The Adventures of ....

Merry Christmas!

2012-01-17T17:32:00.000-08:00

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Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T17:10:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve we headed down to Oma & Grandpa's house in Anacortes. We hit our favorite local breakfast joint in the morning (2 years in a row now, maybe starting a tradition?) and then hung out for the rest of the morning. Early afternoon we started packing up the wagon for the trek and quickly found we had too much stuff and not enough space. After some creative packing, the family (including Gus) made it down to Anacortes for a casual dinner and time enjoying each other's company. Luna is starting to "get" Christmas & Santa and we had fun talking about Santa and Rudolph - we even left treats for the jolly man and his reindeer!

Where is Gus going to sit?

Gracie found the sparkly ribbon too intriguing to leave alone

Daddy & Gracie

Gracie loved the rider toy; especially the buttons that made noise!

Luna playing ball in her Christmas PJ's

Grace is pulling herself up on EVERYTHING these days

Reading the "Polar Express"

Oma & her girls

Wanting to start walking to catch up with big sis' Luna!

So excited for Santa's visit

Milk, cookies (the burnt ones are for the reindeer) & carrots. A dictated note for the Big Man along with Luna's signature.

Hanging with Grandpa

Getting ready for bed in the studio

Sisterly Love

Hanging with my girls

2011-12-20T21:40:00.000-08:00

Brian left Saturday morning on an epic road trip with Brian & Roxy. I get the first week of break to hang with my girls, unwind and get in the holiday spirit. We have been keeping it pretty low key, mostly around the house with a few outings out and about. Here's a bit of what we have been up to....

Hanging out with the Christmas tress in Fairhaven. It wasn't really sunny out, but Luna insisted on wearing her sunglasses.

Oh yeah. So cool.

Giving me the double thumbs up as we were about to see Santa Claus. I think we finally got a good pic!

Post-Santa picture, we went to Boundary Bay for lunch with Oma. Luna insisted on wearing her tiara and visiting the goat at the Depot. Why not?

Gracie wanted to ride on the cart too.

Mom, please stop taking my picture so I can eat my doughnut already

Yum, yum!

Thumbs up for pink doughnuts

Rutherford Family Christmas

2011-12-18T20:50:00.000-08:00

The annual Rutherford family Christmas celebration was hosted by Uncle Cal & Auntie Nancy this year. We had a great time visiting with cousins, aunts & uncles I don't get to see often enough. Gracie got lots of auntie time and Luna LOVED hanging out with her cousins Kenedee & Nolan. The big event of the afternoon was a visit by Santa Claus. Luna was so sure about the whole situation. "That's not Santa Claus. That's the man." she kept saying. Smart girl. She soon got over it, though, when he started passing out presents.

Gracie with cousin Garrett, home from Boston

The cousins: Kristen, Colby, Emily & me (with Ms. Grace)

Kenedee & Luna swiping some cake frosting

Nolan & Grace on Santa's lap

Cousin Hugo & Gracie with Santa

Hugo and the big guy

Winter Walk

2011-12-11T21:44:00.000-08:00

Despite a little bit of cold, it has been a pretty nice winter so far. We decided to take advantage of some sunshine and head out to one of our favorite low land walks along Lake Whatcom. All bundled up, we had a great time getting some sun, walking Gus and enjoying this beautiful place we call home.

Gracie waving

What a ham. Wonder where she gets it from?

Luna walking Gus

Lighted Boat Parade

2011-12-10T22:06:00.000-08:00

We headed down to LaConner again this year for the annual Lighted Boat Parade. Uncle Ken & Auntie Steph were kind enough to host us in their hotel room so we could visit and eat inside and pop out on the deck when the boats were parading past. The highlight of this year's parade was the singing reindeer with Santa Claus (Luna's favorite). In typical fashion for me these days, I completely failed to get any pictures of the boats or of our time hanging out with the rest of the family. I did manage to get a few shots of Luna goofing around on her quick loop through LaConner though. She had fun checking out all the festive decorations as we window shopped.

Posing for Mom in front of the lit up Santa train

Luna was dancing and talking with this mechanical Santa that sang and moved in front of one of the local shops.

Eating crab legs

Sorry, Luna. This was too funny not to include.

Giving some love to Rudolph

Christmas Lights!

2011-12-09T22:16:00.000-08:00

Growing up, one of my favorite holiday memories was piling into the family station wagon with blankets & hot cocoa, then driving around looking at Christmas lights. Luna is in LOVE with Christmas lights and so we decided to head out in search of the ultimate Christmas light displays in the 'ham. Luna & Gracie got into their PJ's, we brought blankets & hot cocoa and set out in search of the ultimate Griswold extravaganza. I think we will make this an annual event:)

All snuggly and ready to go!

Luna trying on the way-cool Christmas light glasses in preparation for our trip.

Gracie's growing so fast!

2011-12-08T22:26:00.000-08:00

Gracie is now pulling herself up on things, especially her crib. What happened to the last 8 months?? Before we know it she will be walking and talking! In the meantime, we had to drop the crib mattress down to its lowest setting so she can't flip herself out. She is quite proud of herself, though. Even if it means big sister Luna tries to push her down through the slats in the crib.....

Gingerbread House

2011-12-04T22:36:00.000-08:00

Luna's preschool made gingerbread houses at the beginning of December and entered their "village" into the Port Festival at the Ferry Terminal in Fairhaven. We decided to head down to check it out with the Hinderman's and found out the kids won first place in their division! Future architects, maybe?

Luna's house on the corner

The whole gingerbread village

Blue Ribbon, baby!

Luna & Marcus posing with their creation

Avery was along for the ride, keeping the hungry caterpillar away from all the gingerbread houses

Swiper, no swiping! Luna kept trying to eat her house

We walked down to the beach after the festival

Luna & Marcus throwing rocks

Gracie chilling in the Ergo.

O Christmas Tree

2011-12-04T22:30:00.000-08:00

We got our Christmas tree up and decorated rather early (for us). Each year I think our tree is great, but this year I think we got a real winner. It was fun pulling out all our decorations (many hand-me-downs from my family growing up). Luna loves the ornaments and is excited to show it off to anyone who comes over. I tried to get a sweet picture of the girl in front of the tree..... hard to get the girl to sit still these days.

Christmas Tree Farm

2011-12-03T22:49:00.000-08:00

To kick off the holiday season, we took a trip out to Stoney Ridge Farms and romped around their Christmas trees. After we got home and decorated our tree, Luna just sat and stared at it for a long time (and kept trying to touch all the ornaments).

More Gracie

2011-11-30T23:01:00.000-08:00

Gracie is such a love. She is quick to smile & laugh. She loves to be held and to snuggle. Always observant, she watches Luna like a hawk and takes it all in. No one can get Gracie to laugh quite like Luna, who is also the recipient of most of Gracie's smiles. We are so lucky to have another amazing, sweet, incredible, adorable (yes, I am biased) and happy little girl. Now, if she would only sleep through the night......

Middle of the Night Paint Session

2011-11-23T23:34:00.000-08:00

So, Luna hasn't been sleeping great these days. For starters, she takes F-O-R-E-V-E-R to fall asleep (this girl can still be up reading books, playing, talking, singing well after 10:00 pm) then, lately, she has been waking up in the middle of the night and wanting to crawl into bed with us. Needless to say, Brian & I have been exhausted (because if she isn't up, then Gracie is). Last night took things to a whole new level, however. Luna fell asleep in the car on the way home so Brian put her straight to bed. "Sweet!" we think. No bed time battles! Full nights sleep! Woo-hoo! Not so fast. Around 2:00 in the morning, Luna come bounding into the bedroom wanting to play. The stellar parents we are say something like "Go back to bed" (remember we are sleep deprived these days), perhaps even "Go play in the back room by yourself". Sometime in the 4:00 hour, Luna comes and crawls into bed. I hear Brian say something like "Why is there green paint on your face" and then roll over. I start to fall back asleep and then suddenly am wide awake. Green paint?! What? I get out of bed to investigate. I find green paint all over the bathroom where Luna tried to clean up. It's all over her (along with some stickers). I go to look in the back room where the paint is kept along with her other toys and.....nothing. Seriously. The girl somehow manages to get green paint all over her, but nothing on the wood armoire, carpet or other toys in the back room. Amazing. Watch below as I try to rouse Luna from her now deep sleep the next morning to find out what happened.

Note the hand print on the sink and the dirty towel in the sink

Susan & Bill visit Bellingham

2011-10-23T18:18:00.000-07:00

When I had to go back to work full time after Luna was born, we were so lucky to have 2 wonderful moms, Susan and Karrie, watch Luna several days a week. As hard it was to go back to work and leave my baby, I felt so fortunate to have experienced, caring moms taking care of my girl. Luna got to hang out with older kids and take excursions all over town. Susan & Bill moved back to the east coast last year much to our disappointment. We were really lucky to get a chance to meet up with theml this weekend at Boundary Bay while they were on their way to a well deserved vacation in Hawaii. Luna not only got to see Susan & Bill, but Karrie and her kids Serena and Decklan were there, too. It was a great afternoon catching up with old friends.

Susan and Luna

Luna & Karrie

Luna couldn't decide where she wanted to sit

Gracie tried sucking on a carrot

Making silly faces

Like father, like daughter

Gracie, Brian and Lynnelle

Gracie is 6 (almost 7) months old!

2011-10-22T16:43:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that our new baby is now over 6 months old. She is rolling everywhere, almost crawling, has 2 serious teeth and is turning into quite the babbler. For those that haven't seen the babe in a while, enjoy the video below. Nothing fancy, just a typical dinner conversation with Grace. How fun!

Cutie Patootie

2011-10-20T18:25:00.000-07:00

Gracie is starting to hold her bottle on her own

Showing off her 2 bottom teeth

Happy, happy girl

A little of this, a little of that.....

2011-10-17T18:08:00.000-07:00

We haven't been super great lately at keeping up on the blog (sorry Gracie). Here a few photos that didn't quite warrant their own post, but I wanted to share anyway.

Gracie entertaining herself at the table. We try to have her sitting with us at meal time, but she isn't eating her own food yet.

Luna smiling big for the camera

Yum, red block good

Look at what I can do!

Hanging out with Daddy is so much fun!

La Luna from our back deck

So happy to go to school

When Luna eats "noodles and sauce" we prefer her eating outside and naked. Much easier to clean that way.

Both girls asleep in Mom & Dad's bed. Sleep is so precious these days we're slacking on some of our rules.

Gracie laughs at everything Luna does.

Cupie Doll?

Some Thoughts...

2011-10-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

So it's been a very long time since we last posted anything. I'm home sick today, nothing major, so I thought I'd sit down and share some things I have been thinking a lot about lately.We love the idea of the Blog, but it's so difficult keeping up with it. Once the school year begins, it's tough doing anything outside of the normal routine each day.

It seems like we're just keeping our heads above water all the time. Other teacher friends, do you feel that way, too, or is there something we're not doing right? Or is this just part of parenting? Am I in denial thinking that I will have some semblance of my old life, or does everything really change once kids arrive? Yes, I am still wondering this 3 years after having our first child. Some of you really seem to have it all together which makes me think I have got something wrong. I keep thinking there is a way I can get control of my life; instead (between September and June) I feel like I am just along for the ride. I'm not trying to complain, just thinking out loud. This is most certainly the life I chose for myself, and I am very happy. But it would be great to feel more in control. :-) If there is anyone wanting to weigh on this, your thoughts would most definitely be welcomed.

So all this said, it's been a wonderful few months. We feel incredibly fortunate to have the summer to spend together. Parenting is the most joyous and at the same time most frustrating experience I have ever had. I was standing outside the girls' room last night just watching them sleep, amazed at how wonderful they are, amazed that I am 40, married to the love of my life, and that I am a daddy. They are so precious; all 3 of my girls.

Luna continues to amaze us with how verbal she is and with her ability to do things that seem beyond a 3 year old. She loves to sing, dance (usually naked), tell stories, and talk, talk, talk. She still spends an enormous amount of time with books which is really exciting. If she is having trouble falling asleep, we'll find her in bed reading, making up stories to the pictures. We find her in the morning snoozing away with a pile of books in her bed. It's pretty cool. She ABSOLUTELY loves being a big sister. Her favorite thing to do is to make Grace smile or laugh. Oh my. And when the two of them get going, it is hilarious (another of Luna's favorite words these days).

Grace is growing so fast. I guess Luna did, too, but that seems very long ago now. Football hold is my favorite and Grace has almost outgrown it. My babies are growing up. Grace is reaching for things all the time. This is both fun and unnerving because you have to watch her constantly. No more drinking coffee and holding Grace at the same time. Rolling around on the floor is also very popular with Grace. We're going to have to find room for the Pack n Play somewhere in the house, so we can set her down without worrying what she will get in to. Talking seems like it might not be too far off. She has begun repeating "bah bah bah." And like her sister, she has the greatest belly laughs. After a very rough start, probably due to colic, Grace has become much more content. She is so observant and smiley. She still isn't sleeping through the night, but she does thankfully sleep in good chunks. Two little toophies have grown in on the bottom of her mouth. The rice cereal has made its first appearance but more of it found its way to her body than it did down her throat.

Hope you have enjoyed the little update. I/we will try to get some slide shows made of our adventures from this summer and fall.

Best wishes,
Brian

Evening Walk

2011-10-09T18:03:00.000-07:00

We try to get out and about in the neighborhood as much as possible. The other night we were able to get out after dinner and enjoy the last bit of sunlight. It has been fun "recycling" Luna's baby clothes with Gracie and tonight we resurrected the awesome viking cap that Aunt Emily bought. Gracie looks pretty cute in it (for comparison, here was Luna sporting the Nordic helmet hat back in her infant days)

Happy Swedish baby

Pumpkin Patch!

2011-10-09T17:08:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year. There is a chill in the air. The sky, when clear, has an incredible, intense blue color. Leaves have just begun to turn. And a trip to the pumpkin patch is in order. We wanted to try something a little different this year, so we made our way to Bellewood Acres, home of marvelous apples and a pretty decent pumpkin patch as well.

Happy Birthday Oma & Grandpa

2011-10-04T18:12:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Oma & Grandpa's birthday in Anacortes this year. I didn't get many pictures, but the cousins had their obligatory shots. Here's the grandkid crew!

Hugo & Gracie

Luna joining in on the action

Luna's birthday message to Oma

Pearly Whites

2011-10-03T17:03:00.000-07:00

It was my first time taking Luna to the dentist. Given her behavior lately, I wasn't sure how it was going to go, but Luna had a great time and did everything she was asked to do.

It didn't hurt that there was a friendly dragon who had gorgeous, giant teeth she could brush.

The cool sunglasses weren't bad either.

She didn't mind the tooth cleaning much, but I think she tolerated so that she could have the water spray and the"sucker." See you in another 6, Dr. Bult.

Gracie's First Food: Yum Yum!

2011-09-25T17:06:00.000-07:00

Gracie is finally ready to start solids. What happened? My little baby is growing up! She enjoyed looking at the box and holding the spoon, but the food.....well, more ended up on her than in her. No worries, she seems to be eating plenty already (as the naked photos below attest to)

One more bite?

Whidbey Island Kite Festival

2011-09-24T17:59:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Luna

2011-09-11T16:59:00.000-07:00

My little girl is already 3. What the heck?! We already celebrated with a big BBQ at the house and decided to spend her actual birthday as a family. The day started with breakfast at the Mount Bakery (see Luna's special birthday crepe below) and then off to get our toes painted. We wrapped up with cupcakes at homes courteous of Oma. The perfect way to celebrate!

Keeping occupied as we waited for breakfast

Wow! Birthday decadence.

I was 2, now I'm 3!

Too much birthday goodness

Reading a little Mercy Watson while getting her toes done

Luna picked the color - bright pink!

Luna's 3rd Birthday!

2011-09-10T16:52:00.000-07:00

The weather cooperated again for Luna's 3rd annual birthday BBQ. It was a fabulous afternoon of food, friends and fun. Luna was very excited to finally be 3 and enjoyed celebrating with all her favorite people.

Pink balloons to make the backyard more festive.

The "Happy Birthday" banner

Luna with cousin Hugo

Gracie wanted to share Grandpa's beer

Uncle Brian was out visiting from Toronto

# 3 baby!

Thanks for the yummy cupcakes Oma!

The fam with the birthday girl (I'm 3!)

Birthday kiss

Brian & Gracie

Testing out the Boogie Legs from Marcus & family

More books from Oma

Grammy & Gracie

Hugo napping in Gracie's crib

Hugo didn't enjoy the company

Gus was keeping an eye on the festivities

Luna loved making Hugo smile

Post party sprinkler fun

Sisterly love

Gracie hanging out with Uncle Brian

The Most Beautiful Place on Earth

2011-09-06T16:37:00.000-07:00

On the eve of our first day of school Brian, Gracie & I headed out for a sunset walk along the waterfront. We weren't disappointed. As usual, we were reminded why we live where we do by being awarded with a spectacular sunset and Gus taking an evening swim. Ahhh.... home sweet home.

Celebrating the End of Summer

2011-08-27T15:44:00.000-07:00

As August is winding down, we tried to squeeze as much last-minute summer fun as possible into our last few days of vacation. Luckily we had good friends ready to enjoy the long days with us. Here are some pictures from a afternoon at Cornwall's water park and a Thursday night concert at Elizabeth Park with the Hinderman's. We're so glad to have fun friends to play with!

Ms. Jada - love those legs!

Luna & Jada at the Water Park

On our way to Cornwall Park

All ready to go!

Marcus & Luna dancing at a concert at Elizabeth Park

First Day of School

2011-08-25T17:13:00.000-07:00

Luna just finished her first week at her new daycare/preschool. We are so happy with her new school and Luna has been super excited to go all week (it might have something to do with her buddy Marcus going to the same school). She was too cute this week as we got ready to go we had to get a picture to capture her excitement. Sure makes life easier when your kid loves where she spends her days!

Nap time

2011-08-21T17:10:00.000-07:00

Luna's willingness to nap is right up there with eating anything green. This summer, we instituted "quiet time" in the hopes that she might continue the nap routine. We have approximately 50% success rate with quiet time turning into nap time. Today, however, Luna decided to unload every last stuffed toy she could find onto her bed before falling asleep. Here's how Brian and I found her after things got quiet in her room....

Whistler with the Larson/Pahl/Flanagan Crew

2011-08-20T16:51:00.000-07:00

We got to spend a few days up in Whistler with Oma, Grandpa, Auntie Emily & Hugo. It was a great "end of summer" get-a-way full of good food, playing in the "hot pool" (Luna's term for a hot tub), hiking and hanging out. The weather was outstanding and the views spectacular both in the village and on the drive up and back. We had a great time hanging out with the family and enjoying some final days of freedom.

Luna working her Sudoku on the ride up

Loving the wind blowing through her hair

Blowing bubbles with Grandpa

Luna was so excited to get to hold her cousin Hugo. He didn't seem to mind too much himself....

We're breeding readers around here. Gracie was very into the book "Hug"

Trying to get a family portrait before our hike at Joffre Lake Provincial Park

Our happy hiker

Luna did an amazing job climbing up and over rocks and roots. In fact she preferred the routes with the most obstacles!

Water break

Loving her Oma

Gracie (4+ months) & Hugo (2 months) hanging out in the condo. Almost the same size (~10 oz difference!)

Luna was not excited to have her picture taken with Mommy & Gracie in the village

Gracie & Oma

BumGenius babies

Oma with the grandbabes

Reading Madeline with Grandpa

Bye-bye Tail! Gracie's first haircut

2011-08-11T16:48:00.000-07:00

Luna went in for a haircut this week and we decided to have Gracie's "tail" taken off. Only 4 months old and getting her first hair cut!

Pre-cut tail in full form

Brittany taking care of the tail

McCall, Idaho

2011-08-11T16:21:00.000-07:00

We made our annual trip to McCall to visit Cathy & Donny again this year. Brian and I weren't sure how the girls would do with the 10 hour car ride and were a bit nervous scheduling the trip, however both girls were amazing troopers. We left Bellingham at 3:30 in the morning and were able to get about half the driving done before Luna was ready to get out and run around. A few more stops and we rolled into McCall before dinner time. As usual we had an amazing time catching up and hanging out and had to leave sooner then we would have liked. Luna loved showing off her new water skills any chance she got in the lake and enjoyed spotting different wildlife at Cathy & Donny's place. Gracie finally figured out what to do with her other arm and began rolling over completely. We are already looking forward to visiting again next year!

Riding high in the back pack while we took a quick walk around town

Luna loves her some ICE CREAM!

Preparing for our fist dip in Payette Lake

2 thumbs up!

Gracie wasn't as excited about the water as Luna

Swinging with Cathy while big sister played in the lake

Luna loved the float toys that Cathy brought

Love them cheeks!

The daily visit to Freddy the Frog

Freddy

Brian & I in kayaks; Luna in her new pink floaty toy

Luna wanted a chance to try out the kayak also

Lots of water play

Gracie happily hanging out on shore

Getting ready for nap time with Cathy

Cracking each other up after Gracie rolled over all the way

Luna reading Mercy Watson for the 1 millionth time

Gracie was a sleeping superstar in the car

Auntie Emily & Hugo visit!

2011-08-06T10:33:00.000-07:00

Auntie Emily & Hugo came up to visit us on Saturday. Luna & Gracie were so excited to see how much cousin Hugo had grown and to hang out with Auntie Emily. We had a leisurely afternoon on the deck and a delicious garden salad a la Brian (yummy!). Luna entertained the babes with her naked swimming & dancing routines. She is quite the exhibitionist these days!

Waiting for cousin Hugo to arrive

The cousins

So excited to see Hugo!

Getting some quality Uncle Brian time

LOVE this girl!

Post feeding snooze & smile

More Gracie

2011-08-05T10:28:00.000-07:00

Gracie is growing so fast! After her initial newbie fussiness, she has definitely become quite the little sweetheart. She has a pretty mellow personality and loves to be around Mommy, Daddy and especially big sister Luna. Her smiles and laughs are generous and such a joy to watch. Here a few pictures while we were just hanging out the other day.

Starting to roll over, but not quite yet. That dang arm keeps getting pinned beneath!

Swim Lessons!

2011-08-05T10:18:00.000-07:00

Luna took swimming lessons again this summer at Bayside Swim Club in Fairhaven. This girl takes to water like nobody's business! We started lessons in the end of July and the weather here in Bellingham was not the most cooperative (we liked to refer to that month after June as Julember around these parts). Despite the chilly weather, Luna was excited every morning to head to lessons. She even graduated from Level 1 to Level 2 - woo hoo! By the end of it all, Luna decided she was ready to jump off the diving board all by herself (see photos below....)

Excited to be heading to swim lessons!

Friday Fun day includes going down the small slide

Diving board, week 1. Ms. Independent wanted to climb up herself

It was so chilly out, the instructors had to pour water from the hot tub on to the kids while they waited their turn

Notice the bundled up life guard and parent

Diving board, week #2

Level 2!

Diving Board, week #3

Again!

The fabulous Gracie Ann

2011-08-05T07:29:00.000-07:00

I have to admit it's not as easy keeping up with pictures and the Blog these days. Despite being home for the summer, we seem to be chronically busy (all good stuff - no complaining here!) and I haven't been great about remembering the camera on all our adventures. Gracie is growing like crazy. As we creep up on her 4 month (already?!) birthday, I realize I haven't been doing a great job keeping her changes updated on the blog. "Dark Luna" as a friend of ours affectionately calls Gracie due to her dark(er) hair and dark eyes is becoming quite a happy baby. She cracks us up with her full body smiles and hearty laughs. Here's a set of pictures over the last few weeks showing Grace's latest and greatest feats.

Check it out! Sitting up in the Bumbo.

Gus loves that Gracie is on his level and isn't super mobile yet

There's that smile!

One of Grace's lovey's

Grace's dance moves

Tummy Time!

Grace discovered her toes a few weeks ago and they are in her mouth any chance she gets

....along with anything else she can fit in there, including Sophie the Giraffe

Working on rolling over. Almost there!

Gracie & Oma

Gus kisses!

L-U-N-A

2011-07-28T07:55:00.000-07:00

So, Luna has been able to identify her alphabet letters for some time now, as well as be able to spell her name out loud. During a recent drawing session on her easel, I looked over to see Luna spelling her name in writing. Check it out. I'm allowed to brag, right?

The Tent

2011-07-26T07:48:00.000-07:00

Grace has been more then ready to transition into her crib from the bassient. Problem is, Luna wants to be super helpful when Grace is making noise: give her a pacifier, toy or try to touch her. This freaks me out a bit, so my solution? A crib tent. Made to keep out pests, I use it to keep out a curious toddler. Poor Gracie. Now, if we can just keep Luna from unzipping the dang thing.......

Sisters!

2011-07-26T07:10:00.000-07:00

Gracie has been having lots of floor time lately. She loves streching out those long legs of hers and being able to kick around (and try rolling over). She rarely get's her own personal space however....Luna loves laying down with her and interacting with her little sis. Luna tells stories, sings or makes faces trying to make Gracie laugh. It's so much fun to watch the girls interact. Gracie clearly adores her big sister and reserves her biggest smiles and laughs for Luna's efforts. It's getting so much fun......

Luna's growing up

2011-07-25T07:51:00.000-07:00

As we rapidly approach Luna's 3rd birthday I am surprised daily by how "grown up" she can be (although she definitely has her toddler moments). She miraculously let me put her hair in pig tails the other day and I snapped this photo as proof. When I looked at it later I thought, who is this big kid? My little Luna is rapidly becoming a full on preschooler. Love this girl. I can't wait to see what she will surprise me with today.

Fragrance Lake Hike

2011-07-21T07:30:00.000-07:00

Luna, Gracie & I joined part of the MBMS Science PLC to hike Fragrance Lake. We were quite the group making our way up the trail....3 adults, 5 kids and a dog. We had a great time and the boys were awesome with Luna, scaring away the "monsters" in the woods both ahead and behind us. Kristen wins the "stud" award, hauling Luna up and down in the backpack (Luna's weighing in around 42 pounds these days). We were happy to help Kristen train for her Baker climb in August! Jody helped lug Gracie up as well when she started getting fussy. It takes a team!

Luna, Kristen, Jody, Jeremy, Thomas, Geoffery & Junebug

Lynnelle, Grace, Kristen & Luna

The boys fished up at the lake

Taking a snack break & getting ready to head back down

Hugs goodbye!

Luna was so tired when we got home, she crawled up on the changing table and promptly fell asleep

Bellevue Kid's Museum & Uncle Ken's Birthday

2011-07-19T06:43:00.000-07:00

The day after our zoo trip, we continued our Seattle "vacation" by heading to the Bellevue Kid's Museum. Luna had so much fun exploring, running from activity to activity trying all sorts of cool and new things.

A life-size Lite Brite

No surprise here. Luna spent most of her time at the water display

Ten-Four buddy. Luna's driving the semi!

Luna's taking Daddy for a spin in her big rig

After a busy morning at the kid's museum, we headed over to Uncle Ken's & Auntie Steph's to celebrate Uncle Ken's birthday. Oma, Grandpa, Auntie Emily & Hugo joined us for the party!

Aunt Emily, Oma & Gracie

Grandpa & Hugo

Love this face. What the heck?!

Gracie & Auntie Steph

Gracie found a friend in the backyard

Big sister Luna, joined the menagerie

Luna's sweet new dolphin goggles

Luna took this picture of Mommy & Oma

Hugo napping on Oma's lap

All the excitement required a nap by Gracie

Luna got to decorate Uncle Ken's cake. Budding artist?

Birthday Boy!

Auntie Emily & cousin Hugo

The Zoo!

2011-07-18T08:34:00.000-07:00

We headed to the zoo with Cousin Hugo & Auntie Emily last week. Luna picked our route and the animals we visited. She kept wanting to touch & pet the animals so Brian had to keep explaining that "wild" animals are not for petting! Gracie slept through almost the entire experience, as did Hugo. I'm sure the two newbies will be into a zoo visit in the near future!

Luna was excited to see the tiger; one of our first stops on Luna's tour

Simmer down Hugo!

Observing the orangutan

Big Sister loved the baby elephant

Emily, Hugo, Gracie & me

Elephants!

Good parenting

Hugo's first visit to the elephants

Cutie!

Luna can't believe it!

Taking a ride on a hippo

The real deal

Hugo's pacifier of choice

Hugo's "What the heck?!" face

Luna & Brian took a carousel ride

The fam!

Making New Friends!

2011-07-06T06:39:00.000-07:00

Luna got to meet two new friends this week: Atlin & Kai. My friend Kristen (from grad school) is on an epic road trip with her family this summer. Kristen, Greg, Atlin & Kai have spent the last month traveling through Idaho, Montana, Wyoming & Oregon in their new VW Westie (Brian is sooooo jealous!). They made a brief stop here in Washington before boarding a ferry to head up into Canada on their way back home to Anchorage. We had only a few hours to meet up, but the kids wasted no time getting to know each other and playing hard.

Thanks for taking the time to get together, Kristen!

Backyard Cookout

2011-07-03T05:24:00.000-07:00

We headed to Anacortes Sunday night to visit Oma & Grandpa. After a walk to Washington Park to play on the playground & let Gus swim, Grandpa got a fire started in their courtyard. Luna got to experience a backyard cookout, complete with buffalo dogs and s'mores! Gracie was mesmerized by the fire and enjoyed watching Luna eat all her special treats.

A beautiful summer day in the Pacific Northwest

Watching the fire in PJ's

Oma & Gracie

Yummy S'mores!

My Future's So Bright....

2011-07-03T05:21:00.000-07:00

Gracie is already taking style tips from her older sister. She was sporting Luna's sunglasses on our way to see Spoonshine at Boulevard Park on Saturday night. Stylin' Profilin!

Gracie's first M's Game

2011-07-01T23:00:00.000-07:00

Brian and the girls gave me tickets to and M's game for Mother's Day. A date had yet to be determined, so I was very excited (and surprised) when Brian announced this morning that we were going to the Mariner's game tonight. Oh, and by the way, he bought us outfits at Goodwill because it was '80's night. How fun is that? Not only did we have a blast getting ready for the game, the big surprise (for me) was finding out our seats were in the 10th row right behind home plate. I have never sat so close to action before and it was AWESOME. Luna stayed home with Grammy, but Gracie was treated to her first Mariner's win (6-0 over the Padres!). Thanks for a great night Brian!

Looking "radical" out in center field (check out Gracie's sweet tail)

Sir-mix-a-lot threw out the first pitch....twice

Gracie lovin' the M's victory

Gracie hanging out with Daddy

What sweet seats!

Walk down memory lane....

2011-06-30T09:02:00.000-07:00

Brian was the Best Man last weekend in Josh & Ashley's wedding. It was an honor for Brian to be a part of their wedding celebration and witness the two start a new chapter in their lives together. What was especially fun for Brian and I was that the wedding took place at Beau Lodge, where we were married six years ago. It was the first time I had been back since our wedding and it brought back all sorts of wonderful memories from our special day. We took a few moments to steal away during the reception to where we had taken our vows and reminisced about all that has taken place since we stood there six years previously. We have truly had an amazing six years so far and two beautiful girls to be thankful for.

Gracie & Daddy at the rehearsal dinner

Looking out on the pond that was the backdrop for our wedding ceremony

Being silly

The bridge. We love Beau Lodge!

Welcome Cousin Hugo!

2011-06-24T08:45:00.000-07:00

Auntie Emily & