Brits in California: May 2009

We've been pretty busy the last couple of weeks getting out and exploring some of the places nearby. As you can see from the previous couple of posts, we also put up some pictures of some of these trips.

A couple of weekends ago we drove down to Monterey which is about an hours drive south down the coast, and visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium which is world famous. It's right on the coast and Louis loved it. Not only could he see all the creatures, they also have loads of displays with buttons and levers he could play with. They also had a really nice restaurant overlooking the ocean so we had a lovely lunch there. We've joined up as members so we can go back as often as we like.

We also recently went for a drive over the Santa Cruz mountains heading for the beach, and stopped at the top of Mount Madonna on the way. There is a huge Redwood forest up there so we had lunch and explored a little bit. Some of the trees are massive and Louis loved climbing around and exploring things. We then dropped down the other side of the mountains to the coast looking for a nice beach, and ended up at a place called Rio del Mar which is just East of Santa Cruz. It was a really nice beach, and very quiet. Louis enjoyed digging holes, paddling in the water and then filling his hole with water using his bucket. Chloe hasn't got the hang of the beach yet and spends most of her time trying to eat sand!

Louis has really been enjoying pre-school and even suggested that he would like to go more often. He's got a couple of friends now (Ryan & Ella) who he talks about all the time, and he's now got a party invitation for Ryan's 4th Birthday which is cool.

He's showing lots of interest in letters and writing, and today he even copied his name under where I had written it. One of the things he's been doing at school is tracing pictures & words, and I think that's sparked the interest. He also had some official school photos taken, so I'll scan them and post them when I get a chance.

It was Mothers Day in the US this weekend and at his pre-school they had all made picture frames and decorated some little pots as presents for their mommies, so that was a nice surprise for Kate. They also held a Mothers Day breakfast last Friday where all the mums where invited and served by the kids and teachers so Kate went along to that, even though Louis ate most of her breakfast!

He has spent the last 2 weeks learning about bugs, and the next 2 weeks he'll be learning about space. Wish I could go to pre-school! It's funny to ask him about what he did during the day and not actually know what he is going to tell you, but he's definitely enjoying it.

The toilet thing is completely cracked now too. He no longer uses the potty and instead uses the toilet with a little assistance. He's also been doing that when we are not around, like at school, so I think that trauma is over.

Chloe is doing really well too. She now has 2 bottom teeth showing through, but is still having a little trouble getting the top ones through. She's well in to her food now and having 2-3 meals a day as well as her milk! That might explain why she is a giant! She is a very happy little girl though and finds it particularly funny when Louis is doing something naughty. She just laughs at him all the time which can make it hard to get him to stop whatever it is!

She is also sitting up now, and trying to roll over, so we've got to the stage where you can't leave her anywhere. She is so nosey and wants to be involved in everything, so it won't be long before she is getting in to everything, even if she has to drag herself around to do it.

Kate is good. She's met up with one of the other mums from Louis' school a few times and Louis and Ella can have a little play date. She's been whizzing about the place in her huge vehicle without problems too.

The weather is starting to warm up quite a bit now, and I think it's going to take some getting used to, particularly for Kate, as during the day I'm at my A/C'd office. This week is looking like it is going to peak at 96F in some parts - that's about 35C! The nice thing is that if it gets too hot, you can either go up in to the mountains where it is cooler, or the beach where its also about 5-10 degrees cooler.

We learnt that lesson this weekend! It was about 25C at home and we drove up to Half Moon Bay which is on the coast between here and San Francisco. When we got there it must have been about 15C, and clearly not warm enough to be hanging around for long on that particular beach. It's strange, but there really are lots of little micro-climates here depending on any number of things, but I guess primarily on where you are in relation to the mountains.

I seem to have damaged my ankle a bit playing football last week. It didn't hurt when it happened, but got progressively more painful as the week went on, to the point that walking on it was getting tricky, so I went to the doctors. Fortunately I haven't broken anything, but I do have some form of tendon damage, so I now have a big brace on it, a walking cane and some super strength painkillers! Hopefully it won't last too long. First experience of the US medical system, and I have to say I was impressed.

That's it from us for now. Hope you are all doing well and look forward to speaking to you all soon.