January 2016

 

It’s February! That means it’s time to write about our adventures last month. January in Southern California was cold and dry. We had one big storm that covered all the mountains around us with snow. It is such an amazing sight, however I did not get pictures because some of the best places to get them are also in the middle of busy roads. The pattern here is that after it snows, the temperature warms up enough that the snow is gone by the afternoon. Fiona began another tap dance class and Victoria took a nap in the stroller (what else is new?):

  

The big deal in January is that we spent a long weekend in Mammoth! Fiona had an extra Monday off school because of a teacher in-service, so we took advantage of me not working this year and it not being a holiday weekend to make the long long drive up the Owens Valley to Mammoth. When I was much younger and did not have anything better to do, I used to go to Mammoth a lot. Boy has that place changed! The drive is still the same, but with far fewer stretches of single-lane highway. We left Friday after Fiona finished school, piled everyone and every thing into the car and off we went.

    

We stayed in a condo that we rented for three nights. I would likely never do that again with small kids. Too late when I asked, but my cousin told me to get a room in one of the lodges as it is much more convenient, even if it is much more expensive. I’m pretty sure pretty much everything was booked when I was making plans (only about two weeks out) so if there is ever a next time, I’m making reservations MONTHS in advance. We arrived in the evening and it was snowing! It snowed all night and most of the next day. Fiona took ski lessons:

 

We returned to the condo during the lessons, so that Victoria could take a proper nap and I could blow my nose and drink warm liquids in peace. When we returned, the sun was out and we watched Fiona go up the Magic Carpet and come down a gentle slope using the snow plow (or wedge). I got video of her coming down again because I wasn’t fast enough with the camera the first time:

The icicles:

 

A little cutie in her thermal base-layer:

  

While Fiona was in ski lessons, we tried to hang out in the lodge. We ran into someone we know from Ventura, which was fun. I felt just awful. I was really congested and had a sore throat. The lodge wasn’t set up for anything more than eating and moving on. We picked this particular one because I originally planned to snowboard (and I used to start on this part of the mountain because it was far less busy with some great easy blue square warm up runs), but the combination of my horrible cold (that I still have, and everyone in the family now has) and Victoria’s not sleeping AT ALL Friday night made me want to do nothing more than drink hot tea and try to pretend my face wasn’t about to fall off. To make matters worse, the bedroom we were using with Victoria, and its attached bathroom, smelled like cigarette smoke. The walls were so thin I assumed it was seeping in from a neighbor. It was awful and we eventually took everything out and piled into the bedroom Fiona was using. She didn’t mind and we all slept better, but it made for some very restless nights at first. The condo was really not set up for families with small children and I would likely never stay there again. With older children, absolutely, but young children, nope. Frankly, even though it was overall a fun trip (Fiona didn’t want to leave and told us from the moment we got there and for the rest of the weekend), I would not recommend taking a trip like this unless both kids can ski. Or, stay in the hotel at the lodge.

The following day was sunny and we all went cross-country skiing. We didn’t take any pictures! It was so fun and relaxed. There was SO MUCH SNOW! Fiona really enjoyed it because it meant we were all together. We bundled Victoria up and put her in one of those harnessed hiking backpack things that looks like an exo-skeleton from a sci-fi movie. Fiona wore sunglasses and gloves that were very similar to mine. Cross-country areas are very relaxed and all the people are very friendly. And they love seeing kids out on the tracks! Mammoth actually has a whole program for local kids, who compete in races. We spent all day at the cross-country area, then returned to the condo and ate take-out hamburgers for dinner. I love cross-country skiing! One doesn’t get the thrill of downhill but being outside in the sunshine and the birds and all the open space…it doesn’t get any nicer than that. Plus, no waiting in lift-lines and the tickets and rentals are a fraction of the cost of downhill. For example, all the rentals and tickets for cross-country cost about $140 for a full day for all of us. One all-day downhill lift ticket at Mammoth that weekend was $125! The last time I snowboarded there, it was $45 and I think I tried to convince them I was under 18 to get it even cheaper (it didn’t work for some reason). Yikes!

