today we were gardening

camping with kaspar? or no camping?

So, that's my dilemma. We’ve been talking about a potential camping trip for a couple of months now, but as the date is approaching, I’m loosing sleep over the logistics of it all. Yeah, I have to admit that I’m not looking forward to camping with my very active one year old, who still spends 90% of his day on his hands and knees and who tends to pick up everything he finds mildly interesting (including ants, pebbles, sticks) and puts everything in his mouth! I can just imagine it… All clothes will be completely dirty by the end of day one. I’ll be chasing the lad through dirt and grass and puddles pretty much the entire weekend. Yeah, he’s really not into spending too much time in his stroller anymore! And what would we do at the end of the day? I think the good old fashioned spit on a hankie wont do the trick here. How many wet wipes would we need to wipe off a child, who’s been on all fours all day? At home, I sometimes have to run two baths to get him clean after a few hours in the back yard. This kid loves to get dirty!!! I wish we would have done the camping thing last year, while he was still a baby and could be carried everywhere. It sure would have been easier!

I fell really ill on Friday. In fact, I have not been able to hold down any food since Friday evening. Also had high fever for about 12 hours. So, I’ve slept for many hours during the day and during the night, for the last two days. But while insomnia (caused most likely by too much sleep during the day) was bothering me last night, I decided to check out the internet regarding my camping dilemma. You should try typing “camping with toddler” into google. Some amazing stories come up, yet not one of them gives me any peace of mind. There are horror stories about kids with allergies from bee stings to insect repellent and mosquito bites; warnings about kids eating poisonous plants; and general advice that parents should go camping only if they are prepared to spend most of the day on the move with a kid in a backpack (because most strollers are not made for wood paths!) and walking is the only way to keep a toddler off the ground. Basically the popular opinion is that camping with a toddler is extremely challenging (next to going to the moon, inventing the wheel and such), especially if you’re not a regular camper. And I cannot remember, when we went camping last, so, I don’t think we can count ourselves amongst ‘regular campers’.

So, while I’m nursing myself back to health and trying to spend time with Kaspar today, I will keep pondering this question about camping. I wonder if I have enough wisdom not to put myself through the cruelty of a whole week-end in the woods with Kaspar. Since Steve is absolutely set on this camping trip, I’m thinking, maybe I should send him camping with Kaspar and just have a weekend all to myself. Oh, how very tempting… if only I was not still nursing the kid.

bike ride

I was so bummed out yesterday that my digital had completely run out of juice. Kaspar had his first bike ride and I did not have a camera to take a picture with. I came close to digging out my SLR. Yes, I still own one of those! But then I figured it would probably be a year before I develop the film. I recently developed some film that I had shot about three years ago… how lazy we get in this digital age!

On Sunday we were invited for brunch at a friends house. I figured this was my chance to finally get Kaspar riding the bike. On Saturday morning I began to assemble his bike seat. It was still packed and sealed, brand new in a shiny cardboard box, given to us by good and wise (What an awesome gift for city dwellers!!!) friends – Laima & Uldis. Kaspar was out and about in the back yard, while I attempted to put together this contraption, and he quickly figured out that it was meant for him and that we were going ‘booo-boooo’. I think that might have had to do with the life size pictures of a kid on a bike that were visible on every side of the box, or perhaps just seeing my bike out got him excited, who knows… but my attempts at assembling this piece of equipment, which (as if life were not hard enough for parents!) came in 32 separate pieces, each sealed in an individual plastic pouch was put on hold indefinitely.

Well, I shall give credit, where credit is due – I’m no spring chicken when it comes to getting things done with a baby in tow. I’ll point out that I began to assemble this seat on SATURDAY morning, when in fact, I only wanted to use it on Sunday. Always thinking ahead, yup! That’s the only way to get somewhere these days! And then distractions such as a bucket full of water and a freshly dug up flower bed with some nice black dirt are much appreciated. An hour later I had the seat assembled (even if it was still on the ground, assembling the safety straps from the pictures in the manual was enough to merit an award!) and a baby dirty enough to need three baths. Well… c’est la vie!

