2 years - really?

I visited this page today, apparently for the first time in two years. Wow, how time flies. I resolve that I should try harder to post here because it is a nice running diary of life with Eli. I can't believe he was three years old when I last wrote here - now he is five. The last two years have been amazing and breathtaking. How to sum it up? Music, talking, traveling, and family fun. Eli remains addicted to music.

Using the Sonos and listening to music on his iPod Touch is his favorite pastime. Whether it's Louis Armstrong's "It's a Wonderful World" or Run D.M.C.'s "It's Tricky", Eli loves music. From the moment he wakes up until the time he goes to sleep, music is a constant presence. Perhaps his greatest thrill this year was going to see Paul McCartney at Miller Park. There was something magical about sharing his first concert experience.

 Eli has become quite the talker. He likes using complex words to express himself. Usually he expresses himself by worrying or otherwise being anxious. I think he takes too much after mom, and to a lesser extent, dad. I can't believe there was a time where we were concerned he wasn't talking enough. Now we can't get him to stop! But it is great listening to him try to apply complex logic. Today he talked about using dye to 'paint' Fozzie the dog like an American Flag (blue on the face and stripes on his body). Last week he confused the liberty bell with Taco Bell. And so on. But each day brings joyous discovery of new words. And he is beginning to broaden his skills into spelling and reading. He can confidently read 3 and 4 letter words and is learning to spell better each day. If we spent more time reading, I think he would have an easier time with longer words. But we don't want to push him too hard and break him of the joy of reading. He is still at an age where he sometimes chooses to have family reading time after dinner and before bed.

 Traveling is a major theme in our lives and we are fortunate to share it with Eli. He loves visiting Seattle and we've gotten to bring him on a trip there each of the last three years. As I write this, Shelby and I are preparing for a trip to Atlanta, Miami, and Sao Paulo. Watching him gain confidence as a traveler has been exciting and rewarding. He worries a bit too much about things out of his control, but he loves exploring and has a fantastic, patient disposition. He isn't hurried or restless on flights, usually because he can listen to music or watch videos. I hope we get to continue bringing him with us for years to come, though we realize it will become harder once he begins kindergarden next fall.

 Finally, there is family fun. We are lucky to have several routines that we all enjoy. On Saturday mornings, we exercise and then go to the coffee shop where we share a scone, a waffle, and usually a hot chocolate or tea. This fall we've added 'Slurpee Saturday' to the mix, where Eli and I go to 7/11 (new to Madison in 2012) and each get a Slurpee. Once a week we all go to the gym and Eli stays in the playroom while we exercise. When the weather is nice, we try to walk down to Monroe Street to pick up dinner at least once a week. Eli rides his bike sometimes, occasionally walks, but usually prefers to ride in the jog stroller. I never would have guessed a five year old would have the patience to ride for more than an hour in the jog stroller.

 There have also been highs and lows in the last two years. Triscuit, our beloved greyhound and first 'big' pet, passed away suddenly last June. We quickly realized we needed a greyhound in our lives and adopted Fosbury (aka Fozzie) in August, 2012. He has a lot more energy and is more anxious than Triscuit, but loves to run and enjoys activities Triscuit never liked. It has been fun teaching him to be a house dog, though he flunked out of dog obedience school this spring. One reason I haven't posted to this blog is until recently, I was coping with migraines that limited the amount of time I could spend in front of computer monitors and other bright light sources. I now have that, as well as the asthma that was complicating my breathing for the last ten years, under excellent control. Everyone in the family is healthy and active - something I try never to take for granted. More pictures will follow, but I wanted to make sure I wrote out a post before leaving on our trip. Though I'm probably the only person who will read this, it's a great reminder of a moment in time.

What a wonderful trip. so far

Shelby and I are in Seattle at an AIDS conference for work. In addition to the main meeting, which runs Wednesday to Friday, I needed to arrive early for a special meeting, and Shelby is helping coordinate a workshop today (Tuesday). We decided to bring Eli, since our upcoming solo travel would otherwise mean a monthlong stretch with little continuity. While we have travelled with Eli many times, we are always impressed at how quickly he adapts and how inquisitive he is. The trip here was uneventful, though everyone was tired since he awoke in the middle of the night on the way here, since we had told him that we would be going to the airport after he awoke. Having a three year old who will sit mostly quiet for a 5 hour flight is pretty remarkable.

Our first day here, we took a harbor cruise around Eliot Bay. Eli was overtired, but later he said he had a lot of fun on the big boat. We had dinner with two colleagues from work and Eli was so tired by this point that he put his head on Shelby's lap and went to sleep in the restaurant! He didn't even wake up when I carried him the three blocks home to the hotel. We are staying at a hotel on the waterfront, with a balcony overlooking the bay. I am typing this from the balcony while Eli takes a nap.

Yesterday, Eli and Shelby visited with one of Shelby's friends while I attended my meeting. They went to the Childrens' Museum and Eli told me he had a wonderful time. Apparently he was particularly fond of the drum room. Later in the afternoon, my meeting ended and the three of us walked down to the Pike Place market. Eli was proud of himself for walking up all the stairs from the waterfront to the market, even though he wanted to take the elevator back down on our way back to the hotel. Much to my surprise, he stopped at a stop sign and pointed out each letter in sequence. Later, he did the same at the 'Public Market' sign atop the market. Eli enjoyed sitting on a piggie bank sculpture, while I enjoyed finding the tea shop that makes the cinnamon and orange tea I buy at a 1000% markup at home. Eli also liked watching the fish sellers throwing the fish around.

We came back to the hotel and went to dinner with another colleague. Back past the market and up the hill into downtown Seattle. Eli was on great behavior, not least because he got to have pizza two nights in a row. After dinner we came back to the hotel and had dessert. While we waited for dessert, I showed him pictures of famous musicians in the lobby of the hotel. To my surprise, he pointed to one picture and (correctly) identified the band as the Beatles. Pretty cool. He got to bed after dessert and slept until about 7:30 this morning. Fortunately, jet lag doesn't seem like much of an issue.

One aspect of the trip that Eli eagerly anticipated was having breakfast at coffee shops every morning. We found one yesterday monring that served some healthier options, so Shelby and Eli went back there this morning while I went to the first hour of my meeting. After breakfast, we traded places and Shelby went to her meeting. I walked Eli past the Olympic Sculpture Garden (where we watched a train go through a tunnel, much to his delight) to the Experience Music Project, or, as Eli calls it, the music museum. He had so much fun. The museum was not particularly busy, particularly when we arrived, so we went to the part of the museum where you can experiment on different instruments and he spent two hours playing drums, guitar, bass, keyboard, singing, scratching turntables, etc. He is just learning the differences between these instruments and how to keep rhythm, so it was very fun to try to play alongside him. After this, we tried the interactive 'sound stage' where we got to simulate rock stars singing 'Twist and Shout' to our adoring admirers. It was really loud, but Eli had a great time singing into the microphone.

After the music museum, we decided to go to the Space Needle's revolving restaurant for lunch. Eli had a great time in the revolving restaurant, pointing out railroad tracks, boats, birds, helicopters, seaplanes, and other items on the ground and in the air. He wasn't even (visibly) scared in the 1 minute elevator ride up and down. Now he is taking a nap, but I will need to wake him in about 15 minutes so that Shelby and I can participate in a panel discussion on work/life balance. Isn't that what this is, taking turns watching Eli so the other can work?

Noodles, 2001-2011

This is a sad post to write. We came home from Florida today after celebrating 90 years of GiGi's life to discover our lovebird Noodles on the floor of her cage. Our friends had changed her food and water while we were away, but there were no feces in her water and they told us she had become progressively more listless while we were away for the weekend. As best we can tell, she simply died of old age. There were no feathers on the floor of her cage, no blood, no obvious signs of distress. In the last several years, she had stopped laying eggs and we assumed that meant she had become an elderly bird. While lovebirds can (and often do) live longer, 12 years is still about double their life expectancy in the wild. We put a brave face on for Eli, simply explaining that Noodles was an old bird had gone to sleep and would not wake up, so we no longer needed her cage. He accepted this explanation at face value and I walked him around the block while Shelby buried Noodles in the backyard. Later, as Shelby finished making dinner, I carried Noodles's cage and toys to the trash. Since we don't know exactly why Noodles died and her cage and toys were dirty, we decided to simply discard the whole setup. We discussed buying her a new cage in any event about two weeks ago, so the idea of throwing it away wasn't totally jarring. The reality of putting the cage in the trash, however, was. Both Shelby and I broke down at the sight of Noodles's cage in trash hopper only a few hours after we arrived home. It seemed...undignified...and callous, as though her entire existence was being wiped away without a second thought. That isn't true, of course, but it isn't an exaggeration to say that with our lives moving as quickly as they are, landmarks today are rapidly forgotten as we confront each new day's challenges. By next week we will have other worries, and the reality of that hit us hard as we prepared to throw away her cage. We did save one favorite toy as a keepsake.

When Shelby and I think about our time with Noodles, I don't think either of us can forget our first days with her. The night we went to Animal Adventures, an exotic pet store in Monona, with the expectation that we would buy a parakeet and found ourselves leaving with a baby, hand-fed lovebird. The store wasn't as knowledgeable as they initially let on; they told us that Noodles was a male lovebird and subsequently broke her wing during a routine clipping. Nonetheless, our relationship with one another, then only about three years old, seemed strong enough that we could take joint responsibility of another living entity. With all that entails. I remember driving home, late that night, as Shelby and I discussed names for the bird as we drove down the beltline. We both readily agreed on Noodles, after the restaurant where we spent our first quality time together in January 1998.

The first few months were challenging. Noodles was very loud and destructive. In our apartment on Chandler Street, we were concerned that Noodles would disturb our neighbors on the first floor. Her initially adorable habit of stuffing paper into her wings became less adorable as she destroyed books, magazines, cabinetry, and all assorted other stuff around the house. We didn't have much money, and she destroyed some textbooks that we otherwise could have sold back. Nonetheless, Shelby and I spent a lot of time trying to train her to sit on our fingers and shoulders. She was snippy from the outset and resisted our attempts to have a friendly companion who would ride around with us. Our one triumph was her willingness to shower with us occasionally. Noodles would sit on the shower caddy, getting wet and shaking her feathers. Except for my accidental near-crushing of her with a bag on our way out of town on a trip, Noodles was a healthy, active, if somewhat cranky, bird.

Getting the apartment ready to be shown by the landlord was a challenge. There was always a lot to clean up, and Mark Sukowaty was not enamored with us having a bird at all. This became less of an issue in August when we moved into our first house. I remember putting up boards around the kitchen so she would have an area to roam and collect paper. In later years, we confined her more intently. First, we cordoned off smaller areas of the kitchen for her. But later, when we got Triscuit, we realized she needed to be confined to her cage most of the time or else Tris, with his prey drive, would likely make short work of our flightless lovebird. She spent the last several years cooped up most of the time, which saddened both of us, but didn't appear to faze Noodles. When we took her out of the cage (often when Triscuit was on the other floor), she would scamper around looking for paper and nipping at us indignantly. I'm happy that in the last six months, Eli recognized Noodles as a pet and an item of interest. Earlier this spring we recreated the Elephant and Piggy book, "There's a Bird on my Head" to Eli's delight. The picture of Noodles perched on Eli's head was the screensaver on my computer for several months.

Because Noodles wasn't particularly affectionate, I think that a lot of our sadness is directed at the ambiance she brought to our lives. Wherever we lived, she added background noise. Her chattering was insistent and boisterous. I suspect that when I rewatch videos from Eli's first three years of life, background chirping will be heard in almost all that were shot on the first floor of our house. The ritual of putting her to sleep as we 'close up for the night' and removed her cover in the morning put bookends on our days. It often woke us up when we fed her, as she would nip at our fingers if we weren't dextrous enough to get her food and water cup situated quickly. I also claim, to this day, that when she chirped at us after we put on her cover, she chirped two syllables that sounded uncannily like 'Good Night', which is what we told her each night after we covered her up.

Tonight after Eli went to sleep Shelby and I exhumed Noodles from her temporary burial spot, put her in a box to deter other animals, and gave her a short memorial service in the dark. We recalled our fondest memories of our time together and thought about all that we have been through with her in our lives. We are thankful for all she gave us, not least of which was the confidence that we could take care of another living creature and handle responsibility and challenges together. We apologized for not being home when she passed, hoped that her passing was peaceful and mercifully short, and wished her a final good night. Good night Noodles, good night.

Emoting

We were able to spend most of the last week with Eli. He developed an ear infection last weekend and did not have school this week. Consequently, we were home with him and he was quite clingy. He is also learning to communicate his emotions: today at the swimming pool he told us that he was sad because we hadn't put seed in the bird feeder before leaving the house. Our days this week fell into a pretty routine pattern. We would wake up, exercise, play until lunch, take a nap, and then head to the pool for a late-afternoon swim. Eli is pretty courageous in the swimming pool, but he has now spent enough time underwater that he is beginning to respect it a bit more. After showing fearlessness in going off the diving board last week, he was too scared to go off it this week. Since the weather was beautiful all week, we also got to go to Noah's Ark in the Wisconsin Dells. Eli was terrified of the water slides (which is funny, since he likes both water and slides), but he had a great time splashing in the wave pool and watching the older kids play on the more exciting rides.

Eli is also taking joy in little things around the house. He is quite smitten with the Roomba (aka, Robot Vacuum) and is eager to find it 'robot food'. He carries his iPod shuffle around with him at nearly all times. I periodically freshen up the music, but we have grown very familiar with some of his favorites. He is also very interested in playing 'Beatles: Rock Band' on the XBOX 360. He probably knows ~10 songs that he can mumble along with reasonably well. Right now, his favorites are 'Get Back' and 'Yellow Submarine'.

lots of trips to the zoo

We had a busy May and early June. Dave was out of town twice, and Shelby went out of town once. At least we are all back now. But, Eli, as usual, has been in good spirits. He got to go to the zoo a lot -- including its 100th birthday! Enjoy!

Seders and birthdays

Happy April birthdays to both Grandpas! We also got to enjoy two Seders this year. Here are just a few pics from the family fun! And, I've got to say...Eli gets a lot of use out of that sweatshirt.

a few pics

Here are a few pics. We haven't taken many lately, but here are a few fun ones from the winter.

South Carolina

We just got back from a fantastic visit to South Carolina for cousin Sarah's bat mitzvah. As you can see, Eli had a good time, and he got all tired out. He was a fantastic little gentleman for both the Friday night and Saturday morning services. He really enjoyed the musical parts of the service. A great time was had by all!

Holidays

We had a busy holiday season. Shelby and Dave were both writing grants. So, we stayed in Madison. We still had a nice time. We opened lots of gifts at home and spent time with friends at the train exhibit and on Christmas night. We got to do some sledding and roast marshmallows in our fireplace! Enjoy!

November

Here are a few pics from the month of November. It was an exciting month, and very full house during Thanksgiving! We had both grandparents, uncle Jason, and an extra dog in the house. Good fun! But, Eli had a great weekend. Enjoy the pics of the little guy!

Fall

Eli is becoming more independent each day. On his way to school, he carries in his Curious George lunchbox like a briefcase. He is trying hard to put on his coat by himself, and he is not shy about expressing himself. At least, to us. He tends to turn his head away from other people and talk to them while burying his head in our shoulders. His vocabulary is growing quickly - he is even trying to pronounce complex words like 'archipelago' (we had Indonesian food last night).

Today we went to the Madison Children's Museum and Eli did not want to leave the climbing apparatus or stop painting. Both time he was very upset when he was asked to move on to another activity, just another sign of his burgeoning independence.

The last few weeks have been busy with weekend get togethers with friends. Most Friday night we have had dinner with our friend Sue, Joe, and their now-one-year-old grant. We had several birthday parties in the last few weeks, with one more tonight. Before we know it, Thanksgiving will be here. Both sets of grandparents and one uncle will be visiting Eli. Busy times, but fun.

-dave

pics

We hadn't posted in awhile. Here are a few good ones. You can see Eli and Nadav at the Halloween party and on the carousel at the zoo (our regular weekend attraction)! OH, and we had an instrument parade one night -- good fun! Also, here is a picture of Eli on top of the climbing tunnel at school. It is impressive that he can make it to the top!

Enjoy!

pumpkin patch

I got to go with Eli's class to the pumpkin patch today! We had a good time and the weather was great! We picked our pumpkins and then got to visit the animals and the playground. And, Eli got to ride on the school bus like a big boy. Oh, and don't forget milking the cow..... All in all, a fun time!