Seal Kisses & Chocolate Ice Cream

Two of my big loves have finally come together: Nolan & Biking



Today we set up Nolan's bike seat on the back of my old mountain bike and took it for a spin on Bob Jones Trail to Avila Beach. Martin skated alongside us on his Rollerblades with no brakes, no pads, no helmet and well ...no comment. Nolan loved the whole thing. He got the biggest kick out of watching Martin rollerblade and thought it was real funny to lift the back of my shirt and put his cold hands on my back.

When we got to Avila he had a blast running around.


We made our way to the park where he pretended the seal was kissing him over and over again.

The day ended with Nolan's very first ice cream cone... Doc Bernstein's Chocolate.

Daddy had been patiently waiting 12 months 4 weeks and 1 day for this moment.

Re-Entry

Today we began our re-entry into society since our massive sickness. I say "re-entry" because we were like a couple of astronauts zipping through the atmosphere at warp speeds today. It had been so long since we had done anything I couldn't resist doing everything.

The day begin with a quick hike up Madonna Mtn. with some friends. Nolan & I had to turn around a little early to make it in time for his first day at Central Coast Gymnastics. He had a blast crawling through tunnels, running up ramps and somersaulting back down the ramp. He jumped on the trampoline and slid into a swimming pool of balls. We had less than ten minutes left in class when I realized I had left my camera in the car! I ran out as quick as I could and when I got back Nolan had gone into utter meltdown. Apparently, separation anxiety is now a side effect of us being together 24-7 over the last week. So this is the best picture I got of the day after he finally calmed down....

After the hike and baby gymnastics, we met up with our regular Friday Mom's Group (aka: our saving grace & the best group a new mom could ever ask for). We went to Avila Valley Barn for a picnic and to feed the animals. Yes, real animals. I'm not calling our kids animals, although.....

Nolan & Urban just spotted the rooster running free.

Nolan dodging a kiss from Maeve. Hey Nolan, I can pretty much assure you that you will be kicking yourself on this one in about 15 years!

Surrender To The Sickness

It is not humanly possible to be sick this often. Once again the whole family is sick with yet another mucus ruling, coughing fit, achey body cold. We have picked up every bug, virus, and infection on the central coast. I'm just waiting to come down with The Plague at this point. Martin and I can count on our digits how many days we have been WELL during the past 3 months. I remember when my sisters kids were little I would always get sick after hanging around them, so I should have been a little better mentally prepared for this. My sister cheered me up a bit by letting me know that this will only go on for the next 3 years or so and then we'll get a break for just a little bit until Nolan starts school where we'll go through this all over again for another couple of years. But by then we'll (hopefully) have more little snot noses running around the house and we'll look back fondly on the days that we only had to look after one sick kid.

Since we literally have not left the house since Thursday (Friday for Martin), here's a recap of happier times.

Pictures from Nolan's Birthday:

"A pony! Seriously, I got a pony for my birthday!"

The Birthday Babies: In my mom's group we have 7 babies that were all born within 23 days of each other. These are our March babies. The birthday party was a group "Baby's First Birthday", which happily fell on Nolan's actual birthday.

Nolan's First Cake - Whole wheat carrot cake and a dab of cream cheese frosting, all baked from scratch. Special note: It was my first cake as a baby, the same recipe my mom used.

I may have made the babies heart shape cakes but I have to bow down to Jermey & his wife + staff at Eclair Bakery that made the oh so yummy Chocolate Espresso Cake for the adults.

Nolan and Mommy...ahhh!

Nolan and Winston Go For a Ride

No children or horses were harmed in the making of this film.

Although, Nolan has learned that Winston is to be rocked on back and forth...not side to side.