Happy New Years!

It’s almost 2013. When I was a kid, my friends and I all thought the future would look very different. For example, we thought that by now there would be hover skateboards and flying cars and robot servants. We didn’t think that things would look about the same except we would use cell phones instead of making more concrete plans, email instead of writing, Netflix instead of the local video store, and Amazon for everything.

Here are some of my New Year’s Resolutions, in no particular order:

• To communicate and/or see friends more, especially those that don't live that far away.
• Make better friends with our neighbors. They are really cool and I need to be more neighborly.
• Be in more photos with Fiona. It is so sad, but often she looks at photos on the computer or my blog and asks "where's mommy?" because I am not in the photo. If I die suddenly, I want a record that I was there with her so she can see how much I love her.
• Be less morbid and more positive, more forgiving, and less critical of others.
• Get rid of more stuff and don't buy any more new stuff (been pretty good about this one, but I could always improve).
• Hand write more letters.
• Finish my project that is the first major hurdle to a Ph.D.

Normally I do not make resolutions on December 31/January 1 and instead use my birthday as the mile marker for myself (what do I want to accomplish this year?). But this year feels different, maybe because I need a change or just because November and December were such stressful months. I need a break from that time and it seems like the turning of a calendar page is as good a time as any to make that break.

We took Fiona on another hike. Here are some photos of her with her backpack. She carries her own snacks and water. Even though it seems that the water would be heavy, she does not mind it at all. On this hike, she figured out how to squat on her own. No more hand holding from me.

We hiked in the same area as the last hike, but a different trail. This one was much flatter and Fi did most of the walking herself, except for a very steep climb to the top of Lizard Rock, when I carried her in the Ergo.

We saw a many legged creature and stopped to admire, while Fi touched it:

Lizard Rock and Friday’s teepee:

 

We stopped by this rock and Fiona climbed on it, but not before noticing the crack and declaring it “the rock’s tushie”:

Fi exploring a plant with burs:

 

Well, that’s it! I hope everyone has a happy and healthy 2013, full good times, good friends, and family!

Happy New Year!

A Hike on Friday

Yesterday was a beautiful day! We decided to take Fi on a little hike, so we headed to Thousand Oaks to Wildwood Park to Paradise Falls. Our hiking book describes Paradise Falls as “plunging 70 feet down a wall of volcanic rock into a large pool.” A photo of the falls is on the back cover of the book. The hike is supposed to be short, only three miles round trip. It is mostly flat, with a little bit of up and down, but nothing very strenuous. We set out a little late and underestimated just how slow we move when Fi is walking because she likes to make frequent stops to look at rocks, pick up sticks, and explore plants, not unlike a certain friend of mine. In fact, at one point, John commented that “hiking with Fi is like hiking with Jen.” All in all the hike lasted about two and a half hours instead of the one and a half promised by the book.

We began by waiting for John to finish some phone calls related to the flood at my parents’ house two weeks ago. The surrounding area is very pretty and everything was colored vibrant green from the recent rains, so Fi and I sat on a rock and posed for photos:

 

My goal to make sure that there are lots of photos of me with Fi. So often I am the one behind the camera and so when Fiona looks at photos, she asks “Where’s Mommy?” and it makes me very sad. Years from now I want her to look at photos and know I was there.

First thing on the trail, Fiona requested carrots:

The hike was really uneventful. Fi fell once while running with carrots in her hand, and I showed her how to squat to pee in the wilderness. When I asked her what her favorite part of the day was, she insisted it was when Mommy went to the bathroom. Speaking of that, we have been potty training Fi and she goes without a diaper during the day. Even on the hike, she had no accidents and successfully squatted twice. She talked about it a lot yesterday evening.

