Well as I have left myself with four days to update at once, I think I'll work backwards (and drink a beer while I'm at it). I have just sat down after a lovely beach day at camp Manzanita which is the wonderful cabin we are staying in with John and Rosemary.
We familiarized ourselves with the town of Manzanita this morning with a beach stroll down to the main street and discovered there is a lot more going on here than any of us thought there would be. Great restaurants, a pub, quite a few shops and great grocery shopping. We have all become taken with this beautiful place without much effort. It is quiet, but not too quiet, stunningly beautiful and we are staying just a short walk from the beach in a homey and comfortable cottage.
Violet spent most of the day on the beach and can't wait to get back there tomorrow. She loves everything about this leg of our trip, her grandparents are here (she had been counting the days since we left Victoria), she is 'bunking' with them in the bunkhouse (6 luxury bunks stacked 3 high with private facilities, sitting area and flat screen) and we are at the beach - what more could a girl want?!
Greta has also discovered the joys of the beach and only took a few seconds to start throwing sand around and working it into every orifice of her body while also trying very hard to ensure that her mother is completely covered in sand from head to toe.
While I think of it (and since there is no dedicated and detailed blog to the life of Greta as there was for Violet - again little darling, it's not because we don't love and adore you, its just because there aren't enough hours in the day) I was reminded by Greta today that she really has great communication skills. She started saying uh-oh today - adorable with a high pitched 'uh'. She is quite a mimic and loves to try out sounds whereas Violet liked to absorb the information and wouldn't try it out until she had it pretty much mastered. She also says mama, daddy, doggy and lots of other 'sort of' words that we think mean things, like Violet and Greta. GG has been good at communicating from a young age, she stares intently at the object she wants while she is screaming for it etc. She is also keen on signing. So far she signs 'all done', 'more', 'dog' and waves hello and good bye. Her cute sound of the moment is barking like a dog which is sort of a muffled 'hm, hm, hm' in a deep voice - well done little lassie... oh and Greta now has 6 teeth. Three of them came in the last week - ouch for both babe and mom. She was pretty unhappy and uncomfortable last week so I am hoping she is done with the worst of it for a while.
Back to the trip. Yesterday turned out to be a great day even though we had to pack up our mountain of stuff, (Jon) trek it down three flights of stairs and find a way to fit it all into the car and hang out in Portland with our carload of stuff until Greta was ready for a a nap so we could travel the two hours to the coast in relative peace. We were ready to go early so we took a walk, hit up the pearl bakery for some indulgent pastries and coffees as well as some yummy sammies for a picnic lunch and took Violet and Greta to a playground for an hour. Check out and a picnic at a wonderful playgournd in washington park completed, we headed out into the beautiful scenery or Oregon toward the coast. When our wee girl woke up we decided to stop for a small meal just before Manzanita (as we had been led to believe there wasn't much here) and ended up having a really enjoyable lunch at a cute little cafe in wheeler even though they were officially closed. We were treated so warmly and loved everything we ate there.
We were thrilled to see John and Rosemary at camp Manzanita and had a wonderful evening hanging out at the beach and settling into our new home for a week.
Our last two days in Portland were a lot of fun. We took a short road trip to Multanomah Falls which is the second highest falls in the US and a wonder also because the area around the falls is so totally developed into a tourist friendly spot and has been for many decades. We were all amazed at the power and beauty of the falls and decided that we should climb to the top. We almost made it but the trail started getting a little too treacherous for the Gleed parents to feel comfortable with so we turned around. Violet, who was very keen to get to the top, was disappointed and confused about the change of plans. Eventually she chalked it up to a dead path (dead end) and then questioned - "but who killed the path?".
We also had one last day in downtown Portland. A disappointing shopping trip to Nordstrom Rack (Seattle is much better), a long walk while the kids slept through the trendy pearl district and a picnic at Jamison Square water park where Violet delighted in the beach like puddle that recirculated with waterfalls from a stone wall every few minutes and Greta refused to dip her feet but was calmed by being carried by a wading parent watching the Portland kids not play with her big sister... :)
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Travel Log June 1, 2011
My mom's bday today. Hoping she gets to celebrate it properly this weekend! Happy birthday mom.
What a very full day today.We are still in portland for a few more days and as the weather was in the miss category this morning, we opted for an indoor activity and took Violet and Greta to the Portland Children's museum. Wow, wow, wow. Violet could have spent 5 hours there easily. I would LOVE to have something like this in Victoria. It is basically a preschooler's dream.
There were role play areas including a veterinary clinic. a grocery store, diner, theater, construction zone and many more. There was a great curious george exhibit, a water room, a clay sculpting room - you get the idea. It was exhausting but awesome. Even Greta had fun in the 3 and under room which was laid back but full of interesting textures, colours and motion and in the many other baby friendly exhibits. To top it all off, the lunch we had was tasty, nutritious and affordable.
After a much needed but brief break at our condo, we headed out on foot once again exploring downtown. The rain finally broke so we stopped for some ice cream and decided to take the girls on one of the side by side tandem bikes with seats for the little ones. Violet (and Jon) have been dying to try one for several days now but the weather has not cooperated with us. We thought we were in with a chance today but about 5 minutes into the ride, the kids (who were not under a canvas awning like us) were getting soaked by a passing rain storm. Luckily there are about a dozen bridges along the Willimet River and we high-tailed it to the nearest one for cover. In the end, we managed only about 40 minutes of riding, including our 5 or so minutes under the bridge. We couldn't get very far due to river flooding obstructing our waterfront route and Greta decided it was a bit too weird to be riding in front of her parents. She ended up strapped (very clumsily) into the seat beside us so we just had to pack it in. Ah well, we tried it and got a little work out at the same time.
It would probably have been wise then to take the girls back to the condo for a nap but we didn't. Sometimes those decisions work for you and sometime against. Today, happily, we had a great time staying out instead. We packed Violet into the stroller for a 'snooze' as she calls it, Greta into the carrier for a snooze of her own and we walked north to a part of town we hadn't seen before. It didn't rain, we had a conversation and we ended up at a recommended italian restaurant, Serrato, which is fine dining but accommodates kids nicely. The food (and wine) was fabulous and we had a quiet and happy meal.
Today was special because there were no major meltdowns. That always makes for a good day. But we also got to see Violet enjoying herself to an extent I don't think I have seen for some time. She loved being at that museum so much and she had a wonderful time but what struck us was how seriously she took everything she did there. Her concentration was incredible and she was exhausted and happy at the end of our visit. It was also wonderful (if not a little sad) to see our little baby getting in there too. She played with the best of them at the museum, even getting her first smack on the head from another baby. We (that would be the vacationing adults) also find ourselves content, if exhausted at the end of this day. Time for another glass of wine.
What a very full day today.We are still in portland for a few more days and as the weather was in the miss category this morning, we opted for an indoor activity and took Violet and Greta to the Portland Children's museum. Wow, wow, wow. Violet could have spent 5 hours there easily. I would LOVE to have something like this in Victoria. It is basically a preschooler's dream.
There were role play areas including a veterinary clinic. a grocery store, diner, theater, construction zone and many more. There was a great curious george exhibit, a water room, a clay sculpting room - you get the idea. It was exhausting but awesome. Even Greta had fun in the 3 and under room which was laid back but full of interesting textures, colours and motion and in the many other baby friendly exhibits. To top it all off, the lunch we had was tasty, nutritious and affordable.
After a much needed but brief break at our condo, we headed out on foot once again exploring downtown. The rain finally broke so we stopped for some ice cream and decided to take the girls on one of the side by side tandem bikes with seats for the little ones. Violet (and Jon) have been dying to try one for several days now but the weather has not cooperated with us. We thought we were in with a chance today but about 5 minutes into the ride, the kids (who were not under a canvas awning like us) were getting soaked by a passing rain storm. Luckily there are about a dozen bridges along the Willimet River and we high-tailed it to the nearest one for cover. In the end, we managed only about 40 minutes of riding, including our 5 or so minutes under the bridge. We couldn't get very far due to river flooding obstructing our waterfront route and Greta decided it was a bit too weird to be riding in front of her parents. She ended up strapped (very clumsily) into the seat beside us so we just had to pack it in. Ah well, we tried it and got a little work out at the same time.
It would probably have been wise then to take the girls back to the condo for a nap but we didn't. Sometimes those decisions work for you and sometime against. Today, happily, we had a great time staying out instead. We packed Violet into the stroller for a 'snooze' as she calls it, Greta into the carrier for a snooze of her own and we walked north to a part of town we hadn't seen before. It didn't rain, we had a conversation and we ended up at a recommended italian restaurant, Serrato, which is fine dining but accommodates kids nicely. The food (and wine) was fabulous and we had a quiet and happy meal.
Today was special because there were no major meltdowns. That always makes for a good day. But we also got to see Violet enjoying herself to an extent I don't think I have seen for some time. She loved being at that museum so much and she had a wonderful time but what struck us was how seriously she took everything she did there. Her concentration was incredible and she was exhausted and happy at the end of our visit. It was also wonderful (if not a little sad) to see our little baby getting in there too. She played with the best of them at the museum, even getting her first smack on the head from another baby. We (that would be the vacationing adults) also find ourselves content, if exhausted at the end of this day. Time for another glass of wine.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Travel Log May 31, 2011
Has it already been three days in Portland? It's going by much too quickly and we feel like we still have so much to see.
We are staying in a lovely condo on the River. It has two bedrooms so we are very comfortable and we would be getting decent rest here, but our baby girl has been out of sorts due to some major teething and from bring out of her comfort zone (we think anyway). We are pretty worn out from her broken nights of sleep and the enormous amount of energy it takes to keep her happy during the day. She and I will have to forgo an afternoon of sightseeing tomorrow and have a snuggly nap together instead.
Portland is very cool. We are finally getting our bearings and confirmed what we MUST see. There are still a lot of things on our list.
We spent sunday wandering around the centre of the city. We took in the portland saturday market - ate some very indulgent crepes and breakfast burritos and bought some very portlandia skirts for Violet and I. We decided to take in the oregon zoo in the afternoon. It was just ok. There were a lot of cool exotic animals and it was well organized but it just didn't have a wow factor somehow. Perhaps it was the sleep deprivation. Greta slept through most of it though she was pretty impressed with the giraffes when she woke up - so was her big sister. Violet said that was the highlight though she was also very excited about the sickeningly pink elephant with the velcro hands that hug her neck and the grape flavoured cotton candy.
Speaking of cotton candy, Violet has enjoyed many many treats on this trip so far. I think she particularly liked the lunch of smarties on our first day (yes, almost an entire king size box eaten while Greta was recovering from car sickness, sigh, we should pay better attention) and the cherry flavoured jolley rancher slushie at the rose fair. This is a multi week fair that happens in portland each year including several parades and a rose princess. Unfortunately that part comes about a week after we leave. We did take in the memorial day festivities complete with all the expected and unexpected Americana including a parade, cannons, tanks and a flyover. We spent most of our energy (and money) in the fair grounds on rides and games. Violet and Jon rode the ferris wheel and I think they were both pretty excited. Crappy stuffed animals were won so Violet was a very happy girl.
As planned, we are walking a lot in portland. Yesterday we enjoyed about an hour and a half of quiet (ahh) while Violet snuggled into Greta's stroller for a nap and Greta napped happily in the carrier. We certainly weren't rejuvenated from walking our sleeping kids around for 90 minutes but we were relaxed and happy to have time to take in the sights and talk without interruption.
The weather has been hit and miss. As it was raining this morning we decided to do some shopping early in the day. Off to Target we went as we needed a few things we knew we would find there and by all reports, this is a MUST visit store in the US. We weren't really impressed. There were some deals to be had but you had to wade through a lot of crap to find them. We didn't stop there, we big boxed it over to Olive Garden and to Safeway as well.
This afternoon we were back on our feet and checking out the public transport of portland. Violet LOVED the street cars, the MAX light rail and the cable car to Oregon Health and Science University. On our way home we hung out in pioneer courthouse square to let the girls blow off some steam. Greta tried her luck at chasing pigeons and climbing the red brick stairs. Then on to FINALLY try some portland street food. A Taste of India was incredible as was the mexican shrimp platter we got for the girls. We had much more food than we could eat for $18. Oh yes, we will be back. Especially since Greta has lost her mind in the last 2 restaurants we visited - oh yes, we are THAT family.
We are staying in a lovely condo on the River. It has two bedrooms so we are very comfortable and we would be getting decent rest here, but our baby girl has been out of sorts due to some major teething and from bring out of her comfort zone (we think anyway). We are pretty worn out from her broken nights of sleep and the enormous amount of energy it takes to keep her happy during the day. She and I will have to forgo an afternoon of sightseeing tomorrow and have a snuggly nap together instead.
Portland is very cool. We are finally getting our bearings and confirmed what we MUST see. There are still a lot of things on our list.
We spent sunday wandering around the centre of the city. We took in the portland saturday market - ate some very indulgent crepes and breakfast burritos and bought some very portlandia skirts for Violet and I. We decided to take in the oregon zoo in the afternoon. It was just ok. There were a lot of cool exotic animals and it was well organized but it just didn't have a wow factor somehow. Perhaps it was the sleep deprivation. Greta slept through most of it though she was pretty impressed with the giraffes when she woke up - so was her big sister. Violet said that was the highlight though she was also very excited about the sickeningly pink elephant with the velcro hands that hug her neck and the grape flavoured cotton candy.
Speaking of cotton candy, Violet has enjoyed many many treats on this trip so far. I think she particularly liked the lunch of smarties on our first day (yes, almost an entire king size box eaten while Greta was recovering from car sickness, sigh, we should pay better attention) and the cherry flavoured jolley rancher slushie at the rose fair. This is a multi week fair that happens in portland each year including several parades and a rose princess. Unfortunately that part comes about a week after we leave. We did take in the memorial day festivities complete with all the expected and unexpected Americana including a parade, cannons, tanks and a flyover. We spent most of our energy (and money) in the fair grounds on rides and games. Violet and Jon rode the ferris wheel and I think they were both pretty excited. Crappy stuffed animals were won so Violet was a very happy girl.
As planned, we are walking a lot in portland. Yesterday we enjoyed about an hour and a half of quiet (ahh) while Violet snuggled into Greta's stroller for a nap and Greta napped happily in the carrier. We certainly weren't rejuvenated from walking our sleeping kids around for 90 minutes but we were relaxed and happy to have time to take in the sights and talk without interruption.
The weather has been hit and miss. As it was raining this morning we decided to do some shopping early in the day. Off to Target we went as we needed a few things we knew we would find there and by all reports, this is a MUST visit store in the US. We weren't really impressed. There were some deals to be had but you had to wade through a lot of crap to find them. We didn't stop there, we big boxed it over to Olive Garden and to Safeway as well.
This afternoon we were back on our feet and checking out the public transport of portland. Violet LOVED the street cars, the MAX light rail and the cable car to Oregon Health and Science University. On our way home we hung out in pioneer courthouse square to let the girls blow off some steam. Greta tried her luck at chasing pigeons and climbing the red brick stairs. Then on to FINALLY try some portland street food. A Taste of India was incredible as was the mexican shrimp platter we got for the girls. We had much more food than we could eat for $18. Oh yes, we will be back. Especially since Greta has lost her mind in the last 2 restaurants we visited - oh yes, we are THAT family.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Travel Log May 28, 2011
Today was relatively uneventful. We had about 5 hours of driving to do which really sucked for the girls. Luckily Violet has her video player and Greta slept quite a bit. Greta is calmed by my reaching back and holding her hand and singing the wheels on the bus. Jon isn't sure if the crying baby or my singing that particular song is worse.
We did see some beautiful scenery is southern washington and northern oregon. It was quite remarkable how quickly things changed when you crossed the state border. Very rural and blue collar in washington and then its suddenly very developed in oregon - that part of it anyway. We stopped in Aberdeen after a long stretch of driving and were struck by just how quiet the town was. We found a much needed bathroom at the mall and it was almost completely deserted, very strange thing.
We are really liking the recommendations from our lonely planet book. We stopped in Seaside to experience tacky tourist fare in a beautiful beach setting. We had a wonderful lunch at a cafe away from 'the prom' then dove into the stretch of candy shops, arcades and gift shops head first. We all enjoyed the break from the car and spent some time on the beach (which had swings!).
One final 1.5 hr drive from there and we were in portland. We arrived pretty late so we have yet to start discovering this city but from everything we have read it is going to be a lot of fun. Tomorrow the saturday (and sunday) market and a big walk around the city, hunting for good food and playgrounds.
We did see some beautiful scenery is southern washington and northern oregon. It was quite remarkable how quickly things changed when you crossed the state border. Very rural and blue collar in washington and then its suddenly very developed in oregon - that part of it anyway. We stopped in Aberdeen after a long stretch of driving and were struck by just how quiet the town was. We found a much needed bathroom at the mall and it was almost completely deserted, very strange thing.
We are really liking the recommendations from our lonely planet book. We stopped in Seaside to experience tacky tourist fare in a beautiful beach setting. We had a wonderful lunch at a cafe away from 'the prom' then dove into the stretch of candy shops, arcades and gift shops head first. We all enjoyed the break from the car and spent some time on the beach (which had swings!).
One final 1.5 hr drive from there and we were in portland. We arrived pretty late so we have yet to start discovering this city but from everything we have read it is going to be a lot of fun. Tomorrow the saturday (and sunday) market and a big walk around the city, hunting for good food and playgrounds.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Travel Log May 27, 2011
Well seeing as we can't seem to keep up with this blog, I thought I might as well use the tool to jot down some memories from our first vacation as a family of 4. I wasn't planning to to keep a travel log but so much happened today that I didn't want to forget so here we are. Let's see how committed I am by the end of the trip...
Today is my Dad's birthday. It's the third one since he passed away and its always a sad day. It was nice to have the distraction of our trip to Washington and Oregon to distract me. Since I'm on the topic of my dad, I also don't want to forget (in a way) how upset Violet was a couple of days ago. We were talking about how Missy used to beg at the table. Violet got so upset when she remembered that Nanny's dog had died and then she got really upset about missing her grampy. It's a strange thing, she was 2 when he died so she doesn't actually remember him but I think she knows so much about him that she understands that she is missing out by not having him in her life. She sobbed in a way I have never seen before, it was tragic and beautiful all at the same time.
But I digress, on to a lighter subject - travelling with two children.
Firstly, how is it possible to take SO DAMN LONG to pack for 4 people?! In the end it feels like we just have a bunch of random crap in some bags, what the hell were we trying to be so organized about. This thought occurred to me as I was shedding my puke covered clothes (after only 3 hours, a car ride, trip to the grocery store and lunch at The In Place in Forks Washington) and remembered that I only packed one pair of jeans because I am so super mommy efficient at packing now... Let's hope I realize just how much all the effort is worth later in the trip 'cause you and I both know that there is no likely scenario where Jon and I would NOT trying to be organized and strategic about our packing :) Sad, I know...
Secondly, now I have two crazy lunatics to travel with. That would be Jon and Violet. Jon has always been like a little kid when he travels. He is so excited, he can hardly sleep the night before (not such a problem these days with the sleep deprivation at the Gleed household) and he gets anxious and excited about every little detail to the point where you want to smack him over the head to make it stop. (he is going to effing kill me for writing that down :) but eventually he calms down and just focuses on squeezing every single morsel of enjoyment out of our vacations which is part of what always makes them so special. Now Violet has joined the madness and has shown us that she has a 'travel version' of herself. It never seems to stop moving, talking, asking questions or solidifying in her mind the events before her including what is she going to get and will there be treats. I have to say travelling with two people who love to experience new things so much is truly joyful. I sometimes share their enthusiasm and I sometimes such watch in wonder.
Greta is her own force to be reckoned with. At nine months, I'm not sure travel is her thing. She is trying very hard though. The highs of her day today included, unlimited people watching/flirting, lots of time with her big sister, slurping up an entire package of fruit puree and crawling all over a new floor in our cabinny kind of thing we are staying in. Her lows would be driving in the car (tomorrow being our longest driving day should be so so excellent), her sister being very annoyed at her dislike of being in the car, throwing up the pureed fruit as well as a nice big feed of breastmilk and falling face first off the couch in our cabinny kind of place.
As we took a ferry, crossed a border and settled into a place to stay today, a lot of the day was waiting and filling time, picking up stuff and eating but there were two moments that truly stand out. The first was after we quickly pulled off the road on the incredible national park drive in northern washington to clean and nurture our puking baby. Standing there with her naked and snuggled into my sweater, not knowing if she was truly sick or just had an upset tummy and really not knowing if there was a chance of ever getting her back in her carseat, I thought "so this is why people said we were brave for taking the kids on a road trip. perhaps we were not thinking clearly and we should just pack this shit up and go home"
The second was late in the day. The glorious sun had broken through an incredible rainstorm in one of the rainiest parts of North America. We were at the beach, soaking up the sun (no hats or sunscreen - how 1970s of us - but seriously, we weren't to know there would be sun with the weather we had when we left the car) with our shoes and socks off just enjoying a new place together. Violet was creating castles in the sand, Greta was eating it and Jon and I were just marveling at the ups and downs in the day we had just spent as a family.
Time for wine and some research on our next adventure...
Today is my Dad's birthday. It's the third one since he passed away and its always a sad day. It was nice to have the distraction of our trip to Washington and Oregon to distract me. Since I'm on the topic of my dad, I also don't want to forget (in a way) how upset Violet was a couple of days ago. We were talking about how Missy used to beg at the table. Violet got so upset when she remembered that Nanny's dog had died and then she got really upset about missing her grampy. It's a strange thing, she was 2 when he died so she doesn't actually remember him but I think she knows so much about him that she understands that she is missing out by not having him in her life. She sobbed in a way I have never seen before, it was tragic and beautiful all at the same time.
But I digress, on to a lighter subject - travelling with two children.
Firstly, how is it possible to take SO DAMN LONG to pack for 4 people?! In the end it feels like we just have a bunch of random crap in some bags, what the hell were we trying to be so organized about. This thought occurred to me as I was shedding my puke covered clothes (after only 3 hours, a car ride, trip to the grocery store and lunch at The In Place in Forks Washington) and remembered that I only packed one pair of jeans because I am so super mommy efficient at packing now... Let's hope I realize just how much all the effort is worth later in the trip 'cause you and I both know that there is no likely scenario where Jon and I would NOT trying to be organized and strategic about our packing :) Sad, I know...
Secondly, now I have two crazy lunatics to travel with. That would be Jon and Violet. Jon has always been like a little kid when he travels. He is so excited, he can hardly sleep the night before (not such a problem these days with the sleep deprivation at the Gleed household) and he gets anxious and excited about every little detail to the point where you want to smack him over the head to make it stop. (he is going to effing kill me for writing that down :) but eventually he calms down and just focuses on squeezing every single morsel of enjoyment out of our vacations which is part of what always makes them so special. Now Violet has joined the madness and has shown us that she has a 'travel version' of herself. It never seems to stop moving, talking, asking questions or solidifying in her mind the events before her including what is she going to get and will there be treats. I have to say travelling with two people who love to experience new things so much is truly joyful. I sometimes share their enthusiasm and I sometimes such watch in wonder.
Greta is her own force to be reckoned with. At nine months, I'm not sure travel is her thing. She is trying very hard though. The highs of her day today included, unlimited people watching/flirting, lots of time with her big sister, slurping up an entire package of fruit puree and crawling all over a new floor in our cabinny kind of thing we are staying in. Her lows would be driving in the car (tomorrow being our longest driving day should be so so excellent), her sister being very annoyed at her dislike of being in the car, throwing up the pureed fruit as well as a nice big feed of breastmilk and falling face first off the couch in our cabinny kind of place.
