Lena's Book Exchange Tally: 6 / 36

sing choir of angels, sing in exultation!

December 25, 2007   

encore

December 3, 2007   

Sunday I had a fun afternoon with Katie. We went to see a couple of our high schoolers in the Nutcracker ballet. Amaya (right) and Natalia were amazing. They are the daughters of our doula, Ronda, who was our angel during my labor with Lena! In recitals there is always someone that you can't keep you eyes off, someone who makes it look easy, a true performer. These ladies have that appeal. I wouldn't be surprised if both of them end up in professional companies. The Nutcracker is such a fun way to usher in the Christmas season. One of our favorite things about the show was seeing all the little girls in the audience, dressed in their puffy dresses and patton leather shoes, witnessing maybe their first performance at a big theatre. They were squirmy and hungry and full of wonder and awe! I can't wait to take Lena to see her first dance performance and we can dream together.

of elephants

December 1, 2007   

It's the first days of December and already our weekends are booked. Tonight we went to our first seasonal party & white elephant exchange. Check out the awesome gifts we snagged! You know you want the flipbook! There will be no regifting here.

check him out

This evening we also went to a launch party for Dave Jacobsen's new book Rookie Dad. We are so glad Dave, Christine and Nicholas returned to SB after short stints abroad and back into the Lamoutte fold (homegroup) so we could become friends. Dave's book is an autobiographical collection of short stories on first time fatherhood. And just like his personality it's filled with wit and humor. We like him. If you don't buy it directly from Dave then go straight to amazon. As a side note Lena and I got a shout-out on pages 158-9. Sweetness!

Dave busy signing copies for the fans.

repotting

November 30, 2007   

Did you know? Jason and I are quite fond of bromeliads. This past weekend Jason did a few pup transfers. You often see bromeliads in garden stores when they are blooming colorfully, but unfortunately the bloom marks the end of their lifecycles. Four years ago when our little orange one died we learned how to replant the pups and now we have a patio full of different varieties. Surprisingly, if we see one at a friends home & happen to make an excited comment like, "You know, you can replant those wee pups and they will bloom again!" - usually they hand us the pot on the spot. For some reason the word "repotting" makes people shudder. It takes two years for the pups to bloom but in the mean time they make great frog habitats. So - if you have a dying bromeliad and aren't into the wait time, send it our way. If you stay on our good side we may return a blooming plant in two years.

a play on words

November 28, 2007   

Calling all word wizards, procrastinators and SAT prepsters alike. Sheila (left) recently called my attention to www.freerice.com Watch out it's addicting. Apparently she's at vocab level 44. I'm going to have to donate a ton of rice in order to match her. Let's just say I'm not there YET!

And if you are saavy I highly recommend NPR's A Way With Words - it's one of our top iTunes subscriptions. Sooo nerdy but really fun! Plus the new season just started on the 25th.

is there a vacuum song?

November 27, 2007   

What's wrong with this scene?
If you said two things, you get a star.
(1)the plant and (2) Lena not cleaning it up.
A few moments alone and our living space was Lena*ized! When I returned I didn't notice the teetering plant for about 5 minutes. Normally the temptation to grab fistfulls of soil is strong, but I assume Lena didn't want to be linked to the crime, and stayed away. Of course we were heading out the door, late for an event, so I just walked out and closed the door. (things disappear if you can't see them, right?) The plant survived but was banished to the patio with his friends.

Thanks

November 23, 2007   

I didn't ruin the turkey! Hooray! This year was my first time cooking the bird for the family. And our first time staying home for the holiday. (We got to make use of the china!) I attemped a champagne-apple recipe after discovering a dusty bottle in the back of our pantry. It was a fantastic idea because you get to have a mimosa at 7am and toast yourself to a job well-done! However, next time I will open the bottle outside. The walls are still streaked with explosive wine. The festive side dishes that everyone shared rocked my socks. We had tasty fixings including two homemade pies and Lindsay's decadent kalua cake. If you have seen our wee quarters you know it doesn't scream "13 for dinner." It barely screams "2 and a baby for dinner." So, we nabbed the community center which provided ample room, a kitchen and cable TV to watch football. They came by trains, planes and automobiles - both sets of our parents, Jason's grandmother Eady, Lindsay, Jon, Jon's friend Jeff, and our neighbors Chris, Sarah and Iain.
As a side note, whenever we can get $$ from UC Regents we do... (somehow it offsets all the parking tickets!) so we gladly accepted a turkey paid for by the UC for choosing to dine with neighbors, ahhhhhh. What a deal.

