The Party

Your child can't turn 1 and not commemorate it with some overly-elaborate celebration that he'll never appreciate, let alone remember, right? Well, I didn't really want to go there, but JD had some pretty big ideas. Citing his own 30th birthday celebration last year as apparently the new bar to hold all parties to, Emerson's likewise had to be great. "Remember, my birthday was The Best Party Ever!" he likes to constantly remind me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, best party, I know. However Emerson wasn't turning 30, he was turning 1. So I kind of feel like you have to keep it in perspective. We decided on a barbeque at the house which probably didn't hold to JD's Best Party Ever Standard, but we also decided on an "Ace of Cakes"-style birthday cake that I would make which I think appeased the party beast. More on the cake later.

Unfortunately, party prep started off on the wrong foot. The days before the party were a nightmare. Emerson got sick and he was just as crabby as can be. I blame the damn toys in the pediatrician's waiting room. Against my better judgment, I let him play with them while we were waiting for his one-year check up appointment a few days earlier. Lesson learned. Painfully learned. So here we are with a ton of stuff to do in order to get ready for the party and Emerson has turned into Mr. Hyde. Now all errands have turned into a study in how many tantrums one person can stand before wanting to pull their hair out. Answer: not many. Thank goodness my family was here to help. Thanks to Team Birthday, we managed to get everything prepped for party day. Everything but the cake that is.

Since Emerson was so cranky, he just wanted to be held all the time which didn't leave me free to do much of anything. So my plans for making the cake the day before the party ended up flying out the window. I woke up early the morning of party day and set to work at a frenetic pace. All the while muttering to myself that there's no way I'm going to get it done. JD had left to buy a few last minute items for the barbeque and when he called later to check in, I told him, "You better buy a back up cake just in case." Ugh, the defeat! If only I'd been able to work on it the day before it would've been so grand! Our friend Ann came over early to help -- such a lifesaver! And thanks to her, lo and behold, miracle of miracles, the cake was at last complete! Time for a victory lap! Screw that -- where's my victory glass of wine!

The party was a big success. Everyone had a great time. I think Emerson even forgot he was sick that day because he had so much fun cruising around, mingling with his guests and hamming it up. Here are some pictures from the day:


Here I am frantically slaving away on the cake.


Voila! Let there be cake! Mental note: BUY the cake next year...


Emerson with Abuelita.




The little man cruising around with his birthday truck.




His first cake experience.




Who doesn't love presents?


"Here, want to share my monkey?"


He loves to share.

Thanks to Team Birthday and Ann for all their help -- I don't know how we would've pulled off the party otherwise. Thanks to all our family who sent good wishes from the East coast. And thanks to our friends who came out and made the day so fun.

Happy Birthday to Yooouu....

Happy first birthday to our beloved Emerson! We’ve made it through the first year and everyone’s still alive, so I guess we must be doing something right. Whew!

Emerson woke up this morning and I went to go get him like I normally do every morning. Before picking him up, I sang him happy birthday, which made him smile that big smile I love so much. Did he know today was a special day or was he just reacting to my happy tone? Does it matter? Nah.

It’s really crazy for me to look at Emerson now and think that only a year ago, he was this tiny balled up blob. And now, he’s this happy little dude standing up and tapping his feet in his crib. It literally boggles my mind that a bunch of nondescript cells managed to grow into the amazing little boy looking at me today. I could get lost in my own metaphysical/philosophical/biological mind babble so let me just stop there and go on with our story.

This birthday was made especially great because Mami, Kenneth and Jessi had made the trip out from Virginia to visit with us. We had big plans for the day – the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific! The hype is definitely well deserved. We had a great time and Emerson was fascinated by all the sights. We are now members, so this is the first of many trips to come. Here's Emerson on the ride down. You can see the excitement on his face. He doesn't know quite what's about to happen, but he knows it's going to be good.


We started out walking through the aquariums inside. So cool. The underwater scene is like another world. Everything looks so strange like out of a dream.


I had a couple of favorites. The jellyfish tank was amazing and the sea lions – always the entertainers – didn’t disappoint.


Emerson’s favorite was by far the tide pool exhibit. He already likes to play in the water, so to be able to splash and touch weird little creatures just took it to the next level for him. He got completely soaked, of course, and I think even soaked a few of the people around him.


What a great day!

Whaddya bring me Easter Bunny?

We spent a wonderful day with our friends on Easter. But before they came over for brunch, Emerson got to check out his very first Easter basket. I really should've known better, but the crinkle paper probably wasn't the best idea. You would've thought it was made of candy because Emerson could not keep it out of his mouth. Actually he doesn't know what candy tastes like, so scratch that. It's like it was made of broccoli -- he really loves broccoli. Every other word out of our mouths was, "Don't eat that. Don't eat that. I said, don't eat that..." So in the trash it quickly went.


Once everyone arrived and brunch got going it was pretty serious. Serious in that I'm very serious about my eating. We had quite the feast. Quiche, roast, potatoes, danishes, fruit salad, pie, biscuits... what else? Oh yeah, lots and lots of bacon. Gluttony galore. It ended up being a gorgeous day so we all sat out in the front yard and enjoyed the beautiful weather. After a few more helpings, and before severe food coma set in, we started decorating the eggs. It was a wonderful, colorful mess and we ended up with some great eggs. Emerson, of course, wasn't afraid to get right in there and color eggs, himself and whatever else happened to be within arms reach....like Grant's pants. See how quickly and nimbly Grant backs up and away from the baby with the dye-covered hands.


We had a great time and Emerson did too. As you can see, he's not afraid to try new things.

We're also starting to accumulate new Easter traditions with each passing year. We have the Mt. Whitney Burger (trademark pending) -- which although it did not make an appearance at this year's table, was given a nod by the copious amounts of bacon present, the jello eggs (hey, got to have a little Easter fun for the adults, right?), and this year's new addition -- the Easter Delight. A smooth brunch cocktail made much more exciting than your run-of-the-mill mimosa thanks to Trader Joe's Pomegranate Lime juice. Yum!

I'd forgotten how much fun holidays like this can be. I guess that's one of the upsides to having a kid. You get to relive all those great childhood moments through your own child's eyes. Good stuff, good stuff.

Who goes there??

It's 3am and Emerson has been wailing for half an hour in his room. Go back to sleep, go back to sleep, go back to sleep, UGH WHY WON'T HE GO BACK TO SLEEP??? All of the sudden, we hear scuffling in the patio which runs alongside our bedroom.

"Did you hear that?"
"Yeah..."
"Did you hear THAT?"
"YEAH."

JD flicks on the outside lights. It sounds like someone is on the roof. I go grab Emerson because 1) I can't take his pitiful cries anymore and 2) it's hard to tell where and what the sounds are through his crying. JD decides to investigate outside. Armed with his big bowie knife and Gidget, he braves whoever and whatever awaits him outside. Emerson and I are huddled together in the bedroom. The tension thick in the air as we wait. I sit in silence while Emerson, always the cool cucumber, starts pointing to everything in the room, "ooo. oooo. OOOO!"

Several minutes later, I hear JD and Gidget come back inside. JD gives a relieved chuckle, "Do you know what it was? A huge raccoon!" Whew! Threat level has gone from red back down to green. Thumb can now be removed from 911 speed dial. JD managed to snap a picture of it after it scuttled it's way over onto the neighbor's roof.



Look at his dark, hunkered shape. Those glowing, beady eyes. Oh yeah, he was up to no good. With a collective sigh of relief, we all climb back into bed.

Hurts so good

Emerson is growing into such a neat, little guy. Every day there's some new discovery... like spicy food. I, personally, have never had much of a tolerance for spicy food. [quick sidenote: I swear if I hear, "But aren't you Hispanic," in response to that statement one more time I will scream. Just because I'm Latin doesn't mean I have Tapatio flowing through my veins people.] Anyway, just because I can't take the heat, I don't want Emerson to not be exposed to it. There is a great Salvadoran restaurant across the street from our new place and I grabbed some take out pupusas from there one night. For anyone who's never had pupusas, you're really missing out. Basically, they're fat tortillas stuffed with meaty, cheesy goodness. But the deliciousness doesn't end there. Then you top them with this yummy salsa and a pickled cabbage dressing called curtido. Drooool. Just thinking about it is making my stomach grumble... So this night of the take out, I gave Emerson a bit of some of the milder pupusas. But apparently that wasn't satisfying enough because he reaches across and grabs some curtido off my plate. It's not terribly spicy, but there some strong flavors going on in there and you could end up running into a tiny bit of chili pepper. Which Emerson probably did, judging from his reaction:



But did that stop him? Oh no. He kept going back for more. Glutton for punishment or gourmand in the making? I guess only time will tell.

This is why we live here

The weather has been great lately as we get closer to summer. And with that, it totally reaffirms why we live out here in California. Ah! It's just awesome. JD and some friends have recently taken up surfing and so we've been hitting the beach pretty often lately. It's still a little chilly, but it's been nice to hang out on the sand and watch the guys do their thing. The other day the guys left work early to catch some waves before the sun went down (oh, those surfers!).


Here's Emerson wearing his cool shades which he refuses to keep on his face. I keep trying to explain to him that he'll be more comfortable in the bright sun if he kept them on, but he just looks at me while he's taking them off as if to say, "I hear you, but I just don't buy it."



Emerson is really into pointing right now. And I mean, really. Everything gets that little finger. It's the cutest thing. I'm sure it won't be long before the point is accompanied by, "What's that? What's that? What's THAT??" Also, notice how he's squinting in all the pictures... if only he'd listen to Mommy... I'm sure this won't be the last time I utter those words. Sigh.





Again, I have to say "Ahh!" Look at it out here, it's just beautiful! Very excited for this summer and getting in some serious beach time. Catch you later duuudes! Wow, that was cheesy.