Ahoy

Hi All,
So we didn't have enough to do in our spare time so we thought we'd get a boat.
Here she is "Califia" an Ericson 27. Actually we're in a partnership with another person (Paul) who knows more about sailing that we do. He's a sailing instructor and is willing to teach us the ropes (so to speak). So we're looking forward to some time on the water. Fiona already enjoys it and, for those who care, she wears a lifejacket and is tethered in when we're sailing.

We have already had a couple of forays out to the mile buoy off of Santa Cruz to which she wondered as we were sailing away, "...where is the mile buoy going?" She also spends a bit of time calling the dolphins over and looking for sea lions.

We're hoping to get to the point where we can sail to Monterey for the weekend. In the future we would like to go a lot further but for now well stay close.

Love
Louise

What Happens in Tahoe, Stays in Tahoe

Fiona Devon Brian Lyle and Liv

Fiona with mummy in the lake

Fiona and daddy and Lyle and daddy

Hi All, we just got back from a couple of days up at Lake Tahoe visiting with good friends Brian and Liv and their baby Lyle. It's a bit of a long drive to get there, but fiona did well in the car. Luna enjoyed returning to her old lifestyle of riding in the back of the truck to the mountains and wading about in fresh water. It was warm and lovely, the water was a bit cold for actual swimming but we enjoyed some quality time on a pebbly beach filling buckets with water and rocks.
There were lots of kids to play with at a big shared house with lots of folks all celebrating birthdays this time of year. We opted to sleep in a bed int he back of our truck which worked out remarkably well for Fiona considering some of the failures we have had with camping in the past.The house served as a playground for about 7 kids (count is vague). Fiona, who is still working on the ins and outs of sharing, did pretty well with all the kids and novel toys to covet. She did well with pooing in new toilets and keeping pants dry. Only one mishap all weekend! As with all our holidays with Fiona she was a bit sick, runny nose-cough and getting new teeth too, but we drove home late last night with only one stop for crying. Fiona slept in until 9:30 this morning (a new record). One of the few times I have been out of bed before she was awake.
Love
Louise

Fiona at school

Here is a picture of Fiona hanging out after school last week. She is enjoying being a big girl, though her mum and dad are looking forward to a time we don't (hear shouted in our general direction): "My poo, it's in my pants!!!!." Though a wonderful sentence is always enjoyed. She only wears "big girl" undies now, still has a nappy at night. Even if you think something more absorbent for an extended errand run would be helpful, you would be wrong according to her, and you are better off bringing extra pants and undies and knowing exactly where the nearest toilet is at all times.

She surprised us by singing "Life is Hard, but life is Harder, when you're two" the other morning while getting dressed. It made us laugh, she was clearly having a rough time though.

She is still trying to live her life by the do-all-by-self principle which does tend to make things harder but what else are we to do.

We are also looking for advice: Fiona is very friendly, talks to everyone at the grocery store and walking down the street...when do you have the "stranger" talk to kids and how do you go about shattering their innocent view on the world? Suggestions? I hate that we even have to broach the subject at all. Damn world. Life is hard.

New Pub

Hi All, we just got back froma dinner date, rode down the hill with the wagon, along west cliff drive, up to the new Pub (close to safeway for those who know), to the park, and then home for milk and summer peaches.

Bike wagon

Hi All,
We have a new toy for the family, A bike trailer hereafter referred to as the "bike wagon."
Its wonderful for riding around town and being able to carry all the things a busy girl like Fiona needs. We went to the Farmers market this morning and as we were leaving we bumped into a friend with her newish baby. Fiona sitting back int he wagon, pushed her sunglasses down to the end of her nose and peered over them to say hello to the baby and mum. V. cool.

We're looking forward to a warm week here in santa cruz so we'll be at the pool some days for sure. Fiona is getting good at jumping into mum or dad's waiting arms. She Does really well and is getting more and more confident in the water. Still a bit small for swimming lessons but the is clearly gifted with the kicking and blowing bubbles already.

Love
Louise

"Do allbyself"

We're hearing a lot of that lately. Its refrain as well as the increasingly frequent why and whats are making up the better part of our conversations these days. Still having fun though. This morning Fiona and I went to the library and to get some new books, we stopped in just in time for their kids craft time where Fiona and I made a dragon fly out of pipe cleaners. Quite good. We had our usual bagel stop downtown and even picked up some coffee as Fiona piped up in the shop, "for daddy." Errands are slow these days but the company is good.

This picture is of Fiona "Doing all by self" on the real toilet, no stepping stool required, she climbs up like a spider and holds on tightly but it works and were not having to deal with the horror of hearing her dump out her little potty on her own anymore.
Happy summer (or winter).
Love
Louise

And here's what fiona was up to...

Thanks John and Vicki for Taking care of Fiona and thanks for the Diary, good to see where our time goes.
Love
Louise

Hi Mommy and Daddy,

SATURDAY

Fiona woke a little before 7, happy. Grammy, Grampy, Pio. (no Mummy, Mummy, Mummy -- whew.) She expected Mommy & Daddy to be here, however. I said, they went in a boat, and she cheerfully waved to all the boats. Scrambled eggs & toast, blueberries and apricot, milk for breakfast.

We all (inc. Luna) went with the bob to Lovers Pt. beach. Hot. Climbed on the new replica of the Swan Boat. Waded in the ocean and played in sand. Had water and small snack (dried blueberries & fish crackers).

[I remember going in an original glass-bottom Swan Boat in 1949. I was 6, first visit to PG.]

Home by 11, F had milk, not hungry, easy nap by 11:10! Not cranky but rubbing eyes and took her own pillow to the bed.Woke 1:25. Had lunch: cheese & crackers, apricot. Meanwhile, lightning & thunder & rain. Luna barked. Fiona liked the thunder, but i’m not sure she really picked up the sound because she kept announcing, “I hear thunder again” all afternoon (probably traffic). She is really onto complete sentences now, major progress! Still mixed on “me” and “you.”

In the afternoon, hung out and then went to Costco, where we saw a pigeon inside, “shopping” -- she enjoyed the joke. F spotted a big package of macaroni & cheese, so that’s what she ate for dinner (two bowls) plus fresh blueberries and grapes -- at about 7 o’clock (gulp), hopelessly off schedule, I know, but she was remarkably patient, tho obviously tired & hungry on the drive home.

After a quick bath and requested “big playtime,” which included reading, drawing, and the above “writing all by myself,” she was clearly on the edge and we had to override protests, hear requests for Mommy and Daddy, and give repeated reassurances that her parents were fine and she would see them soon. We both got big cuddles. Asleep the instant her head hit the pillow, about 8:30.

Woke briefly at 11 pm. Mommy and Daddy? Consoled, slept.

A good day overall.

SUNDAY

F woke about 7:30. Breakfast of milk, blueberries, half of my egg, bran muffin, banana -- out of several that got peeled. Hung out: reading, writing, drawing, chasing. Early lunch of macaroni & cheese, muffin, blueberries and grapes, milk. Nap at 11.

Independent potty work yesterday and today. Did truck puzzle easily. Sense of responsibility also developing, as errors cause distress and calls for Mommy: spotting scope knocked over (no damage), small wooden chicken taken and lost (J found it again). Brief attempt at distraction meanwhile: F led me to live chickens, but appeared to know they weren’t really the issue...

Up at 1:30. A little lunch, not really hungry. Packed day stuff, took the bob, and caught the 3 pm Trolley in front of the Aquarium. [Now how did that take up 1.5 h? See that’s where your time goes. ] Nice ride to downtown Monterey, walk to El Estero. Opted for 1/2 h paddleboat, luckily: within 10 min, F was talking about the park; paddleboat may have exhausted its novelty, despite enthusiasm expressed. Lots of birds; the gulls were all bathing. The park proved more durable; also had a light picnic dinner there. Then walked back to transit center, to catch Trolley back to the Aquarium, walked home, bath, etc. Full afternoon.

Then we heard your voice message and called. Great pix from your boating adventure!

Sailing the Ocean Blue

Well in case y'all thought that we didn't do anything without Fiona check this out:

We dropped her off with John and Vicki on Friday evening in Pacific Grove (Thank you thank you thank you) then we came home and fell right to sleep as all parents of a 2 year old do. We got up the next morning after sleeping in. Woke up and ate breakfast that did not involve cheerios, tantrums over bowl colour, making motorcycle noises, or spilled milk. We hopped on our bike and rode down to the harbour to take the first of our sailing courses. Learnign the basics on a "little yacht" a Santa Cruz 27 called La Paz.



The first day we did a lot of rigging stuff and sailed in the afternoon for a little while. Devon wasn't feeling his best, note the cup of coffee and bottle of medicine:


The sailing was fun and exciting. That night (Saturday) We rode our bike up to the little neighbourhood near the harbour and had beer and chips at one stop and then found an itailan place and had some yummy noodles. Eating out alone is a nice treat. We rode our bikes back down to the harbour and settled into our boat for the night. Not La Paz, but her more comfortable 32 foot Catalina neighbour the Wind Goddess. Slept like babies (except for the waking part) and in the morning we were already in the harbour so we toodled down for a pastry and a to-go lunch and then we rigged the boat, and sailed a good chunk of the day.

We had great ideas about getting photos of on the boat while it was going but it was a splashy and dynamic place, lots of leaning over at uncomfortable angles and inexperiences maneuvers, so the camera was safely in the cabin. We had a good time, i was a bit nervous when we heeled more than 20 degrees which I will have to work on until we get a catamaran. Devon of course relished any technical and exciting moment without looking the least bit concerned.


Rode our bikes home...Fiona is coming home tomorrow sometime so tonight...dinner together...maybe a movie...and sleeping in again on monday morning.

Tomatos

Fiona has been reaping the rewards of the garden lately, cherry plums are falling off the tree, strawberries are doing well as are tomatos. Here is fiona sampling some of the morning's crop. She needs a little reminding not to pick the green ones.

Flower girl

Fiona shined during her Flower Girl duties this weekend at Brad and Roseanna's wedding in Carmel. Fiona Walked down the aisle, attempted to stay still for the rest of the ceremony and then partied the night away (until 9) dancing and socializing. devon and I were very tired keeping up with her.

