Celebrating Independence and Commitment

Happy 4^th of July!  I was hoping to post pictures of our cute small town 4^th of July festivities here.  I was imagining pictures of the fair, the parade, the fireworks, etc…

But, as it turns out, the 4^th of July weekend was not too photogenic.   It was a rainy cold weekend. We missed the parade because Phin was taking a marathon nap, and we know better than to interrupt those.  We did manage to wander (in the rain) to the booths.  There is a line of booths serving up totally unhealthy “fair food”.  It was hard to choose between the fry bread, crepes, Philipino food, smoothies, cotton candy, sno cones, and meat-on-a stick.  But we got our treats, ate in the rain, and headed back home.   The fireworks display was postponed until next weekend for low clouds and rain. 

I did have Friday off, so we took advantage of the only nice day on the weekend to go for a big hike.  We put the little guy in the backpack and hiked up the Gavan Hill trail, which is a steep hike through the rainforest up to a lovely alpine area overlooking town and the sea. It’s a challenging hike; one I haven’t done in a long time.  It felt good to get the burning muscles that ached for a couple of days later.

           

Today (Monday) is our 2^nd wedding anniversary. To celebrate, we dropped Phinny with a friend, and got out for a short sea kayak adventure.  There is a chain of islands outside of Sitka that were connected by a causeway years ago.  In the 1930s there was a big military buildup on these islands.  Today there are lots of “hidden” bunkers and other ruins of the buildup that one can find by hiking around the islands.  So we set out on our kayaks to check it out.   While hiking through the overgrown forest and stumbling upon concrete bunkers with trees and vines growing all around, I felt a little like Indiana Jones (or the Scooby Doo crew).  I wish I had taken some pictures to share with you.  But I didn’t.  So if you’d like to know more about this historical aspect of Sitka, take a look at this website put together by a young high school teacher in town: www.sitkaww2.com.  Next time we go out there we’ll bring a camera.

I’m grateful to have a husband who wants to get out and go kayaking on our anniversary.  In fact, I’m grateful for all sorts of wonderful things about my spouse.  He’s been a tremendous partner, and I look forward to many more years with him.  We got a call this morning from our friends Anne and Wim, who wished us a happy anniversary, and challenged us to stay married as long as them- 53 years and counting.   Here’s to at least 51 more years!

Enjoy these pictures of my guys from our Gavan Hill hike.  Maybe next year we’ll have some charming 4^th of July photos to share.

Deep Thoughts by Dad

"You are still our dad!"

This father’s day I am father to more than just the two dogs. For the better part of my “adult” life I never thought I would have a kid of my own. So this morning I can’t help but stop and reflect on what becoming a dad has meant to me and the surprises it has brought. I’ll spare the blogosphere the sentimentalities, but I’m happy to share some of the more surprising findings of fatherhood.

1. Diaper changes are fun, really. I thought diaper changes were all business – you take the dirty diaper off, wipe, hope you don’t get peed on if diaping a boy, then replace the diaper. But, the business side of the diaper change seems almost secondary. Phin smiles, “talks” and engages when he is on the changing table. During diaper changes I talk back, sing a song (Peanut Sitting on a Railroad Track), and play with his toes. I am always happy to change a diaper because of the quality time I get with Phin.

2.  Phin’s daytime cycle is similar to the change of the seasons. As a stay-at-home dad I get dialed into Phin’s rhythm. There is nap time, bottle time, happy-play time, and maniacal time. Like the seasons these proceed in a predicable order. However, also like the seasons, the length of any time and transitions are unpredictable. Is this nap going to last 20 minutes or 2 hours? – I never know. It’s like waiting for fall’s end to be marked by the first snow or freeze of winter. Like unusual warm weather in February Phin can wake-up from a nap happy and cheerful not needing a bottle. And like a snowstorm in April (or May) Phin can finish a bottle and go straight to maniacal for a while before his happy time begins. It is not chaos (which is what it seemed like when it was another person’s kid) and that is what surprises me. There is a pattern in there somewhere.

3.  I lack patience. Phin turned four months on June 17. In those four months I have pointed out to him countless pieces of heavy construction equipment, usually a young boy favorite. But at this age he can’t begin to fathom the front end loader or bull dozer. I have taken Phin on several drives hoping to give him his first brown bear sighting (those reading this who know Sitka also know that seeing a brown bear from the road is not unusual.) Phin is in a rear-facing car seat so it would be very hard for him to see a bear from the car. Even if he could see a bear from the car to him it would probably look a lot like our big red golden retriever Rogue. I have also taken Phin on walks on the beach when there is a big minus tide because these are the best tides to look for interesting ocean-dwelling critters. Phin has no idea what a starfish is. Why do I do these types of things? I rationalize that I want Phin to develop his consciousness of the world during these experiences. What is probably really happening is that I am being impatient and want him to grow-up.

(4) I am patient. When it comes to impatience, it’s limited. Val points out that I am quite patient. I don’t mind waiting for Phin to finish a bottle, waiting out his nap time cry until he falls asleep, or waiting the extra ten minutes it takes to get out the door with a baby. I am enjoying the little guy for what he his – little, cute, my son, etc. This enjoyment is what makes me blubber “I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!” As much as I’m inpatient for him to grow up and ask a zillion questions about front end loaders, I’m so happy having him in his little baby stages too. I think what I am saying is illustrated by when Phin outgrows an article of clothing. It is a little sad to put the tiniest pair of pants in the give-away box. Especially when that pair of pants used to seem huge. I am glad though, that when he fit into that pair of pants, I was hanging out with him doing the daddy thing. This is the patience I am talking about. It is not necessarily being in the moment because I am not always in the moment. It is just the experience of being with this little guy around.

(5) My little guy can fart and belch like me. This does not need explanation. I will add that it is nice to have him to blame for my own noises.

We in the tongassfamilyedwards household are having a happy father’s day everyday!

Bonus pictures from a trip to Pirates Cove follow:

Val and Phin enjoy face time on the beach

Phin hams it up for the camera

With so much to see Phin refuses to nap.  It took a long walk and lots of back pats to get Phin to take a very short nap.

Val plays on the fishing nets strung from the trees. 

Summer Tips

I've survived the first three weeks back to work. But who wants to hear about work? Brent is doing a superb job of caring for Phineas and me. We've been doing our best at getting out and about on the weekends. No wild and crazy adventures yet (unless you count the ill advised off road ride we took the stroller on last Sunday); we're just enjoying some long walks and hikes.

field diaper change

Brent has been in subsistence mode as best he can while watching Phin and doing some legal work. Our subsistence activities consisting of hunting, fishing, and gathering take a lot of time – something that is hard to come by with a wee one. Although time consuming, subsistence is one of our shared priorities. The process of collecting and processing our own food is often fun and meditative (try taking to Brent when he is fishing or collecting berries – he wont respond). Best of all, we think that the foods we gather taste better than most store bought food. As the year progresses we hope to share our subsistence activities with you through this blog. Right now, it's spruce tip time! Spruce tips are the soft, bright green, tips of the spruce branches that come out in late May. Once you have a large pot of tips collected, you boil them for a while- strain the juice, add sugar, boil again (there really is no recipe as far as we can tell and our results vary with some batches better than others), and then jar the syrup and dream of pancakes in January.

 

Another local subsistence delicacy that we've been enjoying is black cod tips. Our neighbor does commercial fishing, and after a recent haul of black cod, he welcomed Brent to come work his way through a fish tote of black cod heads. The tips are a rich delicious piece of meat around the neck of the fish. It's time consuming to cut them out, so there is not a commercial market for them. Phineas kept Brent company as he cut his way through piles of cod heads. Now we've got cod tips in the freezer, and we've been enjoying them marinated, grilled, and wrapped in seaweed with rice.

 

 

 

I've posted some pictures here of "Devil’s Club" as well. It's a plant that grows like crazy here in Southeast. It has prickly thorns, and big broad leaves that grow quickly up and up towards to sun. It is also the symbol of the healthcare organization that I work for. Devil’s club is used by the Tlingits (Southeast Alaska Natives pronounced "khhleen-kit) for medicinal purposes. Mostly I've seen it as an ointment or salve. People use it on sore muscles and superficial burns, and actually- any kind of skin condition. I can't attest to its efficacy, nor have I seen any harm come from it. So enjoy the photos of Devils club. When I look up at it from underneath, I feel like a fish in a pond looking up towards the lily pads on the surface.

 

We've also posted some "cute kid pictures" for those family members who are demanding them. Enjoy the summertime. Something tells me it's going to go fast.

blue and blue

a nice place to feed the baby

Off To Work We Go!!!

It was bound to happen, Val's maternity leave came to an end and she went back to work.  The week before maternity leave ended we went to Anchorage to visit family and friends.  The "primates" (i.e. the Main boys) dubbed Phineas "Little Monkey", a name we are sure he will grow into as he learns to walk and then run. 

With Val at work I am now taking charge of keeping the Little Monkey alive.   The picure above is my proof of life photo from Tuesday.  Overall Phin and I are doing well but my expectations for the day need to be adjusted dramatically.  Our daily highlight is walking to the hospital for lunch with his mommy.  The dogs get to go too.  I have also squeezed in time to clean more cod tips and to make our first batch of spruce tip syrup.  All these projects leave little time for updating the family blog.  These pictures will need to fill in some of the details . .  .

PHINEAS MEETS THE MAINS/PRIMATES

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Rogue, Isis and Phineas face to face.

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Our first time using the berry picking blanket.

Mmmm beer . . .

Phin watches while his mom switches out the studded bike tires.

Phin turns three months!!

Herring Eggs & Brown Bears

Life in Sitka is returning to normal, well as normal as it can be with Phineas. One of the things that is "normal" this time of year in Sitka is collecting from the beach herring eggs on seaweed.  The eggs and seaweed are full of nutrients which Sitkans use to fertilize garden soil.  Since we are trying to get our garden going we went to the beach next to the Starigavan boat launch with a bunch of buckets to do some collecting.  We kept Phineas close by as he sleept in his car seat "bucket" on top of another bucket.  We finished around 8:00 P.M.

Val collecting herring eggs on seaweed.

Brown bears are another normal thing in Sitka.  The police blotter in tonight's Sitka newspaper says:

"At 9:11 P.M.  a resident reported a bear sow and two cubs in a yard in the 5300 block of Halibut Point Road.  Later the bears were reported near the Starigavan boat launch."

Looks like last night we missed seeing our first bears of 2010 by an hour or two.  I have mixed feelings about this.  Part of me sees that it is risky to take our new son anywhere bears may be wandering around.  However, living involves some risk-right?  I compare risk of being mauled or eaten by brown bears on the beach  to the everyday risks others take such as being crushed in a car accident on a freeway.  I haven't crunched the numbers but I am pretty confident that beaches (even beaches with bears) are safer than highways.  A big part of me wishes that we could have seen the bears last night.  To better our odds though next time we will bring bear spray. 

Have boobs will travel.

Since our last posting, little Phineas has grown bigger and continued his adventures.

Phineas poses in his tie dye onesie in front of the Golden Gate Bridge

After spending half of his life in sunny Arizona, it was time to move back up North.  We hopped a flight to San Francisco, where we spent a beautiful spring weekend.  Highlights included seeing Audrey radiating beauty, joy, and love on her wedding day; introducing Phin to good friends; and exploring a big city.   We navigated all sorts of public transportation. Phineas took his first "choo choo ride" on the BART, his first bus ride on the Muni, and his first cable car ride.  We doubt that he will remember any of these firsts. The weather was perfect.  We wandered through various neighborhoods, Golden Gate Park, and the waterfront area.

In all of these travels, we've become quite appreciative of the convenience of breastfeeding.  "Have boobs, will travel" has become a slogan (thanks Jodie!).  Brent and I undertook an exercise of thinking of all of the public places where Phineas has nursed.  I have no interest in hiding in bathroom stalls to feed Phinny, so that means I've had to get comfortable nursing him wherever we may be when he gets hungry.  It makes me proud to know that I've gotten out of the house and been fairly active with this little guy during these first two months.  I have pretty strong feelings about the importance of breastfeeding, and how our culture should embrace it.  I believe that the more people see women nursing their babies at the mall, at parks, and even on the bus if necessary- the less "weird" it will be, and the more women will be encouraged to do the same.  So, for the sake of encouraging more mommies out there to get out of the house, bring baby along, and nurse the little ones in public- here's the list:

Alaska Airlines flights to Seattle, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Sitka; Sitka Airport; Sea Tac airport (two or three times); Paradise Valley Mall,  Fashion Square Mall,  Kierland Commons Mall,  The Promenade shopping area, Cubs spring training ballpark, Arizona Diamondbacks major league ballpark, Vincent's Market restaurant,  Crissy Field park, Snack shop at Crissy Field, corner Italian restaurant in Union square,  bakery & coffee Shop in Union square,  New Dehli Indian restaurant (and Audrey's wedding), Irish Pub in Union square,  Golden Gate Park, The Larkspur restaurant in Sitka; The Back Door coffee shop, and Totem Park National Historic Site.
Of note, dirty diapers were changed in all of these places (and more!).

While on the subject of breastmilk... special thanks go out to our "Milk Sponsor" and our "Milk Shepherd" who helped facilitate the transport of 35 bags of frozen breastmilk via FedEx from Scottsdale to Anchorage.  We'll retrieve them there, and fly them back to Sitka on ice.  I'm learning why it's called "liquid gold".

Enjoy these photos!

The lovely bride with friends

Forget the crib!  I like this thread count! (Doesn't he look like he's dancing a little jig.)

See much resemblance?

Phin ends the night tuckered out in sweats and a toga. What a party animal!

Raising Arizona

We bring you this update on the Sitka Edwards Family from Scottsdale, Arizona.  With Brent's parents snowbirding down in the sun belt, we decided to join them for a month of my maternity leave.  What a stroke of genius that was!  We're producing our annual supply of vitamin D in the sunshine and enjoying the climate contrast from our hometown rainforest.   But of course, the very best part has been getting to share our little guy with our families.

Phineas has gotten to be held, rocked, walked, put to sleep, played with, and adored by both sets of his grandparents (the Prendergast set drove all the way here from Illinois to spend a week oohing and ahhing over their first grand baby!), his cousins, and his Aunt Nicole.  

With so many other people taking care of little Phin, mom and dad have snuck out for some time on their own.  Brent and I have found an outdoor pool and fitness center, and are spending time every morning swimming laps in the sunshine. 

Other Arizona adventures have included Phineas's first Cubs game (we're teaching him to cope with disappointment from a young age), his first hike, and best of all- his first real smile.   Our little guy is growing so quickly!  It seems like every day I look at him he seems to have grown overnight.  We are enjoying every single moment with him, and trying not to take anything for granted.  We are more fortunate than we could have ever wished.

The Grandpas getting to know their grandson

Aunt Nicole with cousins Hailey, Jacob, and Nick

Proud Grammy Smile!

Phin's first hike. Sqaw Peak, 6am, just the guys.

Phineas doing his best impression of his late Great Grandpa Joe Klansek. Looking good in his Easter best. What a handsome guy!

Getting out the door on Easter Sunday.  Gone are the days of traveling light.  Welcome to parenthood...