your's is the first face that i saw

birthday week is upon us! i say birthday week as it is important to milk these things for all they are worth. cohen's birthday week kicked off last sunday with a little gathering at our house in his honour. the cake was blueberry banana with cream cheese icing, which to my great disappointment is a very stable and clean eating cake. cohen not only got the whole thing into his tummy, but licked all of his fingers with little to no mess on his face. very disappointing indeed. still, there was singing and balloon poking and attention, so much attention, that there was no way cohen couldn't have a great time.

today cohen continued his week long celebration by hanging out at grandma's. apparently he spent a portion of today basking in the lush backyard in nothing but the skin he came in, which is pretty much the best day ever for him, and then grandma let him suck on the juicy middle of a mango. tomorrow i am off work for the day and plan to take him to the park in the morning and swimming in the afternoon. we haven't been swimming in almost a month and i have missed it immensely. i can't wait!

his actual birthday, as some of you know, is on saturday. we will be spending that day contemplating life under a canopy of trees as we are headed into the woods for a little back to nature weekend. it will be our first annual camp cohen (as dubbed by this years attendee nicole). the weather looks like it might be warm and sunny, which could mean a dip in the lake and some more naked playing for the pooper, and some much needed relaxation for mom. oh, and of course there will be another cake for the actual day, this time though it won't be so clean. whip cream should be sufficiently messy enough!

so wish us luck with the weather and we will see you back here on monday with some photos of our adventure.

that's the start, the middle, and the end

today we went and hung out with megumi and ryden. megumi is a friend of mine from work and ryden is her son who was born on january 16th, exactly 7 months after cohen. i hadn't been over to meet him yet (although i had seen a lot of cute pictures), and so i was excited to hold a newborn again and smell his baby head. he didn't disappoint. cohen, who isn't the most gentle at the best of times, did alright considering. of course he did make ryden cry a couple of times by imposing himself on his personal space, but no one lost an eye and so it was all fun and games in the end.

so it goes

yesterday i mourned the loss of one great writer, and celebrated the arrival of a new one. i haven't been to many book readings, particularly poetry, so i am no expert, but i think it was a huge success. none of the readers broke down in tears and no tomatoes were thrown, and really what more can we ask for? oh yeah great poetry, and we weren't disappointed. as kevin so succinctly put it, it was a proud moment. now let's give those writers one more woo hoo!

want to see more, less manipulated pictures? or better yet buy the book!

weekend roundup

this is a rabbit, or a bunny if you like. you can tell this by the floppy ears...right? ok, it might be somewhat ambigious what variety of animal it is exactly, so i am telling you, it is an easter bunny. he has no name, although "rabbit" was thrown around. i figure i might as well start naming things what they are, simple is the new complex after all. rabbit represents all of the chocolate and marshmallowy goodness that awaits cohen in future years, however, this year crinkly ears will have to suffice.

so if cohen got rabbit, then what did i get? a saturday night out with two of my favourite people, aaron and nicole. there were nachos and beers on a patio with people gawking, then movie theatre watching (blades of glory, which was incredibly cry with laughter hilarious...although maybe that is the beer talking) and finally new apartment lounging, complete with dark chocolate and berry compote covered raspberry sorbet eating and dvd watching. there is something incredibly cathartic about visiting with them for me. a place outside of myself. when i am there i feel like the old t. now don't get me wrong i love this new life, the one with the husband and baby, but it is still nice to visit the old one, even just to say a quick "hi, how are you". i am lucky to have such a place to recharge my batteries every once in a while.

the rest of the weekend was spent sleeping in (well sort of), sipping coffee on sidewalks, walking and swinging on swings, then visiting with grandma (cohen's, not mine, unfortunately that isn't possible anymore) and eating a decadent fondue spread together that consisted of much marinated meat and vegetable tempura, followed by many fruits dipped in melted chocolate with amaretto for good measure. there was a delicious bottle of wine and good conversation and then a good night.

today was all about being lazy. napping and relaxing and more coffee drinking. we were supposed to go out with my brother to the park this afternoon but the weather wasn't co-operating and so collectively it was decided that frolicking is best left for another, much sunnier, time. it is just as well as cohen moaned a lot today, i suspect another tooth although there were sniffles in his nose last night and some heat on his temple, whatever it is it left him on the wrong side of happy for much of the day. it still wasn't enough to throw me off though, it was a great weekend even without chocolate rabbits and eggs. i am just glad for any occasion that finds all three of us home together for four days in a row, it should be like this every week.

your wish will be granted

***update: voting has closed and unfortunately the wish wasn't granted, but thanks to those of you that went and voted, it was kind of you to lend support***

those of you who read here regular know that i am not one to plug a cause or post strange mass emails, i find the practice frustrating and fruitless, so please know that this is different.

a friend of mine, becky, who lives in oregon has a dear friend whose 16 year old son matt was hit by a tree that fell during a storm just outside seattle last november. he is paralyzed and very lucky to be alive. the reason i am mentioning this to you is that there is a website called the robinhood fund that grants wishes to those who viewers deem most deserving, and becky has asked for her monetary wish be granted to help matt's family renovate their home to accommodate a wheelchair and to help pay for some of his medical expenses. the voting ends tomorrow (wednesday), and right now this wish is in second place, first place has it granted. it is because it is so close to actually happening that i am asking for your help.

i consider becky a very dear friend and so i want to do all that i can to help make this dream a reality, so please take just a moment and go here and vote five stars.


for those of you interested, this is the full story:

On Monday, Nov. 28, 2006, 16-year-old Matthew Howard was helping his family pick up branches on his grandparents property in Stanwood in the aftermath of another of our areas many recent storms. Without warning, a large tree that appeared perfectly fine came crashing down on him.

Unconscious, Matt was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition, then airlifted to Seattle, where he and his family learned that he is paralyzed from the waist down. In addition to spine and back injuries, the impact broke both his legs and bruised his lungs. He has undergone six surgeries at Harborview and Children's hospitals.

Matt was released from the hospital on Jan. 24, 2007 but will be undergoing long-term rehabilitation. He is in good spirits despite this adverse accident. A sophomore at Stanwood High School, he is an athletic young man who participated in track and cross country. He is determined to regain as much strength as possible.

In early February, Matt went back to his high school. This is truly incredible because his accident happened only 3 months prior.

Meanwhile, his good humor and kind, generous spirit are helping his family cope with the tragedy. He is the son of Shari and Blake Howard and big brother to Cody, 14. Shari is a homemaker and Blake is an insurance adjuster.

So far, Matt's medical bills have topped thousands of dollar. Insurance will cover some of the expenses but the family will need help to pay the rest. They are also struggling to remodel their house for wheelchair use. Ultimately, they hope to get Matt who had earned his driver's license shortly before the accident a wheelchair accessible van with hand controls.

Please help grant this small wish for Matt's family.

happy birthday to you little atticus

wow! i can't believe this day is here. has it really been a year? i remember that night one year ago. i didn't know marita well, but i had heard through others that her water had broke, that she hadn't gone into labour but was doing everything to get there. marko and i were in the middle of a move from the sixth floor down to third at the time, all of our stuff was out, but the old apartment still needed cleaning, and so my mom was over late helping marko clean the apartment as i, quite pregnant myself, slept in our new apartment three floors down. it was late when marko came in and woke me up, he looked concerned and i sat up. there are ambulances here, he said. my mom was upstairs with her neck craned out the window trying to see something, anything so that we wouldn't worry. i wanted to go up and make sure, but i didn't know them well enough and even if i did now wasn't the time. my mom didn't see anything and eventually the ambulances left and they seemed to be empty, a good sign, but we still didn't know. so that night we all went to sleep filled with worry, and in the morning i woke early, much too early to be phoning laisha to see if she had news (sorry). she didn't, but she took pity on my worrisome soul and got some for me. everything went well, it was a boy and he was born here at home after all. relief and then joy settled in. it was a couple of weeks before i finally met atticus george, but soon he became a regular part of mine, and cohen's life. he was so tiny that first time, so fragile in my hands. it made me nervous to think that soon i would have a small human of my own, would i know better how to hold him when he is mine?

little did i know that time would make both of us an expert at all kinds of things, sleeping and eating and walking and laughing and of course crying. for atticus i suspect that today is just another, one of many in a line. he might wonder what all the fuss is about, although he will hopefully like the amazing cake his mom is making, but in the end i think today will mean the most to marita. it's huge, a day full of nostalgia for what has come and hope for that yet to be. i hope the reflection is peaceful and bright, although i suspect there will be some kleenex moments as well. in honour of you, my friend, i will spend my day celebrating being a mother in the way that you have done all year long, and cohen and i will raise a glass and toast both atticus and his wonderful mom who persevered through much to bring him here to be with all of us. if you are reading this then go here and wish them a happy birthday! what a glorious day indeed.