Taking a break

I didn't plan to do this, but I'm putting the blog on a hiatus for now.  I don't have the time to update as frequently as I would like and I seem to post pictures in so many other formats.  It's been a busy summer and soon I will be starting at work full time (4 days a week).  I will be posting more frequently on Apple Photostream so if you would like an invite I'd be happy to send it.  Grandma - I will be emailing you shortly with a link.  Sorry to disappoint anybody, but we've got a lot going on this fall.

8.27.14

First day of Preschool! (Dad takes credit for the shoes.)

Hiatus Over

Sorry for the hiatus everyone.  I keep up with Facebook, Instagram and Photostream, but some still rely on the blog for Enzo pictures!  So, without further ado, I'll back track with some excellent photos and videos from the past 5 weeks.

5.17.14

Grateful for roses, again. 

 5.19.14

 Grateful for rogue treasures.  What are these going to be?  They look like alien pods to me!

5.23.14

Grateful for this strawberry stand a few miles from my house on the coast.

5.23.14

Grateful for foxglove, aka digitalis.

5.24.14

Grateful for garden surprises.  Oh, the alien pods are poppies!  There are also purple and white ones.  

 5.27.14

Grateful for summer fruit.

5.27.14

Grateful for getting new boy undies in the mail.

 5.28.14

Grateful he loves healthy cookies too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Foxx5pCwiM

 5.29.14

Grateful that he loves his books so much he had to take them on a walk too.

5.29.14

Grateful for plentiful arts and crafts supplies to spend um, 10 minutes on.

5.31.14

Grateful that he looks great in pink, because he really likes this color.  This was taken during our vegan taco party, which Amey covered in great detail here.  It was so fun!

6.1.14

Grateful that he now plays dress up.

6.3.14

Grateful that we had a morning free to go to the beach with PeeWee.

6.4.14

Grateful that he likes stuffed animals now.  For some reason it's comforting to me!

6.4.14

Grateful for white raspberries.  They are so much better than red ones!

6.4.14

Grateful he's such a snappy dresser who is enthusiastic about sandwich consumption.

6.5.14

Grateful for homemade popsicles.

6.7.14

Grateful for friend's birthdays.  This was made by me for Deborah's birthday.

6.9.14

Grateful for hand me down swimwear, even if he did want to wear all of it at the same time.

6.12.14

Grateful that he's developed coping mechanisms for when he is scared and doesn't want to do something.  Swim lessons have been rough and he copes by "sasquatching" around.

6.12.14

Grateful for a peaceful looking child.  This one my mom calls Zenzo.

6.12.14

Grateful when he tries something green.

6.14.14

Grateful to have such a goofy kid.

6.15.14

Grateful for strawberry rhubarb crisp.  And grateful that Jake's a great father to celebrate with.

6.16.14

Grateful Enzo was such a trooper on his first day at his new school/daycare.  So far so good.

6.20.14

Grateful for the day the plums became ripe on the tree.  Our only successful fruit tree.  (For some reason they look like peaches in this photo.)

6.20.14

Grateful for a more successful picture holding chard.  Remember the first one?

6.21.14

Grateful for the cutest plum thief in the world.

6.22.14

Grateful that Enzo has been showing his nurturing side.  He's into playing "Baby Rico" and treats this bear like my friend's baby boy.

6.24.14

Grateful for a spontaneous trip to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.

6.25.14

Grateful for our field of blooming lavender.  

6.30.14

Grateful for dahlias.  So pretty.

6.28.14

Grateful that I am no longer worried about the first time he draws on the walls with markers.  Because it happened.  Lucky me.

6.30.14

Grateful that we're not on water restrictions like the rest of the county.  We can play car wash.  Feels indulgent.

 7.1.14

Grateful for our first tomatoes.  One of the most special days of the year.

Also, this video was taken after being thankful for Tweet and her homemade cookies!

7.2.14

Grateful for remembering to buy bourbon, even if it was 10am.  I have plans for this, ice cream wise....

