Summer Fun

Well, we survived the great heat wave of 2013 and enjoyed double-digit weather throughout the holiday weekend.

Mom says I don't have to wear clothes when it's hotter than 100 degrees.

Our 4th of July was absolutely classic, starting with a parade downtown, lunch in the park, a dip in the pool, burgers and 'dogs for dinner, and a big fireworks show at dark. We walked into the park quite a distance to get good seats in the grass, which ended up being TOO good. The fireworks were launched right over our heads and we could feel bits of ash landing on us and the booms echoing through our bodies. The little boys trembled and hung on to us the entire time...poor babies. I stayed positive the whole time and said how pretty they were, with lots of oohs and ahhs.

I think it worked, because when Felix saw fireworks on TV last night, he got all excited and leaned in and said "Ooooooh! Oooooooh!"

Watching the parade. His favorite group was the bagpipe marching band.

On Saturday night, we met up with fellow choice mom Claire and her girls for some amazing hot springs camping. I'll let her do all the work on that recap - hop over to her blog if you haven't seen it already!

In other news, we started a new bedtime routine that excludes bottles and includes brushing teeth and reading stories, and like every other routine change, Felix has done great with it. He actually lets me brush his teeth as long as he gets to brush mine. He has rediscovered books and I'll often find him sitting in his room quietly "reading" to himself, as he did briefly around 10 months.

His two new words are "shh" (fish) and "doo" (shoe). He uses them voluntarily and in context, so I'm sure he knows what he's talking about. It's so fun hearing him learn new words, and I can't wait to hear what his first version of "Felix" will be.

Baby Girl, Big Boy and Heat Wave

Say hi to my new niece, Vienne Victoria! She was born right on her due date and everything went great. Everyone was home a few hours later and we’ve loved watching her change as quickly as newborns do. My brother and sister-in-law chose to use a birthing center and it really sounds like the way to go. In addition to no awful hospital stay, the best part (that I can relate to) is all the after care providers coming to your house, so you’re not hauling a new baby around to follow-up visits the first couple of weeks of life.

Vv at a few hours old.

When we first went to visit the new baby, my brother said how funny it was that Felix went from being a baby to a little man - overnight. Vv weighs more than Felix did at birth, and is 3” longer than he was, but I honestly can’t remember him ever being that tiny.

Okay, I guess he was! 6 lbs, 9 oz, right before jaundice treatment.

Speaking of the big boy, he has 5 teeth now and enjoys crunching and tearing into his food. He’s solidly in the mimicking phase, and will follow me around the house sanding, nailing, vacuuming and sweeping, as I do in getting the house ready for sale. Last night he pulled my hat off the closet door, put it on backwards, and came crawling into the kitchen holding his cell phone. Such a simple little thing but it really cracked me up. He’s not walking yet, but can climb furniture, stairs and even slides. He also loves swimming, and will “dive” right in to any body of water. (Note to self: don’t slack on swimming lessons!)

He climbed up the down part of the slide in seconds.

Like everyone else in the West, we’re getting hit with record-breaking temps this week. Today broke records at 110 degrees, and we won’t be back into double-digits until Friday. I gave up on trying to keep our second floor comfortable and moved our beds downstairs last night – Felix in the hallway, and me on couch cushions on the floor. Despite the change of scenery, Felix slept great all night. The pets were a little confused - Jayda kept going upstairs to sleep on the bed, then coming back down panting and trying to lay on me.

Sleepy Felix immediately inspected my makeshift bed this morning.

We alternated swimming, fountain play and trips to the mall all weekend, and I rented a couple of movies to watch during Felix’s naps. Now I just have to get through 4 more days of it, then we’re headed into the mountains with a fellow SMC for a quick one-night camping trip. Ahh, I can already feel the 50-degree morning… 

It was 85 degrees when the market opened Saturday morning. Felix wasted no time getting to water.

Will We or Won't We?

For the past month or more, I've been on the fence about whether to sell my house and move into something bigger. The broker recommended I look at properties in my price range to make sure I like what's out there (she insists my place will sell fast), and I quickly discovered that it's like going to the dog shelter "just to look" at the puppies.

After seeing my options I decided this is the right time, and got to work decluttering my house to get it ready to list. Then we hit a snag when I applied for my pre-approval. My credit score is 3 points away from qualifying me for a conventional mortgage (much better rates than FHA) so the broker advised me to pay off a couple of things and try again in early October. Argh! The biggest issue appeared to be a parking ticket from CA nearly 7 years ago, which had been sent to collections.

It was hugely beneficial seeing how other homes on the market have been prepared for sale. It surprised me how many sellers haven't taken that extra day to remove wallpaper borders and fill nail holes. A tiny bit of extra effort removes the distracting "projects" the buyer would have to do, but so few people do it. (These are regular for-sale homes, not short sales or foreclosures.) And I'm pretty sure every home we saw had a distinctive smell - one like Vicks, one like eucalyptus leaves, most like some sort of scented candle. I feel like I'll have an advantage when I finally list my house.

Most of my larger items from my failed yard sale sold over the past week - I think people saw the expired Craigslist ad and got really excited when the stuff they wanted was still available. Most people who emailed showed up right away and didn't even try to talk me down on the price. I met one family with a little boy who could pass for Felix's brother...we got to talking, and it turns out they want to adopt their second child and had all kinds of questions for me.

Over the past two weekends I've also had the pleasure of attending a number of get-togethers not planned by me. It's been a lot of fun, especially seeing people interact with Felix. Everyone has been great about giving me a hand with Felix so I can enjoy myself.

Yesterday my coworker held a solstice BBQ at her home on a golf course, so the guys cut out early to go golfing and I decided to treat myself to a pedicure at the mall while Felix was still at daycare. It was awesome. I even got myself a pretzel and rode the escalator in those flimsy paper shoes they give you. It's been a long time since I rode an escalator!

Sunset at our summer solstice BBQ.

Impromptu diner breakfast Friday before work. Felix slooooowly brought the crayons to his mouth while pretending to eat them.

Felix and Hayden enjoying grandpa's new tire swing. I can't believe how much their little faces look alike here.

What. A. Weekend.

Felix and I woke up at 6 AM to have a yard sale on Saturday. I sold about $10 worth of stuff. Lots of people who wanted the larger items were no-shows. Not a total waste of time, though, as my house needed to be de-cluttered and the garage needed to be cleaned anyway.

So I closed up the garage around 9:30 AM, and packed the last few things we’d need for a night of camping with some friends. The campground is about 2 hours from town and doesn’t allow reservations, so it took an extra 45 minutes (and a really scary old logging road) to find them, but it was so worth it once we arrived.

View from our campsite at Horsethief.

They had borrowed an RV so I didn’t have to bother with a tent, and it was a nice luxury to have a bathroom, lights and heat. It was my first time trying to camp with two babies in the same space, and there was definitely some squawking and middle-of-the-night crying, but no big meltdowns, thankfully. Felix has outgrown the mini Pack N Play for sleeping, so I pulled him up on to my bed after much tossing and turning. He slept on top of the covers, face in the corner, butt up and in my face. I think we got about 6 hours of broken sleep.

Good morning!

It also turned out to be a milestone weekend, as Felix cut his third tooth and figured out how to blow (on hot food, for example.) He scrunches up his face and some air comes out his nose, too, but he has the right idea, and it’s SO cute.

During the day we took a few little hikes around the river, where we saw an osprey swoop down and grab a fish right out of the water. At night, we had wine and gourmet smores around the campfire. (Place your toasted marshmallow on top of a Le Petit Ecolier.)

Sunday morning, we weren’t in a hurry to get home since there were no evening obligations. Felix and I finally packed up and left the campsite around 2:00. I stopped in nearby Cascade for some coffee and Felix was already asleep, as scheduled. The plan was for him to nap all the way home, so I could enjoy a nice drive through winding mountain roads.

On our way out of Cascade, quite a few emergency vehicles passed us. About 17 miles later, all the highway traffic came to a complete stop. A park-your-car, read-a-book, get-out-and-stretch-your-legs stop. We waited for almost an hour, until Felix was awake and crying, and I had learned that a head-on collision was blocking both lanes a couple of miles ahead of us.

He didn't enjoy the highway stop.

With a really hungry kid, no baby snacks, a broken phone charger (service was spotty anyway) and a quarter tank of gas, I decided to turn around and go back. We got to a place called Cougar Mountain Lodge, an overpriced greasy spoon/convenience store type place with no shade other than the dusty front porch.

Lesson learned - pack healthy snacks, even on short trips!

By this time, the authorities had stopped letting people try to get through, so the lodge was overflowing with hot, tired campers (and dogs) who just wanted to get home. I agonized over going all the way back to Cascade to fill up my tank (and getting behind the 17 additional miles of traffic that had accumulated), or pressing my luck and trying to make it 30 miles to the next town when the roads opened. I decided to stay put, mostly to save Felix from even more hours in the car.

About 2 1/2 hours later, we saw the air ambulance fly out and a tow truck came by with the remains of the minivan involved in the accident. “Horrific” is the only word I can use to describe it. I was relieved to learn later that there was only one victim (the driver at fault) and not a family of 7 killed by a cattle truck as rumor had it. Funny how rumors spread, even in the middle of nowhere.

The roads eventually opened again and traffic started moving slowly but surely. We were very happy to get back home - it felt like we had been gone much longer than one night!

Now I Can Relax...

My sister-in-law's long-awaited baby shower was finally this weekend. She's due in just a couple/few weeks, so it sort of felt like we were waiting till the last minute when we set the date of June 1. But the weather was beautiful, we had lots of help and delicious home made goodies, the turnout was great and I got lots of compliments on my efforts.

One cupcake had a plastic baby in it, and the recipient is supposedly next to get pregnant.

Measuring yarn to see whose prediction of Jill's belly size was most accurate. She has only gained 22 lbs. and many people guessed 2x too big!

Grandpa babysat all three grandkids during the shower. When I went to pick up Felix more than 4 hours after I dropped him off, he greeted me, then went back into the yard to play some more. (And fell asleep within seconds of being buckled into his car seat.)

