Homeward Bound

Hitting the road was no mean feat. I thought that packing from home was always more difficult than packing on the road. That may usually be true, but not when you've had time to sprawl into a place and accumulate a whole bunch of extra stuff, as we did in Goleta. Anyway, packing up from home was super hard, so even if packing from Goleta was just as bad, that's bad enough!

Of course I didn't have the wherewithal to take any pics or videos during that cataclysm of packing action. But the next day I got a couple of pics of the car, fully loaded.



Here Tiva came running to me for a hug. She went through a period of needing lots of Dada time, which was nice.



One of the first places that we visited was Morro Bay. It was gorgeous, and the girls enjoyed a little time outside. Here's Tivona.



Here's Taya.



And Ljuba with Taya, too.



There were a couple of driftwood shelters on the beach.



The girls loved playing in them.



Tiva became even more vocal over the course of the trip. She loved singing the 'wheels on the bus' song, and loved singing it about family. E.g., "TK: "Auntie 'Lisa … bus … sweetie pie," meaning "Auntie Elisa on the bus says 'sweetie pie', 'sweetie pie', 'sweetie pie', …"

And she started asking what everything was called: "That one called," she'd say again and again.

Ljuba and I had very fond memories of the Big Sur Coast. It did not disappoint!





In Monterey (Pacific Grove), we were fortunate to have the wildlife come to us. The girls loved seeing the deer.



We stayed in Monterey for a couple of nights to enjoy that area. We discovered that it really does help to call if we wanted to secure a suite with a separate room, as this was the first of two inns that had one name for two kinds of suites. Ljuba and I walked around the grounds while the girls fell asleep, then hung out in the corridor to the bathroom. Ay.

Our exploring day was much more fun than those evenings, as we went back at Point Lobos. We saw lots of harbour seals swimming in the kelp. It was enticing, but far too cold for us to try the same.



Seals swimming at Point Lobos

The girls found it all delightful!



We had snack at a gorgeous secluded little pebble beach.



And then went on to see sea otters, and other wildlife. Of course the otters weren't close enough for a good pic, but this squirrel was. ;)



Back into the overflowing car--time to move on again!



On the way out we had a chance to explore Carmel by the Sea. What a gorgeous place. It's interesting to me how the things that hold the attention of little ones are small and at-hand.



And with a best example yet--small enough to fit in Tiva's mouth.



Whereas our attention is held by rather bigger objects.





And like me climbing these big rocks.



But then, I know I'm fascinated by the little things too.



Next stop: Mountain View. Tivona and Taya both remembered the luggage carts from the hotel on El Camino Real. Fondly!



Luggage cart!

It was so great to see Marian, Melanie, and Cody again.



And to meet Ella! Ljuba and the girls got to spend a lot of time with them (especially Melanie and Ella) while I was at Stanford for a couple of days' work. Nice to have my bike for the ride in, just like old times.



We had the good fortune of spending the afternoon of the solar eclipse with them. M&M had eclipse glasses, that allowed one to look at the sun without fear of eye damage. Amazing! Also amazing was the crescent pattern of shadows peeking through the leaves, which you can see dappled on the wall of M&M's house.



Taya was inspired by the experience, and pretended to look through a telescope (or monocle) back in our hotel room.



The girls also had some time exploring with Ljuba, at some of our old haunts, like at Shoreline Park. They saw geese and goslings, played on the sailboat playground, and in the dirt.



From there we drove through the city by the bay (San Francisco), had an unfortunate misadventure trying to go to Muir Woods (only to discover that all the parking lots fill up on nice days, even on May weekdays), and arrived at Fort Bragg. During our exploring day, we had a wonderful time at the Point Cabrillo lighthouse. Here's me walking in the fog/sea spray with the girls, while Ljuba did a little run (I'd just finished mine).



And on the Skunk Train. (Here's Ljuba with Taya and Tiva.)



Fort Bragg also had a fun toy store, where Tivona and Taya had a blast exploring the wares. Here's Tiva filling her shopping cart (28s special-moment video below). Too bad she had to put it all back. Fortunately, she was a good sport about it.



Tiva shopping for toys

After Fort Bragg, we travelled through big redwood country. What glorious trees.





Taya and Tiva ate their snacks (here) and explored.



And then we were in Arcata with Nathan again. We got to see the Kinetic Grand Championship, and all its amazing human-made and human-powered bio-kinetic amphibious machines, like this blue heron.



Tiva played with the blinds again (below) and Dozer (here).



We said good-bye to Nathan, and we were on our way again.



Next stop, Coos Bay, OR, our least favourite of all our stops. We had fun, though, despite the mosquitos, the cold rainy weather, the lack of chairs and tables in our room.



Tivona continued to come out with new sayings. I loved the way that she began to take a real interest in babies, and to see them as much smaller than herself (to me she still feels tiny). "Baby! Tiny baby!" she exclaimed.

After becoming reacquainted with stairs, and after we told her to be careful, when any of us climbed stairs, "Careful!", "Careful, Taya!", "Careful, Dada!"

And she said the names of all kinds of things we didn't know she knew. Starting the timer on my watch (she learned this on her own), she announced "Timer!" And after creating a car-like vehicle with Lego, "Grass cutter!" She undoubtedly learns much of this from Taya, who has thoroughly taken Tiva under her wing and tries to teach her everything she knows.

Then we were off again. Tiva had a little sit in the grass at an elk-viewing spot.



And we got several great pics of the elk.





Our final stop was Olympia/Tumwater, Washington. We had a great lunch at a Thai restaurant, where we received the following (all SO fitting) fortunes:
Lj: A positive attitude shines through the clouds (or something like that--she didn't let me save the paper copy!)
TK: Wealth and prosperity are in your future
TS: Getting together with old friends brings new adventures
KC: Recognize when it is advisable to compromise

We had a great little walk on the boardwalk in Olympia, and another at Tumwater Falls.



And then before we knew it we were over the border and back in Canada! Yay, for Canada!

Spring in Santa Barbara

As we entered into April, we realized that we still hadn't taken any photos of our Santa Barbara (Goleta) home or my office, where so many memories took place. Here's the view of the communal back yard from home, 765 Birch Walk, Apt B.



Ljuba started seeing a chiropractor in Goleta, and learned that biking was probably not a good idea for her physically. So, we rode much less, and Tiva became all the more enthused about riding (the actual experience of it was less enjoyable because of the way her helmet forced her head down and flopped over her eyes). Here she solves the flopping problem wearing Mama's helmet in a novel style.



Taya continues to be all about conversation. She's inevitably chattering on to herself, and to whoever's around. In the exchange below, she tells me about an imaginary conversation with Ljuba's parents.
TS: "I was talking to Babica and Dedek on the phone."
KC: "What's going on with them these days."
TS: "Um, I was explaining what we have been doing."
KC: "Didn't you also ask them what they've been doing?"
TS: "Um. Ya!"
KC: "So what were they doing?"
TS: "For example [ed: truly, I swear she said this], Babica was in the kitchen, preparing some dinner. Dedek was making a barbecue outside." But later that day when I pretended that the Curious George book was actually about a female monkey called Curious Georgina, she got very upset and told me she didn't like make-believe. I guess in her mind, Babica and Dedek really are stuck in a trance of all the things they do with us when we visit (often in the summer). After this initial episode with Georgina, however, Taya wanted all kinds of details changed in the books we read, which often made it challenging in a fun way for the reader (e.g., especially keeping the she/he pronouns straight).

When Grandpa came, we gave whale watching another try. Tiva and I were both rather queasy, but we had fun regardless. Here's Tiva with Nanna.



The trip was all the more fun after we let the girls out onto the netting strung across the two hulls of the catamaran, in front. We didn't see whales, but the weather was great and we saw other wildlife.



Taya is still enamoured with 'doctoring'. Everyday, she'll diagnose and operate on someone. This quote of Taya is just one example of all that goes with that pretending, "Tiva, what happened to your eye? What's that red spot? Did you scratch yourself? … Tiva, your crotch doesn't look very good. It's looking a bit red. Her Mama or Dada needs to keep putting powder on her crotch. Mama, you need to put powder on her. And Tiva needs to stop scratching herself."

Meanwhile, Tivona is also full of empathy, in a different way. She often expresses her concern about Taya when Taya is throwing a tantrum, e.g., "TK: Taya ky-ing, Taya ky-ing, Taya ky-ing (in response to Taya's crying)."

Here's another anecdote of Taya doctoring, me when my belly was hurting: "Dada, why don't you take a lactase pill? … Why don't you take another pill and lie down and relax? That might take your tummy feel better." After Mama suggests that Taya and Tiva could run a spa and take care of us. "I know how to make tea--pretend tea. And I know how to put blankets on people, so I'd be all set for that."
Then, after I was lying down because my intestines were in knots, "My boobs are hurting because my babies are sucking too strong. I need to lie down."
Tiva, chiming in: "Boob hurting," pointing to her chest. "Lie down."

As a child, I loved Easter. The excitement of it lessened somewhat with adulthood, but having kids opened up an opportunity to do the same things I loved as a child, from a different perspective. My mum used to blow dozens of eggs for us to decorate then find. Here we recreated part of that tradition (not dozens!) by blowing some eggs together.



Blowing eggs for Easter

Watch Tiva watching with fascination in this picture. And here's me with the girls, all of us enjoying the process.



One thing we didn't get to do much was swim. The pools were either private or they weren't close and they were expensive. But then we became friends with Suzy, Simon, and their two kids, Basty and Jana.





Tivona and her obsession for Mama's clothes continued. Here she is wearing some of Mama's underwear as a necklace, and more as a hat.



The Easter egg hunt process was delightful. We let Taya go first, scuffing around and finding half of the eggs scattered around half of the outdoor area. I held Tivona as she watched and learned. But Tivona didn't seem to need to learn--she wanted in right from the start! See this 69s must-see video.



Taya egg-hunting; Tiva wants in!

Taya was just as into this game as ever.



And she looked beautiful in her flowery shirt and home-made Easter basket to match her hat.



And here's Taya reaching for an egg up high.



Then when Tiva's turn came, she was off to the races, running around to pick up her eggs. See this 51s special-moment video to watch her figure it out and doggedly stick to her task.



Tivona egg hunting--off to the races

And look, Tiva's basket matched her hat, just as Taya's matched hers. Coincidence? I think not. ;)



And putting an egg in, with Taya looking on.



Here she is in a 44s special-moment video, finding the hard-to-find last ones.



Squeezing through, and finding

And here's Tivona with a look of thrilled accomplishment.



After the hunt, one day I came home and asked Taya where my slippers were. As she showed me where she'd put them, she said "I just put them over here in the corner."
KC: How about you just leave them where I put them?
TS: Just think of it as an Easter egg hunt!
The gall! And the smartness of the little smart aleck.

Every week, we went to the bluffs at least once to watch the waves rolling in, and to smell the fresh salty air sweep in off the ocean. Here's Grandpa with the girls.



And me with them. Nanna was cooking a fabulous dinner at the beautiful guesthouse they were staying at right near the bluffs.



Here's an urchin we found, in Taya's hand. We lucked out with a low tide and a bunch of little critters.



The rocks were fascinating there. Here's a flat one with a hole from a burrowing bivalve, that Tiva's using as a camera.



Then it was time for Nanna and Grandpa to do some cycling around the area. Here they are preparing, vividly visible as always.



Here's Nanna on her bike (don't ask why she didn't borrow our panniers). Note her new Brooks saddle (courtesy of us).



And here's Grandpa with his.



As Tivona became more interactive, we were fascinated by all kinds of things she did. And Taya continues to grow and learn, so we've got loads of videos of both of them. Taya has become a real climber; she'd climb up to the top of the bunk bed on her own, and Tiva loves to do what her big sister does, so Tiva was always trying too. In this 41s everyday-life video, see Taya and Tiva dancing around up top while Tivona calls out, "Chimney bed!" (Again, don't ask me why.)



Chimney bed!

Cooking continues to be a big thing for both of them, and nursing continues to be a big thing for Taya. In this 73s special-moment video, see Tivona making sausage with clementine skins, and hear and watch Taya talking about Monkica (little monkey) making her boobs hurt by sucking too hard.



Tivona makes sausage; Taya's boobs are hurting because Monkica (little monkey) sucks too hard

Tiva surprised us by showing the same kind of memory for songs and lyrics that Taya did. Well after Babica had sung a song for her, Tivona came out with this singing (see this 25s everyday-life video. Granted, she doesn't have it all right, but enough for Ljuba to recognize it.

Tiva loves balls. In this 38s special-moment video, Tivona plays with Mama's exercise ball.



A helmeted Tiva rolls the big ball

And they both love hide-and-seek. Tivona surprised us by going and hiding behind the curtains--very effectively, and not during an actual game of hide-and-seek--without us even realizing that she understood the concept of it. In this 28s special-moment video see Tivona hide over and over and giggle gorgeously upon discovery. And here's our littlest playground-rat adjusting her shoes at a much-frequented park.



Speaking of playground-rats, I was impressed to see Taya's comfort with all kinds of equipment, and all kinds of climbing moves. See her climb the slide like a monkey in the below 24s everyday-life video.



Taya the monkey

After Nanna and Grandpa returned from their cycling trip (jealous sigh), they stayed with us for a couple nights before Grandpa went home. Then Nanna was with us for another week as I had another trip. Nanna doesn't love seeing pictures of herself, so there aren't many on the post, and many of those that are here are in-line, like this one with Taya and Tivona.

The girls really started playing together in the spring. See them doing Ring around the Rosy with Mama in this 57s special-moment video, with Tiva blindfolding herself with Mama's hat (see also this 54s everyday-life video for more).



Ring around the Rosy

Taya soaks up languages with a facility that makes Ljuba and I green with envy. In this 120s everyday-life video Taya counts in four languages, and Tiva joins in then says "Hurry up!" in two other languages: Slovenijan and Malaysian Cantonese ("Fai-dit, Fai-dit-la!").

Taya also revealed that she is too mature for the dialogue that some adults engage her with, e.g., with this comment to me, "Jai will be asking about things, what they are. And I'll be like, "Jai, you know what that is!"" Below is Taya on a trip to Elings Park with Jai (her self-proclaimed best friend in Santa Barbara, and talking buddy).



Work was wonderful at UCSB. What super hosts, and what an amazing office I had at Bren Hall.



And what a great view from there. I frequently had pelicans flying by in formation, plus hummingbirds and finches in the palm, and dolphins and whales in the ocean. Amazing!



Here's a 32s special-moment video of Tivona being a silly Jilly, dressing up in other people's underwear and laughing at herself.



Tiva dressed up in other people's underwear--"Silly Jilly!"

Taya can also laugh at herself a little, which is really nice, especially to complement the tantrums that have been frequent of late. E.g., after throwing a temper tantrum/hissy stink about who should blow on her lentil dal to cool it, and having to go to her room for a few minutes to cool down herself, she said about the dal, "Probably it's cool enough to eat now."

And although sometimes it takes an hour for Taya to snap out of a tantrum, sometimes it can be instantaneous. Like once, after throwing a temper tantrum, when I asked her if she was all done while I started brushing Taya's teeth. "(sniff) Ya, I'm OK--actually, can you be the dentist?"

The girls are partners in crime now, virtually inseparable. It's adorable, although it can also get a little frustrating when they egg each other on.



For a long time we had a cardboard box outside the door that Taya and Tiva would deposit their various keepsakes into from their adventures, right beside our room. Then one night Ljuba and I were woken by a rat climbing the shutters outside. We learned that rodents like cardboard, so the box took a one-way trip to the recycling bin. Taya replaced it with this intricate structure, which she referred to as a treasure box. I didn't try to burst Taya's bubble, but I couldn't imagine a much better house for a rat!



We kept going to the beach, and we got ourselves wetsuits in the hope that we'd be able to get in and swim. We did, but even when it was warm in May it was too cold to spend long in the water. Instead, to get a workout Ljuba would run and I would mix running with jump-squats and jump-lunges. The girls were game to go in, but they couldn't last long (as in this picture of Tiva and I going in).



Once we'd started the make-believe adventures (to the moon, to Antarctica, to Stradbroke Island), the girls wanted to do it all the time. Here they are, Taya and then Tivona, wearing their medals after a successful trip to the moon.





Even when we didn't have time (or the guts) to go in the water, we still went down to the ocean. We already miss the bluffs hugely. Here's Tiva and Mama at the spot we visited most. And one of Tiva and I on the beach.



And in anticipation of getting the girls in the water, we bought them cute little wetsuits too. As you'll see in the 27s special-moment video below, they're rather pinker!



Tivona in her new wetsuit / wrestling suit

Tivona continued the mothering of toys (modelled after Taya, surely) and has become incredibly affectionate with a few. In this 32s special-moment video she helps Turtle and Sophie say 'cheese' for the camera.



Tivona gets Turtle and Sophie to say 'cheese' and lie down

Tivona is really growing up. Her dialogue is coming along, surely partly because she's surrounded by adult-sounding talk including from her 3 1/2 year-old sister. She loves talking on the phone, pretend and for-real. Holding both ears, she'd say: "Halo, Dada. Halo, Grandpa! How doin'? Halo, Taya! Halo, Mama! … (and on and on)."

Ljuba regularly took Taya to an early-years centre at our local community centre on Friday mornings, and Tivona got to tag along. The classes were intended for 3-4 year olds, but Tiva fit right in, and she loved it. In the 45s everyday-life video below, you can see her cooking intently at the stove.



Tivona cooking at Bonnie's

And in the 45s everyday-life video below, you can see the two of them sitting while Bonnie (the famous Bonnie) sings a song about a tiny turtle named Tim.



Tiny Turtle named Tim

More Ring around the Rosey in the 56s special-moment video below. See how Tivona can't wait to fall down.



Ring around the Rosey

Below is Suzy and Simon's pool, with our girls in their suits. And here are our good friends with their baby, Jana.



And the four of us after a swim.



Taya's sleep has really changed over the last year. For a while in Santa Barbara, Taya was sleeping in until 8am, past breakfast with Tivona and I. In the 25s special-moment video below, Tiva and I come in to wake her up. You can hear the way Tiva says, "How you doing? Go-o-od? (pitch rising)."



Waking up Taya, "How are you doing? Good?!"

Taya's art continues to be a passion. Here's just one sample of her work. Note all the labelled people (us four, but also Auntie Sandra).



Before we knew it, we had to say goodbye to Goleta, to Santa Barbara, to UCSB, to the playground we romped around almost daily, and to Tivona's beloved truck. Ah, what a wonderful sabbatical. But endings are also beginnings, and much fun awaited in the trip back to Vancouver!