Nice Try!

Notice the blue block in my video- I'm even touching the very turtle that is the subject of controversy!...


It recently made headlines here:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08005.html

Not to worry though.. crisis averted and no lead will be stopping the Cheek-Man!

Daylight Savings (Fall Back)

Welcome back!

I'm starting to get into this "smile and giggle" part of life. Check out my slideshow below to see what I've been up to!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! (belated)

I've had a very busy week.. see below for highlights from my trip to Biggs and my Halloween festivities!

We're trying to get better at updating!

Check out Mateo's last month.. some of his highlights:
-holding up his head
-sleeping through the night
-kicking and punching
-sleeping and pooing
-talking to his Cow
-keeping an eye on Butterfly

Mateo's September

All the OTHER things Mateo's been up to the last month.

Grandma Terry's visit

Mateo's Buddies

Mateo's 1st photo shoot by Aunt Katie

Papa's Birthday!

Papa Oskar is having HIS birthday today!!! A few highlights from his recent days:

Mateo LOVES spending time with his daddy!
on the go.. taking care of business...and relaxing!

Send Oskar an email today to tell him why you think he's great: oeichler@cisco.com

Happy Birthday Mama!

Despite heeding to common sense, we had a small family shin-dig for Leslie's 30th birthday. Somehow this motherhood power has enabled her to function with no sleep.. we'll see how she holds up :)

He's Here!

Mateo Stephen Eichler was born on Thursday night!!!

His Mom was a trooper and they are both doing great!!

He came out rockin' to Shakira, so in honor of that check out his debut video.....

Today is the day!

Today is the day!!!

Happy Birthday to my mom/baby's grandma!
We're officially starting the process of coaxing baby out into this world tonight @ 8 pm, unless upon pressure of his pending deadline, our new little procrastinator goes for it on his own sometime today.

Stay tuned!

The latest....

After some tests, including an ultrasound, at the doctor's office today, a few conclusions have been made:
1. I am having NO traceable contractions!
2. Baby Eichler has a LOT of hair & a "gorgeous" heart!
3. Our Wednesday night induction is a GO!

oh... and he's measuring 9lbs.1 oz. today!!

Weekend waiting

We started the weekend in fine form, hitting up a tequila bar for some Tesoro Margarita's for those not carrying unborn children and some Horchata for those albatross slingers


In order to avoid going crazy in the Harold house and privately hoping an adventure of sorts might jar something loose, we wound up in the Santa Cruz mountains over the weekend. First we went to Scott's Valley for some fine dining (Subway sandwiches and Jamba Juice) but we eventually ended up in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park.





For all you dendrochronology fans, the redwood (pictured left with turquoise pregnant lady) has over 10,000 rings, that is 8000 more rings than it had at the start of Leslie's pregnancy

We did a brief one mile waddle through the forest before cruising over to the Santa Cruz boardwalk. Here is some evidence of said boardwalk:

When did cell phone status change from "player" to "dork"?

Cocky about the pending birth





My continuing inability to keep my eyes open when digital cameras have flash












Awww! OMG! BFF!! KIT! ROTFLMAO!

Nothing new... we spent our Saturday doing a little gardening & lounging. Watched a Sopranos episode, and went to the Tequila Bar.

Baby Bathtime will be a piece of cake

Another WEEK???

Wow.. this guy is taking his time. And of course we'll let him. We are officially scheduled for an induction on 8/1 (Grandma Terry's birthday) @ 8 pm.

So, I guess I'm getting a few more days to:
1. Work on my Spanish-language acquisition
2. Read more chapters of our parenting books
3. Spend time with Oskar as a twosome
4. Spoil Emma in the last days of her reign over her Queendom @ Harold
&
5. Continue to shock complete strangers wherever I go by responding to their "when are you due" question with a past-tense response!

He's a LEO in utero

He's a lion as of today! We'll see when he roars his way into this world!

Past Due Weekend

This weekend was fun, seeing so many friends at Mandy & Kevin's beautiful wedding ceremony.

We felt very prepared taking our mobile delivery unit with us: Shauna M. Hicks, M.D.

It was also great to spend time with such amazing kids, like Chloe & Ainsley Castillo with their mom & dad, Matt & Rachel, & Alexander Gusman with his mom & dad, Rob & Bekah.

