Oh, nature.

Us at Glacier Point
Originally uploaded by riblet.

We took a Neon family trip to Yosemite this week.

Ira was very excited to visit his first national park. He's a mountain mouse like his dad.




We saw tons of amazing nature. Here's Yosemite Falls, the tallest waterfalls in North America.




I didn't realize how tall the falls really were until we hiked to the top of Sentinel dome and got awesome 360 views of the park. It seems weird, but looking down on everything actually made me appreciate the size of what I was looking up at from the valley floor.




I wanted to see a meadow, so we hiked to this one. There were signs warning us of bears at the trailhead. I suddenly became extremely bear-anoid. Alas, we saw no bears.




Ira was perfectly happy to ride on Leon's back everywhere we went. Hell, I carried him for 9 months. It's the least dad can do.




We went on a lot of little hikes each day. Here's where we rested our tired bones the last night. Curry Village. It was a bustling rash of tent cabins. I could hear road work all night, just like at home. Next time, if we stay here, I am bringing earplugs.




We couldn't leave without seeing giant trees. Here's an especially big one. It was about 2700 years old. I found that endlessly impressive.



We came home exhausted, but really stoked about our trip. We're already planning for next year.

Just chilling

Neon family
Originally uploaded by riblet.

What is up, mang? I'm just chilling with my crew. That's MC Dad and Lil' Sh*t in the picture with me.

Oh geez. Let's break it down now. What's been happening? If my life were a pie chart, the wedges would look something like this:

40% thinking about, making and scheduling baby foods. Trust me, it's a science!

10% general worrying. What will Ira's next poop look like? Will it 'splode up his back? Will I have enough wipes?! Will Elisabeth Hasselbeck ever see the light?

10% figuring out what combination of frozen foods will be my and Leon's dinner.

10% "cleaning." Or, just putting all the magazines and junk mail in neater piles.

5% trying to practice my Spanish at local taquerias. I get a few puzzled looks from some of the cashiers, like "what, you don't speak Spanish? Aren't you mexican?" I always have to explain, "of course not, I'm Chicano!"

1% taking a spill on a steep trail. Me and Heylove got a little tangled up on Sunday during a Neon family hike in Newcastle. Heylove is fine but I took a nasty fall trying to avoid her. Luckily, the combat-style roll I did didn't land me down the steep, poison oak infested ravine. I got some scrapes and crimped my back a little. Oh, and Ira was on Leon's back, a good, safe distance from my clumsiness.

24% playing with Ira. He's getting so fun.

Super Baby Food

I kept hearing about this book called Super Baby Food in all the mommy's groups I go to. Apparently this is the bible of feeding your baby solids and many follow it to a tee. I picked up my copy and have had my nose stuck in it for the last two months.

It's amazing how much of a science this baby food thing is turning out to be! First we are working off a list of foods that are tame enough for his age. Then we are introducing new foods every four days in order to single out any possible allergies. And we are making everything he eats except for the teething biscuits. Back in the '70s my mom would have poured a Pepsi in my bottle, handed me a cigarette to play with and called it a day. Times have changed. Oh, that Pepsi part really happened.

I am really concerned about feeding Ira all the right things and making sure that he gets off to the best possible nutritional start. Since we're raising him vegetarian-style, I feel like I need to make sure I do an extra awesome job of feeding him. I want him to grow to 6 and a half feet tall and brag about how he's never eaten meat.


Speaking of meat. I recently made some really meaty grilled mushrooms. They were so nice I'm making them again this week, except no favas this time. I have some broccoli, but I never know what to do with it besides steaming it.

Life and times of Neon

Take two
Originally uploaded by riblet.

Or
Times in the life of Neon
Or
Neon: the Time of Our Lives
Or
I'll Do My Best to Catch Up on the last few days

Pipas were here! We were so glad to have them. We are old touring pals and haven't seen them in a couple of years, so it was a real treat to catch up with Mark & Lupe while they were in town. Ira really turned on the charm for these guys and it damn near got him stowed away in the trunk of Pipas rental car. Mark invited us to his wedding in September. I really hope we can make it even though it's all the way in NY. Leon has family there that hasn't met Ira yet, so we have at least two reasons to go. Or three if you count this vegetable peeler that I've been wanting for years. This guy sells it at the Union Square farmer's market.

Oh, what else? I made food, I ate food. I made a lot of food for Ira. I ground up my own brown rice in our Vita Mix for rice cereal. I blended up some mangoes and papaya for mixing in with the cereal, too. I've got my own little system going with the vegetable and fruit purees in the freezer. Rice cereal gets made once every couple of days and is refrigerated until Ira eats it. Leon warmed up a frozen cube of sweet potato that I pureed a couple of weeks ago and said "who wouldn't make their own baby food? this is so easy!" Well, it is easy to pop the finished product in the microwave, but it takes a long time to get it there.

....