Enjoying the View

Change is good, and in that spirit we decided to spice up our holiday travels this year. Instead of flying back to Washington, D.C. to visit my family for Thanksgiving, we picked a location, rented a house, and all met up there for the week. This was all Ryan's idea, and I have to publicly give him credit for devising such a brilliant plan for our holiday! Speaking of Ryan and his brilliance, he has launched a new website for Ryan Notch Photography, which is absolutely stunning. I encourage all of you to swing over and check out his work!

There really is nothing like the scenery in the American West. We did our best to take advantage of the beautiful landscapes around Sedona, and tried to get outside as much as possible. We also took advantage of having grandparents with us to babysit - a luxury we don't have back in California. Ryan and I went on a hike together on the Brins Mesa Trail one afternoon.


He took his 4 x 5 camera and I had the digital, so you're getting not only one, but TWO pictures on this blog actually taken by me! Can you believe it?


Since we were so close, we took a day trip to the Grand Canyon. I'd never seen it before, and was blown away by how breathtakingly gorgeous it is. Ethan had a great time barreling at a full run towards the railings, until I ruined all his fun by putting him in the stroller. Now that he knows how to walk, he's completely over the whole stroller thing. He's also mostly over the "carry me" thing, unless I happen to need my arms to complete some household task. Then, and only then, will he want to be held. But I digress.


Cashing in another babysitting chip, we dragged Mary out on a hike to the top of Bell Rock. Treacherous at times, the hike was a fun challenge for the three of us (well, for two of us at least - Ryan's a real outdoorsy type, so it was a piece of cake for him).


The view was unbeatable, and once we scaled enough of the walls to get to the top we had some time to sit and take in the calm stillness of our surroundings.


Our next adventure was a ride on the Verde Canyon Railroad. Their website touts the ride as "Arizona's Longest-Running Nature Show" and after chugging along with them I'd have to say I can see why! The engine winds through the canyon at a crawl of 12 mph, which makes it easy to take in the sights and snap some photos. As the route goes through Prescott National Forest, you're surrounded by natural landscapes for the entire ride. The few exceptions to this are two houses that were grandfathered into the zoning laws and the ghost town of Perkinsville. I use "town" loosely, by the way.


Ethan was the train's unofficial ambassador, and took his title quite seriously. In order to fulfill his duties of passenger greeting, he ran up and down the cars, waving and blowing kisses to those he passed.


Considering that the train departed at two, that Ethan's nap time was supposed to begin at two, and that the ride lasted four hours, Ethan did an amazing job of holding it together on the trip! Of course, having an animal sound baby application on my phone helped keep him calm in the final stretch of our journey.


We had so much fun, and are already in talks about our next joint family vacation. Jackson Hole, Wyoming, we'll see you in 2011!

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I sat for hours trying to come up with a narrative that would do justice to Ryan's images from our Thanksgiving trip to Sedona, Arizona.

I finally came to this conclusion:







Sometimes there are no words.

Ahhh, California, How I Love Thee.

I feel so lucky to live a state with such a diverse and beautiful landscape. It's honestly one of the things I love the most about the Bay Area. Drive in any direction for a few hours and you'll find cliff-lined beaches, bone-dry deserts, snow-capped mountains, and sky-scraping redwoods.

We took advantage of being so close to one of the most incredible National Parks and recently set out on a road trip to Yosemite. Ethan was practically perfect on our journey. He didn't nap much, but was happy and calm, fascinated by the sights. We heard quite a few "Ooooooohs" coming from the back seat as we travelled along, both due to the beautiful landscapes and the big trucks that would pass us on the freeway. Turns out Ethan has a thing for vehicles - the bigger and noisier, the better.

Not daring enough to attempt tent camping with the E man, we rented a little cabin at a campground right outside of the park. It had a petting zoo and playground to keep Ethan entertained, though he was just as happy playing in the dirt. When Ethan was sleeping, Ryan and I would play nerdy board games outside by the light of our lantern. We held a rousing spades tournament. We grilled dinner over a fire. We unplugged and unwound. Okay, we didn't really unplug... the campground had WiFi. But close enough.

If you haven't been to Yosemite, I highly recommend it. The landscape is so impressive, and (WiFi access aside) it elicits a sense of peaceful isolation. Being a newly proficient walker, Ethan shunned his stroller and wanted to discover the park on his own. This was only a problem when we were on the edges of cliffs - which counted for about 85% of the vistas we explored. Thankfully Ryan had a no-fail trick up his sleeve to keep Ethan happy while being carried: the Daddy Shoulder Ride. Worked like a charm, every time.
*For a closer view of the beauty of Yosemite, click on the image to display it in a larger size!*

Fox in Socks Crew with Flu

(*Fox in Socks is one of my favorite books, and I humbly post this with apologies to the incredible Dr. Seuss!)

Crew.
Flu.
Boo.
Blue.

Crew with flu.
Boo, we're blue.

Look, sir. Look, sir. All the crew, sir.
We're all sick with the swine flu, sir.
We're all sick and boo we're blue, sir.

First, we'll run, not walk, to doc's block.
We'll whoosh in without a knock, doc.

Please, doc. I don't like this flu, doc.
My fever's hot and I am blue, doc.
I can't control my hacks and coughs, doc,
It's hard to turn those acks right off, doc.

Just a few short days ago, doc,
We went to play outside all day, doc.
We went to ride the Tilden train, doc.
Had Mima and Poppa to entertain, doc!





