In the morning, we packed up but left out the snow gear and stopped a park we saw the day before:

 

Fiona said “Look Mommy! I’m making fresh tracks!”

 

My meager attempt at a snowman:

 

The snow was so fluffy it wouldn’t even form balls. I had to find a piece of ice to make the body, then pack what I could around it. I used a carrot and blueberries for the nose, eyes, and mouth.

 

I taught Fiona to make snow angels:

 

Those little brown things sticking out of the snow are picnic benches, that is how much snow there was:

 

Goodbye Mammoth Mountain! The conditions were truly epic, even though I did not get to take advantage of them at all and felt physically miserable the whole time. Oh well, I’ve been in some great snow conditions in my life so on the one hand, I know what I’m missing, but on the other hand I know it won’t be the last time I ever see them again.

On the drive home, I took lots of photos of the White Mountains and others:

 

White Mountain itself:

I’ve been on top of it. Very easy hike up, with a little hut at the top that I am sure is prime breeding ground for Hanta Virus.

Mount Tom, also hiked up that scree pile:

    

Back home, it was warm and sunny. John built a swing-set for the girls at my parents house:

 

 

It took over a month to complete because he only ever spent a couple of hours at a time and the set had hundreds of parts.

The girls play together a lot more now, often Fiona chases Victoria, who screeches in delight.

  

 

Fiona was hiding under the table and Victoria joined her:

 

Victoria trying to get her milk sippy:

 

I would really like to nurse her until she is 2, but I don’t think we are going to make it that far. She doesn’t drink a lot of milk from her sippy, but she isn’t really that interested in nursing as much, unless it’s the middle of the night. Right now she is very congested and it’s not as easy to nurse. She has to take lots of breaks. I’m sure my supply isn’t what it once was, so it’s not like milk is just flowing easily for her.

We spend a lot of time outside lately, because there is no such thing as winter here:      

I love it when the girls play together!

  

In development news, Victoria got her last lateral incisor and her first molar in January. It’s been the opposite of fun. Fiona also got her first two adult molars. Victoria thinks she can read, and loves to read to us. Here is a video of her reading to my mom:

And reading to John:

She is very comminucative and plays peek-a-boo by hiding behind a curtain and sticking her head out. She lets us know what she wants to eat either by pointing to it, or by going to the refrigerator and banging on the door, then handing us whatever it is when we open the fridge. Once she even gave John a bowl to make it easier for him to get her berries. She doesn’t like to be spoon fed anymore, so everything I make for dinner needs to have the capablity of being eaten with the hands. I think she sings. She has a pair of shoes now and when she wants to put them on, she brings them to me (or whoever) and sits down, presenting her feet. It’s very cute. She calls Fiona “Baa Baa”, so now we know when she is calling her. She closes the garbage if it is open, and sometimes helps clean up. The other day, she helped John unload the dishwasher by handing him all the dishes she could reach. It was so cute and reminded me of her sister at a similar age. She walked all the way around the block by herself (I mean, on her own two feet, not that she was alone when she did it) and loves to be outside. She will request to have her shoes put on and then bang on the door to let us know she wants out. She likes to put things on her head and run around, making us laugh. She is such a joy and delight. I can’t believe how lucky we are to have her, how lucky we are to have both girls. Fiona can really read now. It’s amazing to me, as I was not reading or writing at her age.

Here is a video of Fiona practicing her piano:

She hadn't been to class in a couple of weeks and wasn't practicing very much. The cords are really hard for her because her fingers don't stretch far enough to get a three finger cord, so she only uses two. It's hard to practice because she needs help, and sometimes we are supposed to play a duet together, but I cannot always help because I'm trying to occupy Victoria. I imagine that when Victoria is older and takes music lessons, it will be easier for her because I won't be trying to wrangle a toddler at the same time. Still and all, I think this is not bad for two handed playing by a kid who practices maybe once a week.

Here is a last video of Victoria walking in and out the back door, without needing to use her hands and knees:

Happy rest of winter! I hope it brings everything one can want: Lots of rain to the drought-stricken areas, not as much to the places that get enough on a regular basis anyway. I read that the offical groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil didn’t see his shadow, so I guess we Spring will be earlier than expected (or wanted around these parts).