The Kaiser house has been less than fun these past few days. Eli came home from daycare with his first cold, and promptly gave it to Nathan. The two miserable boys spend last week with stuffy noses and fevers. I fear that snot is going to become a permanent fixture on Eli’s face. It was good that last Monday was a holiday. Eli and I stayed home together, and we had the added bonus of Nate’s presence, although he stayed in bed for most of it. When I went back to work on Tuesday, Eli went back to daycare. He managed OK, and got well after a couple more days.
Eli and his daycare buddy
Sadly, Eli’s week turned sour again when another tooth started to come in. He’s not enjoying this one bit. We’ve taken to keeping teething toys in the fridge, rubbing Baby Ora-gel on Eli’s gums at regular intervals, and giving him Tylenol to ease the pain.
Poor, poor teething kid
Somehow, I managed to avoid the cold last week. I’m popping Airborne and Vitamin C like they’re candy, and I hope that does the trick! I’ve got a big weekend next weekend, and I’ve GOT to be well for it… me and the ladies are off to 2011 Girls Ski Weekend! We’ve rented a house in Leavenworth and there’s 9 of us total. I can’t WAIT!!! And I expect my legs may fall off from all the skiing I’ll be doing
Fingers crossed that I’ll stay well through the week and the weekend!
In the meantime, I’ll leave you with some happier pictures of Eli (cuz that’s what you want to see, isn’t it?):
A good friend put it this way, “Two of the most sociable people we know take off alone for New Years?!? It defies logic.” But that’s what we do… For the past five or six years, we’ve headed to the Kaiser cabin for New Year’s Eve, sometimes with another couple, sometimes just to two of us. This year it was actually the four of us for the long weekend–Eli, Galt, Nate and myself.
The Kaiser boys say, "Happy New Year!" from the cabin
We celebrated New Year’s Eve along with rest of the East Coast, and were in bed by 10:30 p.m. Then on New Year’s Day we dropped Eli off at mountain daycare and continued a long tradition: we hit the slopes.
It was GORGEOUS!!! The sun was shining, the snow was great, and you could see at least four different mountain peaks in the distance. Did I tell you it was gorgeous?
We love Mission Ridge Ski Resort! And the lines… well, they were nonexistent, which is part of the reason why we love Mission Ridge!
It’s been a FULL 6 months. Heck, just this past one month has been crazy… But FUN. How can you not have fun with this kid?
Eli's first Christmas
In the month of December, we went to Hawaii, Eli tried solid foods and made a sometimes-transition to formula, we celebrated Christmas with the Kaisers (a week before real Christmas), we celebrated Christmas Eve at Auntie Terry and Uncle Benson’s house, we hosted Christmas Day at our house, and then we snuck off to the Kaiser cabin to be antisocial for New Years Eve.
Eli's Hawaii outfit
Waikiki Beach is awesome
Our cowboy got a horsey for Christmas
... and a Chariot!
Ready for the snow!
Happy New Year's Eve!
It’s now January, and according to Eli’s 6-month check up (about a week ago), he’s in the 98th percentile for height, the 50th percentile for weight, and the 50th percentile for head circumference. We have a tall kid!
He’s enjoying the new, neat adventure of eating solid foods and drinking from a sippy cup.
And he’s started sitting up (almost) on his own. We didn’t know it, but Eli was days away from cutting his first tooth during the filming of this video. Now looking back, it makes perfect sense.
Marissa here. I don’t know why or how, but over the past 24 hours I seem to have re-emerged from a relative social-media silence that’s been in effect since Thanksgiving. And with that, I realize that Nate and I really suck at blogging. It only takes few minutes to post an update on our lives, but we seem to not take the time to do that. Instead, we might take a few seconds to Tweet or update Facebook, sometimes with a picture and sometimes with an article. But as I mentioned above, I’ve been fairly silent on that front as well.
Is it raising an infant? Is it balancing raising an infant with our responsibility-laden jobs? Is it that we’d rather see folks in person and don’t care to write about the folks we see in person? Maybe it’s all of the above. But we certainly don’t have a good excuse. We’re in front of our computers or our iPhones ALL. THE. TIME.
So here’s my commitment–call it a New Year’s Resolution if you like–I’ll work to share some tidbit at least once a week. Even if it’s small or half-baked or just a picture with a caption. This is just as much for me as it is for you (you three people who might read this). Eli is growing SO QUICKLY that I’m afraid I’ll forget these precious moments. This will be my way of charting our lives.
Eli's a world-class traveler now. (November 2010 on the plane headed home from Texas.)
Now for the gratuitous Eli picture… can you believe that the most recent photo I have on my work computer is from November?!? (I can’t believe it’s the middle of January…)
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”
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!
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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!
This Thanksgiving, we’re all extremely thankful for family. And food. And lately, we’ve had a lot of both!
Our little pumpkin
We’ve just returned from a 1,007 mile trek around Texas–Houston, Kerrville, Fredericksburg, Victoria, Yoakum, and back to Houston. It was a tour of filled with family, delicious food, various hotel rooms, gorgeous countryside, and more family.
The weekend before that, we hosted my sister, her hubby, and her in-laws in Seattle for a post-wedding celebration (2-months post wedding). My sis got to don on her wedding dress, and we were surrounded by friends and family as we were served a LOT of Chinese food.
Of course, friends and family were excited to see us, but they were truly there to see and meet baby Eli. We’re fine with that
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!
Eli had a busy day today. He spent most of the day with his friend Sydney. (Eli is going over to Sydney’s house three days out of the week, now that the Kaisers and the Lambs are nanny-sharing.)
Eli in the snuggly; Eli in the jogger
Eli after his bath. (Galt joins to check things out.)
Eli in his chair
Then, when Mommy (aka me) got home, we got Eli all bundled up and took Galt for a run.
Finally, Eli got a bath. Afterward, Eli spent some time rocking in the big person glider.
Usually he sits in someone’s lap while he’s in the glider. Galt noticed the difference and stood guard, making sure Eli was OK.
I looked down at Eli the other night and thought, “My gosh, he’s such a little man!” His mannerisms seem much more intentional these days.
Sly Grin
Not only does he have entire conversations (with us, with his mobile, with himself), he sucks on his hand (and sometimes his thumb), he’s a big smiler, and he’s an even bigger flirt. He’s 10 weeks old now–that’s 2 1/2 months for those of you who don’t want to do the math–and he’s had quite a few experiences in the past couple of weeks: his first bike ride, his first airplane ride, his first swim, he saw Aunt Bethany and Uncle Dan get married (more on this later), he met the extended Ng family and a few more of the extended Marks, and he’s staying at home with a nanny now that Nate and I have gone back to work full time.
Cranky Face
Before I forget, here’s some of his stats from his 2 month check up:
Weight: 11 lbs. 10.5 oz. (50th percentile)
Head circumference: 39.5 cm (50th percentile)
Height: 24.5 inches (90th percentile!)
I just spent a few moments checking out Hazel’s blog to see how Eli compares with his cousin when she was his age. If Hazel was a Banana Baby at 10 lbs. and 23 inches, then Eli’s been taking note and following in his cousin’s footsteps. What I want to know is, how on earth did two parents of average height create a baby that’s in the 90th percentile?!? Over 11 lbs. and 24.5 inches—where did this come from???
Eli's first bike ride
In case you couldn't see Eli's reaction to his first bike ride, here's a close up
My last post ended with this: I have all sorts of stories about our first venture out (4 days after Eli was born), our first road trip (to the cabin to hang with Cousin Hazel), and milestones, but they will have to wait until I find a chunk of time or until I see you in person.
I didn’t really find a chunk of time, but here’s a written account of our first venture out and our first road trip, starting with the road trip. (I know, sounds official, huh?)
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Damn. It’s TOUGH traveling with an infant. Actually, it’s tough to get ready to travel with an infant. Or at least it was tough for me the first time around. I won’t lie; there were tears.
Circa July 30. Eli age: 3 weeks old. We were headed east to introduce Eli to the cabin. His cousin Hazel was nice enough to invite us along to the tail-end of the Barker Family Vacation aka BFVGPS10. I was responsible for getting myself, the kid, and the dog into the truck. Nate had packed up most of the gear already. I just needed to load the final bags and the young ones, then pick up Nate in Pioneer Square before heading out. No big deal, right?
Eli in his snap-in carseat... the easy one.
Eli's not sure what to make of the cabin.
I tried to remain cool as Eli screamed his head off while I ran around loading the last-minute stuff and the dog. I had everything ready to go, and I was only 10-15 minutes behind schedule. Lastly, I grabbed the crying baby and set him into the carseat… where the straps were too tight to go around his little arms. Dammit. As it turned out, the carseat was my doom. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out how to loosen the straps.
An hour, several phone calls, several curse words, several more curse words, tears, cries (from Eli), and a $30 taxi ride later, Nate came to save the day. He fixed the problem in about 30 seconds, which brought on even more tears of frustration (from me and Eli). Eventually, we got to the cabin just fine.
And we had an awesome time.
Jet ski on the Columbia! Whoo hoo!
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And while that was the worst to date, there have been some comical other firsts in regards to “traveling” with Eli. The first outing we took as a new Kaiser clan (aside from heading home from the hospital) was on July 11, just four days after Eli was born. It was Nate’s birthday, Eli’s actual due date, and we headed to Redmond to join Keith and Susie at church.
Nate aka “Clipboard Kaiser” had a schedule that he wanted to keep and an ideal time to leave the house. Being that Eli was four days old and we had just come home from the hospital two days prior, everything from getting ourselves showered and dressed to getting the diaper bag packed was a challenge. But we were up to the task!
The task included a load of laundry prior to our departure, washing Eli’s intended outfit for the day. We were both certain that everything would dry by the time we had to leave… We were wrong.
40 minutes prior to our intended departure, I started feeding Eli, all the while shouting out things like “Don’t forget the _[fill in with random baby item]__” to Nate who was running around getting himself and the diaper bag packed up.
20 minutes prior to our intended departure, I decided Eli had had enough to eat and needed to get dressed. Nate took the laundry out of the dryer, only slightly damp.
15 minutes prior to our intended departure we changed Eli’s diaper and put him in his outfit for the day.
10 minutes prior to our intended departure we assessed that the outfit was still pretty damp and we should attempt to dry it further before heading out into the chilly elements (and sadly, it was fairly chilly and overcast for a mid-summer morning). We turned on the hairdryer and pointed it at our son. Yes. When our son was only four days old, we dried his clothes with a hair dryer while he was wearing them. I’m not proud of it, but he didn’t seem to mind, and the hair dryer did the trick.
You’d think at this point that we’d realize the need for additional layers, but you’d be wrong.
We managed to get out the door 10 minutes behind schedule, which wasn’t bad given our antics prior to intended departure. We snapped in the carseat, started the car, backed out of the garage, and we were off! … So we thought.
As we were backing out of the garage, I noticed that the blanket wasn’t in the carseat. “Nate, did you grab the blanket?”
“No Mars, I thought you did!”
Next, I noticed that we’d forgotten to put socks on Eli. By this time, we were at the streetlight, but with a damp clothed son, no blanket and no socks, we determined the need to turn back around. Needless to say, we were late to church.
Amusingly enough, the sun came out just as we crossed the bridge, and we ended up stripping the kid of all his clothes once we got to Grandpa and Grandma’s house. Go figure.
Eli sans clothing and loving it
In Grandpa's lap, sporting his fly dry outfit
The shirt says "I'm a sloppy kisser." It should say, "I drool in my sleep."
