Rocco & His Slaves

He turns 3!

2011-09-18T11:36:00.005-05:00

His birthday came and went. We started the day with a marble maze and he ended it with cupcakes and dirt.

Virginia City

2011-09-16T14:00:00.002-05:00

On our way home from Tahoe we stopped off in Virginia City. This added an extra hour to our trip. We made pretty good time leaving South Tahoe at 10:30 and arriving at 11:30am, just in time for a 20 minute tour of the tiny town. The gold and silver mined from Virginia City helped build San Francisco and put he Hearst family on the map. It was only a 20 minute tour so that is about all we caught. The rest of the time Rocco was pointing and oohing and awing over something so we didn't hear much. We left at 2pm and finally made it home at 7:45PM. We spend an hour in Sacramento walking around Barnes and Noble and Target to avoid the evening traffic. It was all very exhausting, which is what traveling with a demanding 3 year old is like these days. He ran around Target for a long time, which was great. It was Exhausting for us but had to be done. We still love to travel and load up our ipod with podcasts and drive long distances, eat at weird hole in the walls and people watch. We are learning to fine tune our adventures with him. Rocco is for the most part very good on trips - but he is 3 and he can only hang out in a car or plane for so long. Our next vacation is Salt Lake City to see Gwyn and Sarita. We are SO excited to see them, their new home and SLC.

Back from my blog free life!

2011-09-16T13:39:00.000-05:00

So much has happened since I last posted on our blog.
1. Robyn returned to Frankfurt
2. Rocco turned 3
3. Chili has regular accupuncture sessions. Oh yea, you read that right.
4. Daniel finally built his office outside
5. This gardening season came and went with very little sun and left us with very little vegetables.

Today is September 16th and we just returned from Tahoe. We met Andy, Jen and Olivia there. It was a great vacation. It was the first time that Daniel took time off and didn't work. We spent a lot of time by the pool and hanging with the kids and doing the whole family vacation thing. We want to have a yearly vacation using my mom's timeshare. She loved her Vegas timeshare and we will exchange it to new locations each year. We thought about her a lot during this trip. Daniel and I imagined her telling us how much she loves her timeshare. She really did so I'm glad we will begin using it yearly for family trips. It will give Rocco and Olivia to get close and for our family to have something on the calendar to look forward to. Here are a few photos of this week. I will post more of Virginia City, Rocco's birthday, Daniel's office..etc.

Weekend at Lake Tahoe IV

2011-01-30T20:31:00.003-06:00

Weekend at Lake Tahoe III

2011-01-30T20:25:00.003-06:00

Weekend at Lake Tahoe II

2011-01-30T20:03:00.003-06:00

Weekend at Lake Tahoe

2011-01-30T19:57:00.003-06:00

The new car

2011-01-30T19:39:00.005-06:00

Toyota Prius, red, 3 years old (17000 miles), so far: 54 MPG on way to work (4.4 Liter/100km)

2010-11-12T19:19:00.002-06:00

Rocco and Robyn had a nice day together and then Rocco wanted to take some pictures and some viedeos. And thats what they did.

FUER AMU

2010-11-12T19:16:00.001-06:00

Gruesse nach Deutschland

2010-11-12T19:13:00.001-06:00

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T21:51:00.003-05:00

I couldn't decide on a costume for the mister so yesterday he was Freddy and today he was the count.

Pumpkin Patch -

2010-10-16T19:57:00.000-05:00

Family Day - SF

2010-09-22T23:47:00.005-05:00

From our latest installment of enforced family day, we bring you a Salzer-Garcia day in San Francisco.

Family day has been happening for several months and now that Robyn is here we are trying to incorporate some sight seeing & touristy things so that Robyn gets to see bits and pieces of the Bay Area. After checking out Lombard street, we went to a 1,100,000 MILLION dollar open house for a 2 bedroom condo. And yes you did read that correctly. There's no need to read that sentence again. Yes, 1.1 million for a 2 bedroom. Robyn loved the flat and said she could easily live there. We are proud that she can be very flexible with her living arrangements. After our viewing, we went to dinner at Suppenkuche, a super yummylicious restaurant in Hayes Valley. We ate and drank Bitburger and then went to a cafe for dessert. I leave for Long Beach tomorrow so there won't be another family day until the 2nd of October. We'll keep you posted. Robyn and Daniel are planning it. I just hope we don't end up at Walmart.

Rocco's bitch

2010-09-21T23:24:00.006-05:00

How did this happen? How did Rocco aquire a bitch? Not a dog mind you but a man bitch. Who's his bitch? It's ERC.
Here's how it happened:
Rocco and I were playing in the backyard this evening and when we entered the kitchen and saw Eric, aka ERC, I told Rocco, "say Hi to Eric" and that's when Rocco called him a Bitch. He flat out said "bitch" and Eric looked at me and I looked at him and we were both confused when he said it again, "bitch." I didn't want to react so again I just told Rocco, "It's ERC Rocco, ERC" but he just kept calling Eric his bitch. And so it goes.

???????????????????????????????????????????? I SWEAR TO GOD, THE YOUTH OF TODAY!

Disclaimer: We don't use this word at home and he rarely watches TV so I HAVE no idea where he heard this!

Olivia 6 months

2010-09-21T23:03:00.002-05:00

She is so freaking cute. I can't wait to see her this weekend!
Here is a picture of Olivia at 6 months. Andy and Jen are doing well. Actually they are both sick with a cold but who cares about them, Olivia is so freaking cute! I can't wait to see her.

Half Moon Bay

2010-09-07T10:34:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was a gorgeous day. It wasn't too hot and the wind was mild. It was perfect. We drove to Half Moon Bay and stopped off at this weird metal sculpture garden. I thought Rocco would love it but he was slightly bored so we only stayed for 15 minutes. After that we arrived into town and ate lunch at this saloon. Everyone was drinking inside and we were eating burgers and drinking iced tea (so very civilized we are). Once we consumed the best burgers and fries in town we hit Francis beach for a few hours. Afterwards we drove home on Highway 1 and crossed the Bay Bridge and returned home. It was a perfect lazy Sunday.

Robyn, Lucas and Rocco at the beach

2010-09-05T22:03:00.004-05:00

Today we went to the beach in Alameda (well not really a beach but we don't know what else to call it). We really love to come here. And Lena lives so close that it's a really good play date choice. Lena is due on October 15th. I can't believe her due date is right around the corner. Lucas and Rocco were so cute together and Robyn was great and so helpful. She played with them and let Lena and I do nothing which for us is a pretty damn amazing.

custom shirts

2010-09-05T20:13:00.002-05:00

I forgot to post the photos of the boys in their custom German shirts. Thanks Oma.

More party photos -

2010-08-25T01:23:00.002-05:00

Yes Mom

2010-08-25T01:18:00.000-05:00

I have power.

YES.

I have power to make him eat ravioli.

Yes!

birthday video

2010-08-22T19:39:00.000-05:00

Party Part 3

2010-08-22T11:57:00.004-05:00

More birthday party photos

2010-08-22T11:41:00.002-05:00

Pic 1: Lucas and David cooperated and waited patiently while Daniel tried to get Rocco's party hat on. It kinda looks like Lucas is yelling at Rocco, "sit down already."
Pic 2: Lucas and David
Pic 3: Lucas in his new hat
Pic 4: Rocco staring at Maya
Pic 5: David

Birthday photos, part 1

2010-08-22T11:34:00.004-05:00

Pic 1: This is Rocco and the love of his life - Maya. It's Maya, Maya, Maya all the time. Yesterday Rocco was sitting next to David and when I walked over with Maya she said, "coco" and sat on the circle wheel thing and then he ditched David and sat next to her. It was very cute.

Pic 2: Rocco, Maya, David and Lucas

Pic 3, 4, and 5: Rocco opening one of many gifts in the garden

Robyn is here

2010-08-19T13:50:00.003-05:00

Robyn arrived on Tuesday night and she looks great and is in great spirits. She's ready to start school, master English and take on and take down Berkeley. We are proud of her and happy that she is here.
I am preparing for Rocco's big birthday celebration. He turns 2 on Saturday and we (meaning Amy and Lena) are trying to get everything organized for the big play date party. Rocco has so many gifts to open on Saturday morning. I'll make sure to take a ton of photos and post them.

Anyway I have to take off for work.

Our last day in Oregon

2010-08-07T11:32:00.003-05:00

We can't wait to get back. It's sooooo relaxing and calm at primo Philip's house. Since we are forced off the grid we have no choice but to be.

Oregon Coast

2010-08-07T11:25:00.001-05:00

He turns 2 on the 21st

2010-08-07T11:15:00.002-05:00

I can't believe it! I really can't. We are having a triple party celebration with Lucas and David at the Park near Lena and David's new home. Lena is looking very pregnant. He baby is due on the 15th of October and HeaSoon's baby is due the first week of November. I'm excited to meet their babes and to have new infants in the crowd.

Robyn arrives on the 17th and It'll be great to have her here for R's birthday. In general it will be great for Rocco to get to know his cousin and learn from her. Daniel's had to put a hold on the outside work cabin since his back and neck are tight. He has to go to the chiropractor 2 times a week for the next 4 weeks and then they'll re-evaluate him. Yesterday he felt better after his treatment but again this morning he woke up tight so he is icing and taking his Aleve. Poor baby. I feel bad for him. But we are very grateful that it was a minor accident and that he'll fully recover from this in a few weeks.

Rollin' in Unimog Style

2010-08-05T13:28:00.003-05:00

Last year Philip took Daniel shooting and this year he had to up the ante. Daniel went for a ride in Paul's Unimog. Paul is the neighbor, and a diplomat of sorts. He's an *interesting* fellow (for sure).

Daniel had a great time riding in the Unimog with a Miller High Life in his hand listening to Wagner at full blast.

Mike lives another day

2010-08-05T11:39:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was an eventful day. Daniel was rear ended on the 92 and bashed the back of his head into the back glass and cracked it. Talk about being hard headed! But in all seriousness, I was very worried. He is OK though as is his truck. He's off to pick up a rental right now while they repair the truck and we are going to the Chiropractor's to set up an exam since his lower back and neck are very tight. So grateful that he's OK.

Eugene Farmer's Market

2010-08-04T23:15:00.002-05:00

Last week we spent a week at Philip and Sherry's house in the woods. It was so peaceful and quiet. Here we are at the Farmer's Market in Eugene picking up some fresh food for the week. I love going to the Farmer's Market. It's become my new favorite past time. Rocco likes it too since he gets to graze on all these yummy fruits and veggies. He's slowly turning into a very good eater. Long gone are the days where we have to trick him into eating food. I am so glad those days are over - they were stressful.....and for the longest time I didn't enjoy feeding him. Now I look forward to feeding him and love watching him eat food. We've finally arrived.

Daniel's cabin

2010-08-03T11:27:00.002-05:00

Daniel has been working every weekend on his cabin. I take Rocco all day Saturday and half the day on Sunday so that D can build his office outside. He's made such progress. It's amazing to see how fast he is compared to a few years ago. Nathan has been coming by on the weekends and helping Daniel. Daniel's taught him to use all sorts of tools and they seems to have fun putting up walls, and doing all the things you need to do to get a new building up. Robyn arrives in just a few weeks so we are trying to get the cabin ready so that she'll have her own room. We are excited that she is coming. It's going to be a cool experience for her to live and go to school in another country. And we are super excited for Rocco to have lots of time with his cousin. Before you know he is going to be speaking more German than English or Spanish.

Lucas FIlm Tour

2010-08-03T10:40:00.005-05:00

Eric or ERK as Rocco likes to call him took us to Lucas Film where he works for a tour. Nathan thought it was the coolest place. The building is full of film props. Rocco loved Darth Vader and didn't understand why he couldn't climb all over the costume. Apparently all kids love Darth Vader. He didn't care much for the Storm Troopers or Yoda. ERC said he'd eventually take us to the Ranch in Marin where even more Lucas Film props are located.

Catching up

2010-08-03T10:28:00.003-05:00

I've been taking photos and videos but as usual can't find the time to post. I think that when Robyn arrives from Germany her job will be to manage the blog (we can talk later Robyn) :>

Pic 1: My tomato's are coming along and they taste so good. After eating garden tomato's it's hard to eat store bought ones. Usually they are so tasteless.
Pic 2: Chili Garcia. He is 16 years old and kicking. He's been happier with us. Daniel and I are trying to give him lots of attention and lots of protection.
Pic 3: Eggplant flowering in the garden. I still don't have any eggplant and think that we don't have enough heat to grow eggplant. Ah well, I tried.
And the rest of the photos are of the Supreme Leader. He's doing great. He talk a lot and laughs at everything. He is very silly and so very cute! He's been sleeping better - and only waking once. We are hopeful that in time he'll be sleeping through the night soon. Please please please let it be!!!!

Happy 4th of the Lie

2010-07-01T21:02:00.002-05:00

So here is Rocco sporting his peace lovin' multicolored hair look.
Hope everyone has a safe 4th of July weekend!

Murder Victim Barbie

2010-06-30T23:39:00.006-05:00

I recently bought Rocco a doll at a garage sale. He's torn the poor thing apart. She's missing her foot. Her head is turned around as if she had been possessed by the devil. Her lower body is twisted and the truth is he still isn't done. He is trying to tear her apart. We found her face down in the backyard and Daniel started calling her Murder Victim Barbie. I took a few photos of her NEXT to my beautiful squash. I thought the juxtaposition of damaged barbie and beautiful squash would nicely sum of our lives right now.

Planning his 2nd birthday party

2010-06-30T23:29:00.003-05:00

On the 21st of August we are going to have a triple party celebration with Lucas and David. Since all 3 boys were born within 9 days we figured they are too young to know the difference so we are going to have a nice playdate at a park with their friends for a few hours. We are meeting on Saturday morning to plan the event. I can't believe he's turning 2. It really goes by so fast!

Picture 1: Rocco at 22 months
Picture 2: Rocco at 1 week

Camcorder challenged

2010-06-30T23:19:00.002-05:00

I bought a camcorder a few months ago and have taken lots of videos of Rocco but I don't know how to download them and never have enough time to read the manual so one day I will post the hidden Rocco files. In them you'll hear him meowing and screaming and saying all sorts of things. If the recent clip were to play you'd hear him saying nothing but "mine, mine, mine." Everything is MINE! He is really into puzzles, legos and boxes right now.

My birthday

2010-06-30T22:56:00.004-05:00

For my 36th birthday we had a few friends over for early bird pizza and beer. For those of you without children, that means you eat at 6ish and kick everyone out by 9ish so that you can sleep and function the next day.

I may have already mentioned this but Lena is pregnant. Lucas is going to have a little someone to boss around soon. Lena and David are keeping the sex a secret. The baby is due in late October so Lucas is going to be a big brother very soon. We are all very excited for them.

My birthday went by without too much fanfare. I'm too old to give a shit anymore. I got to sleep in (yea). I went to work (boo), came home and didn't have to cook (yea) or put Rocco to bed (yea). Plus I got to see friends (yea) which doesn't happen nearly as much as I'd like. So all in all, it was great and...a little bittersweet. I missed my mom and I thought to myself that is was a good thing that she gave up celebrating birthdays long ago. It actually made it easier knowing she wouldn't have said Happy Birthday anyway.

Oaklavia Festival

2010-06-30T22:48:00.003-05:00

On Sunday we went to the Oaklavia festival which is only in its second year running. They closed down most of the streets in downtown Oakland so folks and families could walk, bike, run, and play in the streets. Unfortunately it was an empty affair. I hope in the years to come it'll pick up speed.

Oakland Zoo

2010-06-08T12:56:00.001-05:00

We have a membership to the Oakland zoo and use it all the time! It's perfect for toddlers. Here he is 2 weeks ago with his friend Eva (Rocky's niece).

San Rafael, CA

2010-06-08T12:17:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we drove to San Rafael to visit Meg. Meg took us to this AMAZING Puerto Rican restaurant. The food was sooooo good. Afterwards we went to a local plaza and Rocco ran around and played in the fountain. He was so well behaved in the restaurant that I wanted to let him run around an burn off some steam before we got back in the car. Overall he's been so GOOD. He's been so loving and well behaved. Part of it is that he's sleeping better, I'm sleeping better and I am making sure he gets enough time outside to burn off steam. I notice that if I keep him in the house for too long, he goes bat shit crazy and starts driving me insane. So we spend a lot of time outside so he can climb things and jump around. This new plan seems to be working.
In a nutshell, it's about keeping baby boy busy!

i haven't killed my vegetables

2010-06-01T13:00:00.003-05:00

i'm so proud of myself! i haven't killed any of my veggies. They are all growing and doing well. I check on them daily and really really enjoy seeing new flowers, buds, and tiny veggies become bigger by the day. I got so excited when I saw my beets take root. Well that day the soil made room for the green lake beans and I just hung in the garden with Rocco watching all the leaves and flowers. Gardening is very satisfying. Never knew I had it in me........

June 1, 2010

2010-06-01T12:57:00.001-05:00

Mid may

2010-05-13T13:31:00.002-05:00

I can't believe we are in mid may. I wish things would slow down a bit - it seems the days just blur into each other and before i know it the month has ended and a new one has started. I can't believe 2011 is only 7 months away. WTF??????????????????????????

outside

2010-05-13T13:28:00.001-05:00

His new word is "outside, outside, outside, outside..."
Literally. he says "outside" at least 25 times a day. He loves to be outside climbing, falling, picking and throwing. He's such a boy.

Still loving his bedroom

2010-05-13T12:56:00.001-05:00

my urban garden

2010-05-05T18:19:00.003-05:00

So this year I planted lots and lots of veggies.
This year I planted eggplant, bell peppers, beans, cilantro, green onion, broccoli, beets, and of course tomato, tomato and more tomato! You can never have too many as far as I'm concerned.

All smiles!

2010-05-05T18:17:00.002-05:00

I love this picture of him smiling.

Boy Wonder

2010-05-05T18:14:00.001-05:00

This was taken yesterday morning just after he tossed Chili's food on the floor and was mad that I wouldn't give him the entire bottle of green puffs.

Oops he did it again

2010-05-05T18:12:00.004-05:00

In response he says, "the bottles look the same."

The Rocco Name Generator

2010-05-05T17:47:00.003-05:00

Oh Rocco is funny. He calls himself Coco. He still calls me Mami. He calls Daniel Baba.
He calls Oma Anne Amu. He calls Opa Hans Apu. He calls Andy, Anja, Jen, Robyn, our neighbors Na na. He calls my friend Lisa LaLa. He calls Eric Ick. He calls Lydia Annie. And he calls everything else chi chi or gato.

He really is speaking quite a bit. It's so cute (didn't I recently call him a monster). Oh that was SO yesterday. Now he's cute and perfect again.

where do i begin?

2010-05-02T10:36:00.003-05:00

So much has happened since I last posted here. Let's see - the most pressing moment was that Daniel's father - Hans was hospitalized for heart problems. Now he's better but still recovering since he had a problem a few days ago. And Daniel's mom, Anne was also in the hospital for over a week. Needless to say Daniel was very stressed and upset. Anne is doing better and is now home. Anja has been taking care of everyone and I know how hard it must be for her.
Daniel's been checking in with everyone and we are keeping everyone in our thoughts.

In these past few weeks, Rocco caught a mild cold, i caught a pretty bad cold and Daniel caught some virus he still can't shake. It's been about 2 weeks now.

My niece Olivia is home and gaining weight and doing well. Jen is doing well and going above and beyond. I'm so impressed with her.

Let's see - what else! Oh, I got a part time job at my chiropractor's office. Rocco will be in day care 3 days a week now. I have been telling folks for a couple months now that I'm looking for PT work and I was very happy to receive a phone call from he and his wife. I've known them since I moved up north in 1995 so working for them will be familiar. Plus they know my situation with Rocco and are very family friendly.

Rocco is definitely in his terrible 2's. I may have mentioned this already in an earlier posting. I just hope that this stage passes soon because he can be pretty awful at times. He's just a total handful. I feel my blood pressure rising several times a day. We've had lots of hitting issues lately. And he loves the word, MINE. Everything is MINE, MINE, MINE, MINE. He's hitting a lot, throwing a lot, screaming a lot and finding new ways to scrap his knee or climb on the table only to fall off it. Oh boy. I was telling our midwife about this and how difficult he's been lately and she recommended that Daniel and I read the Wonder of Boys.

Everyone says this stage only lasts about a year. I'm hoping this year goes by fast!
Don't get me wrong, he's still adorable and he isn't a monster every moment of the day......he's just a little monster half the time. But it's half too much for this mama.

He's perfect!

2010-04-03T20:39:00.002-05:00

All parents must say this about their babes. He's at such a great stage. At times he totally drives me crazy but he is so fun and cute. We have so much fun together. I love him a million times, a trillion, a ga ga zillion times over.

Night Weaning

2010-04-03T20:25:00.002-05:00

Rocco is going to be 20 months in 2 weeks and we hope by then that he will be sleeping through the night.
We began night weaning him Thursday night and so far it is going well. He begins the night in his room and when he wakes we bring him to our bed but instead of breastfeeding him back to sleep, we now just pat his tummy or back to sleep. The first night went really well. He still woke his usual 4-5 times and asked for "chi chi" and I told him "chi chi" was sleeping and he needed to sleep too. He'd yell and scream for about 5 minutes then go back to sleep. In the morning he kissed me and hugged me and I felt pretty good about sticking to my plan and not caving in to him (it is sooooooooooo easy to give in sometimes). And I felt comforted knowing he wasn't angry in the morning.

Night 2 was tough. Rocco woke up at 3:30AM and didn't go back to bed until about 6AM. He was angry and upset that he couldn't get "chi chi." We just gave him lots of love and told him we loved him and that he needed to sleep and rest. We told him that as soon as morning rolled in, he could have chi chi. I swear 6:30 AM came and he was there, asking for it and I let him eat for a long time until he passed out.

Tonight is night 3. I hope it gets easier and I hope he finally gives up. I know it's only been 2 nights versus 19 1/2 months of eating on demand whenever he wanted but I'm tired. I'm beyond tired. I need to sleep and I know the only way I'm going to get sleep is to cut him off milk at night.

Wish us luck. I hope that by his 2o month birth date he will be weaned and sleeping through the night.

Olivia's first day

2010-03-20T19:42:00.005-05:00

Here she is in the NICU.

She weighs 2.5 pounds and she is 14 inches long. She's tiny, beautiful and overall she looks great. She has long fingers and dark hair. I wish we could have spent more time with her.

I love her already and can't wait for her and Rocco to be best buds.

Jenn is amazing and looks so good considering she just had major surgery. Andy is doing well too. He was telling Jenn that SHE HAD no idea how much he's been through in the last few weeks. He's exhausted. I thought Jenn was going to kick his ass. We were all laughing. Daniel piped in and said mother's had no idea how tough birth was on Dad's.

Rocco is doing great and handled his flight really well. This kid has serious flight miles under his belt.

Ok, signing off for the night. Please continue to keep Olivia, Jenn and Andy in your thoughts.

I'll try to post more soon.

Welcome to the world, Olivia Victoria Garcia

2010-03-19T22:21:00.004-05:00

We fly out tomorrow to be with Andy, Jenn and hopefully we get to meet Olivia. She's in the NICU right now. She was delivered this afternoon around 4PM. My brother said that she has the Meranza nose and black hair. I love it. I can't wait to see her, to meet her, to hold her. God, little babies are the best! I'm so relieved that everyone is doing well. I haven't spoken to Jen but Andy said she was doing OK considering.
I hope to post a photo or two very soon.

Please keep Andy, Jenn and Olivia in your thoughts. They need lots of good loving energy vibrations right now. It's been a ROUGH ride to say the least. I'm proud of them and how they've handled this pregnancy and birth.

And I'm excited, excited...so excited to be an aunt.

My mom would be so happy, so ecstatic, so wildly emotional. I wish she were here. Who knows, maybe she is.

M

German Breakfast

2010-03-17T07:33:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago we had a few friends and their babes over for breakfast. Daniel bought rolls and we boiled eggs and had a spread with cheese, lox, herring and fruit. The little ones got to play together and we had a chance to relax and catch up.

This actually took place 3 weeks ago. This is the same weekend that Jenn was taken to the hospital. Luckily she is stable and keeping her spirits up considering all that she is going through. I tell you, that little girl wants out and the world is not ready for her yet. She needs to stay in the bun and bake for a bit more. Rocco and I have a flight to San Diego next week to visit again. It'll be nice to see Jenn and Andy and George. Rocco loves that dog so it'll be good entertainment for him. George is going to make an excellent doggie brother.

Future Engineer

2010-03-17T07:25:00.002-05:00

At least Daniel hopes so. I bought him these stackable boxes last week and he loves to play with them. I love it too because it give me a bit of free time.
I'm always up for that! He is busy busy busy. Before having Rocco, I never really understood how much work kids were. He keeps me super super busy these days. If I'm not chasing him around the house, we are at the park or at a kinder gym or some class. He needs so much "play time" right now. It's good for him in the end. He's talking so much these days. It's so insanely cute.

Ok, it's 5:31AM and I'm going to try to get some sleep. I've been up since 4AM. It figures that the night Rocco actually sleeps well I can't.

Time out

2010-03-15T15:45:00.000-05:00

I can't even count how many time out's he has on a weekly basis.
Daniel and I give him a warning before making him sit on his pillow for 3 minutes. Sometimes he sits on it without protest and other times it's a battle to keep him on the pillow.

Throwing oranges

2010-03-15T12:43:00.001-05:00

2010-03-14T18:02:00.001-05:00

Rocco's love den

2010-03-14T17:04:00.002-05:00

When I have more energy to write, I'll fill in the blanks. For now, here it is - Rocco's love den. He starts off the night in it and ends the night by crying his way into our room.

2010-02-20T00:11:00.000-06:00

Pimp my Ride

2010-02-20T00:04:00.002-06:00

He loves to be rolled around the house in Daniel's office chair. In the morning, before I've even had my first cup of coffee (sigh) he runs directly to Daniel's office and stands in front of his chair. So before I've even had my first cup of coffee (sigh) I put him in the chair and roll him through the hallway into the dining room and finally into the kitchen where I can get my coffee ON!
I swear to god, he sits on this chair like a king. He is out of control!

Hanging with his best buds

2010-02-19T23:55:00.003-06:00

Rocco, David and Lucas spent an afternoon playing together while the mama's played catch up. Amy, Lena and I had a nice time talking and laughing while our little boys played and of course fought over toys. It was one of the nicest Friday afternoon's I've had in a long long time.

What can I say, they are just so insanely cute together.

just like butter

2010-02-13T15:42:00.004-06:00

So many words are pouring out of his mouth. It's great to hear him say so many words and it never ceases to put a smile on my face.

His latest words are light, what's that? what's this? pacos for zapatos, gaco for gato and his favorite (me thinks) "chi chi" for milk. He wakes me up at all hours of night patting my chest with his little hands asking for chi chi. It's very funny. He even asks Daniel for chi chi. He actually does this little number a lot. He's now asked several women for chi chi to no avail. Yesterday while I was changing he pointed at my knees and said in a question "chi chi?" He seemed a bit confused.

He is persistent, I'll give him that. He keeps on asking for what he wants even after he's been turned down. I hope this quality sticks with him - to go after what he wants that is and not the random chest patting.

Dr Evil

2010-02-03T12:20:00.003-06:00

Rocco is getting his own room! Finally. We are working it out all. So at the moment Ron (the best handy man in Oakland) is fixing our electrical wiring and is going to put plywood down in the attic. We have to move a lot of stuff up there and once that is finished, Rocco will have his own room. I went to Ikea and bought all the fixings, including the Dr. Evil chair.

Pay me 1 million dollars or I will .........poop (check); scream (check); keep you from sleeping (check); leave dirty hand prints throughout the house (check), love you madly (check).

You will wear that hat

2010-02-03T12:13:00.003-06:00

Amy had an interview last week so I took care of David for a few hours here at the house. The boys had a lot of fun together...well I know Rocco did. He tried to feed David and chased him around with his fire engine hat. David was a good sport about it all and indulged Rocco's need to dress and feed him. There was a good two hours of this.......................David is incredibly patient and Rocco is very persistent.

pesky teeth

2010-01-23T14:35:00.006-06:00

Poor baby R. He has 4 teeth coming in at the same time. He's been extra whiny these days and last night he was up quite a bit crying. I checked his belly and his temperature and everything felt normal so instead of soothing him, I barked "GO TO SLEEP ROCCO" and kept "shuuing" and "chishing" him to go to sleep. He wouldn't so I barked, and he screamed and no one slept. Of course this morning I saw all the teeth coming through. Poor thing. Now I feel like a horribly insensitive mother.

Other than teeth and more teeth breaking through the surface of his gums, he is doing really well. He had his pediatric check up and he is doing really well. Doctor said he's healthy and looks great! Those are ALWAYS the words you want to hear.

We are back to a routine. We were very active this week. He went to Kinder Gym, Gymboree class, Rock in Kids Music class and swimming. He also went to Lydia's 2 times this week and had a great time playing with Maya and Noam, his two friends at day care (Lucas being the 3rd but didn't make it to Lydia's this week). He painted and played and had a couple of time out's for misbehaving. Lydia makes the toddlers sit on a pillow for 3 minutes in the corner when they don't listen or throw things or hit or bite or....
I didn't think Rocco would actually sit still for 3 minutes but he did. I saw it with my very own eyes. On Wednesday night at home he had a time out. I pulled out a pillow, put it on the floor and the next time he threw something across the room, I put him on the pillow. He sat there for 3 full minutes. He knew he was in trouble. I tried not to smile or laugh which was so incredibly difficult. He looked so cute. He didn't move; he just sat there looking around waiting for his time to be up.
Did it work? Kinda. He stopped throwing for a whole 5 minutes after wards.

Well I have to go out and run some errands. I will post pictures of the little man soon.

Rome is the shizzle

2010-01-19T12:09:00.010-06:00

Rome is amazing and I want to go back and see all of Italy. The food was so good, even the little man who is a pain in the ass when it comes to food ate everything he encountered in Rome.
The pizza is good but really it's all the specialty foods that made my fat belly smile. My favorite was green olive stuffed with cheese and ground beef. We ate well in Rome.

We stayed with friends we hadn't seen since 2000. Jade and Romano lived in the city then and we used to see each other at bars and party's. Because of FB we reconnected and they were kind enough to let us stay in their living room. We stayed up at night drinking beer after we put the babes to bed and during the day Daniel, Rocco and I traveled by bus and on foot to see a little of everything.

Los Angeles, Rome, Paris and Rodgau

2010-01-19T11:40:00.006-06:00

We spent a good deal of time at Anne's house in Rodgau. Her home is so comfortable and we slept upstairs in the attic surrounded by family photos, an antique doll and all our stuff which as you can imagine was a lot. I tried to pack light but then again that's like asking Chili Garcia to use his kitty litter box.
Did I just compare myself to my incontinent cat? humm. Well let's move on.

Anne had so many toys for Rocco. It was great and easy for him to motor around the downstairs. He especially loved the staircase - he climbed all three floors daily and then settled down for pretzel and yogurt.

Picture 1: A family that smokes together, stays together.
Picture 2: Samuel and Rocco playing. Samuel is the mayor child of Rodgau. He welcomed Rocco with open arms and let him use all his used tights and winter clothes.
Picture 3: Tante Anja and Rocco
Picture 4: Oma Anne and Rocco
Picture 5: Daniel, Rocco and Opa at the local fancy cafe in Rodgau where I ate not 1 but 2 desserts.
Picture 6: Rocco touching snow for the first time in Anne's garden.

La Selva Negra

2010-01-19T11:20:00.003-06:00

Here it is - the Black Forest. It is really a beautiful place and I'm so glad I had a chance to see it and be there. From a distance the trees do appear black. This place could could swallow and spit you without even a blip on the radar.
For years I was a big Herman Hesse fan and he always wrote about the magic in the forest. While I didn't have a life changing - coming of age (too late for that) moment, I did experience new things:
I walked down the road and ate it a couple of time holding a pot of meatballs without losing one; I went sledding with Daphne; I ate lots of traditional breads and sweets with Anja; I learned more about my camera settings (thanks to Gunter) and I learned how to dress my baby for a blizzard.

Christmas in Durrenbuhl

2010-01-16T10:30:00.002-06:00

Anne and Anja organized Christmas in the black forest. We had two houses in the town of Durrenbuhl. The village consisted of a church, 3 homes, a barn, diseased farm cats and lots of cute edible farm animals.

Settled in

2010-01-16T10:09:00.002-06:00

We returned from Germany last Sunday and we are officially settled in. I put all our clothes away, stored the suitcases downstairs, washed dirty clothes, Daniel is back to working 65+ hours per week and we all tackled jet lag successfully. And the most important marker that we are home is that Chili is back to terrorizing us. It's amazing how easy it was to adapt - one day we are in Anja's apartment and the next we are drinking coffee in our kitchen and cleaning cat shit off the carpet. Truly amazing.
Rocco is still saying "agua" for everything. He laughs when I give him his water bottle each time he says it......we are both finding joy in our ability to understand each other. Two days ago he began saying "casa" and while we were in Germany he began saying "Danke" and "shoe." He actually speaks a lot, or babbles a lot. We don't fully understand what he is saying but he goes on and on and on like an evangelical preacher speaking in tongues. God only knows what he is saying but we are sure it is divine.
I will post photos of our trip soon.

I had to do it.

2009-12-03T19:01:00.005-06:00

Pirate Rocco

2009-12-03T11:42:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving is around the corner...

2009-11-24T11:24:00.002-06:00

We are headed to San Diego on Thursday to celebrate Thanksgiving with Andy and Jenn (and George the dog). Overall things have been running smoothly. We are having a few windows replaced in the house in the next few weeks and I'm slowly decluttering our home so that I can make room for Rocco's stuff. I still have to go through my mom's stuff. Right now there are boxes and boxes in our spare bedroom. Hopefully soon, I'll have time to organize everything so that Daniel can put it all in the attic. I want to make sure the photographs are protected before we put them up there because I plan to scan them all in.

Rocco turned 15 months yesterday and he is doing great. He is walking a little each day and he is eating more and more. He is still very picky and still on the lean side but at least he opens his mouth to eat food now. His favorite foods at the moment are garlic hummus, greek yogurt, grapes, strawberry's, beans, french fries, oatmeal and tomatoes. He can't get enough tomato in his life. I wish he'd eat fatter foods but oh well...I'll take what I can get at this point. I'm tired of worrying and am grateful that he eats anything now.

Mud Boy

2009-11-01T13:13:00.000-06:00

Playing in the mud

2009-11-01T13:11:00.001-06:00

God he loves to get dirty. I change him at least twice, sometime three times a day.

Norwalk, CA

2009-11-01T13:07:00.002-06:00

Rocco has grown so much in the last month. He is eating better and kissing and dancing and his hair is out of control. Here he is in my mom's backyard. More on the way...

Rocco and mama

2009-10-05T11:19:00.004-05:00

and more pics

2009-10-05T11:06:00.003-05:00

Here are some more photos that I think are great. This Wednesday will mark 2 weeks since my mom passed away. I wish time would stop but it just keeps on going.

Rocco began standing on his own. Yesterday he stood up for 7 seconds before falling on his butt and laughing. He has been laughing so much lately - and I mean laughing at everything. He points and laughs. He falls and laughs. I sneeze and he laughs, he farts and laughs...the list goes on and on.

I'm glad that he is so happy. He reminds me to smile and reminds me that life goes on and reminds me of my mom and dad.

Pic 1: My parent's party days. They are the far right couple.

Pic 2: Andy's high school graduation. I'm just finishing 8th grade and I think I'm so cool.

Pic 3:My mom and Dad.

Pic 4: Me and Andy.

Pic 5: Nana Victoria. She was my mother's mom and passed away in 93. She was a cool woman and I loved her very much - always with her cigarette, and a beer, telling everyone including my grandfather what to do which she deservedly earned after bearing 11 children, keeping them fed, safe and loved. A true matriarch.

Pics of my mom

2009-10-02T14:48:00.002-05:00

For my mom's funeral we put together a collage of old photos and these were some of my favorites. We have so many albums that I hope we can scan in. My brother and I will have to divide the work since there are at least 20 books.

Pic 1: My mom with Tio Oscar in Tucson, AZ. My mom was about 17 years old.
Pic 2: My mom and Dad at the yearly Bell Helmets Christmas Party.
Pic 3: Wedding Day. October 25, 1969.
Pic 4: A photo my mom sent to my dad in 1968 when they were dating. She was in Tucson and my Dad was in Long Beach.
Pic 5: Another wedding photo. I love this photo. She looks beautiful, healthy and happy. This is how I want to remember her.

Birthday party

2009-08-29T09:26:00.001-05:00

A peace offering from Chili Garcia

2009-08-27T19:13:00.003-05:00

Eventually I opened the rest of his gifts because it took way too long to go through all of them.

drummin'

2009-08-27T19:10:00.002-05:00

drum, drum, drum, drum,

drum, drum. He loves to play the drums.

more birthday photos

2009-08-27T12:36:00.003-05:00

Rocco and David had a huge birthday celebration. I think there were about 55 people here. I was running around like a crazy lady so I didn't take 1 photo. A friend of Amy's took a lot of photos so I'm hoping to get a copy of them soon. Bummer. Anyway it was a lot of fun and it was cute to have so many babies crawling around. You had to look down before walking just to make sure you didn't step on a little person.

Pic 1: Birthday boy

Pic 2: Day after party - opening all his gifts.

Pic 3: Rocco and Tia Jen. Andy and Jen drove from Carlsbad (8 hours) just to celebrate his birthday. It was great to have them here and I was sad when they left. Although it was nice to have the quiet again. I think my brother is deaf. When he's here the TV volume is out of control high.

Pic 4: Rocco standing up for quality and cheap prices. Jen, Andy and I were coming up with new adverstisement slogans.

Pic 5: Another Rocco and Tia Jen photo.

Still can't believe he is 1......

Pinch me, it can't be real.

Rocco turns 1

2009-08-27T12:27:00.002-05:00

On August 21st, he turned 1 year old.

He has 7 teeth.

He can pull himself up.

He climbs stairs.

He crawls everywhere.

He gets into everything.

He still wake us up 2-3 times a night.

He is still breastfeeding.

He is a cuddler and loves to snuggle.

He loves frijoles.

He makes us very very happy!

3 teeth and a baby

2009-08-13T23:00:00.003-05:00

Rocco has not 1, not 2 but 3 teeth coming in at the same time. It´s been HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I feel so bad for him. He´s been in so much pain. I´ve been giving him Baby Oral gel at night and at day, Chamomilla. It´s been hard for him to eat much because his gums are so sore. But tonight he ate 2 bowls of frijoles which is great for him. He´s not a big solid food eater so I was impressed with his eating tonight. He also ate banana and drank lots of water before falling asleep at 6PM. Poor little guy. Hope his teeth come through soon...

Pic 1 Running away from me.

Pic 2 and 3 In the backyard

Portland the Pulseless City

2009-08-13T22:36:00.005-05:00

I got into major trouble saying that. Honestly I just don't get Portland. It's cute, it's clean...whatever. it's beautiful, it's green, yadda yadda yadda...but honestly, I don't get it. It's kinda weird and where the hellz are the people?

But it was worth being there just to see Sarita and Gwyn. It was soooooooo good to see them and how I miss my gal pal Sarita. She is doing great and was in a zen space considering they were on the move yet again. Rocco was cool and well behaved...I think he was at least.

Daniel and I LOVE being part of their lives because come on, who does it like Sarita and Gwyn. They are through and through one of a kind. Love them much!

Pic 1: Rocco on the road again.

Pic 2: Daniel was bummed that it was closed. He was so ready for a Doner
Pic 3: Rocco, Sarita and Gwyn
Pic 4: Me and Lady S in some park near the Sunday market.

Pic 5: Gwyn and Rocco

Pic 6: An alternative family - 2 Euros and a baby. Movie coming to a theater near you.

Pic 7: Advertisment for the Spoiled Cat: Hemp filled luxury body pillows for cats. The cat is supposed to look calm and soothed and instead looks tormented. I was sold. I bought one for Chili Garcia.

Pic 8 Family Photo

Eugene with the garcia gang, part 3

2009-08-13T22:24:00.004-05:00

Daniel was clearly outnumbered, but he handled himself well and begged to be a Garcia by the end of our stay.

Well, maybe not but he had a great time and wants to go back next year. He believes this is the only place he'll ever get some sleep. I´m in favor. I´d love to go up north and spend more time with my cousin Phillip and Sherry. Hands down, the coolest kids in town!

Pic 1: One of the many stickers on cousin Ben's car.

Pic 2: Phillip and Sherry discussing something very important. Do we buy tomato's or blueberries or both... ?

Pic 3: I think Sherry was buying cheese

Pic 4: Rocco and his magic shakers

Pic 5: Phillip, Daphne and Ben.

Dexter - home of the Garcia's, part 2

2009-08-13T21:58:00.004-05:00

There are Garcia's sprinkled all over the world just like sundae toppings. That's what we Garcia's do - bring joy and happiness to the world.....filling your belly with synthetic sweetness and keeping the gene pool going around and around and around!

Well maybe I'm having a moment here. I should stop....I digress. What I mean to write is that I have some pretty awesome family living in Dexter, OR. If you've ever watched Animal House APPARENTLY there is some diner scene that takes place in Dexter. My little cousin Daphne took me there. It's a mile or so away from my cousin Phillip's house.

We relaxed and slept and laughed and ate and laughed some more while we were at Phillip and Sherry's house. It was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good. Daniel slept all day and all night. Well not all day and all night, but he took several naps and slept in which never happens. Tia Sherry would take him in the morning and in the afternoon and my lil' cousin Daphne played and read to him and chased him around and my cousin Phillip held him and gave him lots of love. He was given a new name in Dexter. We began to call him the Supreme Leader and I have to say that he was in heaven and accepted all forms of love and flattery without protest. He was in his element.

We want to go back to Dexter.....it was the most relaxing time we've had since we brought the Supreme Leader into the world.

Pic 1: Daniel napping in the zen back yard

Pic 2: Sherry walking the Supreme Leader

Pic 3: The yard, all 5 acres of it with a creek hidden behind the trees. Gorgeous.

Pic 4: An old playhouse built by my cousin for the kids when they were, er, um, well kids.

Pic 5: Phillip with Rocco

Driving up north to Oregon, part 1

2009-08-13T21:37:00.004-05:00

I've been meaning to post some photos of our great trip to Oregon. We had such a nice time, despite the look of Rocco's (see picture of unhappy baby). We left on a Wed., morning around 11AM and made it to Ashland around 5PM. Rocco was pretty well behaved until 4PM and I think he cried for that last hour. Other than that, the ride up was pretty easy. We listened to various podcasts - This American Life, Wait Wait don't tell me, BBC Global News and lots of NPR stuff. And we listened to Bob. Lots and lots of Bob Dylan. Daniel and I always have great conversation on road trips because we are forced to talk to each other. Seriously! At home, we are both so busy that we don't have time to just sit around and talk. It was very nice and I think that's why I like road trips so much.

Pic 1: Katy, her daughter Viola and Rocco. Katy and Paul live in Ashland and it was a perfect "stop over." They were so kind and gave us their bed and fed us. It was great to talk to them and catch up. Their daughter is this white haired blond beauty. She is what I imagine a Swiss alps baby looks like...well that, or a cherub. Katy, she needs a harp!

Pic 2: On the road

Pic 3: Beautiful drive - listening to Bob all the way up....

Pic 4: A not so happy, normally happy little boy

Veggie Garden

2009-08-12T17:48:00.004-05:00

Our veggie garden is coming along. Our tomatoes taste great. Our corn was doing great until 2 nights ago when some random Oaklandish animal ate them, and took all 6 stalks away. I was really bummed out because the corn were getting nice and big and I was already imagining some nice summer grilling. Our zucchini's aren't ready but they are growing nicely. We also have basil and mint which have totally taken off. It's been nice to tend the little garden and I'm proud of myself for not killing any of the veggies.

Oh and I even made plum jelly. We had 15 pounds so I ended up jarring about 35 cans. I've been giving them away as it's just way too much jelly for us.

Double the trouble

2009-08-12T17:38:00.002-05:00

I've said it before and I'll say it again, HE LOVES to look at himself in the mirror.

I set up a vanity space for him in the dining room so that he can sit and stare at himself for many many minutes out of the day. It's very funny watching him talk to himself, pound the mirror with his hands and stare at himself.

Pinky toe and chile in my eye

2009-08-05T23:36:00.005-05:00

It's been a rough week for Mama G. My sinuses are horrible. I've been so congested and vomiting due to really disgusting post nasal drip. Then I broke my pinky toe on Monday chasing Rocco so I'm limping around and the finale to the trifecta was getting chile in my eye. Anyway I'm a mess.

Daniel officially changed groups at Papa Bear, Corp and life is soooooooooo much better now that he stopped reporting to Chorizo.

El Roquito is doing great. God, it's been quite an amazing week for him. He began holding himself up against furniture and he climbs stairs now and well just seeing him stand up is incredible (with the support of heavy furniture that is). It's really amazing. It all happened in one day.

And wow, he's going to be 1 year in a matter of weeks. It's really so...................................
I'm sad and happy and I can't believe that his first year anniversary is upon us. This year has gone by so fast.

p.s. our trip to Oregon was GREAT. We will post pictures soon.

Pic 1: giving Rocco direction to look at the camera

Pic 2: family photo in VJ and Mo's backyard in Woodside, Ca (a magical place)

Pic 3: Breakfast bagel with cream cheese

Pic 4: Daniel thought he looked so funny and insisted on this photo

Pic 5: prisoner in his cage

Rocco and David

2009-07-23T11:00:00.003-05:00

Rocco and Lucas

2009-07-23T10:52:00.004-05:00