Rowena & the Boys

Bedtimefun

2011-12-30T11:48:00.001-08:00

Man I can't get enough of this

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Random cuteness

2011-11-02T11:06:00.001-07:00

Lyon LOVEs to wear hats and helmets. He begs to
For you to put them on . "Ugh ugh ugh ugh." while he holds the hat out to you.

Syd loves gymnastics

YouTube Video

Syd is getting good
At building stuff

And riding at the skate park. On the balance bike today but killing it on his two wheeler

Hot air balloons

2011-11-02T11:00:00.001-07:00

Ethan came to visit for his special 8 year old birthday trip with grandma and grandpa. Wish he lived here. Syd had the best weekend. Ethan is such a good kid an great with the little ones.

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Balloon museum

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Hot springs

2011-11-02T10:53:00.001-07:00

After a two hour drive/30mins wild , and a short hike.....

Well worth it. Friends come visit us- we will take you here.

Rob's shot

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Lyon the tiger and Syd the kangaroo

2011-11-02T10:45:00.001-07:00

Lyon's first Halloween and syd's first that he really got into it. We all had the best time in out neighborhood. There were so many kids. Sorry syd that we stole most of your candy to restock out bowl or the numerous trickortreaters we were not expecting. He did not seem to notice.
Lyon squealed and kicked his feet with excitement everytime someone opened the door.
Syd put his candy in his Joey pouch and wanted to put Lyon in there too

YouTube Video

Post trick or treating

- syd has been wearing this outfit for about a week

This was a more mellow dance...glad we caught the end of it

YouTube Video

Syd was a fix It man for trunk or treating

And of course the ninja

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Sometimes I get crazy

2011-10-02T12:57:00.001-07:00

I forgot to write about this. But I really go out of my way to get a Laugh out of the kids and sometimes I get hurt. I was playing picaboo with Lyon. Jumping down the stairs
And I got a little too excited an jumped too high and cracked my head on the stair framing.

Just picture me doing something like this (baby is syd)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCD26gom8hU&sns=em

The boys

2011-10-02T12:43:00.001-07:00

So beautiful watching the boys grow up and play together. They are both at amazing ages right now. Syd is a classic. He expresses himself really well. Still has a stutter when he is tired. His brain moves faster than he can get words out we think.

He had a camping sleep over with torah and jake's family and surprisingly slept all night no probs. I was close by in the house with the baby though

He loves Riley and prays that she won't miss him too much.

Trying to
Get him to
Do chores. Mopping out beautiful rental floors.

YouTube Video

He loves lollipops and his jaws o life transformer truck.... But still me best!

-He is always willing to make Lyon laugh

YouTube Video

I turned around from what I was doing the other day and he had made this toe truck. Amazing

YouTube Video

This is an old one from massachusetts. I think he needs a car like this to drive and work on for his birthday!

YouTube Video

Lyon loves music and especially loves this water cycle song.
His potty training was going well till we moved from MA. Now he refuses to poop on the toilet and he only goes outside and pees in the sandpit! But won't pee on cueing.so weird and funny. I dig it out and chuck it. Soon we will have no sand left. He is determined as stubborn.

YouTube Video

I love morning times with two. Rob leaves really early and we don't see him so we send him
Videos

YouTube Video

Did I already do this one? Lyon loves to wear hats.

YouTube Video

He is obsessed with driving cars

His first steps in Utah. He is now basically running and almost 15months if I leave the door open he is off out the front. Scary!

YouTube Video

And the baby can watch tv like no one I have ever seen Before. As
Long as they are the right shows. Fireman Sam, caillou, Barney.

YouTube Video
This is a funny one of Syd w
Singing "ring of fire" while he is in bed. The noise machine drowns him out.

YouTube Video

With Torah this summer

YouTube Video

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Location:Canyon Cliff Rd NW,Albuquerque,United States

Lyon and pepe (fireman Pete)

2011-10-02T11:49:00.001-07:00

We had a magical time with meme and pepe. Here are some moments

YouTube Video

This was the cutest thing ever. Just like his big brother

YouTube Video

Loved the polar bears

YouTube Video

Airport goodbyes

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Looking good mum and dad

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Lovin abq

2011-09-24T21:10:00.001-07:00

Happy boy

Brother love

Hard leaving grandma in Utah

Syd's friend marisol

Love having a dryer

Rob is 34

Meme and pepe arrive

Santa fe

Botanic gardens

Zoo

Sedona

Bike mechanics

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Sedona

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Somefun videos

2011-09-24T20:48:00.001-07:00

Sedona

YouTube Video

Benny'sbday hyperactivity

YouTube Video

Trader joes abq

YouTube Video

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Syd at 3

2011-09-02T21:18:00.001-07:00

Syd seems very creative to me in his imaginative play. That all we do all day. He switches in and out of 5 or 6 characters. He ran up to me with a microscope set in costco the other day and screamed in an excited way " mum i can be a muscle studier scientist like my dad." how could i deny him that. Many times he is a fix it man or a car mechanic. He has this one shirt he calls His car mechanic Shirt and wants To wear it every day. I is 4 sizes too small for him. Bahah. Here he has rigged something up with Lyon's car.

He gets under neath and "works on it"

He goes around the house with his screwdrivers and unscrews hinges and kick flaps .....whatever. So funny .with his tooth fairy money he bought tools instead of toys ( though a princess dress nearly made the cut) he is constantly asking for tools and has a whole bunch of them now. He will get a table saw for his birthday.

Helping us move and pack up the Beds

- he wrote fix it

But he also likes to be tangled. Every day he tells me.. Look how long my hair is. Sometimes he is the knight in shining armor and Lyon is pascal and I am tangled

Sometimes he is survivor man. This is my fav. He hunts for eggs and snakes to eat. Awesome

Rappelling with dad behind our house in MA

YouTube Video

Construction worker

He sees back hoes and other machinery around the place and claims it as his. He still asks if I think his bull dozer at Umass is ok without him.

Of course, the fireman

YouTube Video

We ran into these guys at gateway

This was 2am in the hartford airport after one of those fun trips west. So glad those regular trips are at an end

YouTube Video

Random rappelling in the house. He Hooked himself up. I am amazed at what he comes up with. He is getting really good at building ingenious towing things with his lego

YouTube Video

Random on his way to preschool in MA. He loved it. Here in abq, he tells me. " mum we've really gotta find me a presshool"

He loves to play with older girls. This is his neighbor marisol in abq. So cute

Amazing to come out of my bedroom after putting the baby o sleep to see this. Does not happen much. Mostly he is coming in to bug me and wake the baby Just when I have got him down.

This is a bad bump from a sort of cue ball in the head.A post about the sportsman will be
Coming up.

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Some old catch up

2011-09-02T16:48:00.001-07:00

Lyon loved to swim as a baby.

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And to read

YouTube Video

So cute. I think he was two months here

Bunk beds! Syd slept on the crib mattress under Lyon's hammock sometimes. It was nice to all be together

YouTube Video

Syd is so very loving an cuddly towards Lyon. Too bad Lyon always pushes
Him off

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Rob's femur

2011-08-31T10:48:00.001-07:00

A photo documentary. I might write the story later

YouTube Video

Night of surgery. July 18th

Putting his hair to good use

2011-08-30T19:49:00.001-07:00

Tuesday night fun in new mexico. And who doesn't like to headbang in their undies? Clearly, I got a kick out of it.

YouTube Video

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Blog press test

2011-08-29T21:02:00.001-07:00

I think I can blog from my iPhone and upload videos and photos. This would be revolutionary for me. I might even blog more than a few times a year. I really want to. Loving my boys want to be able to revisit their cuteness in years to come.

YouTube Video

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Lyon's birthday bash

2011-07-16T20:23:00.001-07:00

I made a pavlova for Lyon's Birthday cake. At last minute it became a Mickey mouse cake at request of maeve. I have more photos of the party but they are on another camera

Opening presents.Lyon's face was so beautiful to watch when the Hyldahl fam sang to him.
I can't find that video, he is one from a little cake we did with Torah and Jake because they were in la on his birthday
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Syd with no front teeth.

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Funny boy

2011-07-16T20:09:00.001-07:00

Syd is a classic: tonight
"I want mum to say the prayer because she is the prettiest.... You are just a handsome man dad and I don't like handsome men" ( he really does love his dad)
I was cuddling him in bed and he moves away an says " I'm just claustrophobic"
He remember's everything we say. He was at the park not playing so well with kids and he Said "well I just play well with older girls." Bahaha. We dont use a shampoo, just a cleansing conditioner and he calls it campoo. He mixes words a lot like this.
He likes to be called rapunzel and calls Lyon pascal. He loved playing in ella's princess dress.
He lost his two front teeth finally almost a year to the day that he knocked them loose the first time. He was playing with Tyler and got a heel in the mouth. A
Total accident. So sad, but he is pretty cute. He almost bought a princess dress with his tooth fairy money but opted for some tools from home depot. Phew. He is full of duality this kid.

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First year with lyon

2011-07-13T21:47:00.001-07:00

We have been looking back at our blog tonight with Syd. It has motivated me to do more posts, such wonderful memories.
This post is devoted to Lyon.
Loves:

To drive
To be outside
Balls
Dogs
Kids
Syd
Mum and dad
Feed himself
The bath- all water

Hates:
To have his nose cleaned
Nappy changed
To go to sleep, will only sleep in bed or the hammock

He can crawl, goes one his hands and feet to protect his knees. Has the chunkiest bum and legs. Loves to climb the stairs. Says mama and dada.

Special things about lyon:

He smiles a lot
He is hectic, always moving ad wriggling.

Tbc. Too tired
Right now

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Location:N 600 E,Logan,United States

moving time

2011-07-12T22:38:00.000-07:00

I have been saving all my blog notes on my itouch while i am out and about with the kids or breast feeding lyon. i was planning to post a bunch mostly of funny things the kids have said or done though out the year once we got over this crazy phase of selling a house, rob finishing his PhD and moving. well the itouch got wet in my handbag from a drink bottle. lost everything. i will still do some catch up posts but they won't be very detailed. so sad for the lost memories. oh and my computer crashed and I lost lots of photos. teach me to back up. we are now in utah, staying with grandma, and our stuff is in storage.

The Birth of Lyon

2011-07-12T19:38:00.000-07:00

A year ago my our second baby Lyon was born. I still have not written his birth story for my records. I am finally willing myself to write it now.

My whole Pregnancy I was training myself for a hypnobirth. Many people i knew had wonderful births this way. I read, took a class with Rob and listened to the cd's every night while in my sleep. i think the CD part was key in preparing my body. I was pretty positive, but after the incredible birth of Syd I was skeptical that I could have a pain free birth like many do with hypnobirthing. One part in the class we did an exercise where you state how long you want the birth to be. I said 3hrs thinking that would be amazing but did not really believe it was possible for me.

I went into labor three days late. I was still not really ready because i thought i had more time

( Syd was 2 weeks late). The day before I was feeling pretty rotten at a bike race we went to for Syd and a few days before that Syd had knocked his three front teeth almost out in a bike crash. Traumatic for us all. An oral surgeon wanted to take them out, but I had a strong feeling we should not, I went into labor the day the surgery was scheduled.

The day I went into labor rob had a dentist appointment before work. He was riding his bike in as usual. I was having a sleep in while Grandma played with Syd, I got out of bed at about 9am and as I stood up my water broke. ( thankfully on the wood floor) I was a little shocked and excited - wow, i am really going to have my baby today. I felt pretty good but stayed upstairs so I could get some things done without Syd seeing me and wanting my attention. I needed to wash my hair, pack for the hospital and clean a bit! I called rob to let him know but told him to continue with the appointment because i thought i had a while. He decided not to and turned around and came straight back home. At about 10am I started having contractions and I consider that the start of my labor. I did all the things I wanted to and then I decided to just lay down and do my hypnobreathing which was working incredibly. The pain really dissipated into nothing when I breathed into stomach blowing it up like a balloon. I was not in too much discomfort, however contractions were 2 minutes a part and in between each contraction I needed to sit on the toilet. My body was getting rid of everything i guess, but it was hard to keep relaxed with all the up and down and this going on. When rob got home he was watching me breath through a contraction and said " dude, are you pushing?" I had not really realized it, but my breathing had changed to the "birth Breathing" they talk about. I still felt pretty good, but rob decided we just needed to get to the hospital. I called on the way and told them I was in the pushing phase and wanted the birthing tub filled because I really wanted to try a water birth.

But the ride to the hospital was the end of my relaxation. It was fifteen minutes and I just lost it. I could not get in the right position and I remember having to stop by the car and various other places while walking into the hospital and squat down and breath/push through the contractions. it was very primal and not a pretty sight i am guessing. When we got there the nurse was just fluffing around and small talking and we said I am in the pushing phase can we rush this along...she was still cruising. As soon as she saw me during a contraction she was like ohh ohhh. ok. They had not filled the tub and between the the checking and monitoring they were doing I had become really uncomfortable and not in the zone at all. Looking back i should have gone to the hospital earlier because then I could have been able to get in a relaxed state and had all that needed to be done earlier while i was not in so much pain. I was afraid to go in too early this time. I had labored at home with syd for 10 hours of pretty bad pain and contractions and two minutes apart for about 8 hours and was 3 centimeters dilate when i came in. This time I was an 8. I had so much relief and excitement in hearing that news. I got in the tub and just held rob around the neck. As with the first time he was an incredible partner and said and did all the right things. I love this man and love having his babies. Both times it has been a wonderful bonding experience for us. I got to a point in the tub where the pain was as bad as with Syd. Crazy pain in my back, rocks scraping down my spine. I started to vomit uncontrollably then the midwife said that the vomiting had naturally pushed the baby down and she could feel the head and I was almost there. I could not believe it. Rob thought she was just saying that to encourage us but did not believe it to be true. Then I started feeling helpless, i remember saying "why does this have to be so hard", I felt like giving up, but it was not quite the same hopelessness I felt with Syd because I knew I had done it before, i knew what it felt like to birth and then i remembered from my hypnobirthing class that when you get to this point your baby is moments away. I pushed and breathed and soon I could feel the head, I was still hanging on to rob, then the midwife asked me to turn around so she could see better and she asked me to slow down, and I pushed a few times gently and I birthed my baby without tearing. He was born in the water and on my chest in moments. The first thing i noticed were his strong chubby arms and back covered in what seemed to me to be quite long blonde hair. maybe corny, but my heart said to me, this is my Lyon. I could barely believe how fast everything went. from the time I got to the hospital He was born within 45 minutes. at 1:07pm i think. he was 8pounds 1 ounce. I felt so good, energized, in awe, in love. 3 hours of work total, compared to about 30hrs with Syd. Lyon's birth was healing for me. Instead of feeling like i had been hit by a truck i felt powerful. I had both the boys in the same room which was a little eerie for me when i walked in for the second time with memories coming flooding back.

I could not have asked for a better birth. Sure it was not pain free, but there was about an hour of bad pain, i will take that any day. Looking back I am still happy for the experience of Syd's birth and it sounds strange but given the choice I would not have changed it for the easier birth of Lyon, though one of those experiences is enough for me. There was something heavenly and magical about it. The greatest struggle brings the greatest joy was true in this case. Both rob and I agreed there was just a different feeling with our first, like the heavens opened to help me with Syd.

Lyon's birth was full of elation and love, in comparison so easy, calm, and drama free. I was feeling physically incredibly after lyon's birth that I was talking to the midwife about going straight home. I wanted to be home with family, especially Syd. I got up to take a shower and felt really faint. I passed huge blood clots and fainted almost at the shower. I woke up with the nurse at my side giving me salts to smell and stabbing me with some pitocin to get the uterus contracting.

I felt sick and terrible. the midwife said the uterus was not able to clamp down because of the blood clots in the way. She had to go in and manually remove/scrape out all the clots. This physically Shattered me. It was intensely painful, the worst. just when I thought the hard part was all over. by the time it was done, i went from feeling so good to feeling like a truck had run over me......again. bummer. It took me a few weeks... maybe a month to start feeling ok again after the blood loss.

There was a heavenly feeling in the hospital that night when we had our loved ones visit. Grandma had been with us helping incredibly with Syd for a while. Torah happened to be in manchester VT that day and drove 3hrs with her team manager to come see us, we were so happy she was there again the day our son was born. Our great friend's the orber's came before they moved to NH. Lyon gave syd a bulldozer and he was pretty happy with his brother. very affectionate.

That night in the hospital I did not get a wink of sleep, i think because of the adrenaline and listening and worrying for the new born. I am always like that in the beginning. Syd and rob could have slept with me, but they decided to go home so they would both get better sleep. Syd had a bit of a hard time without me. He kept saying he really missed Rowe. He never calls me that! it made me sad thinking that he thought i was not his mum anymore. Syd was 2 yrs and 8 months and still breastfeeding at the time. We were having big preparations and talks and he had decided he was going to stop when the new baby came. I was happy about that because though people do breastfeed two i did not want this. I had many friends tell me he would not be into it once the new baby came. He was good to his word for about three days. Then he started waking up in the night crying for milkies ... that was the end! we had a no more milkies party with cake and songs written by dad and he did not like it for a while, but got over it pretty quick but still says sometimes that he really misses milkies!!

We had trouble over Lyon's name. I had only heard the name a few times and was reminded of it in Hawaii while i was pregnant. I loved it. I had some pretty strong impressions that this was to be his name. One time I was thinking of his name on the way to a midwife appointment and the song "little Lion man" came on the radio. bam. got very emotional, felt like it was it. Rob was not as happy with the name. I told him to come up with one he loved then. Because I loved it, but so far there was no name he loved. five days after his birth rob called me and told me he had decided what his name would be. Lyon Benjamin. Rob said Lyon was a good name and he would get used to it. we both loved benjamin, my brother's name and thought it was a good name to use should lyon grow up one day and hate his name!

I get strange looks some times when I say his name and many times people love it. more than i had expected. I have no regrets.

I have loved remembering the day of his birth as I type next to lyon sleeping now......the eve of his first birthday. I am grateful, and have no words to say how much, for my healthy, happy baby Lyon.

6 months with Lyon

2011-01-13T20:57:00.000-08:00

my cuddle muffin... the only photo I got of him today on his 6 month birthday!!

i' ve had my sweet angel baby Lyon in my arms for 6 months now. Time with him is going by faster than I would like. He smiles all the time, even in the middle of the night. He gets mad so quickly if he drops a toy. Hates the car. Loves to put everything in his mouth. Is doing great with baby potty training. growing some hair, Fights going to sleep. Favorite person in the world is Syd. He kind of sits up, rolls around alot but is much too fat to crawl. My favorite thing I do with him - cuddle all night long.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=324650&id=617451069&l=5727774f22

double trouble

2010-11-19T07:57:00.000-08:00

this is the double stroller i think i need.. does anyone have any other suggestions. it is expensive, but i feel like over the years with more kids it will be worth it.

http://store.philandteds.com/phil-and-teds-explorer-buggy.pro

NYC

2010-11-19T07:41:00.000-08:00

we just took a train ride to NYC to visit torah while she had some work to do. I told Syd I would take him on train ride for his birthday because he loves Trains so much... and he loved it. 4.5 hrs of little Syd goodness. I love him so much. I can't believe what a good kid he is sometimes.
the first night we walked out of our hotel and Syd says "WOW.... they put lights up on the trees for my birthday..... but why didn't they decorate them?" baaaaahahahhaha. so sweet.
he loved riding in the taxis and spending hours at toys are us and dancing in the quiksilver store while we went shopping for him.
Lyon loved being in the city too. loved it so much he would barely sleep. too much going on. we all slept in torah's hotel room. 4 in the bed and the little one said...... we slept sideways so we could fit.. because the bed was smaller than a queen. hahhha. I loved being with torah, talking all night.
syd did not want to leave her and would repeat over and over again that he really loved torah so much and was really going to miss her so much. i don't have any pics because i had to pack light so I could carry everything and the baby... decided I really need a double stroller. I like phil and ted's doubles with the attachment on the bottom to make it a double.. anyone have any other suggestions?

baby sid

2010-11-15T05:27:00.000-08:00

Three years of Syd.

2010-10-10T13:01:00.003-07:00

A birthday Toast with Syd's favorite little friend Jane.

Our Syd is Three. at 7:17am today he turned three. I love to remember this day and the awe that surrounded his birth. I still remember the heavenly feeling in the room during labor and after he was born. Oh how we love love love him. He is a wonderful loving boy. He is so gentle and caring of Lyon " HIS BABY". He seems to mostly put the baby before his needs which shocked me. If I am in the middle of playing with Syd he will yell " HURRY mum... go feed the baby." Since Lyon came he has really turned into a big boy. He is a little bit rougher and tougher but still not too tough. He calls elephants "robots" and he is

traumatized for weeks after he loses a toy, constantly saying he really misses it.

I wish I was better at writing down the funny things he says and does - he is full of them. Here are some things to remember from this age. oh and if anyone is wondering. We have changed the Spelling of his name. from i to Y.... among other reasons, it looks better with Hyldahl.You still rule our world Syd.

FAVORITES

color: pink

toys: bike, tool set, itouch, wooden blocks, mini remote helicopter, fire engine, rescue trains

food: ice cream, cheese cake

People other than family: Jane, Meren and Eliza Sorber. Chloe, Stella, and Fred La Riviere

movies:callou, surfs up, charlie and the chocolate facotry, cars, ponyo

THINGS HE CAN DO:

360's off the couch.

ride a bike with out training wheels

put his baby brother to sleep by bouncing him in the hammock.

rock climb

abc's

hold his pee for many many hours

can't count too well

we will try skiing agian and skating this winter

BEST Syd Qoutes:

"you the best little mummy:

"i love you so much. i hope nothing ever happens to you"

while I'm feeding the baby he runs out of the room yelling behind him. "save some milkies for me mum!!"

"i need some quiet"

"I really missed my little brother when he was in your tummy"

" look mum, an abstract train" it really was an abstract train he built with lego trains

"Syd, did you push any kids in nursery today?"
"yes"
"who did you push?"
"like, all of them"

When I sing "mom, you're kind of freaking me
out"

"dangit!"

THINGS we hope he will grow out of one day!!:

He yells STOP to people passing by in the street.

if strangers to to him he makes a brushing movement on his face with his hands " brushing there words off". He is not very social unless you are in his house.

if someone comments on the baby and how cute the baby is.. he yells " NO.. MY BABY"

If he gets in big crowds of kids... like at music concerts he bounces around like a maniac like he is in a mosh pit or something and pushes kids around like crazy.

traumatic things:

he knocked his front teeth pretty badly

countries he has visited:

australia

bali

costa rica

canada

LOVES TO:

hear story's from our childhood

jump off the couch yelling "infinity and beyond"

go to target walmart and the mall. basically any shop

make his brother smile

hug his brother.

log a lot of park time

go to gymnastics class

go to the YMCA

go to nursury

play rescue games

play chasies

sing bingo

pretend he is a kangaroo named ponyo

take long baths

fix things with his tools

give family hugs

eat a cliff bar before going to bed

talk to his fish named ponyo

A hug from a few days ago. He always asks if he can hug his brother. Syd makes Lyon so happy too. I will have to try and get some video of them without Lyon getting so distracted from the camera

abi gave him a mullet

first time holding his brother
hot summer day

This picture is from when he knocked his teeth badly from a bike crash. his two front teeth are loose still. one VERY loose. this was very traumatic for he and I between visits to the dentist and Oral Surgeon. He was scheduled to have them pulled but i felt bad about it and cancelled. the next day I had the baby, and we have kept them in since. H
lining up for the race
sweet janefirst bike race, was ticked he did not get a medal
swimming in the river
cruising at 2.5 years
loves this train
cape cod
darren's motorbike
4 wheeling trip

tool kit

first weeks with Lyon

href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EmDF7ysQlCg/TOGP4c2nIBI/AAAAAAAAArE/_iKerNDgaew/s1600/IMG_4649.JPG">gymnastics Class
first climbing trip
i found him asleep on the floor one day after i put a wash on upstairs

Ponyo the kangaroohref="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EmDF7ysQlCg/TOGP2TXJOmI/AAAAAAAAAqk/f4-C6MObIXU/s1600/DSC_0437.JPG">

2010-09-10T16:24:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, Sid and I went to the bike shop in Greenfield and happened upon this sweet little bike for $10. Sid originally told me that he didn't like it and that he wanted a pink one. I figured i'd get it anyway and if he wouldn't ride it, I could sell it for more than $10. When we got it home, Sid decided he wanted to ride it. Having been on a balance bike for a few months, he had the balance thing down, but didn't quite know how to turn the pedals over. I held his feet on the pedals and turned them over for him for about a minute, then he just took off on his own. Brilliant! Here he is about a month ago at the park riding his "pedal bike" with me. He would be about 2 years 9 months old. I'm so proud!

fresh start - the boys and I

2010-09-03T22:27:00.000-07:00

it has been so long. but i am coming back. i doubt anyone reads this anymore, but sadly it is my only form of journal writing. so i need to for myself. so many great things are happening with the kids that i am afraid i will forget. today syd (yes we are changing the spelling) said. "mum, dad ruined my life" "why syd" "because he wouldn't take the day off work and go swimming with me"

more to come, and a birth story.. but not right now, i am holding lyon and typing with one hand.

fighter jet

2009-12-10T08:28:00.000-08:00

while drying sid off after a bath Rob asked sid last night what little boy's had that little girls did not have.
Sid's answer: Fighter jet... schwoooooooooo

Oh... is that what it is called.

this is the band jamming.

and then there were four

2009-11-25T18:05:00.001-08:00

2 years old

2009-11-15T11:18:00.001-08:00

Today is Sid's birthday. He's turning 2 today. If you ask him, however, he insists that he's turning"five." We tell him not to rush things and to hold on to childhood as long as possible. I vaguely remember adults telling me this very thing when I was a kid. Of course, I didn't understand what they meant - until now. I'm digressing.

So, being the diligent, 21st century parents that we are, we decided

that Sid deserved nothing less than a "theme party." This was our first attempt at organizing such an extravaganza - actually I take that back.....we made a feeble attempt last year that ultimately resulted in a bizzare healthy cake that no one really liked, a weird mix of snacks that you don't usually see at a party that were on sale and maybe out date and the mysterious disappearance of our coconut flour which we found a year later. I think that we (I use the term "we" very loosely - what I really

mean is Rowe) pulled off a doozy this year. I present the evidence below.

The Decorations:

The Cake: If you haven't figured it out already, the theme was Sid's favorite book "the hungry caterpillar"

The Games: pin the feet on the caterpillar and a pinata that was supposed to look like a cacoon but more resembled a large orange egg (it broke just about as easy as an egg too- much to the pleasure of the children). The only problem was that when it broke, the candy didn't come spilling out. Rowe had to stand on the chair and dump it out. I guess we need to work on our pinata building skills.

The presents: Sid got a piggy bank. We have gotten tired of fishing coins out of the CD/DVD slot on our computer and in our car. In fact, I think there is still a quarter in the slot of our car stereo, but amazingly it seems to still work fine. We're hoping that the piggy bank will serve to satisfy his strange fetish of wanting to put skinny items in small slots.

All up, I think we actually pulled off a pretty good party. At the very least, Sid was pretty happy. Or maybe he's just smiling because he's the only kid at the party whose parents would allow such a highly curated mullet

sid's epic life

2009-11-01T17:02:00.001-08:00

our little sunbeam

2009-11-01T16:59:00.001-08:00

flying sid

2009-11-01T16:50:00.000-08:00

great pic from cape cod... taken when the hyldahl's came to visit. we had the best time and have more to add.

sid's special day

2009-10-27T17:57:00.000-07:00

we are so behind on documenting our summer and the things of Sid...... IT WILL Come. but first we need to write so we will remember Sid's special day. He began pooping in a potty at about 4 months because I did elimination communication with him
. He is a champ peeing, but the other end has been been back and forth... till he got to a stage where he HATED to poop. I thought I traumatized him trying to potty train him too early. Anyway, for about a month now we have been telling him that if he poops on the toilet we will buy him a train ( that is what he was into) SO he has been trying consistently about 10 times a day.. with no success -poor little bugger. until two days ago ( and ever since) he DID IT. we packed up and went right to the store to go get his train. we picked up daddy so he could celebrate with us and sid went shopping. we told him if he did not want a train he could get any toy in the store. After about an hour and a half of testing and deliberation he came away with this

we were so happy and proud of him.. and happy for us he did not pick a beeping flashing thing.
then we told him he could pick any treat he wanted -and this is what he brought us

I have always said he was refined.

The older women in Sid's life.....

2009-08-23T14:56:00.000-07:00

Chloe and Stella, I think you might have a problem

benny bright

2009-08-22T14:22:00.001-07:00

NYC with torah

2009-08-18T19:34:00.001-07:00

Tease

2009-08-14T10:06:00.000-07:00

we have so much to post from costa rica and maine. I have to sort through the photos.. here is a tease.

happy birthday show for uncle rob

2009-07-15T07:16:00.001-07:00

robin....happy birthday uncle and brother.we are so glad you were born, we miss you.we are proud of you.and we hope to see you soon. all our love we send to you. sid has a message for you at the end of the video. i told him we were going to give you a birthday show.

2009-07-10T19:19:00.001-07:00

because we think it is funny... we are recording updates on sid's potty training. he only pees outside now. in this one special spot in the garden ( he is showing us the spot in these pictures.) Though tonight rob and I were not paying attention to him and he got my cereal bowl, tipped out the remainders and proceeded to pee in it. very smart. last month we did get him to pose on the toilet reading dad's bike magazines.

we are getting pumped for our surf trip. Sid is too. he is turning into such a fun little boy. not so serious as usual. today he dunked his head in the water on his own accord and blew bubbles. He Loved 4th of july fireworks and won't stop talking about them ( hand in the sky and GBMOOOMMMM) he is loving the tour de france too ( along with rob.)

thanks for sending the boards Julie, Sid is having a good time practicing.... the chest works well too.

sid loves puddles.. loves them.. especially loves to go outside and get rained on.
XX00000

I am going to miss this toddler when he grows up. we are having the best time of our lives.

frogs

2009-07-01T00:21:00.000-07:00

XX00000
these are just the baby frogs.

we have been catching lots of frogs and turtles. SId is obsessed.. he goes to sleep at night talking ( well signing) about catching them and wakes up in the morning talking about them. I love it. he is so adorable. arhhhhhh i am dying. He has also learnt to jump on our backs and say GO... and we have to give him horsey rides and dump him on the bed or the couch. how can you deny him? we are so in love. the three of us. It is our 6th anniversary today.

vitalizer

2009-06-19T11:41:00.000-07:00

You should try googling your mum some time.. torah did.... and this is what she found.
I got so much joy from seeing this!! Marion used to sell vitalizers and this is she and I when I was 2 years old at a fair showing the kids how to play a jumping game.

May 09

2009-06-16T12:53:00.000-07:00

I have been waiting for torah to send me some pics for a post because I accidently took most of our pics on her camera. Benny got us matching camera's.. but she is busy. so these will have to do. My mum, dad and Abi came out to torah's place. We had so much fun with our family. more to come later. Abi cut a fringe and colored my hair..she is seriously the best hair stylist I have been to. Sid loves the tramp, piano and bikes and guitars. He is starting to try and repeat everything we ask him too now, though sometimes not the best pronunciation. He likes to pray. he folds his arms about 20 times a day and begs us to pray.

He likes to draw pictures for grandma with textas and chalk drawings for dad. He always wants to put essential oils on his grazes because that is what meme did. He is consantly yelling out peoples names as he sees things that they use or that they gave to him. Mostly mama, dada, grandma, meme , vava (abi), teetee( torah)

the month

2009-04-12T18:18:00.000-07:00

Sid took this picture of Rob and I. pretty good huh.

It has been way too long. Sid is neary 17 months. here is a show and tell of some of the things we have been up to. We went to stay with uncle benny, aunty torah, jake, scotty and ceila for the US open. Torah won again.

This is what happens when you leave Sid with 3 snowboard pros....torah, jake and scotty... they used sid's toothpaste for the do. we like it....

A night out with torah and jake

Sid LOVES to go to tumble and play at the ymca... We swim there too. at home he gets my swimmers and his swimmers and begs to go swimming. he is getting cheeky.. going after bigger kids balls at tumble and play and getting them.

Rob went to moab while we were at the us open.. sid missed him like crazy. I told him that daddy went on an airplane. now he does an airplane noise and flys around his arm and hands and says dada... it is so cute. now he wakes up in the morning (dad has already gone to work) and says DADA.. and does the aeroplane action.

we went to see dad at poster day

sweetness

2009-03-06T12:17:00.000-08:00

sid has some sweet new training pants... and he is still very serious. my two favorite things that he does right now are 1. tackle me down to the ground and lay on my chest. 2. At night when we are putting him to sleep he lays between rob and I and rolls between the two of us giving big hugs and kisses.. about 10.. rob always gets more than me though. he loves his dad,

candle lit dinners and biker hugs

2009-03-06T12:09:00.000-08:00

sid is an absolute fire bug.. he HAS to have a candle lit dinner. he begs for it. and when he eats occasionally he HAS to feed him self. big messes. I picked his leopard print bib... it matches his duvet cover.

slide man

2009-03-06T12:02:00.001-08:00

he does he slide by himself and loves it

LOVE this boy.

2009-03-06T10:43:00.001-08:00

Sid and I like to x-country ski

2009-03-02T19:01:00.001-08:00

and tow sid's girlfriend Jane behind us. Jane's mum was learning to skate ski.

We only do this when it is not too cold.

flashback Friday - happy bday grandpa

2009-02-20T18:19:00.001-08:00

It is Grandpa's birthday today...yay for him and this is Sid and his grandparents when he was 3 days old.

foods

2009-02-14T11:24:00.001-08:00

Sid doesn't like too many foods, but he does enjoy an avocado

accessorizing ninjas

2009-02-14T04:15:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, we have been tremendous slackers with this blog thing. In an attempt to redeem ourselves, we have some classic photos.
Unbeknownst to may of you, Sid is actually a ninja. It's a real passion of his and we are just trying to encourage him to develop his passions
Here the ninja is caught in a rare moment...peeing on the floor. This is actually an age old technique used to intimidate would be attackers
I took Sid for a bike ride the other day (he rides on my back in the ergo carrier). He now demands to wear his bike helmet around the house. If he catches a glimpse of it hanging on the rack, he is not satisfied until we put it on him.

He also enjoys wearing goggles. Sid and I actually went skiing last week. I didn't get a picture, but it was classic. We have tiny little boots and skis (thanks peter and marion) and he just stands between my legs. I'm not so sure that he really enjoys it yet (he can hardly move in all the gear), but he's getting the feeling.

FlashBack Friday - Birth of Sidwold

2009-01-02T18:32:00.000-08:00

katie tagged me for a flashback post a long time ago.. so here it is..finally, more for my self and for my life records I am writing about Sid's Birth. Best flash back of my life.

November 14th 2007, 3am... 41 weeks and 3 days pregnant with my first born.
I can't sleep because I have a dull ache in my lower back. And awake I will stay for the next 35 or so hours.

EARLY LABOR
The day before I had been to get some acupuncture to see if that would get me going into labor. I was Ok, but was anxious for my little guy to come, Torah had been with me for almost a month waiting for the birth and had to leave very soon.
Torah, Rob and I headed to the Midwives at 11am for my scheduled check up, which was everyday at this point.. i had been about one cm dilated for about a month but thought I would be more this day and had my hospital bags packed. The Midwife stripped my membranes to see if that would get me going.... and it did.. within half an hour of my appointment I started to have contractions that were 2-3 minutes apart. I thought they were pretty painful, but was using my breathing techniques and cruising. We were all super excited at home because we thought this was it.. I tried to get some rest but did not sleep much.. too exciting and too many contractions. by about 8pm.... after 8 hours of laboring at home I called my midwife. I was finding it hard to talk through a contraction so she thought that was a good time to come in. We all headed to the birthing place in Greenfield with a excited buzz in the air. I was confident and pumped to bring this baby into the world. I had done all my research and felt prepared. The babe was finally coming.

I can hardly make that drive now without thinking about this crazy night.

When i saw the midwife I was only 3 cm dilated and super bummed. I thought.. oh yeah, I'll be an 8 and just a few more hours.. yep.Close.

We had a huge comfy room with a birthing tub and all the works. I was the only one in labor at the hospital that night. Torah did not plan to be at the birth, but was hanging out in the room with us because it did not seem right that she would sit out in the hall, among other things she was the Dj and camera man! Labor had this almost calm, heavenly feel for a while and there was no need for her to leave.. then it got so hectic that she could not leave because we needed her. Rob was an absolute legend helping me with my breathing and keeping me focused. But every time I was checked I was dilating very slowly and that got me down because I did not know how much I could handle.

THE CRAZINESS
I felt like Sid was in the wrong position, I felt like he was pounding sideways and not engaged in the birth canal. The midwife confirmed this and so though it was even more painful I tried to get in different positions to try and move him around. I went in the birthing tub and tried to get my hips moving.. I was in the middle of breathing through a contraction when all of a sudden.....POP.... my water broke....even though I was in the water.. there was no mistaking it... and THEN things got crazy.
Then began the wailing and gnashing of teeth.I felt like there was a massive rock grating down my back that I had to try and poop out. The pressure was intense and the pain was everywhere. But mostly in my back. The overall pain of labor at this point is hard to describe.. like a cramps in your stomach... knives stabbing you and then twisting you in the back then again a rock that seems to want to explode out your behind. By this point it was 3am.....I had not slept for 24hours... and was utterly exhausted. Promptly after my water broke I began vomiting horrendously. Over and over again during the contractions and I could not stop it... in a weird way it was kind of a distraction from the pain for a bit though.. there was so much going on with my body. I got out of the tub and was trying all sorts of positions to see which was more comfortable. They were all bad. I would most often end up hanging my arms around rob's neck while he mad me look him in the eyes to breath through the contractions. I would start out ok doing the breathing methods that we trained at home..... then all of a sudden I had absolutely no control and i would throw my head back and the shakes would begin violently from my head through my whole body, my knees would buckle and then the screaming would start..no matter how hard I tried I could not stop it.. it was like I had to scream to release something.

Only once while I was hanging on to Rob's neck did I bite him. Sorry HonEY.

One of the hardest things I remember is that even when there was a break in the contractions I did not feel any rest because there was still so much pain in my back. it was constant. I remember thinking. I can see how women died in child birth.
The worst of the contractions happened while I was in the shower and Rob was not there with me. I was trying the shower for some kind of relief.. but I just ended up being screaming at the top of my lungs. I had the wear with all to think in my head " poor rob. poor Torah.. they can't help me and I am screaming so horribly, but I can't stop."
I kept telling rob that I needed to poop and he said.... "I think that means you need to push the baby out.. and I was like "no no.. i will feel better if I can just poop."

THE LAST LEG
Soon I ended up on my back on the bed.. the absolute last place I thought I would push a baby out....I imagined giving birth in the tub, pulling the baby out myself - or squatting or something, but I was so exhausted at this point it was actually the most comfortable position. I remember feeling that I would never get the baby out and saying that would have to cut me open. I asked if it was too late for an epidural and the midwife just said that everything was going well.

While I was in the shower screaming rob talked to the midwife because he was so worried.. but she told him that the labor was progressing well and she was not worried.
So it was about 4am and I was on the bed and the midwife was telling my I was ready to push. I had a bit of a cervical lip that she was helping to move out of the way but otherwise I was fully dilated. During the night I got stuck at a 6 for a while which was really disheartening, but then things started to move faster.

At this point, every time I needed to push I just couldn't give it all my power because the pain was so bad in the back I went to push and just could not get past the back. And then while I was trying to escape the pain I met a place.. the rock in the hard place.. the rock is.. it hurts so much that I am not going to push.. the hard place is that if I don't push I am going to stay in this place forever.... i am either dying or pushing this baby out. I pushed for three hours - though it did not feel that long to me. I got in the zone. A zone of exhaustion and of "I am just going to do this. Rob was at my side holding my head and a leg. Torah was at my other side holding my leg. I had a nurse holding oxygen and the midwife pulling back the cervical lip and massaging me so I would not tear. The three hours of pushing was really a blur.. it felt like an hour to me.

THE PRIZE
The most exciting part of the morning or night was when they got a mirror to show me Sid's head and then they took my hand so I could touch it and then I forgot about he pain.. I was going to get my baby soon.. they there was a rush and a flurry as the nurses came in and started to get things ready for the baby to come and then I really knew, this was happening. The midwife told me to push more slowly so I would not tear and I tried that for a while, but then I thought.. stuff it.. I don't care if I tear ( i barely did) I am too tired.... to control and I pushed little Sid out. November 15th at 7:17am. 8lbs 1 ounce. It was the best feeling ever....an overpowering emotion or exaltation; a state of sudden, intense feeling.
The pain was gone...just like that. He was placed on my chest and I could not believe how beautiful he was.. clean, calm and wide eyed. He peed on me a few minutes after being born - that made us all laugh and he started to breastfeed right away. I was so amazed and grateful to everyone. I was on such a high and could not sleep when I needed to because I just wanted to look at him.... oh...and I was dead tired!

THE AFTERMATH
The first sleep I had after the birth I would keep waking and shaking just like I did as a contraction was coming on.. Like my body was just so used to doing it thousands of times that it kept doing it on schedule.. every 2-3minutes. I did feel shattered for a while, like I could not handle another bit if pain if I had to.
And then for a few weeks, when I was alone in the shower I would start to cry. Not with sadness or depression but i think with relief and amazement. That I did it and it was over!!! or maybe it was post traumatic stress syndrome!!!

For a little while I felt so pathetic that I had no control over the pain and what it did to me...that I did not just cruise through labor like a tough women, like I thought I would. But then after I talked to more mothers and heard more stories I realized my birth was quite normal for a hard natural one. The midwife said it was a hard one, but not the hardest one she had ever been to. I want four kids and Rob had me talked down to three right after the birth!! Back up to Four now. Overall during the labor I felt a great deal of love... and was very loving and grateful to Rob.I don't remember being mad at him or yelling at him! He was everything I could have ever wanted and more. I had no idea he would be so great. He was so blase about the whole thing beforehand that I did not know what to expect from him. Torah was a trooper and I am so happy that she was there and we have this special experience to share our whole lives. I can't wait to be there for her first born.

The bonding I had with my babe was perfect. I was tired and amazed by how consuming being a new mother was (is), but loved it all the time. I loved being with him and never wanted to be away from him. I changed from being a deep sleeper to hearing every little whimper. The fact that I had a difficult labor I look now on it as a good thing. I am grateful for it in fact.. apart from the good stories.. I now know how hard it can get..I get lost in the empathy for people who have hard labors. For my sisters or daughters or friends I will be able to say.. "I know"
Right after the birth I had such a weird feeling of being connected to women throughout time who had given birth and felt so humbled by the power of the experience. It made me think of Christ in Gethsemane. He felt my pain and every other mothers pain. I can't comprehend that. But he knows.

This birth experience is definitely the emotional, physical and spiritual high of my life.

WHY NATURAL?
I know modern medicine is great and has a purpose and that some birth complications need medical interventions. If at all possible I prefer no interventions. Apart from the fact that I was born all natural, raised all natural and like all natural.
For those of you who think I am crazy for taking the harder route.. this is just SOME of my research and reasons before going into labor.

- In a drug free birth there are very specific “chemical reactions” that occur when you are in labor that lead to the ability for you and your baby to connect.
As labor progresses and the baby is getting ready to be born, your body releases high levels of endorphins which give you a “high” feeling, and plenty of oxytocin (the “love hormone”). Both of these are produced in higher and higher levels as labor pain intensifies so that you can deal with the pain. The pain is a good thing, and is actually needed so that this entire chain reaction can occur. The highest level of oxytocin a woman will ever experience in her life occurs at birth, the Oxytocin provides a sense of calm and well being, creating a desire for further contact, so it helps the mother and child to bond together. It helps the mother, no matter how tired to deal with the demands of breastfeeding a newborn, and to want to do whatever she can to protect and nourish her baby.
Epidurals and spinals lower the mother's release of oxytocin or stop its normal rise during labor.There are greater percentage of a c-section, episiotomy, breastfeeding problems, jaundice and post natal depression.

I made Rob take this picture of me right after birth because I thought I had never looked so bad in my life.. you can't tell in the picture but I had tiny red burst blood vessels all over my face and chest and back from pushing so much.. Then there is our little warrior. A little bruised and banged himself. He was sideways and backwards most of labor but then turned right at the end.

2009-01-01T16:49:00.000-08:00

I am pleased to announce that Rowe is back in the blogging game. Due to overwhelming support and encouragement from friends and family, she has made a new years resolution to keep you all updated. I thought i'd give you some pictures while she warmed up

This is my new haircut.

Sid has my eyes. He can walk now, his favorite word is "car", and he is a very sweet and obedient boy.

Here is Sid on Christmas morning. He got pretty excited to open the first gift and quickly lost interest. We had a nice little family christmas. We all spoiled each other, ate copious amounts of cheese (fondue) and spent a lot of time wishing that the pond was frozen so that we could skate.

Done!

2008-12-16T14:20:00.000-08:00

I asked Rowe about the blog the other day and her reply was "i'm done." It appears that the pressure to churn out cute and entertainingly informative posts on a consistent basis and yet recieve "no comments" was a burden that she could no longer bear. So, it looks like its my ship to steer now. That's bad news for those of you expecting regular posts. I'm as bad as they come. Be prepared for detailed reviews of bikes, race reports and in vitro muscle modeling.......oh yeah and an occasional picture of Sid (I can't guarantee it'll be cute though). Speaking of which...here's one just to keep you coming back.

sid's birthday, the after party

2008-11-17T18:58:00.000-08:00

birthday suit

2008-11-16T16:35:00.000-08:00

birthday vid

2008-11-16T10:41:00.000-08:00

we forgot to press record when sid blew out his candle.. but we sang again for the video... then Sid got to hang out in his birthday suit and blow his bike horn that we got him.

party pics

2008-11-15T18:10:00.001-08:00

1 YEAR OLD!!

2008-11-15T16:38:00.000-08:00

we love our little munchkin man. this has been the best year of our lives. Consuming...and so full of love. Our Sid now one year and turning from a babe to a toddler. He is very possessive of mummy and gets jealous when anyone else hugs her. He loves to be outside more than anything else. Loves all animals but especially dogs. He is gentle and serious and cuddly. He is the happiest when it is just mum, dad and Sid. He get's this little giggle when i say "where's daddy". He loves to clap, play paddy cake, high five, dance,play crawl races.....he loves to climb up an down the stairs ( scary) he is pretty tentative though and careful going backwards.. you just have to be careful when he gets tired, because then he starts loosing his judgment. we were just up in the bedroom playing on the bed, he loves to face plant on the softness.. but he went a little crazy and head butted the wall.

sid wore a tux to entertain all his guests.

This was at the end of the party. sid looks like he has been on a bender

Admiring sweet jane, sid's girlfriend. 7 weeks younger.

jane's twin sister's Merryn and Eliza playing with Sid's electric guitar.

and little sid loves dogs

so Rowe made Sid a healthy (made from coconut flour, carrots, apples, raisins, cinamon and other assorted dried fruits) puppy dog cake. Can you see it?

Sid mostly played with the cake. like he doe every other food or Too healthy I guess

Sid got spoilt with great presents and had a blast opening them. Thanks everyone. wow.

When all was said and done, we had a dance party in the nuddy

2008-11-09T14:39:00.000-08:00

We are bad parents and didn't take any photos of Sid's halloween costume on halloween night......or the night after when we went to the ward halloween party. Woops. Never fear though, Sid donned his tiger outfit tonight and I managed to capture a few classic tiger poses. In fact, because the tiger outfit is so warm and fleecy, it has become Sid's permanent "outside attire." On a side note, Rowe, Sid and I won the "best family costume" award at the ward halloween party. We don't have any photos, but I think that it's for the best (I dressed in Rowe's olympic ski speed suit and it was, shall we say, very tight).

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY SCOTT!!!

2008-10-31T19:28:00.000-07:00

Some have wondered what happened to us. Nothing really......just too busy associating with celebrities.

Here is Sid with Nastia Lieuken. He definitely has more celebrity experience in his short life than I have ever had.

This is how Sid and I get around these days.

Surf Trip

2008-09-16T18:01:00.000-07:00

Found out lab meeting was canceled last Tuesday night....."hmmm, my morning just freed up."

Checked the surf report.......looks good!

Piled the family in the car at 4:00AM

Arrive at Point Judith at 6:00AM

Surf for an hour....watch Sid while Rowe surfs for a couple of hours

Pack the car at 9:00AM

Drive home and pick up where I left off at work - 11:30AM

It's good to live close to the ocean....well kind of close.

Rowe is one of those folks out there

Beautiful morning

Sid is happy to have been dragged out of bed at 4:00 AM

Maine

2008-09-07T20:49:00.000-07:00

We forgot our camera, but Katie took some killer pictures. Maine with the LaRiviere's was once again great. nice lobster, tennis,paddle ball,trying to scull, no waves to surf on. perfect weather. lots of cute sandy kids. Sid and Fred got mistaken for twins all the time.

31

2008-09-06T21:23:00.001-07:00

oh i am a lucky girl.look at him go. Rob is 31 today.. well now it is yesterday, we had too much fun today to post. I think it has been a good year for him,apart from winning the mt bike national champs, his son was born!!! pretty big year. I would have to say his finest moment this year was helping me through the 18 hours of labor.(I need to write that story before i forget-it is very vivid still) There is NO WAY I could have brought Sid into the world with out drugs if it were not for Rob. He really was a star. He never chickened out on me and kept me focused even when i was involuntarily biting his nipples, screaming as if being tortured, shaking violently asking for a c-section and vomitting all over him. ( i think it was over him) I have never felt so much love and gratitude for him.I really did not know he would be that good. Since Sid's birth I have realized just how special birthday's are - what an amazing day they are in the history of our little world, but it also made me realize, mother's should really be made a fuss over on each of their child's birthday's. They did all the hard work.

My favorite story about Rob is when he got into the one and only fist fight he has ever been in. He was 8 years old and he fought to defend the honor of a girl. Matilda** was a bigger girl who had suffered much already in her young life, some of the fruits of her suffering were found in the from of a bad scar caused by a burn on a very visible part of her neck. Jimmy** was a ruffian and as usual was having a good old time at her expense. Rob told him he should not be doing that and when jimmy decided not to listen to him, rob decided it was time to sock him one... and fists flew as they rolled and wrestled around in the dirt. The fight ended in the principles office, a call to Marsha and rob being taken home for the day. The END(**names have been changed to protect the individuals involved)

He is still a kind, meek and gentle guy who is not afraid to step up when things really matter, who honors women and likes to ride bikes.
have a great year Robbie. We love you
XXXXXooooxxxooOOxxxxOOxxxx XXXX Rowe and Sid

don't pick a fight with Torah Bright!

2008-09-05T17:50:00.001-07:00

This is funny:

BFF

2008-08-24T09:52:00.000-07:00

Jack came out to visit Sid this week! Sid was very happy. This is what they did:

They went to the beach

They took baths

They visited the farm where Mommy buys milk and ice cream

And they went shopping for matching sailor outfits

They had a great time, although I hope Jack's finger recovers. He seemed to get a kick out of inserting it into Sid's mouth. This usually resulted in a swift chomping down (Sid has massive teeth if you can't tell by the photos), subsequent scream, consolation then repeat. It was good fun. Thank you Andy for enduring the long and restless flight out for the weekend. We all had a great time. Hope to do it again soon.....this time we'll come to you. Cheers

2008-08-20T15:36:00.000-07:00

Rowe, Sid and I made a trip down to Long Island this past weekend to visit one of Rowe's old ski racing friends (Chemmy). Her brother had rented a house in "The Hamptons" for the month. So we got to hob knob it with the rich and famous.....mostly just rich......very rich.......for the weekend. It was wicked fun. We got some good beach time in. The water was surprisingly warm for the Northeast. Even the waves cooperated and we were both able to catch a few waves sans wetsuit.

As you can see, Sid has a better tan than I do.

Isn't Rowe looking good these days?

Long Island birds are friendly

Down by the river

2008-08-06T22:54:00.000-07:00

Ok, i am on a blogging mission tonight, found some adorable photos.Oh I forgot to say that SId has become quite serious these past few weeks. Must have alot on his mind with all the new things he can get to now he can crawl. Though he still just likes to hang around me, he sticks by me and follows me around where ever i go. my little mate.

our family

2008-08-06T22:43:00.000-07:00

We had a visit from the Hyldahl's and Tarr's this past week which involved lots of rain, good food, trains, stories about semi trailers, looking at the cute babies, new clothes for Sid, matching life is good t-shirts, lots of love and a fun road trip to the white mountains. THANK YOU for coming.. we only took two photo's though.we need to get together again with our matching t-shirts please!!

crawling and mummy's boy

2008-08-06T22:21:00.000-07:00

Rob had good post on his blog, i am stealing it because Sid is crawling around and loves to be on the computer when I am.. so no time to post and go through pictures....Just a few weeks ago he started liking me over anyone else.it is quite cute, though hard sometimes. He is starting to really develop a personality and i’m finding more and more that it is a hybrid Bright/Hyldahl personality. I’ve broken it down here:

Stubborn - Bright

Night Owl - Bright

Bored Easily - Hyldahl

Loves to be outside/active - Hyldahl

Physically Strong - Bright

Quick to Laugh - Bright

Whines Frequently - Bright/Hyldahl

Sweet Tooth - Bright

Has Large Front Teeth - Hyldahl

Loves the Water - Bright

Loves to be massaged and tickled - Bright

Olive Skin (doesn’t burn) - Bright/Hyldahl

Very Cute - Bright

Drools when focused - Bright

Cannot multi-task - Hyldahl (that’s just more of a male thing)

Breathes loudly when focused - Bright

Loud Eater - Bright

Loves Bikes and Wheels- Hyldahl

Bumps his head a lot - Hyldahl

Loves to be cuddled - BRIGHT!!!!!!

Has chubby hands/feet - Bright

Cute in the morning - Bright

Delerious at night - Hyldahl

Cranky if woken up mid-nap - Hyldahl

Enjoys shopping - Bright

Likes Blondes - Hyldahl

Has a lot of gas - Hyldahl

Enjoys wearing as little clothing as possible - Bright

Likes to snack at night - Bright (pregnant)

Sweats a lot - Hyldahl

Short attention span - Hyldahl

New York Weekend

2008-07-14T18:48:00.000-07:00

This weekend Rowe, Torah and I went out to see the Hill Cumorah pageant in Palmyra. There also happened to be a bike race on the way......so we stopped. We camped Friday night at the race venue. Woke up Saturday and raced at 8:00 (I finished 2nd). Jumped in the car and drove 4 hours to Palmyra. Checked into an over-priced motel. Took a much needed shower. Went to the pageant. Ate a whole lot of food at the pageant. Returned to the motel and passed out. Woke up on Sunday and attended a very crowded sacrament meeting where we listened to a choir that had a soloist who sounded exactly like Neil Young. Visited the sacred grove and the palmyra temple. Drove the 5.5 hours home. Passed out at home.

I couldn't think of a better way to spend a weekend.

the wind beneath my wings

2008-07-10T07:40:00.000-07:00

The air conditioner broke in our car the other day. we travel with the windows down - so hot here right now. Sid and his wispy hair are loving it. Going to the Hill cumorah on the weekend - it is gonna be a sweaty trip!!

Sid today

2008-07-02T21:38:00.000-07:00

flying mummy

2008-07-02T21:33:00.000-07:00

Not sure what is funnier. Sid or me. not sure what got into me. We have a chukle like this every day. Sorry about the bikini, we were on our way to the lake.

oh how we love you Sid.

I can't keep up with this blogging thing, so many good photos and videos to come one day.

Sid's teeth

2008-06-08T20:44:00.000-07:00

I still have lots more pics from our Bali/Australia trip but they will have to wait for another slideshow because i promised grandma that I would put a picture up of Sid's teeth tonight. he has two bottom ones, poked through about two weeks ago, a few days after his 6 month birthday. so sweet to seem them emerge. Sid did well through the whole thing!! hehhe. He is being good so far, no biting. No point to his teeth yet though because he does not like any type of food yet. we try to zoom stuff in on cool spoons, but he is not having it, he just clamps his mouth shut after a few mouthfuls - only likes the good stuff. Baby Sid is such a joy, i like calling him baby sid because he is growing up too fast. He is not crawling yet, but moves himself around a lot and doinks himself on the head a little bit. He still loves to cuddle and laughs as he is falling asleep or when he is super hungry and knows he is about to get a breastfeed. It is hilarious. He kicks his legs with excitement, usually to see mum or dad and he loves to be outside. We got him a big boy potty and he loves to go in that on cue. He hates getting his nose cleaned or nails clipped, so ends up being snotty with lots of scratches him he and mum - Oh and he sweats alot. Our little family is loving life right now. does not get any better than this.

Bali - take 2

2008-06-08T20:16:00.001-07:00

In Bali

2008-06-08T19:17:00.001-07:00

We went to australia to surprise my mum who had not seen Sid yet. Torah was the brains and bucks behind the trip, she managed, master minded and funded the whole thing. Sydney was not warm enough and torah needed a surf and some buddies, so she took Sid, mum and I to Bali. It was Hot. Sid was sweaty. He loves the water. I spent my first mother's day there. Mum and I shared out birthday there. Heaps of massages. Heaps of bonding. heaps of kisses and nappy free days for Sid. Rob and I got our bank account cleaned out by someone who stole my card from the Villa. Nice villa though. THANKS torah. what memories. the sofatel, the novatel, and "You seem like a clever guy danny"

some classics

2008-05-30T20:06:00.000-07:00

Sid missed his dad, but loved talking on the phone to him. no joke, loved it.

First day in the homeland.. SId was SOOooooooooo happy,me too.

Sid is quite big isn't he. - Bella is 3.

hugh has great hair.had to put this one in.

the girls.

2008-05-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

gosh i miss these girls. we were all so tired in this one, i think we had been up for many hours catching upbut it is the only one i could find of us all together

ferry ride with grandpa

2008-05-30T19:55:00.000-07:00

how we love the ferry!!!!

the brights meet Sid

2008-05-30T19:53:00.001-07:00

this is who we surprised.thanks aunty torah.

2008-05-30T19:08:00.000-07:00

Rob could not come with us so Sid had to be the man of the house, he was ready to bounce anyone who got in our way

an excellent video to come.

Sid was amazing on the flight, thankfully torah flew with me, we met in LA, it was a joyful reunion with so much anticipation - we just wanted to get there and surprise mum. The trip was planned so quickly. I almost did not have time to get Sid a passport. Thanks Fridge for helping me do that!

We saw many sunrises on the beach due to Sid's 4am wakings - it was nice though.

favorite aunti abi

2008-05-30T18:53:00.001-07:00

Sid's trip to australia. day one - manly

2008-05-30T18:49:00.000-07:00

i have so many pics, and I have been such a blog slacker, this is going to take me for ever to document our trip. IT WAS Amazing. no dad though. Sid was stoked to see him when we got home.

2008-05-05T07:04:00.000-07:00

2008-05-03T17:48:00.000-07:00

Something nicer

2008-04-18T12:42:00.003-07:00

i took these photos a few days ago - our first lovely day. no smiles because he was constantly grabbing the camera.

this one looks like me when i was little

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love the rolls!!

potty trained at 5months??

2008-04-18T09:22:00.000-07:00

Ok this is gross, but i was so amazed my self that I had to post the evidence, please don't turn me in to blogger for tasteless photographs.
SO a long time ago a read a bit about "elimination communication" - how to get a diaper free baby by reading their signs of when they needed to eliminate. I thought it seemed too hard, and unrealistic so i never tried it with sid, but then i read some more the other day and found out that past 6 months it might be too late to start and you will have to wait till they are older to potty train, so I thought i would just do what the article said and see what happened. I felt like i already new Sid's cues for pooping, but let him just do it in his diaper. peeing i was not so sure about.

Anyway.. we had success. yesterday Sid went 10 hours without a diaper and without any accidents.he took two naps too. pooped twice and peed 6 times in his little pot!!.

when i knew he was going to poop and pee when he woke up in the morning as i held him over his potty (a bowl) and as he peed and pooped i made this noise.. pssssssssssssssssss.. psssssssssss.. then the next time when i felt like he should pee/poo i just put him over his little pot and made the noise and within seconds he peed or pooped. EVERY TIME...AMAZING> i am so in awe and STOKED!!!!!
i am not sure what you do at night yet.. and i think if you are busy out and about it would be hard. it fell to pieces at night when i started cooking dinner... anyway. here is some evidence.

sid is diaper free again today, though with one little pee accident when i turned the tap on!!

Epic Day

2008-04-13T17:35:00.000-07:00

OK, there are not cute photos of Sid here, but here's a good story for your reading pleasure.

Most days around here can be pretty much classified as “ho hum” days. Today, however, can only be described as epic. Today was the first mtn. bike race of the root 66 series and coincidentally, the only one of the series that is not held on Sunday. It was my one chance to shine at Root 66. The day started out well. It was supposed to rain all day, but turned out to be sunny and 70 degrees instead. In fact, Rowe and Sid didn’t make the trip down because of the forecast. That was a bummer. She always cheers hard. So, I made the trip down with one of the guys on the UMass team.

I got off to a pretty bad start and ended up having to chase back to a small group of about 4 riders in the front. They were setting a blistering pace! I yo yo’d on and off the back of this group and eventually decided that I probably couldn’t sustain a heart rate over 190 for 2 hours and I backed off a bit. I slowly slipped back and decided to just race at my tempo and hopefully be able to real them in as the race went on. Coming in to the second lap I started to feel some stomach cramps. Nothing too bad, but a little bit uncomfortable. Instead of doing the smart thing at that point and trying to take some fluids, I pushed on. As the race wore on the stomach cramps intensified and as a consequence I had a hard time drinking or eating anything. Determined to finish...I pushed on. I managed to hold on to my 5th place spot (not by much though) although when I crossed the finish line I felt terrible! My stomach felt like it was tied in a knot and I was incredibly nauseated. At that point I decided that I was a bit dehydrated and tried to force some fluids. My body reacted by promptly rejecting said fluids. Funny thing about dehydration is that you body rejects what it needs the most.

So, I spent the next couple of hours trying to sip sports drink and water with little success. I had Jeff drive home as I sipped liquids and tried to vomit out the window without getting the side of the car dirty. At 70 mph this is very difficult. On my return to Amherst I decided that it would be in my best interest to check in with health services and try to get an IV. Here’s how it went: I checked in, waited in the waiting room for 30 min., got called in, sat in an exam room for 15 min., had my blood pressure taken in every position imaginable, was told that I wasn’t dehydrated and was sent away with instructions to sip liquids. I was so mad that I sipped some liquid on the way out and vomited all over their entry way. That’ll teach them.

I drove home (which was really sketchy) and Rowe and I tried for several hours to get me to hold some fluids down to no avail. I then made the decision that we needed to go to the Greenfield hospital. This is where it gets good. As Rowe was getting Sid ready to go, she was walking down the stairs, slipped and fell down the stairs. She managed to not drop Sid, but by so doing, completely wrecked her tailbone and back. In the meantime, i’m sitting on the couch in a nauseated daze. I jump up to help her and am instantly overcome with the urge to vomit. I run over, get Sid, set him in his bumbo seat and proceed to vomit. Sid hears his mommy crying and his daddy making a dreadul wrenching noise and realizes that something is terribly wrong. So he screams. I can imagine that our neighbors are listening through the wall wondering what on earth is going on.

In the end, everybody was eventually able to rally together and get me to Greenfield. They saw my condition and quickly brought me in and started an IV. They pumped a couple liters of fluid into me and gave me some pain meds for my stomach and I was good as new.....well, almost. I at least was able to eat and drink a little without purging my gut. We left the hospital at about 1AM, drove home, ran up to bed and passed out.

I have to say that through all of this Rowe was amazing. She handled the situation so well. She unpacked and packed cars, made me food, kept Sid happy, and had a smile on her face through the whole thing. What a woman! I'm a lucky man

Sid and Ellie

2008-04-12T06:42:00.000-07:00

This is what we do all day!!!!!

sid's joy

2008-04-11T19:36:00.001-07:00

from now on i will post videos on you tube..seems to work better.. light is pretty bad here - was at night and we were trying to get him to bed...looks like it huh! more videos to come.

New Ride

2008-04-06T06:53:00.001-07:00

I gotta show off my new ride. Traded in my beloved IF frame for a slightly more "racy" model! She's a beaut!!!!

our little lion

2008-04-03T17:06:00.001-07:00

I could not help posting these pics. TOO cute.Sid was so wonderful today. He is making the cutest little noises. We went jogging because it was a abit warmer and this is what Sid wanted to wear. It came from South Africa from our friend Hilary. I thought he would not wear it till next year, but it seemed so cozy and warm.

video tipS

2008-03-31T18:59:00.000-07:00

anyone know how to get video on here.. my file is compressed to about 1.4MB but it takes forever to load -or will not load...i really want to put it on.. heaps of Sid's joy!

Sid - 4 and 1/2 months

2008-03-31T11:09:00.001-07:00

This is how big he is - over 20lbs now -
He was sitting up holding onto his mobile but he fell just as I took the picture - i think the flash shocked him.

Sid sitting in his bumbee ( THANKS DAN AND KATIE) looking up at the kitchen pendant
Sorry Sid fans - It has been a while - we have been trying to get on top of things after all our recent trips. In the last 4 months since sid's birth we have been to colorado, utah and vermont.
Sid rolled over today from BACK to front. he has never done that before. He is adorable as ever and has alot of fans on the pro snowboard circuit.
Sid laughs like crazy when we pretend to sneeze, say peekaboo, mummy loves you and teekeetee. it is amazing to watch him change - he has started to use his hands alot, touching our faces and anything he can get his hands on. He is so interested in everything. He loves to be read to and he loves all the toys that I thought were so ugly! He still hates the car unless someone is sitting next to him which makes it hard when we are out and about without dad. He still loves his hammock and I don't know what we would do without that - it is nice that we can just bounce him to sleep and he never has to cry.
I am still quite fat but with a bit nicer weather have been able to get out and about with Sid in the jogging stroller, rollerblading and running. It has taken this long for me to be able to run without too much pain since the birth.still not normal - but better. It is snowing again today though - bugger that.
Rob has been riding his bike alot - even in the snow - he likes to leave me with the car as much as he can.yeah dad, taking one for the team.

Utah Trip - Part 1

2008-03-03T16:00:00.000-08:00

Rowe and I are right in the middle of our whirlwind trip to Utah. To give you an idea, we flew in last Wednesday night, slept at Torah’s, drove down to St. George on Thursday, climbed and played in St. George on Friday, raced my bike Saturday morning, then drove to Logan in a raging blizzard on Saturday night. Sid has done incredibly well! He slept almost the entire flight out here and even managed to sleep a little bit on the long car rides to St. George. Speaking of St. George...it was wonderful! 70 degrees and sunny all weekend. And the mountain bike course was superb! Lots of fast sweeping single track and a good amount of hot sweaty climbing....a far cry from the riding that i’ve been doing in New England lately. I miss having a place to escape to during the cold dark months of winter. As you can see from the photo, I managed to chase my way to 3rd place in my first expert race. You may also notice that the one of the men who beat me has gray hair. Yes, I lost a few minutes to a man with severely gray hair. For the majority of the race I was in 4th place trying to catch 2 guys who I managed to keep in sight for the entire 3 laps. I caught one of them on the last downhill and out sprinted him to the line. Nothing like a little elbow bumping at the line to finish off a great race!

So now we are back in cold Logan for a few days. I managed to get an hour an a half on my Dad’s road bike this afternoon. I kind of miss the flat, exposed, traffic free farm roads of Cache Valley. Next up this weekend....Moab.

2008-02-24T14:02:00.000-08:00

Sid is a real treat these days! He's all smiles and giggles when you tickle or kiss his neck. He's getting really good at tummy time - he can hold his head high and even lifts his butt up in the air as if he's making an attempt to crawl. If you leave him for a while you'll notice that slowly but surely he'll be moving off of his mat. He is particularly good at this during the night. He'll cuddle up to you in bed and continue moving inward until he pushes you off of the bed. When Sid sleeps in our bed it usually looks something like this: Sid lying with arms and legs spread out, occupying about 2/3 of the bed and Mom and Dad smashed up on their sides on the other 1/3 of the bed - clinging desperately to the sheets to avoid falling off.

Our Little Boy - 11 weeks

2008-02-12T17:28:00.000-08:00

I could not pick which one of these pics to put up so here all of them are. Way too cute. Sid is such a smiley little guy when he first wakes up from sleeping. That is when he is happiest. A really happy kid. He is so big, everybody comments on the fact. I feel like I should just hold his big hand and he will walk along next to me! I love him so much and am having such a good time being his mum. Sometimes I look at him and get so happy inside I can hardly take it! We are so grateful for our big, happy, healthy baby. I will put some more little video clips up of the little talker, because the long video got compressed too much or something.

walking with Dad

2008-02-12T17:24:00.000-08:00