa who grew up in Yoakum, Texas (my parents are both from the same small town).
Wednesday: We are off to Kerrville to see my Aunt Sharon. She is my mother’s sister and was amazing with Eli. Simply put, it is the highlight of my trip to spend time with Aunt Sharon.
Eli meets Aunt Sharon
Thursday: Off to Fredericksburg, which was the “vacation” of this vacation. It is a beautiful town that was originally settled by Germans and retains a lot of the history and offers delicious German food. It is quite the tourist area now. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to go into the Nimitz Museum. We will definitely take Eli in the near future.
Friday: Fredericksburg to Yoakum by way of Blanco and Seguin… The joke during the trip was that if we had 7 minutes of free time my mother was certain to call some distant relative and let them know we would be visit’n (correct spelling).
We stopped by to see my second-cousin-once-removed Carl in Blanco and his 46 cats. Carl was part of the initial wave of US soldiers to land on the beaches at Normandy. After the war, he was an executive with the Red Cross and worked all over the world. Side note, their daughter was born in Korea and they actually had Texas soil underneath the birthing table so that she could be born a Texan. Marissa and I did the same thing with Eli, but didn’t know that we were following in other’s footsteps.
I have met Carl before and thoroughly enjoyed seeing him again. While his health is failing, he was gracious, funny and whip smart and seemed to take quite a liking to Eli. Eli also took quite a liking to Carl and his cats.
Then it was off to dinner in Seguin at a huge colosseum built to the mastery and worship of the almighty catfish! (Sadly, catfish is the only thing I am allergic to so I didn’t have any.) The onion rings were great and the beer was cold and delicious. We were also able to introduce Eli to my cousin Benji, his wife Phoebe and their daughter Bentley who is a week and half older than Eli.
Cold and refreshing: Shiner Bock: D-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s
Then we were off to Yoakum.
Saturday: Trip into Victoria to see my Mom’s side of the family:
Aunt Linda, cousins Meredith, Wendy, Jake and their respective kids and friends for amazing BBQ. Marissa and I went for the sampler plate which included ~4 lbs of meat and a pickle (as I recall).
Saturday Night: DANCE TIME
The whole family started to arrive, my sister and brother-in-law Ailey and Ritchie Hughes, Aunt Kay, Uncle Mike, cousins Rachel, Jen, Josh, Courtney, Tommy, Aunt Corliss and Uncle Owen. The list goes on and on and on. It is simply too much fun seeing everyone.
Eli knows his Aunt Ailey!
We drank, we danced, we caught up, we admired Eli. Eli actually got to go to the dance, though he ended up sleeping under the table… (is that in the parenting books?)
Cousins Jen and Josh: Pearl Beer: $0.50 / can: Just the right price.
Sunday: We had an early Thanksgiving at my Cousin Courtney’s place and Eli got to meet their six horses, five or so dogs, and ~20 cattle. Needless to say he was thrilled!
They prepared an amazing spread and it was fantastic getting to sit down and enjoy the time with everyone.
Monday: Back to Seattle (via Houston)
The flight was interesting to say the least.
2 hour mechanical delay in Houston
4 hour flight – no problems
1.5 hour delay as the jetway was broken and they couldn’t move it to the plane
1.5 hour delay as the tow comes to get us, which then gets stuck in the snow
45 minute delay as no one made it to work and there wasn’t anyone to operate the working jetway
45 minute delay waiting for luggage
A patient and easy going kid… PRICELESS
The happiest people on the plane!
—————–
It was an amazing trip and we had a great time. However, it wouldn’t have been possible without my folks. They were great, watched Eli, put together the trip, and just made sure it happened. It was awesome. Thanks Mom and Dad!
Great onesie and an even better hat!
Eli’s Aunt Beth and Uncle Dan were in town for their Seattle reception and Po-Po (Eli’s Grandmother) suggested we all get some pictures taken. Pretty good idea!