The Fairfields from Yuba City

There are 3 Fairfield boys in my immediate family. My brother Pete (above) is the oldest. He's a physical therapist, drives a motorcycle, listens to nu-metal on occasion, and has graduated into the realm of facial hair. I tried in vain to dress like him growing up, but since he was firstborn, he got all the new clothes. I got his clothes when he was bored with them. So though i did eventually get to dress like him, by that point it was years out of fashion.

Pete is not himself a dad. This is puzzling to many, because he's amazingly natural with kids. He was an uncle even before Soren came along, but this is his first Fairfield Nephew. And if you know my family, this is a special thing. My family is very close, and very loving. We know a little too much about each other, and we have a lot of variation in my family. We don't always agree or see eye to eye, but we love each other and always work to understand each other. Sometimes i think of how different Pete and i are; on paper, we should be extremely awkward around each other. He loves to ride ATV's, and i love contemporary art. But i love my big brother, and i get so giddy to be around him.

I don't think that Pete's ever really worked with kids. I don't even think he ever really babysat. As far as i know, he's never wanted to have kids really strongly. But you should see Soren with him-- he gets so goofy and funny. Soren can't stop laughing, and maybe he feels some sort of solidarity because of their haircuts...? I haven't quite figured it out.

My brother Pete is married to another Lisa. And like Pete, she is in-cred-ible with Soren; he couldn't get enough of his Aunt Lisa. She makes this hilarious chicka-chicka sound and gets this crazy look on her face that made him squeak so loudly that it startled us. He loved it. I don't know if i had ever heard him laugh so much before.

My sister-in-law #1 is the only female fire chief that i've ever met in my life. She's kind of a big deal. And, she's the most calm, down-to-earth, easy going person i've ever met, without any hint of an ego. She's great, and great for Pete.



Pete and Lisa flew into TN to check up on their property that they hope to move to someday in the future. Pete was scheduled to go to a conference in my old stomping grounds Knoxville. But the propspect of meeting a new Fairfield wooed him, and he nobly ditched the meeting. I didn't even ask him to. He's that great of a brother.

We got to sample the best of local Cincinnati cuisine (Hey, c'mon. Stop laughing, please) :

1) Brunch at the Parkside Cafe,
2) lunch and Curb Your Enthusiasm at our house,
3) "Burger Madness" at Arthur's,
4) Ethiopian lamb and vegetables at Emanu, and
5) Incredible vegetarian Indian food at Udipi.






































(Though honestly, how could you say no to this guy here? He's so special, i can barely stand it. I love this kid.)

Halloween...(i know, it's nearly December)

The Associable Press
CINCINNATI, OH:

Fans and curious onlookers alike gathered at the British Petroleum gas station near the Chipotle Mexican-themed restaurant to catch a glimpse of popular Republican Presidential hopeful Senator John McCain and his running mate Governor Sarah Palin.

Governor Palin was nice enough to pose for a quick photo as she gassed up her new Honda CR-V, which she bought out-of-pocket with her new tax credit from the oil companies of Alaska. Her children are probably in the back somewhere...

But perhaps even MORE exciting is that Gov Palin showed up with her running mate, Senator McCain!!! Mr. McCain had a short temper that night, and though all were glad to get to meet him in person (much shorter than he appears on camera...), all were quick to give him space.

The Republican Presidential Hopeful wore a smashing hand-crafted suit. His hair was extra-boisterous to meet the adoring fans. Though he kept his speeches to a minimum, he did make a lot of verbal noises. Some involved blowing bubbles, and others sounded like doo-wop hits that involved the lyrics: "bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran." He snickered shortly thereafter, though the Iranian-American in the room was slightly horrified.

The Republican running mates met with their new poster spokesperson, everyday beer-drinker and not-exactly-legally licensed plumber: Joe the Plumber. Joe wore a gray sweatshirt, a beer belly, and a cap, since it was cold. The Senator gave a rousing speech, the Governor winked, and the Plumber looked cross eyed.

Good job to all! Change is coming!

Another Apple Adventure

Fall is one of our favorite seasons at the Dexfield household, and we are glad to know that our new addition is already a fan. He has a few different pumpkin outfits that he has been wearing with pride including this one above, one from his favorite Aunt Lauren, and the one with the Pumpkin-On-The-Butt (see previous post). Luckily for us, pumpkin patches and apple orchards can be found just a short drive from our house. So we took our guy for his first hayride at a genuine apple orchard.

I love these handmade signs! When i become old and crotchety, i hope i can make handmade signs for a living.

Lisa in the breeze. I think she looks like she's sowing seeds, planning out our homestead.

We were lucky enough to run into superstar Joe the Plumber's Father and his grandniece Gertrude.

Just kidding. I have no idea who this guy is.

As you can tell, adventures run amok in the land of the swing voters. It feels slightly stressful to have so much going on: school, 3 jobs for Lisa, running a house, passing Soren back and forth... It's funny to me that when we are older, we will see these pictures and think, "Oh gosh, that was a good time. Look how much fun we had."

Memory is so weird!

Presidential Debates

We have been surprisingly into the Presidential debates (maybe i won't say publicly, but you can probably guess which candidate i am backing and which one i think will do anything to get elected) and decided to dress up for the VP debate (which was MUCH more entertaining than the first debate).

My pal Stephen from TJ's bought this shirt for Soren when he was on a 3 week existential road trip. I promise it's not conditioning-- we just think it's cute (he'll probably end up a Libertarian).

Lisa had the idea to dress up as the candidates, so we did! It was a smashing success.


And also, he has been growing surprisingly fast. (This is tediously obvious, i know. But somehow, it's surprising to us). He is already fitting into this great onesie that my good friend Val bought for him in Hawaii at Matsumoto Shave Ice. We were pretty jealous, actually, and wanted one for ourselves.

And Soren and i have been going on more adventures as part of the Tag-Team Daycare plan. For the most part we are having fun. I have earned the nickname "Mr. Mom" from a few older guys who have lived on this street for decades. One of them laughs at me everytime. It's kind of cute, in a way. Soren doesn't mind being the center of attention, as long as it's not for too long. He loves to be looked at for about 2 minutes. Then he wants people to leave him alone, so he'll start whining. What a funny kid. He's great.

Last Hurrah, -or- Picture Overload

We start our "last" year of school in just a handful of days, so we wanted to take a vacation while we had the chance. Sure, we'd rather go to South America or Northern Europe for a few weeks, but circumstances made east Ohio a little easier.

I probably went a bit overboard taking hundreds of pictures, but after living in Cincinnati, eastern Ohio looks positively gorgeous. It was so good just to do nothing but be with our family. I think we have a lot of fun, for the most part. I do feel a little guilty at the idiosyncratic world that Soren is unwillingly being born into... but we think it still works out in his favor. Having an eccentric parent or two is pretty harmless, compared to some things in this life.

You can probably tell that our kiddo is becoming a bit more more work, but also a large bit more fun. He is showing off his new smile a lot. He also gets bored pretty easily, and long car rides are not his thing. Just wait until he is old enough to have to listen to my music for four hours in the car! Or my jokes! Heh heh. It's just the beginning, kid. : )

School starts on Wednesday!
Darn.