Here we are at Paradise Falls:

 

 

 

There is a very good reason for the “no swimming” sign. The pool is not deep, the creek is not fast moving, or even deep enough to swim in, however, the water that feeds the creek and the waterfall is run-off from yards above the park. When I asked a ranger if the falls were running, he told me that they run year-round. As long as people water their lawns and wash their cars, there will be a creek with a waterfall. It explains why the area around the falls and close to the creek smelled bad, sort of sewery (because it is essentially a sewer). EW!

Fiona climbing up stairs:

Stopping to throw rocks through the fence:

Running and yelling like a crazy person, and giggling hysterically:

 

 

This is the “I desperate need a nap” a face:

We checked this bridge for trolls, but none were found:

  

There is a neat cave, called “Indian Cave” that we climbed into and out of:

 

It had two entrances and Fiona called it the Condor Cave because it was a little like the Condor cave at the zoo.

She was pretty tired and we wanted to get back to the car because we were running out of snacks and water and missed lunchtime, so we put her in the Ergo for most of the walk back (from the cave, we only had about half a mile left anyway):

She really wanted to walk back, especially when we were going uphill, but I carried her a lot of the way anyway, letting her out when we came to stairs.

She napped in the car and we had a nice little evening at home, where I cuddled her and she made a sour face:

 

Today, when asked what she wants to do, she keeps suggesting going for a hike, but it rained most of the morning, so we did not go. I can’t wait to take her again, though, I know she loves it and so do we!

Christmas 2012

Well, it’s Boxing Day, a good time to talk about how yesterday was. Fi has been sleeping in lately, proving my theory that the only reason she gets up early is because we do. She has been falling asleep a little later, more like 8 or 8:15 instead of  7:30 like she used to. But she slept until after 7 yesterday and today. In fact, today she slept until 7:30! Glorious sleep in! When she woke up yesterday, I picked her up, brought her into the living room and gave her presents to open. She loved them all, each more than the last, and spent the morning playing with them.

The first gift, Lincoln Logs:

 

Lincoln Logs were some of my favorite toys when I was a kid. I spent hours playing with them.

Legos:

Fi absolutely LOVED the legos! We had to pry her away to finish opening the rest of her gifts.

Magnadoodle:

 

 

First, Fi had to count the circles on the wrapping paper before opening it.

The mess 20 minutes later:

Fi also got a Mr. Potato Head that she loves a lot.

All in all it was a good haul for her. We feel that we do not need to get her any more toys of a long time. My parents just gave her a new puzzle today, so she is set for at least the first half of 2013.

The happy parents:

John got a gift card to our favorite coffee shop, from Fi. He also got two boxes of Turtles that he ate almost immediately. No joking, they are already gone. He also got a nice coffee cup that looks like a to-go cup from a coffee place, and some new coffee as ours is running low and I make mochas for him at home. I got new cookie sheets. If you saw the old cookie sheet, you would wonder what house fire it survived. It was very cute. John actually wrapped the cookie sheets in wrapping paper with reindeer, then wrote “Hannukah Deer” on it with arrows pointing at the deer. I didn’t take a picture as I was too busy playing with Fi’s new toys.

After we cleaned up a little and ate breakfast, we got dressed and went to the zoo. It was cold, so a lot of the animals were curled up in furry balls:

 

I’ve seen a Channel Island Fox in the wild, when one ran through our campground on Santa Cruz Island when Jen and I spent the night out there.

The gibbon and gorilla were unwittingly imitating each other:

 

The black gibbon was snuggling in a tree:

For once in their lives, the lions were NOT curled up in balls or lying around:

  

The male was sniffing the female’s rear end. Eventually they returned to their usual recumbent positions, but it was nice to see them actually walking around.

A cute critter eating a snack:

The anteater was out and about:

Fi was disappointed that the titi monkeys weren’t out playing and climbing (due to the cold) but she more than made up for it by climbing all over Grandma and Grandpa.

Who can resist that smile?

I will leave off with a picture from earlier this month, of Fi riding a bike that our neighbors left on their front lawn with a “free” sign: