Camping on the Beach August 2013

I'm massively overdue on posting these photos, but here goes. We took our annual camping trip to the Olympic Peninsula beach in August. Our friends Jay and Jane and their older son Micah (who is five weeks older than Theo) joined us this year. (Their younger son, Jonah, who is nine weeks younger than Vivian, stayed at home with his grandmother.) We had a lovely time, and got especially lucky with the weather on Saturday. Sunday the weather followed the forecast, which was rain and more rain, and all we really did that day was pack up and out. We hike a little over a mile along the beach to reach a prime campsite, and we totally scored an awesome spot again this year (probably because of the crappy weather forecast). You can see the entire gallery here (and Michal's photos here although he posted his photos in earlier entry in a reasonable amount of time).

Waiting for the ferry downtown.

Theo and Daddy hiking in. Theo made the entire hike in on his own two feet, which was huge for us, if a bit slower than usual.

The group hiking in. Jane is carrying Micah and Vivian is on my back.

Theo and Micah "help" level the site for Jay and Jane's tent. We camp on sand, which is actually quite comfortable as long as you remove the rocks before setting up the tent, and make sure your head isn't sloping down.

Micah feeding Vivian.

Theo "helps" Daddy now that he's an expert on bulldozing, which is what we called leveling the tent sites.

Vivian had a shovel and an endless amount of sand so she was all set.

Roasting marshmallows over the campfire.

We lucked into a gorgeous sunset. My photos don't do it justice, but there were a ton of photographers out to capture it. Theo is back at the campsite in case you're wondering.

Theo's shadow on a tree at dusk.

More of the fantastic sunset scenery.

Morning mleko inside the tent where it was warm and dry.

Packing up for the hike out on a wet Sunday morning.

Sunday's scenery.

Back at the car snug and dry (and hungry).

A game of chase at the park in much sunnier Port Angeles on the lunch stop during the drive home.

August's Best Shots

I have about 225 photos not travel-related from August, but some of the best ones are videos. Since I'm too lazy to upload them to YouTube in addition to Smugmug, you should definitely go check them out in the August Gallery. They are all at the beginning. My favorite is probably the first one, where Theo reads his train book. The best part occurs in the background as Vivian tries to dress the dog.

I also love the video which goes with this photo, where Theo reads Mouse Paint to me, mostly because he does it in proper story time style with the book facing the audience and upside down to him.

On to the photos...

Vivian is obsessed with stamps. Here she is getting some from Ms. Carol after story time. She likes them on her hands, feet, and belly when possible. And she often picks up items at home and walks around giving everyone stamps (including their bellies) using Legos or anything else lying around that is square and roughly the right size.

The number 4 Blue Angel plane on display at the Need for Speed Festival at the beginning of the month. Theo liked a lot of things there, including the souvenirs for purchase, but this Blue Angel was by far his favorite. He chose one just like it and went up and held it near the real one and said "Look, Mama! Just like this one."

Enjoying the beach of Lake Washington at Madrona on one of those toasty summer days. Despite his swim outfit, Theo didn't care for the "waves" (lapping water from boats passing by) enough to actually get in. But they both had fun snacking and playing in the sand with buckets and shovels.

Vivian working on a masterpiece at home.

Enjoying music and one of the couch cushions.

Vivian in her life jacket at Debbie's lake house. It's still large enough that it rides up and bumps her chin, but she asked to put it on again. We had a great day at the lake, but sadly I got zero photos of the actual boat ride that necessitated the life jackets. I guess that's what happens when you have two kids two and under on a motorboat. Both of them enjoyed the ride, but only Vivian was interested in driving the boat. She drove twice. Theo refused and instead enjoyed the water (and the bouncing) from the back of the boat.

Vivian passed out hard after all the fun at the company picnic.

Theo rides a Farmall at the Sky Valley Tractor Show. You can see Michal's photos here.

Riding one of the fleet of mini-tractors at the show.

