Good-bye Yosemite!!

It turned out the be a spectacular week for Yosemite. Too cold for bugs, spring flowers were blooming, and the running water got stronger each day. Our last hike, through the lower Yosemite valley, was all Soren could take! The last picture is of us a bit in front of our lodge. This was definitely a "do again" trip.

Big Hike!

In addition to the morning hikes, I wanted something a bit more challenging. So, one afternoon I decided to take a quick stroll up to the top of the Upper Yosemite Falls. Par usual, I should have done a bit more research. It is the tallest waterfall in North America - 5th in the world (I think the elevation is about 2400 ft - don't hold me to this, though). The total hike was a bit over 5 hours - which was making pretty good time if I don't say so myself. It was exhausting and really, really thrilling. The totally cool thing was that I had cell phone coverage the entire way up! Here is a picture of the falls from about 1/2 way up the hike (it shows the upper falls only, not the lower), the towering granite walls you hikes beside, the view of the valley where we were staying and then me at the top of the falls. Not sure if I'd do it again, but it was something I'll always remember. And thank goodness Soren wasn't in the back pack!

Yosemite!!

We went on a vacation to Yosemite during the last week of April - and had a blast. It was a about a 5 hour drive to get there. Soren was great the entire drive. We stayed at the Yosemite lodge and took the park's shuttle to a different hiking destination each morning. Here are photos from the 'Happy Isle at Vernon Falls' hike. The last pictures is taken along the Merced River near the lodge. Soren slept very little each day and was constantly engaged with the park - the biggies were seeing mule deer, rivers, birds, playing with his new teddy named 'Yosemite' and waving (new skill!) at everyone at the lodge.

Wooden Toy vs. Cardboard Box

Last weekend we went to a great toy store that carries mostly wooden toys. We bought Soren a "walker", which he can push around. Although he likes it a lot, the cardboard box that the toy was packaged in seems even more interesting to him.

This week's photos

Our neighbor, Mike, took these photos of Soren on Tuesday.

Blue Eyes

Playing Around the House

Soren loves the computer - especially when one of us is using it. His favorites are smearing the screen and slamming the keyboard as hard as he can. Yeah. However, he gets super excited whenever we show him pictures of himself on the computer. Last week, we bought a vinyl tunnel that we thought Soren would love. He did love it, but so did Maggie (the dog) and Charlie (the cat) -- a little too much. Maggie and Charlie chase, claw, and basically attack each other in and around the tunnel. Unfortunately, Soren was caught in the middle of the chaos one night and ended up with a few scratches, in addition to being a bit traumatized. We have since limited the use of the tunnel by Maggie and Charlie. All is good with the tunnel once again.

Sunday at the Beach

This morning we all packed into our Honda Civic and drove down to Santa Cruz. It was windy and cold, but we had a good time. Maggie did her "Action Jackson" moves (as Mike calls them) trying to outrun the surf. Then it was time for breakfast and a drive up the coast along CA-1 before returning back home.

Rolling in the Grass

On Saturday, Bob and Elsa drove down from Dixon to visit. In the afternoon, we played outside in the grass.

Crawling

Soren started crawling last Thursday night. Until now, Maggie our dog has been able to keep her toys out of Soren's reach. Maggie has discovered that is no longer the case.

Auntie Cindy Comes to Visit

Our friend Cindy flew out for a few days to escape the cold Minnesota weather and, more importantly, to learn how to make homemade pasta. We had a lot of fun. Mike and Cindy took a day to go for a hike at Wilder Ranch State Park just north of Santa Cruz. In addition to making pasta, we had lots of good local eats: fresh fish tacos, crab sandwiches along the ocean, Vietnamese soup, and falafal. Soren stuck to veggies. But we gave him avacados for the first time. The verdict is still out. Soren loved the attention from Cindy and can't wait to see her again!

Hold on tight!

Reading his favorite book

Soren loves his book about dogs. We read it every day. It was a Christmas gift from his Aunt Pam, Uncle Mike and Cousin Andrew.

Swinging at Hester Park

Now that it's stopped raining in San Jose, we go to the neighborhood park a couple times a week. Soren loves to swing, go down the slide (not alone), and play in the wood chips on the ground. On a side note, today he started to move forward when on all fours. I wouldn't really call it crawling, but it's pretty darn close!

Soren's new mode of transportation

Soren initially wasn't too sure what to think of being in his new backpack carrier. After about 5 minutes, he was having a blast. He loves being up high during our morning walks. He can look over fences, see more plants and cars, and play with my hair. And given that he was literally busting out of the Bjorn carrier, I'm sure he's much more comfortable.

First teeth!

On January 22nd, Soren turned 8 months and grew his first teeth. Two little white shiners on the bottom. It's weird having the spoon scrape on something hard when we're feeding him. After learning how to manipulate the Cheerio with his tongue (causing a few chokes and gags) he loves eating Cheerios. We've also started to give him "real" bananas and squash - both of which he goes crazy for.

Bath time

After Christmas, Soren was now strong enough to sit up on his own in the bath. He likes to play, kind of, with his sea friends and cups. We bought some bubble bath, but he's not a real fan of it yet. Not sure why.

Christmas in San Jose

Here are pictures of our Christmas in San Jose. We had a little Christmas tree that Soren and I (Mike) bought at Target. Soren was in the Bjorn carrier and I slung the tree over my shoulder. It was a very precarious walk back to the car! We gave Soren a xylophone and maracas for Christmas. It was all nice. The last picture is Soren modeling his new exercise suit he got from Grandma & Grandpa in Minnesota.