Snow in Berkeley

Ok, so that title could be a little misleading.

It has been really cold here lately, even technically cold enough at night that it could snow. But it hasn't. That would truly be amazing and would make this frosty cold weather we've been experiencing worthwhile.

So, while it hasn't actually been snowing here, we did get a chance to play in snow, right here in Berkeley, over the weekend. On Sunday the annual "Snow? In Berkeley?" event was held in Berkeley's Gourmet Ghetto. A parking lot was transformed into a mini Winter wonderland complete with real snow for the kids (small and big alike) to play in.

Lola and her, umm... snowman!

You may remember that we went along to this event last year and the girls had an absolute ball. Well, this year was no different. Like last year, the snow was pretty compacted from all the kids playing in it by the time we arrived but a little digging with our boots and there was plenty to play with. Sure, the snow balls were rock hard and kind of hurt when they hit you (trust me, I was always Ava's target!) and the girls' attempts at making snowmen weren't the best, but it was still loads of fun.

Ava's snowman was no better

It was a lot colder than it was at the event last year. This time we actually needed our snow jackets and pants, and snow mittens were definitely a must. Looking back on last year's photos I see a lot of kids in t-shirts. There was definitely no-one getting around in a t-shirt this time!

Lola and I in the snow

Here's a look at our fun day in the snow...

Here comes one of those rock hard snowballs

Ava and Lola start work on their snowmen

 

Lola had trouble doing much with her mittens on so she opted just to wear one -
and then spent a lot of time complaining that the mitten-less hand was cold! 

Lola takes a break from building her snowman

That little hand is getting cold

Lola's completed snowman

Ava's completed snowman

Their snowmen look like they've melted!

Attempting to make snow angels - not the easiest in rock hard snow!

Their snow angels did work out somewhat

No more angels. Here come the snowballs again!

Uh oh... a snow ball with a run up

It's coming right for me

Another one

While Ava scraped together snow balls to throw at me Lola kept busy scooping up snow in a cup -
which she then tipped on Ava's head!

Ava was not expecting that

This time it came out cup shaped

Ha! Gotcha!

Ava meets a few wintry characters

 

Half way there...

I am now officially half way through my pregnancy!

I'm pleased to say that so far it's been pretty smooth sailing and that our little baby is doing well. My belly is rapidly growing and is much bigger than it was at 20 weeks in my last pregnancy. I'm feeling little kicks and those pesky (but not painful) braxton hicks contractions have started. I've had those from about 5 months on wards with each pregnancy so that's pretty normal for me.

Due to the problems I experienced in my last pregnancy my obstetrician and perinatologist are being super cautious and carrying out lots of extra tests and ultrasounds just to make sure that everything is fine. I had my 20 week scan two weeks ago at 18 weeks and I'm happy to report that everything was perfectly normal. Our little one is right on track for her growth and this time around the placenta has formed properly. Yay!

You might have noticed I used the word "her" there. That's right, we're having another little girl. It seems I'm only able to make girls! We wanted another little girl though so we're happy with that.

The only hiccup in this pregnancy has been a diagnosis of gestational diabetes. Actually, I've been diagnosed as having an increased risk of gestational diabetes but the doctors take this just as seriously. As a result I've had to cut down my sugar intake, keep a food diary and test my blood sugar levels several times a day. Cutting down on sugar is not quite as easy as it sounds as it's in everything! If it was just a case of skipping chocolate bars and soda it would be super easy. Unfortunately it also involves cutting down the amount of fruit, dairy, pasta and bread that I eat. Those things make up almost my entire diet! Fruit and dairy for breakfast are a big no no and that's what I'm struggling with the most. What I wouldn't give for a big glass of freshly squeezed orange juice first thing in the morning! Luckily my blood sugar levels have tested fine so far (if anything they're actually usually low) so I'm allowed to add in a little extra fruit etc. And I've been able to cut down the amount of testing from four times a day to two or three times. My sore finger tips are pleased about that bit! Gestational diabetes tends to get worse later on in pregnancy so while my sugar levels are fine now I may find that later on I need to cut my sugar levels even more. The good thing is that it usually goes away once the baby is born so in 20 weeks time I can treat myself to a big piece of fudge - along with camembert, smoked salmon and a glass of wine!

It still doesn't really feel all that real that we'll have another baby in 20 weeks time. I guess once I make it past the 24 week mark (when we lost our last baby) it will start to feel a little more real.

Oh, and how is this for weird... Now that it's December, I have officially been pregnant for at least part of every single month of this year. Eek!

Karate Kid

For the last few months Ava has been taking karate classes with a small group of kids in a nearby park. Yesterday was the day for her official white belt test. The rest of Ava's class actually had their test back when we were in New York so yesterday's test was just all for Ava.

It was a pretty cold day, probably no more than 6 degrees celcius, but the sun was out so it was quite pleasant in the park. Of course, when the wind blew it was pretty chilly but luckily the wind stayed at bay for most of Ava's test.

Ava takes herself pretty seriously when she does her activities, especially when she sees it as a competition so she was very focused during her test and put in a lot of effort. She even did a good job of ignoring Lola who was making a lot of noise trying to copy Ava off to the side. It all paid off in the end when she was awarded her white belt and a certificate. She's all about the certificates, our girl. Certificates and trophies. If there's a certificate or trophy on offer Ava is in!

Here's a look at Ava in action during her test with her teacher Sensei Julia...

At the end of the test Ava had to patiently wait while her teacher decided if she had passed or not. Sensei Julia held the belt above her head and told Ava that if she'd passed she would bring it down to hit Ava's hand. If she had failed it would be tossed aside. I could see that Ava was nervous as to what would happen next and she looked very relieved when the belt came down on her hand.

The belt was then tied around Ava's waist and she became a real karate kid!

And then of course she received her certificate - the most important part in Ava's eyes.

Well done to our little karate kid.

A visit to Santaland 2013

Yesterday's advent calendar activity was the one that the girls had been waiting for: visiting Santa at Macy's. They could not wait to go see the man in red and tell him in person that they'd like American Girl dolls for Christmas.

After school we headed to Macy's to visit Santa in Santaland. It may have been cold, windy and pouring with rain but that wasn't going to stop us in our quest to see Santa. The gloomy weather combined with the train ride did send Lola off to sleep though which meant that she was a little grumpy when we arrived.

Grumpy Lola ready to escape from Santa

Ava talks to Santa while Lola sulks

After a few attempts at getting Lola to stand even remotely close to Santa we decided to just let Ava chat with him. I'd hoped that Lola would get a little jealous and join in but she was just too grumpy and stayed far away.

Ava asks Santa for an American Girl doll

Smiles for the camera

After a while (and quite a few bribes!) Lola was feeling a little happier and was willing to go see Santa again. She still wasn't keen to get too close but was happy to stand in a "safe spot" that we marked out with a penny on the floor! Just out of Santa's reach but close enough to tell him her Christmas wishes and to be in the photo.

Not looking super happy but not running away either!

Just like Ava, Lola asked for an American Girl doll. As an afterthought she also went back and added in that she'd like a pink poodle! 

Ava helps out with suggestions for Lola

Lola explains to Santa what her American Girl doll should look like - including the blue hair!

Lola picks out a Santa badge from the basket

Coming back to ask Santa for a pink poodle as well

Once we left Santa's area Lola was much happier. I guess she's still at that age when Santa is a little scary. Even Ava was a little nervous going up to him at first and I can remember feeling the same when I was a kid. The girls were both pretty excited to check out the rest of Santaland in Macy's.

Three nutcrackers

Giant Macy's bear

Check out the twinkly lights! Hooray for Google Auto Awesome!

Looking out at the Christmas tree in Union Square

Christmas tree and skating rink in Union Square (through a very wet window)

Each year the girls are allowed to choose a new ornament for our tree when we visit Santaland. We usually go for something San Francisco themed with the year on it. There were so many ornaments to look at so even though we picked out a Golden Gate Bridge ornament straight away the girls spent almost an hour looking at the trees and going through baskets of ornaments afterwards.

Looking through the ornaments 

So many ornaments to choose from

The ornaments at Macy's are perpetually on sale for 50% off

We used to have one of these tacky singing Christmas trees and Lola is desperate to get a new one!

After checking out the decorations in Santaland we headed downstairs to Santa's mailbox to post the letters that the girls had written earlier in the week. As soon as the girls had poked the letters through the chutes I realized that I had forgotten to stamp them! I could see their letters through a gap but my fingers were just a little big to fit. Luckily the back of Santa's mail box was not locked and I was able to open it up and fish the letters out. It took a while and I felt pretty dodgy searching through the hundreds of letters to Santa but I eventually found them, stamped them and we posted them all over again!

Ready to post their letters

Into Santa's mailbox they go

With their letters sent to Santa and their requests made in person the girls now just need to be good and keep their fingers crossed that Santa will bring them the American Girl dolls they desperately want - blue hair and all!