Travels

Traveling with Vada is different each time as she is growing and changing so fast. This was probably our last flight with her as a lap child. We are all ready for her to have her own seat and space.

On the flight out she slept but on the trip home she was way too tired/grumpy/wired/whatever. She did finally cry her self to sleep during the layover after we covered her stroller with a blanket and walked circles in the quietest area of the airport we could find.

And of course stickers always come in handy!

Tuttle tradition

Toban’s family has a tradition of initiating the youngest members by teaching them how to eat marshmallows from between their toes. It started with Toban’s uncle Laverne teaching him how to do it. Vada didn’t even flinch when her cousin Jade taught her how to do this. She was pretty proud of herself and loved the attention.

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Big Blue Ball

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Stickers

Stickers are a fun game around here. Vada loves to look over a page of stickers to choose just the right one. Depending on the sticker she can get it off the backing herself. And then she gets to choose where to put them. She has a few sticker/coloring books that some end up in. Some get stuck to body parts – knees are popular. Many get lined up on the couch and ottoman. And she has even tried to stick a few to Jamie!

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Dog Mountain

We hiked Dog Mountain today with friends. Toban was the hero of the day and carried Vada the entire trip. It was windy and chilly on the summit which freaked Vada out but otherwise it was a great day!

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Big Kid

When I picked Vada up from daycare she was excited to show me her new do. She looks all grow’d up.

Sad Vada

Vada had a bit of a sad week. Grandma Joan left on Monday. I was away for a few nights for work meetings. And Laura from daycare was on vacation for a few days. (The sad face in the photo though was prompted by Toban apparently not taking enough photos of Vada. She was not happy when we put the camera away.)

Maybe if I lay real still they’ll think I’m a pillow…

Road Trip to Yosemite

We headed out on our road trip to Yosemite a couple of Friday’s ago. It just happened to be Jamie’s 6th birthday and she couldn’t have been more thrilled to head out in the van. She loves that thing.

Here is a shot towards the back of the van showing Vada sleeping in her car seat and Jamie leaning her head up over the back seat.

Our first campsite was near Mt. Shasta in northern California. Jamie was focused out the back window and we were surprised to find a whole family of deer sneaking up to the back of our van. We joked with Jamie that they were her long lost family coming for her birthday.

Day two was unfortunately where we started to catch a glimpse of just how flexible we would have to be on this trip. Vada was running a fever off and on and required much more resting. Here is our van in a suburban California shopping mall parking lot somewhere near Sacramento with Vada napping inside. Toban got to try In-n-Out Burger here though and the palm trees always amaze us.

While Yosemite was our key destination, our second campsite may have won all of us over. We camped at Tulloch Reservoir about two hours west of Yosemite.

We were able to camp in an undeveloped area right along the lake. 

Here is a pretty good shot of our nightly set-up. Top popped. Awning out. Outdoor carpet rolled out. Jamie tethered outside. I’m probably in the back of the van getting Vada settled for bedtime in her tent. While Toban is finishing setting up camp and starting dinner.

The morning sun was glorious. And the lake was calm and peaceful.

We walked around the lake a bit in the morning.

And for the first time Vada actually wanted to wear her sunglasses! Yes – I love it! 

No more smiles here. This is our last gas fill up before Yosemite. Ouch! And in case you are wondering gas pumps stop at $100 so this was not even a full tank.

We spent two days in Yosemite but don’t have many pictures to show for it. One possible reason is that we were camping on the Valley floor literally at the base of all of the famous giant rock faces – Half Dome, El Capitan, etc. It was very difficult to get a good full shot of anything amongst all the trees. The more likely reason though is probably that Vada really started struggling here. She just wasn’t feel well and needed constant holding and attention. We spent most of our time managing how far we were from the van and getting Vada’s needs met.

This is the longest hike we did on the John Muir trail up to see a large waterfall. You could keep hiking up right beside it but those who did were soaking wet. In Vada’s condition, we didn’t want to push it so we hiked to the edge of the mist and then turned around.

The flexibility I mentioned earlier took full effect on our last morning in Yosemite. Our plan had been to head straight to the coast from Yosemite and then slowly make our way back home camping along the ocean. Vada was miserable and not getting any better so we headed straight back home instead. Toban was a trooper and drove late into the night to get us home in one day. We took Vada in to her doctor the next morning and found out she had walking pneumonia and a sinus infection. She was back in action a couple days later thanks to the antiobiotics. Unfortunately all my time spent cuddling her and wiping her nose meant I soon had a sinus infection as well. I spent a couple of days down for the count but the medicines have kicked in and I am back among the living. Looking back it feels like only a little vacation and a lot of sick. 

We are all headed back to work and daycare tomorrow and looking forward to rescheduling the second leg of the road trip along the coast sometime later…

Bunnies.

The spring pictures at Vada's daycare included live bunnies! And even though she doesn't look terribly happy in the pictures she was one of the few kids in her classroom to even allow the bunnies next to her.