Sophia is walking!

Sophia giving a kiss to the bear (one of the toys inherited from Luly)


Lounging around (with the Ikea crocodile my Mom & I bought at a recent garage sale)


Sophia enjoying babushka's car ride


Sophia with an empty plate & still asking for more :-)

I came home from work yesterday & my nanny Irina & my Mom had a surprise for me. Sophia started to walk all my herself! They proceeded to demonstrate it to me by having her walk towards me without holding on to furniture or someone's hand. Sophia was so proud of herself & walked carefully while giggling the whole time. The giggles turned into laughter as she fell into my open arms.
She started walking at exactly 14.5 months (Gerritt started to walk on December 12th 2008, also at the age of about 14.5 months). I remember his walks were wabbly for a couple of weeks, & then, all of a sudden, he started running everywhere. I can't wait for Sophia to get to this important milestone. She is such a fiesty young woman, refusing to be left behind in anything fun. She insists on going to the back yard & to the playground with all of the other children, even if it means she has to crawl for most of the time.
Sophia has been ravenously hungry lately. She yells "Amah!" all day long (Russian for I'm hungry). If she sees someone holding or eating food, she crawls to them as fast as she can & then asks to be fed, even if she just ate recently. Not sure where all this food goes... She must be going through a growth spurt.
Gerritt & I have gone through another dozen of library books:

The Boy on the Bus by Penny Dale
Spot Bakes a Cake by Eric Hill (Gerritt's favorite)
Spot Visits his Grandparents by Eric Hill
Spot Goes to the Beach by Eric Hill
Charlie Cook's Favorite Book by Julia Donaldson (another favorite, although a bit advanced for a 2.5 year old)
One Ted Falls Out of Bed by Julia Donaldson
What Brothers Do Best/What Sisters Do Best by Laura Numeroff
Dog Wants to Play by Christine McDonnell
Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See by Bill Martin Jr. & Eric Carle
The Easter Egg by Jan Brett
Wake Up, It's Spring! by Lisa Campbell Ernst
Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. & Eric Carle

It seems we discover more interesting books every time we go to the library. I enjoy reading them as much as Gerritt enjoys listening to me read. I wonder how many books we will read by the time he starts the first grade? The American children are notorious for scoring poorly on vocabulary tests. Will Gerritt be better prepared for school as a result of all this reading? Hmmm... I hope so.

Goodbye Luly

The bike riding


Using left over wood to create a car race track


Gerritt & Luly bathing toy animals


Bubbles!

Tonight we had a birthday celebration for Gerritt's friend Luly who turned 6 years old. It's still surprising to me how she & Gerritt became such good friends with a 3.5-year age difference. Thankfully, Luly fell in love with Gerritt present (Furreal Friends Snuggimals Kitten) & proceeded to carry it around with her for the rest of the night. Luly's parents were packing for their move out of state the next day, so the birthday party was small. Gerritt loves to blow out candles, but restrained himself to allow Luly to do it all by herself. After the birthday party, Luly & Gerritt came to our house to play with a water sprinkler. By the end of the night they both were soaked & cold, but happy. Gerritt will certainly miss his fun loving playmate. Luly's parents ran out of room in their moving trailer so Gerritt inherited 3 big boxes of Luly's toys. Thank you & goodbye, Luly, Gerritt's dear childhood friend!


Gerritt & Luly with her birthday present - the kitten


The birthday cake


Playing with a water sprinkler later that night

Love at First Sight

Gerritt & I went to the gorgeous Grasslawn Community Park a few days ago & here's what I observed. Gerritt loves all kinds of animals & couldn't resist planting a kiss on this toy raccoon. I have always been very affectionate with my children, & looks like some of my loving nature has passed on to him. :-)

Sophia & Babushka

Sophia & babushka Nina


Bonding at sunset


3 generations of women: grandmother Nina, daughter Lena, & granddaughter Sophia (One blood running in our veins, very different physical looks. No outsider would believe we were related!)


Babushka helping Sophia walk


The girls in the garden

Ever since coming back for another visit, my Mom has fallen in love with Sophia all over again. She loves her chubby rolls & soft curly hair. Gerritt is still in his "Mommy" stage right now, which left babushka no choice but to form a close bond with Sophia. Plus Sophia is such a pretty girl, small & gentle (she reminds me of a delicate flower); it's hard not to fall in love with her. My Mom just can't get enough of Sophia & insists on doing everything for her: sleeping next to her crib every night (a welcome break for my hubby); feeding, bathing, dressing & playing with her.
Sophia learned how to give kisses recently - all one needs to do is ask. "Kiss, kiss, Sophia!" or "Potselui, potselui, Sophia (Russian for kiss)!", & she leans towards you & plants a gentle kiss somewhere on your face. She also knows how to open all of the kitchen drawers & a garbage can; loves to play with electronic gadgets including a TV remote & a phone; & is walking by herself more often while holding on to the wall, a chair or a toy car/wagon. Sophia is very talkative & her favorite words are "Papa" (Russian for Daddy), "Amah!" (Russian for "I'm hungry"), "Nana" (banana), & "Cayou" (name of her favorite Caillou cartoon character). The things she is afraid of are textured objects such as a bumpy frog or a hairy lion (we actually had to hide this touch-and-feel book), a picture of the Siamese cat (also hid that one), crawling bugs or flying insects, her vibrating teething toy (present from her nanny Irina), & tall dark men (sorry, Trader Joe's crew member). Go figure... We finally weaned Sophia off her pacifier (no more photos of her with a binky clipped to her clothes). It was a difficult time for all of us when she was sick last since she did a lot of mouth breathing due to nasal congestion. The good news is that she couldn't use her pacifier any more, so we used this perfect opportunity to get rid of it forever.
What is new with Gerritt? Let me see... We took him out of his Russian daycare for good last week. First, for monetary reasons; second, he hasn't made much progress in his potty training while going there. My work hours have been reduced significantly due to the economy (cancelled shifts at the hospital & frequent low census hours at the clinic due to reduced patient volume), so it didn't make financial sense anymore to pay for outside childcare while having a full-time nanny at home. We are also so tired of changing Gerritt's dirty diapers, so having an attentive nanny with an egg timer (thanks to my husband for the idea!) might be just what he needs. Gerritt learned how to open doors (by twisting the door knobs) a couple of months ago. His favorite TV show is the Caillou cartoon. He also loves to do his Cars movie floor puzzle several times a day (it's a must before going to bed). It is pretty complex, & Gerritt learned to do it unassisted surprisingly fast. If only he could master using the potty as well...
The 1st week with my Mom is always the roughest. Here are some of the things we differ on:

- Turning an AC on or standing in front of it (like Gerritt likes to do) will give you pneumonia.
- Children must keep their feet warm at all times (that means wearing socks & shoes even on a hot summer day).
- Eating ice cream too fast will give you a strep throat. Everything the children eat must be served at room temperature.
- Allowing Gerritt to try on my jewelry & big feminine hats may cause him to become gay.

After a week of constant arguing my husband & I usually give up & just let my Mom do things her own way (sigh...). Only 8 more days to go until we have our house & family back. :-)

Babushka Is Here!

The rabbits were so used to people, they ate off Gerritt's hand without fear


Another adorable newfound friend


Playing on the beach near the Haystack Rock

My Mom has arrived from Russia on July 9th for another 3-week visit. One day of rest on Saturday & Russian babushka (grandma), Gerritt & I headed off to Cannon Beach on Sunday. Despite cool weather & even a sprinkling of rain, we've managed to tour the downtown; made several trips to the beach as well as multiple rabbit-feeding excursions; got our feet wet in the ocean; attempted to build a sand castle; slept in a log cabin, & enjoyed a campfire.


Gerritt & Mommy


The horse stables

We stayed at the Sea Ranch RV Park & Stables for only $100/night. Our log cabin was equiped with a small refrigerator, microwave, kitchen sink, a hot water shower, & a bunk bed with mattresses. Nothing fancy, but comfortable, clean & a good deal for a resort town in season. Besides the log cabins, the Park also has multiple tent camping sites. It is a dog-friendly place, so Gerritt enjoyed petting other campers' adorable pooches. The Park is within the walking distance to the beach, so it was great to park our car & just explore the town on foot.


Gerritt running on the beach


The campfire with babushka Nina on the evening prior to our departure

We didn't ride the horses, but showed the beautiful horse stables to Gerritt. I had several deja vu experiences on this trip. Traveling to Cannon Beach was our first trip when my husband & I just started dating in 2004. The second trip took place when I was pregnant with Gerritt.
A 2-night stay with about 5-hour drive each way was probably a bit short to count as a relaxing vacation, however, we were anxious to get back home to sick Sophia who had another round of teething/cold/flu-like symptoms. At least Gerritt got a glimpse of real ocean & the famous Haystack Rock. I will cherish the memory of us running together along the beach & away from the crashing waves forever. I taught Gerritt to collect sea shells, so he gave the prettiest one as a gift to babushka. She intends to keep it in her purse as a reminder of this trip. :-)

July Flowers

Summer is finally here & I couldn't help photographing the plentiful array of flowers in my garden. Hydrangeas, roses, clematis, daisies, nasturtiums, & buddleia (the butterfly bush)... I've always loved gardening & even though I don't have much time for it at this stage of my life, I still enjoy cultivating simple flowers (or mostly admiring the ones planted by the previous owner of our house). Our new, wedding-anniversary-gift camera didn't disappoint & helped me to capture some of the colorful beauty outside. Perhaps I will look at the photos of these gorgeous flowers during cold winter months to remind myself that spring & summer will eventually come again...

Artichokes

There is no summer grilling without nutrient-dense steamed or roasted artichokes. While vacationing in lake Chelan, we prepared them for one of our dinners. Artichokes contain some of the most powerful, polyphenol-type antioxidants & their antioxidant load is greater than that of red wine & chocolate (!). Artichokes are also great sources of fiber, vitamin C, folate, magnesium, & potassium. One medium cooked artichoke contains about 10 grams of dietary fiber (it's recommended men consume 30-38 grams/day & women consume 21-25 grams/day).
Our favorite way of steaming them involves a stove top. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Place artichokes in pot above water on steamer rack. Squeeze juice of 1 lemon into boiling water. Cook until tender, about 45 minutes.
Artichokes may also be roasted in an oven. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Drizzle olive oil & stuff chopped garlic between the artichokes' petals. Sprinkle top with 1/2 teaspoon sea salt. Tightly wrap & seal each individual artichoke with heavy-duty foil. Place in pre-heated oven & bake for 1.5 hrs. Remove from oven & let cool before unwrapping.
We usually serve the artichokes with the following dip (it also works well on asparagus): place 1/2 cup of mayonnaise (or vegenaise), 1/2 cup of plain yogurt, a squeezed juice of a half a lemon, 2-3 teaspoons of yellow mustard (for color & flavor) into a small bowl. Mix well. Dip the cooked artichoke petals & heart pieces into the sauce prior to eating.

Sidenotes:

Rinse well before preparing artichokes.

Trim them by cutting off the top inch. Snip off petal thorns with scissors. Only remove stem if artichoke needs to stand upright for stuffing.

One or more of the following seasonings may be added to any of the cooking methods for additional flavor: Olive oil, balsamic vinegar, flavored broth, white wine, lemon juice, sea salt, chopped fresh parsley, chopped garlic.

To test for doneness, pierce base of artichoke with a fork - there should be no resistance. The artichoke petals should also come off easily when gently pulled.

To Eat: Enjoy one petal at a time, pulling the base of the petal through slightly clenched teeth to strip off the petal "meat." When you get to the "heart" of the artichoke (the round area at the base), scoop out the fuzzy top layer, then enjoy the delicious heart (the best part of an artichoke)!

Artichokes can be cooked ahead of time & stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days prior to serving, stuffing or finishing off on the grill.

Lake Chelan Vacation - Part 2

On our 3rd vacation day Gerritt & I went to the Chelan Slidewaters while my husband & Sophia caught up with some of his work at Starbucks. In hindsight, it was a great decision to keep Sophia out of the Slidewaters. The park was crowded with kids of all ages & it was almost impossible to walk without constantly bumping into someone. Gerritt really enjoyed swimming in the hot tub, but didn't want to try the simple water slide even once. After having him watch me going down the slide multiple times, I finally gave up. He probably won't be ready for it until next summer. After cooking some grilled chicken & steamed artichokes for dinner, we finished the evening by having ice cream by the bonfire out by the lake.




One of my favorite photos of Gerritt & Spike from this trip


We wanted to spend our last vacation day being outdoors, so we headed back to the Lake Chelan State Park. Gerritt almost went crazy seeing 50+ geese & a duck with 3 ducklings. I wanted to see what our new camera could do & took many photos of the geese. They were not afraid of people, so I got a really close look. The duck & ducklings kept moving all over the park, so Gerritt & I followed them. Afterwords Gerritt proceeded to collect goose feathers from the ground. My husband jokingly told him that the geese may want those feathers back, so Gerritt spent a good portion of the afternoon chasing after them to return the feathers.

We enjoyed this spectacular scenery all morning


So close & simply breathtaking!


"Hey, geese! Do you want your feathers back?"



In the afternoon we visited famous Sunshine Farm Market that carries wonderful organic produce including fruits, vegetables, eggs, grass-fed beef, & even organic handmade flower bouquets. I bought organic raw raspberry honey & a few food gifts for Chris & Gerry. Gerritt loved seeing the goats & chickens & picking cherries straight from the tree.





The Sunshine Farm Market

But all good things must come to an end, so after cleaning Chris & Gerry's vacation home & packing a gazillion things we brought along "just in case," we headed back home the next morning.


Last view of the lake before our departure

All in all it was a great getaway for us. We experienced many new things & had fun along the way despite both of the kids being sick with a cold. It is definitely a lot of work to travel with 2 kids under the age of 3 who are not potty-trained, but somehow we pulled it off. Some of the things that had to be packed were room humidifier, Gerritt's potty chair, cold medicines, toys, sun protective clothes, kids' favorite foods/snacks, Gerritt's books, 2 different strollers (one for sleeping, one for out & about) & a cooler full of food. We didn't need to go out to eat even once with an exception of buying frozen pizza from Safeway since we had a stove, oven & grill. It wasn't always possible to be at home for Sophia's naps, so there was more crying involved for her, but she learned to sleep along the way (even when the boat was going 40 miles per hour!). First summer trip was a success! Hooray!
Gerritt has finished reading the following set of books for the past few weeks:

Hello Baby! by Mem Fox
Always in Trouble by Corinne Demas (Gerritt's absolute favorite)
Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See? by B. Martin Jr. & E. Carle
Eats by M. Jocelyn & T. Slaughter
No Trouble At All by S. Grindley
Mushrooms in the Rain by M. Ginsburg (another Gerritt's favorite)
Black? White! Day? Night!: A Book of Opposites by L. Seeger
Anansi & the Talking Melon by E. Kimmel
The Surprise Visitor by J. Kangas
Who's There, Spot? by E. Hill

A lifelong reading habit in the making!

Lake Chelan Vacation - Part 1

On Wednesday we have returned from a 5-day vacation to Lake Chelan - our 1st vacation this summer. Gerritt is almost 3 years old & Sophia is 13 months, so it seemed like a great idea for us to restart our travels. After about 3.5-hour surprisingly uneventful drive to Chelan, we've discovered a different side of the mountains with warmth & daily sunshine - a great welcome after cold & rainy June in Seattle.
Our first vacation day involved an afternoon visit with Chris & Gerry as well as Chris's sister Katie who postponed her travel back home to Indiana by one day to meet Gerritt & Sophia. Gerritt really enjoyed Katie's gifts of toy water guns & bubbles, so part of the afternoon was spent getting wet outside. We finished our evening in Chelan with dinner, story time by grandma Chris, & a bath for both kids.



We've spent the next morning boating with Gerry & Chris & enjoying the lake's magnificent views. Gerritt really liked steering the boat while sitting on grandpa Gerry's lap. In the afternoon, after the kids' naps, we explored the sandy beaches of the Lake Chelan State Park. Gerritt played with sand toys for at least 2 hours & Sophia didn't even cry when I wet her feet in the cold lake. What were the odds, but I ran into an old classmate of mine from nursing school at the beach (Wenatchee Valley College's Associate's in Nursing Program, which I finished in 2000).






The Red Tricycle published an article recently on things to do in Chelan when traveling with kids. The Red Tricycle is a free online publication with a mission of helping parents to have more fun with their kids. It proved to be a great resource for us when planning this trip.