A Winter Trip to Arizona

In Bisbee together, so happy.

It was inevitable, our escape from Alaska during the winter months to seek out some warmth and sunshine. We had several good excuses to visit Arizona, where we'd wanted to travel since we met as we both used to live there, myself for 6 years. Our good friends Mike and Jenny moved from Fairbanks last year to Tucson, where we spent a good number of days visiting.

Lucy is envious because a butterfly landed on Matt's head.

Mike works at the Tucson Botanical Gardens and he arranged for us to visit the butterfly display after hours on the weekend. Lucy was captivated instantly by all the beautifully-colored butterflies surrounding us.

She kept saying "head...please, head...please" but sadly no butterflies chose her head to land on.  A good choice on their part!

Lucy did laps around and around inside the greenhouse, giggling, pointing, and talking about what she was seeing.

We saw so many butterflies! Thanks Mike!

Afterward we went over to the kid's garden area. Lucy ran around some more as she knew it was especially for her. Adorable.

Water is always fun to play with.

About to kiss a big bunny

"Kids garden, mama, kids garden"... Lucy loved it.

Lucy starts the trend of masking-tape wrist sweat bands.

As usual, visits never last long enough but we had a perfect time visiting Aunt Jenny and Uncle Mike in the desert. We look forward to the next time.

Visiting Mike and Jenny in Tucson. I'm amazed we actually got a photo of all of us!

Next we headed toward Bisbee, where I used to live. I was so excited to share this town with Matt and Lucy! We were going to stay for one night, but once we arrived we decided to stay for two due to Matt's head cold (camping was next on the agenda) and the fact that we loved being there.

Walking the streets of Bisbee.

The first whole day we were in town we made the trip up the steep hill to the shrine that overlooks Bisbee. Lucy walked almost the entire way by herself up the trail until she asked to picked up! That girl has some energy, indeed.

Almost all the way at the very top of the Shrine hill. 

It was super windy at the top so we didn't stay long. I nursed Lucy and Matt got a great photo before we headed back down. Lucy made it down about half-way by herself.

Out for pizza at Screaming Banshee on Valentine's Day. Lucy slept for the first hour on my chest which was delightful as Matt and I got some adults-only time in. Lucy dug the pizza big time..especially dipping it in tomato sauce.

At Rattlesnake Ranch in Cochise County

We headed in the direction of the Chiricahuas next - one of my favorite places to hike. On the way I treated Matt and Lucy to a fun stop at Rattlesnake Ranch. They both loved it. I hadn't been there in over 10 years and it was a nice surprise that the owners came out to greet us. 

Lucy ran around the entire time touching as many things as she could.

We arrived at Chiricahua National Monument at about 5:30pm after a beautiful and relaxing drive. We had a yummy dinner at the campsite and little Lucy enjoyed her first hot dog (organic and nitrate-free of course!) - she approved. Unfortunately at about midnight inside the tent Matt and I were awoken by odd bark-like coughs coming from Lucy. She had croup! We packed up camp, drove to the hospital in Willcox, only about 40 minutes away, very worried and they assured us she was OK. They gave her some medicine, we hung out for a bit and at 4am fell asleep inside a hotel in Willcox. 

I read to Lucy to pass the time and to stay awake in the hospital! She did really well and charmed both the nurse and the doctor.

Since our day-long hike in the Chiricahuas was out, we decided to drive toward Tucson and see what we found. We ended up spotting the Amerind Museum in Dragoon from the highway, attracted to the area mainly by the rock formations, we decided to visit. We spent several relaxing hours there both looking at the display and hanging out outside at their scenic picnic area. The day ended up being great.

In Dragoon, AZ nearby the Amarind Museum for our picnic.

You never would have guessed this little girl was at the hospital the night before. Her super runny nose was the only giveaway that she might be a bit under the weather. She truly loves exploring and being outdoors, just like her mama and dada.

Hiking on South Mountain, Tempe.

After a brief stop in Tucson to spend one night we headed to Tempe for the final weekend to visit people from ASU and others I used to work at House of Tricks with. We stayed with my professor from grad school and his wife - a very relaxing weekend and full of super warm sunshine!

After a delicious meal at my favorite mexican restaurant, Los Dos Molinos. Lucy consumed an entire bowl of guacamole.

Our last morning in AZ. Lucy and Matt didn't want it to end so they slept in.

Lucy turned 22 months while on this trip. We think this was a huge month for her in terms of talking. She never seems to stop and always has something to say even if she is whispering to herself about what she is working on. She's forming sentences or statements such as "more apple please" or "mama, water, in there" if she wants water in her cup, for example. She cruises up and down stairs with ease, jumps up and down, and is quite the little helper. Her top incisor teeth are about 1/4 of the way in - it is a rather long and painful process for all of us. We haven't measured or weighed her this month but we're sure she's grown a lot because it's a little harder to carry her for long periods in one arm now! She's still so tiny though - our little bug.

In the Kitchen

Lucy and I made delicious whole wheat cheddar crackers together today.

Lucy pulled the rolling pin out of the drawer all by herself. 

All I had to do was pull out the cookie cutters and she already knew what to do! She's extremely independent these days and I love watching her confidence.

Cutting circle cracker shapes out of the dough. 

I cut out some easy square crackers with a pizza cutter and let Lucy have all the fun. Mostly because she wouldn't let me near her dough!

She was really good at it!

Lucy cut out about half of the crackers by herself.

The crackers are delicious by the way and taste like a homemade Cheez-it! I think we'll be making these quite often as they are so easy and consist of only 4 ingredients.

Perfection.

First Real Haircut!

Lucy sees mama getting her hair dried across the room.

Yesterday Matt arrived at the hair salon to pick me up just as I was getting my hair dried. Before they got there I decided it was time for Lucy's hair to really get cut, beyond the bangs I've been tending to since she was born. They offered to cut it for free for us!

Lucy didn't get her nap in this afternoon, except for a quick 30 minute snooze in the car...perfect situation for a haircut! She was glazed over and agreeable.

There was definitely some talent needed and some quick actions because 1-year-olds are quite abrupt in their motions. A quick turn of the head and...ouch...if mom is cutting your hair, that is. No, I never hurt her but I was terrified I was going to!

I think she looks pretty pleased here and is enjoying the attention.

She was quite ready to get out of that chair as soon as possible

All done!

Winding Down from Whirlwindy Holidays

Well, it's been over a month since I last posted which seems unbelievable. Our little Bean has turned 21 months old in the last week and we are hunkering down in the -20º to -40º weather to reflect on the good times we had visiting friends and family on the east coast. The trip was of course too fast and time with grandparents was too short, but Lucy blossomed during our travels and she returned home an even more confident and sassy almost-2-year-old who makes me laugh more than anyone each and every day. I'll add some fun info on Lucy after all the photos I want to share from our trip...

The Kasvinsky Clan in VT

At Grandpa Jim and Grandma Nancy's house in CT

Enjoying the warmer day outside in CT.

Lucy in the backyard in Litchfield.

Watching the Bantam River with Grandma Nancy 

Lucy's favorite place to be.

Making a sandwich with Grandpa Jim

Already loves to put on her skis!

Working hard in her kitchen.

Cooking away!

Reading a book in her special chair.

Snuggling with Uncle Chris.

Pulling carrots at KidCity in Middletown, CT

Meeting Great Grandpa Sam, 91 years old!

A chilly day outside with Uncle Chris.

Already climbing trees!

Cooking dinner for the guys.

Hanging out with Grandma Lyn and coveting her scarf.

Saying goodbye at the airport in Boston.

At Seattle Art Museum.

So much to look at!

Cruising by the gum wall in Seattle.

OK, so Lucy is pure fun. I am playing catch up so I will have to ramble on...
The little cutie comes up with things every few minutes during the day that just crack me up, amaze me, and make me so proud and lucky to be her mama. Her vocabulary is just sky-rocketing. She's quite the talker now. She says everything now, in her own way, but she gives every word her best shot. She says all the numbers from 1-20 really well and will continue on past that but it gets a little mixed up. On her own, she'll count to 10 perfectly. She also says the alphabet while following along but does know them on her own as she will say the next letter for you as you recite it. She's using the potty and is diaper-less in the house most of the time during the day now. Trips to town and visits to friends houses, excluded...we're not ready for that yet.
One thing she says now that is hilariously cute: "in-there"- she says this all the time, like it is one word. She says it about the bath when she wants to get in, for example: mama, in-there!
Oh, how about size? Lucy is 31 and 1/16" tall (her carpenter dad wanted to make sure I accounted for the 1/16th). I haven't weighed her recently but she is getting heavy to carry on one arm for an extended period of time, that's for sure.
The other day our windows were frosty while I was getting Lucy dressed on the changing table. She made her grrr sound for an airplane and then drew a jig-jagged line back and forth on the window. I asked, "Did you draw an airplane?". "Yep" she said. Now, this has repeated each day. I think it is amazing.
Other favorite Lucy activities: feeding the animals every night, pulling up a chair to help in all kitchen activities, changing Baka's (her bath baby that she named!) diaper and giving her a bath, pulling out the yoga mats to work on with mama or dada, and climbing up the stairs unassisted with ease (and even carrying things in her arms) without using the railings. She's a mighty-might!

20-months and loving it!

Sassy Lucy sits for her 20-month-old holiday photo.

Lucy now weighs 20 pounds, is 30" tall and still has an 18"-round head. 

What can I say? Lucy is AWESOME. We keep thinking..."is she for real"?

Every morning starts with Lucy requesting to listen to music: "ah-bum, ah-bum"...meaning album.

Her favorite album is the Beatles. Favorite song: "She Loves You". She sings the yeah, yeah, yeahs from this song during it and throughout the day whenever she is thinking about her song. Other music she particularly rocks out to (dancing): Primus, The Fresh Prince, and Louis Armstrong.

A new activity is that Lucy likes to decorate Canute with things. He is very tolerant. She tears up pieces of tinfoil and lays them on him. She lays diapers on him while I am folding the laundry. She puts napkins on him. Anything she finds suitable. He just lays there and gets up when he's had enough.

Lucy can count to 6! She did it for the first time today with me and then tonight with Matt, she counted to 4. She can also say the alphabet very well with help along the way. Smarty-pants!

She loves to strike poses all the time and enjoys pushing her limits.

Lucy also thinks the animals love her to practically sit on them throughout the day.

Last week we had a good amount of blowing snow. It was quite a storm. Toward the end we went out and built a snowman. Then Lucy and Matt went for a walk afterward (while I gave the snowman some clothes) and came home to find the decorated snowman. Here is a little video Matt shot when they got home:

Lucy meets the snowman.

Playing in the fresh snow.

Walking in last week's blizzard.

Oh Christmas Tree!

Last weekend we went up the road to search for our early Christmas tree for this year. Since we won't be home for the holidays we thought it would still be fun and cheery to have a tree in the house for all of us to enjoy.

Lucy is amazed by the tree every day and loves all the ball ornaments especially, which are glass of course! She enjoyed helping us decorate the tree.

Lucy staring the tree the next morning....

...and then learning she can hide behind it!

Lucy and I enjoyed cooking together twice this past week. They are the first two times that I have given her her own bowl with ingredients or dough, for example, to make something with. She cut out her own little biscuits the other day!