Ya Vote!

When I went to my polling place (which was listed as "Garage, 1027 Lincoln Avenue") to participate in the super Tuesday primary election today, I was very surprised that I never had to show any identification in order to cast my vote. All that was required was my stating my name and confirming my address.

Po po

So Nathan and I were hanging out in the living room playing this afternoon when he looked up at me and said, simply, "po po."

Turns out he was right.

Family vacation: Weekend in Tahoe

Nathan, Alex and I spent the weekend in Tahoe with friends of ours -- 2 families which we have known for about a year, since all of our first children were born.

We had a fantastic time -- skiing, relaxing, and just "living" among each other and each family's particular schedule and rhythm.

Nathan, Lincoln, and Eva had a lot of fun playing together and learned a lot from each other. Nathan, having the benefit of a well padded and carpeted floor, took his first real steps by himself and walked throughout our suite, impressing his mom and dad quite a bit.

If you're "polite company," please don't read this post...

Ana saw by Nathan's scrunched-up face that he was having his morning constitutional, and asked him if he was doing a "po po" (rhymes with "go go" and is Spanish for poop).

He repeated it back to us, and very clearly let us know that it was indeed a "po po".

Go go, po po!

(p.s. the milestone documented here is not Nathan's first po po -- it is, of course, Nathan's first awareness of and comunication about it!)

The hits keep coming...

Nathan now consistently says a few more things..

• "Nounou" = Nounours (Teddy Bear in French)
• "Dodo " = Dodo (short for Dormir, to go to sleep, in French)
• "Doh" or "Ahnnn" = Donne (give me, in French)
• "Boom" or "Boon" = Boom (something fell to the ground...)
• "Bobo" = Bobo (when you hurt yourself, you have a "bobo" in French)
• "Awa" or "abba" or "agua" = Agua (water in Spanish)
• "Papie" = Papie (Grandpa in French)
• "Mamie" = Mamie (Grandma in French)

Nathan's vocabulary

Nathan has been making some pretty solid gains in his vocabulary and word/action association lately, so I thought I'd try to capture a few of the more interesting ones on video. Of course that's near impossible.


Here's a rundown in textual form while I gather the necessary video footage...

• "Maman" = Mom (Alex, sometimes Sam)
• "Papa" = Papa (Sam)
• "Non non" = no. Or sometimes it just means wait a minute.
• --> ("Screaming amazingly loud" also still means no sometimes...)
• "Woo woo" or "bow woo" = Dog (or any furry animal)
• "Baim" or "Bain" = Food ("Pain" is bread in French)
• "Hi" or "Cou cou" = Hello
• "La la" or "La le" = "Le lait"
• "Bye bye" = Aurevoir
• Nathan will consistently and eagerly do the "how big is nathan... so big" game
• He will also pretty consistently say "Beee" and clap his hands. We think he might be trying to save "bravo."

Nathan's 1st Birthday party

Nathan had his first birthday party today at the South Beach Harbor community center.

We were planning to go there to set up right after Nathan's nap (10 or 10:30A) but Nathan amazed us by sleeping until 11:30A. It made setting up a little bit of a rush but luckily Lois and the Sorkins showed up first and helped out by babysitting Nathan and blowing up balloons.

The other casualty of our late arrival was the forgotten packet of plastic utensils we left at home (doh!) -- Thanks to Tea, Ana, Nena and Mirko who brought some utensils with them and saved us from having to eat birthday cake with our fingers!

We had SO MUCH FUN and are so blessed to have had so many friends and family come out to help us celebrate (and clean up after...) Nathan's big day!

Nathan the Birthday Boy!


...pushing Kati around in the Radio Flyer

...calling the store for an emergency milk delivery ("does that come in a pony keg size?')

...getting ready to (watch Deborah) blow out the candle

...asking Eric to take this nice "family portrait" so he can reminisce about "the good old days" when he's older (2?)

...and finally, taking a picture of the "King for a day" after Bill found the "Feve"in his piece of Galette des Rois

Happy Holidays and Prosperous New Year

From our family to yours, happy holidays!

Nathan bundled up for a walk

1 an déjà

Impromptu playdate with Lauren and Shea at the GGP

We were walking to the swings at the GGP when we met up with Lauren and Shea (who were just leaving to go home so Shea could have a bit of a nap!) Well, lucky for us they decided to stay and, Shea and Nathan had fun playing on the swings together !

Woo woooo

When Nathan sees any furry animal he exclaims Wooo woo (trying to say "woof, woof").

Woo woo indeed!!

Hangin' out at the Park

We are so lucky to live just a few blocks away from San Francisco's magnificent Golden Gate Park, and this week Alex and I took Nathan there every chance we got!

We spent most of our time at the Carousel and Childrens playground (34 and 35 on the map, linked above) and Nathan had lots of fun on the swings, practicing his walking, and making lots of noise with a gaggle of other kids.

Nathan and the Red Radio Flyer

The "Three Birthday" Sunday

Nathan, Alex and I all had a lot of fun helping Dahlia, Lincoln, and Phillipa celebrate their birthdays. But it was a longggg day for little Nathan!

Party party party!!

Nathan and the walk-by (video) shooting....

The sound of contentment...

Gingerbread houses at the Grove Park Inn

Mom took us to the Grove Park Inn to see the fantastic Ginger bread houses that contestants from all over the country send in to compete for the coveted "ginger bread house contest winner" title.

In all seriousness, the houses were remarkable (and the smell was delicious!) but I can't imagine anyone taking so much time to create one of these ephemeral creations!

Nathan's first petting zoo

No visit to Asheville should be considered complete without a visit to the Asheville Nature Center.

We were recently introduced to the center by my Mom, so we brought Nathan there to visit the petting zoo and see all the animals.

Nathan really enjoyed the goats, but spent most of his time screaming "moo" (total coincidence) to the very large and hairy cow (no one was allowed into his pen -- I guess his hair made it hard for him to see and he stepped on people?)

Nathan also screamed "caa caa" for most of the visit as well. Which was fitting, as there was plenty of that around.

We took a walk to the "bear" area (which was right next to the deer area and separated by only a chain link fence -- must have freaked the deer out for the first few months) where Nathan got very excited by the big furry beasts. I wish we had snapped a photo of his look of excitement (Alex saw it, I did not as Nathan was riding on my shoulders at the time!)

Nathan eats, acts, then exits stage left...

Thanksgiving with Debbie and Betsy

A Thanksgiving so nice -- we ate it twice!

6We visited my mom in Asheville, NC (we flew Delta -- our new favorite!) for Thanksgiving this year.

In order to make sure we had an opportunity to eat tooooo much (and to have time to thoroughly enjoy each other's company both at the table, and in the kitchen) we celebrated Thanksgiving "en famille" on its proper day, Thursday, and then again with my Aunt Debbie, and Aunt Betsy at Debbie's house.

What we lack in pictures we made up for in videos...which will be rolled out as time permits... Suffice to say that we had a fantastic time seeing everyone, and ate more than our share of turkey!

Nathan... and the case of the excess energy before nap time

Nathan loves the bath...

Walking at the Shakespeare Garden

This weekend was low-key. After a rainy Saturday used to catch-up on sleep, we ventured out on Sunday for a walk in the park.

Nathan practiced walking with Sam and enjoyed the beauty of the Shakespeare Garden in Golden Gate Park.