By Sunday morning all the necessary bolts were tightened, all the parts were used up (Except for the paint protector rubber covers, which I’m still perplexed about!) and to the horror of my mother, we were ready to head out. You should have seen the joy in her face, when I discovered that I did not have any air in my tires. I don’t know what I had been thinking. Of course there would be no air in tires, if the bike had not been used for more then a year! Duh! But, I was not about to give up so easily. Not after all that labor of love… What do you think neighbours are for? Rita’s shades were open (which usually means she’s awake!), and she’s on her bike all the time, so I figured that she must have a bike pump! Knock, knock. It turned out that her little, funky looking bike pump was missing parts, but while we were trying to figure out if I can make it to the gas station four blocks down the street from us, across the street comes our favourite neighbour Astrida carrying something the size of a small backpack, which turned out to be an old air pump. It was one of those pumps, that can be plugged into the cigarette lighter thinggie, in the car, and when it turns on it makes a whole lot of noise. Awesome! The air gage was not working, but we managed to get plenty of air into the dilapidated tires and we were ready to roll. I thanked all the summoned neighbours for helping us out and off we went… my mom followed us a couple of blocks (Just to make sure Kaspar as not screaming for help!) while we got used to changing gears and picking up speed. Kaspar was so thrilled that he forgot all about having to pull the helmet off. He pursed his lips hummed like a little motor behind me, all the way to Kaiva’s house.

No new pictures... BESIDES, THE UPLOAD BUTTON DOES NOT SEEM TO BE WORKING! Argh!

crawling, climbing, walking

So, Kaspar turned one and he's still not walking. He's been very close to taking his first steps, but he always bails on it the very last second. He is such a good and fast crawler, that walking simply does not seem to be a priority. However, he can stand up, in the middle of the room (without holding on to anything) and just stand there looking at a toy in his hands for quite some time. Today he stood up on his own and began to move to the music that was playing, sort of dancing without moving his feet. That was quite a sight! When he stands still, he seems so stable and so sure of himself, it's almost unbelievable, that he's about to get back down on all fours to advance ahead. A while ago, my mother and I were sort of placing bets ... She was convinced that he'd walk by the time we returned from our trip to Latvia. I was sort of aiming for twelve months. We both lost! And all Steve wanted was to be at home, when Kaspar takes his first steps, but I have a feeling he might not get his wish granted, either. He's leaving for another three week tour tonight. I highly doubt that Kaspar will start walking tonight, even though Steve has been trying his darn best to convince him, he should. But Kaspar is not only a crawler, but also an absolute acrobat on the stairs! He knows how not only to climb up, but also how to come down the stairs feet first. When there is nothing better to do indoors, or when the clock strikes 8pm and he's not even mildly interested in sleeping, we take on the stairs. Climbing the whole way up or coming down is one of those things that makes him so very proud and happy. Three or four climbs can also exhaust him enough, so that I can get him into bed! If I did not get bored assisting him, he would be willing to spend hours climbing up and down and up again until he'd probably just fall asleep right on the stairs. No, I'm not joking. I've heard of stories like that! In fact, Steve has been known to have fallen asleep in the hallway as a baby!

the heat is unbearable

The heat during the last few days here in Toronto has been absolutely unbearable. It’s disgusting! Every move makes you break out in sweat. Kaspar has been spending the days pretty much naked, but even then, as I bend over to pick him up or just give him a hug I’m met by a clammy, sweaty, hot little body. He doesn’t seem to mind the heat, except that his sleeping schedule is all messed up again. I wonder if it’s due to the heat. One good thing has come out of this heat wave - Kaspar has learned to like water. I tried for months to give him water to drink, in a bottle, a sippy cup, plastic cup, anything… but had no success, whatsoever. The heat has given him a lesson, though. Yesterday he fell asleep sucking on his water bottle.

