Eastward bound

Our big trip for the summer of 2009 was back East to see Nana and Papa Wong. F, understandably, was a little nostalgic for New Jersey and the sights from his growing-up years. We got in some shopping, of course, as a trip with F is never without a trip to the local mall. Our best outings, however were to the New Jersey Children's museum and the Imagine That! children's museum in nearby (30-45 minute drives) townships. The NJ Children's museum is truly a hidden treasure. We spent the entire day in the facility, with a break to eat lunch. The museum is in a warehouse sized building and while open-concept with very smooth flow from section to section, is distinctly divided into a multitude of thematic learning areas. I was awed by the sheer number of things C got to experience and play at during our visit. She dressed up as a princess in the castle sector, a cowboy in the old west, went fishing in the oceanic, dug for dinosaur bones, flew a heliocoptor, interacted with virtual reality, took care of a house and babies, did a little ballet, went grocery shopping, made music, delivered mail, and served at her own little restaraunt! There was more, but I'm at a loss to remember just now. Imagine That! had just about as many exploration options, all divided by half-walls, so parents could look out over the whole room and observe whatever their children were involved in. That, I really liked.

Returning home to Nana's house after our outings, we had just as good a time just hanging out at home. F was impressed by all the changes Nana and Papa have made to his childhood home, improvements in flow as well as appearance. F's term, "updating" is appropriate, as the house seems much more contemporary to me. We brought along several of C's animal friends and ponies, so she entertained her Nana with them, making use of the ample space for running and dancing.

Snow and Winter

Heard at Grammy and Papa's house:

P: C, do you want to see snow?

C: Yes! (pitter pat of running feet to see the snow out the front window)

*** 45 minutes pass ***

C: Grammy, I want to see the snow again.

G: There's no snow out there.

C: Yes there is. It's winter.

G: It didn't snow yet,C.

C: Yes it did.

G: (finally looks out the window) You're right...there is snow! How'd you know that?

C: (giggles)

Today, leaving the gym:

C: It's cold out here.

Mommy: yes, it is

C: It's cold and it's blowing and there's snow and...and...it's winter!

I guess snow = winter for the little miss.

Quick Visit

This has been the summer of the grandparents. Not only were we able to take C to see her Grandparents Wong, but her Grandparents Lippert got to come visit her! She was unsure of them at first, but after they had been here for about 20 minutes, she seemed to remember them and got all excited and show-offy. It was hard to get her to bed that night! They arrived late on a Sunday night, and returned to Vegas on Wednesday for their early-morning Thursday flight. I managed to schedule a number of my meetings and practices for our upcoming programs for that week, so I had built-in sitters! It was such a luxury. Grampa, who has been dubbed "Papa" or "Poppy," taught C how to "gimme five". She entertained Gramma by trying to lay out her blankets on the floor, quite fastidiously. The blanket thing is a rather recent obsession, as she lays them out, lies down on them and says "nap", "shhh, shhh, shhh" a few times, closes her eyes and then pops back up to repeat the process. All of this with a stuffed friend in her arms. Gramma helped me out by doing some laundry, and C, just like when Mommy does the laundry, helped shift the wet clothes to the dryer. She thinks it's great fun and Gramma was impressed. The cutest thing about their visit, and probably the saddest was the moment we returned home after having dinner with my parents in Barstow. We came through the laundry room door and C ran to the living room, where Grampa had most often been during the visit, laughing "Pa-pa! Pa-pa!" it quickly became "Pa-pa?" as she ran through the kitchen looking for him, followed by a wailing "PA-PA!!!!!" when she realized he wasn't here. She was quite distressed. The next few times we came home from being out, she went through the same procedure, but has since recovered. I think she's going through a "male" phase; she's really enamored with Daddy and was quite smitten with both grandfathers during her time with them. It was a nice visit, but I wish it had been longer, or that C's grandparents were closer so we could see all four of them more often.

Delaware, part 4: playground time

One thing C LOVES to do is go to the playground. Here at home, it's usually too hot to go to the playground except during twilight time or early morning (like before 0800!) during the summer months. When we walk past the playground areas during our morning constitutional, she makes hopeful noises as we approach, and disappointed ones as we depart. The weather was beautiful though in Delaware and the grandparents Wong have a playground just a few blocks from their home. We went over each day of our vacation, and C enjoyed every minute of it. Of course, Grandma and Grandpa were delighted to watch her run all over the area, climb on the equipment, bounce on the bouncy things and slide on the slides. The first day we went, she was afraid of the big bouncy frog, but by the last day of our time there, she was running to the frog, squealing "frog" and returning to it time and again. The large, slide/stairs apparatus had a short bridge walkway that intimidated her quite a bit at first. She didn't like being able to see through the slats. Once Daddy walked over it a couple of times holding her hand, she was fine, as long as he was at one end or the other waiting for her. She was still cautious, but she was being so brave! I'm not sure which she likes more, the slide or the bouncies. She calls the slide a "whee" (accompanied by giggles), but I'm pretty sure she spends an equal amount of time on the bouncies. She goes to the bouncies first, but she could be saving the slide (the best?) for last.

Delaware, part 3: shopping

No trip with F is complete without a shopping outing. C is getting to a stage where she doesn't want to ride in her stroller, but would prefer walking. Walking with both hands held is best. She thought it was great fun when she got to walk in the store holding both Grandma and Grandpa Wongs' hands. I thought it was so cute, I just had to get a picture.

Delaware, part 2: Buttons!

C loves things with buttons! Another treat Grandma and Grandpa Wong had waiting for C was this preschool laptop. It's a nifty learning tool, with all sorts of fun little games on it. C's not quite ready for the games, but she loved pushing the buttons and watching "something" happen on the screen or with the sounds. She really loves the monkey who hosts each of the games. I'm sure it will be quite useful to have around during those moments when C wants to be just like Mommy and use the computer. However, Mommy needs to get some earplugs before this toy comes out for "anytime" use. That monkey is loud!

Delaware, part 1: Tea Party

Well, the summer leave season for 2007 is, as C would say, "all done". C has taken her 9th airplane ride, and has now seen both coasts. She's one well-traveled toddler. I have several days worth of blogging information, so I'm going to break it up a bit. When we arrived in Delaware to see Grandma and Grandpa Wong, Grandma surprised C with a table that's just her size, and a Beauty and the Beast tea set. C immediately fell in love with both, and she and Grandma had several "tea parties" during our stay. I'm excited that C understood the concept of the tea party, as one of her friends is enamored with tea parties as well, and this gives them another playtime potential. More later...