Be prepared for an overload of new posts. We have been so busy and having so much fun that I simply have to post about it all. First up: our trip to the bay area.
I decided to head up to the bay area with the kids for a quick visit with everyone. The last time I was up was when miss Maren was born, and things were a little busy, so I wanted to get in a more relaxing trip before Erica's kids were back to school and before Kate had baby number two... and we just missed his birth. We left for home at 7:30 or so Monday night the 1st and Kate went in to labor at 1:30am or so Tuesday morning the 2nd. Welcome to the world, baby Brennan!
We did have a few busy days while we were up, but for the most part, we just sat around and visited friends and family. One day the kids and I went to Berkeley with Brad, Kate, Dylan, and Bill to the cement slide, then a carousel ride, then a ride on the train. It was a great day. The kids had such a great time at the park. Livia fell asleep in the car, so she missed the carousel, but she made the trip on the train. We had lots of dinners with everyone out back, and it was nice to see all the kids bonding. Dylan was a huge fan of Livie, so hopefully he's pretty happy now that his baby brother is here. We also had a big barbecue at Kyle's house and played at his pool all day. It was nice to have such a good time with the entire family. Marc flew up for the last couple of days so that I could have help driving back down, and I don't think I have ever seen those boys having so much fun together as when they had their cannonball competition. Roman was pretty excited about it and kept yelling, "1-2-3 go!" and, "Cannonball!!" as soon as someone stepped on the diving board.
And of course I saw Sarah and Erik and the kidlets, and, of course, I didn't take pictures. Why do we always do that Sarah?? But it was so nice to catch up. We even had a lunch just the two of us, which was great. It is always so nice having grandparent baby-sitters when I visit. Of course it wasn't great that Roman threw a gigantic fit one night when we went over to have dinner at Sarah's house, so I had to take him back to Bill and Peggy's. Luckily, Bill and Peggy had no problem watching him (and Livia), so I went back and finished dinner and got some more catch-up time with Sarah. Roman also threw the same kind of fit over at Jason and Rayna's barbecue. As soon as the other kids left and/or went to bed he was back to his normal self; I believe this means that it is time for that kid to be in some sort of school/activity/part-time day care as quickly as possible. He really needs to be able to deal with other kids better and not always be overwhelmed in new situations. I am starting to look into our options.
And a trip to the bay would not have been complete without some fun with the Hancocks. Roman got to have his pillow fight with Uncle Nano, Maren and Livia got to bond, and Erica and I had time to visit; it was lovely. And Erica took us on Livia's first trip to the pool. Roman absolutely loved getting to go swimming; Livia was not too sure about the whole thing. Roman was jumping off the side of the pool to us, and Erica taught him "motor-boat, motor-boat" which was an instant hit. He was wearing floaties and was pretty confident in the water by the time the day ended. In fact, he was pretty upset that we had to leave. Livia, well, not so much. She was happy to be held in the water, but it was a little scary for her to be in the lady-bug baby float thing. Even at Kyle's she didn't seem completely happy to be in the water. I think it was just new, so hopefully our next time out will be better.
We also went to this fun park with Erica and the kids on our last day there, but man, was it stinking hot the entire time we were there. I am talking 100+ degree weather. That park had a splash zone that started at noon, but it was crazy hot by 10am. All we wanted was for the water to turn on. It was so hot, but we still had fun.
And then it was time to head home. Our trips up there always seem so short. I am hoping to make another trip in a few months, but with a new baby in a house that already seemed a bit crowded with all of us, our next trip may have to wait a bit. Hopefully if I wait the weather will be nicer.