One

November 20, 2007   

what a great year!

November 18, 2007   

Lena is one today. We can hardly believe it! Yesterday we had a Cowgirl & Cowboy party for Lena and her cousin, Jax, who turned two on the 15th. Friends and family gathered 'round at high noon to celebrate. It was pretty much awesome. Matt and Ashley hosted the festivities in Riverside. Matt brought in haybails, Ashley made chili and fixings including candied apples and the crew whipped the backyard into a western frenzy. The highlight for me was having my high school (& jr. high) friends (aka Camille, Kerri and Sheila) as well as family there to celebrate. The Triplats and Tressers had not crossed paths since our wedding in '02 and there was a few introductions to make... namely Jaythen, Jax and Jon. After I weed through the hundreds of adorable photos and video I will post a few more party-rific memories. However, now it's time to gear up for turkey day.

Side note: I've been baking like mad. Six dozen spicy cornbread muffins & two horseshoe shaped cakes for the party, five dozen brownies and another fish-shaped cake for Sunday's celebrations with the youth group. Lena had two rounds of "Happy Birthday" and more than enough sweets to deem her ONE this weekend! It was fun to get creative with the cakes. Luckily they made it to Riverside relatively unscathed. Also, I thought Lena might not like regular cake so I found a recipe on-line for Pumpkin Apple Cake. She loved it, it was seasonal and I even broke out my grandma's cake decorating set for the occasion.

Pumpkin Apple Cake

1 cup cooked or canned pumpkin puree
2 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped apple
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
Frosting, whipped cream or confectionersÕ sugar for topping (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 325F. Prepare an 8-inch round cake pan by greasing and flouring it.
2. Combine pumpkin, eggs, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add flour, cinnamon, baking powder, ginger, and salt, stirring to combine. Add apples and nuts, stirring again. Pour mixture into prepared pan.
3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
4. Cool the cake, still in the pan, on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert the cake onto the rack, remove pan, and cool cake completely.
5. To shape cake chill or freeze before slicing.
6. Top with frosting, whipped cream or confectioners sugar, or serve plain.

mail call

November 9, 2007   

Last month we decided to participate in a book exchange with friends. It's the old chain letter idea, mail 6 letters to friends and a book to the kid at the top of the list... and ...in mere weeks you should receive 36 books. I figure if we receive two books (5.6%) it's a winner. Plus, everyone knows how awesome it is to open your little grey mailbox door and spy a package inside! Maybe some baby's favorite bedtime book will also become Lena's favorite.

Well, as you can see, Lena received her first book! It traveled all the way from beautiful Scotts Valley, California. (good job Julie!) She dragged the envelope around for nearly an hour. It was almost as entertaining as the book inside. And better yet it's a book we don't own, Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?

hmm...webbed feet?

November 1, 2007   

On second thought maybe Lena was dressed like a duckling. I took inventory of our stuffed animals this morning and a quick check of the costume revealed webbed feet and a round beak. This tells me I really need to brush up on animals before Lena starts correcting me.

webby feet versus pointy beak ?

   

my first trick or treat

October 31, 2007   

Clearly the funniest thing about Lena in a chicken costume is the fact that she has no idea that she's in a chicken costume. Lena clucked her way up the stairs of Katie and Dan's home tonight for her first trick or treat experience. (below right) Apparently it was a success because at some point during our visit she opened a box of Nerds candy and poured the entire contents inside her costume. Awesome. (Hours later I found a few yellow Nerds on her changing table and sprinkled on the floor.) We also dropped in on the Haydens, the Silvas and the Broomells to share the fowl cuteness. Earlier this week I thought about dressing up as an egg and stowing Lena inside my costume. Then at the appropriate moment she could bust out and waddle around! It was a nice thought but required too much energy for my week. Maybe next time... for a good party... with prizes... cash prizes. yeah.

  
First Halloween treats from Katie and Dan

h'ween fashions by lindsay

Thank you Aunt Lindsay for Lena's sweet Halloween T. It should get nice and messy tonight when the carving starts.

Happy Birthday Mom. In your honor we are going to dress Lena like a chicken and send her from door to door to collect candy bars for you! Hooray!

eat your veggies

October 30, 2007   

On Monday I took the obligatory photos of Lena at the local pumpkin patch! We invited Sara and Iain along for the experience. It was fun to let Lena roam the rows and watch everyone pull red wagons around carrying huge veggies. For some reason Lena was interested in all the young green pumpkins instead of the bright orange ones. And she had a particularly fun time taking mini-pumpkins in and out (& in and out) of the bins. Among farm offerings, we talked to a scarecrow (who actually talked back! - it was scary!), visited with the animals, tried our best at the corn maze, and probably got a little sunburnt due to clear skies and warm sunshine. My favorite moment was when Lena toddled off by herself over to one of many scarecrows. (below) She sat right down and from a distance it appeared like she was waiting for him to tell her a story. She makes me melt at least 20 times a day.

whee

October 15, 2007   

Skating with Daddy

toddling

October 13, 2007   

I managed to get her to sit still for a minute.

fun in SD

October 12, 2007   

Jason's cousin Justine donated a cute, puffy rocking chair to the Tressers for their ever-growing toy collection. By the end of the weekend Lena was quite happy climbing in and out and she was even proficient at rocking herself. Why are mini-sized things are all of a sudden cute?
We also made it over to the Great Grandparents home for a visit!

  
Great Grandma & Grandpa Tresser

heyer

October 11, 2007   

Melissa and Josh Heyer

Last Friday we cruised south and spent a long weekend with Jason's parents. We attended two fabulous functions, Ron and Mary DePuy's 40th Birthday Bash and Josh Heyer's wedding, plus, the grandparents got some much needed Lena-time. In a matter of two parties we were able to visit most of our San Diego friends. The wedding was fun. I do say, I have never seen a bride more smitten during the ceremony. Melissa was bursting. And if I heard correctly she professed her love for Josh in their vows, including his passion for Mac computers. Good woman! The photo: Robert, Evan, Josh, Jeff and Jason.

As a bonus, we sat next to Evan and Annie and their adorable 8 week old daughter, Pearl, at Heyer's reception. She's cute and floppy and smelled lovely - even when poo*ing all over Jason! We got home from the wedding about 10pm and found grandma sitting on the floor happily playing with Lena. Priceless! 10pm! Only grandparents get this late night priviledge.

last week

September 29, 2007   

Today we said good-bye to our next door neighbors, Carly and Miles. They packed and are on the road to Seattle. I will miss them. We were neighbors only one year but we enjoyed swapping baked goods and tending the patio greenery together. Carly provided me with ample reading material and movies over the last year. It helped me through Lena's newborn nights. Upon their escape from "the compound" as Carly likes to call it, I inherited four chick-lit fluffy reads and their patio plants to tend. This week's project will be cleaning and repotting the lot. I'm actually excited to play with the plants. She gifted us her lavender, a lemon verbena, a tomato, green chilis, and a bunch of herbs. New plants fuel my dream to own a greenhouse. And propagate cuttings. I'm also interested in building a sunroom. Probably not in student housing, but one day.

Life with Lena Jo is fun. I think this is my favorite stage so far. She is sprouting quite a personality. She's toddling around finding her balance as a walker, freely waving at friends, and she popped out her first tooth. The down side is that her slobbery kisses are a tad dangerous. Baby teeth are pointy! Here are a few images from the week.

the quiet before the storm

September 19, 2007   

Lena and I went on a fantastic walk this morning. The clouds were starting to gather, it was grey and dramatic, and I could smell the rain in the air. We headed out about 11am and walked on the bikepath between IV and campus, out to the ocean.

Usually it's too warm to walk at mid-day but today was cool. Campus and IV were bustling with cleaners and gardeners getting ready for freshmen move-in this Saturday, a storm in itself. Alas this was one of our last peaceful walks on campus until next June. The bike paths are particularly scary in October when freshmen are reaquainting themselves with riding bikes. Compound it with roundabouts, waving to friends, talking on the phone, balancing bags - yikes.
While walking through IV I spotted a few more friendly pandas stenciled on fences. Grafitti as public art is interesting to me. In 11th grade Camille and I studied the evolution of graffiti for an A.P. U.S. History project. We trekked all over the alleyways and fwy underpasses of Palmdale photographing graffiti for a slide presentation. (Wow - no pp back then, I'm dating myself). Since that time I like to take notice of it, especially, & sometimes witty, stenciling art. Finding these happy little critters around campus is akin to the interactivity of one of my favorite books, Where's Waldo.

taste test

September 18, 2007   

Last Sunday our friends Nate and Cora invited us to the annual La Sumida Tomato Tasting. Of course we went. Cora works at the nursery and had the inside scoop. The intention is to taste, rate, and plan for next year's garden. We were, by far, the youngest tasters. This seems to be the case at most gardening events we attend - the orchid show, the rose society competition. Hmm... anyways we enjoyed rating the varieties and swapping stories with the other happy gardeners. Ahem, Jason and I were disappointed with the yellow and purple varieties and noticed the distinct flavor of marbled-skin, heirloom ones. I think we might be red tomato snobs. Lena also played the tasting game. She was slightly more conspicuous and spit out the losers. We now have a wish list for Spring '08. As a bonus Nate and Jason got to singe their buds on chili peppers. This little event fit nicely with the whole reason we have a garden --- fresh salsa.

  

Nate and Cora (left) & Jason and Lena (right) attacking the tasting tables.

chop chop

September 17, 2007   

I had my hair cut last week. Mom will like it. She's always telling me to cut it short. Unfortunately I have scary flashbacks to my pixie do at age 5 and again at 7 and resist anything shorter. (maybe I'll have to scan the age 7 school photo for your amusement) Jason is in favor - it reminds him of our dating days.

walking on sunshine...

September 14, 2007   

Lena took her first steps last night! She's 9 months old and we are in trouble. She really likes standing on her own and doing dozens of aerobic squats but last night before a crowd of 2 she proceeded to wobble three steps toward Jason all on her own. This comes after a week of camping in Yosemite with the Haydens. Justus who is 5 days younger than Lena was flaunting his walking, waving, and word skills and no doubt Lena took it as a challenge.

yosemite

Jason giving Lena her first glimpse of Yosemite Valley majesty.

We spent a funfilled Labor Week with the Haydens and their extended family at Yosemite. It was our first camping trip with Lena Jo. As predicted she played in the dirt, ate rocks, and had a great time! The Haydens - Josh and Jenna - have three boys and are camping pros. A baby backypack, snacks and a tolerance for black dirt and minimal sleep (aka morning coffee) helped us make the week a success.
The highlights: the first glimpse of the valley in the late afternoon sun after driving 7 hours, dirt-goatees on the boys, coffee in the crisp morning air, making it to Vernal Falls lookout with 4 kids in tow, gourmet camping meals by Jenna's Mom, peaceful afternoon breezes (and naptimes!), pine trees, the drive to Tuolome, & late night smores and good conversation. And, of course, heavy pain meds for an unexpected back injury from the good people at Mammoth Lakes emergency room. Hooray.

31 flavors

August 30, 2007   

Last Sunday I celebrated my 31st birthday with my family. We met at my brother's new home, BBQ'd, played with puppets & fake food, and gorged ourselves on ice cream sundaes. Thanks for the memories!

ticklin' the ivories

August 25, 2007   

Lena Jo is quite taken with the piano. She can reach the keys with both hands if she stands on releve. However, most of the time she stretches one hand up and has her head tilted back, straining to see the keys. It's really sweet to hear her softy babbling to herself while playing when I'm out of eyesight. She and Jason like to have daily duets when he gets home from work. After creating their own music they often put the Boogie Woogie roll on the player part of the piano and dance around.

owens wedding photos

August 24, 2007   

Last weekend I downloaded photos from Lindsay and Jon's wedding in July. Unfortunately, after getting all dressed up, we didn't get any professional shots of the three of us (Jason, Lena, and I) but there are a few fun candids. My camera was at the Canon repair gurus - bad timing - so I snagged Steve's camera and forgot to use it most of the day. I'm excited to see Paul's professional shots and order a few of the family. He has a great one of Jon and Lindsay on his homepage under weddings. Somehow I missed getting a shot of them.
On the right, Lena and Jason are ready for their ushering duties. I must find another event worthy of the yellow dress. It's too cute to leave in the closet.

Lindsay and the Bridesmaids chilling on the limobus.

k-dizzle

August 23, 2007   

Happy Birthday Katie! We are coming to see you...

Katie in action.

hooray Canon

Our camera is back! We have an A80 and while Jason was in France the LCD went black. We thought it was dead, but after hearing our neighbor had the same complaint about her A70, I did a little research. Surprise, surprise - Canon to the rescue! There's a posted service notice detailing falty CCD image sensors for many of their digital and video cameras. Mine is 4 years old and the warranty well expired but the repairs and shipping were free! AND - as a bonus not only was the service rep nice, the turn-around time was speedy AND they replaced the camera's previously damaged casing. My camera looks likes new. Good thing we didn't toss it. Two thumbs up for Canon!

Lena's page is updated!

August 11, 2007   

Check out Miss Jo.

summer

August 10, 2007   

Summer is wonderful. By far, my favorite is the lingering sunsets of late August. Jason and I have been in and out of town. In June we went to Forrest Home with our high schoolers from church. Lena came along and as expected it was a whole new experience. Really good and really tough. The students loved her and I think she had a good time. Thank goodness for Kelly. She wrangled up a cabin exclusively for me and Lena. We were so close to the dining hall that not only could I roll out of bed and grab coffee, but I was able to use a baby monitor when she took naps. The teaching was rich and I came away with a new mindset on "fear." (maybe more on that later) Jason left mid-week and traveled with his labmates to Nice, France for a Sea-Squirt conference. Afterwards, he & his friend Nate toured around Provence, visiting old Roman ruins and taking in the Mediterranean coastline. Meanwhile, Lena and I took a family tour spending a week visiting the Tressers & Triplats. I also has the priviledge of an afternoon with Sheila, a friend from my Sage Intermediate School days. We talked about all things H.P., eco-friendly, and cultural. She is delightful and I wish we lived closer. More Sheila please!
In July, Jason's sister Lindsay married her Iowan sweetheart, Jon. The ceremony was in La Mesa at the same church where Jason and I tied the knot (oh the memories) and a reception at the Island Club on Coronado. I was a bridesmaid, Jason an usher, and Lena Jo a junior usher - carried by Jason. Lena was the cutest little thing in her puffy yellow dress. I'm dying to see photos. Welcome to the family Jon!
The rest of our time has been spent hanging out with the youth group, BBQing with friends, a few weekends trips (SF, downtown Disney), & of course, re-reading the Harry Potter series in anticipation of the final installment. I just started #7 this week due to poor planning. I'm on page 350 and I can't believe I'm wasting valuable time typing. It's gripping folks!
Lastly Jason and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary in July. I am more in love with my gorgeous husband than ever before. He continues to be my best friend and an amazing father. I daily thank the Lord for our life together.

This may be our last summer in Family Housing so we sewed many seeds and are waiting for a jungle of food!

back in the groove

August 7, 2007   

First, a little shout out to Mrs. Lindsay Owens - Happy Birthday!
Next, I'm happy to report my computer has made a move downstairs, out of young Lena's room. So I'm back in action. It was a nice break - and freeing to let tresser*ize sit idle for a while.

Last weekend I was in San Francisco with my college friends (minus Sarah, tear). Jen flew in from Indiana and Miller from San Diego. Otherwise everyone seems to be wandering up north from our UCSD beginnings. Lena and I stayed with Lorena and had a great time. It's been 5 years since I was last there. Lena & I took lots of walks and became quite familiar with the Richmond area. It was our third mother-daughter trip. As a bonus we saw Mitch and his sister Ellen on Sunday evening.

Saturday night dinner at Lorena's! Lorena, Chida, Kim, Christine, Deanna, Hasmig, Erin, Jen, Christy



Lorena and Lena

am fun

June 15, 2007   

Apologies. I'm currently plotting to relocate the computer. Lena hogs the keyboard and unfortunately won't fall asleep to clicking and typing. Until then... posting will be sparse. Come back for random photos.

Lena reading this morning.

brother poo

June 5, 2007   

Happy Birthday Frosty. Can you possibly be 28? That makes me... hmm... older. For his birthday Matt gets to keep his left middle finger! This is the second time he's tried to be-digit himself. It would be a tragedy to lose a middle finger for more reasons than one. Note to self: Don't work with power saws. I wish you many happy vicodin days my dear brother.

I've had the best intentions of posting cute photos of Lena and our weekend with the Krafts at Donner Lake - but I've had more important things to do. Like sit on the patio and enjoy sunshine while sipping on a coke zero and reading the last heartbreaking pages of The Time Travellers Wife and the latest Domino. sweet. I deserved an awesome sun-filled afternoon after the morning incident. A lame Dos Pueblos HS seagull decided to poo on my head. Yes, I suppose there's a first time for bird poopage and today was my day. At first I thought someone was throwing cornuts or some other small aerodynamic lunch food at me. Nope, it was bird-green-parasite-infested-poopage. From another point of view it was a mother's sacrifice as Lena was just inches from my head and I sheilded her from the bomb. THAT, my friends, is love. Kelsey was gracious enough to wipe it out of my hair - THAT my friends is another act of love. Thank you Kelsey. Next year I'm bringing an umbrella.

procrastination anyone?

May 17, 2007   

Websites of interest:
1) Tall Eye: If you ever wanted to dig your way to China now you can find out where to start. Or find out where you'd surface if you dig straight down.
2) Sketchclub. There's another here, although it doesn't appear active. The groups pick random people, mostly on the street, and draw from memory. neato.

you've asked

Jason finished teaching his course at Westmont and is back in the lab full-time. He's not planning to teach again until after graduation so its crunch time to get those sea squirts in line and publishable. By the way - thought I'd post a photo for all those who are curious about these squirts. Yep, they are actually quite pretty underwater. Above water, after three days in a jar, not so pretty! Jason works on the microscopic tadpole (yes, tadpole) stage and the genes involved in turning on/off development. there. now you know.

moms day

May 16, 2007   

I had my first "out of the womb" (just to be specific) Mother's Day on Sunday. Lena is almost six months old and I'm finally starting to feel like a real mum. Jason let me sleep in and made us breakfast burritos. yum. He lavished me with beautiful red roses and a little live white rose plant from Lena Jo. We spent the warm afternoon picnicing at Shoreline Park. After attending church we BBQ'd with our new best "babysitting-swap" friends Chris and Sarah Broomell and their new little man, Iain. A most enjoyable day all around! And to those who kindly encouraged Jason as to the finer details of a "good" Mother's Day, you will be happy to know that he made all three meals on Sunday.

Mom's Day at the park.
Note Lena is now big enough to wear her awesome Baby Trogdor Onesie. And we didn't even plan her pink hat matching the beefy arm.

camping

May 1, 2007   

Last weekend was Lena's first tent-camping experience. More to come next week.
I must now go desert dog-sit.

party animals

April 30, 2007   

Our nephew, Jaythen, turned 4 last month and I took a few photos of the superhero celebrations. He was a little rosey from all the running and excitement! It's been fun to watch him grow into a little man. He's the oldest Triplat cousin and soon Lena will be trailing around after him.

In March I was asked to the Westmont Spring Formal by "Professor Tresser." Jason has been teaching this semester and was asked by one of his students to chaperone. Why not? dress up, date night, free dinner, & policing the masses for inebriation and inappropriate dress. Awesome. It was a monumental night in Lena's life. She had her first non-family babysitter. Katie graciously agreed and had three fun filled hours with Lena. Thank you!

5 months

April 18, 2007   

Lena is five months old today. I posted some new photos from March and April. This one was from Easter evening at the Tressers. A few observations:
1) Lena is totally into playing on her belly.
2) Looks like her blue eyes are here to stay.
3) If I don't stop saying "Hey Lena" the girl is going to think her name is Helena.

happy birthday Dad!

April 17, 2007   

A memory from the Caymans.

lena making friends

April 16, 2007   

Christine and Lorena came to visit and meet Lena a couple weekends ago. We gave them the grand tour of Santa Barbara. Here are the first of some photos I've been meaning to post. Isn't Lena's new hat cute? It's a Vogelei original.

taber tot

April 12, 2007   

Last weekend we headed to San Diego to spend Easter with Jason's family. We had a groovy grilled pizza dinner thanks to Jon, gorged ourselves on dessert, and passed Lena around and around. She's all about playing on her tummy and thoroughly enjoyed being the center of attention. On Saturday Jason, Lena and I visited Lucas, Jobie and the newest Taber, Sydney! She is one month old and has just started smiling. It's hard to believe Lena was the floppy-headed baby just a few months ago. We are hoping to connect with the Krafts and take our girls camping soon.

Lucas & Sydney, Jason & Lena

sayonara EAP

April 6, 2007   

Today is my last official day with EAP. After discussions and a trial run at telecommuting Jason and I decided it was best for me to quit and solely be with Lena during the day. Most of me says, "Horray!" and what little reluctance I have is quickly squashed everytime I see Lena and realize what an incredible blessing it is to raise a child. She's this whole little person who is eager to learn, explore, and play. It's going to be a transition for us financially and for me, mentally but life is too great not to shake things up a bit. I have too many interests and passions to stay in the same job for too long. (yes, I wanted to major in everything in college.) I don't want to be flaky but I want to heed natural breaks and seasons of life. This was an easy one to spot.

When my dad turned 60 he said one of his biggest regrets was not being more active in his children's early years of life. This was surprising because I would not say he was absent, however I can see how easy it is to get caught up in other, often "important things". Days become years and all of a sudden your cute smiley baby is grown-up. The sincerity in my dad's tone when he mentioned this was enough to make me want to make a better decision.

poppies

April 4, 2007   

Last year Jason made an effort to beautify the ugly stump and dirt mound in the front of our apartment with happy little poppies. The plants sprouted then quickly faded with the terrential rains and heat. To our surprise new little seedlings have cropped up this year! Hooray. Orange, red, white, and this multicolored variety. It was almost as exciting as when I discovered a pot meant for the trash is re-growing purple calililies. They were a mother's day gift from Jason and quickly died when I left them out in the extreme weather of '06. It was sad. Needless to say I'm hand watering the poppies this year.

coming to a station near you

March 29, 2007   

Thanks to Dave and Christine, Jason and I are totally hooked on Corner Gas. Small town Canada with eight fun personalities. Brent, Hank, Lacey, Wanda, Oscar, Emma, Davis and Karen - Dog River's finest serve up good times. The show is in its fourth season but has been picked up by WGN and will be making its US debut sometime in 2007. I suggest you watch - or get Dave and Christine to lend you the DVDs.

Lena's ride

March 20, 2007   

As I mentioned before Lena's new ride is so awesome that its practically a member of the family. Lena, Bob and I go on one if not two walks a day. I'm all about walking to the store, to coffee, to campus, alone - with others, etc. Lena seems to enjoy the breeze on her cheeks. It's also a nice way to calm things down when one of us gets fussy. Lena's tiny and almost disappears in the seat. Good thing it accomodates up to 70lbs. At the rate she's packin' on the pounds she will be cruisin' in it until she gets her drivers license.

flipping

March 8, 2007   

Lena can flip herself over! Get out the baby book. 4 months. It's funny to praise her and have her look up at me with her big eyes as if to say, "what? what did I do?" She's showing us personality these days. She likes hearing the sound of her own giggles & often startles herself. Sometimes she babels and has little conversations with us. I finally got my jogger last week. We go on walks together every day. It's basically the best baby accessory EVER.

Last weekend the three of us went to winter camp at Forest Home with our high school students. Yes, 500 youth, snow, cabins, bunkbeds, the whole deal. It went surprisingly well. Lena was a superstar getting passed around. She just smiled and giggled, and won over many hearts. My 10th grade girls were awesome & gracious having us in the cabin. Props to Amber, Emily and Pari! Lena slept with me on the bunk and didn't seem to mind a bit. She was a little overstimulated on the long bus rides and practiced "singing" for the students but overall she was great. In fact, I honestly had a better time having her along. It's fun when I realize that she has enhanced our life. I like her a lot.

Winter Camp - 10th grade girls

remote access

February 24, 2007   

It's amusing using a mac keyboard while remotely accessing my work pc. For instance to copy & paste from pc to mac its Ctrl C. Apple V. All my habits are getting an overhaul. Thank you custom key functions. In other news, Jason and I can't get enough of the "I'm a Mac. I'm a PC." commercials. They are fab. He made a recent mac lappy purchase and will probably never go back to the darkside.
Last week I jumped on another popular browser only to find random horizontal scrollbars and pixelated images littering my site. Argh! If this is you - apologies. I have no time for a complete redesign so in an attempt to fix small bugs I reformatted some illustrations from gifs to pngs. According to some I've been in the "obsolete" world using gifs. Not incredible resolution but it seems to help. I'm hoping once the pc folks update to IE 7 my site will look a little better. So go and download it now! Or better yet make the move to Firefox or at least Safari.

work calls

February 22, 2007   

I started working again a few weeks ago. I'm part-time at EAP and work mostly at home. 99% of my work is on the computer and telecommuting is a breeze. I make it to the office twice a week for a couple hours and Jason gets a little Daddy-Lena time. He's teaching Physiology at Westmont this semester while still playing with mutant sea squirts at UCSB and working away at his degree. It's been a good challenge to have his own class and run both the lectures and labs. He seems pleased with teaching and continues to dream about a faculty postition somewhere in So Cal. Lena and I benefit from all the random info he learns writing lectures. We also celebrated Jason's 30th at the end of January. We had a lovely dinner with his parents at local favorite, Cold Springs Tavern, to celebrate.

Lena is almost able to flip-over. It's incredible that babies have to learn these things. Without a thought we use simple motor functions that are daunting to her. She's a happy baby in the morning. Almost anything we do causes her to giggle and smile. She really likes rattles. She's all about standing up (with help of course) and has started putting herself to sleep at night. Insert happy dance.

new kraft!

February 18, 2007   

Our friends, Toby and Julie, who live up in Santa Cruz, welcomed Laurel Jeannette Kraft into their family on Feb 8th. It's so fun to have girls only a couple months apart. Needless to say we can't wait to go visit them.

Go Warriors!

February 13, 2007   

Lena attended her first basketball game tonight... Westmont vs. Biola. The big rivalry. Westmont came away with the victory. Good thing Jason sided with his current colleagues and not his alumni. Lena Jo slept for the first half and cheered for the second. I don't think she's witnessed a noisier environment. Only the midddle of a mosh pit could exceed the stomping, screaming and unexpected jostling from the bleechers in the game's final minutes. Awesome. It's good preparation for High School Winter Camp in a few weeks.


We have posted a page just for Lena. It will probably become an outlet for funny photos and memories. Take a peek(-a-boo).

for julie

February 3, 2007   

Lena & her snoozy pal

reuniting in SB

February 2, 2007   

Kim, Camille, Kerri, Emily

Back in November, before Lena was born, my three closest friends from high school packed up their kids and trekked to SB! The four of us came to Santa Barbara to celebrate graduating from high school so it was an appropriate location for a reunion. (Not to mention I was 9 months pregnant and not wanting to drive anywhere.) Camille lives in London & meeting was a moral imperative. It was so good to see her and meet Sophie if only for a short time. The six of them piling out of Kerri's car-turned-bus was hilarious. Can we really be this old? We had an enjoyable afternoon lounging at Goleta Beach and snapping photos. Unfortunately Lena missed them by one week!

     Evelyn, Korban, Sophie - Can you guess who belongs to who?

Post marriage

January 28, 2007   

 

One of my closest friends Amanda married Derek Post in Solvang on Jan. 13th! They had an intimate gathering of family and friends to witness their vows at Derek's parents home and a lively reception at the Firestone Brewery. It was groovy to be a part of their red, white, and blue celebration. And a challenge since I only had a few weeks after giving birth to find a dress and shoes! If I manage to get a few minutes this week I will post more photos. Amanda asked me to give a toast at the reception and although I usually shy away from such offers I decided to enthusiastically accept. It was a fun process -- thinking about how we met, the memories of the past 10 years and the excitement I have for her future with Derek. There was only a slight bit of pressure since I love making fun of bad toasts. After working in the catering biz I've heard a ton of horribly humiliating and mostly unprepared wedding toasts. Jason and I cringe through most. (...like you're my like bestest friend ever and I love you and I know you're going to be happy with Bob...blah blah blah) I HAD to step it up. The process of writing it made me appreciate our friendship and praise the Lord for her life. I will say I felt a tinge of redemption from past refusals at public toasts.
This was Lena Jo's first wedding. Although she missed the ceremony due to a crying fit & slept through the reception dinner, she did manage a last dance with daddy. In that one 10 minute span she stole the spotlight from the new happy couple! baby, bubbles, (hair)bows. It was inevitable.

2 months

January 18, 2007   

Today is the two month mark for Lena Jo. As you can see she's tired from all the growing. Or maybe its the crazy schedule her parents keep. Life has been full. The best part is she travels well, performs well, and she's starting to sleep well at night. Three winners.

Happy New Year of the Fluorescent Green Pig

January 3, 2007   

Happy New Year friends. We are back from the holiday travels and ready to embark upon 2007. For the past two months life has been unique. My thoughts have been camped on labor, delivery, our new little girl, tackling various Christmas projects and seeing family & friends. Now that things have quieted down I'm reminded that there's a larger world outside my door - I've started reading the news again - I've attempted getting dressed before 11am - And I'm starting to take photos of things other than Lena. Impressive, eh?
Photo: Lena and I were matching burrito babes a few weeks ago. I laughed so hard I almost ... yes.
It was eye opening as a mother. No wonder she spends tons of effort trying to get her arms out.

Previous entries --> 2006