More firsts

Kelton got his first tooth last week! We don't have a photo yet as it's just starting to poke above the gum. But it sure is sharp! Pretty soon we'll have to say good-bye to those adorable toothless smiles...

This weekend Kelton went to his first art festival. We went to downtown Palo Alto and walked around for a couple of hours both Saturday and Sunday. He seemed to really enjoy the bustling crowds, but in the afternoon he was able to fall asleep in the Bjorn at naptime.

Kelton's favorite first was a helium balloon. What fun to bounce it around on the string! The balloon did require close supervision since we didn't' want it being eaten.

Art appreciation

Sunday we took Kelton to the Stanford campus. First we went to the Cantor Art Center where David and I really enjoyed seeing a current photo exhibit of large prints of "Manufactured Landscapes" by Edward Burtynsky. Kelton thought it was a little boring - the room was pretty dark and he was hungry - so we took turns taking him outside. Afterwards we visited the Rodin sculpture garden where he got to touch one of the statues. Then we went see the Papa New Guinea sculpture garden. This was everyone's favorite. There were lots of beautiful carvings, large carved totem poles and several painted poles. This garden is definitely one of Stanford's hidden gems.

My highchair

I just got a highchair! Grandma and Grandpa sent it for me. Here's me all strapped in and playing with a new toy.


Now that I have a nifty new highchair I get to eat solid foods. First I got rice cereal and that was pretty boring. I think mom and dad took a video of that event. Next I got sweet potatoes and pears. Those are much tastier. Now I eat peas, carrots, squash, oatmeal, applesauce and bananas too. But pears are still my favorite. Soon I'll get to try avocados.


Sometimes I really like to eat a lot, sometimes it's way too slow and I get a little impatient and sometimes I'm just not in the eating groove. Mom and Dad say I make a lot of funny expressions when eating. What do you think? Here's some photos of an eating session where I just wasn't really in the mood.

The Car

I really love driving the car. Or at least I really want to drive the car. See there's me driving with Daddy. But usually I have to ride in the back. There's me in my snazzy new leopard skin seat. It's really pretty comfy, but I still want to drive...

Giant Trees - Adventures of Captain K-man Completed

For his last adventure with the Record gang, Captain K-Man visited the giant sequoia trees. He felt pretty little standing under one. Of course even Daddy looked little since the sequoia trees are the most massive living things. Kelton found that the bark was fun to touch even if it left a few tiny spliters behind. Since they were smaller than his ghost town splinters he didn't even notice.

Even though it was a hot day, Captain K-Man still enjoyed a smackaroo from Daddy, and he was just happy to be out and about in the trees instead of strapped into his carseat.


While we were resting from our downhill hike Sandy and Kathryn shared a grand-moment together. Then Kathryn helped me take a picture in the trees by putting on her sunglasses.


Kelton thought the trees were neat but not as neat as Daddy's glasses - what kind of super-powers do these have?


This ends this chapter of Captain K-man's adventures. We were sorry to say goodbye to the Record Gang as they flew back to Maine & New Hampture. If you want to follow their adventures here's a link to the Record blog http://danaerec.blogspot.com/ .

Pothole Dome - Captain K-man's adventures in the High Sierra

A bird's eye view of Tuoloumne Meadows as seen from the top of Pothole Dome. This picture was taken by Matthew or Kathryn with David's camera.

Captain K-man made it to the top of the dome using Daddy power, here Daddy is seen taking a little breather. Matthew and Kathryn are being silly - see what high altitude can do to you? - and Ann Elise is busy capturing everyone's antics.


After such hard work hiking up the dome, Captain K-man needed a little nap. But the granite was too hard and a bit lumpy. Poor fellow was very unhappy to wake up early from his nap. The life of an adventuring baby isn't all peaches and cream.


Here's the gang on top of the world, or at least on top of Pothole Dome.

Ghost Town - Captain K-man visits Bodie

One of our favorite spots is the ghost town Bodie. This abandoned mining town in the Eastern Sierra is just over Tioga Pass from Yosemite. David and I loved the area so much that in 1996 we were married at the historic Mono County courthouse a few miles away (photo found on the web).


Captain K-man enjoyed feeling the rough texture of the old wooden buildings and banging on the wire gates. He unfortunately ended up with a few souvenirs in the form of splinters in his little fingers, but it didn't seem to bother him. How many 6 month old babies can say that they've touched a ghost town?


The ghost town is a photographer's mecca and while Kelton was hanging with Dad I got lots of time to explore the textures of Bodie with the camera.


After a long day investigating the ghost town and touching everything in sight Captain K-man was ready for his bath. Our little cabin didn't have a tub so he got to use the sink. After his relaxing bath he got to watch some TV with dad.

Yosemite Sam - Captain K-man in Yosemite

Keltons's first trip to Yosemite! David and I were excited to take him on his first wilderness experience. The last time we were there Lisa was 5 months pregnant so Kelton didn't really get to see anything, and we couldn't hike too fast either. It was also the first time to Yosemite for most of the Record gang. Oddly enough Sandy and Burgess visited Yosemite once many years before when she was pregnant. Here's the group at the base of Vernal Falls - one of our favorite Yosemite Valley hikes. The water was at a high volume for the summer and made beautiful splashing patterns as it rushed downstream.



Just before the misty part of the Vernal Falls trail Kelton got hungry (and cranky), so we sat down on the trail for a little snack. He then fell asleep for his morning nap. We were able to get him into the Bjorn and David hiked him the rest of the way up to the top of the waterfall still asleep.


In the evening we drove up to Glacier Point for wonderful sunset views. Captain K-man didn't seem to be impressed with the scenery but he loved playing with Kathryn.



Here's the three of us in front of Half Dome at sunset, and Kelton keeping warm cuddling with Dad while we were waiting for the stars to come out after sunset.


Burgess was the first into the water at Tenaya Lake and made it look so refreshing that almost everyone ended up in the water. Here's David and Lisa enjoying a dip. Since Captain K-man is not a fan of cold water he enjoyed being on shore with Ann Elise instead.

Ocean Adventures - Captain K-man goes to the coast

For our first adventure we headed to the Pacific Coast to one of our favorite beaches. Even though it was 80 degrees and sunny back home in Palo Alto, it was cool and foggy at the beach. Here's the Record gang enjoying the wild setting of cliff and surf.


In case you're wondering why Kelton isn't in any of these photos, well, Captain K-man hates cold water, so when he saw what Kathryn, Matthew and Burgess were doing up to their knees in frigid water, he decided he wanted to stay cuddled nursing with mommy in one of the sea caves.

The adventures of Captain K-Man

Captain K-Man, the bibbed crusader, had some wonderful adventures with the Record gang recently. The ties to the Record gang go back 24 years when David and Ann Elise were friends in junior high in Rhode Island. They kept in touch through the years but never had more than a few hours to visit at a time. We were all excited to find out that the Record gang planned a vacation to see California and we were able to show them some of our favorite places. It was also Kelton's first trip to most of the places as well. The name Captain K-man was coined by Dan (aka Dan-the-Van-Man) and it seems to have stuck or at least for adventuring.

Here's Captain K-man in his Bjorn with his bib and ready for action. Also here's the whole Record gang (left to right: Matthew, Sandy, Kathryn, Burgess, Ann Elise, Dan) on our first day of adventures together.

Our little Monets and Cassatts

A highlight of baby school recently was finger painting. All the babies got very excited and entered into the project with enthusiasm. Here's Kelton with Evie and Maya.




Here's Asher getting some purple to add to his painting and Kaden surveying the effect of his blue paint.


Here's the artist's hands at work, Asher and Maya.


The brushes had to be sampled as well, Asher is tasting his, Aiden is inspecting two brushes at once and Maya is commenting on the quality of the bristles.


Here's a sample of the masterpieces.