School one day

Today is actually fiona's second day at school but I was too tired to add this photo the other day.
Here she is dressed and ready to go with her backpack. She went for two hours that day and today she's there for a bit more. She loves it and enjoys playing with other kids. I'm enjoying a bit of free time too.
Love
Louise

Midwest Extravaganza

Fiona at turtle camp with devon

Fiona looking at flamingos in chicago

Well we made it to The Midwest and back. We left with Fiona and her gastrointestinal illness, spent a wonderful few days driving about in northern Illinois, and even made it over the borders to Wisconsin and to Iowa. It was perfect for Fiona who was feeling a bit under the weather. Lots of sleeping in the back of the car, interspersed with pastoral landscapes filled with barns and cows and other things she knows from the books. There was a bit of camping at an old phd site of Devon's on the Mississippi river including many mosquitos and a great storm. Some time in Chicago visiting with Jim and Mary Jo Nathan who were wonderful hosts and put up with fiona's schedule.

Here are some pictures, there will be a further edit of this entry to explain to our dearest friends what it is like to travel with a sick 2 year old....

"Sleeping" in the tent

Looking at Giraffes

Playing at a park, clearly feeling better.

Plane tomorrow

Looking gorgeous in the midst of illness

In the lore of childrearing there is a bit about kids getting sick when one is about to go away/have an important event/or when is otherwise not convenient. Fiona has outdone herself in living up to that lore this week.
We are getting on a plane tomorrow morning for our "Midwest extravaganza" (post to follow) and so on Sunday Fiona came down with a malaise and barfing illness,: We took her to the doctor, got anti barfing medicine, then fever started then diarrhea, or was it the other way around....anyway, we now have a rather pathetic limp child who is still very cute but occasionally projectile vomits or blows out diarrhea. Sound fun? Apparently this is part of normal childhood stuff, who knew!?

So here is a bit of fiona over the last couple of days, this one of her on the potty is being kept to further embarrass her in her teenage years. She fell asleep on the toilet leaning into my lap.

So we'll be the ones with the sick looking kid on the plane to Chicago in the morning. She's looking forward to the plane ride and right now I'd do just about anything to make her happy. I'm bringing and extra change of clothes for the plane just in case though.

(watching Ratattouille on the TV. towel in place to catch barf)

Train Day

This weekend we participated in the Rail Trail Train Ride, We took the train from Downtown up through the forest to Felton and then rode our bikes down, the train ride was beautiful and the forest was cool and lovely and then we had to wait in the hot sun for the bikes to be unloaded, We had a bit more waiting while all 500 people got organized to ride downhill and then Fiona fell asleep. So she got to enjoy the train ride and then she was pretty much unaware of the ride back down to Santa Cruz. Here are she and devon on the train going up to Felton.

In nine days we'll be giving air travel another go on the way to Chicago, hopefully it will be more relaxing than the flight to New Zealand. We're looking forward to visiting with Jim and Mary Jo there and then doing a bit of camping on the Mississippi river. It used to take Devon and I 20 minutes to pack whether we were going for a week or a month, With Fiona we are both quite out of pracice and bringing a few different things, so this week we'll be packing a bit and playing a lot. Whan we get back from Chicago fiona starts Preschool at the Village School. It has a Yurt, lots of cool things to with, is close to the park:
Here is the Description:
The Village Preschool has been providing a Waldorf inspired enrichment and childcare for six years. We are located on the Westside of Santa Cruz. Our emphasis is healthy play and participation in life skills such as cooking and caring for animals. Our seasonal circle times are a fun bilingual experience. We travel through the days with song, safely contained by a rhythmic schedule including organic snacks and lunches.

Pretty Santa Cruz....Fiona is excited and as she has learned Mary had a little lamb, refers to school as "school-one-day" and points to herself, mentions that ther will be kids there and that she is going there "soon" June 3rd actually. She'll be doing that Tuesday and thursday mornings which will leave me with a good piece of time to catch up on bikerides, gardening, reading, surfing etc.

So we're looking forward to a fun summer.

Love
Louise

The Puzzlemaster

Fiona is really enjoying doing block puzzles these days. She got a couple of them for her birthday and really hasn't put them down since. We are getting better at them too.

Paddleboat

Here is Fiona with Devon and Vicki paddleboating in Monterey at the pond. She had a great time playing in Dennis the Menace Park too but for the paddleboating she was quiet and watching everything , not nervous, just taking it all in. WE chased down ducks and geese and she even got to steer (sometimes) When she got off the boat she said " again, boat." There may be more boating in her future indeed.

Fiona dancing

Fiona this weekend

Here is Fiona twirling downtown in her party shoes (Video to follow) There was a dancing festival downtown and she really got into the ballet and the hip hop.

Fiona looking pouty, which happens a lot these days, "life is hard"

Bubbles

Here is Fiona learning to blow her first bubbles with a friend of ours at her baby's first birthday party:

And success:

After celebrating her own birthday this week, fiona did well partying with others, she sang the birthday song appropriately and ate cake, and played with the birthday girls toys doing her best to share them.