FAMILY BABY SHOWER

So much has been happening I can scarcely blog! I can scarcely take photographs! Most important of all, we had VIPs in the house over the weekend... birthmom Nicole, her 4 year old daughter Zoey, her mom, Grandma Debbie, and her friend, Uncle Nanny (real name: Jerome). And - of course! - Vanessa's baby brother.

I told Nicole that people just don't have baby showers before they adopt - that's unheard of. So to have Nicole offer to attend kind of left me and Jack speechless. Most people are nervous about adopting because of the fear it will fall through before the baby is in arms and the last legal document is signed. These are not concerns for Nicole: this adoption is a done deal. She is perfectly comfortable welcoming our (collective) little son into the world together. Nicole is one amazing woman!

Last Thursday, Jack drove home from his coaching clinic at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in San Diego, so he swung by to get Nicole and Zoey at home. They all arrived to our waiting arms and we all headed off to the Farmer's Market.

On Friday we all decorated for the party together, trying to neutralize the princess pink all over the house in honor of a tiny boy. Blue streamers, blue balloons, blue frosted cupcakes, blue plates and napkins - we even hid the princess dresses and dolls and remade the bed and changing table in blue. Bring on the BOY.

Having three girls in the house proved to require a great deal of sharing and, um, mediating. My goodness. All in all, they adore each other. Fleur and Zoey had a slumber party in the big bed together and everyone fawned over Milo. Sure, we had some, um, issues around sharing the lone pink cowboy hat, and tears were shed over who got to sit in the middle of the backseat, and who got to walk Milo on the leash, but other than those occasional moments, the weekend went very smoothy.

On Saturday, the party started at 11:00 a.m., the sandwiches arrived at 12:00 p.m., the gifts were opened about 2:00 p.m. and the tie-dying and water balloons fights went on the whole time. Surprise guests included Auntie Susan and cousin Julia from Modesto, "Auntie" Nell and Braidy from L.A., and "Auntie" Shea-Shea's godmother and cousins from Riverside.

Some of the usual suspects - our homies - were with us, too. Moms and babies from our birthing class and mothers group, "Uncle" Chris and "Auntie" Shea-Shea, neighbors Jennifer and Vanessa's b.f.f. Andrea, my work friend Lisa, and of course our big, new extended family. In all, we had 25 people, including 11 children. My only regret is that I could have taken more pictures!

After the shower guests left, we had time with Nicole, Zoey, Grandma Debbie and Uncle Nanny. We went out for seafood tacos, then home for ice cream, and hung out chatting before bed. Sunday we were up for coffee and breakfast before a beach walk to the tide pools.

Our VIPs all left after that, but we felt warm and fuzzy and feeling like we were never going to be the same again, in wonderful new ways.

Are we blessed, or what? This is the mother of our baby!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

Yesterday we retrieved 6 year old Fleur from the aeropuerto and Let The Fun Begin doesn't (begin to) describe what's going on around here. Woo hoo!

We stayed with Granny, then Daddio, Vanners and I greeted Fleur at the gate, after she had flown half-way around the world alone. Yes, that's the kind of girl she is!

Of course I had a spectacular fall just before we headed off the aeropuerto, and we worried that I broke my arm! So no pics yesterday from me - my arm wouldn't work. Daddio had to do everything. Thank goodness he's so supremely capable. No gaggle of giggling girls is a match for this Olympic coach. No siree.

After a picnic lunch and some playground exercise, the girls snoozed in the backseat of the car for our 3 hour drive home. Then, fireworks in our park at night with Uncle Chris. All very fun indeed.

Today, b.f.f. Andrea (a.k.a. AJ) came over and we think our house has become the princess girl hangout of the universe. Of course princesses are not above beach walks and howling like puppies - it's not all tiaras and unicorn stickers - but most activities do default to the wearing of the princess attire.

Fleur will be attending the YMCA camp five days a week for the month, to help her language immersion.

Next big event? Our BABY SHOWER - with our beloved birthmom present - on July 25th. Can you make it?

L.A., EUGENE, PORTLAND, SEATTLE, SAN FRAN

Where have we been? Why have we not been posting weekly blogs? My goodness, we've been all up and down the west coast!

First off, we have been chosen by a very special person to adopt her baby boy, due to be born in August in Los Angeles. Daddio, Vanessa and I traveled to spend some time with her and her 4 y.o. daughter at the beach. We had a wonderful time. We feel fortunate to have been chosen by them. We are consumed with thoughts about this child every single day.

While we are in regular contact with the birthmom, we are also amassing ideas for boy names and keeping up our busy schedule.

This is the end of track and field season for Daddio. He has been so busy, you can't imagine. In addition to having six Conference Champions this season, he went to the Regional Championships in Oregon and then the NCAA National Championships in Arkansas. After the college competitions were over, he was off to coach his elite athletes, "Uncle" Chris and "Auntie" Shea-Shea at the USA National Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

I don't want to brag but... Daddio is the only coach in the U.S. (the world?) to have a male and female multi-event athlete with the world standard. You may recall there is a minimum standard to be a competitor at an international competition, called the "A" standard. It was hard for Auntie Shea-Shea to get that last year, but she was one of only 3 high jumpers in the nation to do it, so she made the team.

Well Uncle Chris made the "A" standard last year in the decathlon by scoring over 8000 points. Auntie Shea-Shea made the "A" standard this season in the high jump, and she just barely missed making it in the heptathlon this season. Her mark in Cuba would have gotten her to the Olympics in the heptathlon, but this year's World team is harder to make than the Olympic team.

To put that feat in perspective, she has only had one full season of training for the heptathlon - SEVEN events in one - and had only tried the heptathlon three times before she got her first international competition this month. She represented the U.S. in Cuba and won the event, scoring over 6000 points, which was the "A" standard for the Olympics. It got raised to 6100 points for this year's World Championships.

The winner of this weekend's USA heptathlon, Diana Pickler, has "only done 4 heptathlons this year," while Sharon has only completed in four heps her whole life. She came in second. She made the World team. Okay, that's pretty unbelievable.

Daddio got a lot of compliments on the development of Uncle Chris in the decathlon, and Auntie Shea-Shea got a lot of television time on NBC for making the team in two events. They broadcast her final heptathlon event - the 800 meter run - in its entirety, whereby you can see her winning with great authority. In order to score 6100 points - the World "A" standard - she had to run the 800 in 2:19, so she crushed that goal by running a personal best time of 2:13. The announcers let everyone know that's what she had to do - the Track Town USA crowd loved it. Nice job, Auntie Shea-Shea.

So it's a big old dealio that Auntie Shea-Shea made the World Team in two events, the high jump and the heptathlon.

Uncle Chris, who was unable to compete in Cuba due to an injury, came off the D.L. to place 4th in the U.S. this year - also shocking and wonderful. Daddio described the week of coaching in Eugene as being, "like hiking a mountain, with harrowing moments and great views: it was hard and emotional, but ultimately fun and exciting."

When we weren't at the track and field championship meet cheering on Van's babysitters, we were visiting with members of our Urban Family. Funny, after being friends for 20+ years, we all happened to have delayed having a family for one reason or another. The visits were very brief, but oh, so wonderful. Even if we only see each other for a few hours once per year, it makes us laugh and recharges our batteries. Here are some highlight photos:


Mary, Vanny, Michelle and Graeham.

One year old twins, Juliette and Amelia. Juliette is talking but not walking and Amelia is walking but not talking. What a duo!

Pete loves VanNannerkins. We only got to see him for an hour or so before bed.

VH1 and 5 year old Graeham played non-stop.

Nature girls celebrating Graeham's fifth birthday in their birthday suits.

Katja and Todd's baby Anja, age 1.

"Yes, you can pick one flower. Only one." What a little garden gnome.

Anja's parents. Everyone in this photo thinks they are the lucky one.

Vanessa had never seen a seven foot arch before. She made it all the way over.

Allan and Beckett on the zip line. Beckett is 20 months old and such a little lovie.

Duncan, age 5, led Vanny on a creek walking expedition through Ravenna Park.

In other news... it was Daddio's birthday while he was working, so Sharon and her parents took him to dinner. Vanessa and I, along with Grandma and Granny, pitched in to get Daddio a new surfboard of his choosing - since his longboard is over 40 years old (he found it abandoned on a beach 25 years ago) and surfing is the only recreational activity he does lately.

Other VIP Vanessa fans we saw but didn't get photos of: Granny, Chelsea, Bjorn, Doris, Shawna, Thilo, Kian, Eugene and Yolanda, Hayden, and Auntie Maribeth and Auntie Sarah.

"Auntie" Nell is on the cover of the July Runnersworld. You know, that little publication with a circulation of 650,000.

This weekend we are headed back to Granny's to pick up our next house guest, Fleur, from France. She is 6 years old and flying across the world, alone, to stay with us for a month to learn English. Quite the girl, no?

So, in closing, we are collecting names for our baby son. Please: give us your suggestions.

THE AA WEDDING

Grandma had a great visit, anchored by the wedding of Vanessa's cousin Adrienne to Anthony. What an amazing wedding and stunning couple.

Nanners took her starring role pretty seriously. Being a flower girl is not for the shy kind of girl. Cousin Julia escorted Van down the aisle.

It was great to see the whole family.

The reception was at Uncle Jim and Auntie Susan's backyard. Hello! What a gorgeous evening and wonderful party! We had gotten Vanessa up at 6 a.m. to make the 5 hour drive to Modesto... she didn't nap in the car. Then she did get a brief afternoon nap before the ceremony. Do you know she was up until midnight at the reception? Marathon party girl! I had to lie down at 10 p.m. in a back bedroom, so she definitely out-lasted me!

The day after the wedding, most of the family went to Yosemite, including Grandma Patty. It was a wonderful wedding weekend.


Right after the wedding, Daddio took off for another week of work in Oregon. It sure was nice to have Grandma here to help out. Then, a few days after she left, Daddio left again for Fresno, then again for Arkansas for another week of work on the road. He gets back T.O.D.A.Y. and boy, am I ready to see the whites of his eyes.

Other news this month:

The birthmom we spoke to in L.A. has chosen us. WOO HOO! We expect to adopt a little baby boy, due August 16th. Regarding adoption, we keep telling Vanessa that she will have a little baby brother and, just as her birth turned us from husband and wife into Daddio and Mama, this baby's birth will turn her into a big sister.

Yup, this picture is of the birthmom!