Walker walking

First thing Walker does in the morning is crawl over to his walker and take a cruise around the house. He’s so FAST.

And while this is special, it’s an expected milestone. The other night we had a very special treat — a milestone we didn’t anticipate.

Walker, Daddy and I were sitting in Walker’s room on the floor. Daddy decided some rough-housing was in order and started to do a little tickling. I giggled and Daddy asked Walker to pile on. He complied. He jumped on me and gave me tickle buzzies. The three of us had our first-roll-o-the-floor playtime.

 

A blast in the past

Walker, Larry and I spent Saturday at Fort Point – an old garrison under the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s one of our favorite places to go because it’s so pretty and old and unknown despite its location under one of the most well-known landmarks in the world. It was even more special on Saturday when all the local Civil War re-enactors filled the Fort and conducted routines of the time like marching and playing the band. It was soooooo windy and cold in the Fort but just outside it was calm and warmer. I would have hated to be stationed there. But Walker thought it was fascinating to see folks marching around and he loved when the band came and they beat on the big drums and played the bugle and the piccolos. Larry enjoyed speaking with the sharpshooter and the doctor about the tools of the time. There was this sweet little boy who was getting into the re-enacting at an early age and he took special interest in our Walker –- making sure his coat was zipped up (made sure to ask Daddy if it was OK for him to zip up his jacket) and talking to him as Walker inspected the troops.

This was only one of many high points for the weekend. Walker has been very, very mobile. He crawls over to his walker and takes a few spins around the house, banging the walker into walls and then backing up and straightening out so he can proceed as planned. It’s really rather impressive. And he’s wicked fast with that thing. He also likes to cruise around the house holding our hands. We’re certainly getting our exercise and it’s clear he is going to be walking all on his own soon. There were moments when he had one hand on the walker and was facing us, looking like he had every intention of leaving the walker behind to toddle over to us. Then, at the very last second, he dropped to his knees and crawled over. Clearly, he’s looking for the right incentive to assert his independence. But this morning something was different. He did a few spins around the house with Daddy and maneuvered his way into the bathroom. The two of them watched me as I was preparing for work. Then I hear Larry behind me saying, “Look! Look! Look!” and just as I turn around, Walker lets go of Daddy’s hand and took two and a half steps toward me before falling to his knees. Yup, it’s begun. Walking on his own (and dealing with the bumps and bruises and cuts and scrapes that come along with the learning process). Our Baby is now a Toddler.

Next Sunday will be a big step for Mommy. I have put Walker to sleep almost every night since he was born (it may be even be every night but I can’t remember a few nights back in December when I had to leave the house early in the morning, pump in the SJ Convention Center parking lot and return home late at night –- Larry may have lulled him to sleep –- it was such a blur). But next Sunday, Grammy Jane is going to babysit (read: kick us out of the house) and give Walker a bath and put him to sleep. She says Mommy and Daddy need to have an adult dinner. And, she’s right. So, as much as I want to have a date with my Larry, it’s going to be hard not putting the little Morsel to bed. Just as Walker takes his steps toward independence, so is Mommy.

The teething seems to be getting better. Walker is not as uncomfortable or clingy as he’s been in the last few weeks and his sleep is better as well. Last night he slept straight through from 7:30 to 6:00 without waking up. You have no idea how exciting that is! (Perhaps the good night sleep contributed to the desire to walk on his own?) Both Mommy and Daddy were so proud of our little Gold Medal Sleeper (it IS the Olympics , of course) and we awoke refreshed and ready to face the day. What a difference it makes. (I was talking to Gigi this morning to catch her up on Walker news and she said she had no doubt Walker would start walking but she did doubt he’d ever sleep through the night. There were times at 2:30am when I had those same thoughts…) Larry and I have been trying extra hard to make Walker laugh. Not only because it’s the best sound in the whole wide world, but because it gives us a chance to see all his new teeth. It’s so hard to believe that at one time I was sad because I was never going to see my little baby’s gummy grin and now Mr. Gummers is DOUBLING his teeth with four new molars and two new bottom teeth. And I’m convinced that his top canines are considering making an appearance. The little Jack-o-Lantern / Rodent smile is going to soon be that of a little boy with a mouth full of teeth and the ability to eat anything he wants. Goodness.

