Scott & Adriana

We have been working with Caleb for several weeks to put his cup on the table when he is taking a break from drinking. He likes to wander around while eating or drinking so we tend to find a lot of mystery cups and snacks around the house. The mystery is generally "how long has this been here?" After several mystery cups continued to turn up over the first few days he started to get the hang of it.

Today Caleb actually brought a mystery cup to me, instead of me finding it. "Dada, dirty!" He said. He then insisted that I wash the cup and put it in the dishwasher. Except the dishwasher was full, so he decided to unload it himself. Since I had to help I didn't have a chance to grab the camera of course. We then sat and ate toast together on a Sunday morning, waiting for football to start with our clean plates and cups. As we were done Caleb and wandered off with his cup, I was left to ponder will it come back or will I find it?

To think I have only gotten sit and down out of the dogs after 5 years of training.

Posted by Scott at 08:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Published a few new Caleb videos today on You Tube.  This shutdown is giving me some time to get to some of the more fun projects that have been laying around for a while.  Enjoy!

Caleb goes Swimming

Caleb obsesses about Trains

The Reluctant Trick or Treater

New Finger Paints for Caleb

Posted by Scott at 02:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

We were set to host the Monterey Bay region Make A Wish holiday party this year at our house. It was one of a handful of parties that we have actually had in the five years here. Adriana decorated the house and I hung the lights. The place was clean and polished.

The night of the party we had one of glorious moments that all parents experience at one point or another. We were hanging out about a half hour before the party was about to start when Caleb started to get very whiny. He isn't generally a whiny little guy so we were trying to diagnose his problem while putting the finishing touches on the house.  We thought everything was starting to stabilize when a couple of minutes later Caleb puked all over the couch. About 10 minutes later he was redecorating our bathroom. It was one of those moments where the joy of parenting is almost amusing when contrasted with trying to have an 'adult' life.

We immediately went to damage control mode, swapping clothes on little man and feverishly scrubbing the house down again. Fortunately some of the folks were having a hard time finding the house, so we had a few extra minutes. We managed to get Caleb to a happy place, get everything together in time for the party, and get me in the shower in time to complete our recovery. 

Once the party started Caleb acted like nothing was wrong and nobody seemed to notice the missing major cushion on the couch. Caleb wrapped up his day with a call to Grandma and then went to sleep a little early.

The party was a lot of fun, as we had a great group of people to share it with. Happy Holidays everyone!

Posted by Scott at 10:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Watsonville needs another burrito place like I need another hole in my head.  So over the last few months as we’ve heard of new non-mexican food restaurants opening, we’ve made it a point to give the new restaurants a try.

The Blue Skies Café has been open for some time. We gave it a try when it first opened and the service was a bit hectic. The menu was limited and the food was just ok. We didn’t go back for some time. This past summer we decided to go back again, a couple of times. The service had improved, though not A+. And the menu had the basics and the food was still just ok. The Blue Skies does have a coffee bar, although I haven’t given it a try since I’m not a coffee drinker.

The other restaurant we tried was Café Ella. Good atmosphere and great food. We were met at the counter by a pleasant smile. I ordered a roasted tomato soup and a Famonella Panini. We sat down and our food was brought promptly. The soup was a bit thinner than what I would have expected but still very yummy. The panini was also very good. A good amount of meat, but not too much, and the spread was tasty. Yummy!

And finally, The Lobby on Main and Maple. The joint opened up on Friday, Sept. 12. We strolled over to the farmer’s market and then made our way to The Lobby. We walked in to a smiling row of people behind the counter. I said hello and picked up a copy of their menu. The man behind the counter announced that this was their opening night. And, oh by the way, we are their first customers. Fantastic! Scott is a pizza addict so he ordered a pizza and I ordered the Mob Boss Sausage sandwich with fries. We sat down. I surveyed the joint.

Decorating the walls were a few plasma TVs, movie posters and, most interestingly, vintage photos. The Lobby is the original location of the lobby of the Fox Theater. I love history, I love to see photos of what our town use to be, I love to imagine who stood in the spot where I am standing.

Our food arrived and we dove in. The pizza crust was thin yet soft and fresh. The mushrooms and pepperonis were, again fresh, and tasty. My sandwich included grilled Italian sausage, mushrooms, online and bell peppers. Tasty but my suggestions would be to toast the bread. The fries were good but could have been cooked just a bit longer for a crisper taste. Although, Caleb didn’t mind and seemed to enjoy them. Caleb does not eat much so the fact that he ate these fries says a lot.

It’s not like there aren’t any good restaurants in Watsonville. It’s just nice to see some variety and I’m hoping the ones I’ve mentioned above have some staying power.

Posted by Adriana at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Caleb turned two this past weekend. We had a nice party with the family at the park behind our house. We had been out of town the week leading up to the party so Adriana and I were running around up to the last minute to get all the details completed. I picked up Jenzyne on the morning of the party so she could wrangle Caleb while I set up at the park.

Jenzyne, Caleb and I got to the park and started setting up when Adriana came bounding up the path with a huge bouquet of balloons.  She handed me the balloons and joined in the setup. As we were continuing to get ready, I put down the balloons and the three of us started to work on getting all of the decorations completed. A moment later Jen yelled out "THE BALLOONS!!" I turned around and our balloons were about twenty feet off the ground and slowly floating away. Various words, that two year olds shouldn't hear, were muttered under my breath as the balloons slowly floated away. So began my fantastic day. I also managed to spill my sandwich all over the park and killed my car battery. Good thing it wasn't my birthday party, as Caleb had a ton of fun and didn't notice all the adult shenanigans. Thomas the Tank has been the favorite of the little man and was the theme for the party.

Caleb received a number of cool presents, most that didn't make noise  !! I hope Thomas continues to be his favorite for some time to come. That stuff's expensive.

I can't believe this little guy who was four and a half pounds when he was born two years ago is almost 30 pounds and repeating every word I say, even the bad ones! Looking forward to year three and beyond.

The weather was perfect and everyone had a good time. We headed back to the house after the party and Caleb slept for an hour. We then continued to hang out while Caleb, his cousins and the rest of the family played with all of his various new toys.

Posted by Scott at 08:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)