Last week we put out the little blow up pool out on the driveway for Kaspar. It was all good for a few hours, while he was in it, but you should have seen the tears as he was being taken out. The tears, the screaming! It was just like the time, when we were on the beach in Latvia and he was not allowed to play in the water any longer. As I was carrying my squirming, screaming child back to the towel, I remember lifting my head up and having my gaze meet the gaze of and older woman, who looked at me in total amazement and anger. I wonder what she was imagining I was doing to my kid? Here, in my own driveway, I’m only worried about my neighbours. At least I can explain myself to them! Within a few days, the pool became a sort of a stunt thing for Kaspar, and we had to take it down for his own safety. While he did learn, that he was not going to be allowed to soak in the pool every hour of every day, he began to lean over the edge (just to put his hand in for a bit) and came close to diving into the pool head first several times. So, now the pool is back in the box. And Kaspar only gets a little bucket of water. That usually ends up getting poured over his own head in no time at all. :-) He does love water. I'm looking into swimming lssons in my own neighbourhood.

I have to leave for work in just a few minutes. In some ways I would love to stay at home and spend the day doing nothing in the back yard, but today the enticement of an air conditioned office is making me very happy. Last night was hot. I had a hard time sleeping. Then the wind and lightning kept waking me up. I wonder if there was a tornadoe somewhere close by. Will have to listen to the news this morning....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

It's his birthday! Yes. Today is Kaspar's birthday. We did have a party yesterday - here are some pictures to prove it :-) The cake did not go down well. He was fascinated by it, but only by trying to shove all the icing and blueberries off the cake and onto the floor. Apparently that's what you do with a spoon. Taste test proved to be disastrous, because he simply spat the spoonful out. It's a miracle it did not land only the cake itself. Steve called, just as we were serving the cake and he got to sing happy birthday to Kaspar over the telephone. We had a fun day, which lasted well into the evening. Kaspar took a three hour nap and gave me a good break, but then he was ready to party again and we ended up calling it a night at 10:30pm.

work, work and more work

No, this is not a picture of Kaspar working. This one is still a good little shot of Kaspar sitting in a bowl at my friend Rita’s house in Talsi, Latvia. After taking a sauna with us several times, he had come to the understanding that sitting in a tub is a pretty cool thing to do. The old fashioned saunas in Latvia get heated up pretty hot, around 80 degrees Celsius, so, it’s not advisable for a little fellow like him to spend any considerable amount of time in such heat. However, he was really into it. So into it, that I could hardly keep him out of there. So, I devised a plan – a nice cool tub of water on the floor of the sauna with Kaspar in it up to his armpits. Boy, was it a hit! But ever since then he has been climbing into every large laundry bowl he comes across…

Speaking of the little guy… he’s going to be ONE in just a couple of days. We’re throwing him a party on the weekend. I’ve been loosing nights of sleep over this. How do you throw a party for a one-year-old? What kind of cake do I give him, so that he does not get sick after? (I’ve heard some horror stories from friends with little kids!) I’m hoping that it all just falls into place, somehow. Uh!

I have been about two weeks since we got home from our trip and yet I feel like months have passed. The first ten days I spent every free minute in my studio, because I had been accepted into the TOAE, but had to finish all this work for the show. Otherwise I only had a small array of pieces to show and that’s hardly acceptable for this show! The show was a success. Drew a good crowd! I was in a new spot, right by the city hall, in the shade. I still have not decided, if that was good for business, but it was definitely good for sanity. It never got too hot in the shade, and the weekend was a pretty hot and sunny one. It was nice to be in that show again. I cannot believe that it had been two years since I had been a part of it. Time flies!

The Monday morning after the show I had to begin working. Yes! I’m back at work. Back to sitting behind my desk. Computer humming. Telephone ringing. Number crunching. Typing. Filing. All that fun stuff. I don’t like it much. I’m just not used to going to work every single day. My job is actually awesome, even if it sounds like a bore on paper. My boss is great. I can work at whatever pace I set for myself. I have very flexible hours. I have an office all to myself. I’m really like a queen bee at that place! But… yeah, there is a ‘but’… I just don’t want to work. I like being home with Kaspar. I like doing the mundane little things at home. I’ve really gown to appreciate being home over the past year. Besides, I have my studio at home. So, whenever I get bored with ‘home’, I go into the studio, close the door, turn on CBC One and get cracking. I love that option. So, it just feels like I don’t need another job outside of the house. However, our financial reports tend to disagree. So, I have a job and it’s not at all a bad job and that’s my consolation.

It’s 3:30 in the morning and I’m beginning to wonder if I should try to catch another couple of hours of sleep before Kaspar wakes. I fell asleep tonight at 8:30, while I was putting Kaspar to bed. Only woke up at midnight, feeling uncomfortable, hot. I was still in my jeans. Yuck! Undressed, slept until 1am and then the thunder woke us both. It took me an hour to put Kaspar down again and by then I was wide awake, myself. So I figured that this was my chance to finally update this blog. I’ll try to get back into doing it on a regular basis. (“Try” is the key word here!:-)) Goodnight!

disappearing act

Sorry for the long disappearance! Our last three weeks in Latvia were overrun by family gatherings, weddings, trips of all sorts and sizes, spectacular summer weather, lack of internet connections … and to be totally honest … keeping up with this blog and emails became such a ‘job’ that I figured – I don’t need a job during my holiday! So, I disappeared, only to return to a mail box full of 68 emails (thank god, gmail sorts out junk mail, because the junk mail folder had 348 emails in it) and a whole lot of angry messages about not keeping my blog going. My appologies…

We’ve been back for two days. Back in Toronto. Back at home. Back in the swing of things. I’m still processing the last few weeks of our trip and the whole ‘returning to our regular life’ thing. Kaspar is going through some heavy jet lag, I think. His lack of sleep during the night and long naps during the day are sort of forcing me into an odd schedule myself. But, we’re happy to be back home! Here is a picture of Kaspar still in Latvia. The day before we left…

nightingales & rain

Last week a friend of mine from Toronto was here. She stayed at my mom’s place and we got talking about families and history and grandmothers and it turned out that her grandmother was a friend of my grandmother’s way back. Go figure! The world is so small, so small…

Last week it also rained a lot. It was a cold and wet sort of a week. One night, as the rain stopped pounding on our windows and the evening was approaching, my friend decided to hook up with some old friends and go for a drive out to a town called Tervete, where she used to work in a sculpture park of a sorts. It’s a large property with wooden and bronze statues that are made after characters from books by a Latvian author Anna Brigadere. She wrote a lot for children, fairy tales and stories… so, the sculptures are of the one foot tall boy “Spriditis”, the “King of the Forest” and so on…. But that’s really not important. So, she decided to go and invited me and Kaspar along. I could not resist. After several days indoors we both were dying to get out. Even if it was going to be a late night!

We piled into her friend’s car, tight like sardines at 8pm in the evening and drove into the sunset. Kaspar slept for the hour in the car, while we drove. By the time we arrived the rain began to sprinkle again, but that was not going to stop us. Armed with umbrellas, Kaspar in the sling across my shoulder we went for an evening walk. We stepped out of the car shortly after 9pm. It was still somewhat light out. Dusk. (Evenings are light, here! In fact, I think the night (as darkness) only lasts for about four hours right now.) We paid little attention to the sculptures, but went to all the beautiful nature spots in the park and listened to many stories about the park, many local tales and past love affairs with this place. My friend’s girlfriend’s husband is a local from Tervete. He had stories galore! Very interesting fellow! But the best part came around 11pm, as we were crossing a little meadow and approaching a creek with a little bridge across it, someone said: “Hear it? It’s a nightingale!” And sure enough, there were a couple of them calling out to each other across the field. It turned out that the interesting local fellow could not only tell tales, but do the nightingale call, too. By the end of our listening session we could not count the nightingales singing back to us. There were at least seven or eight of them singing back and forth to one another from every corner of the field. I had never heard anything like it in my life! A nightingale’s song is not all that special, when you listen to just one bird, but when there are many of them singing back and forth, it becomes an entirely different experience. It was magical. As the night started to come upon us, we hurried back to the car, but not before exploring the edge of the creek and finding a remnant, a piece of an old clay pot. I thought it was quite something. But the locals were not at all surprised. Somewhere, just up from the park are ancient burial grounds, never excavated… and the creek washes out smaller pieces occasionally. So goes the story!

