8/25/08 - Grandparents' New Farm

We drove down to Southern Oregon to visit my parents this weekend.  They live about four hours away, so we left on Friday night so that the girls would sleep most of the way, and arrived around midnight.  Grandma and Grandpa just bought a 1900 square foot home on a 5 acre lot, and this was the first time we’d ever seen it.  It’s a beautiful piece of property about 10 minutes out of town, so it’s quiet and peaceful.  There’s also a manufactured home on the property, which they hope to fix up for guest housing.  They have wild blackberry bushes, a seasonal pond, and occasional deer who wander through their field.  Grandma made fresh blackberry pie and homemade ice cream to treat us. 

 

Daddy spent the weekend helping Grandpa around the “farm” (the only livestock at present is their little ankle-biter, but it’s a start).  Dave’s handyman skills have always been a big hit with his father-in-law.   They managed to get the sprinkler system working in the field out front, which was perfect timing.  Grandma wants to prep it for planting a huge garden next spring, with a chicken coop at one end to keep the insects at bay and lay fresh eggs.   There are plans for an orchard, goats, rabbits, and various home improvements, so it will be fun to watch the place take shape over time.

 

Weird Weather

Last month we took advantage of our home warranty to have our A/C unit replaced, and none too soon.  The day after it was installed, we had a heat wave which got to 101 at one point.   The rest of the summer has been comfortably between 75 and 90, and sometimes chilling down to the 60’s.   I’ve been told this is an unusually cold summer for here, which I hope is true.  It seems like summer barely began, and already we’re getting a taste of early fall weather.  Though it was hot and dry with forest fire warnings down in Grants Pass this weekend, on our drive home to Portland we ran into a heavy rainstorm and 60-degree weather.  It’s amazing what a difference just 250 miles can make. 

 

I’ve had to dig some fall clothes out of the garage for Amanda, for the chilly mornings.  She’s been wearing 24-month clothes all summer because of her long torso and waistline.  The trick with fall and winter clothes though, is that the sleeves and pant legs are too long.   Oh, well.  Eva had the same problem, until she hit a growth spurt which made her taller, and slimmed down after learning to walk and run around.  Amanda is already walking up to 10 wobbly steps at a time, so it won’t be long until everything fits her better.  

 

Eva still has a couple of pairs of 3T pants that fit her perfectly, though she wears 4T tops.  I hesitate to buy her new clothes because I’m not sure what size she’ll be.  Oregon winters are so long, and I’m sure she’ll hit another growth spurt and be in all 4T/5T clothes before it’s over.   I already went out and bought her a pair of size 8 shoes because her toes are starting to get tight in her current shoes.  They’re still in good condition, though, so I’m saving them for Amanda.  Poor Amanda!  She’ll probably be in high school before she gets to wear anything new that didn’t come from sister first! 

 

It seems so strange to be talking about fall clothes in August.  In San Diego, hot weather would last well into October, and sometimes longer.  We got used to the idea of heading to the pumpkin patch in shorts and flip flops, though it would bum me out that it didn’t feel like autumn.  I guess that won’t ever be a problem here!  

8/20/08 - Back Home

Since we’ve got back from San Diego, I’ve noticed that both the girls have wonderful tans and natural highlights in their hair.  (Thank goodness for their daddy’s genes!  All I do is burn, peel and turn white again, just with a few more freckles!)  Amanda’s hair is getting so long in front that I have to constantly sweep it out of her eyes.  I probably should trim it, but I’m not ready to give her a first haircut yet.   Eva didn’t have her first haircut until she was 2 ½.

 

Amanda is cruising confidently now, and discovered that she can walk around the house by pushing the little Fisher Price Corn Popper ride-on ahead of her.  She gets really upset when Eva decides it’s her turn, sits down and zooms off with it. 

Liviing and Learning

From the beginning, I’ve decided that I would rather teach Eva all her preschool concepts at home than pay someone else to do it.  At 3 years old, she knows her letters, numbers, shapes and colors already, just from natural observation.  I’ve learned that if you let a child follow their natural curiosity to the end of the rainbow, they’ll learn and retain much more than from any other method, and naturally develop an insatiable desire to learn more.   

