Lake Tahoe

This past weekend we went to Lake Tahoe for the first time. It is a 3.5 hour drive away, and a very popular weekend destination for people in San Francisco and the East Bay. Fall is considered off-season since it's too cold for the beach and lake activities, and there is no snow for skiing on the many hills. It was lovely to see some fall colours, smell the crisp air, and get an idea of what it is like before the snow and crowds arrive. We rented a little cabin-esque condo that was the perfect size for us, and looked out at a redwood forest.

We went for a walk behind the condo on Saturday afternoon and the kids had a great time with all the pine cones, sticks, leaves, and rocks.

I tried to get a decent timer shot, but they all turned out a bit blurry.

Daddy was woken from a snooze on the couch by this squishy little cheek smothering him with love!

On Sunday, we drove from the north end, where we were staying in a little village called Truckee, down the eastern edge of the lake (which is actually across the state line, in Nevada). At the southern end of the lake, we found a beach where we had lunch and the kids played in the frigid water for a while before we began the long drive back.

It would be fun to go back at least once in the winter - this is probably the closest we will live to snow for the next few years! Steve and I would love to use our x-country skis again, and it would be fun to introduce the kids to playing in the snow.

Big Sister, Little Brother

A few weeks ago we went for a little hike in Tennessee Valley, which brings you out onto a beautiful beach with big cliffs and interesting rock formations all around. It was really cute to watch M and R on this stretch of the hike (when they were both actually walking forward)...

M definitely loves to be a leader, and for now, Ross is happy to follow.

She also loves to mother him at times, and I often hear her telling him things I have told her.

He can only tolerate so much mothering from his big sis though, and then he starts to push her away...

Ross loved running with the waves, poking jellyfish with sticks, and digging in the sand.

Ross is still very attached to me; he doesn't like to see me leave, and often only wants me when he's just woken up.

 Madeleine, on the other hand, is becoming quite independent.

 She loves her new lego set.

But most of all, she loves her Daddy, and the time she gets to spend with him in the garage. She sits on the workbench and they do little projects together. This past weekend, they were learning about batteries and he showed her how to use a multimeter. Steve also set up a string of coloured lamps that she could turn on one-by-one by touching a wire to them. She loved it, and immediately made up a story about which one was the mommy light, the daddy light, the big sister light, and the baby brother light.

Alberta and B.C.

The kids and I just returned from another two weeks away. This time, we spent four days in Calgary with my two wonderful friends Ashley and Natalie, and their kiddos (we each have two now), and then the rest of the time with my parents in Abbotsford.  Ashley, Natalie and I studied nursing together and then all had our first babies within months of each other. We hadn't met up in over two years, and since Ashley is in the process of moving from Vancouver to Philadelphia, we figured this might be one of our few chances to all be relatively close. It was so nice to have that time together - even if six kids ranging from 9 weeks to 3.5 years did make it chaotic at times - it was fun to see the kids play together, and to have the evenings to just sit and chat (plus or minus a baby or two).

In Abbotsford, the kids felt completely at home and loved playing with all our childhood toys. I got to spend two days in Bellingham visiting with my Grandpa, who is 92 and still living on his own in an assisted living apartment. Here is Madeleine playing dress-up with some of our old handmade costumes.

We also enjoyed genuine autumn weather, and got to wear sweaters (matching ones that were knit for my sister and me as kids), enjoy fires in the fireplace, visit a local apple orchard, and even splash in rain puddles. The kids hadn't seen a rain puddle since we left New Zealand - it was definitely a highlight!

Here is Ross eating one of the little apples from the orchard...

Every day, Grandpa would go outside for a few hours to work on the fence that he and a neighbour are building together. The kids often sat on the front steps to watch, anxiously waiting for him to finish so he could come home and play.

I don't think my Mom's living room usually looks like this...

My mom, Madeleine and I went out for lunch one day during Ross' nap time.

We are home now, and happy to be back with Steve/Daddy. Unfortunately, we arrived just in time for a major heat wave, and I am desperately missing the autumn weather and rain puddles. My friends here assure me that "normally" it does get cool and rain in the winters. 

Ontario

We recently spent a week at Steve's family's cottage in Port Elgin, on the shores of Lake Huron. We had a wonderful time and the kids loved spending time at the beach. 

Grammy Inez relaxing on the beach.

Ross insists on keeping his baby close to his side, and going shirtless makes for easier feeds when his baby needs to eat (from his bellybutton, of course).

Steve got an old model train of his dad's working again, and all the kids loved watching it go, and loading it up with cargo.

Grandpa Don doing a puzzle with the kids outside.

At the beach...

Ahhh, cottage life - reading while the cousins play happily in the sand.

Cottage transportation...

Ross found this little airplane at the local flea market and loved playing with it.

Everyone went for a ride on the little Port Elgin Steam Train.

The kids making tunnels for the model train in the kitchen one morning.

An early celebration of Caleb and Steve's birthdays!

After the week at the cottage, Steve flew back to California for work, and the kids and I spent another week in Ontario with my friend Henrietta and her three girls, and my sister. Ross became completely enamored with Emma, who is Henrietta's oldest. She was so fun, gentle, and attentive with Ross, and his face lit up when she walked in the room.

We met up with Helen and Liz in Toronto one morning. We tried to get all 9 kids in a picture together, but mine were especially uncooperative!

We got to see Aunty Kristin three weekends in a row, which was really fun! On our last weekend together, Madeleine asked to make a blueberry cake with Kristin.

Upon our return home, we got to celebrate Steve's actual birthday! The kids and I were so happy to be back, and Madeleine especially could not get enough of her Daddy all week. Tomorrow we are off again, this time to Abbotsford and Calgary to see my family, and some of my nursing classmates.

Camera's Fixed!

Steve fixed our camera, and I found a few cute ones here to post of Ross. We are heading off on Friday to Ontario, for a week at the Gibson's Cottage in Port Elgin. The kids and I will fly back a week later than Steve, so I'll also fit in some visiting with my sister, and friends from university.

Ross has an incredibly long attention span for a 19 month old, and will often sit and look at books for a long time, either by himself or with us. One of his absolute favourite books is our Lonely Planet California Guide book. For some reason, he just loves flipping through the pages and stares and stares at pictures and maps alike.

Both kids have had a lot of fun with this box we got with a new car seat, but it's not quite big enough for both of them, which of course led to some tears.

And here is Steve's pride and joy these days... the garage! He spends a bit of time most evenings in the garage, and has put a lot of work into getting it set up and refurbishing an old table saw and drill press. The kids also love being out there with him, whether using tools, putting dolls in buggies, or spreading sawdust all over the floor.

Merry Go Rounds

Madeleine really loves Merry Go Rounds right now, mostly thanks to a CD we listen to in the car that features a song about one. So when I heard about an old restored carousel in San Francisco that was having a free-ride day, I immediately thought of M. She couldn't get enough, and must have ridden it at least six times in a row. 

She loves singing and sometimes makes up songs, and other times rotates between her current favourites: Eensy Weeny Spider, ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle, and Mary Had A Little Lamb. Sometimes the Wheels on the Bus makes it in there too. She is also really into talking about all the things she will do "when she grows bigger"... anything she is either not allowed to do now (like use a sharp knife or touch a pan on the stove) she says "I can do that when I grow bigger".  It also comes up when she sees exciting things like a crane, digger, airplane, car... all of which she is planning on driving when she grows bigger. In the nearer future, she is excited about going to school when she is five, and often packs up her backpack with things to bring to school. She doesn't have a nap anymore, and is usually asleep around 8pm, but she does not like going to lie in her bed if Ross is still awake. He often lies in his crib talking to himself for a long time, and she will say "I don't want Ross to talk to me!" which of course, makes him talk more. Oh, I can so clearly remember intentionally doing the exact opposite of what my big sister wanted of me.

Ross rode the Merry Go Round as well, but he was less enthusiastic and had had enough after two rides. 

There is a pretty severe drought in California right now, but that was not the reason for Ross' sink bath. We sometimes do a "foot bath" as an alternative to a big tub bath, but Ross was not content with just his feet in the sink. He has started using some new sounds and is getting closer to having real words. He says "uh oh" and "all done" and "mama/dada" somewhat consistently. One of the bonuses of him wanting to do everything Madeleine does, is that he's shown some interest in using the potty lately, so every now and then if I set him on it, he'll actually go. Most of the time he just likes to pretend he's gone so he can flush and move the lid up and down a hundred times. He takes one nap midday, anywhere from 1.5-2.5 hours, and is in his crib pretty consistently from 7pm - 6:30am. He is still nursing too, but usually only once when he wakes up from his nap.

Our camera has been broken for the last couple of months, so our pictures have been lacking, and while we wait for the replacement part we've been using our old point and shoot. And also, it feels like the everyday events of life here are much less blog-worthy than they were in NZ!

It is certainly wonderful to have Steve be finished the PhD and not have to bring any work home with him. Madeleine always looks forward to the weekends when Daddy doesn't have to go to work. He loves having all his tools set up in the garage and the kids love helping him out there. We've even started a weekly cleaning night where we each pitch in - something that I could never expect while the thesis was hanging over us.

My day-to-day with the kids consists of visits to parks, gardens, grocery stores, and occasionally something more like the steam train, merry-go-round, or a beach. They're still young enough that we can also pretty easily fill a day at home with books, blocks, trains, monster-chasing, and skyping.