"Van's buddies"

Van had fun with his friends, Laekin & Ezra this week, he is full of smiles, most of the time. He loves to spin things lately & really fast too. We are pretty sure Van is right handed too he always uses that hand to reach for things. He loves getting kisses on his neck, and being sung to. He turns on the charm when any lady gives him the slightest bit of attention - must be an Erwin trait for sure!!! Van is going in to see the Dr today for his 5 month shots.
Life seems like it is moving in the right direction, we are cleaning house and taking care of things that have been neglected these past 5 months.

blessings....

We like Boats!

We went out on Julie, Dave & Ezra's boat this weekend. It was so much fun and really relaxing. Ezra is Van's buddy and he is 2 1/2 months old. Van loved the boat and also went to sleep for a brief time until his car seat was flooded with water that came overboard.

We were pulling the guys behind the boat and it was a little choppy out on the water. he was a good sport and just woke up a little wet and wanted to eat!
Oh and here is a cute video of Van playing drums with our friend Mike on the boat, he was so happy out there!



We had a mellow day today really sleepy, it actually rained this morning and I don't know why but I was so tried all day long.
Tonight Conner cooked the best dinner, and I actually ate red meat for the first time in years. well besides a hamburger here and there. we had fillet Mignon in a balsamic red wine reduction, mashed potatoes & sauteed green beans. For dessert we made coco chocolate cupcakes.

Conner and Van hung out today for a while and had fun together, I took some cute pictures of them on the couch, with Van's mermaid doll.



I just started building my design web site, I will let you know when it is up. check it out from time to time for updates!

Next weekend we are having a beach party with our friends to celebrate my 32nd Bday! I feel differently about this birthday coming up, I have a son on this birthday for the first time ever, I have a happiness inside I never knew I would have. Know body tells you what it is going to feel like when you have a child of your own, and it is really an experience you can't even fathom. I am excited to see some good friends that I haven't seen in a while! It should be fun.

This week coming up is going to be a busy one, lunch with friends, drs appts for Van and I, the dogs are getting shaved, and looking for my next freelance projects are on the calendar.

Sleep Precious Sleep...

I am so tried today, I stayed up all night working on a freelance project, it has been fun. Just a really tight deadline so that takes away some of the fun of getting to be creative. I am dragging today and can't wait to put my head down on my soft pillow tonight. I feel like eating some kind of comfort food too like turkey, cranberrys and stuffing with gravy. you know something really low in fat. ha
It feels good to be working again, I miss feeling like I have accomplished something cool each day besides throwing away poopie diapers and talking "goo goo ga ga" all day. Dont get me wrong I love goo goo time with Van everyday.
If I had to choose between spending time with him all day or providing a good life for him financially It would come right in the middle, spend some time at home with him everyday and work part time too. However the full time job is becoming more and more apparent to me if we want to stay here in Ca.

Van likes to suck on his pointer finger latley, I think he is teething now and it is painful for him.
I love this website for natural toys because of all the fischer price lead paint problems I am hesitant to purchase any more plastic stuff.

Time Flies

This week I realized how fast time really goes by, it seems I don't have enough time in the day to sit down with my dog's and give them a little pet on their head, or look up in the sky and admire the stars. You would think for a stay at home mom working part time, that I would have all the time in the world. But actually it's quite the opposite. I think I take on too much sometimes and overload my brain. Then it turns to mush and I can't even remember the next thing i was about to do in my day! I love this picture of Van and his dadi-o. I feel like I blinked and here is my son riding in a stroller now smiling at the camera. when did he learn to do that?

I have been really busy lately helping my friends at oneill with their new acquisition rusty.
It is fun work, and I get to see all of my old work buddies.
Conner came home yesterday with a new hair cut, and lola barked at him. She thought he was an intruder. Well I am tired and weary and I just have one last thing to say....

"Simplicity is the secret to seeing things clearly."

I have this canvas hanging by my bed that states this same quote just in different words

It says: PEACE - it does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.

Baby Stuff!!

Hey everyone.
I have been meaning to ask you all what types of graphics you like on your babies onezies? I have seen some really cute ones from Kingsley that I love! I am thinking of buying a bunch of organic cotton onezies wholesale and screen printing them with some cute graphics, packaging them up and selling them! So I would love your input as to what kinds of companies you like! Would you rather buy tshirts or onezies?

This weekend it seemed like we spent most if it in the car when we were not at the beach because it is so dang hot in our house with no air conditioning, the car air conditioning feels so Nice!

So I forgot to mention that I called the police neighborhood services last week on Monday to complain about the bums sleeping in our ravine behind our house. A few days later they were out here with a huge dump truck at 8am in the morning, arresting these illegal immigrants and filling the dump trucks with the small city of trash that they had called their home for so long. I felt a little sorry for the guys, but I also felt a little safer at night when I laid my head down on that pillow. So I did something for the neighborhood!!! The man left me a message and told me although they spent an entire day cleaning out the woods they will need to come back to remove more of their belongings this week. I was shocked they had that much in there.

oh, & Van loves his Nonnie & hopes she feels better soon!

Fun Livin'

A tribute to children and their dreams. That's the tagline for Swedish design company, Little Red Stuga's first product, the Dream Bag. Carry it like a bag, sit on it like a pillow, or spread it out like a play mat.

Little Red Stuga attempts to accomplish a lot. Their goals include being kind to the environment, excellent craftsmanship, and stimulating the dialogue between children and grown-ups through everyday design. I like how the Dream Bag turned out.

The Dream Bag isn't available yet but will be in October/November 2007 from Little Red Stuga.



Check out how cute Van is with my grom nephews in Vermont! He loves them and is so amused by how cool they are!!!!


I stumbled upon this french kids website milk magazine, I love wood toys and they have some great things you can order here!!!

I didn't forget I need to upload Van's 5 month picture!! I am behind.

Oh by the way I have a funny story to tell you all tomorrow, it involves the authorities, illegal immigrants, and yes me too!
More later.
D

Fish Hook & Van Gets Jiggy...

Baby. Spare.Ware.

Im all about this philosophy:

babysparewear® is a line for baby that is all about mom: easy-care fabrics, versatile yet stylish designs, and compact portability for the mom on the go (is there any other kind?)
babysparewear® takes an innovative look at modern parenting to create clothing essentials that simplify life and streamline travel with baby. So mom can finally leave the house with at least a few minutes to spare…

Even better that it {babysparewear} is having this sale!

My Dad Surfs Better Than Your Dad...

This past weekend we went up to San Clemente to watch Conner surf in a contest. He made it to the finals and then placed 3rd in his division. We were really stoked. The contest was down at trail 6 in San Clemente, it is a hike to get down there but so worth it! We had a date night last night too which was well deserved. I think after having a baby there are two things that you must do with your husband every now and then, well there are many more things but these two are fun - date nights, and playing games. You know board games and card games. It's fun. Not mind games.. those are no fun.

Hey guess what, Van rolled over on Friday for the first time from his tummy to his back, I guess he is a late bloomer in this department but who cares, and I got it on video tape. I was so excited.

Something that keeps ringing in my ears from a song I play in Van's rooms is that God is so great but he gives and takes away, and that is so true in life. You get and you give, and God brings some darkness so we appreciate the light even more.

Van Pinches

Lately I have noticed that Van really likes to pinch and pull at my skin and hair when I am feeding him! It hurts, and today I had to tell him "NO" for the first time. He looked so confused , he has never heard me say something in a stern voice to him, so he was baffled to say the least. My skin was red and he was really hyper. I am always thinking of what I am going to look up in Google, to find out more info and this is what I found. It's a web site with just necklaces & bracelets for moms who nurse and bottle feed babies that can't pay attention and need to focus on something. I think Van can pay attention he just really likes to explore my skin and hair with his sharp little nails. check out this web site with nursing necklaces.

Baby's tactile development is encouraged through the following methods :

Type of tactile exploration	Sensory Information Acquired
Rubbing finger across surface	Texture
Squeezing or poking object	Hardness
Fingers resting on object surface	Temperature
Holding or grasping object	Shape, size, or volume
Tracing along contours of object	Global shape or exact shape
Holding object in hand	Weight

I guess I could just put on a colorful necklace and he could play with it, while he dines! But this is such a great little gimmick. Van just started eating rice cereal mixed with some milk, he eats off of a spoon and it is so cute. When we were in Vermont my mom and auntie fed him mashed up bananas and he freaked out. he loved it so much, he didn't want it to stop! So we are on to solid foods already. I am feeding him earth's best rice cereal out of a bottle and with a spoon now and he loves it!

A little Looksy

A bath after the beach!
Van meets his uncle Jason!
See me, up close.
We finally arrived in Vermont after 16 hours of traveling, looking a little tired.


We are home from the east coast, it was so refreshing to be in the mountains for a week.

Here are some photos from the past two weeks, we had family in town for one week, Van got to meet his uncle Jason Conner's brother and spend time with my sister and his meems, and then we flew to Vermont for a week to see my nephews, my mom, my aunt and uncle and my cousins. We had a great time, I can't believe summer is almost over.
Van is almost 5 months old too! Life is moving so fast right now.
Having a baby is such a wonderful journey, I cherish every minute I have with him.

More later.
D, C & V

Van in Vermont?

Van and Dianne are in Vermont for a week enjoying the "peace" and quiet and spending some time with part of the family. Don't expect too many Van updates until Monday the sixth as apparently they don't have "the information super highway" yet in the other cheese state.

This is the Google result of "Van Vermont"

On a seperate note, our congratulations to the Murray Family and the birth of their first son Kai Tucker Murray who was born 6lbs 4oz 7/31/07 @ 9:51pm

Van is so stoked to have a new surf buddy