Snow bunny at Heavenly

Max teaches Nathan to bang!!!

In addition to helping Nathan get comfortable in the "big boy bath," Max imparts a very useful skill to Nathan. Banging on things.

Family Vacation: Weekend in Tahoe

We took another long weekend with friends of our family in Tahoe at a gorgeous rental house near the Heavenly ski area.

Eva, Max, Nathan, and Sophia all had a great time lounging, bathing, and playing with each other -- and their parents all had a great time relaxing together and hitting the slopes!

"Down time" in Tahoe

"Down time" is a lot more fun, and tiring, than it sounds.

Nathan and Ana at the park

I came home early today and joined Nathan and Ana on one of their walks to the park today. Nathan really loves hanging out with Ana, and she is a very patient and loving friend and teacher to Nathan.


It was great being able to see them interact.

The best ride in town!

More new words

Lah ni - OR - Lay na = Elena = Nathan's cousin (who came to visit this weekend from Chicago)

pato = zapato = shoe, in spanish

leche = milk, in spanish

pa taay = par terre = "on the ground" in french

Nathan loves Maman's Muffins!

Alex made some special banana muffins as a treat for Nathan and he loved 'em!

Taeyaerts/Sorkins/Wanders/Fells

While my sister was here, we got together with the local Sorkin/Wander families to break bread together at Park Chow. Even though the restaurant was only running at half-capacity because a section was closed, we managed to get a table for 11 people in about 15 minutes. It was amazing.

The company was wonderful, the food was great, and everyone had a nice time (and desert from Arizmendi bakery was a lovely way to end our hike in GGP)

Taeyaerts - Paparazzo photo shoot

While my sister and her family were here, we took the opportunity to do a paparazzo photo session -- we got a lot of great shots (they are a photogenic group -- it must run in our family!)

Steppin' Out, SF Style

We went out to the park today. Nathan had fun playing with his cousin. His aunt had more fun than he did, I think.

Elena reads to Nathan

Elena is a natural with kids, and Nathan just loved hanging out with his big cousin!

Nathan eats with a spoon!

Today Nathan was being a bit of a fussy eater, so we tried giving him his spoon to see if he could "eat by himself."

He definitely enjoyed the experience, although we had to help him get the food on the spoon (but he managed to get most of the food in / around his mouth).

Toddler Tunes

Nathan, Alex and I have signed up for a class at the local community center called "Toddler Tunes." Nathan enjoys it, but we think he may be a little young to really participate in the activities... instead, he seems to just enjoy hanging out and playing his dad's head like a drum!

Valentine's Day Potluck

Nathan

Words

Nathan's new words
abba = "arriba" = up in spanish
pabo = turkey in spanish

Close, but not quite there yet
baho = down in spanish
narana = naranja = "orange" (the fruit) in spanish
good = good

Nathan will also tell you what noises a cat and a dog make... but only if you ask him in Spanish!

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!