Category: Uncategorized (Page 30 of 40)

Our girl went to the prom last weekend! And summer arrived at the exact moment (then quickly fled).

Here is a sweet moment.

(the tune is Larry Goldings covering The Beach Boys’ In My Room).

A perfect morning at a perfect spot!

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(featuring the original Baby, sung by Gal Costa, who has a new record out!)

Dash is learning to throw the ball, kick the ball, catch the ball, juggle the ball…anything with the ball. Preferably more than 1 ball. He likes to try to hold many at one time–at least one in each hand.

Here he is trying to throw a lost ball back to its owner, in lovely Del Mar.

(to the tune of Stacked Mary Possum, an original song by Bruce Hornsby with Jack DeJohnette on drums and Christian McBride on bass).

And here are some snaps of him with his golf pro!

Last week we indulged in a vacation by the sea, in the San Diego area (Del Mar). “Grandma” Cheryl joined us, all the way from New Mexico. We sat by the seashore, made sandcastles, and played at many parks. We visited “Great Grandparents” Bob and Helen Rand, and met up with Jeff’s old high school science club mate, Andy (they built the “Faraday Club” together, which taught science concepts to younger children. Andy was apparently famous for zapping himself in a spectacular way). We visited the inspiring Salk Institute, an architectural icon, which is surprisingly fascinating for a toddler.

Jeff and I had a “date morning” which we spent golfing at Balboa Park–an easy course for me, the beginner. I’ve been trying to fit golf lessons into my life for several years now. Jeff finally bought me some decent clubs for Valentine’s Day (I had been using hand-me-down promotional clubs, not like it mattered much), and I am getting very hooked. It is a pretty course and I had a great time (Jeff, who is of course a much better golfer than me, swore a lot about his out-of-bounds balls).

Here are some visual highlights!

Lately Dashiell has gotten very attached to certain objects and actions. I suppose this is a natural part of his development. It all started with him suddenly thinking he needs his paci all the time (not just when sleeping as before). I attributed this to the end of nursing; perhaps several other behaviors are also related. He’s also grown very attached to the blanket he uses for napping at school. This had transformed into him wanting to sit on me every night in the tub, snuggled into my chest, with the “blanket” (washcloth) wrapped around his shoulders.

Suddenly stuffed animals matter more, having just the right book at the right moment is simply imperative, and Robot (his rollie suitcase) must accompany him everywhere. When we get home from school, D insists on taking Robot for a walk. Up and down the sidewalk, back and forth, over and over. It’s a very firm routine from which we must not deviate (ahem!).

Another part of this new phase is Dashiell requesting songs. Since the moment he was born I have sung to him. I mostly sing songs I like, but we also sing some kiddie songs. At the beginning of this “attachment” phase, he always wanted to hear Luciana Souza’s version of “The Waters of March,” but now Dashiell the DJ insists on spinning Bebel Gilberto’s version of “Baby,” several times a day. Yes, he likes the Brazilian Bossa Nova genre! He sings small bits of the song, mostly when he thinks no one is listening (or during the bath). It took me several tries to get him to sing it on camera–he’s developing a bit of modesty in his ripe old age as well.

Here’s Bebel singing the song–this is a different recording than what’s on her first record, or the record pictured. It’s slower and more paired down, and her Portugese accent is less heavy. Still a good version; will have to hide this one from D.

(“Baby” was written by Brazilian superstar Caetano Veloso and made famous in the 1960s by singer Gal Costa; this version is much better, I think. Bebel has changed the words slightly–and sung them in English, not Portugese. This song is a love letter to Brazil, written at a time when the intellectual and artistic community, several of whom were exiled by the repressive regime,were returning to Brazil.)

And here’s the boy singing it!

Soaking up the ambience at Cloud Seven…

Have anything that ails you today?

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When we first moved into this house, our neighbors had a 2 1/2 year old girl, Quinn. At the end of the workday, Mom and Quinn used to meet their Dad at the end of our (dead-end) street so that Quinn could “drive” the last bit home with Daddy (on Daddy’s lap!).

Jeff remembered this, and made the mistake of mentioning it ONCE to Dashiell.

Naturally, Dashiell now wants to “drive” all the time!

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(raincoat courtesy of Otto; plug courtesy of end-of-nursing)

In case you, my dear reader, need a laugh today…

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Dashiell went to a pediatric cardiologist yesterday (big adventure: driving into Portland, to a new place, with all the morning commuters! “Truck!” “Truck!”). We went to have his heart murmur checked out. After an exam and an echocardiogram (in a dark room with a TV playing the movie “Cars”), the doc confirmed that it was nothing to worry about.