Here is a video that is a little longer that shows more than just 1 step at a time… I think she took about 5 steps at most today. She is so proud of herself! She is wearing a Kangaroo outfit (that Auntie Chelsea brought back from Australia)
Well, it is Halloween and I will officially say that “Lily is walking”. As of this morning, she is brave enough to let go and take anywhere between 1-5 steps!
Here are some video clips taken from Andy’s phone. They only show a few steps each. Enjoy! We are proud parents today. Here are 3 short video clips:
VIDEO 1
VIDEO 2
VIDEO 3
I am in the process of trying to upload a slideshow I made of Lily 
I think you will really enjoy it, if I can just get it to load… Come one youtube.
Andy is home and we are so happy! I will encourage him to write a blog post with all of his pictures — most of which are of food. He had a great time in California, but agreed that 7 days is a long time to be gone.
Lily is over her little mini-flu and feeling great… So great, in fact, that tonight she took 2 unassisted steps!!! 2 steps! Wow my sweet girl. Soon there will be no stopping her.
I think the video is ready to load. All of that stalling paid off. Some of the pictures are blurry, but I wanted to pick some I thought I hadn’t shared before. Enjoy!
Andy has only been gone 3 days and I miss him! As he mentioned, he will be gone for a total of 7 days and this will be the longest we have been apart since we started dating (and, of course, the longet he has been away from his daughter). We have chatted on the phone (although not as much as one might think, or as I might want) and we have Skyped so that he may see our little munchkin — who is still not walking.
I have been camped out at my parents. I don’t like the idea of sleeping home alone with just Lily and me. It is nice to be surrounded by people. And, the grandmas and grandpa have been very helpful — babysitting when I have meetings/tutoring.
I am really trying to grow my business this year, so we will see how this goes. I am thinking of re-opening the “branch” we used to have in Eugene.
As far as my list of things to accomplish while Andy is away??? The list has only grown (things have been added and nothing has been crossed off!) UHHHH. Oh well.
My hair is getting to that awkward stage. I don’t want to cut it or even trim it… I want to grow it back out. I don’t like my short hair. I much prefer it long. Oh well, now I know. I guess I will need to invest in some hats to make it through the various “growing out” stages.
Also, I am dehydrated. Definitely haven’t been drinking enough water lately.
What other details can I bore you with? Chances are you are here because you are already bored! Sorry I’m not helping.
I am in the mood to just let loose on a blog post someday soon with all of my opinionated opinions… It would be fun to go on a rant… Maybe there will be one coming soon. But for now, goodnight.
It’s only been two days, but we Vaughn’s get around (to the restaurants). Here’s a quick photo journal of my trip to California so far.
Chelsea took me to her favorite Puerto Rican restaurant in San Rafael, Sol Food. We both ordered the Arroz con Picadillo, which was a beef, rice, fried plantain, and beans dish. I really enjoyed trying fried plantain for the first time. It was like a rich, oily chip to scoop up the tasty beef and rice. The limeade was also fantastic, and served in an audaciously large glass jug.
This morning, Chelsea and I went for a jog/walk, the headed out to get lunch at a local-to-Sebastopol café called Peter Lowell’s. Peter Lowell’s is a pescatarian (effectively vegetarian) café, with free wi-fi, and lots of natural sunlight – a big plus. I ordered the fish sandwich, which was Ono, served on Sourdough with Lemon Aioli. To drink, I had the french press coffee.
The coffee was smooth and very tasty. The olives on the side of the sandwich were juicy and salty. Unfortunately, the fish was overcooked and dried out. With too-large of a serving of aioli, this left a soggy sandwich and chewy texture. At least the coffee was good. Oh, and the bread. Stacey would have loved the crunch and dough of the bread.
I had a second cup of the coffee, and enjoyed the service of their free wi-fi, for a bit more.
Chelsea and I then walked around downtown Sebastopol (not an overwhelmingly large challenge). One of the more interesting shops that I had to go into was Incredible Records.
Apparently the owner, Jonathan Lipsin has been a part of the music industry for 40 years. A sign in front of the building reads that there is a movie being made about his life and music history, and it will be played in town January 2010.
Chelsea and I got to meet Jonathan. As with any awesome community-driven icon business, the man himself was there running the register. He was very friendly and after learning of our roots in the Mendocino Coast, he recounted his story of living in a commune on the Navarro River. Totally cool.
Inside, there were original drawings by Jim Morrison of the Doors, signed posters by every famous Rock n’ Roller and Blues guitarist over the past 40 years. It was amazing, and a great experience. Jonathan said that he likes to personally think of it as similar to an old-style trading post. You don’t always get what you came in for. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I couldn’t agree more. Good luck duplicating this “Record Store” Borders.
This evening, I had the fortune of joining up with Grandpa “T” Terry, who came down from Fort Bragg for the evening, and Lily’s Great-Grandma Lilly. We all went out to eat Chinese Food at Gary Chu’s in Santa Rosa.
Corn and Crab Soup
Grandpa with a dumpling
As you can see, the food and the family has been great. And, I’ve only been here one day.
I miss Stacey and Lily tremendously. I got an upwelling of emotion seeing a mom help her little boy walk across the crosswalk today. I wanted to be with my girls. In fact, this is actually the longest duration that Stacey and I have spent apart in six years – the entire time we’ve been together. But, it helps me feel connected to document and share this trip. So, look forward to more updates throughout the week.
Cheers!
Lily has some sort of stomach flue. Vomit count? 3. First at Grandma’s during her sleepover… all over the bed. Grandma was washing sheets at midnight. Second was at our friends house. Blindsided me. Gross. And, third – just happened today during our family breakfast at Sunnyside cafe. Now, I do not mean “baby spit-up”. This is “big girl vomit.” Enough about that!
Andy leaves tomorrow (Monday) for a one-week trip to San Francisco. He is going to see his sister and a few of his friends, but the main purpose of his trip is to attend a conference: “Biz Tech Day”. Lily and I will be alone and on our own for a week. Hopefully she gets better, without me getting sick!
I am watching the Vikings/Ravens game because my dad is at it right now. Hopefully I will see him on the big screen!
Lily is such a good girl. She knows when she isn’t supposed to touch something, so she brings it to me…. If I see her put something in her mouth, I just have to go “Ahhhh” and she will spit it out. She is not walking yet, but is oooh-so-close. I am sure she will take her first steps while Andy is away. This means, however, that I won our bet. Andy and I made a bet about when she would start walking (we get most of our chores done through betting). Andy bet that she would walk before her first birthday, I bet that she would walk after her first birthday. I won. That is 2 weeks of diaper changing duty for Andy.
But, it doesn’t stop there. We bet another week of diaper changing duty on what year Hanson’s song “MMMBop” was realized. I won that bet again. 3 weeks of diaper changing duty for Daddy. He has already completed one week like a good sport.
A few things I want to accomplish while Andy is away:
Probably more to add to that list, but Lily is now feeling very tired and must be put to bed.
It is not enough to take steps which may some day lead to a goal; each step must be itself a goal and a step likewise. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
I succeeded in not drinking coffee yesterday. It wasn’t too difficult, as long as I had ibuprofen on-hand (I get real bad caffeine headaches). Today, the goal repeats itself.
Goal: Don’t drink any coffee today.
In 2004, I was road racing pretty seriously. The collegiate series in the Northwest is pretty competitive, and I was doing well in the Men’s A, Division I group (the toughest).
On the drive home from the omnium in Seattle, I saw a Krispy Kreme donut on the side of the freeway. “I’ve never had one of those,” I exclaimed, ominously, to Stacey. “Well then. We’re just going to have to get you one.” My fate was sealed.
If you know me well, you know that I have a ridiculous sweet tooth. And, a bottomless pit of a stomach, especially when I am in training.
“Kid in a candy store” doesn’t even begin to describe it. More like heroin addict on a poppy farm.
I saw the donuts, glistening under the heat lamps. They were singing to me. “Fa la la, Andy. Come to us, Andy. We are custard filled, jelly filled, sweet as can be, Andy.”
I glided forward, entranced by the hypnotic song of the Krispy Kreme donut line. “I want all of them,” I said to the person at the counter. “Umm. Sir, you can’t have all of them. Which ones would you like?”
“How many can I get?” I replied. A small pool of saliva had accumulated around the base of my sweating hands on the counter.
“Would you like a dozen?” The now-scared teen asked, hoping I didn’t hit maul for being so presumptious.
“Yes. I want that.”
I took my new friends back to the car, offended that they ever had to spend time with that mean kid. I promised to treat them better.
On the drive home, I did treat my friends better. In the four hours between Seattle and Portland, I assimilated all thirteen of them.
(Originally published on Mtnracer)
Well, October 8th marked Lily’s 1 year old bithday (picture of that will be coming soon… and hopefully video). She is such a big girl! We took her into the hospital for her check up on her birthday. She got a few shots too 
Weight: 26 pounds, 13 ounces
Height: 32 inches (although I think the nurse mis-measured her and that she is taller)
Head Circumference: 50.5 centimeters
She is growing, growing, growing, growing!
She really has a personality. She loves to play and craves attention (especially from Daddy). She also loves to eat Bananas, avocado, yogurt, anything really.
Every night, I turn to Andy before we go to bed and as we watch her on her video monitor (which we call Pai-Pai Vision), and I say “Isn’t she amazing?”
“It would suck to be diabetic.”
So, I am now 26 and Lily is almost 1 (tomorrow)! Lily is days away from walking?! She is so close. However, Andy and I had a bet: he bet should would walk before her birthday, I bet she would walk after. I win! What did I win? 2 weeks of diaper-duty. YAY! OK, well I haven’t technically won yet. We tie if she actually walks ON her birthday. I don’t think she will be taking her first steps tomorrow — a little too soon.
Here is a video Andy took today while playing with our sweet girl: