Our Big New England Adventure - Part III

Ahh, Martha's Vineyard. Every year we head to the Cape, we always say we're going to go and for some reason or another it never happens. But this year, we finally did it! Gram and Gramp J stayed at the house with Emerson while JD and I escaped for a nice day just the two of us.

Here we are on the ferry ride over to the island. When we first got to the dock, it looked like it was going to be a cloudy day. But, then the sun came out and it turned into a gorgeous day.

Wanting to take full advantage of our day, we decided not to waste any time biking around. While I'm sure it would be nice to take a leisurely ride around the island exploring, we thought it would be more fun and more efficient if we went with a scooter to zip around. Besides, who wants to get to their destination all sweaty? Ew. I have to admit the scooter scared me a little. Just the fact that you're out there zooming around, not buckled in to anything, and the only thing keeping you from flying off is your death grip on the driver. The speed limit is 35mph, but even only going 30 it felt too fast. Bear hugging JD, I was constantly screaming, "Aaack! Too fast! Too fast!!" He kept trying to assure me that he was only going 25mph, but I think he forgot that I could easily see the speedometer over his shoulder and knew when he was fibbing! It was fun -- just like a roller coaster -- except with the added fear of becoming road kill. I tried to take pictures of ourselves on the scooter, but it proved to be difficult. Stretching my one arm out to take the picture was petrifying and also trying to keep the camera steady while you're zipping down the road was challenging. So here's my lame attempt at capturing some scooter magic.

Our first stop was in Edgartown. We sat ourselves on the patio of a little cafe on Main Street for an afternoon cocktail. We ended up chatting with our server for quite a bit because he was just so nice. He was a local and knew just about every other person that walked by.

After our delicious drink we walked down Main Street and peeked inside several stores. Here I am channeling my inner country club dame.

Earlier, we had stopped a woman walking down the street because she looked like a local. It turned out we were right and asked her for a good place to have lunch. She told us to head to The Atlantic. What a recommendation. Great view of the water from the patio. I ordered the lobster roll because when in Rome.... right? After we'd ordered, we saw a server walk by with the most amazing looking caprese salad. So when our server came back around, we told him we absolutely needed one too. I mean, look at these plates. Deliciously sweet lobster overflowing from the bun. Perfectly ripe tomato slices the size of my face topped with pesto and creamy mozzarella on the side. All paired with a crisp, refreshing glass of sauvignon blanc. Oh man, I must've died because I was in heaven.

Bellies full, we hopped back on the scooter to see what the rest of the island had in store for us. We checked out the Edgartown Lighthouse. And an historic building with beautiful greens -- but unfortunately, couldn't tell you the name! I'm an awful tour guide, I know.

We drove by the little Victorian houses in Oak Bluffs known as the "gingerbread cottages" because of their diminutive size and colorful exteriors. No two are alike!

We ended our day with a ride on the famous Flying Horses Carousel in Oak Bluffs. It's been around since 1884 and is the oldest platform carousel still in operation. (Thank you Wikipedia!)  There are arms on the inside and outside of the carousel that pop out little metal rings that you can swipe when you swing by. It's fun to collect the rings and if you happen to get a brass one, you get to stay on for a free ride.

We caught an amazing sunset on the ferry ride home. Post card perfect. At last our magical day had come to an end. I think the last picture sums it all up. Pure bliss.

Our Big New England Adventure - Part II

It was time to leave beautiful Buckland, so we all piled into the van and drove down to visit the Jurentkuffs in Cape Cod. A cute, little cottage sitting right on the water -- how can you go wrong?

We got there just in time for lunch. Emerson loved the corn in case you couldn't tell.

Hey Dad, get your own corn cob. This one's taken.

The next day after arriving, it was time to hit the beach. The awesome thing about the Cape house is the beach is right there when you step out the door. Ahhhh. And when you have your own private beach why do you even need to wear clothes? Exactly.

Bare baby bum. When it's that cute, you just have to let it all hang out.

Here are the men getting acquainted with the local wildlife.

                                                                                



Gram J and Emerson spent some good quality time together during our visit. Here they are checking out the beautiful garden.

We were hoping to break in Emerson's life jacket, but unfortunately the boat ended up being out of commission the whole time we were there.. So this is as close as we got. Just a little jaunt down to the dock.

My parents, brother and his wife drove up to hang out at the Cape which was great. They weren't able to stay very long so we had a lot to cram in. We borrowed the town's best tour guide (Gramp J) and  We started off at the Nobska lighthouse. After taking a few requisite photos in front of the sign, I walked up the hill with Emerson to go check out the view from the top. Only to be denied by the security guard. "I'm sorry, we just closed for the day." Oh. But then as I walked away, it dawned on me.... it's only 11:00 in the morning! What kind of crazy hours do they have that they're already closed and it's not even lunchtime? Grumble, grumble.

Then we went to the town of Woods Hole and explored their Fisheries Laboratory. This is the largest lobster caught. I had to google the details because I'd forgotten. His name was "Big George" and he was caught back in 1974. And here comes the impressive factoid -- he weighed a whopping 37.4 lbs. I would need a lot of butter for that. It's hard to see here in the picture Emerson and I are doing our crustacean impression. There is a crab in one of his favorite books and when I read it I always make little pincers with my fingers and say, "I pinch, I pinch." So I was really tickled when Emerson did his little pinching fingers when we came up to the display.

That night we all spent some nice, quality time by the chiminea in the front yard toasting marshmallows.

Emerson and Kohda really bonded on our trip. Here they are wanting to be let outside.

They hated to be left out of the action.

I love this picture because it looks like they're both laughing over some hilarious inside joke together.

The swan song of the Cape trip is always the lobster feast at the end. What a way to end a great visit!

I should just play it off for the sake of a good picture caption, but no, Emerson did not get his own lobster. He did get some good nibbles though.

The boy loves his corn.

Here is Emerson practicing to sniff. I say practicing because while he seemed to understand the concept --seemed to get that this is what you do to flowers-- he just couldn't get the part where you breathe IN when you sniff. So he kept walking up to the flowers and basically snorting at them.

Just a random day hanging out at the house. It was so nice out we just let him go native. He had a great time running back and forth between the tubs filled with water. Scooping water out of one, and running to dump it into the other one.

I don't even remember what exactly about it was making him crack up so much, but he was clearly having a great time.

And then of course, we have to have a couple more corn pictures. He was really digging on the corn for some reason on this trip. And it was just hilarious to watch him go all Porky Pig on it. This last feast was a full body experience.

What a wonderful time. The last day of our Cape trip, Gramp and Gram J were kind enough to watch Emerson so that JD and I could escape to Martha's Vineyard for the day. Next stop, the Vineyard!

Our Big New England Adventure -- Part I

We recently traveled to Massachusetts to visit the family. First it was off to see the Wards in Buckland. Gramp and Gram have a beautiful house nestled amongst the trees and mountains. You couldn't find better accommodations at any bed and breakfast.

Here's the view from the back deck. I mean, seriously, could it be any more gorgeous? I feel like I'm living in a spread from Martha Stewart Living. Except this is a hundred times better because instead of Martha and her perfect, ice queen cupcakes, there's Gram with a hug and her delicious ham salad sandwiches. Have another? Why yes, 

don't mind if I do.

Emerson and the great outdoors go well together. I'm so used to following him around really closely here at home -- especially outside -- because there are busy streets, zooming cars, etc. to contend with. But here, I got to let him run loose. Nothing but wide open space 

for him to enjoy.   

Who ordered a cab? Daddy and Emerson enjoying some pool time together. The weather apparently didn't get the memo that we were on vacation because we got quite a bit of rain. But we did manage to get in a couple of really nice, sunny perfect pool days.

Probably one of my favorite moments of the trip was getting these two little guys together. This is cousin Donny's little boy, Coleman. I've seen quite a few pictures of Donny and J.D. growing up together and I'm really hoping we'll have similar pictures of Emerson and Coleman through the years. Instant buds.

Here's Kohda getting what most people pay big money for, for free. Kohda was just laying there and Emerson got right in there and started making big swooping rubs across Kohda's back and belly. 

Emerson:  "Tell me where it hurts. Mm. Yes, I'm feeling a lot of tension in this area." 

Kohda:  "I've been really stressed at work lately. I have a big presentation this week."

They've recently opened up an "outdoor tours" facility in the area. We thought zip lining would be a fun thing to all do together. And it was! This place is literally 5-10 minutes from the house which amazes me. The tour could practically be of the Wards' backyard. Hey honey, could you run out and grab the paper? Sure thing, be right back -- zzzziiipppp!

It was both the scariest and most fun thing ever. I'm actually really scared of heights, which most people are surprised to find out since I rock climb (or did before Emerson anyway). But once you know the harness is your friend, even though your brain is trying to tell you, "Oh my god did you notice how high up we are," at least you can tell your brain to shut up. Next year, white water rafting!

That about wraps it up for this leg of the trip. Next stop, Cape Cod...

Happy Birthday Mr. President...

No, it's not Obama's birthday (not that I know of anyway). But, I just called back a friend who's call I missed earlier and her husband answered and serenaded me with his very best breathy, Marilyn Monroe impression. I died laughing. Well played Mickey Mouse.  

So actually, today was my birthday and I honestly wasn't expecting or in the mood for much today. JD has been in Argentina shooting his latest commercial and Emerson, Gidget and I all miss him terribly. I figured we'd all just celebrate when he gets back and planned on having a chill day today. Well to start off, I woke up this morning and the birthday fairy had given me a lovely present to start off the day -- a cold. Booo on you birthday fairy! I rallied through the sneezing though and hit the farmer's market this morning with a friend. I didn't tell her it was my birthday -- she's going to read this and go, "what???" I know, but I just wasn't feeling very birthday. We had a good time catching up though. And Emerson went on the pony ride for the first time! He was so cute, he clapped all excited when they first strapped him in. But then I think he realized, "Hey... wait a minute... what the HECK is this big furry thing they have me on?!" and he started to cry. Yikes. Luckily the ride wasn't very long. I'm guessing it'll be a while before we'll get him on one of those again. Afterwards, we just came back to the house and lazed around for a bit. I get a call from JD (another one I should say. He was the first one to wish me a happy birthday at 6:45am. I'll let him slide on the early hour since he's in another country. Mwah.) and he asks me if my present has been delivered yet:

me: No. But besides it's Sunday. No packages get delivered today.

JD: Nooooo..... I'm pretty sure you're getting it today. Well do you want me to just tell you?

me: ....well....

JD: ....because it requires some action on your part.

(My thought process immediately stops, as I had been thinking maybe it was flowers, but now I'm confused. What is this "action?" Did he send some kind of interactive birthday-gram where I'll have to take part in the performance along with the delivery person??)

JD: I sent flowers and in the card I said for you to go down to the Mac store and pick up a MacBook for your birthday.

Just to prove what a girl's girl I am, I have to say at the risk of my own embarrassment that when he first said Mac store, I thought he said M.A.C. store. As in, go pick out a bunch of fun make-up. Woo hoo, cool! But then he kept talking and it dawned on me what he actually said. So while I had legitimately been excited at getting some fun, new make-up I was now WAY MORE excited about finally getting my very own laptop! Now my reaction was more, WOO HOO, COOL!! 

I trot Emerson and myself down to the Promenade to get my present. Anyone who lives here knows that Sunday afternoon is definitely not a good time to head down there, let alone go to the Apple store. But it's my birthday and I was really, really, really excited so I braved it anyway. Of course, as is his modus operandi, as soon as I walk inside Emerson chooses that exact moment to pitch a fit. I grab him out of the stroller hoping that holding him he'll calm down enough so that Mommy can quickly get her prize, but I'm not that lucky. I immediately flag down an employee, tell him exactly which laptop I wanted to get hoping that I can be quickly in and out. No can do. Even though I have a screeching toddler twisting and writhing in my arms, the Apple employee still feels the need to explain and try to sell me the 20 different add-ons they have available. No thank you, just the computer. Ok, he says, we also have.... No thank you, just the computer. Ok, and did I mention that there is also.... ARGGHH! Why must you torture me so! Does the screaming kid not affect you at all? Because I'm feeling REALLY affected right now. Seriously, can you not see the pleading, desperate look on my face? Maybe you misunderstood me the first five times. Just. The. Computer. Finally, an excruciating 10 minutes later, I walk out of the store with my beautiful white box. And, of course, Emerson immediately stops wailing. 

Ahh and it was all worth it because as soon as I got back home, I popped it out of the box and a few minutes later, Emerson and I were video chatting with JD in Argentina. Hooray! Just then, our friend Grant showed up to have dinner (thanks for lending him out Adrea, wish you could've made it too!) and we all video chatted for a while just as if JD was in the living room with us. Man, I love technology. 

So as I say good-bye to another year, I say hello to my shiny, new MacBook (lipstick not included). Now I guess I don't have any more excuses to not update the blog.... drat! Just kidding. Thank you babe!

Houston, we have lift off

A while ago I excitedly posted when Emerson took his first steps. Woo, go little man! But then, I think he realized, "Dude, I'm going to FALL. I'm not so sure about this walking business..." And he hadn't taken any steps since. It was apparently just all a big tease. Good one Emerson, ha ha, joke's on us. He would walk, but only if you were holding him by the hand. JD would call out encouraging words to him in an effort to coax him away from the edge of the coffee table, but to no avail. He would just stand there looking at him with this big smile on his face as if to say, "You're crazy, man." So we just shrugged our shoulders. He'll walk eventually, right? No rush.

And then yesterday while I was hanging out on the couch, Emerson was cruising around the coffee table as he likes to do. Then he took a couple of steps towards his wagon which was nearby and reached for the handle. But instead of grabbing on, he just stood there standing. Then he turned in the other direction all of the sudden and took off walking down the length of the room! When he reached the end of the room he turned around and started trucking back towards the coffee table -- laughing the whole time. And he kept doing that, laps back and forth, walking like an old pro. JD and I joked later that he was probably just waiting to walk until he knew he could do it really well. So while he still looks like a drunk little old man, he's at least not falling all over the place like one.

I managed to catch him on video. Here's the maiden voyage:


This second one is that same day, but later that night right before bedtime:


Mark it on your calendars, folks. July 22, 2009 -- 15 months old to the day.

I know, I know

I've been slacking. See, this was my fear about starting a blog -- that I'd never get around to updating it. So this entry is going to be a mish-mosh of the past several weeks. But hopefully it'll come together a little bit and you'll still enjoy it...

April 28, 2009 -- Just a few days into his first year.

This was just a random day, hanging out. I was in another room while Emerson was playing. When all of the sudden I realize that he's been quiet for a couple of minutes. Anyone who has kids knows that quiet = trouble. And sure enough, what I found was a little mouse helping himself to some cuties. I am amazed -- no, not amazed -- THANKFUL that Emerson loves fruits and vegetables. There has yet to be a fruit or veggie that this kid won't eat. Last weekend, at the beach, he ate a whole pint of blueberries by himself. And not that he hasn't had a taste of the sweet stuff. The sneaky little munchkin sucked down about a third of my chocolate milkshake today while I wasn't looking.

May 7, 2009

The Wagon. I briefly mentioned The Wagon in my last entry, but it's time you fully understood its true meaning. The Wagon might very well be Emerson's Red Rider BB Gun. Not in the sense that he pined and campaigned for it. But in that it became a bit of an obsession. He was first introduced to The Wagon at a friend's birthday party. The look of utter joy that illuminated his face upon first laying hands on it and tearing around their backyard all afternoon... absolutely priceless. I knew at that moment that he needed one of his own. He loves cruising around with it, picking up the occasional piece of laundry from the floor and putting it in. Ramming closed doors is another fun pastime. However, beware separating the two. Sometimes I think I even hear The Wagon give a tiny, protesting whimper.

May 10, 2009 -- Mother's Day
I'm starting to feel a little bit like a veteran now, but still sometimes like, "Oh yeah, I forgot... I'M A MOM..." This day I got to sleep in a bit and then we decided, hey let's go have a picnic on the beach. It's a beautiful day out, it'll be great. So I put on a beach dress and was ready to go. Usually we just hop over to nearby Santa Monica, but JD suggested maybe we should go somewhere we could bring Gidget. "But Santa Monica is so close, we'll be there in a few minutes," I say. "No, come on, let's bring her. It'll be fun," JD persuades. Hmph. Well, the only dog-friendly beach is up waaay past Malibu so that means braving the Pacific Coast Highway on a Sunday. But fine, let's do it. Oh wait, but first we need to get food for the picnic. So JD heads out to the store to grab some yummies. Finally, sometime around 2:00, we're ready to head out. Just to set the scene a little more, I haven't eaten yet or had any coffee since we were supposed to go as soon as I got up. For anyone who knows me well, you know this is a perfect storm. We're in the car and we finally hit the PCH. As suspected, it's completely packed, full of people just like us looking to take their moms out for a special day. Then, to add insult to injury, Emerson finally reaches his limit of being in the car seat/being hungry/tired from missing his nap. So here we are c-r-a-w-l-i-n-g down a two-lane highway with a ravenous and caffeine deprived mom and crying baby. Yay, fun. At last, we reach our destination -- somewhere around Leo Carillo beach, I don't really remember. We get out of the car and it's seriously blustery and freezing! Hence the winter gear in the pictures (good thing I came prepared, but not exactly the sunny picnic I was hoping for). We set up a little area and prepare to finally eat our picnic lunch.....at 4:00. Fighting the crazy wind kicking up everything, we unpack the cooler and I'm just really excited to get into the wine at this point. Except that we forgot to bring a bottle opener. Curses! I start shaking my fist at the sky. Luckily, there were RV campers nearby and JD ran over and was able to borrow one from them. Whew! I know it sounds like I had a horrible day, but even though it had a bumpy start, once there it did turn out to be an awesome day. Beautiful family, living a good life, what more could I ask for. Though next time, Gidget stays home.

The familia braving the elements at Leo Carillo Beach.


Here's Gidget, always trying to get some face time.


Here I am enjoying some seriously good cuddles. Ahhh.

May 17, 2009 -- Strawberry Festival, Oxnard CA

Emerson helping himself to some strawberries. "Don't mind if I do..."


He ate so many strawberries that day I was a little worried about how it would end up in the end, if you know what I mean. Luckily, it all came out ok. Literally.


So good!


Here we are with our fellow strawberry lovers, the Parkers.


More strawberry face-stuffing.

So on this day we ventured up to Oxnard for their annual Strawberry Festival. You wouldn't think a celebration of this fruit would draw a huge crowd, but boy would you be wrong mister. We knew we were close once traffic came to a stop and we had to sit in a long line of cars full of people dying to get their strawberry on. Once inside, I was amazed at how good the strawberries there were. I know what you're thinking, "Well, what did you expect?" True, but these strawberries transcended and surpassed any strawberry eating experience I'd had before. Oh man, so good. Anyway, they of course had every kind of strawberry product and food imaginable. Strawberry funnel cakes, make-your-own strawberry shortcake where the people coming out of the tent had mountains of berries, cake and whipped cream piled several feet high, jams, strawberry nachos, strawberry beer, strawberry t-shirts, strawberry-scented pencil erasers. They even had "celeb-chef" Fabio from the most recent season of Top Chef (one of my faves!) give a demo on how to make a few different strawberry desserts. I'm telling you, it was no joke. That's right JD and Jeff, we're going again next year.

May 18, 2009 -- 13 months and genius in the making

Even if I tell you that this picture is NOT posed, I'm sure you won't believe me. But I swear, it's for real. It's pretty clear that the day will come very soon when I won't be able to entertain Emerson with the ol' peekaboo trick anymore. I'm telling you, this kid is smart. Now before I go on, I should tell you that he isn't actually playing the game here. But he did sit himself down in front of the TV, turn on the PlayStation by himself and toggle around the menu until he managed to turn on the game Jeopardy. He's the same with JD's iPhone. It took him just a few minutes to figure out how to scroll through the pictures by sweeping his finger across the screen. He loves all things electronic. I have to constantly hide my cell phone because if he sees it, he's like a moth to a flame. I've caught him crank calling our friend Adam a few times. Lots of button smashing coupled with Adam's being the first name in my phone book leads to, "Hey, Emerson what are you doing? Hey, why is the phone ringing... Are you calling someone??" (sorry Adam!) JD is convinced he's going to grow up to be the world's youngest hacker. Personally, while I want to encourage and nuture the budding Einstein within, I'd prefer he stay on the legal side of things. In the meantime... PEEKABOO!

Whew, ok, I didn't realize how much I had to catch up on. There's still so much more, but I have to take a break here. Tune in soon for more.