Thursday, December 28, 2006

Christmas

Well, here it is.. the post-christmas downtime again. Two years ago we were still frantically getting ready for Teresa... This time around, waiting for Walnut, things are a little more relaxed, but still exciting. Teresa received a few things of note for christmas, besides a bunch more little people... A big magna-doodle: it has shapes which make it easier for her to fill the whole thing up with magna-black. A green chair with 'Teresa' on it. Raggedy Ann. A wagon. I definitely think it's time to put away some things (rotating her stock of puzzles, for instance) and putting away some of the 'walker' toys... Fortunately, the house doesn't seem all that much more crowded now, which is good. Hopefully I continue to feel that way.

Teresa is moving up to twos next week... she's been 'trying it out' the last two... She seems to be adjusting well: yesterday all of the kids were following her around crawling on the floor, according to her teachers. Recently she's also started figuring out how to open doorknobs. I guess it was more just getting tall enough that really figuring it out, though :) Fortunately, it means little in practice, since she still tends to come find us in the morning. She's also been reading her new Christmas books about being a big sister! I think she's looking forward to it (although I know she doesn't understand everything that it entails).

Anyway, off to pick her up at daycare!

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Counting.

A few weeks ago, Teresa started using 'one' and 'two'... 'One more book' etc. This quickly became 'one two three'. They say this at day care before they go outside, apparently. She quickly went from one to six (seven was hard), but if you gave her seven she'd get eight, and if you gave her nine, she'd get ten. Now she goes all the way to nine or ten without any help at all!

Thursday, October 19, 2006

 
Sometimes ya just gotta wear a raincoat.. Posted by Picasa

Sunday, October 15, 2006

 
We like pumpkins! Posted by Picasa
 
With Allison at Alden Lane Nursery. Posted by Picasa

Saturday, October 07, 2006

ChooChooTrain!

  Posted by Picasa
 

In a field of pumpkins, you can see forever. Posted by Picasa
This morning Teresa came to greet me while I was still cuddled in bed. I asked, "should we go to bagels this morning?" She responded, "bicycles! ride bike to bagels."

That's my girl! We've gone to bagels off and on this summer on weekend mornings, the highlight to Teresa is getting to ride in her bike trailer with her "bike helmet, mommy too, daddy helmet, Teresa wear helmet."

I love it that simply asking if we should have bagels for breakfast leads her to talking about bikes and helmets needed for bagels!! All those synapses are connecting.

Monday, October 02, 2006

 
First rain of the season.... And not really sure about the crinkling noise that
this raincoat makes! Posted by Picasa

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Saturday, September 09, 2006

 
Concentrating hard! Posted by Picasa
 
On the beach at gualala point. Posted by Picasa
 
Weee! Posted by Picasa
 

We're continually amazed by Teresa's physical abilities... Her latest trick: climbing like a six year old. I think it's only a matter of time before we are putting her on some rock climbs... (And Yes... she climbed it all by herself, and then went down the big kids slide.) Then on the way back we stopped at an elementary school and she climbed up a big jungle gym (again, all by herself). Posted by Picasa

Starfish!

 
I think it's time to go to the Monterey Aquarium again... Teresa was very happy to look into all the tide pools! Posted by Picasa

Daddy's Little Girl

  Posted by Picasa

Sea Ranch

 
Swinging at One-Eyed Jack's Posted by Picasa
 
PLEASE don't TAKE.... my SNUGGIES... AWAY! Posted by Picasa
 
Look at me! I'm with Daddee! Posted by Picasa
 
Teresa Reading with Grammary and Grandpa Pete Posted by Picasa
 

My well-hatted fashionista playing with her puzzle blocks! Posted by Picasa

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Mama to Teresa, "what does a heart say?"

Teresa to Mama, "ahlaaayou"
on the weekend at Sea Ranch Teresa showed Daddy what she had learned watcing mama....

I was in the hall bath having a wee soak.
Steve was cooking dinner.
All was quiet.

But wait! where's Teresa?
Steve went to find her... cleaning the toilet with the toilet brush in the master bath!

My little washerwoman.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Summer Salts

Last night we were all flat on our back in our bedroom, realxing and giggling. what else should a family do with the evening?

I've occasionally helped Teresa do a somersault over the past few months - much to her delight. Well, we started doing them again and then... she did it ALL BY HERSELF!! hands down, head down, tuck chin, tippy-toes .....and ... over!

Monday, August 14, 2006

Saturday it was all about the "P" sound. potty, pink,pig, pants, peepee, pooppoop, puzzle, purple.

Today it's all about the color "lylellow." lylellowcup, lylellow shirt, lylellow chick, lylellow books, lylellow blocks.

Saturday it was all about the "P" sound. potty, pink,pig, pants, peepee, pooppoop, puzzle, purple.

Today it's all about the color "lylellow." lylellowcup, lylellow shirt, lylellow chick, lylellow books, lylellow blocks.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

We brought home Teresa's first art projects from daycare. Fingerpainting and stamping. Her fingerpainting pages have pefect little circles drawn-- our architect?? -- no, no, the little miss would not deign to sully her fingers in that messy stuff so the circles of paint provided by her teacher remained perfect. The stamping is likewise devoid of Teresa's input. But we hear that on Tuesday they used paint brushes to do art, and word is Teresa really liked that.

Friday, August 04, 2006

Aunt eensy, cousin Allison and Daniel came over today and Teresa shared yet another exciting new word.

"mine"

Allison wanted Teresa's snack bowl full of Kashi, and Teresa said "Mine! Mine!"

Sunday, July 23, 2006

It's been hot... The hottest heat wave in 57 years they say. So we were out to dinner and groceries and ice cream tonight, waiting for the house to cool off.

Ice cream was Teresa's favorite part. We were sitting in the shop and she was eagerly eyeing Daddy's ice cream. She's been good about saying adn signing "more" and signing "please" when she wants something... tonight, with this incentive "pease" kept coming out of her mouth. Yes, icecream, the incentive to talk more :)

"moore peeease" has never sounded prettier.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Teresa had her 18 month appt today. Good thing it was just after she ate... she weighed in at 20 lbs, 1 ounce, measured 30.5 inches long, with a head at 14.5. Still itty bitty.

But as ever, doc isn't concerned. Teresa is doing well with all other milestones and is still "tracking" at itty bitty, not falling off to microscopic. So we keep feeding her and teaching her and life is great.

Meanwhile the other itty bitty has made his/her presence known with a few somersaults. Seems early, but clearly is there!

Friday, July 14, 2006

My Summer vacation

We headed East July 29 to celebrate Steve’s sister’s wedding and then take a week away to Dominica without Teresa. Thursday was purely a travel day though we spent the night at Steve’s Nana’s house rather than his mom’s – this gave us a chance to visit with Nana who is still recovering from bones broken in February. It was nice to visit with her – and our visit seemed to pick her spirits up with is needed for continued healing.

Friday I had an afternoon appt to get my nails done with the brides and maids of honor. That was fun – a Vietnamese run salon that churned though the ladies (and a few men, but not Steve, he opted for a beard trim at the barber’s shop next door). After nails we darted off to dinner at a Moroccan restaurant that provided belly-dancing entertainment while we ate our 7 course meal!! Teresa stayed home with Gramma.

Saturday was wedding day – we played around the house with Teresa, Gramma, and Gramp until Steve’s cousin Carol came over to watch Teresa. While Teresa was welcome at the wedding, we had decided that we’d enjoy the sailing wedding better without having to keep an eye on her. The wedding was wonderful, they had great winds for sailing – both brides got a turn at the helm. The sunset setting was beautiful, and they had arranged a lovely ceremony with just family and a few close friends; perfect. Sunday was a larger picnic celebration for more family and friends to celebrate the start of their new life as Mrs. and Mrs. Waters, a name change for both.

Monday we rose early and headed to the airport. Teresa rode along as we feared if we just left her in bed with quick kisses at 4:30AM (1:30 AM California time!) that she might not remember our leave-taking and really feel abandoned. She still felt abandoned, I think, at 6AM at the airport once she realized we were both kissing her goodbye and she was staying. I steeled my heart not wanting to prolong the goodbyes.

Our flights were uneventful, as travelers like! We arrived into Dominica at ~2PM with a death-defying landing barreling in over the rainforest and mountains with a last minute quick plunge down to the short runway. The pilots got applause, well deserved, it’s known as a fairly technical landing. Our baggage was hand carried to the “claim area’ – not baggage carousels here. A quick stop at customs and we were out the door.

A representative from Jungle Bay Resort met us immediately. He fetched the van and loaded us up, handed us fresh squeezed passion fruit juice and bottles of island water (nutritional ingredients include magnesium, calcium, potassium, sulfates, and nitrates). Our coast side trek south commenced with hairpin turns on 2-way roads that were in most places only 1.25 lanes wide. Horn honking must be written into the vehicular code.

Our eyes were wide-eyed with the new land we had arrived in. Bananas, guavas, mangos, avocados, falling from the trees. Pastel cinderblock houses next to timber and sheet metal “shacks.” Pedestrians everywhere. Burnt out cars and fancy-painted cars. Crashing Atlantic Ocean. Steep cliffs. Incredible. Our driver is US-college-trained in information systems but was not able to gain employment in the US. He grew up in a village of ~700, reasonably large for an island of only 69K residents. Of course we quickly came to see that a “village” was not really visible from the road – maybe a “Topup here” (cell phone minutes) store that also sold Coke products signified a sufficient quantity of people to support a store. Then blink, the town was passed.

After ~90 minutes of twisty driving, http://www.caribbeanvolcanoes.com/dominica/radarmap.htm, Jungle Bay provided a warm friendly greeting. We were shown to our cabin, 135 stair steps (some stairs, some tree roots, some rock steps) up the cliff side in the jungle above the Atlantic. Fortunately for us, the spa was up our cliff path so we could economize trips up/down throughout our stay with a stop of a massage. We had our first massage that afternoon. Then attended our cooking class where we met the head chef, a warm woman who took good care of us all week, JoAnne. She talked of the native plants and taught us to prepare Pumpkin Ginger soup and Coconut fried plantains. Yum. With that appetizer, we were ready for dinner.

All meals offered vegetarian, chicken, or fish. The menu changed daily. Fresh locally grown salad ingredients, root vegetable sides. Fresh squeezed fruit juices (pineapple, coconut, passion fruit, sorrel, tambrine, tamarind, mango). Local ginger wine and spiced rums.

Tuesday dawned bright and pretty over the Atlantic. We awoke to lizards and birds in our Cliffside cabin. Our activity for the day, after morning yoga (well I napped while Steve yoga-ed) and breakfast was to snorkel at Champagne Bay and enjoy the local sulphur hot springs.

Champagne Bay is a body of water over steam vents from the volcano that make the island – the rising bubbles resemble bubbly and create warmer patches of water. Coral doesn’t grow near the vents, but just a short distance away we spotted many varieties as well as incredible fish. Unfortunately we forgot our underwater camera this day. We returned to the beach and found our guide, Rafael (Thomas Francis?), “but call me ‘brodda’ because we’re all a family,” waiting with fresh cut pineapple, fresh mangoes, and bananas, as well as more of the island bottled water and fresh juice.

We shortly packed up and headed to the hot springs were we broke for lunch… with fresh squeezed fruit juices provided. I can get used to this!! The hot springs were sulphurus and delightful. Most took a shower under the tumbling water, there were also small pools for soaking.

Oh yes, we had been joined this day by 3 other couples who were also staying at Jungle Bay, they were about the same age and adventure level and we all fit in well together. After our soaks we headed up stream to see the source, or at least evidence of volcanic activity, steam vents. We were at this point introduced to a cashew nut – who knew the nut grows outside the fruit? Very interesting looking. The fruit is also edible, kind of a slightly sour apple taste. Back at the resort we had our massages and dinner and fell to sleep (after climbing our stairs).

Wednesday morning we went kayaking in Grande Bay, these were sit-on-top kayaks that gave us the initial adventure of dashing out a narrow opening into the incoming surf. Steve and I made it out fine, riding a couple good breaking waves, as did the next two couples. The 4th couple took three tries to get out, one try ending with them bashed against the rocks. Glad that wasn’t us! We returned to shore for more fresh fruit, juice and water and the returned to the resort for lunch.

The afternoon was the Victoria Falls hike that requires “three” river crossings. Three? Well I guess it depends on how you count – is rockhopping/walking up-river but remaining on the same side a “crossing?” Suffice to say, we had plenty of wet before reaching the pool at the base of the Falls. The hike was short ~45mins to reach the falls but with the river crossings and boulder scrambling, was a decent workout. The Falls were spectacular, pounding in to an emerald pool. We waded into the perfect water and battled the water thundering down to try to reach the base of the falls. Steve tried swimming and remained stationary. It was exhilarating.

Our trek back out returned us to the home of one of the guides. “Well we move house every 5 years or so, it’s easy when you build of wood [and sheetmetal]”. Moses gave us a tour of his family garden. His father had been a midwife and passed a lot of knowledge to his son; of course, most islanders know medicinal uses for the many plants that grow here in abundance. Later that evening, after our massages of course, he gave a presentation of many more plants and their uses. Don’t drink sage tea if you’re trying to nurse a baby, give your husband sage tea if you want to quiet his libido, drink bay leaf infusion if you are ready to give birth but no signs of contractions, but don’t drink early in pregnancy if you want to keep the baby! Rosemary infusion will help with your child’s memory, good for students!

Thursday was THE DAY that we all awaited… or dreaded… or just wondered what we were signing up for. A 6-8 hour ~20 mile hike to the Boiling Lake and back. Here is a good description, http://www.avirtualdominica.com/thelake.cfm. It was a hard, incredibly satisfying hike through, over, and to some gorgeous land. I took many breaks on the numerous upslopes, sustained at more than 45 degrees in many places, my heart rate just kept climbing beyond something manageable. For all the rests though, I only had minimal calf muscle soreness the following days, so my legs muscles were ready even if my heart muscle was found wanting!

Friday we had a more peaceful hike of about 45 mins to sea water lava pools – enough to get the muscles warm again but not so much as to fatigue anyone. There were local fishermen seeking a day’s catch – a few had commercial rods but most had cut poles from the forest and attached commercial or makeshift reels. They cast a net to catch minnows and then use them as bait in hopes of catching dinner. Friday afternoon we lolled at the resort pool and had our massages.

Saturday was another relatively quiet day. We headed into the capitol city, Roseau (ROSE-OH), to the market. We ate fish cakes and fat pudgy bananas, drank coconut milk cut open in front of us and sugar cane juice squeezed while we drooled. We headed into the mountains for a dip in another waterfall pool and then back to the city for lunch in town.

At this point Steve and I separated from our great hosts at Jungle Bay and started a 48-hour tour of the island on our own. Steve got to drive lefty-style, which he fortunately got the hang of quite quickly. We also learned to make the car skinny when wide loads barreled down at us from the other direction. We headed up the Caribbean coast to the city of Portsmouth where we had lodging reservations in Gore Verbinski’s cabin (The director of “Pirates of the Caribbean”, for those not in the know).

In general we found folks at the north end of the island to be less warm and friendly than those in the south (especially our wonderful hosts at Jungle Bay), but Portsmouth is also home to a US medical school so the locals are probably jaded by the influence of the medical students on their community. Despite that we had a lovely time exploring the Cabrits (1800’s fort), swimming and snorkeling in the Caribbean, trying out the 4-wheel drive capabilities of our rental (the Jeep is way better), seeking local dining options (had both our best and worst meals of the week in Portsmouth), and relaxing.

Not having our every minute planned as well as the end nearing made us more aware of Teresa’s absence in our lives. We both appreciated having a few snapshots left in the digital camera that we could browse on our trip!

Monday was departure day, so we headed around the top of the island to the Carib Indian Reservation to purchase some weavings from the artisans. We also got in one last, short, hike to the Emerald Pools. Then a return to the airport where we soon learned that most flights are overbooked so while we weren’t last in line… we might not have reason to even be in line! But the gods were smiling and we made it on the flight.

Throughout the island were many goats and cows staked at seemingly random locations left to eat their fill in the radius the stake allowed. The islanders are mostly vegetarian, with chicken (they roam free, how do you collect the eggs??) and fish being the common meats when eaten. Special occasions call for goat and beef consumption – most cows are fattened for Christmas, the island is ~65% Catholic.

