Great Grandma's 85th

The bean family went to Seattle to help celebrate Elliot's Great Grandma Millie's 85 birthday. We arrived late Thursday night into the SeaTac airport and drove directly to our little B&B called the Hogland House in Mukilteo, WA. I booked this place online, knowing nothing of it. Based on the website, and my own propensity towards good luck, I assumed it was going to be crappy. Well, this is what we got:

An absolutely stunning house overlooking the Puget Sound. And, even better, we were the only guests staying in the place, there was a fantastic hot tub (as you see), and the inn sitter (the normal inn keeper was out of town) was a fantastic cook and made us the most remarkable breakfasts. So, either my luck is changing, or the dual good kharma powers of Justeen and Elliot overpowered the normal balance of the universe.

As not to belabor this point, I should move on. The next day, we took a ferry to a nearby island and walked around. Here we are embarking on our walk. Elliot turned his hat to the side and set out to have a good day. Well, lo an behold, we had a fantastic day.


After stopping in a few locations, we drove about sixty miles up the island and stopped at a place called Deception Pass. This place got its name because of the deceptively erratic currents that occur down below.


Elliot was not so impressed by the dramatic drop. Although his parents felt slightly stricken with Vertigo as they began walking across the bridge. With oncoming traffic on one side and a dramatic drop on the other, holding a squirmy, drooly baby never felt so precarious. We promptly turned around and went back to a secure surface.

The next day, my parents arrived in town for the party. We met them at their B&B in Everett, WA.


My mother immediately commandeered Elliot for her own consumption. Luckily, I was there to preserve the moment with my handy Casio camera. Elliot felt right at home on his grandmother's lap. Without any hesitation he was playing and posing for the camera.

The next day was the big party. Here's the birthday girl and part of the bean family.


The following day, we were able to see Justeen's mom (who was in town visiting her daughter-in-law). This trip required amazing coordination on so many fronts. So, again, in typical grandmother style, Elliot was commandeered.


His evil grin and menacing eyes are not indicative of how he was feeling at this moment. He often looks as though he's plotting to take over the world.

Finally, we all paused for a photograph while wandering around in Seattle's extreme 95 degree heat.


We got on a plane later that night and returned home. The bean slept on our red eye flight - and of course I didn't. Some things never change. We escaped the west coast heatwave, only to be greeted with some mass of hellish air on its travels east. I'm glad that I was able to experience the great heat wave of '06 on both coasts.

Birthday in Baltimore

The thing about babies is that it's not convenient for them to be away from their mothers for too long. So, because Justeen had to give a talk at a conference in Baltimore, the whole family tagged along. I was on Elliot duty while Justeen said smart stuff to people, and Elliot was on Daddy duty. The great thing about conferences is that they really are just excuses to travel places. In fact, the whole family, Justeen included, spent a bunch of time tooling around town. But before we get to the Baltimore pics, here's Elliot in his monkey chair.


Only days after Elliot's monkey encounter, the beans got on a plane to Baltimore. In only about an hour we arrived in "Charm City" and Elliot was ready to enjoy some summer fun. He put on his pants and his shades and strolled around the Inner Harbor looking for chicks.


He found one. But it turned out to be his mother. Ah, so Freudian.



After many hours of walking around, we all got on the water taxi and made our way around the harbor. This was Elliot's first time on a boat (can you believe it? 4 months old and never on a boat.)


Speaking of 4 months - as it turns out, Elliot turned that ripe ol' age while we were there. So, in honor of his geriatric feat, we all went on a merry-go-round. I think this was the fastest carousel I've ever experienced. I thought I was going to spit up. By the end of the ride, we were all putting our fists in our mouths.

long time gone

Quite a bit of time has passed since my last post. I'm finding it increasingly difficult to find the time to get the word about Elliot out. But, this does not mean I intend to stop. It only means I intend to be more diligent. So, quite a lot has happened since our Father's Day excursion to Cape Cod. Elliot has been growing like a wild fire. He went to the doctor yesterday and the official word on his weight is 19.6 pounds. That is literally off the charts. He was in the 97 percentile, which was the highest line on the chart. Now, he was plotted above that point. I think he just might be the biggest baby in all of history. I mean, with such a burly father, it's no wonder he's so massive.

Sometimes he gets so tired carrying around his girth that he just falls asleep. Here he is taking a nap while eating his lunch. Notice how he's managed to keep the bottle in his mouth even without consciousness. What a talented little tyke.


Here he is sleeping after a long walk in his double stroller. What you can't see is that Ella is sitting behind him (also asleep).



After a quick cat nap, the little bean is awake and trying out his new tricks. Just last week, he rolled over onto his stomach. He looks so proud once he's done it. In the picture below, I think he's trying to figure out why the world is upside down from its usual appearance.

Cape Cod and Father's Day

It all started, when Mindy came into town. Returning from Malawi for a visit home, Mindy stopped over in Boston as her portal into the United States. The one in the hat below is Elliot.


We took a walk in the cemetary on a beautiful Saturday afternoon and sat near the pond so Elliot could take a load off. Below Elliot and his Mom are practicing their synchronized swimming routine (of course, with no water).


