Entertaining us at dinner

Its a wonderful thing when your child has a great day. Today was one of those days. We finally got a break in the weather so we decided to go explore and we drove up to the "North Shore" and checked out Good Harbor Beach in the town of Gloucester. It took about 40 minutes to get there but was well worth the drive when we arrived on a pristine beach at nearly low tide with lots and lots of hard packed sand for Kai to do his favorite thing...run! You couldn't wipe the smile from his face. I think he ran for about 45 minutes straight before he started to slow down. 

As you can see form the photos, we did manage to get him to sit down for a picnic, some drawing in the sand (he thought that was pretty cool) and of course sand castle building (actually Kai liked the knocking down part the best). Kai did help Greg with some digging and added his own "construction" noises as Greg called them. Tool Time Tim would have been proud!

After a nap and some play time at home we settled down to dinner and the great day continued. Greg cooked up his yummy stir fried rice with chicken, which we hoped Kai would decide to eat. What we discovered was that Kai will eat anything that is served on a chopstick. He is quite fascinated with these Asian implements and loves to watch mommy and daddy eating with them. As soon as we offered him anything on the chopsticks, he just opened up! 

Below are a few pics of him goofing around at dinner. Then he decided that he needed to try the chopsticks for himself. 

Ever a creative problem solver, when he found them a bit difficult, he decided to supplement with his fork. I wish I had a pic of him actually getting a piece of chicken into his mouth this way!

And finally...he discovered that chopsticks are also great musical instruments! Will the fun ever end? Oh, to be 2.......

Mountain biking - Start 'em young!

Kai has the good (?) fortune of being born to parents who are a little bit bike crazy. So at the tender age of 2 years, 2 months he has already put quite a few miles on his trike and in his Chariot (bike trailer). This morning his mountain bike training continued.

Dear Dada decided to head to school today with our car keys in hand. I'm not sure why seeing as he was taking the bus.... but he did, and we're not so organized as to know where our spare set might be. (And our aging brains did not recall the super secret hiding place of our surfing key - which of course I can't divulge anyway in such a public forum!) Anyway, so Mama and Kai were faced with either cancelling our playdate at the splash park or figuring out another way to get there. Seeing as its been raining so much in Massachusetts lately that I've been considering snorkelling in the puddle at the end of our driveway, there was no way we wanted to pass up an opportunity for some company and some real summer fun!

So Mama had to figure out how to transfer the bike trailer from Dada's bike to her own. This sounds simple enough but the depth of my bike maintenance skill is inversely proportional to the seriousness of the relationship I'm in with a male cyclist. Seeing as I'm married to one, you might say that I haven't done much bike tinkering at all in the last few years. But, I'm proud to say I figured it out and got the Chariot hooked up behind the Blur. True my rear disc brake was rubbing and the suspension needs adjusting for my new heft but we were basically ready to go. It is after all only about a 2 mile ride to get there.

So off we headed, Kai the ever cooperative helmeted rider in back. His mountain bike training began as he was repeatedly splashed and speckled with muddy water every time we went through a puddle. As I said before, there has been alot of rain so puddles were plentiful on our route. Like any good mountain biker, he showed that he is not afraid of mud. His training ramped up a notch when Mama rounded a corner on a dirt trail just a little too tightly and the Chariot wheel clipped a large boulder and tipped over. Yes, tipped over. The pregnant lady on the bike towing the toddler crashed. Thank goodness no one was watching. While I wasn't impressed that the Chariot tipped, I was impressed that Kai didn't move an inch. He stayed in the middle of the Chariot, strapped into his seatbelt (and with his helmet on). He wasn't impressed by his sudden change of position from hurtling down the path to being suspended sideways but in true mountain biker form he was ready to go again once Mama righted the Chariot.

Despite showing such tremendous potential in the dirt, he was very happy to pursue some aquatic activity once we got to the splash park. It was kinda funny when he turned to me as he boarded the Chariot for our ride home (in the rain, some things never change) and said "Hey Mama, try keeping the rubber side down eh?"

A Cordwood Home

A few weeks ago, Louise mentioned the house being built by her cousin, Diane, and her partner, Sean.  We saw it while staying in Wakefield, Quebec at Elaine's cottage (ah, the cottage-life - I miss it so....)  Anyway, when we initially heard their housing plan a few years ago (cordwood house, sustainable land, re-using old timber, recycled glass bottles, sawdust insulation), we didn't know what to think.  I sorta expected to see a some-what ramshackle collection of weathered wood, tacked together with rope and iron spikes.   But after walking up a windy path to the construction site, we were quite surprised at what we saw:

As you can see, its BIG.  16-sides, 2 stories, plus the roof will be grass to aid in cooling and insulation (this is becoming popular in cities; I think Chicago has quite a few buildings with gardens & grass rooftops being fitted).  After some jokes about where the goat who trims the grass roof is going to live, we went "inside" for a tour (the ramp for climbing onto the 1st floor was a big hit w/ Kai).

The dominating feature is the large tree in the center of the house.  It weighed a couple tons and was lowered by crane onto a foundation underneath.  The beams that spread out are fitted very closely together and are re-used timber, as are the sets of 16 columns that support the outer walls.  Most of the interior walls are still made up of standard 2x4's, but the floors, windows and most of the doors are also re-used.  I think they got a sweet deal on the windows, which were practically new.  The window bay below is wider on the inside than the outside to allow a greater angle of light to get in (it also allows a wider angle for archers to defend their castle!)

Diane and Sean are doing most of the cordwood wall construction themselves (Diane's parents, Peter and Jeannette, were helping the week we were there).  As you can probably tell from the pictures above and below, its a pretty time-consuming affair!  Each piece of wood is cedar, I recall, which was cut about a year ago and allowed to dry.  Cement is mixed and is laid down on the inside and outside to hold the cedar blocks, which are about 16" long on average.   Sawdust is poured in-between the cement to complete the insulation and solidify the wall.  As you can also imagine, this creates a VERY solid and well-insulated wall (considering we moved from a condo in Hawaii that had like 2" thick walls, we felt we were in a castle now).

    The construction technique also allows them to add nifty features like glass bottles to allow light to filter in without lots of windows on the northern side of the house (the southern side will have more windows to take advantage of the sunshine) and add an artistic flair elsewhere.  

Above you can see the Big Dipper and Little Dipper have been placed into the wall.  The red glass in the upper left represents the star that was registered for Scott, Elaine's husband who passed away about a year ago.  (In other words, the actual position of the star in the sky is the same in relation to the Big Dipper as above).  Pretty moving.

The land itself is about 8 acres of heavy woods, which allows for them to sustainably use wood as their heating source.  They'll use natural gas or propane for some things, like the fridge I think, and solar power for some electricity, but otherwise they won't be 'on the grid'.  They grow their own veggies in their rather large garden down the road. 

Since they're doing this mostly themselves w/ some help (experts come in occasionally to do some of the technical work, like placing the center timber and beams above), the timeline for completion is next fall, I think.   Pretty long timetable, especially when you consider its already been ongoing for a couple years and that Diane and Sean are living in a yurt in the meantime. But Louise & I were very impressed - lots of thought & work have gone into it being an Earth-friendly yet still very livable home.  I don't think we could do it ourselves, not with our current lifestyle - you definitely have to decide where you're going to live for the rest of your life, and have the patience to see it through many years (and give up mountain biking while you're building walls - a show-stopper for Louise, for sure!).  But some of the ideas, such as re-using timbers & other portions of old homes, designing a home to take advantage of the natural elements, and maximizing efficiency can certainly be applied to just about any home.

(oh, and for your engineers - the R-value of the walls was estimated to be between 40 and 60).

Maritime Munchies

This past weekend Mama spent her first weekend away from Kai. We were parted for around 48 hours. I have to say I did remarkably well. My husband patiently returned my bi-hourly text messages and spent some quality Daddy time with the little man. I went to Halifax, Nova Scotia to hang out with my old and dear friends Shannon and Kip. The photo above was not taken this weekend (obviously, as Greg is in the pic). I forgot to take the camera so this is a photo of us with Shannon and Kip back in 2006 in our condo in Hawaii. I included it in this post b/c blogs are so much more fun to read when there are photos attached, don't ya think?

I titled this post "Maritime Munchies" b/c I could write the entire entry about the delicious food I ate....the yummy veggie chili and corn muffins, or the smell of the crepes and waffles at the Halifax Saturday Market, the fabulous BBQ'ed Atlantic Salmon with biryani sauce that Kip cooked up or Shannon's yummy Sunday morning pancakes. Let's just say I gained a few pounds, but it was all good quality nutrition for little Sibs! We did alot more than eat while I visited Halifax. Shannon and Kip gave me a tour of the city and area. I've been to Halifax a few times before but it was fun to see some local spots that they frequent as part of their regular routine - the market, the cycling routes, the swimming spots, restaurants, bakeries and pottery shops! 

In addition to visiting with friends and browsing the market and downtown, we spent a few hours on the water kayaking around a calm inlet of the Atlantic ocean. I'm discovering that water sports work well for large bellied women so long as such woman has patient, dear friends to lower her in and out of her watercraft! On Sunday we checked out a gorgeous beach with sand as fine as Lanikai but chilly Atlantic breezes drove us back into the city for some warm drinks and more relaxed strolling around and hanging out. Another highlight of the weekend was virtual success in convincing Shannon and Kip (I think Kip has been appointed author) to take the plunge into the blogosphere, starting with their trip to Iceland next week. 

So now I'm busy plotting a full Fennell family adventure to the Maritimes for next summer that might involve this crazy sounding race http://www.notsincemoses.com/as well as visits to PEI and Cape Breton! 

 

I'm so proud!

We have some catching up to do on our blog. We have some great photos of Diane and Sean's cordwood home that we want to post and I just spent a great weekend in Halifax with my wonderful old friends Shannon and Kip that I also need to blog about. But first, I had to share a little about our morning today (I think the grandparents will appreciate this). 

Today Kai "graduated" from his first gymnastics class. It was one of those moments where it hits you that your little person is really growing up. I remember blogging last summer about Kai's first pair of shoes and how it hit me when the salesperson asked him to stand on the foot ruler and I was totally taken aback b/c he was a baby, why would he stand on a foot ruler? Those little shoes were size 5.5. This summer Kai is wearing an 8!!!!! So there is no denying that the little man is growing up. I felt that similar throat constriction and tear welling when Kai brought home his first piece of "artwork" from daycare. Well, today there was a little graduation ceremony and Kai accepted his certificate from his gymnastics teacher. He took it in his hand and marveled at it for awhile while I had to fight back tears. I'm not sure if any of the other parents felt the same way. I guess I can blame it on my pregnancy hormones; it doesn't take much these days for me to need a kleenex! 

My plan is to start a scrapbook of all this kind of stuff so Kai can look back on it when he is older but just in case that plan never materializes, here is Kai's certificate, saved for posterity in our blog. Enjoy grandparents!

Summer in Massachusetts

I had to come up with a blog topic so I could post this super cute photo of Kai:

This was taken last weekend after we spent an hour in a canoe on the Concord River. Kai was all smiles! Seems he has picked up some nautical genes from his Dad and Grandpa Ed. He might even be ready for a canoe trip with Granddad Dave next summer! 

We're having drizzly, cool weather here this week so it doesn't feel much like summer and our local splash park had to delay opening b/c of the crummy weather. But last week it really felt like summer. Or at least like I wish summer felt. Summer in MA actually feels alot like being baked in a steam room and bitten by mosquitos at the same time, but last week we had sunny weather in the high 70's and the bugs weren't too bad at all. Greg was home from school so we took advantage and tried to enjoy the nice weather as much as possible. The canoe outing was Greg's last adventure before plunging back into the world of graduate school for a few more weeks. 

