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We spent this week at my parents' house because my husband was away on business. I was looking forward to "relaxing," but this week definitely didn't go as planned. My mom ended up getting sick and actually sprained or tore a muscle in her ribs from coughing. She wasn't able to play with baby G very much, so we were all really bummed about that. I can't wait for my mom to come visit us in California and make up for her limited playtime this trip. My grandpa and two aunts (and a cousin) came down for a birthday party for baby G. She got her first taste of cake and received great presents. On Mardi Gras, we were supposed to have a party with my mom's 3rd grade class, but since she was sick, the baby and I just delivered cupcakes & party favors. Ash Wednesday brought abstinence and fasting for us, but I still gave baby G a piece of birthday cake because it was finally her real birthday :-)
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What's that? You didn't know we were moving to CALIFORNIA? Yup...next Saturday, our little family will be official residents of the Bay Area. Are any of you from or currently reside there? What fun things MUST we do?ps. Moving check list activated. Uggghhhh. This explains why I'm not keeping up with the interweb world as good as I used to.
Baby G enjoyed playing with her Papaw, and they got LOTS of time together since mom was sick. He is already spoiling her rotten. I love watching the two of them together though. It seems like she completely melts him. However tough he may seem, around her, he's a big softy. He is patient and sweet with her. They explored almost every corner of my parents house, including the drawers and cabinets.
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I don't know if it was the visit at my parents or the fact that she just turned one, but G has started doing a lot of new things:- Walking!! She's been taking steps since the middle of January, but I never considered it walking until she's taken more than 10 steps in a row. I still wouldn't call her a "walker," but I bet after this weekend I will!
- She's an expert drawer cleaner-outer & novice cabinet opener
- She's turning lights on and off, if lifted to the switch. Just last night I asked her to be my helper and turn the light off in the laundry room--of course she obliged. :-)
- I now have a climber?? Yesterday she climbed into her rocking chair on her own--and then stood up in it! I was too shocked to scold her.
- Especially during the appropriate times on Super Why!, baby G finally points!
- She loves playing 'parachute' games, like shaking a big blanket "fast-fast-fast" & "sloooowwwwww." She now participates, rather than just watching.
- I don't know if it's because she's gotten several new toys for her birthday or what, but she's great at figuring out how many different things work. She even got the TV & Satellite turned on at my parents. Sometimes visiting adults can't even do that!
- Eating cake and showing that she is 1 with her finger :-)
cute iPhone photo of the week:
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| fun in Grammy's kitchen :-) |
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If you were around last week, you know I posted about the anxiety I had about driving to my parents. The normally 5.5 hour drives (each way) actually turned out a little better than expected. G slept a lot more than I was expecting & cried only a tolerable amount. We stopped 3 time both going and coming. I still didn't "enjoy" it, and don't particularly want to drive alone with her longer than a few hours anytime soon. The trips ended up taking a little over 7 hours each, but it wasn't horrible. Both times we stopped for lunch at Panera. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Sonoma Chicken Stew they have right now, and it is "leaving soon." I got it both days because it is just that good. Go try it for yourself (I want to come up with a copy-cat recipe).In case you missed it, I posted G's birth story this week in celebration of her first birthday. Part I and Part II give you a glimpse into our natural labor & delivery with several fun anecdotes.
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Having moved cross-country several times, can I offer a piece of advice Plan your driving days for the move to be no more than 5-7 hours long. (That's about 350-400 miles a shot.) It will mean less than 12 hours on the road and it will allow you to keep your sanity.
ReplyDeleteI'm a San Jose native and what is recommended really depends on where you are in the Bay Area. The San Francisco Zoo is great and when G is older, hit up the Exploratorium. (I'm almost 32 and *I* want to go play there!) Golden Gate Park has a little of everything so you might want to explore that. San Francisco is a pain to drive in so see if you can take advantage of BART or CalTrain.
If you're in the South Bay, the Children's Discovery Museum and the Tech Museum in downtown San Jose are great.
One thing to know: a lot of cities and towns in the Bay Area have passed laws against plastic bags and charge a nickel per bag so acquire some reusable shopping bags.
In terms of awesome granola food, you'll be in Trader Joe's country.
Feel free to email me if you have questions. I'm jen @ grace-filled.net
Make sure you ride the trolleys! They are sooo cool! That is the only thing I really remember from our San Francisco trip. Also they have a really GREAT China Town yumm
ReplyDeleteGood luck to you on your move! Happy birthday to your sweet girl!
ReplyDeletePrayers for your move!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you're moving to California! That's awesome! We'll miss you in Kansas! :) Hope G had a great birthday and I hope moving goes well! Prayers!
ReplyDeleteThat means you'll be missing the KU-Mizzou game though, you probably wouldn't want to watch it anyways though. ;)
when you have time- make sure to go to Sonoma and Napa counties- it's really peaceful out that way
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