toby of the day, 1.20.2008

today was a very busy day. Apparently you can accomplish a lot while on vacation if you wake up at 7am. First we headed to the beach where toby dangled his toes in the cold pacific ocean then tried to eat most of the sand on the beach. Then we swam in the pool again. We had lunch with toby’s great grandmother, great uncle Mike and aunt Deanne, and aunty Joyce and uncle Donald. Then we all watched some football together. around sunset jon and I headed over to the beach at Waikiki for tropical drinks with umbrellas. Jon’s also came with a back scratcher, which unfortunately didn’t make up for the fact that it tasted awful. I went with my favorite, more traditional umbrella drink, a chi-chi with rum. We talked about what a great guy toby is while having our view of the setting sun obscured by a passing cruise ship. Jon;s aunt aileen picked us up and drove us back home where toby had taken a bath with his granddad and was ready for bed.

toby of the day, 1.19.2008

we started today off with some swimming. We poured toby into a little bodysuit (and in the process tested the stretching limits of spandex), covered his remaining skin in sunscreen, and headed down to the pool. Because the pool seems to be located in a wind tunnel, it was a bit chilly. But toby seemed to enjoy the swimming anyway, and especially liked it once we transferred over to the toasty jacuzzi. I fear with this swim outside in the sun in what is essentially a giant, deep, warm bath we may have ruined bath taking in our freezing San Francisco apartment forever. Our only hope is that since toby’s long-term memory isn’t quite online yet, we’re maybe safe for the moment.

toby of the day, 1.18.2008

today, we headed out to Hawaii to visit toby’s grandparents which meant that toby took his first airplane ride. Jon and I had a night of anxious sleep (when we weren’t anxiously laying awake). Luckily, ed is back in town and incredibly jetlagged, so we got a ride to the airport at 6:40am. Toby was calm and quiet in the car. Then we checked in, and toby was quiet and smiling. We zipped through security, with toby just relaxing in the sling. Boarded the plane and took our places in the bulkhead. Toby played with the buttons on the armrest. Waited for 45 minutes for them to fix the bathroom on the plane. Then take off, toby had a snack and a nap. He woke up, we changed his diaper a couple times, picked up toys as he tossed them at the bulkhead. Then a snack and a nap on the descent, and he slept almost all the way to baggage claim. I think it may have been the least eventful flight I’ve ever taken.

toby of the day, 1.11.2008

Another visit to the pediatrician, another pair of measurements for toby. This time, he added more inches than pounds. He gained only 2 pounds, and grew 2 1/4 inches taller. Which is perhaps a sign that he will not be 40 pounds by the time his first birthday rolls around. Good thing since I’m not sure that my biceps could keep up with his previous rate of expansion.

toby of the day, 12.31.2008

It’s been a long time since either jon or I failed to stay awake until midnight on new year’s. There was one year when we didn’t have a clock, but otherwise, I’m pretty sure I was like 6 the last time it was an issue. This year was close, but we proudly made it until 12. Regardless it was a calm and quiet evening at home. Jon and I sat on the floor enjoying a picnic of dinner and good wine while toby took a little nap. Then we watched the simpson’s movie while toby had a snack and another nap. Then we sat in bed waiting for midnight while toby had his final snack of 2007. we might not have gotten to watch someone puke on Isaac this year, but some, probably Isaac for example, would say that’s a good thing.

editor's note

it turns out that winter is hard. With holidays, 200 possible kinds of colds (which toby is dutifully bringing home to us each week), and a baby desperately trying to figure out how to crawl, updating the blog has become a bit of a challenge. but we'll try to persevere, even if it means telling you about new years in july.

toby of the day, 12.28.2007

today we gave toby a little water in his bottle. In general he appears to like water because bath time these days is a constant struggle trying to keep him from drinking the bath water. But he clearly was not impressed by our offering of bottled water. However, as is the case with other things he doesn’t like (metal spoons for example), his mouth and hand were at odds with each other as far as what to do. Essentially, he puts the object in his mouth then he makes a sad and uncomfortable face, a face that says “this tastes awful, why is it in my mouth?” And so he takes it out only to have his hand, bring the object back to his mouth moments later. So it went with the bottle of water. He would make the face, push the bottle away, then his little hands would grab the bottle, bring it back to his mouth. He makes the face, pushes the bottle away, then grabs it again. And so on, and so on. This looks like it will be a battle for the ages.

toby of the day, 12.25.2007

Rather than travel all the way to Portland, we are spending today in lovely downtown san Francisco at the hotel Monaco. It may not have half the ceiling as a skylight, and some man may have stolen the entire dish of olives before we could get to them while we enjoyed our complimentary champagne in the lobby, and we may have eaten bad ramen for dinner because it was cold out and everything else within a couple blocks of the hotel was closed, and it may turn out that the transformers movie is not only awful but insanely right-wing neocon propaganda, and we may have barely slept because toby is still sick and we’re in an unfamiliar room, but you know, Portland wouldn’t necessarily change any of that. And our four -poster canopy bed is pretty cool, so really we can’t complain. Merry Christmas to all!

toby of the day, 12.24.2007

toby appears to have caught his first cold. Unlike many of his other firsts, this one is unfortunate on many levels, since being unable to breathe means he has trouble doing mundane tasks like eating and sleeping. In fact, last night I spent some time sleeping while sitting up holding him since it allowed him to breathe better and thereby sleep a little. But it also means that our trip to Portland is in limbo. In the past I never wanted to be one of those parents with a sick and screaming child on an airplane for reasons of aesthetics and politeness. But at the same time I wondered if when it came down to it, we would just have to be those parents because you have plans and tickets and not much choice. Now faced with the reality of toby being that screaming child because he can’t clear his ears, we’ve realized we’re more comfortable with changing the plans and tickets. So probably our Christmas in Portland will be another Christmas in San Francisco. Maybe it will rain and we won’t be able to tell the difference.

toby of the day, 12.22.2007

tonight we inaugurated our "gas bombay". My image of eating from a gas burner on a table in the living room involved a simpsonsesque scenario (combined with a little of my favorite
This American Life story “squirrel cop”) where some wayward ants would catch on fire and seek shelter in our cat’s tails which would then ignite causing the cats to hide behind the sofa which would then burst into flames at which point jon would attempt to put out the fire, only to accidentally fling some embers into my hair causing me to run screaming around the room, encircling us in fire. Isaac would stand in the midst of the fire ring and calmly say “circle of life” when suddenly toby and erin would come to our rescue. Instead, we had a pleasant and delicious meal of sukiyaki with Isaac and Erin. Turns out gas burners in the living room are not necessarily out to kill us all.

toby of the day, 12.21.2007

happy solstice! Today we celebrated the end of short days by opening gifts and taking a bath. Toby indulged in some wrapping paper, jon and I in some wine. We’re sure living life in the fast lane now.