Sea Creatures

When the Nome boys came we clearly did a little bit of fishing.  A run north of Sitka found a few halibut and a nice lingcod.  Those lingcod sure look nasty and prehistoric but they cook up extremely well.  Ling are also a kick in the pants to catch.

G2 displaying our first days halibut. 

Like anyone who fishes you occasionally  need to prospect for some new secret holes.  We dropped anchor, plopped down some herring, and waited for the Mud Hole to produce.  G2 was the provider, and somehow caught an Octopus!  Extremely unexpected and hilarious.  I've since learned that this is excellent bait because it doesn't come off the hook.  Live and learn.  Nice creature G2.

 G2 scooped up this 'but in 50 ft of water using light tackle.  It was pretty funny.  I thought he had a rockfish or at best a nice lingcod.  He asked me if the rod would break, I shrugged off his comment.  Then he yards up this halibut.  Unbelievable.

The halibut was roughly the same size as G4!

The fishing was pretty good but the company was obviously great.  I've been promised a return visit in June.  We need to net some Kings.  June G2.  June.

the Nome boys...

...came down to Sitka. Fantastic. Tony (G2) and Cole (G4) spent nearly a week with us at the end of July. Man, did those guys fish! And they did awesome. Andy has to show off pictures of the catches, including an interesting sea creature hooked from the "mudhole." Cole took to Southeast like butter on bread. I couldn't wait for the end of my work day when they'd come back from the boat. The excitement was explosive as 6-year old Cole told me every critter they spotted and all that was caught. Every day on the boat they wrote down the wildlife list on a paper plate with a Sharpie and Cole would wave it at me as the day's stories spilt. Three Gorns on a boat get things done.

We also enjoyed a couple of days at the Tom Young cabin. The cabin is owned by the City of Sitka, about an hour boat ride away. Andy reserved two nights (just like a public use cabin) last winter and he was stoked. It's just across a little body of water from the Goddard (natural) Hot Springs!

We all went along with our good friends and their two boys, same age range as Cole. I think the boys got along swell. We had lots of excitement on our adventure including regular visits from a male deer on our beach (or, its beach?)--just one week before deer hunting season! That was one lucky critter, for that weekend anyway.

Miss A approved of the cabin's rustic comfort.

One afternoon some of the guys returned after a small fishing excursion on our friend Matt's boat.  A line was thrown into the water before returning to the cabin for the fun of it. Cole called it (he had a knack for knowing when something would hit and what it could be), and a 100+lb. halibut was given over! G2 got to harpoon it!

 Bravery in touching the eyeballs.

 Cheddar jalapeno moose dogs over an open, contained fire

Cole often sought out his little cousin to play or interact with her.
It was the SWEETEST. 

 G4 never tired of spotting & catching tiny crabs near the shoreline.
And they were EVERYWHERE!

First time solo in a kayak

 Behind the cabin in the woods are suspended old fishing nets, Swiss Family Robinson style. Miss A's friend Naomi put her in it and played with her.

Jetting across the water to soak in the warm springs on a sunny day was what the doctor ordered. The paddle back to our beach was great too. Plus beach fun, campfires, happy kids and good weather (eventually) made all the gear packing and hauling worthwhile.

We are grateful for the great visit. These guys are welcome anytime. And I think they hauled back to Nome enough fish to not forgot us on the other end of the state. G4 asked his Dad if they could come back to Sitka in 2 weeks. Miss A loved the head rubs and funny talks with her cousin. 

We miss you Uncle Tony and cousin Cole!

*Amy
ANDY: you're up next on the blog, okay??! You gotta show the captured sea creature.

Ahhhhhhhhh!

The other week while I was at the radio station for the evening Andy said Miss A yelled, shrieked and played with her voice for about 20 minutes straight. Rather than take video he decided to capture a montage of photos. They are pretty funny.

Here's just a sample from the series; you don't need volume to hear the baby delight. My favorite is the pose, "word to your motha."

You can unplug your ears now. :) *Amy

A Hairy Attempt

Andy's profession doesn't allow him to have facial hair. There are actual Policies & Procedures for allowable mustaches, sideburns and such. So when he took leave in July he didn't shave the entire time. That makes it the longest he's EVER gone without shaving! And it was confirmed that he doesn't have a knack for big growth.

Okay, I'm picking on him a little because he's not here to stop me (en route from Anchorage)!

Though I'd say he did good and looked good too. Near the end of this hiatus--about 2 1/2 weeks?--he was more than ready to shed the scruff. I talked him into finishing through a weekend. I will add that the various stages of removing the "growth" were pretty funny. Snakey goatee, creepy stache, etc. It was like he kept appearing as different characters.

Miss A didn't care any which way. It's just her Daddy. I do think she tried grabbing on at one point.

What do we prefer? Shady Andy? All American Andy? I think we both lean towards what we're used to. I labeled this blog under "projects" because that's what it felt like a little...perfect for a guy doing a lot of fishing.

Cry Room

Two months ago I was at home with Miss A while Andy was in Juneau. The high school drama department was performing their spring show, Cyrano. I wanted to go but wasn't ready for a babysitter to stay with A for the show's duration. Then, I was kindly reminded of the amazing Sitka Performing Arts Center's cry room! So I took A, five months old then, to the theatre. The students did a grand job with the play. We enjoyed the comfort a spacious and comfortable room to ourselves. Miss A actually fell asleep in my arms within 10 minutes of the show starting and stayed racked out for the entire thing. No crying in the cry room!
I'm glad we can take advantage of this in the future, enjoy supporting the community, get some entertainment and expose A to quality happenings (even if she sleeps!).

 Rows of seating!

Miss A was starting to sit up at this time. 

From our seat in the Cry Room we watched and clearly heard Cyrano feeding lines to the lovely Roxane.

Seven Months Old

Miss A became seven months old last week--the same day baby boy KJS entered our family. Congrats Cousin on your lovely family!!

These monthly photo shoots don't last long anymore. They progress in two stages: 1) get Paws' (the polar bear) shoes pulled off and chew them. 2) When Mom puts the shoes away, out of sight, attack the sticker on the onesie to the point of ink contamination and destruction.

 Bear Butt

 Although just a hint here, her bottom teeth are getting so big!

The beginning of the end of the photos

Miss A is officially a sitter. She goes quite awhile on her own now, although I haven't figured out how long exactly. She is a master tummy-to-back roller. We can barely keep her on her belly anymore. As for back-to-belly, well, she's pretty funny about that. She is doing everything right and contorts in some weird yoga move to see us, but she nor gravity are doing the final tip to make her roll that way. Soon, very, very soon.

I will admit to being conservative on the solid foods introduction. I am picking up speed now. By last week she has eaten sweet potatoes, sugar peas, green beans, carrots, squash and bananas.  Truth be told she hasn't been crazy about the majority of the offerings for whatever reasons. I am making the food myself so it could be my pureed texture. Her expressions, uncontrollable shudders, and more, are hilarious to witness. Thankfully I thought of a work-around, but that's just it...a work around. She'll have to eat the straight up stuff someday. I can mix anything into rice cereal and she'll gobble it up. Seriously loves the stuff and makes all sort of noises for more between mouthfuls. I was pleased the other night when she ate a green bean/carrot mix as-is. All part of the fun and I'm sure she'll better enjoy fruits as we move along in that category.

She looks around for us all the time and she LOVES watching and getting her daddy's attention. Oh, the smiles and laughs she gives him! We are loving following her observations (tracking moving dogs and cars, catching a couple minutes of the Baby channel on TV and giggling...). And A is seeking out and selecting the toys she wants to grab, not just the ones closest to her. She thumps her feet down now like she's trying to crack the earth. How can that not hurt?! It sounds like the house is shaking when she thumps in her crib!

This week she has a bit of a cold but that hasn't slowed her down or soured her demeanor. What a happy social butterfly.

*Amy

Surprise!

Wow, the last post, so long ago, was on the eve of hosting friends from Wasilla, figuring out my new schedule with hours at the radio station....and a trip to MN with Miss A! Now, I've run out of reasons for not blogging.

My wonderful, loving grandparents celebrated a Golden Wedding Anniversary in early July and a reception was in the works for months by my Mom and Aunt. Congratulations Grandma and Grandpa! You know we love you lots! The idea was hatched to finally bring the babe to her MN family, join the celebration and try to surprise my grandparents with our presence in the process. I think it worked! It wasn't the longest trip ever but solid days of family time to love on baby girl.

Of course she traveled like a champ again. This was her first plane trip not for my work. I was a bit worried about these flights as she's getting more active, but she still slept in my arms and we had good seat space around us. One flight attendant gave me her theory (from her personal experience and by asking parents on all her flights) that women who fly a good deal while pregnant will have easy-going babies on planes. Babies on her flights that have more difficulty, she says the parents share they never flew while pregnant. If that's the case, then I know why our traveling is so smooth.

Moving along, we announced ourselves to our grandparents the night before their party, during a nice dinner. Miss A was loved on by her grandparents, met her Uncle and Auntie, and of course great-grandparents!

You couldn't imagine a more excited Uncle and Auntie! 

So much fun watching them all together finally.

Grandpa Joe loved telling her stories, singing silly songs, and taking her exploring around the house or around the yard and flowers.

It was certainly warm, sometimes in triple-digit heat, and it was a change for her take naps in just a diaper or onesie. I definitely loved the temperature change and baking in traditional summer heat (for a couple of days, anyway). 

She really liked meeting the family pets. She'd follow the doggies roam around her.

At Grandma and Grandpa's Anniversary party she found the biggest Vikings fans to cheer with!

As many people would know, my parent's lawn is in excellent shape despite the scorcher days. I think Miss A won Grandpa's heart because he didn't make a fuss when she sat in the grass and started ripping it up! haha. She loved watching cars drive by with Grandma. Very observant.

And we cooled off at Steve's pool and at Lake Elmo beach. Our family friend Steve has this perfect floater for babies. Miss A loved it and kicked her legs around. I wish we could do more of this in Alaska. She could be a legit water baby.

Thanks to my family for babysitting, for the gifts, time off from work, loads of good food, and love. My brother Kyle even treated me to an amazing all-you-can-eat belated birthday sushi dinner in downtown Mpls. Visiting with family at the party was a true gift. I think A misses batting around helium balloons with her great-aunt Diane. So good to see you all!

*Amy