Family fun in the sun

We just got from a wonderful week vacation with the extended family in Florida. We've been to the Alden Beach Resort at St. Pete Beach twice before with one side of the family. This time we went there with the other side of the family. Last Saturday, we arrived and met the grandparents at the Tampa airport. Late that night, Aunt Sonja and "the cousins" arrived. We had six days of fun and relaxation.

Poor Elaine wasn't used to walking in the outdoors without boots. She refused to walk on the sand, regardless of whether she wore sandals or went barefoot. I had to carry her on the beach and she would only sit down on a blanket. Once there, she loved spooning out sand and sorting sea shells for hours.

Meredith loved building castles, finding shells, and jumping in the ocean--especially with Zach. Meredith spent countless hours in the pool too. Both girls never wanted to leave the pool. Every time Elaine caught sight of the pool she desperately wanted to get in it.

We saw a dolphin. We saw pelicans and fishing hawks and storks and egrets and lizards--all within 100 yards of our room. The week also featured a trip to the zoo in Tampa and a eco-boat ride and an eco-safari adventure involving ziplines. Jen was interviewed by a local television station on the latter one. Meredith fed a giraffe at the zoo (it had a blue tongue!) and allowed a parrot to sit on her head for a bit.

While enjoying the sunset on the beach one evening, we turned around to see the space shuttle taking off on the other side of Florida. Meredith thought that was pretty cool.

The girls were excellent travelers and we dealt with minimal tantrums from kids and adults alike!

All an all, a great, relaxing time. Pictures to be posted soon.

More recent pictures

Valentine's fun

It's raining a cold, thin rain outside tonight. In Minnesota this is a joyous sign of spring! Here's some of the highlights of what we've been up to in recent weeks:

--Derek has planted his tomato and sunflower seeds in the basement under UV lights, hoping they will get a head start towards our too-short summer. There is a lot of dirt down there, nestled in old sour cream containers.

--We have enjoyed the karoake machine that I got for Christmas! Mer's standby is "Daydream Believer" by the Monkees.

--We had a 612-neighbors progressive Valentine's Day dinner, and the men cooked: Derek did a wonderful tomato-basil soup and assortment of gourmet cheeses; Tim made a mushroom risotto and sea bass with pine nuts and raisins; and Frank did cheesecake with choice of toppings (freshly reduced blueberry sauce, freshly reduced strawberry sauce, or chocolate sauce). We had five couples (Derek's folks and John and Ericka joined), and the six kids rampaged through each house in turn. It was really lovely! Some pics are below. The unofficial 612-neighbors motto: su casa mi casa.



--I am deep in my busy season at work (10-K and proxy season), but am really enjoying being a securities lawyer and the people I work with. And in these tough economic times, I am also glad to have a job. Hopefully that will continue.

--For Martin Luther King Day, Mer and I both had the day off, so we spent all day at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Mer is still fascinated by dinosaurs, but even more by the human body, and she has a quick and deliberative mind for the medical problems posed by one exhibit, in particular. She also enjoyed learning to weave, and after we got home she picked up a beginner sewing project and did a nice job.



--Elly's speech is really taking off, though she still says quite a lot that we don't quite understand. She enjoys pointing out dinosaurs, butterflies, stars and hearts whenever they are present (today's tour of an elementary school was an exciting one for Elly). She is also particular about her food and the arrangement of her blankets at night, which makes us very tired. But, she often says 'tank you!' in such a sweet little voice that it is worth it.

-JRR

milestones

January's starting off as a month of sickness for our family. Here's to hopes that we have all got our antibodies built up and can go another month or two before it makes the rounds again. But as Derek and I do dishes and blow our noses once again, our little girls are growing up. Here's what they are up to:

Meredith, at 5 years and 3 months, likes to:
--read her Easy Reader books to Derek and I, and "read" much more elaborate books to her sister after bedtime
--do art projects: making an intricate gingerbread house with Grandma was a favorite, as was the Bendaroos (sort of clay pipe cleaners) she received for Christmas
--sing enthusiastically into the mike of our new karoake machine, and make up words if necessary
--wake up very slowly in the mornings.

And she's working on:
--reading! It feels to me like she is on the cusp of being able to really read independently. It's very exciting.
--negotiating social situations with her friends. Cate, Mer and Junior together can explode without warning these days.
--independence. There has been a lot of talking back and demands made in recent weeks.

Elaine, at 21 1/2 months, likes to:
--keep track of all family members, and often asks where people are, including her grandparents (she calls both her grandpas "baba" right now, or even "bubba").
--play with the "big kids," even when they don't want to include her
--pet and follow the cat and dog, and laugh
--imitate her sister in every way she can
--play with her many toys that involve placing a ball in and then it does something interesting, and also sit and read books to herself.

And she's working on:
--eating. She's pretty picky, and just 19 lb still - a little peanut of a child.
--deciding whether tantrums or stubborness are more effective for getting her way
--jumping. She just bends and unbends her knees - no airtime yet.

We were born a travelin' clan

We've been moving around a lot the last month or so. After a weekend trip to Iowa in mid-November, we spent a week in Green Bay over Thanksgiving and a week in Springfield, Missouri and then Kansas City over Christmas. Before that, we celebrated an early Christmas in Minneapolis with Grandma Cathy, Grandpa Dave, and Uncle Jesse.

The girls are much better travelers, but it's still a hassle to move around so much. Thank goodness they are both pretty patient and well behaved in the car and the plane. No traveling disasters!

It's also been a snowy month. During periods of good health, we've gotten outside. Meredith has been in the joint backyard ice rink exactly once so far this season.

We haven't been writing much here, but at least we've taken some pictures. The highlights:

Saturday morning drama

I overheard Meredith and Jen from downstairs:

Meredith: ...REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY--
Jen: (calmly and matter-of-factly) That's enough reallys.
Meredith: ...REALLY WANT TO!!!

A few moments later when she comes downstairs I ask Jen what was the fuss about.

Jen: She didn't like the clothes I had set out for the concert and said that she wanted to wear her star outfit because, quote, it's the only outfit I love so much that I kiss it. See!

Christmas and other changes

Things have been busy here! We had a great week off in Green Bay for Thanksgiving. The girls spent two days with Grandma and Grandpa while Derek and I went up to Door County for some time together. We did childless things like staying up late watching Jon Stewart, eating in a bar where people were smoking on the other side of the room, and seeing the new James Bond movie (I thought it was awesome.) Door County must be much prettier in the summertime, though - it was very cold, grey, wet and empty. Elly has named Grandpa Dave "Baba," for some unknown reason (though it is also her word for banana - connection?). He is quite proud of this sobriquet!

Then, we prepared and had Thanksgiving with Derek's extended family, who were impressed by how much energy our girls have. They were running around the couch with a cousin, first chasing, then chasing by hopping like frogs (though Elly only waved her arms so she could move more quickly), etc. etc.

We got home late Saturday night and sprung into action unpacking, cleaning, and then refilling the house with Christmas stuff. There's a fresh white pine in the living room (sustainably grown), with the straw ornaments mostly on the lower branches, a lit garland on the banister, and Santas and carolers everywhere. Mer really enjoyed decorating with me.

In other news, Derek has secured a new job - the plan is that he'll work three days a week at an area theater as their finance guy. It sounds like a cool job. He hasn't started yet; we're working on finding daycare for Elly and getting ready for this adjustment.

And, I can't believe it's only three weeks to Christmas! I don't know how it sneaks up on me, what with the stores starting the Christmas displays on November 1, but it does. I don't feel ready at all.

-JRR

Elly combines words!

UPDATE: Pictures!

Big news - Elly's language developments took a big jump forward on Friday and this weekend! Previously she used lots of single words and a few signs, and would occasionally combine the sign for "more" with the word for the food she wanted. She also said a lot of things that we couldn't decipher.

But on Friday, she asked me for "more fish" [for goldfish crackers]! I was so excited that she did it about 15 more times. Since then, she's identified coffee as "Dada drink," asked repeatedly for "more juice," referred to our whole family as "Mama Dada Mdith" and my favorite, called Sadie's collar as "Sadie go walk?" She also slept much of the last part of the trip to my grandparents,' who I call Oma and Papa, and when we woke her at their house she asked me "Oma Papa?"I was so proud of her for listening and remembering where we were going! Mer was really excited, and that set the tone for Elly.

She had a lot to say this weekend - I think Oma and Aunt Jody were a bit taken aback. She has a lot of catching up to her big sister, though! More seriously, though, they were such sweet and friendly girls with Oma and Papa and Jody and Dan. They had a lot of energy, but also patience for all our grownup conversation and care for Oma's many breakable things. I'm so proud of both of them.

-JRR

Fall and Halloween

October was the month of sicknesses. We're all trying to get better. We did manage to have some fun. Halloween was a blast. The girls went trick or treating. Meredith enjoyed getting a big bag of candy booty. We've enjoyed the unseasonably warm weather outside. Elaine has been trying to stretch out the sandbox season for as long as possible. Elaine has also been getting the art bug. She loves to draw and color.

Some recent pictures!

Medical fun

Having two young kids means a lot of bugs get brought home and shared with the family. I've always been someone who has succumbed to colds and the like fairly easily. In the last couple of years I've been living a more healthy lifestyle, which has improved my disease resistance some, but not entirely. Recently, we've had a nasty bought with illnesses.

Last week, just in time for the visit from Grandma Cathy and Grandpa Dave, Elaine and I got nasty colds. I always seem to get sick around their visits. Some have suggested that it's psychological. I think it's simply a curse. Anyways, by early last week both Elaine and I were improving, but I had this nagging back pain. Elaine was generally irritable. By Friday we seemed well enough to be able to go on our planned weekend trip to Iowa.

Saturday morning I woke up in no condition to go anywhere. I had a fever and severe pain in the middle of my back. We consulted with the family doctor (Jen's dad), who made some predictions and advised a trip to urgent care. We were worried that one possibility was the virus that causes chicken pox, which Elaine hasn't yet been vaccinated against, so she came along on the urgent care visit too.

Turns out it wasn't that virus, but we also learned Elaine had a double ear infection. No wonder she hasn't been her normal, cheery self! After eliminated some possibilities, the doctor recommended I go to the ER, so that they could do further tests on me.

The pain was so great and in such a strange location that the ER doctor was worried enough to do lots of tests. The most likely possibility was a virus of some sort or another, but it was still troubling enough to do bloodwork, get chest x-rays, and call in the MRI guy from his nice fall weekend day to scan my midsection. It was the day of firsts for me. It was my first ER visit since I was 4 years old and had to get a tick pulled out of my head. It was my first chest x-ray. It was my first IV. And it was my first MRI. My fear of needles and enclosed spaces were both put to the tests. I was at the hospital from 10:30 to 5:30. The good news: they eliminated all worse-case scenario possibilities. It really looks like a nasty virus that will hopefully get taken care of in a few days. Also, I got some codeine to finally manage the pain. I am now somewhat functional and coherent--though still quite under the weather.

So, I'm thankful that even though I feel pretty terrible that there is not something seriously wrong with my body. When I get over this bug, I know I'll be even more appreciative of my good health.