On to Christmas

This time of year I can not post for a few weeks and it seems like so much as happened.  Last time I posted was Halloween.  Thats like two holidays ago already.

Milena has started in on the pretend play.  She likes to feed her animals.  It was like she realized one day that you could pretend to feed the stuffed animals, that pretending was a thing.  A lightbulb went off, and she pretends all the time now.  Its really fun.

  

And she discovered painting on herself is also a thing you can do. There are many discoveries to make at this age.  

Claire got a fish, which she named Gordon.  He's a lovely, even-tempered beta fish.  She likes to feed him a lot.

Went to Green Bay.  Claire likes to hold Mason.  Mason still likes to sleep.  

The first snowfall happened between the last post and this one.  Milena was pretty excited about it, until I got her all dressed to go out and play in it.  Most of her winter gear is too big, and that kind of keeps her from moving around much.  But the major problem was that she didn't have boots that fit.  I figured a pair of Claire's old ones would be fine until we got around to getting her some that fit, but not two steps out the door and she crashed forehead first into the garage floor.  So the first experience was kind of a bust, but she has new boots now so next time will be better.  

I remember Claire at this age, figuring out what snow was.  Its kind of fun that next year Milena will probably see snow again for the first time.  

Halloween and Whatnot.

Claire decided a year ago she wanted to be a paintbrush for Halloween.  We were making her costume, a doorbell, when she stopped, looked at her brush and said, "Next year, I want to be a paintbrush". And it stuck.  So I bought a bunch of black felt and nylon tule and shredded it to make a skirt which in my head looked a lot more paintbrush-like.  I think the problem was trying to make her upper body look like a handle.  It just didn't, no matter what we tried.  But she had fun and thats what counts.  I think one year, when she was two or three and brand new to the whole trick-or-treating idea, she was a princess because she had a dress.  The following year she was Diego, and that was the end of the recognizable costumes.  She was a red blood cell.  Then last year she was a doorbell, and this year the paintbrush.  For the record, she's been thinking about being Venus next year.  If nothing else, she keeps me on my creative toes.  

Thats one of the things I love so much about Claire and hope that she holds on long past childhood.  She doesn't just go with the flow or do something because her friends are.  She's just so purely herself and doesn't give much thought to what other people will think.  I would love to be more like that. 

Anyway, I have a new nephew, which is pretty awesome.  Here he is:

His name is Mason, and he is super sweet.  He likes to sleep all day and party all night, from what I hear.  He is my brother's first kid, and its pretty obvious 'dad' suits him well.  Lots of new things going on over at his house, so we've been taking it easy at our house to balance things out. 

At the Library.

At the library, Milena is completely unwilling to look at books with Claire.  She wants to play with the trains.  While Claire is wandering around, Milena does everything she can to escape and get to the 'choo-choo choo-choo's.    Finally Claire has what she wants and we head over to the train table.  Milena is finally happy, and Claire talks about her book.  But not for long.  After all, it looks like such a good book, who can resist diving right in?

Also, the girls were having such a good time playing tonight.  Usually this will stop as soon as I reach for a camera, but tonight I got lucky.

Faking It.

A little bump on the head by the swing means some tears, if...wait, is someone ...watching?  Yes?  Definitely worth a fake cry.

Fall

This is my favorite time of year for a lot of reasons.  I love the weather.  Cool and sunny or cloudy windy, whichever.  Some days the mix of clouds and sun seems to bump up the contrast of everything.  Colors are more vivid, and the change from green to rusty reds and oranges is so nice.  Sometimes the variation is surprising.























I've been trying to get out as often as possible to enjoy it all.  Today Claire and I went on an Acorn Hunt. We found a bunch of acorns, and we found a bunch of burrs.  So I did what I had to.  I chased her down and threw burrs all over her shirt.  I think she kept asking me to pull them off, but she was laughing so hard, I couldn't be sure.  In any case, it was a huge success.  We also went to Token Creek a few times.  One time I remembered Milena's shoes, the other time I didn't.  She enjoyed the 'with shoes' trip much more than the 'socks only' trip.  In this picture, I can almost hear her saying 'Mama.  Mama.  Mama.'

It looks like this entire next week is going to be awesome Wisconsin fall weather.  Hopefully I can take as much of it in as possible.  Maine was always fantastic in fall, and I kind of miss being out there for this time of year, climbing Bradbury Mountain or maybe making a trip to Camden.  But on the other hand, I still make the same apple crisp and Wisconsin can definitely hold its own.  I just have to find a few more hikes.  Maybe something that has some elevation.  Devil's Lake, perhaps?

Otherwise, Mike made another successful cabin trip, this time to the real cabin (I've spent the past half hour reading the archives) instead of some electrically wired and plumbed impostor.  Last year's post makes me kind of regret we didn't have some kind of dinner for everyone again.  We bought a new (to us) vehicle a few weeks ago, a Honda Pilot.  It sounds like it handled five guys and their gear plus a trip to the Do It center for lumber and tools without a problem, and thats awesome, because thats the kind of thing we bought it for.

My birthday often marks the official beginning of fall,  and thats another reason why I love the season.  I turned 30 last week which makes me the same age as Mike, and according to Claire thats 'pretty old'.  Can't say I didn't see it coming.  And since Mike got me a new iPhone 4 for the occasion, here is a video of my day.  I count myself very lucky that its not actually anything out of the ordinary...

Picture Recap

I've been trying to get back to my New Years resolution to take a picture a day.  The goal was pushed to the back burner over the summer.  During the winter, when I was actually taking a picture each day, I thought it would be much easier to accomplish the goal in the summer.  Not so much.  Some days its difficult to pick only one to add to the official Picture of the Day list, some days the camera never comes out.







So Claire had another birthday, and I forgot to ask her a list of questions like I have on her past birthdays.  I'll have to do it tomorrow.  It was actually a low key birthday.  A little pizza, a little cake, some presents and a bike ride to top it off.  This weekend is her party, and she chose to play laser tag with a few friends.  I'm actually looking forward to it.  I haven't played laser tag since high school, and while I was never very good at it, but I'm pretty sure I can take a few 7 year olds.

First Day, Second Grade

Another year off and running.

The Last Days of Summer

School starts September 1st.  Eight more days, but who's counting?

We spent some more time in Door County earlier this month.  There is enough to do there that we can easily find something new each time we go, but we've definitely found some favorites as well.  Peninsula State Park, for example.  Milena enjoys the water, Claire enjoys the sand.  There are boats to rent and trails to hike.  A tower to climb, a nature center, lighthouse, snack shop. Something for all of us.  Milena is pretty happy with any of it, and in general won't leave willingly.  Luckily for us, she's pretty content to be carried off as well.

We visited the park twice while we were there.  The first day was overcast, but perfect for sitting on the beach.  The second day was beautiful, and we made sure to stop at as many overlooks as possible.  And we made Claire get out of the car each time so she could enjoy it as well.  She even glanced up from her book a few times.

We played some mini-golf as well.  I have to say, I am pretty awesome at mini-golf.  I know because I've beaten Mike 100% of the times we've played.  I also took this picture of Milena and realized she's a full on toddler now.  She looks more kid than baby.  I think that may have happened overnight, but now she's running instead of walking and she's fine on the stairs.  She's talking all the time, even using some real words.  She's big, all of a sudden.

We ended up cutting the Door County portion of our trip a bit short and stayed with my family for a few days.  It had been a while since we'd seen them.  Also, the heat and humidity broke and we enjoyed a few fantastic evenings and nights playing around outside.   

Warm Days

Its been hot, and I generally don't like the heat.  However I do like it when its warm enough to skip a bath and play in the sprinkler at 8pm instead.

I know I'm not the only one.

A Big Week

Last week was a big one.

We tried to go to Oregon on Thursday, but severe weather kept us home.  We tried again on Saturday and had much better luck.  We arrived right on time with a few new how-tos for traveling.
1. If you begin travel at night and your plane gets delayed, you don't have as many opportunities to get out the same day.  Pretty obvious.  This lesson cost us two days of vacation.
2. Traveling at night with a 1 year old sucks.  I'm sure this lesson cost several strangers several hours of sleep.  For anyone reading this has ever been on a plane with a crying baby, believe me, the parents feel really really bad about it and would do just about anything to make it stop.

In the end it was all worth it because we had an awesome time in Portland and then at a beach house in Seaside.  It was Milena's first time at the beach since she's been mobile.  It might be an understatement to say she loved it.

The weather was overcast and foggy the entire time, but it was still beautiful and it didn't stop us from visiting several beaches, walking around down town, and just doing the family vacation thing.  Ecola State Park was one of my favorites.  It looks just like the Oregon coast looks like in my imagination.

Fort Stevens was also really nice.  There was a big sand dune for running down, a big shipwreck to explore and what looks like miles and miles of beach.  The way it runs of into the mist, it looks like you could walk forever.  Milena walked around smiling the whole time.  Claire was off wandering on her own.  She was so busy all week, I was lucky if I could get a picture of her running off to explore/pretend something.

Also this past week we sold our Maine house, so thats big news.  And the day after that was our anniversary (eight years!), so there was much cause for celebration.  Our flights home were thankfully during the day and went as smoothly as expected.  I am looking forward to February, however, when Mike an I will get on a plane to Germany without the kids.  Its been a while.  

Many thanks to Maighie and Emily for coming up with the idea and then setting it up.  We had a great time and can't wait to do it again.

Summer

The summer has been busy.  While we've had a lot on the calendar (summer school, tennis and lots of play-dates for Claire), its not anything I won't cancel when something better comes up.

Last weekend we went to Door County.  All of us had fun, but I think Claire probably enjoyed it more than anyone else.

The Teeth

Milena has two teeth now. By the amount of crying and general unhappiness in the house, I believe more must be on their way. Thankfully, Tylenol and Claire do wonders. When Claire gets home at 3:15, Milena is like a different kid, laughing and smiling. Its almost enough to go to school and pull Claire out early. Almost.

Father's Day and a Sunset

We had a great Father's Day.  Claire put on a piano recital for the family, and despite all her nerves beforehand, it went great.  She planned decorations, appetizers and a lunch, and she collected admission.  $2 each, with all proceeds being donated to the Sun Prairie Public Library.  Her summer goal is to raise $150 and get one of those brick tiles with her name on it for the sidewalk in front of the library.  I think its a pretty awesome summer goal.  So another recital is in the works for August, hopefully, and she's also planning a few lemonade stands and doing a bunch of work over at Jim and Teresa's to raise the money.















After the recital and lunch, my dad and Jim figured both sides of our patio doors should be able to open, even though since the first day we walked through the house during a showing, the left side remained jammed shut.  But they figured they could fix it, and sure enough, now we can open AND lock both doors.  It makes such a difference.  I have some simple plans to make the sunporch usable for more time during the year, including a floor and some insulation, and having both doors swing wide open is so much nicer.

On Father's Day itself, Claire asked Mike what he wanted to do.  He said, jokingly, 'bungee jumping'.  Claire was under the impression that bungee jumping meant going to the mall and jumping super high on a big air mattress with bungee cords strapped to you.  She's done that before and loved it.  So she was all in for bungee jumping on Father's Day.  Mike obviously meant the real bungee jumping.  I showed Claire a video, and she quickly decided she would not go after all.  However, her nagging up to that point pushed the idea from joke to reality, and we took a quick trip to Wisconsin Dells.  After we got there, we saw that there was bungee jumping, and then there was  SUPER AWESOME FREE FALL EXTRAVAGANZA AWESOMENESS!!  Obviously Mike chose the latter.  So he got on an elevator and went up twice as far as the silly little bungee jumping crane was.  Then the floor dropped out, he dangled out of the hole on a harness.  They cut him free and he free-fell something like 110 feet into a big net.  He enjoyed it very much and it was really fun to watch.  From the ground.  Where all the sane people were.

Then we got to see two-headed turtles and Claire got to hold a real live alligator.  The end.  Some things you can only in Wisconsin Dells.  I guess we set the bar pretty high for next year.

Oh, and earlier in the week, we were treated to an incredible sunset.  I've never seen the sky so bright before.  Claire actually woke up and thought the sky was on fire.  The first picture is right from our driveway.  Then I got in the car and drove around until I could see more.  I haven't done anything to these pictures, if anything, the color was even more saturated in person.  We had a great sunset-watching spot in Maine.  We have to find one here.

Ironwood

So as I said, we were in Ironwood for a few days this weekend.  Mike's Aunt Susie passed away and we went to attend the funeral.  Not anyone's favorite reason to have a reunion, but it was nice to see the the whole family again.

Mike had a few days off, so we decided to stretch the trip out a bit.  We stayed at a great chalet at Powderhorn.  Being the off season, we got a fantastic deal that was better than most hotels in the area.  And having separate rooms for the kids to sleep in is as good as it gets.  Especially when the alternative is putting the kids to bed 3 feet away and then watching the TV on mute for a few hours.  The chalet worked out so well, I'm trying to figure out a way we can get back this summer for a little longer visit.  I want to get over to the Porcupine Mountains.  Actually, there are several places in Upper Michigan I'd like to get to, and its going to take a few trips, but Ironwood is a great start.

Since it rained all day Friday, we only had Saturday morning to get to the cabin before heading home.  Luckily, the rain held off while we were there.  I think one of my favorite parts of the cabin is the getting there.  The directions are always the same no matter where you are coming from.  Follow the signs for the airport, and then keep going.  Go to the end of that road and turn right.  Drive down that road for a while and then turn left immediately after the sign that says something about a scenic place (of which there are several).  Then set your odometer and turn right on whatever most looks like tire tracks in exactly 1.2 miles  Or maybe 0.9 miles.  There is always a good amount of second guessing, but we always seem to make it on the first try.   It is really nice to see the cabin come into view.

The cabin looks great.  Its clear that a lot of work has gone into cleaning it up this spring.  I think Claire has been out there once before several years ago, but she remembered it as she walked around.  Actually, she was pretty disappointed we couldn't stay a night or two.  Maybe she'll be planning trips there with her own friends in ten or twelve years.  

Another of my favorite parts of the cabin is how it smells.  Obviously the fresh air outside is wonderful, but the inside has such a distinct smell, one of those scents that is tied to memories.  One of Claire's favorite parts is a new addition, or new to me anyway.  The tire swing.  She had a lot of fun swinging out over the ravine.

We finally made it down to the beach.  We collected a lot of rocks and threw a lot of them into the water.  We explored up and down the beach a little bit.  We sat and listened to the waves.   Some of us ended up with wet shoes.

It was a quick visit, but a good one.