It also made us realize, as we experience the beginning of another summer, that we have been here now for an entire year! We have seen all four seasons in our new home. We certainly are feeling more settled and if our landlords will have us, we have decided to stay in our house until 2011 when we head to our next destination. 

We've lost control; He is officially in charge.....And Boo Babies

We've been dealing with some two year old separation anxiety lately in a big way, as Greg alluded to in an earlier post. Two year olds are strange beings. I went to work the other night and Kai said "bye Mama" and had no problem with me heading out the door, while walking about 3 feet away from him in the grocery store elicited panicked shrieks of "Mama! Mama!"

The hardest part of this latest phase is bedtime. All of a sudden our wonderful sleeper is having separation issues at bedtime. It doesn't happen every night but when it does....let's just say not much gets done around here in the evening. Greg and I have tried to be very purposeful in everything we've done with Kai regarding sleep. Naps were timed carefully, he was put to sleep "drowsy yet awake," no co-sleeping, we established a consistent bedtime routine early on, etc, etc. And it paid off. Kai is a great sleeper. We've heard stories of parents who have had to go to ridiculous extremes to get their toddlers to sleep b/c they never established good sleep habits as babies. Well, we can wipe the smug look off our mugs b/c tonight Kai clearly had control and all sleep principles were thrown out the window as our 2 year old called the shots for about an hour after he had been put to sleep for the night. So I guess maybe it doesn't matter that much after all how hard you work to instill good sleep habits....if they're gonna go, they're gonna go...

Now Greg is a much wittier writer than myself so I'll let him tell the story of tonight's escapades.

Thanks, Louise!  Greg here.  Some additional background on Kai's communication skills:  Kai has lately taken to communicating his thoughts with actions.  For instance, yesterday he told us that our house was too messy by going into the closet and coming back with Swifter in-hand, and giving it to me.   Louise and I thought it was pretty hilarious, but we took the hint - during Kai's 'rest period' this afternoon, we straightened up the the downstairs to our man's exacting standards.   

This evening was another example:  after Louise, then I, tried unsuccessfully to get Kai to calm down, I decided to lie down on the floor next to him while he fretted a bit near the hallway window.  Louise said "Look Kai, Daddy's sleeping!".  The next thing I know, his soother is getting shoved into my mouth.  As if to say "You wanna sleep?  Take THIS then!!"   And with that, any chance of a calm, soothing bed-time routine was solidly blown out of the water. 

We eventually got Kai to sorta pretend he was sleeping with us - Louise & I laid down on the upper hallway floor, so Kai thought it'd be fun to lie down too.  No sooner had Louise spoken the words "Maybe we COULD go camping together" then Mr. Footloose started jerking his legs along the walls, then walking all over us.  

After a few minutes of this, I decided to tempt him back into his room by lying down in there.  Louise then enticed him w/ some singing and beckoning because he didn't want to leave the hallway and it finally hit me: "Man, its just like in 'The Two Towers' when Frodo tricks Gollum into getting captured!"  Fortunately, Kai is a little cuter and less slithery than Gollum, but the two can both put up quite a racket when they get riled up!   Precious...

Back to reality, we tried the psuedo-camping gig for a few more minutes on his floor, then after a wildly unsuccessful attempt to put Kai into the crib, I asked Louise to get a frozen treat. During one of his crying spells, we managed to calm him down by asking him to say 'blueberry'.  Ever ready to please, he whispered " Boo... bay-bay "   No matter how distraught, he always tries for us!

Once Louise returned, we got him in the rocking chair and after a few slurps of something called a 'Smooze', all prior bellowings/rantings/protests were long-forgotten and we were left with the gentle slurps and quiet 'Boo-bay-bay' mutterings of a happy camper.  Before he could remember what was what, I put him back in the crib w/ his Bunny and high-tailed it out of there.  How's THAT for ridiculous bed-time extremes??

 

Now for an example of a 'blueberry' in a calmer setting: