The CRAAAAAAZY Plan!

This past weekend (adjusted for pre-dating, of course!), Mormor gave William and I the gift of time....she babysat the kids for the weekend so we could sneak off and have a weekend (technically 34 hours) alone. This was the 1st time in 4 1/2 years that William and I have had an overnight without kids.

WOO WOO!!!

Here's Mormor with the kids:


And here's Mommy and Daddy at the airport, absconding from their parental duties!

We took a trip to Vancouver, BC, to see William's favorite group, Oysterband, which he has never managed to see live. When we're in England, they're in Sweden, when we were in Sweden, they were touring England. ...and they hadn't been to the "new world" in YEARS. So we flew up Saturday morning, drank a bit much at a pub, walked to dinner, and walked to the concert.

The show was GREAT!

And when we got home again, Mormor got to pick a few oranges from our tree to bring home. That woman loves her fresh-picked citrus.

19 April - Our last day before coming home

On our last day before going home, we visited with Neen, Pete and Dani, a too-short visit, of course, as usual.

We had to zoom down from their house to Mormor's for Ria's nap and to let William pack while Iain and I continued to visit with our respective friends. (Pete had to go to work....poor Pete!)

Iain and Dani climbed rocks and ran around the yard:

While Neen and I did that boring adult talking thing that kids don't quite understand


...and Grandpa Henry had a final snuggle with his new girlfriend

Homeward Ho!

18 April: A Visit to the Airplane Museum on Quonset

On the 18th, we went to the Quonset Air Museum on Quonset Point. The kids had a great (and dirty!) time. I must say, however, that the childrens play area makes an unusual counterpoint to the dusty floor and the helicopters and jet planes!

Kids enjoying the cockpit:

Checking out the innards of a helicopter (i think!):

Check out the grunge level!

17 April - A Quiet Day in RI

After a number of crazy days, we had a quiet day with Mormor and Grandpa Henry in RI. The kids played together, Iain and Mormor climbed rocks, and there was playhouse action.

Ria Walks Assisted!!!! 16 April

On the 16th, we drove down to Mormor's house for the Rhode Island part of the trip.

After dinner, as I was about to start Ria's bedtime routine, she decided that maybe Grandpa Henry had a point, and she should try some of this walking stuff. And, suddenly (if 18 months and 1 week old could count as "suddenly" when it comes to walking), there she was, walking around while holding Henry's hands. Woo woo!

Promptly she walked with Iain, and then with Henry again, and then with Mormor. (She, notably, refused to walk with her mother!)

Here's my very first properly edited video, with titles, even! For some reason my cross fade from Iain's walk to Henry's title screen disappeared, I hope you all forgive me. Also, despite the fact that Henry got her to take her 1st steps, I put Iain's video first, for obvious reasons ;-).

Enjoy!

A Visit to an Old Friend - 15 April

A number of years ago, a good high school friend of mine, Ann Elise, decided to see where I had disappeared to. She found me in California, while she was by then situated in northern New Hampshire. When Eva and Andy bought the campground, we decided that we should try to get together in person.

Last year, the weather denied us access, despite our best efforts. However, this year we managed it. Ann Elise, her husband Dan, and their nifty kids Matthew and Kathryn, made us very welcome, and made us a yummy dinner. Here we all are!

And, the official reunion photo (with miss Ria attempting to upstage us):

13 April - more fun with cousins

Fun with cousins on 13 April:
Tor and Ria:
A cardboard sledding contest, possibly the silliest contestants!

Iain spells the important names

Bjorn tickles Iain
Cousins, Auntie Eva, and doggy Ginger:

And Ria and Eva do some bonding!

A busy Saturday in New Hampshire

Saturday was a busy busy day with big cousins Tor and Björn. First we went to the water to throw stones and check out some snow. We started by all making silly faces.

Then Ria checked out some snow.

Björn and Ria played with golfballs while Iain watched.

Eva and Andy looked happy

And Tor let Iain DRIVE!!!

We're in New Hampshire!!

We're here!!!!

(Ria, Auntie Eva, Björn, Tor, Iain)

18 months old!

Ria is now 18 months old!

She's 26.75 pounds, and 33.75 inches. Tall and trim.

-16 teeth - for a while there we were getting one a week. UGH!
- still crawls, fast as the dickens.
- cruises the furniture
- @~ 17.25 months, she finally started letting go while standing for a second or two at a time. But this has not progressed much.
- still not walking, but there's nothing physically holding her back. Our pediatrician thinks its all in her head, she's uncertain about letting go. The musculature is all there.
- climbs both up and down stairs safely. climbs onto the beds. climbs up the kitchen stools and will happily take one bite out of each pear on the counter...climbs, climbs, climbs.

She is starting the language spurt!
"Beep" was her 1st fully enunciated word. She's still terribly proud of her lovely "p" at the end. She likes to point at things and say "DIS", to ask what "this" is called. Repeat ad infinitum. Noone but us can really understand, but we're enjoying the better communication.

She's quite "toddler". She'll say "NO" while doing/almost doing things she's not supposed to do. "Uh oh" while she actively drops or tosses things to where she can't get it. She'll insist that she's done eating when you know she's starving (Sorry, girl, 2 bites just don't fill that belly of yours!), just so she can get down and mess with whatever she saw from the table that looked interesting. She will get ANGRY at Iain if she can't grab what she wants, and has headbutted him once. She will get ANGRY when it takes you more than 20 seconds to change her diaper. She still will blow kisses at the drop of a hat, and leans in cutely for a real kiss if she's in the mood. She will open the screen door, crawl out, say "buh bye!", and close the door in your face, only to open it again 2 seconds later.

Here's a cute video from several weeks ago, with Ria and Iain enjoying "Dance of the Blue Turtles" by Sting. Notice how she copies Iain when he bangs the floor ;-).