And we continue to wait...

D-Day

So the day has come... & no baby.

In the words of Oskar's colleague: "If your baby is anything like you, he'll arrive late, then apologize profusely."

Week 40

It is so strange that we've met a few babies that were due after our little one. So needless to say, he's going to be a big one. The doctor told us today that he's probably about 8 lbs. at this point. If I make it to my next appt. next Wednesday, they'll likely schedule an induction for late that week or early the next.

So the next question that comes to mind?

Will he be............

a

CANCER (june 22-july 22) like Tom Hanks, Carlos Santana & his aunt Hillary...

OR a...

LEO (july 23- august 23) like Coolio, Hulk Hogan, J-Lo, his cousin Kurt, aunt Sandi, aunt Katie, his grandma Terry & his own mom (moi) & dad (Oskar)??

Please post your predictions! We'd love to hear what you all think.

1 more week...

We've done all sorts of things to be prepared...




We went on a "babymoon" to Carmel..

We practiced being "parents" with our nephew, Kurt...

(We were even on the news that day:)

We decorated a nursery that the whole family would enjoy...

We've installed the carseat...

Last night we celebrated our 4th & final anniversary without kids..

now just

ONE MORE WEEK..... until baby Eichler!!!!!!

Show me that Smile again

For some reason everyone says that it is important to walk a lot when you are pregnant. A couple innocuous comments have even been made to us(from strangers nonetheless) that "you'll see when you give birth". As a non-pregnant male, I am fascinated to see how this will play out during the delivery. Will we be shaking our fists shortly after our first child is born, lamenting how accurate the advise was from Costco Sample Lady? ("Curse you Costco Sample Lady, never again will I forsake thee!!!!!") The idea of this possibility frightened us to the extent that we began immediately adding strolls to our day to day routine (couch-incubate-couch). We began with the goal to go here , but it was closed and suddenly we had to continue our pedestrian jaunt to this location. Anyways midway through our journey, some sharp groin pains (pause for laughter and applause) ensued, causing us to call Labor & Delivery, who proceeded to say everything was normal, etc etc. To summarize, we resumed our journey and eventually ate the burgers. Although we have gone on another walk since, the passion seems to have dissipated slightly since that phone call... So what will all this mean?

• Will Baby Eichler and team have the last laugh, performing 250 abdominal crunches immediately following delivery?
• Will Costco Sample Lady be vindicated, nodding wisely as she sips on mini cups of carrot juice and places apricots into her vacuum sealer/food dehydrator?
• Will Emma the cat finally be diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

Stay tuned to 7/20.. plus or minus 1 week...

36 & 1/2 weeks (or dorky video fun)

waiting..

Waiting.. waiting.. waiting.. what else am I to do? All that typically seems important ... isn't when waiting for a new friend to arrive. I should nest, but my heartburn doesn't motivate. Instead, I clean out my email in-box. I'm just waiting...

Cheetah: the worlds fastest animal

We are very tired these days

.

.

.

dogs are barkin'

Would you trust these people with your child?

Apparently apprehension and self-doubt are normal, natural precursors in the run-up to becoming a parent. Specifically the fear of the unknown intricacies that come with the upgrade from "solitary obese cat whisperers" to "video-camera-waving-baby-bjorn wearers". I personally find myself trying to quell any fears by downplaying the difficulty level and making ridiculous comparisons. I will think to myself, there are 14 year old heroin-addicted single mothers that gave birth in the back alley during prom that manage to raise their child unscathed (with the possible exception of bad dental work).... if this person can get it done, a savvy tech guy and enthusiastic teacher will raise an Uber-baby! In fact, he will be such an Uber-baby that I will name him Hubert, so that we can introduce him as 'Huberbaby Eichler'

Needless to say, my extensive baby experience to date has led me to group these creatures into two specific categories: 1) Crying 2) Non-crying. Although "society" ("The Puppy"... 15 pts for anyone who gets the reference) tells you to get all the gear and try to be like this guy , there are some things that one cannot be fully prepared for and the best advice is to just roll with what comes along.

Then I start wondering who invites a 14 year old heroin addicted pregnant chick to their prom...