Visiting Vancouver

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Theo showing off his two bottom teeth!

Vancouver
Grandma and Grandpa Benziger were in town last week and we had a great time! First we went to the Chihuly Garden and Museum by the Seattle Space Needle where we saw some very colorful works by the famous glass blower, Dale Chihuly. We also visited the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation visitor center.
Over the weekend we headed up to Vancouver. On the way we stopped by the Tulip Festival in Skagit Valley. The tulips were in full bloom and just as beautiful as before.


We made it across the border pretty quick (turns out it's a lot easier to leave the US than to enter it) and got settled in our condo rental on the 33rd floor of the Pinnacle building downtown. We had great views of the mountains from our bedroom and the river and downtown from the living room.
View from our bedroom
We explored the old streets of Gastown with an old steam clock tower and many native art galleries. For dinner we had delicious take out sushi (the wild salmon sashimi was my favorite).  The next day we headed to Granville Island markets - an urban oasis filled with restaurants, theaters, galleries, studios, unique shops, cafes and a huge fresh food market. After lunch at one of the cafes, we visited the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia. The Great Hall was filled with original totem poles, house posts and carved figures from Pacific Northwest coast nations and they had a huge display of masks and other objects from Latin America, including Peru! It was a beautiful museum and I'd definitely go back!
On Sunday we had dim sum (Chinese breakfast) and every dish was better than the one before. On our way home we took a detour on Chuckanut Drive along the Puget Sound to Taylor Shellfish Farms where we sat next to the bay, looking out on the San Juan Islands, and eating freshly picked oysters that we shucked ourselves. It was wonderful!

Nine-month Development
I can crawl!! I started rocking on all fours about a month ago and started to army crawl last week (see prior post). Then, yesterday I put it all together! I can also sit independently and pull myself to standing in the crib. I can go from lying on my belly to sitting (which I often do in the middle of the night) and then pull myself up to standing in my crib. I like foods that I can feed to myself, like small pieces of avocado, banana, and deli turkey meat. I love when Daddy comes home from work - I get a big grin and I start bouncing up and down. He throws me in the air and makes funny sounds. I only take two (short) naps during the day and I sleep 11-12 hours every night. I have also developed quite an attitude. I whine and fuss when I want someone to pick me up and help me walk. I get bored with things after 30 seconds and look for new things to place with. My favorite toys are balls, soft blocks, puppets, sesame street character pop up toy, and the jumper. I just got a big boy car seat and so we passed on my car seat and baby stuff to one of Mommy's residency friends who are expecting in August.


The Chihuly Glass Museum in Seattle


Chihuly garden display

Seattle Space Needle

 

Glass ceiling, literally

Indoor garden display

Slippery socks lead to Theo doin' the splits!

Indoor garden display from the other side of the room

Glass in an old boat

Big smile! Can you see those two teeth?
Practicing walking with Grandpa B!

Theo LOVES the swings!
The old cobbled streets of Gastown in Vancouver

Steam clock tower in Gastown

Carved figure in the Museum of Anthropology


House posts


Totem poles

Seth in front of an old Haida totem pole
The San Juan Islands from a lookout along Chuckanut Drive
Shucking oysters with the San Juan Islands in the background and Theo checking out an oyster shell

Eating my first oyster that I personally shucked!

Grandma and Grandpa Benziger, Seth and Kate eating oysters at low tide by the oyster beds

The best meal they had all week!

Grandma and Theo!

Family pic!


Blizzard in April?!
Cousin Tom came to visit but due to the SECOND blizzard in Minnesota in April (!!!) he got snowed in and then missed his layover in Chicago the next day. Eventually he made it and it was fun to spend a day exploring drizzly but warm Seattle before he drove Seth's car back to MN (where he got caught in another blizzard). I gotta say, I'm glad I'm not living in Minnesota this year!

Hanging out in the Volunteer Park Conservatory

Tulips for sale at the Pike Place Market

Comments

  1. JoAnnMay 6, 2013 at 2:13 PM

    Lovely pictures and looks like great memories too.

    ReplyDelete

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