Signs



Thank you, Deanna. My friend encouraged us to use baby signs as a way of communicating with Audrey, so that she can communicate with us before she is able to verbalize. Instead of getting frustrated, it is SO cool that our tiny little 1 year old can tell us that she is hungry, thirsty, wants to hear music, hears the phone ringing, sees a dog...or any other animal.

The dog thing brings me to an even deeper insight that this recently gave me: Audrey is learning the signs from me. Oh sure, every once in a while she will make up a sign herself, but mostly, she is limited to using the vocabulary I am able to give her.

This reminded me of a serious responsibility that I have to expand, enhance and improve my own life 'vocabulary'. A book I read about parenting explained that children 'read' from their parents what is good and acceptable and are, in many ways, limited to the emotional vocabulary that their mom and dad possess. This makes a ton of sense, explaining why so many of us find ourselves stunted in a particular area and how it never works to stuff baggage under the rug. Now, of course we need to take responsibility for our own growth as empowered adults--which brings me back to my original point: the only animal sign that I have learned thus far is 'dog.' As such, poor little animal-obsessed Audrey has only one pathetic sign to tell us about all the creatures she sees. And she calls them all dogs.

With Gods grace and help, I am reminded of the power and responsibility to give our daughter the healthiest and most comprehensive repertoire possible.

Choosing L'Chayim (Life)


"I am offering you life or death, blessing or curse. Choose life, then, so that you and your descendants may live" (Deuteronomy 30:19).

Since I have often heard God speaking these very words to my own heart, today's daily devotional from Henry Nouwen was a poignant reminder. (I have clipped and pasted it verbatim at the end of this blog posting)

My close friend Marian has a spiritual mentor named 'Sister Regina' who I had the privilege of speaking with on a retreat a few years ago. She said that God's will is not a tightrope; some sort of tricky and precarious wire that we walk, about to fall off at any moment. And that God doesn't sit around sadistically rubbing his hands together waiting for us to discern it. God is sovereign (His ultimate will, will be done)--but he has given us a brain, heart, free will, dreams and desires. And that he wants to partner with us in a creative way to see what we will do with the life that he has given us. That more than anything, His will for us is to choose life because that's where Jesus is ("I am the way, the truth and the life"). The Bible also says it like this: 'walk in the light.'

Sister Regina recommended an exercise that has been very helpful to me: at the end of each day, reflect back on the day, going through it chronologically and noticing what things, people, etc. brought light and life into your heart; and which ones brought darkness--and even a feeling of death. Darkness and death are extreme words, but I'm convinced you understand what I am speaking of. Then pray that God will help us to choose to fill our time with those things which bring light and life into our day and to run away from those which do not. "Go where there is life," she said. And the moment you notice that you are caught in a cloud of darkness quickly call out to God, "Lord, get me out of here!" And he will quickly be at your side to put you back on the path to life.


This is a picture at that same retreat in Denmark Spring of 2005. What a cute baby lamb--too bad God calls us sheep rather than lambs. Lambs are much cuter.

P.S. Mall massages definitely bring light.

Henry Nouwen daily devotional for August 31, 2007:

God says, "I am offering you life or death, blessing or curse. Choose life, then, so that you and your descendants may live" (Deuteronomy 30:19).

"Choose life." That's God's call for us, and there is not a moment in which we do not have to make that choice. Life and death are always before us. In our imaginations, our thoughts, our words, our gestures, our actions ... even in our nonactions. This choice for life starts in a deep interior place. Underneath very life-affirming behaviour I can still harbour death-thoughts and death-feelings. The most important question is not "Do I kill?" but "Do I carry a blessing in my heart or a curse?" The bullet that kills is only the final instrument of the hatred that began being nurtured in the heart long before the gun was picked up.

Ok, for those of you who are frequent fliers, this site is gonna rock your world: seatguru.com .

On Seat Guru, you can see which seats on any given airline and plane are good or bad-which have extra leg room, obstructed views of movie screens, etc.

So Relax Massage

"What exactly is this?" you ask.


Well, let me answer your question with another one: 'can you afford dinner at Chiles?' If so, then you had better make yourself a sandwich at home instead and head straight to your local mall. Your excuses are all gone. This, my friends, is a picture of a very happy man. You might say he is, 'so relax.' As we were walking through the mall this afternoon, M suggested that I get a massage from one of those places right in the middle of the mall. You know the ones that we all hate to pass so we avert our eyes when they beckon kindly, 'free sample?!'

Ever sore and tired, M and I often discuss how we might just save up a million bucks and go get a massage one day. But alas the day does not come.

On the other hand, who in the heck actually pays money to get a massage while their butt sticks out into the middle of the mall and people are walking by?



We do--now. And holy cow we have been missing out, lemme tell ya. 'Cause for about $12 and no appointment, you can walk away a new man or woman. And unlike overpriced spa massages I've tried before, you really get your money's worth because they know you're only there for 10 minutes (or so) and therefore they really get down to business. No chit chat or cheating you out of 15 minutes. No siree. If you can't afford regular spa massages, go get a mall massage. Trust me, you won't regret it. Our only regret is that we haven't done it before now. Heck, the one of us walked around with the baby while the other got the knots and kinks worked out. A whole year full of sorely-needed massages, down the drain.

Mall massage rocks.

Portland pics

Wanted to share a few pics from our week in Portland but was unable to upload them at the hotel, for some reason.


One of many great things about Portland is how green and incredibly scenic it is. It's truly gorgeous--and people there are apparently very keen on it staying that way. (Development and growth within the city is very, very tightly managed). This makes it a walkers paradise. (There's even a very thick book on Portland Walks!) For a city of its size, there are more parks, walking and bike paths in Portland than just about anywhere else in the country.


Mike calls this look her 'Nick Nolte' look.


And here she is a few hours later in Seaside, Oregon watching runners from the Hood to Coast relay cross the finish line.


Kell, M and Audrey in front of the festivities


Ever the good sport but tired all the same, Audrey chills out on a walk at the end of a long day...


..and Kell uses the world's largest bathroom key to access a disgusting roadside toilette. Gee, I wonder how many varieties of e-coli bacteria have colonized that key? Oh--and did you know that they now sell 'bestselling' ###### handbooks in gas-station bathroom dispensers for just $0.50? Let Amazon just try and beat those prices.


Auntie Kelly reads Audrey her bedtime story while daddy and mommy sneak out for a date. If you are ever in Portland, you simply must save your pennies by skipping 3-5 crummy fast food meals so as to afford a stop at Paley's (out of this world in every way.)


Grabbing a bite at the Daily Cafe. They make a mean grilled-cheese (Tillamook, of course) on whole weat. Notice the beer M is drinking? 'Arrogant Bastard Ale'.


And here we are in front of the world's largest independent bookstore, 'Powells'. It's 3 stories high and runs the length of an entire city block.


Our last dinner in Portland was at Manzanas in Lake Oswego (Great food; M gives the NY 2 enthusiastic thumbs up; The Alaskan Halibut topped with crispy leeks was incredible and we almost licked the creme brulee bowl. The waiter ordered Audrey some ice cream (without asking us first) but we had to give her a few bites. Seriously, the sugar had a scary affect on her, keeping her awake for hours even after she was dead tired.)

Goodbye, Portland. We love you.

Begin it now.

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy,

The chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.

Concerning all acts of initiative and creation,

There is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which

Kills countless ideas and splendid plans.

The moment one definitely commits oneself,

Then a whole stream of events issues from the decision,

Raising in ones favor, all manor of unforeseen incidents and meetings

And material assistance which no man or woman could have dreamed would have come his or her way.

Whatever you can do or dream you can do,

Begin it.

Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.

(This quotation is often credited to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Although the excerpt is reminiscent of a similar Goethe writing, the true author of this writing remains unknown.)

Mt. Hood to Coast


Kel-bell has joined us in the Port of Portland, arriving Thursday afternoon. We're having a great time toodling around, visiting the neighborhoods and sites of the city. Our very cool hotel (The Inn at Northrup Station) is located in the Northwest part of Portland bordering Nob Hill (gorgeous and charming. Think: Nob Hill in Boston-ish) and The Pearl (über trendy and chic), just next to a streetcar stop. The public transportation here is fab!

Today, we're headed out to the coast to see runners from the famous race cross the finish line. For those who've never heard of it, 'Hood to Coast' is the largest running relay race in the world. "It stretches 197 miles from the top of Oregon's majestic Mt. Hood down to the beautiful Pacific Ocean in Seaside, Oregon. " (A quote from Nike's site; they sponsor the race.) Over 12,000 runners and 4,800 walkers come from around the world to participate!

A prayer (by Mel C)


I turn to you
like a flower leaning toward the sun
I turn to you
you're the only one
who can turn me around
when I'm upside down.

Kaerlighed


...our sweet baby who is into smelling everything



...each other



...and Portland. Especially Sellwood Mooreland, where we rambled in charming neighborhoods and had dinner at a local Farmers market.

Come on in, the water's great!



The story about a frog in a pot of boiling water is an insightful metaphor, isn't it?

For those who don't know this one: you put a frog into a pot of boiling water and he will immediately hop out. If you put him into a pot of tepid water and turn on the heat, he will get cozy and eventually end up frog-soup.

This, my friends, is very deep.

A pastor said something akin in a recent sermon: "Do fish know they are in water?"

Cheeky



They say that you shouldn't give advice unless someone asks for it. But you know what? It's my blog (well technically it's our family blog; but I'm the only one that ever posts) and where am I otherwise going to get rid of all the stuff I've been learning for the past 33 years?

Far, far, far from 'knowing it all', I just love to learn. Always been curious and loved to read...I still have tons of unanswered questions. But before I can receive more new stuff, I just have to unload some of my old wisdom. So be prepared, because here it comes. My captive, opt-in audience is probably only 2 people. But I don't give a rats you know what. My brain's about to explode with all this wisdom--so here it comes, dripping out.

And if you don't want to hear my advice, simply don't read my blog. No one is forcing you. Because in the words of Spacelady, "It's mine, mine, mine."

Do feel free to chime in with your own pearls...

"How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding than silver!"
Proverbs 16:16

"Wisdom is supreme. Therefore get wisdom. Though it cost you all you have, get understanding."
Proverbs 4:7

Chuck Appeal

Now that we've raved about how great the party was (see below), it's time for some learning and reflection.

Yes, the party was fun. It was great. Audrey had fun...and that's really all that matters, right? But in the end, we gotta confess: we see now why people grab a sucky cake, invite a few people to Chuck E. Cheese, and call it a day.

No 6 trips to the grocery store, 2 trips to Costco, 4 trips to Party City, numerous online purchases, table, chair & helium rentals, baking, cooking, cleaning, weeding, paving or sending neighbors twice to the store for more ice. (Seriously: 16 LARGE bags.) And all this was for a 'simple' backyard bbq. A simple menu: hamburgers, mac and cheese, fruit kebabs (outsourced to Kir). Dessert: cupcakes and pre-portioned ice cream. PAPER plates, cups, etc. No bouncy house or celebrity appearances. Just a sno cone machine and a few balloons. And we were absolutely beat to heck for days afterwards. And like my neighbor, Fabi says, even ordering the food out doesn't really help: there's still a mega-mess to be cleaned up afterwards.

Anyways, back to the point. The point is that it was fun and we have no regrets. Nothing has changed and blessed our lives more than Audrey's birth. Audrey had a great time and was worth every bit of the effort.

That being said, have you ever seen how happy kids look at Charles E. Fromage? It's weird--kids look possessed and seem to be having convulsions. But I'm convinced they're having fun. Really, it's against everything I stand for: commercial concept, very bad processed food, heinously tacky and impersonal celebration. But on the other hand: one phone call, a few bucks worth of game tokens for each kid--- and bada-bing bada-boom! Instant party with no work, no preparation, no clean up.

Based on these reflections, here are our thoughts on future birthdays :
1.) Audrey will not be having an actual birthday party again until she is at least 10.
2.) That next party venue MIGHT very well be 'Chuck E. Cheese.'

When you're sleep deprived and have little spare time, things look very different. Like the Elmo pjs & pinata. Suddenly, we understand 'Chuck appeal.'

Post-Party Report


For those who are waiting for a posting on Audrey's first birthday party: sorry, I took no pictures at all myself, relying instead on Kelly and a neighbor who were shooting like paparazzi. (The pics shown here are courtesy of Kel-Bells.)

As always, my sisters were awesome coming through in every way. Thank you girls for all your help!






The party was great--very fun indeed!

(To read other blog postings about Audrey or her party, click here or here.





Games (pin the tail on Elmo, Audrey trivia, ultimate diaper challenge). Mini-burgers, macaroni-n-cheese, cupcakes, sno-cones, margaritas and last but certainly not least: great friends and family! (although many of you were also missed...) Audrey received an abundance of generous, cute and fun gifts which she will enjoy for ages to come.


Here's Walker and Jeanie playing the Ultimate Diaper Challenge...


Audrey's Uncle Jeff a.k.a. 'The Sno-Cone Master.' A shout-out to the dj of cherry, lime, grape and blue-raspberry icy creations.



Audrey absolutely LOVED having people sing 'Happy Birthday To You' in her honor. In this picture, she is receiving encore performances of the song from Nanay, Diane & Denise! Clearly, she likes it.



These are friends, Yesenia and her daughter Bethany, who were kind enough to jump in and help frosting cupcakes at the last minute!


Here's Audrey with one of her absolute favorite people in the entire world: cousin Bailey. Audrey just adores Bailey, at all times. And we couldn't have done it without Bailey (and our neighbor Rebecca!), watching Audrey during party-prep and inflating balloons, etc.!


These girls didn't think I noticed them stealing cupcakes before dessert time. And I didn't. But they also didn't know that those were the cupcakes that touched raw meat and that I was gonna through away.
Just kidding. Tee-hee.



A picture of Audrey only seconds old.

We would like to take this opportunity to THANK PROFUSELY, the kind and compassionate cleanup crew. A special shout-out to Mom, Dad, Kir & Jeff, Denise & Matt. THANK YOU!! OH MY GOSH. We would probably still be hosing off the patio and ridding our kitchen of ants one week later....


Post-party kid funk.

Birth Day

What, exactly, does a 1 year old do on her first birthday?



After some cozy time with her parents in bed, she eats her usual breakfast of magic tummy porridge, plays for a while, and then heads back to bed for her morning nap. Upon waking, she runs some errands with mommy and then has lunch at Vallarta's together with friends, Maxwell, Marilyn and Deanna...then back to bed for an afternoon nap (hopefully!) and well-rested ready to party! Grandma happened to popped by bringing gifts and birthday cheer-- just in time to join the festivities: present-opening, play and cake!



Audrey was very taken with all of her gifts, but was also very happy with the Elmo gift bag. Among other thing she got her first horse--a talking rocking horse we have named, 'Tonto'. Also, she got a Nintendog --a Golden Retriever puppy named Obi. Other really cool gifts included U2 & Cold Play lullabies (too cool to pass up.)



Audrey's first cake was quite a hit, although it took her a while to catch on to the idea. She enjoyed eating some, hitting it really hard with a fork and then burned out, as one often does with bakery cake.



It all starts out very dignified...



a taste...a lick of the fingers...



then comes the fork; all the better to shovel with!



Heck--who needs a fork?!



...and the grand finale is when she discovers how fun it is to use a cake as a drum! (as pictured below)



Audrey post-cake...perfectly happy with her daddy and new puppy, 'Obi.'



P.S. Once she seemed to be burned out on cake, we offered her a bowl of yogurt, which she happily scarfed, and chased with tomatoes and hummus on rye bread. A very proud moment for her parents.