Emerson update - 15 months!

New words:

• Moon
• Bike - 'Biych'
• Cat - Meow
• Dog
• Papahi - What my dad calls E
• Book
• Up
• Mamma
• Dadda
• uh-oh!
• Banana
• Car
• Tractor
• Hi
• Bye Bye
• Aloh -  Informal way to say Hi in Farsi
• Aab - Water in Farsi
• Ahgha - Man in Farsi
• Fish
• Bird 
• Mina
• Lola
• These are just to name a few - he is learning more and more everyday!

Other stuff:

• Emerson loves to dance especially to the Talking Heads
• He is obsessed with the moon
• Wearing size 4 diapers
• About 26 lbs
• Emerson is pretty fearless - he likes to go fast, down slides. Faster and higher is his philosophy
• His favorite food is still blueberries
• Still sleeps through the night. He goes to bed around 8pm and wakes up at 7:30 am
• Take 1 nap a day for about 2 hours
• Alejandra is still his primary caregiver
• He really likes to point at familiar objects in books

Ghostbuster dance

Summer Wrap Up

We knew it was time for a summary blog since we haven't posted in a long time and the holidays are here. Man were we busy this summer. The thing that ate up most of it was weddings, but we'll get to that later.

 Kauai, Hawaii Friberg Invasion

About 9 months prior to this trip I emailed the family 'we are going to Hawaii, who is in?' Within a few days, dates were picked and tickets were bought. It was a trip that was a long time coming - I hadn't been back to the island I was born on since I left when I was 6 years old. I've been wanting to go back for a while, and I was extremely happy that the rest of the family wanted to come to. They were able to show us around all the spots we used to frequent.

Let's be clear. Vacationing with a child is not like vacationing without one. We took turns waking up earlier than the rest of the house to hang out with and feed Emerson. The time difference kind of threw him off, but so did the vacation 'anything goes' attitude too. That being said, the fun from vacationing was really watching Emerson experience new things and watch his curious expressions. It was pretty awesome watching Emerson at the beach. At first he didn't know what to think of the sand. But after a while he was getting wet and dirty. He loves the water so much, we had to be careful that he didn't dive in.

The highlight of the trip was swimming with sea turtles at Poipu beach. It was amazing. Snorkeling is so fun, and to see so many colorful fish up close was very relaxing.

Kauai 2012

 East Coast trip

When one of Kataneh's best friends, Mari, announced her wedding in New York, we knew we couldn't miss it and immediately started planning a larger family trip out of the time we'd have to take off for the wedding. We decided to fly to Nashville, drive to Blacksburg, VA to visit our friends Megan and Darrin, and then fly up to NY for the wedding.

Nashville is a lot of fun. It's full of music, nice people and things to see. We visited Jack Daniel's distillery and hit up lots of Honky Tonks on Broadway. Kataneh's friend Laura came out the day after we did and remained with us on the rest of our trip. It was great to spend time with her and she was a huge help with Emerson - he even started calling her 'LaLa'.

Blacksburg was really cool too. We were among the first friends from the West to visit Megan and Darrin. The highlight of the trip, apart from staying in their awesome house, was hitting the lake on Darrin's aunt's pontoon. Dogs, beers, sun, taking dips, it couldn't have been better.

NY was awesome. We rented a huge house outside of Hudson, NY. You'd think we were trying to recreate 'The Real World' with all 12 or so of us that stayed at the house. The best feature was the pool which we used every day.

Mari and Andrew's wedding was nothing short of spectacular. From the atmoshpere to the food and music, everything was what a wedding should be. Morgan was fortunate enough to have a no-dancing partner in crime to drink whiskey with while Kataneh was tearing it up on the dance floor.

 

A note on weddings

We are pros at attending weddings. We attended 8 this season!

Every wedding has a highlight. Some have great food, others have awesome music, while some have great venues, and others have cooler guests. None is any better than the other. There are so many factors that go into a good wedding. So many decisions and details which reflect the couple shine through.

Of all the weddings we went to, here are things that stood out:

• Mari and Andrew's first dance - The live version of 'Patience' by Guns n Roses.
• Kristel and Macdara's wedding rain - It was a magical moment when it started raining the moment the ceremony started. The guests all gathered in the house and watched K+M exchange vows while the wind and rain rattled the windows. It was romantic, memorable, and intimate.
• Denise and Jack's book worm theme - The back drop was an array of books and their guest book were library cards everyone signed and placed in a book!
• Nicole and Jeff's food - I still think about this food and crave it. There was a rotisserie chicken truck and amazing sides.
• Jessica and Jason's New Orleans theme - The brass band was spectacular and so was the southern food.
• Kelly and Aaron throw an amazing party - I danced all night and all of our closest friends were gathered in the intimate barn setting. You can see Kelly's unique style touches in every corner.
• Brooke and Nick's black tie affair - This wedding was very classy and I met a Taylor Swift look alike. Ettie, Dave, and Dean traveled to the wedding so it was awesome hanging out with them.

 

4th wedding anniversary

For our 4th year as a married couple, we decided to go camping with Emerson for the first time. It was fun, but hard. We wanted to go to Samuel Taylor, but because they were full, we ended up at Olema. We got in late, had no firewood, Kataneh's headlamp died and it kind of sucked. Emerson did OK though, he slept through the night. He loved running around and checking out the campground.

The next day, we woke up, made a great breakfast and headed to Pt. Reyes Station. We walked around and took our time. Next, we went to get some oysters and lunch on Tomales Bay. This is something we like to do every year.  We also went on a hike with the baby hiking backpack. After heading back to the campsite, we were sure to have batteries and firewood, ready for the night.

The night was good. We had an awesome dinner (grilled chicken and veggies), relaxed, hung out with Emerson, and he even went to bed at his normal time. The issue for night #2 was when he decided to wake up in the middle of the night as if it were 8am looking to play, sing, cry and carry on. We didn't get much sleep this night and we both wanted to poke our eyes out. At one point Kataneh wanted to just leave the tent and all of our belongings and drive home!

Would we go again? We would, but we'd be more prepared the next time around. Since this camping season is winding down, we probably won't go until next year when Emerson is older and will probably have a whole new set of tricks up his sleeve.

2012-09-22 4th Anniversary Camp Trip

Giants Game

The Giants won the world series! When Morgan's family was in town for Brooke and Nick's wedding, we knew it was a once in a lifetime chance to all watch them play against the St. Louis Cardinals at AT&T park. This game was essential for them to win so that they could advance to the World Series against the Detroit Tigers. Dave treated us and got us tickets down the third base line.

It was Emerson's first Giants game! He enjoyed watching all the fans chant and get crazy when the Giants made a good play. After the game, Caltrain broke down and we were asked to get off the train and take the elevator to the new train's platform. We thought it was a complete joke when the elevator got stuck. We finally made it home while cursing at government run services and inefficiencies.

Halloween

Emerson decorating his pumpkin at Palcare's Halloween party

 

The Bird Dream Painting

This weekend Kataneh whooped it up at Martha's Vineyard for a wedding of our dear friend Kristel 'Snailsback' Railsback.

Kristel is extremely imaginative, and about 3-4 years ago told me about a dream she had. If you've ever met Kristel, you understand that she misses nothing and remembers everything. The detail of the dream piqued my interest enough for me to want to try painting it.

Fast forward 3-4 years during wedding season. With so many weddings, we thought we'd try crafting or creating more of the gifts we gave out. After all, one of our favorite wedding gifts was a painting given to us. So, what better an opportunity to try my hand at painting Kristel's dream?

I had to email Kristel to brush up on the details of the dream again. Of course, she remembers it perfectly and here is what she provided:

My sketch is really poor, but here's how it happened...

The sky was grey and mysterious and I was in a sort of estuary with tall yellow grasses growing on the sides. I thought I was in the South. Suddenly these giant birds that were laying flat in the grass with their feet in the water stood up and started marching down the river, not really as a pack, but they were all going to the same place. They were wearing fedoras and had long beaks and white feathers. they had bird legs for arms instead of wings. There was one main bird and others behind him. They were super intimidating, but they meant no harm.

It was an awesome dream!

I was running short on time, whipped up some sketches and starter painting. The paint was barely dry before we had to roll it up and Kataneh whisked it off to the east coast. Here is the final painting:

Emerson update: 13 months

• Walking!
• Wearing size 4 diapers
• Eating absolutely everything - Blueberries and bananas are his favorites
• Drinking whole milk
•  Starting to have temper tantrums (he kicks his legs and slams his head on the ground while screaming)
• Saying da-da and da (for dog)
• I'm continuing to only speak Farsi to him
• He loves being outside
• He is a thrill seeker
• Doing some sign language (mostly 'more')
• Waves bye bye 
• Does high fives
• He hates the vacuume cleaner
• Is almost ready to move to the big boy room in day care. He is the next class!
• Loves being read to
• Loves water
• Blinks on command when asking him in Farsi

The Addition

You may recall when we started this blog that we wrote about the background image. It's a painting titled 'Morgan and Kataneh' and we were promised that as our family grew, the painting would be updated to reflect that. 

Brendan kept to his word, took the painting back, and added a little blob to represent the addition of Emerson to our family. The painting now happily hangs right next to our TV - the most prominent wall in the house. Speaking of TV, did anyone else out there feel shorted on Mad Men's season finale?!

1yr 2wks and we're walking

Take 1:

Take 2 (solo flight):

Emerson Turns One

It's incredible that only one year ago, Emerson was brought into this world. It has been the most challenging yet rewarding year of our lives. I felt like the first 3 months were in slow-mo; maybe because of the sleepless nights and the fact that I was just a milk machine to him. But every month that goes by, Emerson's personality comes out more and more and being a mom has sunk in as the greatest reality. If I had to describe Emerson in one word it would be 'aware.' He is just so in-tune with what is going on around him.

Emerson had his first birthday party. We had it at Vasona Park in Los Gatos and the theme was Cowboys and Indians. When people told me that the first birthday is completely for the parents, they are so right. We got a taco truck and a keg. People went ALL out with their costumes. We had a costume contest (Ettie was the judge for best cowboy and my friend Carrie was the judge for best Indian since she is actually half Native American!). My dad was the best dressed Indian and my Uncle, Shahi, won for best dressed cowboy.

We had plenty of fun outdoor games (boccie, horseshoes, water balloon toss, ladder ball). It is funny that Emerson couldn't care less about any of it! He had his serious poker face on the whole time (just trying to take it all in and being 'aware'). He was probably wondering why people were wearing all the crazy outfits! He didn't go crazy with his cake. He took his pointer finger, poked it in the cake and licked it ever so carefully. He is so over the whole messy cake business. That's for amateurs. We appreciated all our friends and family that came to celebrate the day with us (especially Morgan's parents who flew from ABQ to be there!)

Aunt Janet and Uncle Jason were kind enough to create this awesome video which pretty much captures the whole mood of the party:

Oh, and check out how Emerson has grown in 12 months!

First shoes are Soft Star Shoes

Since getting his new toy, Emerson has been walking a LOT. We have typically just put socks on him to keep his webbed toes warm, but now that he is actually cruising, we thought we'd start putting shoes on him.

Of all the shoes that people have given us, my sister's Soft Star Shoes seem to be the only ones that will fit on Emerson's fat-pads. Here they are in action:

Time to Walk

Megan and Darrin gave Emerson a walker toy a bit early for Emerson's first Bday. They were in town for various reasons, so it was great to see them.

Within 5 seconds of playing with the toy, Emerson was off!

A box, a string, and a baby

We are in full planning mode. We just bought tickets to go to Nashville to kick off our east coast trip for our friend Mari's wedding. We'll hang in Nashville for a few days, drive to Virginia to visit the Red Door Farmhouse, will then fly up to Albany, NY to head to the wedding spot near Catskill, NY.

This is some of the plans for 1 wedding. We have 8 this season. As if planning for the weddings isn't enough, Kataneh is in a few of them meaning there is bachelorette and bridal showers to plan as well. My god!

So, if we aren't planning for those, we are in full swing getting things in order for Emerson's first Bday next month. We have locked in the location, food, his outfit, and some games. We still need to get our outfits, music, and decorations in order. We are really excited. If you happen to be coming to his Bday, please bring any outdoor games you may have.

Speaking of Emerson, his girlfriend and him have been having serious talks about the future. He also has a new method of getting around town the house:

RIP Uncle Ronnie

I got a call Easter Sunday morning from my mom with the news that Uncle Ronnie had died at home. Ironically, some of my fondest childhood memories were swapping Easter visits between my cousin's house in Tucson and ours in San Diego.

We were fortunate enough to see Uncle Ronnie this past Christmas. In fact, over that holiday break, we discovered that Ronnie and Emerson were Toe Brothers!

One time, we were visiting my aunt and uncle in Tucson, and I had brought my guitar. Uncle Ronnie looooooooved to sing tunes. I was shocked when he was able to free-style a verse about each of the 10 or so people sitting around the table as I played a blues standard. He loved to sing along when we played guitar.

I wasn't lucky enough to catch that on video, but this past Christmas, I did get a few songs on tape. Ronnie, my dad, and I stayed up late and played a few tunes into the night. Here are the two songs I captured. In the videos, you mostly see dad, but Uncle Ronnie is off to the right.

Long Black Veil:                                                               

Mercedes Benz:                                                                

We clearly didn't know all of 'Mercedes Benz'. In fact, I hadn't ever heard it! Behind dad to the right, you can see a pile of pillows and blankets which was Emerson's Rat's Nest.

Ronnie will be missed. At only 63 years of age, he was too young to go.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Obituaries

Ronald Friberg (1948 - 2012)

Ronald Dean Friberg

September 16, 1948

April 8, 2012

Born September 16, 1948 in Reno, NV, to Morris and Vivian Friberg, and passed away peacefully on April 8, 2012. Ron is survived by his wife Bobbie, son Derryl, daughter Natalie (Eric) McEntaffer, grandson Trevor McEntaffer, and beloved dogs Snickers and Suni. Ron is survived by brothers Ed, David (Ettie), sister in law Ann, and sister Maureen (Lloyd) Hopkins, and several nieces and nephews. Ron is preceded in death by parents Morris and Vivian, brother Richard, and nephew Eric Friberg.

Ron spent much of his childhood in Alturus, CA, where he attended Modoc County High School. Ron served in the United States Army in Vietnam, and attained an Honorable Discharge. Ron retired from Union Pacific Railroad after 42 years. Ron was an avid San Francisco Giants fan and enjoyed gardening and reading.

Published in Reno Gazette-Journal on April 13, 2012

Source

Ronald Dean Friberg

Ronald Dean Friberg Born September 16, 1948 in Reno, NV, to Morris and Vivian Friberg, and passed away peacefully on April 8, 2012. Ron is survived by his wife, Bobbie; son, Derryl; daughter, Natalie (Eric) McEntaffer; grandson, Trevor McEntaffer and beloved dogs, Snickers and Suni. Ron is survived by brothers, Ed and David (Ettie); sister-in-law, Ann and sister, Maureen (Lloyd) Hopkins and several nieces and nephews. Ron is preceded in death by parents, Morris and Vivian; brother, Richard and nephew, Eric Friberg. Ron spent much of his childhood in Alturus, CA, where he attended Modoc County High School. Ron served in the United States Army in Vietnam and attained an Honorable Discharge. Ron retired from Union Pacific Railroad after 42 years. Ron was an avid San Francisco Giants fan and enjoyed gardening and reading. Arrangements by ADAIR FUNERAL HOMES, Dodge Chapel. Source

The Haft Seen is set for Persian New year!

Nowruz (Persian New Year) is tonight (March 19th) at exactly 10:14 PST! Nowruz marks the first day of spring and the new year in  Persian calendars.

After becoming a mother, I realize now that I am  accountable for teaching Emerson the Persian culture and keeping these beautiful traditions alive in my family. I try speaking to Emerson only in Farsi (although I forget sometimes!) and after 31 years of watching my mom set the Haft Seen (the traditional table setting for Nowruz), Emerson is now watching me set this meaningful table. Here is a brief overview of the Haft Seen and its symbolism:

Haft-Seen (Persian: هفت‌سین‎) or the seven 'S's is a traditional table setting of Nowruz, the traditional Iranian spring celebration

1. Sabzeh - wheat, barley, mung bean or lentil sprouts growing in a dish - symbolising rebirth
2. Samanu - sweet pudding made from wheat germ - symbolising affluence
3. Senjed - dried oleaster fruit - symbolising love
4. Sir - (Persian: سیر‎)- garlic - symbolising medicine
5. Sib - (Persian: سیب‎)- apples - symbolising beauty and health
6. Somāq - sumac fruit - symbolising (the color of) sunrise
7. Sekkeh - coins - symbolising prosperity

The  Sonbol - the fragrant hyacinth flower - symbolising the coming of spring

Pardon me

Do you have this Fender guitar in lime green?

Mr Bear

About the same size.

The Zoo

Grandma Dokhi couldn't watch Emerson today, so I took the day off and we went to the Zoo!

Bounce with it

The Spin Master

Seven - Eight Months Old

Emerson seems to have hit a big spurt of milestones all at once. Within a few days of turning 8 months old, Emerson started to crawl, started standing up on his own and has popped two teeth.

We've tried hard to get a good shot of his teeth, but his checks get in the way. And if his checks aren't in the way, his tongue is. If his tongue isn't in the way, he's flailing his arms around and defending his face. It's rare that we get to see the pearly whites, but sure as shit, they are there.

• Crawling like a crazy man
• In size 3 diapers
• Pulling himself up 
• Eating solids 2-4 times a day. He loves fruit and eats just about everything. He isn't a huge fan of broccoli
• He is putting everything in sight in his mouth
• 2 bottom teeth
• Weighs about 20lbs
• Had his first flu shots
• Occasionally he wakes up in the middle of the night crying. Most likely it is because he wants to be held. We have been trying to sleep train him and let him 'cry it out'. We usually fail.
• Its gotten extremely difficult to change him without him squirming around!
• He has a new love in his life: Lola Keach (Jessica and Matias's new baby girl!)
• He celebrated dad's birthday for the first time. We went to the Jelly Belly and Budweiser factory
• We baby proofed the house; but we most likely have a lot more to do
• Emerson loves pulling on our records. We have to keep an eye on him every second
• He watched the SuperBowl for the first time. I think he was bored
• He likes us to read Dr. Seuss books to him
• His friend at day care is named Maddie (she has bright red hair)
• His poops are pretty solid and stinky!
• He loves bath time. He splashes so hard, we have to block him with a towel so he doesn't flood the bathroom
• He is sitting in his stroller like a big boy (no more car seat)
• He LOVES the guitar and having Morgan put on a special concert for him

The Toe Brothers: Xmas 2011

It was a big Xmas for us. It was Emerson's first for a lot of things, and we spent two whole weeks in Albuquerque NM for Xmas and New Years.

Probably the biggest news to come out of the holiday is that we found where Emerson's syndactyly came from. We blogged about Emerson's webbed toes, and it turns out Uncle Ronnie is his Toe Brother! When we mentioned that Emerson had webbed toes, Ronnie revealed he had the same exact thing. To all of our surprise, including Aunt Bobby's, Ronnie showed us his toes and what Emerson's feet will look like in about 60 years.


The trip started off with Emerson's first flight. He did great. It was only 2.5 hours. He got fussy in the middle, but it was only because he was tired. Once he fell asleep, he didn't awake until after we landed wich was perfect.

Grandma picked us up and the whole family was waiting to meet Emerson back at the house. It was really cool to see how excited the cousins were to meet him. We knew Helena was ecstatic, but the boys were equally entertained. Here is the first meet and greet on the right. He was a celebrity.

During the first night, pappa just couldn't stand waiting to give me my Bday gift (one month early). He was replacing a riffle that he gave me when I was a kid, and then gave away. It's a Marlin  Model Golden 39A .22 level action riffle. It's touted as 'the oldest and longest continuously produced shoulder firearm in the world.' It's a beaut. Later during the trip, pops also picked up a nice scope from his favorite website: Amazon.

During the trip, we did a lot of hanging around the fireplace, prompting Emerson to crawl, watching House Hunters, watching movies, drinking my new favorite whiskey, Eagle Rare, and playing games. Emerson was held a LOT:

Grandma

Aunt Patsy

                                                                                                                 

All in all, it was an excellent holiday and break from the daily grind. Our next big trip is to Hawaii with the family in July. That will be a big one because Larkin and family will be with us; they were unable to make it this Xmas. 

Here are all the photos from this Xmas.