A New Chapter!

So we've entered a new and really exciting chapter of the clan: (1) We welcomed a new cousin up in Alaska with the birth of Tante Ness & Uncle Tanner's perfect baby boy, Lil'Cub. And (2) Nana & Papa have officially moved to California! Or, more specifically, started the moving process (since moving is never a cut'n'done experience).

All of us are SOOOO happy to have Lil'Cub join the world. I can't believe that he's as big as he came our from the pictures of Tante Ness taken just the day before she went into labor. All of the family up in Alaska are happy, healthy, and in possession of 10 fingers and 10 toes.  Lisa, Oma, Opa, and Uncle Brian spent a good amount of time up there which was awesome. E & J (and ME) can't wait to meet Lil'Cub (yes, that is what they actually call him). Every time we come across one of their old baby toys or see a newborn outfit in the store they say, "We should give this to Lil'Cub," or "Can we buy this for Baby Cub?"

On June 22nd, I flew out to Albuquerque, grabbed an enchilada, and early the next morning we hit the road: Belle & me in their Honda Pilot pulling a trailer and Nana & Papa in the moving van towing their Honda Fit. With such a caravan, we couldn't go faster than about 65mph for 1100 miles, which translated into about 21 hours of behind the wheel time. Painful? Yes. Worth it? A trillion times over.

They're still getting settled into their new place about 35 minutes south of us. It's a beautiful, distinctive house overlooking the largest lake in Santa Clara County (currently dubbed "the Lake Castle" by our kids -- it's no Lake Powell, but it's a good lake for being in the heart of Silicon Valley). We stayed there for the first time while Lisa was up in Alaska with Lil'Cub and I can't tell you how wonderful it was to have the kids sleeping in the house while my folks and I drank wine under the million stars, knowing that they were there from then onward. That they were going to be a daily/weekly fixture in our lives. Before that night, my feelings were bittersweet: my childhood home was being sold and the forest that I grew up in wouldn't be a feature (other than a quick visit for a reunion or something). But sitting there, trying to cover ourselves in beach towels to avoid the cold (as I said, moving is a process and we weren't sure which box had blankets), I felt the soul of this Lake Castle and want to know something? It was the same as Cedar Crest. The exact same. I fell even more in love with this new chapter.

The third thing that I'm really excited about is an addition to Papa's toys: A 15-ft jet boat that the kids appropriately named Bumblebee. It'll be so perfect to zip around and play on the several little lakes around their place. The only drawback being that our county is very strict on water laws, due to a sincere worry over zebra mussel infestations, so they have to own the boat for over a month before being allowed on the lake. We did improvise one day and went to the mouth of the bay, just under the Benicia Bridge (which Tante Ness helped build). It wasn't as successful as we'd hoped. The water was very rough and being on a low profile jet boat was, ummm, a little wet'n'cold. The kids were troopers and -- in retrospect -- had fun. And what saved the day? A surprise trip to the Jelly Belly Jelly Bean Factory which was just a few minutes north. We even got to eat a pizza shaped like a jelly bean. Seriously, J's idea of heaven.

All other things are well. Work is really heating up right now for both Lisa & I, so having the extra loving arms here for the kids is a Godsend. In fact, because the Lake Castle is a little bit of a drive (ok, a BIG bit of a drive if the traffic is bad), there's been a handful of nights where they all slumber party down there, leaving Lisa & I...well, just Lisa & I. We sure do miss the kiddos those nights and we appreciate the time for us to talk, eat, etc. without a trillion other demands.

Bailey is such a good boy. Recently, J has been asking for him to sleep on the floor by her bed -- which would be fine, but she can be very, very specific about her requests of him. "Bay-ee put your head on the owl pillow," is one that I heard the other evening. And like a champ, he'll do it...until she falls asleep and I rescue him for a long session of ear-scratching. I think Bailey enjoys having Belle around (and while she wouldn't admit to it, she enjoys the red devil's company as well).

Speaking of J, or rather, speaking of J's speaking (I think that transition works)...our lil'girl is talking up a storm. A full on tornado of complete sentences, questions, and full conversations. After coming back from a couple weeks in Alaska, Oma & Opa could not believe the strides she'd made. No one seemed to tell her that 2nd children often speak less or later than their older siblings. I think she must've developed this quickly in order to get her voice into a family full of conversationalists. My favorite thing she says right now is, out of the blue, she'll ask, "How was your day, daddy?" It's just a little glimpse of the woman she'll become (or that's the hope). I can't believe how fast she's growing up. We're officially a crib-free family -- now if we could say the same for diapers, we'd REALLY be in a new chapter.

E is doing great too. He's missing his T-ball team, the Lugnuts, though he's very excited about his upcoming soccer camp. On nights that Nana & Papa are staying at our house, the kids share a room. The other night, J was resisting bedtime, whining until suddenly she got quiet. I peeked in and E had gotten himself out of bed, found out she'd wanted, "A sip of Wah-TER," and gotten her just that. She went to sleep peacefully. In my head I heard T-ball Coach Dave asking, "How do you not just squeeze him all of the time?!"

They're both LOVING helping Papa do all the moving things. They've recently started playing "moving" together. The pack a bunch of toys in shoe boxes -- J always asks for tissues to wrap fragile ones, load it onto a doll stroller or toy shopping cart, haul it into another room, unpack (or dump the contents all over the floor), and then go get the next set.

So that's what's going on in our story at the moment. Hope yours is a good one as well.