Fruit falls off the tree and lays uneaten – of course a lot is also collected and eaten, sold, bartered. You can’t go hungry in Dominica, if you know what to look for. Lizards abound. Land crabs hide their stunning colors. Snakes slither quietly away. Birds call songs not heard before. Frogs chirp. Flowers bloom in abundance. Everything is green except the barren land/seascapes around volcanic vents. All plants have a purpose whether providing food, medicine, or tools.

The people are warm, welcoming, friendly. “OK, alright” is the greeting. Smiles are returned. There is joy. The homes are mostly “shacks” by our standards, but all that is needed is a roof from the rain – and the rains are warm so even they aren’t bothersome. A hammock or small bed, cook outside, wash in the stream. It’s a simple life maybe, but rich and warm for this country with a wealth of sustainable resources.

We had less than 24 hours in Maryland to repack and collect Teresa before we flew back to California. Since we arrived Monday night after she was asleep, she awoke a bit confused to find her parents back in her life. The confusion didn’t last too long and she was soon begging for stories to be read and asking for hugs. The flight home with Teresa found her clinging to me, not happy when I passed her to Steve so I could go potty – or just get a small break from the small sucker-fish she had become!

She started saying at least two new words in our absence – “no” and “down.” Prior to our trip she only signed these words. Gramma reported Teresa did really well without us – Teresa didn’t like meeting new people – probably uncertain that she’d lose Gramma in addition to Mama and Daddy, but in general she played well with Gramma, swimming, going to the zoo, visiting Great Grandmothers and Aunts, and napped quickly – much to Gramma’s pleasure!

She and we are now settling back into life at home.

Whoosh, does that fill in most of the story? Oh wait, yes, as predicted by a few friends, we did return from our trip pregnant! Good news, especially as when we left we were pregnant! Little “Walnut” stayed glued where s/he should through all our adventures and exotic foods. We expect Teresa’s sibling to arrive in late January, shortly after Teresa turns 2. Now aren’t you glad you stuck with me for the whole story? J

Thursday, July 13, 2006

 
Momma got a new keyboard.... And Teresa got a toy! Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

 
Now that the weather has gotten warmer, Teresa has been outside more... Often playing in Water! For a little while, she was content with a bucket, but it's gotten so that she can dump over the bucket too easily. Hence, recently we've moved to shorter, flatter containers that she can't flip over. Most of the time she insists on wearing her sweaters and jackets, regardless of how hot it is! Posted by Picasa

Saturday, May 06, 2006

 
Grandma came to visit... Teresa loves Grandma! Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

 
Teresa and Mom. At Sea Ranch, while Dad is off at a conference in Napa. Posted by Picasa

Thursday, April 13, 2006


Teresa likes her horse! Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Teresa has had a great day so far at 15 months of age. Shortly after she got up, her Aunt Andrea (A-day-day) came and joined her at breakfast!!! That was very weird, but soon was wonderful once Teresa realized Adayday spoke her language. They giggled up a storm and chased each other until the blue berry pancakes were ready to eat.

THEN Aunt Corita appeared!!

After a morning of play, Andrea and Corita left for Big Sur and Teresa took a well-earned nap!Teresa had her 15 month appt after awakening. She weighed in at 18 pounds 10 ozs, gaining over 2 pounds since her 1 year appt! Rumor has it she's back on the chart at the 3rd percentile! She measured 29-1/4" in length. Her head continues to track at 50% for age. Doc was pleased, no concerns, keep her happy. Two shots today. One more at 18 months andthen none until 5 years.

Monday, April 10, 2006


Today mom turned her back and found that Teresa has figured out how to get up on the piano bench by herself. Did she ask her to get down??? No... she grabbed the camera and called Dad! Note that this is suspiciously similar to Grandma's experience when Dad was about the same age... Posted by Picasa

Saturday, March 25, 2006

Teresa has decided she's a big girl... where being big mean using utensils and undressing herself. We hadn't been offering utensils, but recently handed her the sppon of yogurt/cereal at breakfast and she masterfully stuck it in her mouth and licked it clean! So at lunch I tried a fork with her meal and she again used it well. She seems to prefer her left hand for feeding, but that might be because I sit to her left and feed her more than Dad.



Her other great interest is undressing herself. I really don't know how much we should encourage this, but it is cute seeing her work her arms out of layers and try to find her knees and feet under pants.