Water table fun!

Classic railing peek.

When we got home last night, I was tempted to sit on my butt for the rest of the weekend. The baby shower marked the end of my event-planning commitments for the foreseeable future, and it felt so good to sit down and not have to make any lists or bake anything.

That didn't last long, though. This morning was too beautiful to sit home, so Felix and I went for a long walk on the greenbelt. Then we dropped off a meal for a family with a new baby (organized through our babies & tots group), and I got to snuggle an adorable, tiny 3-week old baby who's not even 7 pounds yet.

After that, we dropped off some more baby gear for my sister-in-law and brother, and stopped by Pizzalchik for lunch (featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives). We were way overdue for lunch and I could feel my stomach rumbling, and for some reason the service took for-EV-er. But the patio was lovely and Felix was extremely patient, and everyone around us raved about his behavior and wondered if he was always that happy.

Mmm pizza.

Felix's cognitive abilities are developing so fast right now. He figured out how to drink out of a straw, and knows to hand me things when he's done with them (or needs a refill.) He interacts with his toys in very deliberate ways, like pressing a button till it plays a particular song (then looking at me to dance), and has picked up on toy features I hadn't noticed. He loves pointing out every "ca" in the neighborhood, and has a very quiet, thoughtful tone when telling me about them. Here's a little video of him saying "ca".

Anyway, just in case you thought I was actually going to relax, I've gotten more serious about selling my house (and letting go of the investment property dream). I looked up some home selling tips and "get rid of the clutter" is obviously #1. So I spent a good chunk of tonight going through closets and pantries and putting together boxes and bags full of stuff I don't need, plus a few other larger items I never use. Now I need to have a yard sale. And inevitably, having a cleaner, fresher house (I had all the windows open) makes it seem extra nice, so I'm okay if selling doesn't work out for this year. But this place was in such shambles, I had to do something about it. I'll probably meet with a lender this week just to crunch some numbers.

Camping!

A couple of months ago, I got the itch and decided to start planning our annual Memorial Day camping trip, which gets cancelled about half the time due to bad weather. I was excited when my sister-in-law and brother agreed to come along, even though she’s only a few weeks away from her due date.

So we booked a campsite and invited some people, and as people do, many couldn’t decide and/or changed their RSVPs at the last minute. My parents were a big “maybe” for one night, since my dad had spent the month in Africa and wasn’t due home until almost midnight on Saturday. And last I heard before we left town, his first flight was delayed and possibly going to throw his whole schedule.

Anyway, 6 of us (plus Felix) headed up on Saturday. The weather was decent and we had fun setting up our tents, gathering firewood and going for little hikes. I set up Felix’s mini Pack N Play and he was mostly happy to stay in there as needed. He could stand up and cruise around the edge to see the whole campsite, and didn’t mind eating snacks and looking at books either. We had hobo stews (Felix’s first) and just enjoyed a really nice night around the campfire.

End of a long camping weekend? Nope, we'd been at the site for about 20 minutes when I took this!

Big boy chair, table, bowl and his first hobo stew.

Felix and I have never coslept, nor has he slept on a mattress or with blankets, so the first night was a little rough. He woke up crying around 3, then again at 5, but we cobbled together enough sleep to survive Sunday. My favorite part of camping is the early mornings around a damp campfire. Getting the fire going, boiling water for my instant Starbucks, cooking cinnamon rolls on sticks, waiting for the sun to peek over the mountain and send everyone running to change into shorts.

Early morning hike for firewood.

It started to rain Sunday afternoon, so we packed up our chairs and food and retreated to our tents for a nap. Felix and I slept hard, and I had a sneaking suspicion the sun had come out, but was so tired, I didn’t lift the blanket off my face. Then around 2:30, my brother woke me up, “Mom and dad just pulled in!” I could hardly believe that after all that traveling (including a 17-hour flight from Johannesburg to London), my dad was up to pack the camper and come join us. 

 

Wearing grandpa's hat.

The skies were clear and sunny by then, and my mom insisted on changing campsites from what they had reserved. We didn’t think much about it because she always wants to change campsites, but it all made sense when my other brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew pulled up a few minutes later! We went from a chill group of 6 to a noisy clan of 13 spanning two campsites in less than an hour. Then the rain started again, and we all piled into my parents’ pop-up camper for drinks and games.

Come on in!

Dinner on night two. Jayda's on crumb watch, as usual.

The boys.

It sprinkled off and on that night, but Monday was clear. Felix and I got home around 1:30 in the afternoon, totally exhausted and filthy from head to toe. I can’t wait to do it again!

First Birthday Party in Photos

Cute monster cupcakes ready to party!

Kids from 15 months - 15 years were good sports about the games and silly hats!

 

 

Trying to get him to clap for the What Can Baby Do? game.

It takes a village...

Hmm...not bad, not bad.

Sharing with grandma.

Reading a book while sporting a chocolate goatee.

My brother surprised me with a video documenting Felix's first year, set to the most perfect song. Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odua3bOPU7E