Visit from Grandpa 1

This weekend, Grandpa joined Claire and me for a farewell to California visit. This Grandpa is not to be confused with Claire's other grandpa, Papa. On the fridge she has pictures of both grandpas, and likes to tell us, "I got two grandpas. One. Two." and show us the pictures.

In just two days, we had quite a few adventures. On Saturday, Claire and Grandpa watched while I successfully completed my "gold" belt test in Taekwondo. This will be my last test, given that we are moving to Houston and my belly is starting to protest. Thanks to Grandpa's visit, I didn't have to make babysitting arrangements for my test, the logistics of which had been bothering me, since Maria lives 20 minutes away from my "dojo" by car.

Next, we went to the Palo Alto Junior Museum, which is a (free) hodgepodge of games for kids and a small zoo. Claire holds her own against the onslaught of other kids. She'll let a kid know if they are invading her turf, e.g., "No Little Girl, that's my ball." We had milkshakes and burgers at In N' Out, napped, then went on further adventures to the bookstore and finally the playground. Claire was worn out at the end of the day! When Claire was asleep, I sprung a birthday pie on Grandpa, as well as his birthday gift of Malcolm Gladwell's newest book "Outlier," which he had been interested to read.

Sunday, while Grandpa was at church, Claire and I slept soundly. When we finally got up, we went to brunch at Hobee's restaurant in Palo Alto, which I like because they cater to little kids by bringing out a fruit plate with whipped cream as soon as you sit down, crayons, and a good kid's menu. We enjoyed our breakfast and then went to the Baylands for a hike. Baylands is a fun place to go because there is plenty of space to run around, a big field where people fly model airplanes, and a bird walk. Right now there is no water, but at other times of years there is a lot of water birds around.

We had a great time with Grandpa! Check out the picks, upper left, Grandpa Visit November 2008.

Trick or Treat - Halloween 2008

This year was the first year that Claire had a sense of what was going on with Halloween. Leading up to the day, she has been fascinated by the "feo" decorations on our street - these are scary ("ugly" in Spanish) Halloween decorations that some people put up on our street. She has insisted on going for walks to see the "feo decorations" and stood, fascinated before the display of skeletons, ghosts, and gravestones. One particular house had a small line strung from door to the sidewalk along which would travel a skull/ghost making spooky noises. After we would watch she would run back home calling for mommy or daddy to pretend that we were, "Coming to get you!"

The night itself, we described the protocol - you knock, say "trick or treat," then people put candy in your basket. She was pretty excited about dressing up a like a lamb/rabbit ("conejo" in Spanish). Our dry run of the "trick or treat" routine went well, but when it came to actually going to a door, she was left speechless. She was also ambivelant about trick or treaters coming to our door. Not exactly scared but definitely wanting to hold on to mommy or daddy for the duration.

She came back with a good (small) haul of candy, which we proceeded to eat for dessert. One new candy was the pixie stick. I showed her how you can make your finger wet and then stick it in the candy. She thought it was yucky but tried it a couple times to be sure. Mini M&Ms were the most favorite, but I have to say that this might have been a dead heat with the broccoli that we were giving her at the same time.

The next day, she was ready - she made us put on her costume to do it all over again! Check out the photos (Trick or Treat 2008, link above left).

Grandparents to the rescue

Oct 3- Oct 13. With Morgan on a 2 week trip to Houston & environs, and having also been gone for 10 days in September I was feeling a little overwhelmed at the prospect of managing on my own, especially with the pregnancy fatigue.

Enter, Mom aka Grandma. I am pretty certain I, and therefore Baby 2, would not have eaten any vegetables for the last 14 days if Grandma hadn't been cooking dinner for us every day. Also, lunch, and breakfast! We also had a lot of fun.

Claire spent every morning with Grandma while mommy went to work, and we also had some fun weekend adventures, like to the library, farmer's market. We also had dinner at Patty & Rob's house, where Claire was delighted by the two resident cats. She also was a big hit there. She was being an angel child, playing ball with 90+ year old Ora and basically being a charmer. When we left, Patty asked for a hug, and Claire gave it willingly, and added "and a kiss" and gave both hugs and kisses to Patty & Rob. It was too cute.

It was also great because Dad aka Grandpa was able to come up for both weekends from Redlands, an 8 hour drive. Claire noted that Grandpa's arms are "fuzzy," which I remember thinking when I was a kid too!

We also had a visit from Uncle Robert and Aunt Rachel, and we went to the massive playground at Coyote Point. Fun was had by all.

We also celebrated Mom's Birthday. Claire helped Grandma blow out the candles:

Check out the other photos from Grandma and Grandpa's visit, link above left as "Grandma and Grandpa's Visit."

We also took a fun trip to Half Moon Bay to visit the pumpkin farm and ride the train. Check out these picks in "Half Moon Bay - 2008" links above left.

When Grandma left, Claire came with us to the airport to drop her off. Now, when Claire sees a plane she waves and says "Grandma come back!"

North Coast Trip

September 27-28. Claire loves to go on adventures. When it is the weekend, she'll get very serious and come up to me and says, "Mommy, I want to go on a 'venture." An adventure is pretty much anything that is not the normal trips - library, grocery store, Maria's house, park. You can pose any kind of outing as an adventure and she will be excited about it.

In this case, we decided to go camping along the North Coast of California. We decided to stay in Hendy State Park in Boonville California, which is a nice campground with Redwoods. We stopped at a fruit stand along the way and bought these apples called "pink pearls" which were pink on the inside, and tart. They were just Claire's size and she liked them very much. She just ate them like an adult - I had to watch that she didn't eat right through the core.

We took a hike through the redwoods and stayed in the tent that night. The next day we set out for Fort Bragg. We stopped in Mendocino on the way, and went down to the beach from the Mendocino headlands. It was a beautiful day. The tide was low and we were able to see crabs, sea urchins, sea anenomes and starfish! One of the beaches had a lot of driftwood, which someone had crafted into teepees which Claire enjoyed exploring. There was also a fresh spring grotto, where water fell from the cliff. It was beautiful. Claire was not too enthused about the ocean but she liked everything else. There were also berries everywhere in Mendocino.

We made it to Fort Bragg, which is home of the "Skunk train" - a steam engine that travels from Fort Bragg to Winters, California. We missed the one departure for the day but that turned out to be okay because Claire is a little young for a 6 hour round trip train ride to be all that thrilling. Instead we had lunch at the North Coast Brewery Grill. For some reason it was just the most delicious food I'd had and it was very satisfying.

Next we went to another beach, just north of Fort Bragg. There were long boardwalks which Claire loved to run on. Running running running. There were tide pools but they were not as good as the ones at Mendocino.

After the beach we called it a day and headed on the long drive home! It was well worth the drive and we had a great time. Check out our photos (link top left, called "North Coast").

Claire's Second Birthday

September 5. Claire is 2 years old! The day started with balloons, including an Elmo balloon that when you tap it, sings happy birthday. And you can tap it and it will sing it again! And again! And again! Claire likes to hold the balloon and dance in front of the TV watching her reflection.

We had a birthday party at Sylvan Park with Claire & Maria's friends from the park. Claire plays there every day. Her closest friend is named Sophia, who will be 2 years old in November. Lorenzo is a big 2 1/2 year old boy who used to play in the park but now goes to pre-school so only comes on Fridays. Matthew is 3 years old, and his sister Samantha is 8. They go to school but play in the afternoons sometimes. Trent and Harlan are 20 month old twins. Claire seems to be a ringleader - she goes her own way and Lorenzo and Sophia tend to follow.

We had a pink cake with sprinkles (baked by Morgan, frosted by Kim), and three kinds of homemade salsa, fruit, juices, vitamin water and chips from Maria. Rounding out the party was Laura (Sophia's mom), Serena (Lorenzo's mom), Irma (Trent & Harlan's nanny), Marta (Matthew & Samantha's nanny).

We also brought the bubble making grill. This is essentially a fan, where you "grill" bubble making shapes by dipping it in the bubble soap and putting it on the grill of the fan, producing bubbles.

A good time was had by all - but it was a hot day and a lot of excitement. By the end of the party, Claire sat in a stroller (not hers) said, "I'm ready to go home." Clever girl!

See photos, above left.

The Family's First Backpacking Trip

25 miles, 3 days, 4500 feet in elevation
Start: Green Lakes, Hoover Wilderness
End: Glen Aulin, Tuolomne Meadows Yosemite

Theme Song (Kim): "Move Along Train, You've Got a Heavy Load" - Staple Singers
Theme Song (Claire): "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Song/ABC"- Claire
Theme Song (Morgan): Unknown

Though the terrain was not the most challenging, our packs were heavy and there was the added challenge of entertaining a two year old. My pack, was 40 pounds, carrying Claire (25 lbs), plus other gear. Morgan's pack was 65 pounds.

When she wasn't sleeping, or playing with the trinkets tied to the backpack, Claire liked to sing - Twinkle, twinkle little star, ABCs, and then words to the tune of twinkle, twinkle. "Raining raining raining" was one that I remember. She also would cry sometimes. Probably not more than in a usual day with mommy & daddy, but -- nearer. We set goals for ourselves, 60 minutes hiking, 10 minute breaks. Morgan would lie to us about how long it has been to reach other arbitrary stopping points that somehow lend more sense of accomplishment. In some ways, this was better as we did have to go a long way, and there was only one way to get there - walk.

We did not make things easier for ourselves by only going three miles the first day. This was somewhat based on the decision that I had made in my mind 1 1/2 miles into the hike that I would not go further than the planned first day. This thought was quite comforting to me as I struggled on through the first day. However, the lake we stayed at in the first night was beautiful. And the thought occurred to me that what else would we do with the time that I would feel was better spent than if not walking. I didn't believe that I couldn't physically do it - just that I didn't want the strain of caring for another person while purusing this pastime. But seeing the lake, seeing Claire so excited by the tent and the preparations. And so I started to get enthusiastic about the idea of doing the rest of the trip together as a family.

I thought of the family that we saw on a previous trip, with my brother, before Claire was born. This was a family of 5, girls age 9, 12, 15, doing a 200 mile, month long trip. The three of us were in awe of the "Iron Family" -- while we were congratulating ourselves on a hard day, there they would be going another couple miles. I realized that there's only one way to get to be an Iron Family -- and that's by backpacking.

So at the end of the day, or days (13 miles Day 2, 9 miles Day 3), I am very glad that we did this trip. There was much to like, and much to dislike, but there is no doubt that it was an accomplishment in the face of doubt, which feels like something.

Fun trip to Coyote Point

The weather was beautiful this weekend in the Northern part of the bay, so on Saturday we went to Coyote Point park and recreation area, which includes a nature museum as well as an animal shelter, beach, and huge playground. It is also on the bay, next to the San Francisco airport, so you get airplane flybys as an added benefit.

The Coyote Point Museum is quite fantastic. In addition to the exhibits that are apparent from our photos, there is also a bee exhibit, which has a pipe to the outside, and a real bee hive visible from both sides. Claire was quite fascinated by this.

We also did not have pictures from the animal shelter, but that was a fun way to look at cats, dogs, mice, rabbits, and guinea pigs.

On Sunday, we went for a 6-7 mile hike at Windy Hill Nature Preserve, at about 1700 ft of elevation gain. Morgan carried Claire in the backpack. This is more in the south part of the bay so it was quite warm. Claire walked some of the way herself. The summit included views of the bay, the foggy ocean, and a parade of motorcycles, bicycles, and a Corvette parade, driving through on the Skyline Blvd. Claire managed to fall asleep in the backpack, despite the sun and the swaying pack. At least she was wearing her hat and sunglasses. At the end of the hike, we stopped by a cool, shady creek and threw rocks into the water.

The last photo in the August photos is a movie of Claire wearing Bob's shoes from when Bob was a baby. Pretty cute! Enjoy.

Bike riding with Uncle Robert

Uncle Robert came for a visit on Saturday, where we went for a bike ride. Upon our return, Claire was eager to ride her bike, with a little help from Uncle Robert. See pictures, left.

July for Claire

July has been an exciting month for Claire. There are links to pictures of our adventures to the left side here and some descriptions of the highlights below!

Trip to Ohio Highlights:
Blueberries: Turns out the blueberry bushes were ripening. Claire picked berries with grandma. The next day, I went looking for the bushes with Claire but I didn't know exactly where they were. I was walking around and around the barn and then I noticed Claire was not following me. Here, she was standing right next to the bushes, waiting for me to catch on! We also had mulberries and wild cherries on the visit, with Morgan's help because they were high in the tree.

Swim lessons: Claire had daily lessons in swimming at the Steiner's recreation center, where I learned to swim. The outdoor pool had several slides and we had a sweet instructor, Clarissa, who Claire really liked. On the first day, we congregated on the stairs, then everyone moved into the pool. Everyone except Claire, that is! We slowly entered the water and after the first day we we made the transition from dry to wet more easily. Despite the hesitancy, Claire is a good kicker for her age, according to Clarissa.

Akron Zoo: I visited with my childhood friend and her daughter who is just a few months older than Claire. We made a trip to the Akron Zoo (see pics at link on the left "Akron Zoo").

