Letters to Joseph-August

Dear Joseph:
Well we started August with our trip to California…it overlapped July and August. When we got home, we just kept on having our summer fun.
One Tuesday afternoon we went to Madrona beach with Aunt Malia and Cousin Henry. There is a water pump there that trickles water down the beach, so you and Henry and the other kids spent the afternoon building dams and playing with shovels and buckets and such. We also have been to the cabin several times this summer…you love playing in the pasture and eating up the thimble berries.
Speaking of berries, you and I have been picking berries and eating like bears. Blackberries and huckleberries…we have a huckleberry bush in front of our house and I’ve made two pies. Then up at the park we pick blackberries and I made a pie of them as well, but mostly you just like them raw.
We went to Bixby’s birthday party and one of our Birth Class Reunions this weekend. You, being the only boy (Torben, the other boy from the group lives in Austria now), and the only walker of the bunch, are ‘one of these kids is doing his own thing’. You had lots of fun with the girls, but you kept wandering off and going over to the dog’s pen. We put all you babies on the trampoline and the parents stood around it and bounced you…you all thought it was the funniest thing ever.
You are doing lots and lots of waving now…you wave at animals, plants, cars, and people. We’ve heard you say, Dad (very clearly), no (na na na na), while shaking your head, duck, drink, hat or hot, not sure which, it was a hot day and we saw someone in a hat, and of course hi. Just a couple of days ago (late August), you started dancing. I put on ‘Hurricane’ by Bob Dylan, fitting, and you started bouncing up and down to the beat. Dad says you also wave your arm in the air when he plays heavy metal music. Just in the last couple of days you’ve been trying to feed me food, today it was an apple. I also noticed you have been handing things to people, yesterday at Bixby’s party, you were sharing toys with other kids so nicely. The cutest thing happened today…I was sweeping the kitchen floor and just getting the dirt and dog hair into a pile…you walked over with the dust pan and set it next to the pile and looked at me as if to say…’here you go’. SO helpful!
I do have an accident to report from this month…you were standing on the landing of the stairs and turned around suddenly. Your feet got twisted and you fell forward, not down the stairs, but still flat on your face because you were twisted and couldn’t put your arms out. I was right there at your side the whole time, but I couldn’t grab you fast enough from falling. At first I thought you were fine, but then your mouth started bleeding a lot…I was so scared because I didn’t know where it was coming from. I took you over to the sink and washed you off…I was shaking myself, but you were already recovering. The bleeding stopped and I could see in your mouth and that it looked like you’d cut above your upper gum. I took you to the doctor’s office (on the way you started sticking your finger in your mouth and giggling), and they said that you’d torn your frenulum…that little piece of skin that connects your gum and your upper lip. They assured me over and over that you didn’t need it and it wouldn’t affect anything at all. As it’s turned out, it has sort of re-attached anyway and you can’t even tell it happened.
Next month is your birthday! I can’t believe it’s been a year already!Love, Mama

Letters to Joseph-Portland

The next day we headed up to Portland, OR for our last night of the trip…and we stumbled on one of the highlights of the trip! Right about Roseburg, we saw signs for a Wildlife Safari. This seemed very strange considering we were in nowhere Oregon, but we decided to check it out. We were so glad we did! There was a little hut where you paid $17.50 per adult (you were free), and you just drove into the wild animal areas. The speed limit was 10 miles per hour, so we were allowed to take you out of your carseat and you rode up front with us. They warned us to watch out for the rhinos, that they might poke the car, so we hurried past them to the lions who were sleeping, but only about five feet from our car. I guess animals can be less afraid of cars than of humans on foot, so they were content with the parade of cars going past them all. It reminded me of Candy Cane Lane here at home, but with wild animals. Something was a little strange and wrong about it, but it was such a novelty and you were loving it so much that I set that aside and we had a blast! We say Zebras, Bears, Hippos, Camels, Ostriches, Emus, Mustangs, Elk, and much more. The highlight of the tour was the Giraffe…we stopped by him while he was eating leaves from the high branches and we reached back and got your stuffed giraffe. You held it and looked up at the real giraffe and we could see the light bulb go off in your brain as you made the connection between the real and the abstract, it was quite a moment!
We stayed in Portland that night and the next day we went to this great wading pool where you played in the water and made more friends. Then we drove home that day and were happy to spend the night in our own bed. Ahh. Pillow top.

Letters to Joseph-Wolf Creek

The second night of our trip back home, we stayed at the Wolf Creek Inn in Oregon. It’s an old hotel where Cary Grant and Jack London used to stay. It was very quaint and they had a very good restaurant, but it was a little hard because you’re in a phase right now where it’s impossible to keep you in your high chair, then there’s the food smearing and dropping that makes it hard to eat our food…but that’s a temporary thing.

Letters to Joseph-Red Bluff

Then we started the trip back home…north. The first night we stayed in Red Bluff, CA. This is a fairly unspectacular city, but we stayed in a Motel with a fun pool. You and I went swimming and Dad watched us. We did our peekabo routine and I entertained you by jumping up with you in my arms over and over again.

Letters to Joseph-San Francisco

We drove into San Francisco and stayed in the Haight at a B&B called the Red Victorian. It was fun, but you were so tired that you fell asleep at 7pm both nights we were there, so we had Thai food in our room one night, and pizza the other. But we had a super fun time in the day. The first day we walked all around Golden Gate Park. We went to the DeYoung Museum after getting hot dogs from an outside vendor, then we visited the AIDS Memorial Grove. The next day we went to Chinatown. We got off the bus and I heard the Lion Dance going on…drums and cymbols! I started swiftly making my way towards them, your Dad in tow, because I loved the Lion Dance so much when I was little (grade school age though) and I wanted you to see it. But right when we got to the lion, they set off a whole bunch of fire crackers and you were SO SCARED! I felt terrible because I should’ve anticipated your reaction. You don’t really like loud noises, and I’d forgotten about the fire crackers. We ducked into an apothecary and got the stink eye from the proprietress, but we comforted you there anyway. You recovered and we went to eat at our family’s favorite restaurant in Chinatown; the Far East Café. They have booths that are partitioned off with dark stained wood and a red velvet curtain. They let us have a booth even though it was just the three of us and we ate Chicken Chow Mein, Pork Fried Rice, Sweet and Sour Prawns, and of course, my very favorite, Pot Stickers. After Chinatown, we took the bus to the Palace of Fine Arts and sat on the grass. You found a Hoola Hoop and played with that for a long time. We also watched the brides and grooms have their photos taken with the scenery. One couple was having an engagement photo session and you kept running over, trying to get in the photos. Then we took the bus back to the Haight and you fell asleep for the night.

Letters to Joseph-Stinson Beach

...That day we drove on and ended up in Stinson Beach where we stayed for 3 nights. We all played on the beach so much and loved every minute of it. You played with dogs, one in particular named Lychee, a little black and white dog who licked and licked you, and another one, a Corgi, named Frodo, who wasn’t quite as thrilled as Lychee. I went swimming in the Ocean and looked up and there were two brown seals swimming not five feet from me. I was startled at first, but then I was thrilled, it was so cool. We went to a restaurant called the Parkside Café, where they had ‘all you can eat’ spaghetti and salad, and the locals played a guitar jam session. There was a fire in the hearth and kids running all around…including you. What a laid back, fun time. We also went to Point Reyes to the Cowgirl Creamery and had lunch and bought flavored sugars and salt. We met the nicest 10 year old boy from Manhattan named Carlo. He was very into playing with you. He was so polite and charming and secure and relaxed and engaged and genuine…if I had to jump ahead ten years and describe you, it would be a lot like Carlo, he was very special and you don’t meet kids like that very often, let alone people like that.

OK, no trip log, just Letters to Joseph-July

I fell down on the trip log, but as I was writing Letters to Joseph-July, I realized that this is also sort of a trip log, so first...the beginning of July and the days I've already covered from the trip, then on to the California trip.