The infamous water balloon toss at the annual gathering of neighbors. You can see Theo midway down with our new neighbor Ms. Sarah and Michal waiting to catch the next toss. The lines get further apart until only one set of partners completes a toss back and forth. Theo loved the water balloons and went back for more until they ran out.

More water fun for the kids at the sprinkler at the neighborhood potluck.

Vivian happily reading books to herself at bedtime while Theo is in my lap. This. Is. Awesome!

Vivian loves to dress up. Until now it's been limited to her own clothes, but on this occasion she raided my closet for the first time for this shirt. For her, it's a very stylish dress. I think she wears it better than me.

Theo, at age 2, not only recognizes all his letters. But now he can write some as well. Here's the first one he's been able to do on his own, M.

A decent shot of Theo's curls, which I adore.

The wall of finishers in the summer reading program at the library. Theo's badge is two rows down from the 0 in 2013. Vivian mysteriously ended up two over from Theo's badge, rather than next to it. Theo hit 80 books this year. Vivian clocked in at more than 50. This view shows only a portion of the wall.

Vivian is giving her reflection kisses.

Feeding bunnies carrots at the kids' museum.

Reading Chalk with our neighbor Ms. Phyllis.

Playing peek-a-boo with a blanket.

Airplanes parked at all the gates at the airport Theo built on the coffee table.

Enjoying the treats Ms. Phyllis brought over.

Theo's dinosaur appeared one morning with chalk in a bag, just like in Chalk.

Vivian driving the garbage truck at another Touch A Truck event.

Theo has Meercat wrapped up in the train blanket, taking care of her.

Vivian, Theo, and our friend Aster in the control tower of the children's area at the Museum of Flight.

Theo and Aster piloting the helicopter at the museum.

Vivian samples some very local plums.

Feeding gathered apples and plums to the chickens.

Theo at Three

I'm posting a bit ahead of time for anyone who hasn't already completed their birthday shopping and wants some ideas. Here is Theo's "wishlist" on Amazon, which is really a list of things his parents think he will love.

Theo is still obsessed with planes. He likes to identify all the different types, such as passenger planes, fighter jets, biplanes, and the list goes on. Blue Angels are by far his favorite. We thought it might be any fighter jet. But the Blue Angels were sequestered for SeaFair this year. (He'd been asking about the Blue Angels at least once a week, sometimes every day, since their last show in August 2012. Sometime in April 2013 we realized they wouldn't be showing and I still feel bad about the nine months of telling him they would be back in August.) Instead, we saw the Patriots. Theo liked the Patriots just fine, but they were no Blue Angels. At the Museum of Flight festival, he loved the Blue Angel even more than the bouncy houses or any other airplane or activity on site. When I tried to buy him some Patriot paraphernalia (see above re: guilt about the Blue Angels no-show), all he wanted was another Blue Angel plane. We have two now, a big one and a little one. Both number 4, which is (probably not a coincidence) the same number as the one on display at the museum.

Besides planes, trains also have huge appeal. Theo plays with his wooden trains and tracks every single day. It is by far the most loved and played with toy in the house. Anything that's vaguely related to trains is a guaranteed hit.  He's not particular about brands, either, as he loves the generic ones just as much as Chugginton and Thomas and any other branded type.

He's also developed a very recent fascination with badgers, thanks to a new book that has a picture of a badger in it. He's very much into longer picture books now, rather than exclusively board books. That's been the case for quite a while, and Dr. Suess are some of his new favorites, along with the ever-popular Curious George. Theo loves books more than anything but planes and trains as far as I can tell, especially if he's getting some quality lap time while enjoying them.

He's very into both art and music. Our art supplies are fairly basic (markers, crayons, stickers), but he loves art projects at school like cutting and pasting and stringing and play doh. As for music, he still has very distinct preferences for type, and right now the most frequently requested songs are Wheels on the Bus (still), and Itsy Bitsy Spider. If I had to pick an artist, I'd go with Caspar Babypants but he's not super particular about performers as much as songs.

Theo is wearing a size 3T in everything, and could probably use some 4T pajamas in the near future. He loves "soft" (ie elastic waist) pants and bright colors and patterns best. He will pick his fleece pants over any others, and the red ones over the black ones. His next favorite pants are definitely the Zutano striped pants. His favorite shirts have planes or trains on them.

This is the first year that Theo is looking forward to his birthday. He knows it is in October and that October comes after September. I'm not sure what happens tomorrow when he discovers it is October, but I'm glad his birthday is earlier in the month rather than later.

We have a doctor's appointment later this month and I will update more about his eat, sleep, and play habits then, as well as his latest stats. He's definitely growing as most his 2T pants which fit a month or so ago now look like capris. It's just a matter of how much. In one of his classes, despite the fact that he's one of the youngest kids, he's definitely in the middle to the top of the pack in height. He's also one of the lightest weight kids there based on my informal survey snooping at other kids' stats on an art project earlier this month.

Aster's Third Birthday Party

This afternoon we attended Aster's third birthday party at Seattle Gymnastics. It was a blast -- both kids had so much fun they were laying down afterwards with exhaustion. Tons and tons of photos, because the padded surfaces everywhere allowed me to focus a little less attention on the mayhem. Also, I've been really bad about blogging in a timely fashion after events, so I'm going to try and put up less curated shorter bits, faster. Enjoy all the photos.

Vivian at 15 Months

I'm behind on posts. No big surprise there, but I'm finally getting around to Vivian's 15-month update. She's closer to 16 months, but that's a fine point. We took photos a day early this time around because of impending travel. Here's the collection from 15 months.

As you can see, she's getting around. A lot. Sitting still is pretty much a thing of the past, although that's been true for quite a while. Now she runs, and plays chase with Theo, Daddy, Mama, the dog, and pretty much anyone who will get her. Theo loves to "capture" her, which basically involves chasing her down and then wrapping his arms around here, usually inadvertently picking her up as well.

If you take a closer look at the photo, you can see Vivian wearing her penguin pajama pants. She brought those out and asked to put them on and I obliged. Vivian loves clothes. One day she wore three pairs of pants - the pair I dressed her in, followed by a second pair of leggings, then a pair of corduroy pants. She also loves shoes and hats. In addition to pants, those are the things stored within her reach, but if she had access to her entire wardrobe I'm sure she'd go through all of it. Unlike some stories I've heard, she doesn't change outfits multiple times a day. She's much more likely to continue building her fashion up as the day progresses, adding a hat (or two) here and there and shoes and whatnot. She is often frustrated by the fact that she can only wear one pair of shoes at a time. She tries to put a second pair on top of the pair on her feet and even with help she can't get into them. It's hard having so many choices and so little time before she grows out of things.

We didn't have a 15-month doctor's appointment to check her growth. She's not due back for a check up until 18 months, as she was fine at 12 months and apparently with second time parents they don't feel the need to see kids as often. She was 18 lbs at one year, and I sincerely doubt she's more than 20 now, if that. She's tall and skinny, which is not a surprise.

But she's still got a big appetite. Vivian likes to eat, and except Gouda cheese we haven't really found anything she doesn't like. The other day she took advantage of an open fridge to take out a bag of shredded cheese, and took it to her seat to load up and eat. I'm totally on board with that. She likes fruit and veggies, but doesn't get scrambled eggs as often in the morning. She loves carbs and dairy and most meat, and cheese quesadillas and deli meat feature prominently in her diet. Peanut butter and jelly is also popular, although macaroni and cheese is still the best bet. She loves macaroni and cheese. She also loves some of anything anybody else has on her plate, and insists on having some for herself at any given meal.

She's totally in the mimic stage, especially with Theo. If she sees him doing it, she's going to be trying it in a matter of minutes. She's much more of a climber, and adores going up and down (and up and down and up and down) any set of stairs. She can go up no problem but hasn't perfected the art of going down. Luckily for me (and for her I guess) she's very patient. If she detects any difference in the texture of the floor or ground she waits with her hand up for someone to come give her a hand down the step. Sometimes there isn't even a height difference, but I will not discourage this habit. She loves swinging and slides at the playground but gets a little miffed that she can't just climb back up the slide (part of that is lack of ability and part of that is our own house rule of only going down slides) and instead has to go all the way back up the steps to go again.

Vivian is still obsessed with balls. All balls. I haven't tried her on football viewing yet, but we will see if she's still fascinated with televised ball games as well. She signs for ball now, along with many other things. Milk is the most often used, followed probably by open. She can sign for book/reading, cheese, cracker, water (although in the past week she's added wa-wa to her spoken words as well), all done, changing, and more that don't come immediately to mind.

Vivian's still taking two naps, but the big news in the sleep department is that she has moved in with her brother. They both seem to love it, and spend lots of time (up to an hour before finally collapsing at naptime) entertaining each other by jumping and tossing animals and bed buddies back and forth. Theo has just discovered he can go from his crib to hers, and they both think it's the height of hilarity. I'm trying to eliminate that habit but I'm not sure it will take. I still need to relocate her clothes into their room but until I get more storage that's not a possibility.

Vivian's favorite book by far is a copy of Brown Bear in board book form on indefinite loan from the library. She's also a huge fan of Oink Moo Meow, and a similar book from Auntie Blah by the same company (whose name escapes me at the moment) called Baby Animals. She still loves the chunky touch and feel board books like Baby Touch and Feel Animals, and seems to like bears best of all, even more than dogs and cats. She could use a Mis of her own but sadly we did not score one at the fair this year. What's more, I didn't even see one that could be collected, as Mis was won by Theo last year at the same fair.

She can say Brown Bear (brah beh) as well as water (wa wa), Mama, Dada, Grandma, Grandda, Blah, and just about anything else she likes. Those are the most common words you hear around here but there is always some really fun babbling which I have yet to catch on video. She sat down just today beside Theo and I on the couch and read herself a book out loud while I read books to Theo.

She has recently perfected the art of getting in and out of the rocking chair on her own, which she generally does multiple times a day. When she can get near the train tracks, she likes to drive the trains around the track, and ditto with cars. She loves to read and can still spend 20 minutes or more with her favorite books, flipping through them quietly by herself, which is still a shock to me. She can compete with her brother in volume on screaming and she often gets upset because she's being mistreated (which is usually the case - she's just protesting having things yanked away or denied by her brother). She shakes her head no and yes and is in general very clear about what she wants, and very infrequently frustrated by her inability to communicate clearly. When she gets really mad, she carefully sits down on the floor, lays back very gently and slowly, and taps her heels on the floor in a "fit." The whole process takes longer to complete than she stays mad about whatever set her off, and I have a hard time not laughing out loud at her displays.

She's got just enough hair on her head to get bed head or hat hair but not enough to not be called bald. It's like token amounts of hair, and certainly not enough to stick a bow into. As a result it's still hard to tell what color it might be. Her eyes are undoubtedly darker than her brothers, almost brown I'd say, but it really depends on what she's wearing and what colors are around. (They look different in the green bathtub for example.) She seems to prefer bright colors and picks out the orange and pink and coral pants over the black and brown options. She loves the multi-color stripe Zutano hat the best at the moment, but it seems to change and she may be choosing to coordinate with her outfit on any given day.

Vivian is obsessed with riding things. She will throw a leg over anything that vaguely resembles a ride, be it someone's legs (either straight out on the floor or sitting on someone's ankles while they are in a chair or on a sofa), an actual toy meant for riding like bikes and trikes and our rocket ship, as well as things like curbs that are about six inches wide and high enough off the ground that her legs hang down on either side. She rides statues at the library and would probably ride the pets if she could get either one to let her on.

Overall Vivian's nothing but pure pleasure and fun and brightens everyone's day.