Packing for Texas

This week was a short one, with Great Grannie and Great Grandpa Parr visiting at the start of the week, and a drive down to Detroit on Thursday evening. 

Naked baby on the loose

Pat was DEM this week, so he got home from work early every day. It was nice to have more time together before Jasper's bedtime. One night after Pat gave Jasper a bath, he escaped to his playroom without his diaper on. He does look pretty hilarious crawling around naked. Luckily he did not pee on anything.

Pretty darn proud of himself

I tried out some more recipes from the Chicago Diner cookbook, including vegan Alfredo sauce made from crushed cashews. Jasper enjoyed it!

Mmmm fettuccine alfredo

We also used the jolly jumper frame to make Jasper a little fort in the living room. He loves crawling through the fort and hiding in the blankets.

First week home

Since we landed in Toronto on a Friday, we stuck around for the weekend to visit with family. Jasper was a pretty lucky guy, he got to see all four of his grandparents and all five of his great grandparents in the same weekend. Plus some aunts, uncles and cousins too!

Standing at Great Grandma Beaton's place

Hanging out with Great Grandma Love

Getting a bit tired of visiting

We were lucky to beat the snowstorm home to get back to Kincardine on Sunday evening. Pat even got a snow day on Monday, so we had an extra day to get unpacked and get the house in order. We still had the Christmas tree up, since we left home on December 23.

"Helping" take down the Christmas tree

Jasper turned 9 months old this week, so we took his monthly Fred photo. He is getting harder and harder to make sit still. Pat had some pretty entertaining out-takes from this month's photo shoot.

Nine month picture

Jasper seems to be getting better at eating every day. He likes to be back home in his own high chair eating regular meals again.

Getting better at eating

He has also had fun exploring the house from a whole new perspective. We're learning quickly all of the stuff he can get into now that he's crawling and standing. I looked away for about 10 seconds to find Jasper trying to type on the laptop.

Deciding which song to dance to next

It was nice to have a weekend at home for the first time in a while. I went to spin class and Pat took Jasper to his first Kindergym at the Rec Centre. He is still a bit little for it, but he had fun crawling around and watching the older kids.

Bath time with Grannie

My Mom and Dad came to visit on Saturday and Sunday. Grandma Beaton and Aunt Heather joined us for brunch at Saffron's in Port Elgin and then to MacGregor Point for a skate and a hike. Jasper slept the entire time in his new wagon with ski attachments.

Skating at MacGregor Point Provincial Park

Family picture at MacGregor

Now that I write it all down, it was a busy week, but it is good to be home! Jasper has also been perfecting his dancing skills. His favourite song is still Tequila. 

Jan 15 - Back In Canada

We made it home today!  We had to get up at 4:00 Helsinki time to catch our flight, and spent most of the day in airports.  The only photo on our camera is one of Jasper checking out some fish in an aquarium in the Amsterdam airport.  So that will have to be it for now.  I'm sure that Jim and Dawne took some good ones, will need to update this post tomorrow once I get photos from them.

We are sleeping in Milton tonight at Kristin's parent's house.

Good to be back in Canada.

Jan 14 Ferry crossing

The last day of our trip was an adventure in public transportation in two different countries. Our ferry didn't leave until 12:30, so we had some time for Jasper to play in the lounge before we left. He practiced his new trick of pulling himself up on furniture. He also fell on his face and gave himself a nice bruise.

Next up was a tram and bus ride to the ferry terminal in Tallinn. The Ferry was much larger and fancier than the one we took in Alaska. There were 10 decks, including multiple restaurants, bars, cafeterias, shops, and even a sauna and pool. Lots of Finns seem to travel to Estonia exclusively to buy cheap liquor. Many people had not luggage except for 6 cases of beer. 

On the sun deck

We explored every corner of the ferry, including the very chill "sun deck". Not much sun up there today, even at 12:00.

Jasper's favourite part of the ferry was the kid's play room. There was a large soft semi-circle with a wall just tall enough for him to pull up on. There was also lots of other kids to watch, so Jasper could have stayed there all day.

In the baby jail

The sun set as we arrived in Helsinki. The harbour is now semi-frozen, but the ferry had no problem with the sea ice.

Sun set heading into Helsinki harbour

Once in Helsinki, we had a tram and a bus to take us to our airport hotel. My transit directions weren't quite right, so we ended up 1.5 km from our hotel. Luckily, we were right near a Hessburger, so Pat could have his 3rd Sojatorilla of the day. I think he may have sabotaged the directions just to eat more Hessburger. Tomorrow, home to Toronto!

Jan 13 Snowy Tallinn

Today, I (Kristin) was feeling well enough to get out an explore the city. We started off by walking to the old town and following the walking tour.

New favourite toy

The old town is pretty compact, with a separate upper and lower section. It was slippery walking on the old stone roads covered with snow.

In front of Pikk Hermann tower

We stopped at a nice cafe for a morning snack and then Pat was thrilled to take us to Hessburger for his favourite, the "Sojatortilla". I was getting my appetite back, so I decided to try one and some fries. I think I overdid it a bit, because my stomach was upset again after that.

Snowy snowy day

After lunch, we continued on the walking tour as the snow continued to fall.

Archway through the old town wall

We spent the late afternoon at the Museum of Occupations, learning about Estonia's occupation by the Nazis and Soviets. It wasn't really the kind of place to take photos. Pat's favourite part was a Soviet carbonated water machine that dispensed pop for a coin, but everyone shared the same glass cup and washed it between uses.

Out for dinner at a bar with a baby

Dinner was at Porgu, for more beets and herring and some local Estonian beers. It was even more stormy on the walk home with snow drifts forming in the streets. It felt a lot like January in Bruce County! Back to Helsinki tomorrow, then home on Friday.

Jan 12 - Sick Day

Kristin was too sick to do much of anything today so Patrick spent most of the day trying to keep Jasper out of her hair.  Jim and Dawne went for a walking tour of the old city of Tallinn and went to a museum about the years that Estonia was occupied by the USSR.

We did take a short walk in a failed attempt to do some laundry, and Patrick ate a tasty "Sojatortilla" from legendary Baltic burger chain Hesburger.

No one took any photos today, so I've thrown in a few extras of Jasper overcoming peril from the hostel that didn't make the blog last week.

"Please be careful Daddy, you've had at least 8 shots of vodka since breakfast"

"As a matter of fact, I was just about to stick my finger in the socket, lol"

"Why am I being carried around by a 6 year old?? I can't believe no one has dropped me yet!"

Jan 11 - On the Road to Estonia

We had a taxi pick us up early in the morning to take us to the bus station in St. Petersburg so we could catch our bus to Estonia.  The same driver with the same baby seat equipped van who got us from the train station when we first arrived came to pick us up.  This time Jasper enjoyed sitting in the communist era forwards facing car seat.

Jasper being his usual cooperative self getting dressed in the morning

Forwards facing car seat in the taxi van

 We got on the bus and headed east.  The trip was scheduled for 7 hours, which seemed like a long time for just a few hundred kms.  Turns out crossing this border on land is a little different from driving from Canada in to the USA.  Two separate border guards got on the bus to check our passports from each country, and everyone had to get off the bus to go through customs twice as well. It took a long time, and as soon as we were free to go the bus driver pulled over for a smoke break! At least half of the bus happily got off and started hacking darts.  So yeah, the trip took around 7 hours.  The bus was very comfortable though, there was a free coffee machine on board, wifi, and a good selection of on-demand movies in the back of each seat.

Jasper riding the bus

Jasper slept for a good part of the trip, and even the super stern border guards who looked like they were pulled straight out of a soviet era spy movie waved and smiled at him when they weren't busy taking cigarette breaks.

We got to our hotel in Tallinn just before dark, took naps, then went out for supper at a restaurant near our hotel and went to bed. Kristin was feeling ill and left supper early to go lie down.  Hopefully she isn't feeling too sick tomorrow (spoiler alert, she's still sick, that's why the blog has been behind a few days and guest editor Patrick is taking over).

Licking his plate clean

Jan 10 - Catherine Palace

Our last day in St. Petersburg we took a long bus ride to the suburbs to see the Catherine Palace south of the city.  This palace was built by Catherine I in the early 1700s and was used as a summer residence for the various Czars after that.  It is now a museum full of art, as well as the famous amber room (decorated with 6 tons of very expensive fossilized tree sap).  There are several big buildings and lots of gardens that we have heard are nice in the summer time.

The rules posted at the Palace - basically don't do anything

Outside of the Catherine Palace

Inside the Palace in the Ball Room

Another building on the estate

 We got back to the hostel just in time for "Blini" making lessons (Russian for crepes).  They were pretty good, and we ate a bunch, but still went out for supper immediately afterwards to a restaurant that the hostel recommended for its borscht soup.  It was very nice, they gave us a table with nice couches around it, and there was a whole plate of pickled items that Patrick ordered.

Making the blinis at the hostel

At the borscht restaurant (photo taken by Jasper)

Jan 9 Peter and Paul Fortress

Today we took a trip on the Metro to the Peter and Paul Fortress on Zayachy island. The St. Petersburg Metro is one of the deepest in the world, so the escalator ride down was a long one.

Deep into the Metro

It was another really cold day today, so we tried to keep our time outdoors short by going into the different museums in the fortress. We had a pass that got us into the public museums. There are also some Niagara falls-style private museums like a wax museum and museum of torture, but we didn't go in those.

Hare statue on Zayachy (hare) Island

The Cathedral is where the Romanov czars are buried. It was interesting to learn a bit of history of the czars, especially Nicolas II and his family who were shot by the Bolsheviks in 1917.

Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul

There was some sort of ice festival going on on the island as well. There was a big tent set up with what sounded like karaoke going on inside, but we didn't go investigate.

Ice bench, no risk of it melting today!

We had a bit of a hard time finding all the museums, especially with all the signs in Russian. It's amazing how difficult it is to remember and recognize word that you can't pronounce. Luckily, we stumbled upon the rocket museum in what we thought was the history of St Petersburg museum.

Rocket museum

On the way home, we took refuge from the cold in a Burger King by the Metro. No veggie burgers here, but they do serve beers and a strange sort of cheese ketchup. Jasper enjoyed a crown and we warmed up our toes before heading back to the hostel.

A little "Burger Czar"

Beer break at Burger King

Jan 8 The Hermitage

As much as none of us are real art connoisseurs, we couldn't come to St Petersburg and not go to the Hermitage. On our way to the museum, we stopped at St Issac's Cathedral to climb the colonnade to get a view of the city.

St Issac's Cathedral

It so cold on top of the cathedral that my camera battery died, but the views were great. There are no tall buildings in St Petersburg, and it is very flat so you can see for miles and miles.

View from the top of the Cathedral collonade

Next, to the Hermitage. We bought our tickets in advance to avoid standing out in the cold waiting in line. The whole museum complex is pretty overwhelming, so we followed the Rick Steve's self-guided tour of the highlights. Even still, we spent the whole afternoon in the museum.

In one of the many ballrooms

The winter palace is so opulent, room after room of gold, chandeliers and giant oil paintings. I can see how a revolution started here.

Baby with no socks

Jasper did really well in the museum, he slept in the carrier most of the time and was happy to look around when awake. His socks kept falling off, so eventually we just pocked them and let him go barefoot. The Russian women who work in the museum were very concerned about Jasper getting cold feet. There is one museum attendant in every room to make sure no one touches the art. Most of them would come over and play with Jasper and then scold us in Russian for not having socks on him (or so we figured from their tone and gestures).

Hermitage at night