As we took a ferry, crossed a border and settled into a place to stay today, a lot of the day was waiting and filling time, picking up stuff and eating but there were two moments that truly stand out. The first was after we quickly pulled off the road on the incredible national park drive in northern washington to clean and nurture our puking baby. Standing there with her naked and snuggled into my sweater, not knowing if she was truly sick or just had an upset tummy and really not knowing if there was a chance of ever getting her back in her carseat, I thought "so this is why people said we were brave for taking the kids on a road trip. perhaps we were not thinking clearly and we should just pack this shit up and go home"
The second was late in the day. The glorious sun had broken through an incredible rainstorm in one of the rainiest parts of North America. We were at the beach, soaking up the sun (no hats or sunscreen - how 1970s of us - but seriously, we weren't to know there would be sun with the weather we had when we left the car) with our shoes and socks off just enjoying a new place together. Violet was creating castles in the sand, Greta was eating it and Jon and I were just marveling at the ups and downs in the day we had just spent as a family.
Time for wine and some research on our next adventure...
January Update (in May looks like it never got posted, I blame sleep deprivation...)
How is it possible that time is going this fast? Next week it will be 6 months since I started maternity leave. Our baby girl is now 5 months old and our big girl has turned 4 years old.
Life has been a lot more sleepless since November when I last posted an update. Greta suffered her third and worst cold which made her really congested, meaning she nursed all night to clear her nose. This unfortunately became a bad habit after a week or so of congestion and we have still not really recovered the 'good' nights of her first 3 months. These bad sleep habits ran into her turning 4 months, and gaining many new skills which always seems to disrupt sleep as well. Happily, things are looking up and most nights these days aren't quiet the non-stop feeding frenzy of the past 2 months. I no longer get to sleep in as GG has become an early riser but we are getting close to having her on a schedule so at least I know what to expect most days. I'm sure she will change everything as soon as we have that sorted out! :)
January pics...
Dec pics...
November pics...
Greta can laugh but she is very stingy with laughter. She only laughs at things one time, then she needs whatever it was she laughed at the be kicked up a notch in order to find it funny. Violet, of course, has the most success in getting a laugh from our baby. We usually have to be satisfied with her huge smile which will soon sport some teeth as her first one broke through yesterday, Jan 29th.
We have had a couple of great visits. Grandma and Grandpa were here in late November and Aunt Rachel visited in January for Violet's birthday. The girls loved having their family here and of course they were totally spoiled on both visits.
The holidays, which now seem incredibly long past, were wonderful. We made no major plans, other than to feast, open presents and relax (as much as possible). Christmas morning involved a marathon of present opening which Violet loved so much. This was the first christmas that she was actually vibrating with excitement.
Violet's birthday also seemed to be a massive undertaking but anything other than every day life is these days. We celebrated with a few friends and neighbours as well as Aunt Rachel with cupcakes on the actual day which was a tuesday. It is a wonderful thing to have a life to celebrate on the same date that you lost someone special. Two years has passed so quickly. On the weekend, we hosted a humdinger of a soiree at a local rec centre - enormous pirate ship bouncy castle, amazing face painting, balloon animals and kindergym toys for about 20 of Violet's pals. What wonderful chaos! Not sure we will have quite as large a party next year. It was great to have Rachel's help and to have her here to take on the decorating of the annual homemade birthday cake. I think she and Jon had fun making it a rainbow of colours. Every year we ask why are we doing this but homemade cake is so appreciated (by the parents anyway...) that it makes it seem worth it in the end.
Instead of a regular party we did our first twoonie party, asking people to bring 2 $2 coins instead of a present. Half the coins are for Violet to buy herself and gift and the other half goes to charity. As Violet still dosn't really get charity, we are trying to make it as real as possible so she understands the importance. We haven't got the details sorted out yet but we are hoping she can make a donation in person, perhaps to the spca or the children's hospital. We loved opening all the mostly homemade cards and she never got tired of the twoonies as the gift - we will definitely do that again :)
Part of the reason for the large party is that Violet invited all of her preschool class. She loves preschool and is really excited about learning to read and write. Over the next 2 weeks, we have to make valentines for each of 14 kids in her class so it will be a challenge to write all those names an her own. I hope she doesn't get frustrated with the whole thing. She is also really enjoying her ballet classes, each week between the sessions seems to pass too slowly for her.
Life has been a lot more sleepless since November when I last posted an update. Greta suffered her third and worst cold which made her really congested, meaning she nursed all night to clear her nose. This unfortunately became a bad habit after a week or so of congestion and we have still not really recovered the 'good' nights of her first 3 months. These bad sleep habits ran into her turning 4 months, and gaining many new skills which always seems to disrupt sleep as well. Happily, things are looking up and most nights these days aren't quiet the non-stop feeding frenzy of the past 2 months. I no longer get to sleep in as GG has become an early riser but we are getting close to having her on a schedule so at least I know what to expect most days. I'm sure she will change everything as soon as we have that sorted out! :)
Some of GG's (Gretsy and Greta bobo are also often used nicknames for our little gal) new skills include rolling from her back to front (just after Christmas), rolling repeatedly to get to a toy/object or just because she can (when she turned 5 months), sitting up - we aren't there yet but she has been pretty steady for about a month and is getting those core muscles organized more each day-, eating solids (we started cereal at 4 months and recently added squash, carrots and bananas) and of course just getting better at reaching, putting things in her mouth and becoming more interactive and aware of her surroundings.
Greta's favourite things are food (seriously, we feel terrible eating in front of her because she looks so interested in EVERYTHING we eat. we started giving her baby mum mums so she would have something to chew on while we eat :), the jolly jumper, playing with her family and of course VIOLET. Yesterday Greta made us all laugh when she started shrieking when Violet left the room and smiled happily as soon as she returned, we repeated this about 5 times until Greta started to figure out we were messing with her.
January pics...
Dec pics...
November pics...
Greta can laugh but she is very stingy with laughter. She only laughs at things one time, then she needs whatever it was she laughed at the be kicked up a notch in order to find it funny. Violet, of course, has the most success in getting a laugh from our baby. We usually have to be satisfied with her huge smile which will soon sport some teeth as her first one broke through yesterday, Jan 29th.
We have had a couple of great visits. Grandma and Grandpa were here in late November and Aunt Rachel visited in January for Violet's birthday. The girls loved having their family here and of course they were totally spoiled on both visits.
The holidays, which now seem incredibly long past, were wonderful. We made no major plans, other than to feast, open presents and relax (as much as possible). Christmas morning involved a marathon of present opening which Violet loved so much. This was the first christmas that she was actually vibrating with excitement.
Violet's birthday also seemed to be a massive undertaking but anything other than every day life is these days. We celebrated with a few friends and neighbours as well as Aunt Rachel with cupcakes on the actual day which was a tuesday. It is a wonderful thing to have a life to celebrate on the same date that you lost someone special. Two years has passed so quickly. On the weekend, we hosted a humdinger of a soiree at a local rec centre - enormous pirate ship bouncy castle, amazing face painting, balloon animals and kindergym toys for about 20 of Violet's pals. What wonderful chaos! Not sure we will have quite as large a party next year. It was great to have Rachel's help and to have her here to take on the decorating of the annual homemade birthday cake. I think she and Jon had fun making it a rainbow of colours. Every year we ask why are we doing this but homemade cake is so appreciated (by the parents anyway...) that it makes it seem worth it in the end.
Instead of a regular party we did our first twoonie party, asking people to bring 2 $2 coins instead of a present. Half the coins are for Violet to buy herself and gift and the other half goes to charity. As Violet still dosn't really get charity, we are trying to make it as real as possible so she understands the importance. We haven't got the details sorted out yet but we are hoping she can make a donation in person, perhaps to the spca or the children's hospital. We loved opening all the mostly homemade cards and she never got tired of the twoonies as the gift - we will definitely do that again :)
Part of the reason for the large party is that Violet invited all of her preschool class. She loves preschool and is really excited about learning to read and write. Over the next 2 weeks, we have to make valentines for each of 14 kids in her class so it will be a challenge to write all those names an her own. I hope she doesn't get frustrated with the whole thing. She is also really enjoying her ballet classes, each week between the sessions seems to pass too slowly for her.
And now its almost february. Spring is almost here in Victoria, the buds are on the trees and the first flowers are popping up through the soil. Time to spend a little more time outside again and we can't wait!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
