Monday, August 30, 2010

Canada or bust

Armed with her crisp passport, Anya and I took the ferry from Anacortes to Sidney, B.C. We met my parents on their boat and stayed aboard for a week. After nearly a month and half of no baby time, my parents were thrilled to cuddle up with Anya and spoil her rotten.

Myles met up with us for a long weekend and it was a blast. I was a bit nervous about the sleeping arrangements since her pack and play would not fit on the boat. We made a "nest" for her on the side of the bed in the aft cabin and she took to it immediately. Unfortunately we had to oust the grandparents from their master suite to the lowely forward cabin, but both claimed they enjoyed their bunks up there too. Anya did take some afternoon naps on both her grandpa and grandma as seen in the pictures. I'm sure they hated every minute of it.... yeah right!

Bath time on the boat was interesting. Anya took showers with us, as well as a bath in the sink. Her favorite was her bucket in the shower though- she never wanted to get out of it.
The weather was beautiful- a bit cold, but that seems to be the norm for this summer anyway. We spent most the time in ports on dock but did spend two nights at Tumbo and Cabbage island crabbing, fishing, hiking, and playing on the beach. Anya didn't fall over board, nor did she tumble down either set of stairs from the main salon to the kitchen or bedroom so I think the trip was a success. She roamed around in circles wobbling with the boat rocking and crashing from time to time. I actually think her walking skills improved after having the extra balance challenge of being aboard the boat for a while.

She napped well, ate well, and slept well at night. We had a few early mornings once she realized she could stand up and peer over the bed at me trying to sleep in until at least 6am. This was my vacation for god's sake- doesn't she understand that? Ha ha.


This is most definitely a fun age. I am trying to enjoy her as much as possible. She is saying new words everyday, starting to run a little and generally getting much more stable on her two legs, and she loves to laugh and be silly. It is so fun to play with her and be ridiculous. Myles is getting in on the crazy stuff too- we end up laughing at each other most the time which of course elicits a cackle from Anya. We haven't hit the "naughty" stage yet; she will definitely test her boundaries and look for reactions, but generally she is pretty good.
I love this picture of her trying to push Myles's sled with a big weight on it. You go girl!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Pictures




Anya is walking but progress has slowed due to illness. YES- she is sick AGAIN! We are a week into battling a fever which turned to croup, which is now a sinus infection... lord help us. Anya has been nice enough to share this most recent illness with her parents. Both Myles and I are ill so our house looks like a Kleenex factory blew up and the drug store might want to think about re-stocking their shelves. Aside from being miserably tired and sick we are all hanging in there.

We were able to go out on the boat several times in the past few weeks which was nice. A week ago we invited the Youngs out for a evening sail. Being the crazy people we are we had two 14 month olds on board. It went reasonably well considering Harry had skipped his afternoon nap and unbeknownst to us Anya was coming down with a fever. We had planned to BBQ on board but the propane was out so instead with hiked the food home, put the kids to bed and ate outside in the backyard chatting until nearly 10. Being adults and having conversations is much easier when the little ones are sleeping peacefully.

Grandma and Grandpa are out on their boat so I have been relying on Belinda (Harry's mom), family, and friends to help watch Anya while I teach. Oma is coming up this week to stay a few nights and help with Anya- Momma needs a little break so I'm very much looking forward to it. She is easy when she is well but sick Anya and sick Mama make a miserable cranky pair. Just ask Myles! :)

We also spent a beautiful sunny Saturday down in Gig Harbor at Oma and Opa's house. Anya played all day with cousin Chloe and they both got very dirty but had a blast. I have added a video of Anya on the beach and she decided to taste a fist full of mud while I am taping- couldn't have planned it better.



Boone is really starting to love Anya. She feeds him snacks all the time and he is tolerating her "loves" (hugging him- or generally laying on him).