December was a busy month, even well before Christmas! On December 2nd, the playgroup got together for a party in the Fireside Room at our church. Here Lura, Ivy, and Gracie enjoy each other's company.
The next week we drove up to San Francisco so Mark could attend the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union, the main professional gathering in his field each year. We stayed at the Hotel Nikko, near Union Square, and they took care of us very well. The concierge even let Lura sit at her desk one evening, and she had the front desk call her phone so Lura could answer it!
That was an adventure, but back in the room with her familiar booster seat and tray, purple cup, and Pinky Bear and other toys, Lura felt right at home and had no trouble sleeping in her portable crib.
While Mark attended his conference, Cheryl and Lura did some Christmas shopping and explored the local museums and parks. In one store Lura found a poker table on display, complete with chips and cards; she probably will be whupping Daddy in a few years, the way her big cousin Marci did when he visited her several years ago!
Lura had previously discovered shoes and purses, and on this trip she seems to have developed a taste for jewelry. At least, she had a great time trying it on, and hasn't let up since coming home!
At this park across the street from all the geophysicists, Lura spent quite awhile playing geologist and investigating the rocks in the landscaping along the paths.
One evening we decided to go to Chinatown for some seafood, and we asked the concierge where we should park the minivan. She kind of winced, and suggested that it was hopeless to try and we should take a cab instead. Both Mark and Cheryl were pretty surprised to realize that we've been in Los Angeles long enough that this simply had not occurred to us! So Lura got to go on her first taxi ride that night, and we had a great dinner (Mark in particular sought out the salt-and-pepper squid to which Marc and Dina had introduced him when they lived near him in Los Angeles).
After the meeting finished on December 9th, we drove over to San Jose to spend the weekend with Lily, Ken, and Justin before heading home. Lura and Justin hadn't seen each other in awhile, but they quickly renewed their acquaintance. Here they are relaxing on Justin's "Wiggles" couch while they watch a kids' nature show on TV.
The next day we dropped by to visit JoAnna and Grant and their family. Lura enjoyed playing with Amanda's magnetic drawing set, especially the stamps! Kind of like an Etch-A-Sketch, but with magnets--Mark thought it was pretty cool, too.
Here are the grownups (sorry, Ken). Grant has a finger-puppet on his hand, in case you're wondering. Mark spent a significant chunk of the visit staring in slack-jawed amazement at a computer-animated music DVD that Grant put on the player for us, called Animusic; Cheryl noticed, and gave him both that and its sequel for Christmas. Thanks, Grant!
Lura also enjoyed playing with Amanda's one-year-old baby brother Austin. This was Mark's first chance to meet him; Cheryl and Lura had done so on an earlier trip.
Of course, Play-Doh appeals to kids of all ages!
Back home, on December 16th the Mommy and Me playgroup took a tour of a fire station in Manhattan Beach. One of the organizers got a fire chief's hat for each of the kids, and Lura wore red to match it and the fire trucks.
Same for Ivy.
One of the firefighters there demonstrated how they put on the full set of firefighting gear. He invited the kids to come up and take a closer look, and here they are working up the courage to do so. It was a fun visit; Mark wishes he could have come along!
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