 

When she saw David out in the garage fixing his bike, she got her little wooden toy box and started “fixing” her tricycle.  When he stood it up to test it, she did the same, and when he took it for a test ride, she was right there saying “All fixed, Daddy!”   The other day we were at the store and Eva saw an end cap display with writing on it.  “Look, Mommy!” she said, pointing out the letters as she said “C-A-N-D-Y, candy!”  I know she was just recognizing the letters and the candy on display, not actually reading the word, but it showed me how quickly she picks up thing all by herself, without any formal instruction so far.   

 

Instead of just doing things for her, I’ve been trying to engage her by giving her more opportunities to make simple choices.  This shirt and that one? Tuna fish or PBJ?  Whatever choice she makes, she has to live with it.  I won’t switch it back afterwards, such as making something else for lunch.  You wanted PBJ?  You’re going to eat it before you get anything else for snack.  That’s how you learn to make wise choices: you accept the consequences of that choice, whether good or bad.  Sometimes giving her an option will stop her right in the middle of a protest: “I don’t want to get dressed!”  The minute I ask her opinion about which shirt to wear, she picks one and puts it on, forgetting that she didn’t even want to get dressed a second ago. 

Adventures In Potty Training

Eva spent our entire vacation in training pants, because she has a phobia of using any toilet except ours.   She needs her little foot stool and cushy toddler seat, and the familiarity of our bathroom.   Thankfully she got back in the groove as soon as we got back home, but now she wants me to stand there with her the entire time, and listen for the “tinkle” (Awhile back she kept trying convince me she had gone already so she could get an M&M or sticker, and I explained that I knew she hadn’t because I didn’t hear any “tinkle”.  Now she wants me to listen for it as proof, I guess, so she can get her reward).   

 

I keep telling her she doesn’t need me to go to the bathroom with her.   She knows how to open the door, turn on the light, set up the toilet, pull her pants down, and climb onto the seat by herself.  She still needs a little help getting down, and can’t reach the toilet paper or faucet to wash her hands yet, but she can do the first part all by herself, and very often I’m in the middle of something else when she has to go.  It’s been a struggle to get her to run to the bathroom without me. In her compassionate way, she likes to cheer us on whenever we use the bathroom, too.  I dread the narrative the next time we have to use a public restroom: “You go potty, Mommy?  I hear tinkle!  Good job, Mommy!” 

Beijing Summer Olympics

I’ve been taping the Olympics for my mom, who doesn’t have cable.  Eva is easily influenced by what she sees on TV, I see.  After only 20 minutes of watching women’s synchronized diving, she was perched on the couch with her arms outstretched, getting ready to “jump water”.  We had to make it very clear to her that the reason they make “big splash” is because they jump into a lot of water, and you NEVER jump unless you have a pool of water to catch you.  That seemed to halt the couch-diving idea.   Then we watched gymnastics, and soon she was jumping, spinning, and turning somersaults on the carpet. 

7th Anniversary

We had our 7^th wedding anniversary on August 11^th.  Dave had to work, but he bought me flowers, and we arranged to have our friend Terra watch the girls so we could go on a date later in the week.  Eva enjoys going over to her house to play with her kids, and Terra is one of the few people who Amanda will stay calm with, and even fall asleep in her arms.  We went to Olive Garden for the first time in over a year.  It was nice to have some kid-free couple time.  As we left, our waiter commented “that was quick!”, but it didn’t seem like we’d been in a rush.  We’re just so used to eating quickly before getting interrupted (especially me; I’m lucky if I get to sit down for half a meal).  Dave gave me a new PDA as an anniversary present, since my last one died a year ago (a great bargain, used, off Craigslist, but it works great!), and it’s nice to have that convenience again. 

8/13/08 - Vacation

We just got back from a week in San Diego (I say that for the benefit of my out-of-state readers, because it’s all part of San Diego County.  But where we were is actually an hour north of the city, in Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, Escondido, and other North County cities).  It was surreal being “back home”, and having it not really feel like home anymore. 

 

Knowing how many people we wanted to visit and all the driving involved, we rented a little Chevy Aveo.  It's tiny, but fuel efficient, which was the goal.   Even so, we went through 3 tanks of gas in only one week.  Welcome to Southern California!   All the features were manual (except the steering and transmission), which was a little old school after being used to automatic windows and locks on my car.  And it didn’t have half the “get up and go” of my car (puffing up a hill at 50mph on the freeway), but hey, it fit two car seats and everything we needed, and that’s what matters.  I still don’t know how we managed to stuff a double stroller and luggage in the trunk.

 

California

One of the first things Dave and I noticed is how bright the sunlight is - it's almost blinding!  It’s funny we never really noticed it before, but coming now from an area that’s shaded with lots of green forests and foliage, the difference is dramatic!  The sun reflects off the ocean and miles of highway and concrete without a cloud in the sky for relief.   With so few trees, you can see the bare hills in every direction (through the haze of the marine layer or smog).  The dead grasses give them a golden glow.   Even the trees are a muted dusty shade, not a bright green.  The only green areas are deliberately cultivated by people, and the landscape is dotted with eucalyptus and palm trees, ice-plant and cacti.  There were a few burned out areas from small brush fires.  

 

When we first got on the freeway to North County, we noticed the guy in front of us had a surfboard strapped in the back of his truck and a huge Chargers sticker in his window.  That’s when you know you’re back in San Diego!  Then we stopped at a gas station that had at least 20 illegal immigrants loitering at the corners, waiting for people to pick them up for day labor jobs.  Haven’t seen that in awhile, either.   As we drove past hundreds of buildings and homes with Spanish tile roofs, it occurred to me that I never see that style in Oregon.  I wonder if it’s just a cultural design difference, or if you can’t use clay roof tiles in wet climates? 

 

 

Grandma Geri

One of the first things on our agenda was to visit Dave’s mom at the hospital, where she was recovering from pacemaker surgery.  She was so excited to see us, especially the girls.  The last time she saw Amanda was when she was 4 months old, and now she’s a big 1-year-old who’s trying to walk!  She reveled in having her son and granddaughters around again, and was so disappointed every time we had to leave.  Eva tried to make grandma “feel better” by serenading her with preschool ditties like the “ABC” song. 

 

A few days later she was moved to a skilled nursing facility until she’s recovered enough to return to her assisted living apartment.  She hates skilled nursing, and I don’t blame her.  She doesn’t have a private room, the lab technicians arrive to draw blood at 4am, and the food stinks.  The list of complaints grows with each passing day, from scratchy bed sheets to the humidity (70% outside, so we can’t do much about that!).   But as much as we try to remind her it’s only temporary and the sooner she gets well, the sooner she can go home, it’s a real battle for her.  She’s a fighter, which is good!  Hopefully she’ll be strong enough in the next couple weeks to go home.  We brought some cookies to the staff to thank them for their patience in the meantime, and brightened her room with magazines, dark chocolate M&M’s, lavender room spray, and photos of the grandkids. 

 

Staying With Friends

We stayed with our friends X and Amber, who generously offered us their daughter M’s room.  They also have a foster baby right now who is Amanda’s age, so there were plenty of baby toys, and the babies seemed to enjoy playing together.   Early in the visit, X played a magic trick with Eva, blowing in one ear and making fruit “pop” out of the other.   She spent the rest of the week grabbing her ears and asking us to pull fruit out of them every time she wanted a snack.

Later Eva saw M practicing cheer moves with her friend, and decided to play aerobics’ instructor.  She’d make a motion and tell them “now do this”, and they’d good naturedly follow along, giggling.  She was so thrilled to have other people follow her orders that I think it went to her head!  When we went to watch M at cheer practice, Eva copied the cheerleaders and tried to play coach, ordering them around from the sidelines: “No, Kay-kay, jump!  Jump!” 

Long Time, No See

On Aug 2nd, we drove out to Pomona to attend Dave’s old pal Johnny's wedding.  He’s over forty and we’ve been waiting for this for a long time, so it was nice to see him finally tie the knot.   Our friends Chappy and Misty had us over for dinner one night, and treated us to Rubio’s fish tacos.  That’s one of the California restaurants I really miss!  It was wonderful seeing them again, especially now that they’re expecting their first child in a few months. 

 

On Sunday we went to visit our old church, Oceanside Vineyard.   Eva ran straight into the nursery to play with her favorite toy shopping cart, loaded with toy food.  Later I found a few toys smuggled into her back pack and had to put them back in the nursery.  On Thursday night we had dinner with our friends Phil & Laurelle.  Phil is on the worship team, so he let the girls play with the keyboard.  Eva pounded away on the keys as she tried to lead us all in singing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” and other ditties.  When one song would be over, she’d say, “How about Itsy Bitsy Spider?  OK, go!”, and then start singing, expecting us to follow along. 

 

With so little time to visit, our pastor’s wife, Galyn, threw together a last-minute potluck on Friday night so we could spend time with all our church friends.  It was great to see everyone again, and so sweet of her to think of us like that!

 

Family

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most of Dave’s family lives in Southern California, so it was nice to visit with everyone again.  We saw Aunt Laura at the hospital while she was visiting Grandma.  She was on her way to Bermuda to celebrate her new engagement.  Aunt Nanci’s house is always the hub for family gatherings, so we spent a lot of time over there, visiting with cousins Haden and Allen, and Uncle Gary.  Eva loves the dogs, Cleo and Bandit, and orders them around, telling them to “hush!” when they bark.  Amanda seemed to take them in stride, but would cringe when one got too close or tried to lick her face.  

 

Uncle Larry came down for a visit later in the week, and so did Grandpa Gordon, with his new girlfriend Diane in tow.  He hasn’t seen any of the grandkids for a year, but he’s more comfortable visiting with the adults and telling stories about when his kids were little.  He enjoyed watching some of Allen’s swimming lesson. 

 

Uncle Dennis & Kent came to visit on the last day, bearing birthday gifts for the girls and for Allen, whose birthday falls in July.  Normally we have a group birthday party to celebrate all the guy’s birthdays in the summer, but this year it just wasn’t possible, especially with Grandma’s recent health problems. 

 

Swimming

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For all the fuss Eva made about wanting to swim in Aunt Nanci's pool, she was awfully apprehensive when it came down to the point.  We put water wings on her, but she still clung tightly to me or Dave the first day we went swimming, refusing to kick or even let us hold her at arm’s length.  She finally loosened up and started to enjoy herself when we put her in a boat-like float.  Amanda, on the other hand, was fearless and playful in the water, splashing and nearly threatening to jump out of our grasp.  It’s funny how when it comes to people, Eva is the brave one and Amanda is timid and reserved.  But when it comes to activities, Amanda is the fearless one, chasing after the lawn mower or vacuum cleaner while Eva hides at a cautious distance. 

 

Our Old Pad

Aunt Nanci lives only a couple of blocks from our condo, so we drove by to check it out.  Our tenants seem to be taking good care of the place.  Of course, we could only see the outside.  Nothing looks different, which is sort of a shame.  With the switch to a new homeowners association, we were hoping that our fees would finally start going towards some visible improvements.  So much for finally getting rid of that dead gardenia hedge at the entrance.  I can see why the five condos for sale in that park have been sitting on the market for months.  Good thing we don’t plan on selling anytime soon. 

Ocean Breezes

Besides friends and family, what we miss most about living in San Diego is the ocean.  It’s been months since we’ve seen it, and Dave said that seeing how enormous it was after such a long absence gave him a renewed sense of awe and respect for the sea.  We took the girls for a walk down the Tamarack boardwalk, and Dave wanted to take the girls to see the water.  Both the girls enjoyed playing in the sand, and were covered in nothing flat.  Dave took Amanda to splash her feet in the water, and she loved it!  When we set her back on the beach she tried to crawl back towards the water again, fearless baby!   Eva was frightened by the sight of waves rushing towards her for some reason, and would cling tightly to us or try to run away up the beach whenever we tried to bring her closer to the water. 

 

Dave took the opportunity to go surfing as soon as possible, and told me he really misses it.  He says it relaxes him, and the salt water clears up his sinuses.  Unfortunately, he injured his neck on the second day by wrenching it while trying to look behind him.  He’s had back and neck problems for years, but gets so used to it being tight that it’s become normal for him, and he figures he’ll be OK as long as he keeps moving and feels no pain.  The next morning he had such a bad headache that he was nauseous and thought he might have the stomach flu. 

 

I took him with me to see our old chiropractor Kelly, who scolded him for going so long without treatment (it’s been 9 months).  His neck was so tender and sensitive that she couldn’t adjust him completely, and just had to help massage his neck and use the TENS machine.  He had to come back the next morning to finish the treatment, and said he felt so much better, even though his neck was still sore.  It was so painful that Dave decided not to go surfing for the rest of the week. His only opportunity to do what he loves most for what could be a year, and he had to give it up because of neck pain!   I’m hoping he’ll see the chiropractor more often now, and not let it get that bad again.