But, that was not the end of our trip. We still had to stop by the mother in law’s place in town, where we got showered with hugs and kisses and were given freshly milked cow’s milk, a whole 3 L jug of it… and a whole lap full of lilacs, that she kept breaking more and more of, as we were starting to pull out of the yard. And it did not take us long to realize that my cousin is about to get married to a guy, who has grown up only three doors down the street from this lady and for many years has taken milk from her. I’m telling you…. This world is a very small place!

We drove back watching the night time sky and listening to an amazing mix of Islandic pop, a band called “Pink Martini” and some Latin American music. It was a perfect conclusion to the night. Kaspar had stayed awake on the whole walk and was in a great mood thoughout the night, but slept soundly in the car on the way back. I managed to pull him out of the car and carry him up to the bed, without waking him. So, our fine little trip came to a conclusion and the next morning we all slept in until 11 am. I love sleeping in until 11!!!

The picture of the field is the view of the creek, where we listened to the nightingales and the picture of Kaspar is taken in the car, just before we started driving back. Yes, he does look exhausted, doesn't he?

retreating

We've been chilling at home for a few days. On Saturday Kaspar hit a rough patch and I was forced to accept the inevitable - teething or not, it’s time to take it easy for a few days. We’ve now spent the week-end at my mom’s place (the house, where I feel most at home, where I grew up), with regular nap times, getting to bed on time in the evenings and spending the days playing and walking and digging in the dirt in the back yard. It seems to have worked magic on the little fellow. He’s back to his old self, again. I guess the gypsy lifestyle can be hard on anyone, especially such a young chap!

Last week we spent a day hanging out on a farm, where they raise racing horses. Standing in a field surrounded by these gorgeous animals was both magical and a little frightening. Even though the woman, who takes care of them, reassured us of their friendly temper, we were cautious. The last thing I wanted to experience was being trampled by a herd of horses, especially with Kaspar in the sling. Even being kicked or bitten by a horse was not on my list of things to do. So, we kept our distance and made sure not to be swarmed by more then a couple of animals at a time. Kaspar loved to touch the soft nose of the horse. Every time his little hand managed to reach far enough to touch, he’d quickly pull away and squeal with pleasure. This black horse in the picture was very friendly! He kept trying to nibble on my hand and I was a little afraid that Kaspar’s hand might fit too far into his mouth. But in the end Kaspar only managed to put his fingers in the horse’s nostril. That kind of put an end to our relationship. I don’t think he was impressed. The horse, I mean. Kaspar was more then impressed! He was just waiting for the next opportunity to pick another nostril.

On Friday it rained. It’s been pretty cool all week, in fact. I’m so very glad that I brought my spring coat and a few extra jackets for Kaspar with us. We were visiting a friend of mine and went for an unusual stroll. Unusual for Jurmala, at least! Since Jurmala is a town that stretches for miles along the coast of Riga bay and has gorgeous white sand beaches, most residents of this town go for walks along the beach. But this time we had a nice stroll through the pine forest just before the beach, where the city has put pathways that are not unlike the boardwalk along the beaches in Toronto.It was great! A clean wooden path slightly raised above the forest floor, smooth… perfect crawling surface for Kaspar. Even though it rained a little the pines gave us just enough cover not to feel soaked and kept the path just dry enough for us. I’m calling this one “Chasing Kaspar”. I bet it will be spectacular here in the fall, when all these light green colored blueberry bushes are full of blueberries. Path or no path… I bet they’ll be picked!