Birthdays, babies and bbq's

Summer has finally hit us full force here in Mariposa, which translates to "big owies" when little feet touch the black driveway during the day! Lyell has learned this lesson quickly, and his obsession with owies prompted his first complete sentence... "Mommy, I need a band aid!"

The hot days make way for fabulously cool evenings, which we spend in the garden or playing badminton on our new mountain court. We are loving the summer, enjoying all our family time and watching everything soak up the sun and grow like crazy- including Whitney.

At three and a half months, Whitney has shot out of newborn mode and established herself as the world's cutest baby (in my non-biased opinion:) She loves to have conversations with you if you keep all the sounds to vowels only, but she says her ooo's and eee's with such conviction while staring right into your eyes. Here are a few shots of Whitney doing her exercises on the floor, her favorite place right now...

And of course her greatest talent is still her ability to sleep so peacefully for long hours!

Lyell has been having a blast at the pool. Here he is on his first waterslide experience.

He made it.

The whole gang at the pool.

Whitney came with Matthew and I for a day in San Francisco. She helped us navigate the Muni system...

and got a ride in the Baby Bjorn...

all the way up Telegraph Hill to Coit Tower.

But here is the real reason we went up to the city... gelato at the Ferry building!

Fourth of July bbq at Garland Drive- a 35 year tradition.

Lyell is becoming a bit more adventurous with his food choices, as long as they come with a generous squirt of "ket-up" on top.

Lyell celebrated his second birthday with ice cream cake and a pinata at our local lake.

His favorite retro gift from his good buddies Naya and Morgan.

The pinata was a huge success, but the two year olds didn't understand why we stopped playing with it after it broke open, so we spent another hour with the plastic bat and the empty train pinata making up two year old games with it.

One tired two year old!

We got to take canoe rides on the lake at the end of the evening.

Lyell has been having a blast with his playgroup buddies, and loves spending time with all his little friends. His favorite games involve some combination of running, screaming, cars and water.

Whitney and I on an early summer hike together up in Jerseydale

The boys doing what they do best... eating chips and salsa! Like father, like son :)

Whitney at almost Two Months

Well, wouldn't 'ya know it? With two little munchkins it's a wee bit harder to update the blog. In fact, it's a wee bit harder to accomplish most daily tasks around the Marcis household lately. But the upside is the two precious beings that we are delightfully distracted by. Lyell and Whitney, whom I can already tell will be two very different people, have taken to each other from the start. Lyell calls her "Bee," as he likes to be economical with language and shortens all words and phrases down to one syllable. So Baby Whitney has become Bee, and we all think it fits. He takes momentary breaks from his adventures with cars, blocks and balls to give Bee big hugs. And Bee somehow seems not to mind Lyell's overly enthusiastic head crushing her tummy.

Little Whitney is very quickly becoming bigger Whitney, as she has put on a whopping 4+ pounds since birth! Thus far (and believe me I am knocking loudly on wood right now) she has been a very mellow and easygoing baby. She sleeps right through Lyell's blood curdling screams as he chases Nariz through the house. She makes the sweetest little cooing noises and gives you just the tiniest smile that makes your heart all melty. She happily lets mommy cart her around all day to play dates, the gym, errands and doctor appointments. And she is not self conscious at all about her receding hairline, as she quickly shakes off any hats that I try to stick on her head.

Big brother Lyell has exploded into the world of language. Everywhere he goes or every book we read, he points and asks, "What's that?" It is no longer acceptable for all insects to fall under the umbrella word "bug." Now we need to differentiate the ladybugs from the spiders and the centipedes from the worms. He is very much interested in the world of the small, and spends his time in the garden looking for tiny creatures. Speaking of the garden, Matthew is off to his most ambitious start ever, and if the weather cooperates we will have garlic, beets and tomatoes for the entire county.

This weekend we are headed to a huge RV show which will hopefully propel us into our new lifestyle as the "family with small children that continues to travel and camp all over California- and hopefully the rest of the US." We are in the market for a light travel trailer that we can pull with our minivan. If anyone out there has experience in this realm (as we have none) let us know what your experience was.

And now the part you have all been waiting for, a few pictures of the little ones:

Lyell holds his little sister for the first time. Whitney is wearing an outfit that I wore as a newborn 35 years ago.

Whitney lays on the couch with a blanket, Lyell wants to lay on the couch with his blanket :)

Whitney in the garden after her first bath.

Guess who wants to be in the picture too??

Lyell at a community play event. He took it very seriously :)

Whitney and I playing dress up.

It has snowed at our house in March, April and May! Matthew just keeps chopping more wood.

Lyell has spent lots of time with cousin Georgia. All they need is a pail of water and they are entertained for hours.

Georgia makes the sign for baby as she gets to know Whitney.

Lyell and Georgia spend a quiet moment at our community lake.

Lyell at his first Easter Egg hunt.

Lyell and Whitney fit into our double stroller quite well. Here they are watching the Butterfly Parade at the Mariposa Butterfly Festival.

Lyell loves to dig and help Matthew plant in the garden. Here they are putting in a new grape plant. After four years we may have our first grape harvest this fall.

Whitney and I provide the moral support to our planting boys in the garden.

Pretty in Pink! Whitney is dressed up in a few of her gifts from the Mariposa Girl Scouts. She was the Girl Scout baby of the year! The Mariposa Troop presented her with a lovely gift basket, and she only has five more years before she can sign up.

Patty, Whitney and I had an impromptu photo session after a yoga class and it turned out quite well...

Welcome Baby Whitney!!

Whitney is 9 days old today! Her birth story begins two weeks ago on Sunday, March 20, when one of the most devastating spring storms to hit the Sierra Foothills in 50 years blew in. Nobody was quite prepared for it, although I did pace the house all day watching the rain pour down outside and thinking about the drive to Fresno. Late Sunday afternoon it started to snow; big and heavy flakes that accumulated rapidly. Sunday night it snowed more than a foot at our house and the combination of snow and saturated ground caused massive old oaks to come crashing down and triggered road-closing rockslides. The power was cut to most of our area and Yosemite was closed for the week, including the school where Matthew works. Fortunately Whitney was calmly resting inside my belly during this time. But the next day, faced with no power, no water, an unstable road situation and three more storms lined up for the week, we decided that we needed to relocate to give Whitney a calm place to be born.

We emptied the entire contents of both refrigerators, packed up the birthing ball, and headed for the Bay. About 6 hours after arriving at my parents house I felt my first contraction. It came at about 4am on March 23, my sister's birthday. With Lyell's birth once my contractions started they continued steadily until he was born. But Whitney was taking her time. By the time I got up and announced that I "think I'm pretty sure I'm in labor" the contractions had stopped. It went along this way for 3 days, starting and stopping, getting more then less intense. I could not have had a better place to be in extended early labor, as my whole family took care of me and Lyell, and Stanford hospital was 3 miles away.

Friday afternoon Matthew and I took a hike. We went up to "the Dish," a hilly area right behind the hospital where I have gone walking and running since my high school years. It was an incredible post-storm day, with the wet smell of rain still on the oaks and the electric greenness of a California spring everywhere. I powered up and down the hill 3 times.

We drove back to my parents house and I sat down on the couch. The contractions started almost immediately. I closed my eyes and spent an hour with myself preparing for the journey ahead. Then my sister and I drove to the hospital. Stanford is the premier hospital for high-risk pregnancies and births, so when we walked in and said we were planning a natural birth we took them a bit by surprise. I actually labored in the hallways of the hospital for a few hours as I didn't want to be hooked up to any monitors until it was necessary. Finally Matthew gently told me it was time to check in. Whitney was born one hour later!

Whitney came on Friday night, March 25, as the final storm was moving through the Bay Area. We were surrounded by both sets of grandparents, family and friends. Somehow the universe had arranged events such that I could have a relaxed and completely natural birth experience in a nurturing and supporting environment. It was amazing!!!

And Whitney! She radiates calm, sweetness and light. The following pictures tell her story...

Just a few seconds old and she is so pink!

The proud father holding his daughter for the first time.

Nana was there for the birth.

Weighing in at 6lbs. 14oz.

Complete happiness!!!

The next morning...

Meeting Grammy and Papa Marcis

Quiet time with Grammy

Tiny hands

Whitney spent most of her first day resting from her birth journey.

With Nana, Auntie Patty and cousin Georgia

Uncle Rich and Aunt Leslie meeting Whitney

With our dearest friend Pat Robinson

Georgia discovering baby Whitney

Thank goodness for Auntie... she keeps me organized and sane!

She even got to meet her great-grandpa Tincher.

So how did Lyell fare in all this excitement? He has never had such a great time. He was showered with love from both sets of grandparents, AND he got to run around screaming with his cousin all day. Georgia and Lyell discovered the great sport of wresting...

Lyell did usually come out on top...

But Georgia didn't seem to mind :)

Are these two peas in a pod or what???

When we left our home on March 22 it was 32 degrees and covered in snow. Yesterday the thermometer hit 80! We are watching our daffodils pop open and basking in the sun and newness of life.

Note the pine needle in Whitney's hand. This was a gift from Lyell as he gets to know his little sister.

Whitney would love to meet you! We would love visitors, especially those who like to hold tiny babies or run around with ball-and-car loving toddling boys. Just give us a call or email to let us know you are coming. Happy, happy springtime to all!!