Sunday, February 28, 2016

Declan Hercules: Candle meets Granddad & Boppy, mini golf, and massive snow fun

I have had the pleasure of knowing Granddad and Boppy my whole life - 4.5 years already!  But baby sister had never met them, until last week.  She was definitely missing out - they are pretty cool!  I had the pleasure of introducing Candle to Granddad and Boppy and I told them all about her - how we have to be careful since she is so little, how she likes to snuggle, how she makes velociraptor shrieks and loud poops, and how she makes funny faces all the time. I also told them about her blue eyes and her tiny fingers and toes, and how she's getting so big already (8 pounds!).  

Granddad and Boppy meeting baby Candle Serena Keevah Nyx House (I will never stop calling her Candle Serena!)
Telling Boppy all about baby sister
Boppy in Boppy heaven
Boppy impressed at how well baby sister eats - apparently no one was impressed when I held out for 1.5 years before eating!
Wide awake baby girl over Granddad's shoulder
After the introduction was made, I gave them 3 whole minutes to hold Fat Raptor before demanding their attention for the rest of the visit!  I have WAY more words than sister, and require WAY more interaction - and I wasn't going to let this opportunity go to waste.

I had never been mini golfing, and I've been dying to try it.  Why you ask?  Because there is a WINDMILL on the golf course!!

First time mini-golfing 

Hello? A WINDMILL that you hit a ball through!  Can we only do this hole over and over again??
18 holes is exhausting for a little dude - a nap with a view of a windmill - so relaxing! 
We had to say goodbye to Granddad and Boppy after just a few days, but can't wait to see them in a few months!

Off to Tahoe we go for our monthly weekend of fun!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE my tahoe cabin - it is my happy place.  This time, I skied several days and am getting really good in my ski classes.  The only critique the teacher had this time was that I go too fast!  I say, phooey! I love to ZOOM!  It just snowed 30 inches the night before we got up the mountain, so it was perfect for sledding and snowman building and snowball fights too!  We had several friends with us in Tahoe this time and we had a blast!

After sledding with Mama and Dada (baby sister was keeping warm inside with Gee & Grandpa)
I LOVE sledding!
My Dada, my hero!


Mama getting ready to tackle the sledding hill
Ready set slide!
Go Mama!
With my friends August, Zander & Carolina - and our big sucker snowman!
A big wall of snow with Carolina
Baby sister makes an appearance


Where do you put a baby so you can get your own snow stuff on?  In a cubby bucket!
Carolina, Zander and me!


Gee & Grandpa keeping sister warm inside
My baby sister - snow bunny!

Kids time in the jacuzzi with poor Grandpa supervising!
Grandpa with LOTS of kids
Watching a MoMo with Zander, Carolina, August & Finley
Grownup talk:  Mr Mateo, Charlie, Dada, and Chris with Huxley
Baby sister with Huxley - he is one day younger than her, but he is 3 pounds heavier!
Huxley & his Mama Jessy, and Dada with baby Keevah
Mama reading bedtime stories to Finley and me
Mr. Chris tracing Finley and my feet

Back to Napa we go, and I had to go back to school.  Mama has one more week of maternity leave before she has to go back to work. She doesn't want to go back yet, but her patients miss her.  She took baby sister to the hair place last week, but Keevah doesn't need a haircut yet. She has WAY more hair than I had at that age, but it's still pretty short.


Tummy time for sister!

Baby sister is learning to smile!
Mama and baby sister took me to my gymzone class this week too.  I'm in a harder class now and still enjoying it. Watch me walk backwards on the balance beam!





We made (early) easter cupcakes!  I love cooking with Mama and have declared that I want to be an engineer and Mama's sous-chef when I grow up



I LOVE baby sister's poops - I find them quite hilarious...and this is one reason why.  She makes the funniest faces ever!

See the cute face of my sister above?  Well, she's not always this sweet.  One afternoon, she was particularly fussy and we couldn't get her to stop crying for a long time.  I had to listen to the Raptor shrieking forever in the car, and I had to resort to covering my ears and going "la la la la" to drown the noise.  Finally in frustration I said to Mama, "Let's just go get a new baby that won't cry so much".  Mama started laughing a bit, which was not nice...and asked "Where do we go to get a new baby?"  The hospital of course!  I thought maybe a baby brother wouldn't cry so much, but Mama said that all babies cry sometimes.  Eventually baby sister calmed down, and I agreed that we can keep her....for now!

We also got to go to the zoo yesterday!






Finally, a cool video of me at the zoo rolling down a hill with my friends!








Thursday, February 18, 2016

Keevah Nyx: hikes, baths, planes and beaches

I just posted a blog post about Gran's awesome visit, but here are some things that happened in the two weeks preceding her visit.  Sorry it's out of order!  I found my fingers, went on a long hike in the Oakland Hills, and even experienced my first plane flight & beach trip!

These things called fingers are AWESOME!

One finger is good...two are BETTER!

Wink, wink!
My big (blue?) eyes


I was supposed to be sleeping, but thought it would be more fun to surprise Mama instead!
Loving snuggle time with Mama
First real bath - not sure what to think of it!

This is my big brother Hercules taking his first real bath in the same tub!


Second bath - Mama got creative to get Big Brother and I cleaned up at the same time!


Loving Gee & Grandpa


No one can resist the sleepiness induced by snuggling with me - I'm like a personal heater!
Big brother has been having a blast with me.  He's a pretty awesome big brother and helps our Mama a lot at home. He has a particular fascination with poopy diapers, and I don't disappoint in that area!
Everyone needs a frog on their head

Big brother Hercules says he will teach me how to swing someday - I like how he does it in style with a Tie!
Hercules and Dada making bread from scratch. I can't wait to help too!
Hercules building forts with Gee
Big brother is OBSESSED with fans.  Grandpa is helping him build a wind turbine
Finished product!  


Out for a hike in the Oakland Hills with Romps and Richoux families
The whole gang hiking

Mama is a crazy woman - she is using her maternity leave to organize the whole house and paint it too!
Yes, that's me on the bed! Don't worry, there was plenty of ventilation! 
I got to experience my first flight at 6 weeks old, to San Diego!  This place has beaches and oceans!  Awesome - I tried to eat some sand too, but it doesn't taste as good as it looks. 

Big brother with his new backpack full of treats for the plane. 
I slept the whole time!  Mama was so happy with me!
Declan with Jonah, Keaton & me
3am
Declan and Keaton at the beach

when do I get to play?

family beach photo!

The white noise at the beach is SO relaxing!



3 boys and an outdoor shower.
Mama didn't have too much fun though...she ended up in the ER with an elbow infection. Miss Analeah kept her company but I missed her!
Mama doing her best to enjoy her bad situation - Analeah brought fancy sushi to the ER!
The ladies missed the fancy dinner - so Dada and Mr. Ian took me out instead!
We even had to fly home early so Mama could go to her own hospital. She spent another 3 nights there and I missed hers soooo much! She's mostly better now though!
Funny video of big brother trying to say "yellow"

Funny video of big brother playing the "funky uncle" -he has a hard time saying "bucking bronco" and says "funky uncle" instead!