Speaking of eating, PopPop is flabbergasted at the amount Walker eats. He stayed for dinner last weekend and witnesses the dinner of 2 Mommy fistfulls of Cheerios, 5 mini-meatballs, a few cubes of cheese, frozen peas, 10 grapes (cut in half), some blueberries, and a sippey-cup of milk. (For lunch we substitute the cheese and meatballs for half a quesidilla and for breakfast we lose the peas and have an egg.) Sofiya asked us not to feed him so much for breakfast because he likes to eat Kashi with the rest of the kids when he arrives but generally he’s too stuffed. So, this morning we tried to keep breakfast to a minimum but it wasn’t easy. There was a lot of “Eh! Eh!” and pointing to the counter for more of whatever Mommy was preparing (which was a salad for lunch but Walker got some more watermelon which won’t be as filling).

And it’s Monday so I have to share a Monday at Adobe story. Last week there was a 9:00 meeting where many folks arrived about 10-15 minutes late. (This is not unusual for many meetings, especially those beginning on Monday mornings.) There was someone new to Adobe in the meeting and once all the participants sauntered in, she says in a somewhat exasperated tone, “Good, everyone is here. Now let’s get started!” which prompted one attendee to reply, “Becky, you’re at Adobe now. Here we start Monday morning meetings with, ‘How was your weekend?’” This anecdote, while seemingly absurd, perfectly captures the Adobe culture. As I type away on the train to San Jose, I think about the insanity that awaits me but know at least it will be conducted in a cordial and polite manner.

 

Walkin’ on the sand

Nothin' better than hugs on the beach.

Today we spent almost an hour on Skype with Gigi so Walker could show off all his new tricks:

1. Creating a big O with his mouth and making “OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH” noises
2. Trying to put on his shoes
3. Walking
4. Speed crawling
5. Stacking BOTH sets of his rings
6. Singing “Itsey Bitsey Spider” complete with hand gestures
7. Blowing kisses
8. Combing his hair
9. Playing piano
10. Taking a break on his back
11. Destroying castles made of blocks with hands and feet
12. Playing ball
13. Jumping and dancing
14. Putting things in his round box

Gigi was beside herself. I would just move the computer around to follow Walker. It was particularly interesting when he went walking up and down the hall.

I then put us to work. Our front plants are a bit unruly. It’s been some time since we paid any attention to the lavender, the big shrub, or the evergreen tree, the latter not having been trimmed since we moved in ten years ago. PG&E sent us a bit of a gruff letter since they have to get around the shrub and the tree to read the meter and I guess the meter reader doesn’t like fighting his way through the brush. Larry did a great job on the shrub and I proceeded to trim the tree. But it wasn’t just any trimming. I wanted to turn it back to the way it was when we moved in — well manicured with pretty round “puffs” of greenery. So I trimmed, and trimmed, and trimmed and it now looks like a nicely coiffed poodle. The tree looks OK but I think Walker might be a bit concerned that I might come at him with some scissors now that his hair is a tad long.

As we were outside, we met Diane. She was visiting her elderly father a few houses down the street. She grew up 47th Ave along with 69 other children. Yes, there were 70 children ON OUR BLOCK. And, if you’ve been in any of the houses in the sunset, you’d know that even two kids in one of these houses is a lot. One house had eight children. Even if there was a small extension, I can’t imagine anyone had any privacy – ever.

Walker has 6 teeth coming in – four molars and two in the front. He’s taking the discomfort like a trooper. I know it will take weeks for the choppers to fully come in but it’s official that he’s in the process of DOUBLING his teeth.

Walker tries out his new favorite activity in his front yard

All that walking is thirsty work. Walker stands with Daddy and takes a milk break.

