Long time no see

Sorry, Dada has been a bit busy with work, and Mama had a cold.

Thank Alison for this post! She and Petra kept busy while I was at a conference at Asilomar last week.

You may have been wondering where we’ve been; between travel and work and illness it’s been somewhat hectic recently.

The last week in April, we did a trip up to the Bay Area. Alison had a conference on Friday, so she spent the night up there and Richard & Petra flew up to meet her the next morning (Petra was a darling for the flight. No trouble at all). After a happy reunion, we drove to Grandpa and Grandma’s house for an early lunch and then on to Santa Cruz (with Petra sleeping the entire drive) to see Auntie Kirsten, Uncle James and Cousin Adia. Adia played shy when we arrived, and didn't say a word for quite a while. When she did speak, Petra (who had kept up both sides of the conversation) said with surprise "You can talk!" Petra had a great time playing with Adia; they splashed on the slip & slide, played princess dress-up, and played in Adia’s room (the princess palace).

Sunday, Richard had to leave early for his conference, so Adia & Petra went to the park and watched the horses at a nearby stable in the morning. Right around naptime, Grandpa and Grandma arrived to take Alison & Petra to Asilomar and Petra slept most of the way there. Timing long drives to nap time is definitely the way to go.

The last time we were at Asilomar, Petra was just over 6 months old. What a difference two years make! This time she had lots of fun running around the lodge, playing pool and ping pong. Well, not exactly. She had fun rolling the pool balls around the table, and was excited about holding a ping pong paddle and the ball (and even throwing the ball across the table as a serve). We managed to keep her banging on the piano to a minimum, and she was even serenaded by a conference attendee.

She spent Monday afternoon with Grandpa and Grandma while Alison had a chance to explore Pacific Grove and its many antique shops and thrift stores. Alas, no luck at the former, but she did manage to find some great stuff at the local thrift stores, including a much-needed longer pair of pants (due to a recent growth spurt, most of Petra’s pants are Capri-length now), a cool dinosaur shirt, a souvenir Monterey shirt with an otter on it, and a stuffed sea turtle- all the souvenirs from the aquarium, without the price!

On Tuesday, Alison & Petra went to the aquarium with Grandpa and Grandma. We got there just as the otter feeding was about to start, but Petra was more interested in seeing the penguins. She played in the touch pools, and “swam” through the kelp forest. There’s a great kids’ play area at the aquarium, and she took full advantage of it. After lunch in the café, we went over & saw the jellyfish, which she found fascinating.

What could be more exciting than the aquarium? Getting to see a fire truck up close! When we went to dinner, we noticed a fire truck parked near the barbeque area at Asilomar. After dinner, we went for a walk on the beach and flew a kite, but it was much too windy for Petra, so we came back just as the firemen were coming out from dinner. They saw Petra admiring the truck, so they opened the door and let her sit behind the wheel. This stunned our normally chatty muffin into near-silence, but she certainly had a great time.

Petra was a big hit at Asilomar, and all Richard's colleagues adored her. Stories are still told about her wandering through the dining hall with a banana in her mouth like a dog bone.

The next day we flew back home. Petra didn’t get a long enough nap, and all the excitement finally caught up with her once we were in the car heading for home. She fell asleep in the car at around 5:30 and didn’t wake up until 6 am the next morning!

Random acts of Petra-ness:
Running through the house in her superhero cape calling herself "Zoom Zoom"
Helping me prepare green beans by breaking them in half and putting them in the colander (her word, not mine).
Going into hysterics because we wash her face (covered in pink marker) "I want to be the pink girl!!!"
Going to the art museum each week (she's a "NexGen" member) so she can do arts and crafts at the Boone children's gallery. See the video.

Be sure to see all the latest video at http://www.youtube.com/petravids