the cutest 'lil pumpkin

Exciting news! My parents have finally made the move to Washington! They're now only about 40 minutes away from us--a huge improvement from 5 hours! We've been at their house a lot this week, helping them get settled in. Today we went to check out a pumpkin patch near their house. It was fun--we picked out a pumpkin (which I plan to cook and try feeding to Bailey--) and Bailey had a good time trying to get fistfuls of straw into her mouth. She even had her photo taken for a local newspaper!

Fall is here; the weather is crisp and cool, I have a persistant urge to bake things, and the trees are so pretty they're practially a driving hazard.

Cheers to October!

fun at the aquarium

We had a fun day exploring the Seattle Aquarium. Afterwards we went out for a seafood lunch and Bailey discovered bread...she was gnawing on a roll and cried whenever we took it away!

Bailey's first campout

It was with slight trepidation that we planned a camping trip with a 6 month old...many horror stories were told by friends and family. But thankfully we had a blast last weekend camping with our friends Karl, Carrie, and Savannah. Bailey slept well in the tent and woke up a happy camper each morning. Darin and Karl got out on the lake to paddle while the girls cooked up some yummy food over the campfire. My parents stopped over for the day to hang out...Tony with his boat and Mom with her bike. And Bailey found Savannah's mad peek-a-boo skills to be quite hilarious, as you will see in the video clip (see link below)--all in all it was a great trip and we are inspired to get out and camp more often.

July? Already?!

The last few months have just flown by! Here's a quick update on what's new with us...first of all, after months of agonizing about it, we decided to give away our two sweet dogs. I never thought I'd be the girl to have a baby and get rid of her dogs, but they just weren't getting the attention they deserved. They each went to a fantastic home--Bear now lives out in the country and Parker is the new best friend and soccer partner of a 14 year old boy. We miss them like crazy but they are doing great, and I have to admit, I'm really enjoying having a nap-friendly and dog-hair-free house!

Darin and I celebrated our 4th anniversary last week with a "Choose Your Own Adventure" date. Those of you who grew up in the 80's will remember those books. Darin was presented with his own "book" and had to make choices throughout the night. We ended up eating Greek food at our favorite restaurant and going to see an old sci-fi movie from the 50's...except the movie's entire soundtrack was completly re-done by live improv comedians. Fun!

Bailey is almost 6 months old and doing just wonderfully. She is such a delight to us! She is saying "da-da" and practicing her "p" sounds these days...she blows little bubbles and says "puh, puh, puh." She's a very smiley baby and has the sweetest, toothless little grin. She's almost able to sit up on her own and grabbing for everything with her chubby little hands. We're just getting ready to start some solid foods...time for for messy food fun!

In other news, I recieved a sewing machine as a birthday gift and I've become obsessed with making baby headbands, dresses, etc. I am also proud to report that at the tender age of 31, I have somehow managed to be inducted into AARP (I have a membership card!). I' m sure it's due to a computer glitch, but whatever.

back to work

Today has been so hard....my maternity leave is officially over. Tonight is my first shift back at work, and the first time I've been away from Bailey for more than a couple of hours. The anticipation was the worst; I had a couple of hormonal crying jags and I could hardly put her down all day. But now that I'm actually at work (I'm writing this between calls!) it's not as bad as I thought...I'm busy and distracted and not a sobbing mess as I'd feared. Although I still hate being away from her and can't wait until I can work from home! Bailey and Daddy will now have evenings together while Mom goes to work. Darin is wonderful with her and I know it will be a special time for them to bond.

On a happier note, we had a fantastic time last weekend with Grandma Susie, Great-Grandma Kay, and Aunt Gail who came to visit. We went all over Seattle (I even nursed Bailey at the top of the Space Needle! That's one for the baby book...) and Darin and I had a great time playing tour guides. We miss our long-distance family!

making the rounds

Well it's been a busy couple of weeks! First Darin's mom and dad--now known around here as Grandma and Grandpa--came to visit for a few days. We had a relaxing weekend, and Grandma even babysat so we could take our dogs in for their yearly shots. Whew! I wasn't looking forward to juggling two big dogs and a baby--thanks Grandma!

Yesterday we returned home from Idaho where we spent the weekend visiting Bailey's Uncle Jeremy, Aunt Joy, Uncle Peff, Aunt Beth, Grandpa Jim and Cat, and cousins Ian and Luke. Grandma Lynn met us there and we had a lot of fun all being together....We celebrated Ian's 2nd birthday, played Scrabble, watched episodes of "The Office," and even had our own family edition of "The Amazing Race" that had us scrambling all over town to find clues. I tried to get some photos of Bailey with her cousins, but it was tough to get a good shot! Oh well.

We're happy to be home...this week several friends from my book group are bringing meals for us--what a blessing! I'm excited to have some visitors and some yummy meals. :)

Bailey is doing great! She is just starting to smile, although I'm not convinced it's really a social smile yet. Either way, it sure is cute!

3 weeks old

We've survived the first 3 weeks of parenthood--it has gone by in a flash! Bailey is doing well; she's nursing like a champ and gaining weight. However, the sleep thing is still a work in progress!

We're settling into a routine and ventured out today for church. Bailey was fussy this afternoon and Darin saved the day by calming her down...his method: giving her a tour of the kitchen, complete with a detailed explanation of the spice cabinet! She fell asleep in his arms.

As you can see, we don't have anything too exciting to report....just changing lots of diapers, breaking in the rocking chair, and feeling overwhelmingly grateful for this little bundle in my arms. :) Happy 21st day, Bailey Shae!