One Year Anniversary

Today marks the sad one year anniversary of Pat's passing.  It was such a tragic experience and I know everyone still misses her as much today as last year at this time.  Maybe even more so.  I think about her all time and wish I could tell her what Enzo is doing and how great he is.  She loved to hear any little detail no matter how mundane.  For months after her death, Enzo would do something noteworthy and my first reaction was to call or email her right away.  I also want to tell her about the house we bought and all our plans to make it our own special space in this fantastic forest.  She once told me she didn't understand why someone would buy a house in Bonny Doon that didn't have an ocean view, but I'm confident she would have loved our house and land.  She would marvel at all the sequoias and fruit trees and would be impressed with what I do with their bounty.  I miss her gentle yet effective influence on Jake for my behalf when Jake misbehaved.  Every time I see clam chowder on a menu I think of her because she would always order it if it was there.  I would always laugh whenever she told me she didn't like a particular food, like marzipan, then would eat it without knowing and love it.  I miss her excellent and thoughtful gifts.  I'm glad to have her handmade toddler clothes and the quilt she and my mom made for Enzo is an amazing piece of art.  There is so much that reminds me of her and so much more about her I'm not writing about.  It would be impossible to mention something about all the lives she's touched and things she's done.

She told me many many years ago (before Jake and I were even thinking about getting married) that her greatest fear in life was to die without having a grandchild.  With great relief she lived many years beyond her prognosis and was there every step of the way at Enzo's birth.  I feel honored that Jake and I were able to make one of her greatest wishes come true.

So these are my experiences and thoughts about Pat.  It was hard to write this because I'm sobbing through it, but I wanted to get some of my thoughts down for posterity.  Today we took her ashes to the beach in Davenport and stopped for pastries at a bakery she liked on the way home.  Two new flowers in our yard bloomed today - some kind of crazy looking wild pink poppy and a blue hydrangea.  There was a meteor shower last night. Maybe that means something, maybe it doesn't.  But I'd like to think she's thinking about is too.

Two Videos

#1

I forgot to publish these with my last post.  The first video was from two weeks ago and Enzo just started pointing out Turnip's body parts.  You'll notice Turnip has stitches on her nose from the removal of a growth.  I took the stitch out last week and she's doing fine.  I'm just hoping more growths don't start popping up.

Dog Anatomy

#2

Enzo loves pretend food play and we finally bought him his own little sandwich making kit.  You'll hear him making "tomato toast" for mama and dada.  And if you listen closely, after I ask for a carrot sandwich he says "carrot is yuck on a sandwich"!  

Making Sandwiches

Grateful

5.1.14

Grateful for spring rolls!  One of my favorite summer foods to make.  These had buckwheat noodles, avocado, cilantro and mango with a sweet and hot dipping sauce.  I would eat them everyday if I could.

5.2.14

Grateful for radish butter canapes.  Baguette, butter, radish and salt. Another favorite summer snack.

5.3.14

An impromptu visit to San Fransico.  Grateful for Trouble Coffee and Coconut Club, where I had the best cinnamon sugar toast in my life, as well as grapefruit juice and a fresh coconut.

5.4.14

Grateful for raspberry picking with friends.

5.6.14

Grateful for Pink Puppy's friendship with Enzo.

5.7.14

Grateful for pretend food play so that I can hear Enzo say "hammishes" (sandwiches) over and over.  

5.9.14

More rose petals.  Grateful for the gorgeous scent and color on these ones.

Grateful for a patient dog.

5.10.14

Grateful Turnip tolerates playing dressup with Enzo.

 Grateful that Turnip enjoys being "painted" by toddlers.

Grateful for a wonderful Mother's Day!  Took the kiddos for a wagon walk to play at the school's playground.

Grateful for flowers from Deborah.

Grateful for the gift Enzo gave me, a bird feeder he made at school!  

5.14.14

Grateful for these amazing flowers!  I don't know what they are (maybe petunia?), but I love them so much.