San Diego Snow Day

Greg and I keep getting foiled in our attempts to go for a "real" mountain bike ride together. We've managed one since moving to SD. This past weekend, we had snow to blame - Not quite the Snowmaggedon the East Coast experienced but a fair bit of snow for SD county. Truth be known, the snow was about an hour East of the city and above about 3000 feet so not really in San Diego at all.

12 inches of snow was reported for Mt Laguna so we unpacked our cycling gear and decided to pull out our ski stuff. Greg was a bit apprehensive about this whole plan, particularly when we learned 30 minutes before our sitter was due to arrive that we'd need chains for the car.

Luckily some friends had chains so we were able to embark on our last minute snow adventure. Said chains came in mighty handy when we were pulled over by the CHP to make sure we had them. The officer strongly recommended that we put them on. At that point the road was completely clear so we took our chances and pressed on.

This was about as bad as it got. Pretty typical winter driving conditions, not particularly chain-worthy. On the way back down a few hours later, the temps had warmed up the ice to slush and there wasn't even much of that. But partway down the mountain there were the State Troopers pulling everyone over and herding them off into parking lots on each side of the road so they could chain up. No kidding, there must have been 70 to 100 cars all struggling to get their chains on so they could drive on pavement. I should have taken a photo of that! 

It was pretty busy once we got up there with every chain-owning San Diegan snow lover out for some sledding. With our skis in hand we crossed over to the quiet side and pretty much had the Laguna meadow to ourselves. 

We discovered that Torrey Pines are really beautiful all covered in ice and snow.

We had a really great time and enjoyed our little reunion with winter, even if I am still feeling guilty that we didn't take the kids!

BIG girl bed!

We have kept Teia in a crib much longer than we expected. There was no reason to move her out. She hadn't climbed out (except for attempts during the odd temper tantrum), she was sleeping well and whenever we mentioned it, she'd say "I like my crib." And she still fit it, despite being really tall for her age. But right before Christmas Teia announced she was ready for a big girl bed. We decided a big girl bed and Christmas Eve might not be a great combination so we told her to wait, for just a few more days.

So right after Christmas, Teia, Grandma and Mommy set off to get some bedding for the big transition. Mommy had found some cute woodland animal bedding to match the animals on her wall and thought that might be just perfect. But once Teia spotted the horsey sheets, that was it. I checked in with her a few times, "are you sure these are the ones you want? Do you want to look at any others?" She chanted her reply "horseys, horseys, horseys." Horseys it is.

She was pleased as punch.

It has gone really well. We have only found her asleep on the floor once and she has never needed her "crash mat," unlike Kai who ended up on it quite a few times. It didn't take her long to figure out that this bed allowed her total freedom. So instead of lying in it when she wakes up hollering for someone to get her up which was her usual custom, she opens up the door and either goes in and wakes Kai up or comes into our room. Naps have become a little more challenging b/c she now has the option to play, or raid her bookshelf and "read" in bed, or just leave. 

I do think there is something to be said for waiting until a kiddo is ready for a big transition like this. We patted ourselves on the back that this was a cinch b/c Teia told us when she was ready. A few days later we felt even better about ourselves when she announced before bed that she was a big girl now and no longer needed her susu. But our self-congratulations were short-lived, PSYCH - she wanted that susu back the very next night. 

Cousins!

January is almost over so I REALLY need to tell some more tales about our Christmas holidays. We had a very special visit from my lil sis and cousin Allie. The kids were extremely excited to have their cousin all to themselves for a full week. The 3 musketeers had so much fun together and Allie kept us hopping....it was go, go, go all week long.

Sometimes photos tell the story better than my verbiage so here goes:

Mmmmmm these kids are especially delicious!

"Allie, its okay. Its a pretend shark!"

Teia moved out of her crib (post to come) so there was a new trampoline to enjoy over the holidays. And jumping is so much more fun when you match :-)

Sassy Malassy!

Pick out the Canadian! 

What better thing to do when you're on seal beach than make a train?

 And then fall down amongst all the stinky seal poop, yep that is a good and funny idea!

Our "bedtime bus" had to be replaced with the extended model, to fit our extra passenger. Well worth it though for the laughs and giggles every night before bed. 

Kai moved to the 3rd row to keep our guest company. Took us a few weeks to get him back into his original seat! Looks like they're on a date with baby doll as the chaperone. 

Spa treatment at the zoo? Sorta, foot vibrators for tired tootsies...the quarters disappeared quickly from my wallet once these bad boys were discovered. In fact, they only stopped jiggling themselves on these once I was broke!

These kids could groove and dance anywhere!

We showed Allie some of our fav fun places. 

The kids got their brave on to show Allie around. Usually they won't go on this bouncy floor but they charged it with Allie. 

Pirate girls!

Or fire femmes!

Okay so this one is completely blurry but I just had to include it b/c it is just too cute. What a week these kids had together. Next time Daxie will be here too and then they will really be a fearsome foursome!

It was pretty special watching them spending time together and bonding as cousins. They will be in each others' lives their whole lives so watching them cementing that relationship that they'll always have was amazing. It took me back to my childhood spending time with my cousins who are still important people in my life today; that perfect blend of friend and family. I wish we were closer and we could do it again much sooner but I don't think any of these kids will be forgetting their week together anytime soon. Just yesterday Kai saw Allie's name on a computer game and said to us "A-L-L-I-E spells Allie!"

Christmas Belated

I really need to get a blog up about Christmas. I don't want the kids reading this in years to come and wondering whatever happened to Christmas 2012. This year our Christmas was very much about family. We were so lucky that so many of our dear family made the trek to San Diego to spend Christmas in the slightly warmer than Canada weather.

We had so much fun and did so many things that it really can't be captured in one blog post (without making that blog post way too long and therefore unreadable). Grandma Barbie and Poppa Mike arrived on Christmas Eve, as if it isn't already exciting enough for the kids! They were so jazzed up. We met them at the airport and then promptly nearly lost them due to Poppa Mike's malfunctioning GPS. But we all made it back to the house in time to celebrate Christmas Eve San Diego style - on the beach, catching the sunset (even if it wasn't all that warm).

Then we returned home for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner of Mulligatawny soup and Chocolate Fondue. Teia, our techno-kid, was busy tracking Santa's progress around the world on the NORAD site. Love that pilots in Baggotville, PQ are actually featured on there, yay Canada!

Then the stockings were hung, cookies, egg nog and carrots laid out and kidlets put to bed. I wonder if this is the last year that we'll get kids who sleep through the night. If they have inherited my Christmas Eve genes then we're in for it. I didn't sleep through the night until I was 21. I wonder if I am beginning my second childhood of Christmas tossing and turning. The kids are old enough now that they actually have things that they are wishing for and hoping Santa will leave for them; Teia: a pink bike with black tires and a tiny, weeny, little, tiny pink cat. Kai: a new music lion and a slinky bus with an airplane. Being in the know with Santa as us parental types are, it is hard not to get excited anticipating their reactions on Christmas morning when they open things expected and hoped for and other unanticipated but equally wonderful surprises.   

Present opening took all day, as usual. I like it that the kids aren't the "rip and tear" types, at least not yet. They like to savor each gift and play with it before moving onto the next. The kids continue to develop their own unique personalities, whether it be for tree decorating or gift opening. Kai opened his music lion and slinky bus and was pretty much good for the day. He enjoyed his other gifts but took his  time getting round to them b/c he was so smitten with the first two he opened. 

Teia, on the other hand, just loved this whole Christmas-business so much she didn't want it to ever end. For days afterward, she would wrap her arms around my neck sweetly, bring her little cherub face close to mine, gaze into my eyes and whisper seriously "Mommy, can I have another present?" Now that she realizes it really is all over, she "wraps" "presents" all the time and insists that some sort of gift giving game happens pretty much everyday. 

Teia's pink bike with black tires came equipped with a Meow seat. Good thinking Santa! The very easily misplaced teeny, weeny, little, tiny pink cat - not such good thinking. The bike got tested out right away, one of the perks of living in San Diego.

Uncle Meeko and Auntie Aynsley arrived on Christmas Day which was a wonderful present for all of us. 

They were just in time for a run on the beach with Kai and Christmas Dinner.

So many more pictures and stories to share. Another day, another blogstory. But I will share that I discovered the salve for post-Christmas blues (you know, when you have to pack all the decorations away and throw the tree out): Leave it all up WAY too long. 

A Tale of Two Music Lions

On Christmas Eve a very special visitor arrived, Music Lion's English cousin, via the North Pole.

For those not familiar, Music Lion is a very special friend of Kai's. They hang out together all the time and are often up to no good. Kai is very knowledgeable about music lion. It has a gender: female (which makes perfect sense b/c when Kai looked between Music Lion's legs to see, well....she was a girl). But Music Lions do pee through their tails, in case you were wondering. Just ask Kai, he'll show you. They're pretty close. If anything is bothering Kai, it is usually bothering Music Lion too.

When we asked Kai what he wanted to ask Santa to bring him for Christmas his answer was "a new Music Lion." Anything else? "Nope, just a new Music Lion." You see Kai's Music Lion is also known as "Non Music Lion" b/c she hasn't played music for a very long time.

Grandma Barbie heard about this request and saw to it that Santa got a little help. You see Music Lions only exist now in the wilds of the UK, where they are not yet discontinued. So New Music Lion had a visit to Auntie Rosemarie's house in the UK, then onto Canada before arriving in San Diego, fresh off Santa's sleigh.

We all waited with baited breath for Kai's reaction, would he accept the nervous newcomer?

Yup, with open arms :-)

New Music Lion, we've been told, is a boy, unlike his predecessor. But he also pees through his tail, because that is what Music Lions do. Kai has also been commenting on his very bright orange coloring and his thickly stuffed arms, qualities no longer apparent in Old Music Lion (as he is now known), or Music Lion One. Kai has really gotten a kick out of having Two Music Lions. He spent a fair bit of Christmas day looking at his buddies and saying to himself in a little bit of disbelief "Two Music Lions..."

When Teia saw New Music Lion she asked quizzically "What is on his head?" You see, Teia is too young to remember the days when Old Music Lion still wore a crown. 

Kai and Teia went to town on the key to the music box that sticks out of ML's bum, pretty quickly insuring that New Music Lion didn't play music anymore either. But no one seems to mind. I guess its not about the music after all. 

Sibling Love

At Kindergarten Kai decorates a folder each month to keep his worksheets in. At the end of the month he gets to bring it home. During the fall his folders were decorated with trolleys. He decided to start the New Year off with a different theme: Teia

And its not a Teia lolly pop; she is going pee. 

Will get some Christmas stories and photos posted soon!

First Santa Encounter

Teia and Kai have never been to visit a mall Santa. I know most families have the quaint pic of the kids on Santa's knee. We have alot of pics. But not that one. Mostly it is my deep seated aversion to malls after the 1st of December. And my deep seated aversion to crowds and standing in lines. Because of my aversions, my kids are missing out. But I don't worry about it too much. I think while they may be missing out on the mall Santa, they're still pretty happy kiddos and at this point, they don't really know what they're missing.

Still when Santa showed up at Greg's work party last week, I was curious to see their reaction. I have heard about screams of terror and refusals to go near the mall Santa from some of my friends' little ones, while others perch happily on his knee recounting their Christmas list.

Teia was ripping it up on the dance floor when Santa arrived, while Kai was taking care of business in the lou (so he missed the jingle bell announced arrival). I wish I had known it was about to happen so I could have whipped out the video cam b/c the emotions that danced across Teia's little face were unforgettable. First surprise turning to shock turning to "don't you dare make me go up there!"

Even the lure of a present couldn't persuade her, although after Mama stood in and rec'd Teia's gift on her behalf, she wouldn't let go of it. Kai to our surprise willingly, albeit guardedly, walked up to Santa. "Would you like to sit on Santa's knee?" the ol' Christmassy fella asked. "No" was Kai's definitive yet calm response. Then he ever so tentatively accepted his present, not really sure about the whole thing.

So here it is, the first pic of a Fennell kidlet with the guy in the red suit.