Fiona Turns Two: Part II

FINALLY I am getting to the second installment of Fiona's second birthday -- almost exactly a month after the fact!

When we last left you, Fiona had celebrated her 2nd year with a party at the park the day before her actual birthday. The morning of November 18 dawned clear and sunny, much as it had two years earlier (except this time without the chest pains that would send me to the hospital for an unexpected delivery of little Fiona!). Fiona woke up to find her big-ticket gift, a "Hello Kitty-Cat bike and a pink helmet," waiting for her. She been asking for this exact thing for months. It is indeed a blessing to be able to give your child the desire of her heart (and it probably won't last long, so we enjoyed her excitement immensely!).

The rest of the day was actually quite laid-back. After a ride around the block on her new bike ("ride" is overstating it -- her grandparents pushed her the entire way!) and a visit to the Studio Grow playspace (we forgot to take pictures), we all gathered: Fiona, Campbell, her parents, and both sets of grandparents, for a Chinese feast at one of our favorite local restaurants, Asian Pearl.

Fiona enjoyed her food...

...and the undivided attention of both grandmothers.

Campbell enjoyed having her parents' undivided attention for once. (With 4 grandparents managing Fiona, we were extraneous).

Following what felt like a 264-course meal, we went home for MORE cake. She had the whole candle-blowing ritual pretty down by this point.

It was, of course, a hit.

The whole birthday was a lot of fun. We can't wait to see what the next 2 years will bring! She's a kooky kid, but we'll keep her.

Fiona Turns Two: Part I

Okay, I realize that this is almost a month late in coming. Thankfully we have forgotten to bring our camera to just about every major event since Fiona's birthday, though, so I have plenty of time to catch up! Maybe we'll actually get some documentation of Christmas; I make no promises.

Since Fiona is still so young, we had envisioned her 2nd birthday as a laid-back affair. In reality, the festivities began the day before her actual birthday, with a party in our neighborhood park. The guest list was limited to 3 friends: Constance, Luther, and Elisa. The theme: Hello Kitty, which Fiona has decided she loves solely based on owning a pair of Hello Kitty rain boots. There was a Hello Kitty balloon....
...and a Hello Kitty cake. (I plan to produce this picture in the future whenever Fiona accuses me of not loving her).

The guests arrived. The hilarious thing about 2-year-old birthday parties is that nobody quite knows the etiquette yet. So Fiona greeted Constance awkwardly....
...and rebuffed Luther's attempt to give her flowers.
But apparently everybody understands the etiquette of cake eating.

In the end, a fun time was had by all. And Campbell is already longing for her own chance at birthday fun. Eight months to go.....

A Week of Spoiling Begins!

We were all delighted to have Nana and Boom visit us last week -- a visit that encompassed Campbell's baptism and Fiona's 2nd birthday. Nobody was more delighted than Fiona. No sooner had Nana and Boom deplaned, but she received a Red Sox cap and fuzzy bunny slippers. Both of which she insisted upon wearing to her nap. Whether or not she turns out to be a Red Sox fan, she is definitely a Nana and Boom fan!

And there was much more to follow. More presents, and daily fun activities. But of course, we forgot to bring the camera to most of those activities, so instead I'll just post some of the amusing faces that Fiona makes at the dinner table.
Coming soon: the 2-part series that was Fiona's birthday.

Campbell Gets Baptized

A week ago, Campbell was baptized at Christ Church of Berkeley in the presence of 14 family members and countless friends. She wore the christening dress that I (Faith) wore back when I was baptized -- as did Fiona. I can't think of much witty commentary on dedicating Campbell's life to God, so I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves; it was a really special day! (Admittedly, it was a little nervewracking to have both girls up on stage for the ceremony - a looong 5 minutes! -- but everyone was amazingly well behaved).

Halloween Hilarity

I think I've oversold our Halloween a little with that title, but Campbell's 1st and Fiona's 2nd Halloween was very nice. Fiona dressed as one of her favorite foods: a cupcake. Complete with a disproportionately large cherry on top. We carved the 3 pumpkins that we picked earlier this month. The "Mommy & Dadoo" pumpkin got the traditional treatment:
But Fiona & Campbell's pumpkins were decreed "Pony" pumpkins and carved accordingly. (Erick, the knife-wielder, was begging me for no more curved lines after those two).
After Campbell awoke from her nap, she was dressed as a ladybug (a costume commissioned by her older sister. As you can see below, it nicely accentuates her enormous cheeks).

Then, we headed off to the "Fall Fest" party thrown by our church. It was so much fun that Fiona was completely exhausted after the first hour. But she had enough energy to compete in the costume contest, in which she made the Top 5. (I suspect sympathy points for that enormous, homemade cherry. Or maybe it's all in the attitude -- I cannot explain the face she's making below).
In other news, Campbell is now lifting her head 90 degrees. This means that mobility is not far behind.

What will we do with two who can move?!? Halloween nothin', that's REALLY scary!

More Fiona Fashions

Now that Fiona is old enough to voice her opinions, she's been playing a much larger role in dressing herself. This has led to some interesting outfits. She has already grasped the concept of layering - with a vengeance. There are days when I want to post a disclaimer on my forehead (or hers): "My daughter dressed herself this morning. Don't judge."

Many of you will recall that Fiona displayed an early love of accessories, and this has only intensified. There are rain boots from Nana and Boom, which must be worn regardless of the weather and the fact that they cause her to walk slower than rocks eroding:

There are 3-D glasses for viewing sidewalk chalk drawings (a new technology, apparently) from Grandmommy and Granddaddy:

And these fetching glasses:
Which give Fiona a striking resemblance to everybody's favorite dictator:
When obvious accessories aren't to be found, Fiona has been known to supplement her outfits with vegetables...

...either that or she was attempting to use the brussels sprouts as a weapon. She certainly wasn't interested in eating them.

Speaking of eating, Fiona is learning to use chopsticks. A peek at her early technique:
Sometimes, though, we do get fashion right:(Note that Fiona finally has enough hair to support a couple of bows, which have definitively put a stop to questions about her gender, even in Berkeley).
And here is the latest in Campbell photos:
Campbell, at 3 months, is much more alert and active. She's generally a very happy baby, and has produced some great belly laughs. As Campbell becomes more of a person, Fiona has become increasingly protective. Here are the two sisters, with Fiona's stance clearly proclaiming: "This is my sister, yo!"

The Pickles go Pumpkin-ing

This weekend, we celebrated the advent of cool, crisp Fall weather in the Bay Area (yes, it CAN feel like Autumn in California!) by going pumpkin picking with our friends Tommy, Celeste, their daughter Elisa (and their other child, due in March); Kelly, Dani, their dog Trout; and Kathleen (who came along with her baby, still in utero and due in December). We went to Peterson's Farm, site of our pumpkin-picking adventure a year ago. In addition to a nice pumpkin patch, Peterson's features assorted animals (cows, ponies, chickens, ducks, a turkey, and lots of bees). A splendid time was had by all, and we came away with 3 fine pumpkins for our front steps.

Fiona enjoyed mothering Elisa, who is a year younger and thus deserves to be petted.

She affected quite an attitude during a wagon ride.

She attempted to interpret the inner life of a pumpkin.

And, finally, she selected her pumpkin.

Campbell came, too, but was a bit more reserved.

But Campbell came away with her own pumpkin (selected, this year, by her big sister).

Fiona, as she is wont to do these days, insisted on driving home.

But she gave up at last, and settled for a much-deserved nap instead.