It is way past my bedtime. I know. But we just got back from Santa Cruz – we drove there to see Mike Love and Paula Fuga perform at Moe’s Alley.

They were the performers we saw at the Surfer Bar in Oahu 2 weeks ago. Just as amazing this time around, but Jen and I were a bit tired after a long day of PD, so we decided to leave during intermission.

So that made my “case of the Mondays” a little more bearable.

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In other, more important news, today is Smushy’s 2nd birthday.

Smushy is my nephew, Veer. And we call him Smushy because he used to be just that. A smush. He would just melt into your arms. And when he was super little, he would take a nap on your chest. And it’d feel like a smushy, squishy teeny human on top of you.

I can’t believe how much he has grown in such a short amount of time. He walks. He runs. He talks. He squeals. I won’t share the 10,000 pictures I actually do have of him. But I will show the few that caught my eye as I scrolled through my never-ending folder.

Despite the fact that they lived in New York for a year and spent this past year in Texas, I felt like I was there watching him grow into this little fully-functional human being. We witnessed each milestone. And my ridiculously large family was always connected in some way or another.

In July of 2010, we lost our Nanu and it was one of the most challenging times our family has ever faced. Veer came into our lives exactly one month later. He was a beautiful gift. And it was him that helped us crawl out of the darkness we had been in. He united our family to an even greater degree. 

Happy birthday to the little human who has changed my life. Who has brought me more happiness and joy than he will ever know. You’ve stolen my heart forever.