The Barn and Backyard: Claire loved being in the yard. She enjoyed collecting grass clippings and making piles, going "round and round" the trees, and laying in the grass looking up at the sky. She was also very interested in the barn, and the tractors in it.

Sleeping In: By the miracle of grandparents, I slept in every morning!

Bunny Rabbit: Turns out the bunnies were out in full force. One rabbit took up habitation in the bushes right in front of the front door. Grandma and Claire enjoyed looking at the bunny quite a bit!

First homemade chocolate chip cookie

On Sunday, Claire ate her first homemade chocolate chip cookie - see link at left "first cookie." The first two pictures are before and after, then there is a video sequence of the cookie eating experience.

On Saturday, it was very hot in Mountain View, so after berry picking and brunch with the bookclub in the morning (100 degrees), we drove to San Francisco (70 degrees). It was a perfect day in the city and we had a lot of fun at the zoo, then at Fort Point underneath the Golden Gate bridge.

Next week we will go on our first backpacking trip in Yosemite. We think we will go to Cathedral Lake, which is not too far a hike and high enough that we hope the mosquitoes will not be too bad.

Claire in Colorado

We had a sad event to attend in Colorado - Parker's funeral. Despite the sadness, it was a chance to have the family together. Claire enjoyed seeing her grandparents -- Nana and Papa -- and her Aunt Linda, from whom she learned quite a few fun new phrases, like Uh-oh Spaghettio.

Check out Claire's pics from this trip in the May 2008 pics (link above left).

Spring

Spring has arrived in Mountain View. This is most evidenced by new activities for Claire, in that it became warm enough to don a swimsuit and play in the water.

Another fun game that Claire likes to play is hiding. She found a new hiding place -- the kitchen cabinet. Check out the video in the link above left - April 2008 - for some pictures!

Easter

Today we celebrated Easter with Claire. This entailed pretty much the same routine as any other weekend, with the exception of some dress up with an Easter dress and hat, and some easter toys. The regular routine was to walk to Mountain View for a cappuccino, hang out at the park, and make a visit to a zoo type thing. This week it was the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo, which is this pretty incredible (and free) museum that is basically a room of science-related toys where kids come in and basically go bananas, and then an outside portion that has a duck pond and some other animals. Claire seemed to really enjoy it.

Check out the new pics in the Easter link, above left. Really cute pictures this time, though I'm her mother so I could be biased.

Happy Hollow

Claire enjoys playing with Bob & Marie Clapp's daughters, Sammy & Sidney.
Please click through to the link at above left for Happy Hollow to see pictures.

You will also see a link for Easter. This is the first pic of many to come of Claire enjoying easter-related gifts. This one came from Bob & Pat, and it sings a chicken song. Unfortunatetly, the sound on the video didn't work right, but we heard Claire saying "duck, duck, more duck."

Daddy's birthday

Claire celebrated her dad's birthday March 7 with cake and a gigantic, donut shaped balloon. We had a cake lit with many candles which Morgan blew out. Claire looked at the candles with an expression of skepticism - she seemed to be saying "Are you guys sure that is such a good idea?"
See the pictures under March 2008 (link above left).

We had a good weekend with a hike to Borel Hill, a 15 mile bike ride and other general outdoor enjoyment with perfect weather.

TWO balls

Today Claire told us that she was carrying two balls. Not just a ball, or balls, but two balls.

This was while we were visiting Maria at her spacious, clean house in Santa Clara, playing in her gigantic playroom that was converted out of a garage. I think we are converts to Santa Clara. For the same rent, we could get two bathrooms, three real bathrooms and a backyard, so I'm told.

This weekend we also went on a hike in the redwood forest, Henry Coe state park. It was beautiful. See pictures in the March 2008 link to the above left.

Also, Claire had two surprises in the mail! Mrs. Pfahl sent a belated Christmas present - wedgits! And Grandma Lewis sent two shirts. See pictures to see how much she loves them.

¡Claire habla español!

Claire is developing so quickly. She can speak two words and knows her colors. She says sentences like, "green grass" and "daddy up."

She also knows Spanish. Important words like "outside" and "moon" and also "work," which is important in the context of where mommy is - "trabajo" or "ajo" in Claire speak. She probably knows more Spanish, but she speaks it with Maria, who she calls Mee Mee.

See the new pictures in the link February 2008 in the list to the left. There is also a fun picture of a visit from Rachel, Robert, my mom and dad. I think this was early January.