Walker has forsaken his walker toy. He seems to have decided that it’s OK to walk with us, and in fact, seems to prefer it. We’ve been cruising up and down the hall and around the kitchen and living room. I think I’ve walked a mile just inside the house. This morning we went outside and walked in front of the house and then we decided it was time to take him to the beach to try walking on the sand. You can see he had a wonderful time in sand and fog. He did manage to bring half the beach back home with him in his shoes, the folds in his pants, his sweater, and all over his sippy cup.

Daddy catches us having a moment.

Full of sand, Walker hams it up for the camera on the walk home.

 

Larry loves his family

So, we’ve said before how much we love the Discovery Channel. And the recent promos they’ve done for their network are fantastic.

So, we’re drawn to the promo because of the astronauts, the catchy tune, and the inspiring message. And, from a marketing perspective, it’s brilliant — encompassing every popular show and all the different types of content that have differentiated them over the years. Yeah, we’re marketing geeks. And yes, we like the process aspect too since they actually planned ahead and got their stars to actually tape some aspect of the song rather than clearly over-dubbing B-Roll for the whole spot. Larry decided to create a version featuring Walker to make me happy after a long, hard week. Tonight, over a glass of wine, watching the Olympics opening ceremony, we sang it together and got all choked up. I wanted to share it with you…

One for Mommy while she’s at work

I love my wagon

I love the sandy park

I light a candle

And sleep when it is dark

I love the whole world

And all its sights and sounds

Boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da, Boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da

I love my Mommy

She takes me to the zoo

I love my Daddy

He takes me with him, too

I love the whole world

And its connectedness

Boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da, Boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da

I love my cookies

My buddy Malcolm, too

I love my jumpy chair

And ham it up for you

I love the whole world

It’s such a brilliant place

Boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da, Boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da

 

Con Report

Larry’s back! Larry’s back! OK, so he’s been back for a week and a half but things have been so hectic that I haven’t been able to post. You see, the San Diego Comic Convention was quite a whirlwind this year (no different from other years) but there’s been a lot more media attention about the convention which has made it a more viable marketing vehicle for mainstream entertainment. That means that the crowds are bigger and have more diverse interests (and expectations) than the core group of folks who have been going to SDCC for years. (NPR did an interesting report on this topic).

While I wasn’t able to attend, the booth was in the very capable hands of Larry, Pat Donley and Ash Aiwase.

There were over 139,000 people who flocked to San Diego and many thousands stopped by the AiT/Planet Lar booth to talk to Larry (who is quite the celebrity in his industry). More than 200 went to his Thursday evening panel on how to get your comic published –- an extension of the very popular book, TRUE FACTS, that he wrote on the same topic. As a result of all this hob-nobbing, Larry lost his voice in the first few days (which always happens and, knowing that, Glenn Farrington stopped by the booth with a bag of Riccola to help heal Larry’s voice!) and Larry came home with what we affectionately call the “Con Crud”. This year it seemed to only impact the poor man’s digestive system but the “Con Crud” is contagious and it passed to me in the form of a 5-day cold which was passed to Walker as a 2-day cold which has now passed back to Larry as an undetermined-number-of-days cold.

Other than developing the usual convention ailments, SDCC was very good to us. Larry had a new book out called THE BLACK DIAMOND and people were extremely complimentary — both fans and the Hollywood folks who flocked to our booth. (I’m thrilled for Larry because it is an excellent book but, also, the cover photo is one I took on a Sunday between pregnancy naps.) At the Eisner Awards (the Oscars for the Comics industry), one of our books, THE HOMELESS CHANNEL, was nominated and two of our creators, the twins from Brazil (Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba) who created a wonderful fairy tale called URSULA and drew SMOKE AND GUNS, won seven awards between them for their more recent work. During their thank you speeches, they made a point to thank Larry and me as very early supporters who took a chance and published their work (in the case of URSULA, just by hearing the storyline and seeing the book in Portuguese). To this day, it is one of the books I’m most proud of to have published (aside, of course, from Larry’s books).

We also had the opportunity to announce a deal we’ve done with Disney to have a feature film created based on MONSTER ATTACK NETWORK. The buzz really started after SDCC when the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER did a story on the news which was picked up by VARIETY, AIN’T IT COOL NEWS and a number of other media outlets. We’re not in production yet, but it’s really exciting. I look forward to visiting the set like we did for NOBODY when they were shooting the pilot for ABC Family (a book by Alex Amado for those of you Adobe-folk). However, that is a few years away and we hope visit the set of THE COURIERS next summer when that goes into feature film production. So, we have a few things going on and it’s wonderful to be able to talk about the Disney deal since we’ve been in communication blackout for some time. (Thanks to our lawyer, Ken Levin, and our producing partners, Kickstart Productions — Walker thanks them by sporting a KSP shirt and has become their mascot.)

I don’t want to gloss over the fact that I had a cold. Aside from being cranky that I wasn’t the one surrounded by throngs of comic fans but still got sick, there were two notable things.

1. The cold only lasted for 5 days
2. I got to take Cold Tylenol

Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m not a very good sick-person. When I’m ill, I don’t take a day off to sit around drinking fluids and sleep. Even less inclined to do so since I became a Mommy. So, when I get a cold, I’m miserable in the beginning when my head is stuffy and my eyes are watery. I move more slowly and am fairly unpleasant to be around (both physically and personally). I’m thrilled after a few days when the cold migrates to my chest because while I still sound terrible, I seem to be able to handle it much better. However, the illness generally lingers in my chest for a week or more, causing me to forget what it feels like to breathe clearly… or not to speak like Demi Moore. But this time, oh this time, I was able to take Cold Tylenol. Please excuse me as I profess my love to what I attribute my rapid recovery.

How I missed you, Cold Tylenol! We were parted for so long because I was pregnant and then breastfeeding but now, Cold Tylenol, we can be together. I love your yellow color and your smooth oval shape. When I see you, I know I will be fine. I will feel better. I won’t have uncontrolled streams of gunk from my nose. I won’t feel like crawling under my desk and putting up a “do not disturb” sign. I won’t want to take a hostage if someone asks me to do the most simple thing. You are my hero. Thank you Cold Tylenol, for just being you.

Now, on to Walker news. He’s doing a lot more walking with his little push cart and has gotten great at maneuvering it around. For example, when he veers into the wall or a doorway he exclaims “Uh oh,” swings it in a different direction, and continues on his way. We’re also making it a point to make him walk holding our hands. He’s not been asking us for help on his own and so we’ve decided it’s time for him to understand that walking is the preferred method of locomotion and we can assist him with reaching this milestone. He’s also doing a bit more standing on his own. We trick him by getting him to stand and then to clap his little hands. After a few seconds, he’ll realize his ability to balance is the only thing keeping him upright and he’ll grab at the nearest stationary object.

Another observation about his locomotion — he moves enough now to a) get tired and b) sweat. Let me elaborate. Walker will be cruising around the house and decide that he’s done moving. Rather than just sit for a moment, he lies on his back across the floor and plays with whatever he has in his hands (he almost never crawls without something — his stacking rings, his cars, his trains, or his Bunny Foo Foo or Flat Frog). It is actually very adorable. Within a moment or two, he’s up and moving again. As far as the sweating goes, it’s not like he’s an athlete with beads of perspiration running down his face but Larry and I did notice that one day, he was doing a lot of particularly active crawling and standing and jumping, and when he came over for a hug, he was moist. We had a moist little guy. One day he’ll get all those hormones and his armpits and feet will smell like old cheese but today, he’s moist and sweet and it just makes me want to eat him up.

I’ve previously mentioned his love of music and he learned early to express his appreciation though vigorous applause. When we sing to him, he claps. When he plays his keyboard, he claps. He is so cute when he listens to the Polka CD, he always stops what he’s doing and claps at the end of the songs when he hears the audience applause. And now, he’s started to do the Walker dance. When he gets excited about the music he hears, he jumps up and down — high enough to get an inch or so between his little feet and the floor. Of course, he claps when he’s done. I’ve also spied him singing the “Itsey Bitsey Spider” to himself, complete with hand motions. He’s sooo advanced. (More teeth comin’ in too — three out of four molars and one more bottom front tooth to keep the “rodent teeth” company.)

 

Simple Exceptional

I have a long night ahead doing paperwork for our comic company but I had to document a few simply exceptional things that happened.

Today is one of those rare San Francisco sunny-and-calm-and-not-too-hot-summer-days. As Larry is away at Comic-Con in San Diego (and it’s a zoo down there, everyone is covering it from Entertainment Weekly to Fandango) I decided to spend the day in Golden Gate Park. We went to the Children’s Playground (thanks for the tip Zia Hilary) and then got a burrito at Gordos. Walker got a quesadilla but was more interested in his raisins and Cheerios. We sat at the window seat and Walker stood on the chair and waved at everyone walking by. We then wandered into the Arboretum and sat and played in the shade. After some time, a group of seven Chinese people came and shared the shade of our big tree. They sat and discussed dreams and camping in a combination of Mandarin and English. One woman kept looking over at Walker and would clap once in awhile. He’d clap back. It close to naptime so he wasn’t terribly active. He watched the group while sitting quietly in my lap with Flat Frog and his pacifier. And then something exceptional happened. The group started singing to Walker in Mandarin. He was transfixed. After three songs, he smiled and applauded.

With the beautiful music resonating in our ears, we headed back home for a nap. Within two blocks, Walker was asleep in his seat. Rather than risk waking him by moving him to the crib, I parked by the beach. And it was one of those exceptional times when there were very big, loud waves and it was warm enough to keep the windows down. So henapped with the natural wave machine lulling him to sleep. (Walker was out for an hour and forty minutes. I rested my eyes, read Wired, and played Solitaire. It was fabulous.)

We go home and our neighbors are having a birthday party for their three year old son. We don’t know them well but we’ve exchanged small talk. Around 6:00, I heard light tap on the door and there was Mom with a big piece of birthday cake for Walker. In broken English she said she would have invited us but everyone speaks Spanish. I was so touched. (If you’re counting, I consider that an exceptional experience.)

Last night Walker and I had our first dinner date. We met with Karen Shapiro, the woman who took a chance and hired me at Bank of America for my first Internet job. We went to Park Chow at 5:30 and I was a bit concerned about how Walker would fare. But the restaurant was so very baby-friendly. I think every table had a child in a highchair and the waitress was quite attentive to Walker. Even the folks at adjacent tables were great — picking up items Walker threw from his perch. I think we’ll be going back there when I’m jonesing to go for an “adult” dinner. (And that wasn’t exceptional. Just notable.)

Walker is really starting to be independent. He’s very vocal when he doesn’t get what he wants. And he crawls around and plays with his favorite toys. And the thing that melts my heart is he’s doing a lot more of coming over to me, putting his arms around my neck and resting his head on my shoulder. That is the most exceptional thing I could ever imagine.

I can’t end on a sappy note. So I have to share part of a sign I saw on the Adobe employee bathroom stall: “Please use the toilet seat correctly…” Really? I’m not sure of the different ways I could use a toilet seat. Perhaps my imagination is limited.

 

When I was a little girl, my Daddy took me to professional baseball games out at Candlestick. We’d try to go to the Giants vs. the Reds and we’d sit in the stands and FREEZE our tails off. He’d sit and explain the game — the nuances of baseball strategy, the history of the players and gaze in awe as the players sped around the bases or whipped the small ball quickly around the field. I, on the other hand, would watch the people in the stands. I often miss “astounding” plays and never remember who was playing, what the score was, or what notable thing happened. I know I’ve been to some “historic” games but alas, even they don’t leave a lasting impression — now the crazy woman with the bare feet, all the Giants gear, and the radio — SHE left an impression. (Despite my clearly different perspective on baseball, Daddy still takes me to games. We no longer freeze in the new stadium and I do try to pay a little more attention but I still find the people — and the garlic fries — more interesting than the game.)

Yesterday was Walker’s first baseball game. It was the Giants vs. the Milwaukee Brewers. Giants lost, 5 to 8. But that’s not what was important. Walker was accompanied by Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Thayer and our friend, Ash. Walker tried to show his spirit with as many orange items as he could find — even his sippy cup! He sat quietly and watched the game. Whenever the crowd clapped, he’d participate. But it wasn’t JUST a clap. He’d extend his arms out as far as they’d go and enthusiastically smack his little palms together as hard as he could. Coincidentally, yesterday was also the first time my brother “put him to work” as girl-bait. Walker tried to woo some English ladies for my brother. It’s not clear if it worked for Thayer, but the ladies were certainly smitten with Walker.

It has been said that baseball games are three innings too long. (I’m not sure if that’s a common saying but someone in front of us said it and it sounds about right.) Walker made it through the first six innings like a trooper and decided that rather than stretch his legs in the seventh inning, he’d take a nap. However, not until he joined in the rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

In development news, Walker has a molar. I only know because he bit me with it when I stuck my finger in his mouth. He’s been teething for many, many weeks and I was curious. I didn’t see any teeth coming in and I just knew it wasn’t possible. And way in the back, on the top right, was a little tooth that had poked through some time ago. The teething continues and Walker is getting annoyed with my fingers in his mouth. Walker is also walking with a cute little walker (funny how you use them when you’re very little AND when you’re very old) and is just starting to understand that he can walk with us. He seems to think he can only stand or walk while holding on to stationary objects. When he grabs on to us he thinks a moment and then sits. However, this weekend we walked about ten feet together. It’s a start. And I’m not anxious to have him on his own since I know he’ll never stop moving.

Larry is preparing for the big comic book convention in San Diego. There is much stacking of boxes, coordinating schedules, buying of water, packing, and getting psyched up. SDCC has more than 130,000 visitors over four days (and preview night) and it’s gotten more and more insane in the last thirteen years that we’ve been attending. Walker and I had planned to attend a few days this year. We have our plane tickets and our Pro badges. However, given Walker insists on waking at 5:00am (on the dot — I now try to get to sleep between 9:30 and 10pm), I figure everyone in our room (and those rooms around us) would appreciate it if we stayed in San Francisco. So, I’m going to be a single Mommy for a week. I went grocery shopping and stocked up on my bachlorette food — peanut butter and jelly, Raman, Diet Coke, popcorn and salad — and I’m preparing to watch a few “Firefly” episodes on DVD. We’ll miss Daddy but we’ll feed our loneliness by eating all the things he doesn’t like. Perhaps while Larry is away, we’ll take a hike in the backpack or go to the corner store in our red wagon. It’s Walker’s new favorite way to travel — in a big red wagon with wooden sides. He likes to hold on to the side and keep track of the bags of fresh fruit and yogurt.

And if getting ready for SDCC wasn’t enough, we tried to start the Honda yesterday and it just clicked away. It wouldn’t start. We didn’t leave any lights on but it seemed that the battery was dead. Thank goodness for AAA. A cute little chick mechanic came to the house on Sunday and did some diagnostics on the battery which appeared to have a bad cell. She quickly got a new one and installed it. Walker was very intrigued by the whole process and the big yellow truck. The car is now running well but the CD/Radio doesn’t work. Ah. If it’s not one thing, it’s another.

Did I mention Walker sleeps from 7:30pm to 5am? Wheee! Who cares about car trouble?

 

My First Investment Account

Like many kids, I had a savings account when I was a tyke. I recall loving when the few dollars I deposited were typed into my little passbook. When I was about ten, Poppo, my grandfather, felt that I should graduate to a checking account. He wanted to ensure I knew how to manage money and balance my checkbook. (Yes, I still balance my checkbooks both manually and with Quicken. Poppo taught me well.)

When I started working, I remember Jane, my stepmother, talking to me about putting my money in a money market account so I could get at least a little interest on my money. When I worked at Bank of America, I learned from my co-workers about mutual funds and dollar cost averaging.

Many years, multiple funds, IRAs and stocks later, I now have a small child who is one and received some very generous gifts for his birthday. Larry and I were faced with the decision of what to do with said windfall. While Walker suggested purchasing many, many bags of frozen peas and fresh fruit (his favorite things in the world today), we thought perhaps we should set the money aside for when he’s a bit older to make more informed purchasing decisions (to get stuff like baseball gloves and patches for his jeans and jackets). But savings accounts don’t have the cachet they used to and savings bonds don’t feel terribly efficient. (Do you recall where your bond certificates are 20 years later?)

