Thanksgiving in Oakland

As is our normal tradition, we alternate our major holidays between Oakland and Torrance. This year, we spent Thanksgiving in Oakland, and Ava had a ton of fun during our 6 days there.

Highlights included spending time with family.

Dressing up for the big meal.

Spinning around over and over again.

Playing in the kitchen.

And trying out mommy's shoes.

Changing Seasons

Although the change from summer to fall doesn't mean much down here in Orange County with temperatures consistently in the 70s or even 80s, it makes a big difference in the Bay Area.

In November, Ava got to experience rain for the first time since she's been really mobile. Of course if it's raining you need to have a good raincoat and boots (and apparently a lemon too). Ava's raincoat is big enough that it should last through next year as well.

Ava also took a visit to her Great-Grandad's house and got to experience the joy of playing in the leaves. With two pine trees in our backyard, it's not something we can't really duplicate.

Pumpkins and Fairies

Instead of going to just one pumpkin patch this year, Ava got to go to two, and our family somehow ended up with five pumpkins, including an Ava-sized pumpkin that we got for free at the fall festival at Irvine's Great Park. In addition to a costume, Ava had plenty of orange and black seasonal wear.

For Halloween itself, Ava was a fairy, and had several opportunities to wear her outfit as Abby took her to a number of Halloween parties (not the scary kind, but the toddler-friendly kind).

Abby carved our pumpkins and each of us had our own jack-o-lantern.

And Ava enjoyed playing with her pumpkin even after Halloween was over.

Learning to Swim

Ava has been taking swimming lessons for a couple months now at Waterworks, and has advanced from the beginner group to the intermediate group. The intermediate lessons are for swimmers aged 4-36 months who work on independence in the water by working on back floats and rollover breathing.

Indian Summer

Even though the days are getting shorter and we've set our clocks backward, it's remained warm in Orange County. Before it started to cool off, we decided to take another trip to the beach. Ava is totally acclimated to the cold water by now and loves to run straight into the waves.

After an afternoon at the beach, Abby and I walk back from Crystal Cove to our car parked up the hill with Ava in her ErgoBaby.

Dress Up Time

When we're at home we spend a lot of time just playing around the house and in the yard. We can have plenty of fun without fancy gadgets or electronics (although Ava likes toys that light up and make noise too).

But sometimes we take a break from reality and escape to somewhere new and different. Rather than catching the latest movie or curling up with a book, Ava dresses up.

Some days Ava pretends to be a ballerina (one of her favorite books is A Very Young Dancer by Jill Krementz).

And sometimes she dresses up in mommy's clothes.

And recently she dressed up as Tigger (thanks to Jillian for the cool birthday party favor).

Our New Kitchen

Even though Ava's been in our house for just over a year, Abby and I have had to deal with our kitchen for over four years now. After saving up a little bit of money, we decided it was time for a change - new cabinets, countertops, and appliances. The size of the kitchen remains the same, and the layout is basically the same, but we now have more counterspace, a larger sink, and cabinets that are much more user friendly.

Here's our old kitchen.

And here's our new kitchen.

In our old kitchen, Ava had a cabinet that she could open up and play with tupperware (all the other cabinets were childproofed). Similarly, in our new, Ava has two drawers with tupperware and towels where she can play. As you can see, she loves playing in our new kitchen as much as we do.

Around Town

Like me, Ava likes to start the day off with breakfast and the newspaper.


Of course we like to play at home. Sometimes by ourselves.


And sometimes with friends.

We can walk to the park and to Yogurtland (yogurt for the adults and blueberries or kiwi for Ava), but for bigger trips we have to ride in the car, and sometimes Ava falls asleep in the car (or sometimes we plan our trips so that they coincide with Ava's naps).

We continue to take Ava to Gymboree every week, but Ava has also been taking swimming lessons, and like most people who live in the OC we take her to the mall too. Not for shopping but to let her play in the jumping fountains (which she loves) and to take a ride on the carousel (which she hated, and which we will not be doing anytime in the near future).

I wake up early most Saturday mornings to head down to The Olde Ship to watch Chelsea, and we've even brought her down to the pub. We brought our own snacks with us, but maybe next time Ava can try some beans and toast.

Visiting the Sunny Side of the Bay

Abby's family lives in Oakland, so every couple months or so we head up Southwest and visit the Knapps. Our house is one story, so visiting Grandma and Grandpa gives Ava the chance to climb up stairs. She's become quite good at going up, but hasn't quite figured out how to get down.

Prior to our most recent trip, Ava got her first major boo-boo. Standing in our driveway, she reached down to pick up a leaf and lost her balance. She got a big scrape on her nose in the process, but other than the immediate pain it didn't seem to bother her one bit.

Not only did Ava get to spend a lot of time exploring Rockridge with Grandma and Grandpa, but Abby and I got a chance to take a little break to Sonoma with Hannah and Rob.

After wandering around Sonoma, wine tasting, and a picnic lunch, we enjoyed the Sonoma Grand Prix where we saw Helio Castroneves (yes, the guy from Dancing with the Stars) dominate the field to get his first win of the season.