In a perfect world I would have a way to spend every minute of every day with my children, but it’s not a perfect world and sometimes it is necessary to just accept that there will be days that I miss and time that I can’t be as close to them as I might otherwise desire. Fortunately, during the summer months, Mama has the time and opportunity (being a teacher gives her summers off), and this year, as the girls are older and more able to get around, they’ve been making the most of the summer months and it would seem as though they’re really enjoying themselves.
It’s difficult to believe that my daughters are old enough to be riding scooters – it seems like just yesterday that they were “scooting” around the house as part of learning to walk. But here we are 2009 – Sofi is 5 and Natalie is 4 – and they’re out riding their scooters; tearing up the neighborhood. Fortunately, they’re having loads of fun, too!
The Razor scooters are actually pretty cool and the pink handles, wheels and board make them girly enough for even our little princesses to ride with pride. In just a few days they’re actually pretty good at it, too, and a lot better than I would have expected. We’ve even made the morning run to Starbucks – about three relatively long blocks away – and they did very, very well. Before too long they will be doing the trips that Sofi is so ready to try out. Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve come to the conclusion that for as much as we try to educate our children based on our experiences, what they teach us (or remind us) is infinitely more important. Take this weekend, for example, and the big, blue ball at the park just outside Capitola. The big, blue ball, is huge – bigger than me by a lot and that much more bigger than both Sofi and Natalie. Fortunately, it’s not intimidating and actually looks kind of fun. And, of all places, it’s perched at the top of a hill (with others already having started their decent), begging to be pushed from it’s teetering spot. I asked if they wanted to try and push it, thinking that they would think I was insane.
Instead, they were excited about trying to push it down the hill, and even as they were saying, “don’t be silly, Papa, we can’t push this down the hill” they were asking me to help to see if WE together could push it down the hill. ‘Cause, just the thought of this was too exciting an opportunity to pass up. So we pushed and strained and pushed a little more, but the giant ball did not move. One lesson learned; one to go.
As we walked away, Sofi said, “that’s okay, Papa, maybe next time” with a big, giant smile on her face. It brought tears to my eyes and made me realize that what I had forgotten is the simple joy of trying something – even when your mind says it can’t be done. Because, for all of us, that trying may be all that is needed. That little bit of effort brought Sofi, Natalie and me that much closer for trying together to see what we can accomplish and what we can’t.
These pictures will be my reminder, and “maybe next time” I will try that much more to do what I think can’t be done.
Papa
As an interesting side-note for any of the geeks in the house, all photos for this post were taken with my iPhone 3GS – and the quality seems pretty darn good.
It seems like just yesterday that I was standing in the maternity ward waiting (and stressing) about the birth of our first child. We didn’t even know what sex she would be, let alone how much work and joy that she would bring to our lives. Five years later and the only thing I want is more time to spend with my children so that I can enjoy each and every moment of their lives.
Celebrating birthdays -- milestones -- are little reminders of our successes and of the life that we have created. In these words I hope that you will see my pride and realize the happiness and joy that both my children have brought to my life, and know that for every milestone we achieve I learn more and more the value that these lives bring to mine.
Happy Birthday, Sofi. We love you.
Papa
It has been some time since I’ve last posted (again) and so much has been going on that I hardly know where to begin. Today, though, I had another thought that I wanted to try to get down here, if not for the few readers of the site, then to remind my children later in their own lives what they meant to me, each and every day.
See, today, like to many before and after I woke with the reminder of how beautiful my life is and how blessed I am by my loving, adoring daughters. It’s amazing to me that even on the days that I get up thinking, “oh, not another day,” that they wake up with all the excitement that comes with a new day. They hardly even remember yesterday, and even the biggest upsets and nastiest boo-boos are forgotten completely. They come to each day completely ready for whatever the world has to offer, open to absorb, learn, and truly enjoy every little piece. Even days that are something like yesterday and a little like tomorrow are important beyond comprehension and most importantly they are enjoyed for exactly that. They know that the best part of the day is what you do when you’re awake – and I am very glad to know that my children make the most of that every single day.
So yes, there will be more posting this weekend – hopefully a little catchup for some of the recent stuff – and even more after that, but for those of you that have forgotten that each day is new, this is my wake-up for call for you. Look into the eyes of a child – borrow a child if you don’t have one handy – and see the mystery and amazement that comes just from being awake.
Papa
For my birthday this year I took the day off work and we made the trek up to San Francisco with the girls to see the California Academy of Sciences. This amazing museum, which just completed a multi-million dollar, five-year renovation, is a must see for everyone. The only downside is that everyone knows they need to see it so the lines are very long, and the museum is very crowded. Most days they sell out and unless you arrive early it’s unlikely that you will be able to see any of their shows or get into the centerpiece rain-forest exhibit.
As a handful of our readers know – and anyone that attended our wedding – my parents have a pair of American Eskimo dogs that they treat like children. Imagine our surprise after visiting Sausalito to get a chance to see a couple with THREE of these beautiful dogs. They seemed to be of great personality and the girls dived right in to get their kisses and hugs from this great family.
Since I know that Grammy reads this, I’ll remind everyone that you can click on any photo for a larger video (thanks to the recent fixes) and now the kids are talking more and more about seeing grammy and the dogs that they miss so much.
Papa
The best part of not having written in a while is that there is so much to talk about. I want to catch up quickly, but think it might be best to talk about current events first and roll back into the older stuff. That way everyone knows what’s going on now as well as having a chance to catch up on what’s been happening.
I’ve aways been a fan of the ocean – and the water in general – so this weekend we decided to take the ferry from San Francisco across to Sausalito to talk around for a bit. It would be a great way for the girls to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather and for us to introduce them to the experience and fun of riding the ferry. Needless to say, it was an awesome day and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
With such a small readership and so few regular posts, its difficult to imagine that anyone noticed that there haven’t been many posts in the past few months. Unfortunately, problems with WordPress, the blogging software that I use, and then Gallery, the photo management tools, kept me from posting. Those problems have been fixed and the site appears to be working better than ever!
A special thanks to the blogosphere for their help getting the WordPress problems fixed and an extra special thank you to consultant engineer Andy Lindeman who was instrumental in resolving the problems with Gallery and WPG2. The good news is that there are six months of updates coming!
Papa
It has already been a few weeks since I last posted, but not for lack of want or content. With the beautiful weather, we’ve all just been out enjoying the “winter.” I did want to share, though, so that everyone could see, some of the video that we took on a recent trip to Moss Landing, just south of Watsonville. The weather was awesome -- especially so for the end of January -- and we spent a few hours around the beach enjoying the sun, sand, water, and local wildlife.
The videos below will show off some of what we saw there, with the main attractions being the beautiful (and very friendly looking) sea otters who were both enjoying the sunshine and getting a little lunch to pass their day.



