One month plus pictures
(from mid-November 2004).

 Other pictures and stories.

Boaz turned one month old today. I try not to think about what was going on this time last month. How long does it take before parents forget?

This historic shot is a picture of Dana taking off alone with him for the first time ever.

For Boaz's first month birthday gift, we got him a coloring book called "The ABC's Chicano Style"

"E is for EZLN",
"N is for Los Ninos Heroes".

Each letter of the alphabet has an educational explanation and a powerful picture to color. This is a cool self-published book and can be ordered from the Sin Froneras bookshop & cafe: http://www.sinfronteras.biz/  --  ¡Viva!

Go to the head of the class!
The other "fun" thing we did on Boaz's birthday was to visit our Adoption Lawyer Margaret A. Leonard (right) and her Legal Assistant/Partner Clare Sheils (left).

I put fun in quotes in the last sentence because the process of adopting our son so that we can have the same rights that even the most perverted, moronic, republican heterosexual couple receives innately under the law is barbaric, expensive and insulting. If you fall under the category of people who deny us equal rights, please reconsider.

However, if you end up in a similar situation and need to adopt your kid, these women are so supportive and knowledgeable that we end up having fun and feeling well taken care of each we visit them.

If you are in or around Santa Cruz and you need to hire the best; run,
don't walk to this dynamic duo: (831) 426-1482.

 

Grandma Sondra (a fantastic illustrator) sent Bobo this duck suit and it fits him perfectly now...not that you can really see it...but trust us, it is adorable.

  

Today we had a surprise visit from our dear friend Boaz (site only viewable to those with Hebrew). This is the guy who our son was partially named after.
A few of the qualities that we admire in Boaz are his courage, ingenuity, integrity and he is a great Dad. We hope Bobo gets to hang around this guy and his family a lot in his lifetime.

Boaz has been crying more-and-more in the evenings lately. It is tiring, heartbreaking and frustrating.

Poor sweet little guy.
Today we had our final meeting with our midwife, Karen Ehrlich. In the agreement that we signed when we hired her, Karen clearly states "You get to keep the baby, not the midwife".

Her work with us is done and now she has to go be there 100% for other expecting moms. We have a healthy baby and a healthy mom. I can't begin to describe how important the trust we placed in her was during the birth process. She didn't end up "catching" Boaz but she held both of us for as long as necessary. The whole experience with her was very healing.

It makes me feel better about the planet every time I remember that Karen is out there helping someone.
With Karen's permission, I reposted a poem that she wrote in her book "birth song" that is about circumcision.

Boaz's gift to Karen was to do what male animals do all over the natural world do in order to show ownership; he marked her. Don't worry son, she is yours, she just has to go help other babies be born in peace and love now.

  

Eliezer (Saba) Bobo loves you!

Mom came to visit and kept us well supplied in lovely muffins and cakes and provided a lot of needed humor during her Thanksgiving visit.

Here you see Grandma Sondra pitching in to comfort a fussy baby. Hmmm...I wonder if I was ever fussy? Nah, I was just misunderstood but at least I knew I was misunderstood.  Understand?

Thanks for coming Mom. Come back soon! We love you.
Grandma Sondra is practicing "SHHHHHH". We learned this trick together while watching Dr. Harvey Karp's "Happiest baby on the Block". Boaz responds really well to this trick in unison with one of the other 4'"S"'s. Whatever anybody says, Monsieur Boaz is not a swaddling kind of a guy.

Adam, my wonderful brother had a blast with Boaz. This site is dedicated to him and to my Nephew Benjamin.
It was really special for me to see my brother hold our son for the first time.

 
Meet the rest of Adam's immediate family: Benjamin and Anne and my immediate family, Boaz and Dana. My Brother's and his family helped found "Frogsong", Co-housing in Cotati, California.

They live in cooperation with one another and the planet. They live in a paradise of their own making. It is very empowering to visit them. These pictures were taken over Thanksgiving...ummm...none of them were outside because Boaz was crying practically the whole time he was awake and it was kind of cold and dreary outside too.
 
Rena was trying to get the little guy to smile here. It isn't always easy. "Nu mami, nu mami smile for the camera mami". Ah well, better luck next time. She bottle fed him for the first time tonight.

He saddles right up to the bottle like dry cowboy after a day on the range.

I stare at them sleeping for hours-and-hours.

One gaze like this melts all the
tiredness away.

One fine day, we wrapped up Bobo and visited Roaring Camp railroad. Here are a bunch of pictures!

Dana's mother took this photo of us in front of
an old growth Redwood tree.

Dana has figured out a sweet way to rock Boaz to sleep. I think it put her to sleep in this picture too.
Boaz's feet -- will never be compressed in iron shoes!

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 "Whether our feet are compressed in iron shoes, our faces hidden with veils and masks; whether yoked with cows to draw the plow through its furrows, or classed with idiots, lunatics and criminals in the laws and constitutions of the State, the principle is the same; for the humiliations of the spirit are as real as the visible badges of servitude."

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 Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902), U.S. suffragist, social reformer, and author. As quoted in History of Woman Suffrage (hard to find outside of university libraries*), vol. 4, ch. 8, by Susan B. Anthony and Ida Husted Harper (1902).

In an opening-day speech before a meeting of the International Council of Women, which was held in Washington, D.C., March 25-April 1, 1888. Stanton was referring to the fact that only women, “idiots, lunatics and criminals” were denied the vote in America.

* I highly recommend reading "The Women's Bible: A Classic Feminist Perspective". It is a classic.

Today we took little sir on a day trip to Big Sur. It was totally foggy but we had a few minutes of broken sunshine and either way, it was awesome.

He is so much fun to play with!

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