catch up...not ketchup

B's signature dance move....the PJ spin...note the announcement of "I like kitties!" mid-dance.

Once again the months have slipped away and I have not been the diligent blogger that I set out to be! Thanks to those of you who have prodded me to get with the program. :)

We are snug and cozy in our little house tonight with a dusting of snow outside. I'll let these photos fill in the gaps from the last few months:

finding the perfect pumpkins...

....is a lot of work!

a fun and messy night of carving and...ta-da!
We had fun at the fall party at church...unfortunately most of our photos from that night were lost due to a camera malfunction! Here's our little chick. She still wears the duck feet that go with this costume quite often.
In November, we celebrated Darin's 35th birthday! M. and T. joined us for dinner out, then we came home for homemade strawberry cheesecake and presents. On the way home, B and Grammy provided the entertainment.

On Thanksgiving we made the short drive to Grammy and Papa's house. We had a relaxing day playing in the yard, making goofy faces, and eating of course! My mom can cook. For this, I am thankful.

Tony and his teeth, always good for a laugh...

Bailey was thankful for the trampoline in the yard.

...and no lazy Thanksgiving evening would be complete without a claymation Christmas special!

Somewhere in here I recieved a very special early Christmas present from my very wonderful mother-in-law--a puppy! We named him Truman. He's 7 lbs. of fun. He likes to come with us on our walks, and when he gets too cold he lounges under the stroller.

And most recently, we have been preparing for my favorite holiday of the year--Christmas!! Wahoo! A few nights ago we had a family Christmas-cookie decorating extravaganza:

We've also been riding on every carousel within a 100 mile radius. Very festive. Bailey LOVES them.


Merry Christmas everyone! Hopefully it won't be another 3 months before I post here again!

Su-Su and Grampa visit

Last weekend we got to spend some time with our beloved California Grandma and Grandpa. It was a quick visit and we packed a lot in to our short time together. On Saturday, the girls visited a farm. It was a gorgeous fall day and we had a great time. Bailey's favorite activities were playing in the pumpkin patch, crawling through the hay maze, and looking at the animals. The guys had an adventure when they went on a boat ride, the boat broke down, and they had to make their way to shore by rowing, and finally by catching a tow. Thankfully we all made it home safely for a competitive game of Parcheesi over milk and warm chocolate chip cookies. We love you, Su-Su and Grampa...thanks for coming to see us!

bathtime hilarity!

a fair day

Today we went to the fair! Bailey and I met up with Grammy and Papa for a day of fun. We wandered around and took in the sights...booths with people demonstrating kitchen gadgets, lots of farm animals--including a sow and her newborn piglets, rickety roller coasters, coin-operated foot massagers, a circus show...after lunch, Bailey took a nap in her stroller while we watched a 4H dog show and reminisced about my 4H years (remember those, Cora?)

Bailey's favorite part of the day was when she woke up from her nap to find Papa with a strawberry ice cream cone. She had never had strawberry ice cream before, and I can safely say she's a fan. Once she got a taste, she literally would not remove her mouth from the cone. In the video posted here, you'll see a tiny fraction of the time she slurped continuously on Papa's cone. Complete strangers stopped to watch and even took pictures of the spectacle. After several minutes of this I had to dig my camera out of the stoller and record a little. (You'll hear Grammy laughing on the video; don't think she knew I was recording!) :)




It was a day I'll remember for a long time. I'm so grateful my parents are here to share these little moments. Since becoming a mom, the things that make me happy have changed. I'm happiest when I see how full of joy Bailey is while she's having fun or experiencing something new--and that happens everyday, usually several times a day. What a blessing she is. Life is just sweeter now that I'm sharing it with my beautiful brown eyed girl!

go, Bailey, go!

to the grumpy old man at my grocery store--

Hi. You don't know me. But I see you several times a week when I run into the grocery store for a bunch of bananas or a gallon of milk. You're usually sitting near the deli, unshaven, a collection of food wrappers littering the table and a greasy stream of crumbs cascading from your chin, down your shirt, and into a shimmering pool around your chair. Sometimes you'll stand behind me in line with your beer and Doritos, making your comments as you breathe down my neck.

I'm the one with the curly-haired, pink-clad toddler...you know, the one riding around in one of those HUGE, non-steering, car-shaped grocery carts despite having only 1 or 2 items in the cavernous basket. Yes, I'm the one who rummages in her purse and pulls out an obnoxiously long string of gaudy keychains that I've hooked together specifically to entertain my toddler in the grocery store. Why, you ask? Well, it's to spare you the mind-numbing screeching that occurs when a toddler is confined with no entertainment. You may be surprised to know that I don't enjoy toting around 3 pounds of keychain in my purse. It's a small kindness that I am paying to you and everyone else within a 2-mile radius.

You must be profoundly concerned and interested in the safety of my daughter, since you have told me every time we've met to "be careful, she's going to swallow that." Your disapproving glare and emphatic finger wag really convey the depth of your caring. It's not to say I'm not touched, especially since you always follow it up with a disdainful "is that a boy or a girl?" But I'd like to lay your fears to rest. Please be assured that she is absolutely not going to choke on or swallow a strand of 16 brightly colored keychains and whistles. And please, believe me when I say that you will never be more concerned for her safety than I am.

I hope you enjoyed your Doritos. See you next week!

campout

Last weekend we went camping with some friends and had a wonderful time. We set up our tent, went to Diablo Lake and splashed around in the water (it was cold!!), stopped for ice cream, and sat around the campfire after dark. Today at naptime Bailey said "I want to sleep in the tent." She's such a good little camper! :)

family fun

Horray, we had a great time with Auntie Joy and cousins Ian and Luke! Here are some pictures from their visit. We love you guys!

summer at last

We've had a busy couple of weeks. My brother Peff and sis-in-law Beth came home for a visit from Vienna, where they are serving at Vienna Christian School. It was wonderful to spend time with them. We had a fun 4th of July at Mom and Tony's new place; we had a bbq, then went to the big Freedom Fair in Tacoma to see the airshow and of course watch the fireworks. Bailey was interested for about 12 seconds and after that all she wanted to do was walk around.

I've become a big fan of something called "spray parks." There are several of them around here--public parks with fountains and all kinds of water features for kids to play in. We both have fun playing in the water so we've been packing a lunch and going a few times a week. I mean, why go to a regular park when you can go to a spray park, right? I'd like to know where the spray parks were when I was a sweaty kid growing up in California?!

We also celebrated our 5th anniversary at the end of June...yay us! :)

go fly a kite

We spontaneously decided to go to the beach on Father's Day. We packed a lunch and headed off for Ocean Shores. Neither of us had been to the Washington Coast yet, so we were curious to see what it was like. The drive was pretty, and when we got there we were greeted by zillions of kites in the sky--apparently there was a kite festival going on! We were surprised to see that everyone drives their cars right on the beach here--which is kind of neat but not the greatest if you want your toddler to be able to run around on the beach without the added risk of being run over...(as if drowning wasn't a big enough hazard--) It was a little chilly, but we had a great time eating our lunch and walking in the sand. Daddy even helped Bailey make and fly her own kite! Darin is such an incredible daddy. He and his girl have a special bond. Happy Father's Day!






And in honor of all the involved dads out there:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A2Ap3DyvLg

long weekend

Ahh, what's better than a long weekend? Gotta love the extra day off! Here's a recap of our Memorial Day weekend:

Saturday was a gorgeous day, sunny and warm. In the morning Olly and I went his doggie obedience class while Darin and Bailey did some grocery shopping. We reconvened at home, and Mom and Tony came over. Darin spent all afternoon weed-eating in the backyard (a very satisfying job for him, as he HATES--I mean, really hates!!--ivy, and it grows like crazy here)....meanwhile, Tony and I painted Mom's old dining room table and chairs which I am inheriting, woohoo! Bailey and Grammy set up a new wading pool in the yard and played with the hose. Bailey LOVES the water--mostly sticking her face in it. I suppose most kids do. She was so cute in her little swimsuit I had to take frequent breaks from painting to go play in the water with her! I swear one of the best things about being a parent is getting to do all the fun kid stuff you wouldn't normally be doing. We had a blast with a hose and a tiny plastic pool.

Sunday after church we ran a few errands. It's always SO wonderful when Darin is off, because he will (very good-naturedly) wait in the car and read a book while I run into various stores, meaning that I can get stuff done while Bailey takes a nap in the car. I had to work Sunday night. It was slow, and I talked to a suicidal caller and felt like I was able to help her make some good decisions (like going to the ER), so that was rewarding. After I finished work we watched a movie and both stayed awake (an incredible feat). Fell into bed at about 2 am...

...then up this morning at 7 am for a strawberry and waffle breakfast with Bailey. We went to Ikea and purchased some new chair pads for my freshly-painted chairs--very exciting for me. Then we drove down to Mom and Tony's new 'hood and hung out on the beach all afternoon. We layed on a blanket in the sun, hunted for sea glass, ate ice cream sandwiches, found a geocache hidden in a hollow tree, watched some people play volleyball, and taught Bailey how to roll down a grassy hill...It was a divine day. Now it's almost over--4 minutes left, to be exact--I'm working for another 30 minutes and then it's off to bed and back to a normal schedule tomorrow...whew! I'm happily exhausted. Hope everyone else had a spectacular holiday weekend!

happy mother's day!

Wow, time sure does go by quickly and before I know it I haven't posted here in months! I will try to be better about that... Tonight I'm happy to have my laptop back after a day of no electricity due to some work being done on the power lines on our street. When I got notice that we'd be powerless today, I thought, hey, that's kind of cool, no TV or radio...I will spend the whole day just playing with Bailey in a quiet house. Reality brutally set in when the jackhammering and chain-sawing started up first thing in the morning and went on all. day. long. Needless to say, naptime was very short today! Yesterday was Mother's Day, and I had a great day. We went to church, then rushed off to meet my parents for brunch. After a nice but exhausting hour and a half of trying to eat and chat while entertaining a one-year-old who did not want to be in a high chair and suddenly no longer liked grilled cheese, we came home and took a nap (heaven!). D gave me a sweet card, a Sigg water bottle and the Dyson vacuum that was part bday present and part mother's day present. I had taken the night off, so it was a special time that evening of just being together and playing as a family. We gave B a bath together, and put her to bed. Then D and I played an epic game of Monopoly, and I actually won, which never happens with me and board games. I almost took a photo of the board at the end, but decided that would be too gloaty. It was so nice to spend some time together, just relaxing, not trying to accomplish anything other than just being together. That almost never happens these days! Speaking of time--I've been realizing more and more what an precious (and scarce!) commodity that is. I'm so busy all day doing mom and wife things--never ending laundry and dish washing, grocery shopping, cooking, keeping the dog from devouring B's toys, making sure B gets loved, fed, cleaned, played with, read to, and exercised...fitting in 10 minutes of conversation with D...not to mention driving to and from D's work twice a day since we're down to one car.....then it's off to my desk where I stay until 12:30 am, then fall into bed and sleep for 5 hours, which is never enough. Sometimes I have to think--wait--did I shower yesterday or today? When was the last time I changed my socks? I know, it is pathetic--but geez, it is hard to fit everything in. Still, I wouldn't trade it; being a mom is the most fulfilling, wonderful, exciting thing I have ever done. And thinking back about my mom and grandma--how loving they are/were, how fun and special they made family activities, all the sacrifices they made for us, all the time they spent and sleep they lost...well, it makes me proud to be in the same boat, even if it isn't always easy. Know what I mean? Well enough reflection for now. Happy Mother's Day!

ducks

Bailey has developed a fascination and great love for ducks. She quacks (very realistically, I might add--), kisses pictures of ducks in books, and sleeps with a fuzzy yellow duck every night. Here are some photos of a recent trip to the park to see the ducks, pick flowers, and play with Daddy and Olly in the grass!