Trading off

Mama and Dada have been traveling a lot for work lately - Dada was at a meeting in Finland last week, and now Mama is at a conference in Tasmania - so  we are sticking to the routine as much as possible and aren't doing anything crazy or unusual.

Auntie Sally flew out to help with the kids a week ago, as Dada was gone and Mama had to give a symposium talk. While Sally was here, everyone braved the misty weather and went for a hike at Bommer Canyon. This winter has featured a bit more rain than we've seen the last couple of winters (normal weather? El Niño?), and the hills are greening up nicely. 

Sally also got to go with Finley for a rocket ship haircut. It looks like he was zooming around pretty fast. I'm surprised that the barber was able to give him a decent haircut. 

Meanwhile, Dada was enjoying a taste of winter. 

Finn's new obsession is puzzles. He *loves* building them over and over again.

And on Saturday, after Dada got back, we took Finn to his first "real" concert, a performance by the Pacific Symphony of selections from Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance. We have season tickets for three to these special kids concerts by the symphony - Caden, Mama, and Dada have gone to Halloween and holiday performances - but this time, the babysitter called in sick. Finn did great! Between the music and the folding chairs in the concert hall (up, down, up, down), he was interested enough to stay in one place.