The next day, for Father's Day, we made our way down to Cape Cod. Mindy's friend from Malawi, Diane, who you will see in later pictures, was there visiting her parents (who you will also see). But below, you'll see Elliot and me clamming. That's right, Elliot is a big fan of shell fish - despite the kosher thing. I'll have a talk with him later. Anyway, here we are (not really) looking for clams.


After a time, we returned to the house and prepared our Cape Cod meal, which included fresh clams (quahogs, steamers and razors), clam chowder, and lobster. And with a view like that, who could complain? You might notice that Elliot is complaining in the picture below, but that's only because we told him he could only eat one lobster con leche. He was upset.

To work off our dinner. Elliot suggested that we take a walk on the beach. He set out before us, but we quickly caught up.



"Gotcha!" His mom caught up to him and picked him up. He didn't seem too upset.

And after some coaxing, he even started to laugh about it.


Once I emerged from my shell fish coma, I joined them on the beach for a picture. This is a north facing beach, so we have some nice light on our cheeks.


And alas, Justeen jumps behind the camera to snap a photo of Mindy, Diane, me and the bean. Soon after this picture was taken, we got in the car and drove in hideous traffic for our seventy mile trip back to Boston. I suppose we weren't the only ones with the bright idea to retreat for the cape on Father's Day.


And quite without warning, Elliot jumps in front of the camera!

Photos from California trip

As promised, here are some more photos from California. We, unfortunately, have very spotty photo documentation of the days events. Although, we did capture some good moments. Like, below is Elliot's great-grandmother greeting Elliot for the first time.

It was pretty great for everybody. Elliot was overwhelmed with the love after a long flight. But I could tell he was feeling pretty good about the whole thing.

Now he's back in his great grandmother's arms experimenting with a funny monkey (and no, that's not a euphemism).


Here's father and son posing with the grandparents. I believe this is the morning we left, so this picture is out of order. But for consistency's sake, I'm going to leave it here.



Then, we went up to visit Justeen's dad in Morro Bay.



And of course stopped off to visit 'good ol' Terry and George' in San Luis Obispo. We saw their beautiful garden and snapped some photos. Elliot is either getting tired here are acting cool in his fancy fresh lid.

Elliot Does California

Elliot took his first trip to California to visit his family and friends. It was quite a whirlwind affair. We arrived in the afternoon Wednesday May 31st. Upon arrival, we went straight to Elliot's great grandparent's house, where he was greeted by my entire family, including parents, brother, niece, nephew, cousins, sister-in-law, and of course, the great grandparents. After sleeping for about six hours on the flight over, Elliot was wide awake and awaiting the shower of love he received. Luckily, the shower was so powerful, that he fell asleep only about five hours later and almost slept through the night.

We slept at my parents' house (Elliot's grandparents' house), but soon after waking up, we headed out for our next adventure. We stopped in to see Justeen's sister at her groovy salon, Suburbia. After passing the bean around to various well wishers, we headed out to Morro Bay to visit J's dad - about 3.5 hours north. Once there, Elliot got his fair share of lovin' and mom and dad and bean enjoyed the reprieve from the 100+ degree temps in Los Angeles. It was a cool 65 at the beach. Thank goodness for the marine layers.

The next day, we said goodbye to the beach, J's dad and his girfriend Josie and made our way back to "the southland." We arrived home and my grandparents, or the bean's great grandparents, were at my parents', or the bean's grandparents' (is this making sense yet?) house. We had a lovely time chatting and eating pizza and the bean, passed from loving embrace to loving embrace, stared as we ate his future food (pizza con leche).

Later that night, we went off to Jennifer's house (J's sister or the bean's aunt) to meet J's mother, her husband, j's grandmother and j's niece (or the bean's grandmother, grandfather, great grandmother and cousin), who had just driven six hours to visit from Sonora, CA. We chatted and the bean was again, passed around.

The next morning, we went to visit my brother and family (or the bean's uncle, aunt, and cousins) and had a nice ol' time eating biscuits and talking about things bean. We said goodbye and made our to jen's house, where we were having a little party to see all of our old friends. A few hours later, the friends arrived and the bean was passed around again. Happy as a clam, the clam bean made his way from smiling face to goofy smile and impressed everyone with his coy glances and intense stares. We poured margaritas and avoided the heat. It was really great to see everyone again - it made us realize that we still have good friends on the other coast.

The next morning at 8am we left my parents' house (or the bean's grandparents' house) and drove to Long Beach to catch our plane. Justeen told him before we got on the flight that because he's been so good the entire trip, that she didn't mind if he cried all the way home. I promptly corrected her and told him that I minded. And that he should probably take a long nap again. Well, I was victorious in our first parenting disagreement. The bean slept until someplace over Kentucky. When he woke up, he just stared at the man sitting next to us until about Indiana. Then he found some other hapless victims to stare down. With only a few fussy moments during the entire flight, as we were deplaning, several people told us what a great baby he is. And I was overtaken with my first feelings of pride for the little guy. I was a proud father - his behavior was stellar and I felt so pleased that we were related (I'm the bean's father).

We arrived home around 9 o'clock on Sunday night, and all of us, exhausted from our travels, crashed. We had a great trip and the bean is still glowing from his visit. Of course, his eyes are now permanently open.


You might be wondering why there are few pictures posted here. Well, the camera is in Justeen's bag, so I won't get to posting the pics until I get back from Cleveland this weekend. Oh yeah, I'm leaving for Cleveland today for a conference. It'll be my first time away from J and the bean, and I'm not so happy about it. I know that J isn't either. But, I promised to return home with a smile and maybe a little something from the rock n' roll hall of fame.

discovering the obvious

Every now and then I discover the obvious. Sometimes I walk outside and "discover" why storm drains are directed away from the wood shingles on the side of houses. Sometimes I read the newspaper and "discover" why corporate capitalism is distinct from market capitalism and how there's no stopping corporate consolidation. And just the other day I discovered the very peculiar love I possess for my son. I'm struck by overwhelming feelings of attachment to this little being.


I suppose one could call it love, but it seems different than the garden variety. I know the love one has for their parents: an always-there phenomenon. Or romantic love based on an assumption of reciprocity.


Or the love for a friend based on respect and reverance. But then there's this other kind of love that I've lately been feeling for our son. It's partly based on creationism. By that I mean, I love this child, like God loves man, simply because I made him.

And it's partly based on potentiality. I love the thought of all the things to come. It's partly based on the desire for self-recognition. I love this child because he needs me. It's partly based on humanism. I love this child because he represents everything human I no longer take the time to recognize in myself.


And finally, it's partly based on the satisfaction of having a relationship so utterly void of pretense and presumption.

Whatever the sum of these parts, it's a profoundly new experience for me. And I'm sure as he acquires language and learns to manipulate us, I'll quickly forget the reason for this love. But the love will remain, and it will be constructed on a magnificent foundation.

2 Months Old

Little Elliot will be two months old tomorrow. So, in the spirt of celebration, the family decided to go to the beach. We took the train out to Revere Beach on a beautiful Friday afternoon. Being from California, we were a bit shocked and amused by the goings on at the beach. First of all, it's a totally different scene than, say, Malibu or Zuma. Instead of OC-like beach folk, there were lots of old men on beach chairs tanning themselves on the sidewalk. They positioned their chairs facing away from the ocean, quietly watching the foot traffic pound the sidewalk instead of the waves pounding the beach. This may have been to direct their bodies to face the afternoon sun - which of course is opposite the beach here. It may have been to be social, or it may simply have been to give themselves a better vantage of the scantily clad women. In any case, it was odd. We didn't quite know how to explain it to Elliot.

But there was no disputing that it was a beautiful day. Elliot, Justeen and I were thrilled to be out of doors and near a large body of water. It reminded us all that living near a coast, even if we rarely visit the water, is the geographic equivalent of a primal scream - sometimes you just have to be reminded that the land ends.

Justeen and Elliot contemplate the end of land below.



Until of course Elliot loses his hat.

Here I am with the little outdoorsman. We're both thinking about walking across the street to get some ice cream (which we eventually did).
After we returned home, the fun continued. Elliot is enjoying listening to me sing his favorite song - "happyland." You might remember the lyrics to this wonderful song from a previous post.



"You sly dog you," Elliot thought, as I spontaneously changed the lyrics.


After a busy afternoon, the little man chills on his pillow. He's wandering how the dancing monkey (that's me) is going to entertain him next.


And here I am trying to figure out what all the hubbub is about. He can stay under his little gym and giggle for upwards of thirty minutes. I just had to see for myself. I only giggled for about ten minutes before getting bored.

First Date

It's springtime in Boston. Love is in the air. The tulips in Copley Square are about to bloom. This flower below, in the avant garde, opens up to check out the scene. It looks around, figuring its strategy. There is strength in numbers. It realizes it is by itself - vulnerable, naked, exposed. And yet, it continues to open. This tulip is mighty and proud. And...it gave little Elliot the inspiration he needed to ask his sweetheart on a date.


He ponders his strategy with his dad and friends on a little walk by the river. "But how would I approach her?" "What would I say?" By the end of the walk we were all tired of hearing him pontificate.


He demanded that we go home so he could have some time alone. He positioned himself in front of the mirror and stared. "Hey baby" he rehearsed. "Is your diaper as wet as mine?"



And then, as quickly as the idea came to him, he figured the solution. He'll invite her to the gym. He was going to exercise anyway, so why not just ask her if she wanted to come along.



"Victory!" Little Ella showed up at the door and without much pause, they were hanging out in Playskool gym together.



He reached for her hand. She didn't pull away. It was working. She was warming up to him. It was the oldest trick in the book, but Ella, coy at first, placed her hand on his and left it there.



The first date was going swimingly. Ella couldn't hide her fondness for Elliot. So she needed her mom to ease her head towards his. Elliot didn't take that personally. "You take what you can get. And if this lovely lady needed a little help from her mom, well, I still pee on myself, so who am I to be picky."



It would seem that the love connection would be lasting. Elliot asked Ella to spend the summer with him and she said yes. They agreed to share a nanny three days a week. It was the beginning of something beautiful.