Dear Joseph:
We ended up taking your Dad to Colman Pool, so we swam with him and you had SO much fun. You feel very safe in his strong arms. Since then, we’ve gone back and you are a little less sure when I’m holding you in the water. If I play ‘peekaboo’ with you, by me going under water and then popping back up in front of you in your floaty, you think it’s pretty OK.
For the Fourth of July we all went out to Betty McDonald’s Farm on Vashon Island. We just relaxed and watched the fireworks far away across the water. We went down to the beach and you played with your bucket, shovel, and disco duck. You and I walked down to the water’s edge and you looked back and yelled ‘HI’ and waved at Ama, who was very pleased indeed.
You started walking as your main mode of transport about mid-July. I wish you could see people’s response (well, you can see it now, but you probably won’t remember it) to little you getting up and walking across the room. You are a SOLID walker already and you are learning to navigate steps as well. People are always so surprised because you are so young. But Uncle Asa and I both walked at 9 months, so you come by it honestly.
We’ve spent lots of time in the back yard, playing with your big plastic car that you sit in, with hands on the wheel at 10 and 2 (we found it under the porch when we moved in). Apparently it belonged to the little boys who lived here before, Trevor and River. We also play in your purple plastic wading pool with your purple ball. Have I mentioned you’ve shown a particular affinity for purple? We sit back there under the fig tree and blow bubbles. We also swing in the hammock which hangs in the cherry tree a lot, and nurse there. You love it. You also love our neighbor, Lovelle. She loves you too and always wants to pick you up. She gives you toys that her daughters (long since grown daughters) played with; an orange plastic van and a soft soccer ball. You think they are both great. Whenever she comes out of her house across the street you start getting all excited. You smile and yell and wave your arms up and down.
We frequent the Delridge wading pool and you’ve made lots of friends there…and sometimes we go there with cousin Henry.
At the end of July, we took a trip in the car to California! We loaded up the back seat with lots of toys and books for you and stayed in Eugene, OR the first night. You did amazingly well considering that we drove down the Coast to Stinson Beach and San Francisco. We drove through the Redwood Forest (where I pretended we were a family of fairies in a miniature car, driving through a forest of regular sized trees) and into Crescent City. In Crescent City you saw the Ocean for the first time. We stopped at a black sand beach with rock formations in the water called ‘haystacks’. You were a little unsure about the crashing waves at first, but then you got excited to play in the sand. We sat and watched the surfers and soaked up the sun.
Then we drove on and you got a little cranky. We brought a portable DVD player, so you watched numbers videos, sign language videos, and baby songs videos. A few times Dad and I took turns getting in the back seat with you to read or sing to you. We stayed in Garberville, CA the second night because it was getting too late to make it to Mendocino…but we drove there the next day. It was in Mendocino, CA where Auntie Ali called me and told me she’s pregnant with TWINS! TWO friends for you in NYC!

Day Two-Northern California Trip

This day we drove and drove and drove...the Navigator (me), overshot a little on how far we could make it down Highway 1...a very beautiful and very twisty road over the beach. We drove through Grants Pass and broke away from 1-5...then through the Redwoods. It's so amazing and misty...you drive through that beautiful landscape, and then suddenly break through and you're at the beach. I pretended we were tiny fairies in a tiny fairy car and that the redwoods were actually normal sized trees. When we got to Crescent City, we went to the beach...Joseph saw the Ocean for the first time! It was a black sand beach and SO beautiful. We were supposed to make it to Mendocino that night, but we ended up staying in Garberville at a cheap motel. We drank Bud and watched cable.

Day One-Northern California Trip

I didn't take my computer along on our trip, but I wanted to make a trip log anyway, after the fact, because we had SO much fun!!!

Day One: Destination Euguene, Oregon.

We left Seattle at about 11 am and got to Eugene at about 4pm...some slow going because of needing to stop for nursing, etc. We brought along the car DVD player...Joseph, who never gets to watch TV, was very into 'Baby Songs'...and now we ALL know all the words. We stayed in an amazing place...a little cottage I found on Craigslist. We walked down to the 'Market of Choice' and then made a yummy pasta dinner. We sat out on the little patio and ate...we tried to prop Joseph up in his backpack to eat, but that didn't work...we never really found a good way to feed him all trip long, we're happy to be back to a high chair and Clay's old brown belt to strap him in with.