So I started thinking, perhaps Walker needs “My First Investment Account”. So, we opened a custodial Schwab account and we’ll be investing his bounty in an S&P Index Fund until he’s old enough to start day trading. And according to our financial adviser, now is a perfect time. The Dow has taken a plunge and it’s time to Buy! Buy! Buy! Good timing Walker. Let’s assume this is just the beginning of a very wise (and lucky) pattern of investing. (And if Schwab or some other financial institution is pulling ideas from the community and decides to start a program called, My First Investment Account, I’d be more than happy to talk to them about licensing the rights to the idea. I mean, Baby’s gotta have some assets!)

Another thing I’d like to share…

I recently had an opportunity to take a day off (it was a weekday and I took a day off work and Walker went to Sofiya’s). When I used to have a day off, I’d PLAY. That would mean sleeping in (or staying in bed until the double digits), going to a movie, restaurant dining, taking a walk, hanging out in the garden or window shopping. But, like so many things, after Walker was born, the entire concept of a “Day Off” changed. Today, when I have a day off it’s an opportunity to get those “one more things” that I haven’t been able to address completed. So during my last, “day off”, I did a quick Costco run for paper products and diapers, did a favor for my brother (who was auditioning for a Discovery Channel TV show), opened an investment account (see above) and got a hair cut. I did catch a quick rest between 4:30 and 5:30 when I had to pick up our Little Face (Gigi’s pet name for Walker). There were no movies, no sleeping in, no window shopping. But that’s the way life is and I love it.

I’m so happy with my life right now despite the absence of seeing first-run movies in the theater (I can’t believe I’ve only seen TWO in the last 8 months — OMG). Today, Larry and I were talking about our favorite song on the Barenaked Ladies’ CD “Snack Time.” There’s a song called “Things” and the lyrics are as follows:

There are things that make me mad
You are not one of them
There are things that make me sad
You are not one of them
There are things that make me dad
You seem to be all of them.

That’s the entire song. I read the lyrics to Larry and I burst into tears. It’s such a simple and sweet thought. It’s how I feel about Walker. I guess this answers my sister’s question about whether I am full of love for my little boy.

And if you want another super sweet thought (I can’t leave you with the image of me bawling on my child’s floor, crumpled in my husband’s arms while my child sings along to the Barenaked Ladies)… Walker has started to really make his desires known. He has started to yell and even CRY if we take something away from him while he’s playing with it (oh, like the tube of hydrocortisone we keep on his changing table or the soon to disintegrate TiVo remote). He also laughs and smiles until he’ll burst when we do things he likes (like chase after him when he’s crawling around the house). So this afternoon, Walker was taking a nap and I chose to catch up on some zzzz’s as well. He awoke before me and Larry went into Walker’s room to get him. Walker decided to crawl down the hall and into the living room. But I heard the commotion and decided to surprise Walker by getting on the floor in the bedroom, on the other side of the house and peeking around the corner. Larry pointed me out and Walker got a big smile on his face. We crawled toward each other with Walker’s giggling getting faster and louder the closer we get. We met in the middle of the house and he rested his little head on my shoulder and hugged and hugged like he never thought he’d see me again. (Reminded me of the cliche movie scenes where two people run down the beach into each other’s arms — only much, much sweeter.)

I love my life. I love my family.

(And if you have available money, invest now!)

 

Comparison

We’ve done a few posts without photos so this will be a post without many words. This weekend we wanted to update the Buddah picture so we will be able to chronicle Walker’s development in an iconic sort of way. I’m sure you can pick out which photos were taken recently (hint, there is only one photo of him at five months and two at 12).

The photos below are taken at our new favorite afternoon hot spot — South Sunset Playground. Walker is one of the younger kids but he finds many older girls to flirt with. He climbed up the tower stairs and went down the slide all by himself. We found out there are significant advances in seesaw technology — whoda thunk it? (And for inquiring minds, the new seesaw is a plank on springs so you can bounce with people of varying weights and, probably the real motivator for change — there’s no risk of spine compression when your cheeky friend thinks it’s funny to get off the other side while you’re suspended up top. But wasn’t the potential trip to the hospital part of creating the excitement of the experience?) Walker’s outfit is also notable. Grammie and Granddad Young got this San Francisco memento more than 10 years ago and Aunt Lisa was so sweet to save it for us all these years. How’d she know we’d have a charming little man who’d be a 49ers fan?

And of course we can’t have a blog post without some discussion of some new Walker development. A favorite toy has been Walker’s stacking rings. He’s had them since he was born and he loved to chew on them. Then he loved to bang them together. Then he loved to throw them and scoot after them (and we have video to prove it). Then he loved to keep them in his little hands and crawl down the wood floors so he sounds like a double-peg-leg Pirate or a two-legged horse. But now. This weekend. He loves to put them on the post. He tried it on Friday and wasn’t terribly successful, perhaps making contact a quarter of the time. However, with some practice, he now gets the rings on the post almost every time he tries. I wish I could master a skill that quickly. (And for those of you doing the math, it’s been about three days.) Hopefully now we’ll be able to keep better track of all the pieces (assuming they are on the post) although I may be too optimistic. The green one has gone missing. Hmmmm.

 

Comcast channel 922

It’s 6:30 on Independence Day and we’ve spent the last two hours in the living room with the TV on. No, I’m not stunting the brain development of our wonderful little man with movies or even childhood programming (although I’m jonesing to see something that has more than a 60 minute running time in a single sitting but that warrants a whole different post). I’m simply finding more ways to justify the $110 monthly subscription to Comcast cable.

Larry has always been a big fan of the “Retro Active” digital music channel (playing 80’s music on Channel 916 — for those in the SF Bay Area) and will listen to it while he’s working. He started this because he’s just not into listening to music through iTunes, streaming through Pandora, or swapping out CDs every 45 minutes. I recently moved our iPod and speakers into Walker’s room because I wanted to be able to play ocean waves all night long in an attempt to lull him into a full night’s sleep. And no, it hasn’t been working but I still have hopes it will miraculously cure him of his frequent nightly waking. So, there’s no longer any music in the living room. And when we’re playing with a ball or a car or the stacking rings for an hour or two, the silence is a bit disconcerting. Also, Walker is such a big fan of music. He loves to listen to different songs and you can see his eyes light up and today he even tried dancing a bit with a bob or two of his head. (Generally there’s lots of clapping and now there’s a bit of rapid deep knee bends while holding on to something.) It finally occurred to me that perhaps, in the zillions of channels there might be something appropriate for Walker. And on channel 922, we found music programming called Kids Only. It’s for older kids but it’s interesting to listen to for both Walker and Parents with some remixes of Devo, Speed Racer and other songs because really, nothing new is being made. It’s all “re-imagining” the old stuff.

So, while I’m not watching as much TV anymore, I can feel better each month when paying the obscenely large cable bill.

Walker saw some live music today with a big band playing patriotic music in the Band Shell in Golden Gate Park. We hung around listening to them after being chased out of the DeYoung Museum (I guess they don’t like children in backpacks — front packs and strollers are OK but not backpacks).

In just a few short minutes I expect to hear fireworks. I finally got Walker to sleep (yes, like most things these days, I start something at one time and it takes a few hours to complete) and we’ll see how Walker’s sleeping fares. He does take after his Daddy and doesn’t sleep terribly deeply. A loud sneeze will wake that guy so I expect a number of explosions will certainly have an impact.

And if you’re curious, on Walker’s iPod:

• Snack Time CD by the Barenaked Ladies (visit the site to get a free download of the most brilliant song, 7 8 9 — say it out loud and understand why we don’t have the number nine anymore)
• Philadelphia Chickens
• Louis the Lion (from Baby Loves Jazz)
• Vivaldi’s the Four Seasons
• Yo Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin’s Hush
• Some Irish jigs
• Polka Hits by Frank Yankovic