Did someone sneeze and make us weak, doc?
Make us wheeze and feel so bleak, doc?

Take the meds and stay in bed, now.
Never let your germies spread, now.
Quarantine yourself instead, now.

Come Halloween we were still ill, sir.
No candy sacks for us to fill, sir.
No tricks or treats for us, but still, sir.
We dressed up and had quite a thrill, sir!





















Superman, come save the day, please!
Take away the cough, ache, and sneeze!
Rescue us from H1N1, sir!
We've had enough, and now we're done, sir!





















Thankfully, the flu chose not to stay.
In ten days our symptoms went away.
Leaving us with lots of time to play
In Yosemite Park (a post for another day)!

Swine Flu - Cause for Concern or Hogwash?

There are lots of decisions to be made when you're a parent. Some of them are easy, many are inconsequential, and others are very, very difficult. Our latest dilemma: deciding whether or not to give Ethan the swine flu vaccine. Lots of thoughts ran through my mind when listing the pros and cons.

Pros:
1) Obviously, protecting against swine flu.
2) Flying during Christmas = Germ City.
3) Our pediatrician recommends it, and last time I checked neither Ryan nor I have attended medical school.

Cons:
1) Brand new vaccine... should I be worried?
2) I have little to no faith in flu vaccines in general.
3) The stress of constantly calling the doctor to see if the vaccine is available yet is less than appealing.

We decided not to bother with it. There's a lot of media hype and public hysteria, and we refused to get sucked into it. Our minds were made up.

And just as quickly as we had made our decision, we started second-guessing it.

We talked to a friend who DID happen to attend medical school, and he said it was a good idea to get the shot. Another friend, feet firmly rooted in the pro-vaccine camp, passed along articles with lots of GREAT information (and attention grabbing titles!), such as Swine flu still spreading; blamed for 76 child deaths and Sebelius: Americans must get swine flu vaccination. I referenced FluTracker, which maps confirmed H1N1 cases and fatalities in the US and around the world. I checked Ethan's horoscope (nothing about swine flu, but apparently he's going to have an incredible financial opportunity arise in the near future). It certainly gave us a lot to think about - what we thought before was a good decision was perhaps, with a little more research and some input from trusted sources, not in Ethan's best interest.

After careful consideration and countless conversations, we've re-made up our minds and are definitely going to try to get our hands on the H1N1 vaccine for Ethan. We're also taking further precautions, just to be on the safe side.


Bring it on, swine flu, we're ready for you.

Ethan's First Haircut

Unless you're talking about bank accounts or stock portfolios, it's never a good thing when you can compare your baby to Trump. Over the past fourteen months Ethan's mop top has turned into an unintentional tribute to the Donald. If we had waited much longer, our little boy would have looked like a mini Billy Ray Cyrus or an itty bitty Dog the Bounty Hunter. Ryan and I finally decided to say goodbye to his wild locks and took Ethan to get his first haircut. It was time, don't you think? Even Ethan agreed, as evidenced by his saucy post-haircut grin.
The salon was equipped with fun seats, TV screens at each station, snacks, and wall murals. Ethan got to sit in a snazzy red car that just so happened to match my dress.


Ethan seemed very interested in the whole process, and when the shininess of the situation wore off he (thankfully!) was very interested in his snacks. The stylist remarked several times that his first haircut stamina was quite impressive.


It only took about ten minutes for Ethan's mullet-in-the-making to disappear. It's definitely a huge improvement, and I'm so glad we did it! Still, a little piece of me is sort of hoping that I'll get to see those cute little curls again one day...

Charts and Graphs (not PHOTOgraphs)

When Ethan was a newborn, I kept data on everything. Perhaps I went a little overboard, but hey - occupational hazard. I tracked his feedings, recorded his diapers, and tallied his sleep hours. As he's grown up, the era of presenting his pediatrician with such detailed information has passed. All I have left now is counting his teeth and tracking his weight and height stats at his checkups.


After graphing the "normal" stats, I started to think about what else I could visually represent. I was right in the middle of a good train of thought when Ethan let out a blood-curdling scream, followed by a satisfied chuckle. It was then that inspiration for the following graph struck:


I figured Ethan's volume has ranged from 0dB (the weakest sound that can be heard) to 95dB (the level at which sustained exposure may result in hearing loss). Don't bother yelling at me for making a graph using estimated instead of empirical data... I can't hear you.

Ooh, this is fun! Should we try one more?

Ethan and Max are pals. Most of the time. Some of the time. Well, Ethan likes Max, at least. Unfortunately, Ethan's form of lovin' is shown in swats, tail pulls, and eye pokes. Usually Max is pretty tolerant. Considering the fact that Ethan plays with the dog's toys, crawls into the dog's bed, and has taken away most of the dog's attention, Max has the patience of a saint. Dogs will be dogs, though, and sometimes he can't resist teaching the boy a lesson:


You'll see that Max does get in a few good licks here and there. While much more infrequent, the dog's wallops pack a bigger punch. On Friday, Ethan fought the dog and the dog won. Ryan is calling Ethan "Scarface" while his wounds heal - though he assures me that the scratch on my baby's face will not result in a permanent mark. I guess you can call this our first taste of sibling squabbles.

So what does the analyzation of this data show me?

1) My boy is growing fast.
2) I need to invest in earplugs.
3) Maybe we'll wait a bit longer before thinking about baby #2.