A visit to the Bay Area

In the middle of November Cara and I undertook another adventure - a flight down the the Bay Area to visit family and friends. C originally thought he would be able to join us, but ended up having to fly to a meeting in Europe instead. But mom and Cara managed the flight down to Oakland just fine, where we were met by a very eager Grandpa. Cara was clearly delighted to see him and began waving her arms and kicking her legs soon after she realized who that smiling man was.




We had a busy schedule trying to spend time with the many people in the Bay Area that we are close to. The main focus of Saturday was a lunch-time Chinese banquet hosted by Grandma and Grandpa to introduce Cara to the extended family. It was quite the event with aunts, uncles and cousins running everywhere. Cara charmed everyone, although was still reticent about letting anyone other than mom or Grandpa hold her. She even got an early birthday cake, but didn't quite get the idea of blowing out the candle. Next year!



Sunday the focus was on visiting some old friends. Three families with children and dogs gathered in Berkeley for a day of kid-oriented play and a chance for the adults to catch up. The main event was a trip to the Tilden Park Steam Trains and we all got to ride behind a steam engine! Although I think for Cara the best part of the day was playing ball with one of the dogs, Ginger. We ended a busy day with dinner at Picante, a wonderful Mexican restaurant in Berkeley. Cara loved the pinto beans which mom sacrificed from her plate. A tired girl fell asleep in the car on the way home.




We had the following morning to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa and watch the squirrels that hang out in their backyard (lured by many peanuts). Cara had refused to nap the previous afternoon and hadn't slept so well on Sunday night, so she was a little less cheerful than usual. After a quick lunch we regretfully headed out the airport for our flight back to Seattle. Fortunately the flight home was uneventful and we both slept well back in our own beds.

Teeth and grandparents?

The lack of any upper teeth appearing wasn't exactly worrying us, but we were wondering when Cara was going to get some more teeth in. We had long since given up on chewing and drooling being indications of a tooth about to emerge as Cara had been chewing and drooling for over three months with no new teeth. Little did we realize we were missing a key factor - the presence of grandparents (who were visiting when her first teeth appeared)!

C's dad made another brief visit at the beginning of C's trip, providing some welcome support, and I had arranged for my parent's to visit towards the end. We were all initially disappointed that Cara seemed more reticent than usual to meet new people and she took awhile to decide that she really was okay with her grandparents. When we went for a hike on Sunday she seemed especially irritable, even before we all got cold and wet. As I was trying to comfort her I noticed a white area in her upper gum - another tooth! So now we know the magic requirement for new teeth.




Once her tooth emerged Cara cheered up considerably. The weather also improved so my parents were able to get out for some sunny hikes as well as having some fun with their granddaughter.

The last hike of summer

I've fallen horribly behind on this blog. C was travelling for most of the last month and a half, and time got a little tight.

So for the first part of my catch-up, here are some two-month old photos of our last summer hike on Mount Rainier. We had absolutely perfect weather with no bugs. And Cara had a great time. She's gotten big enough that being in the back carrier is more comfortable, and it has the advantage of a built-in sunshade (that works as a raincover in less clement weather).



We were joined in this adventure by Auntie D and our friend R. We were all delighted to walk out of the woods to a beautiful view of Mount Rainier. Cara announced her excitement by bouncing up and down in the backpack and waving her hands - nice that she has such good taste!

The trip back down through the woods was cool, with some fog coming up from the valley below. But Cara's enthusiasm for the trip didn't diminish, and she chatted loudly for much of the hike out, to the amusement of the other hikers on the trail. We're looking forward to understanding what she is saying, since she sure does have a lot to say to us.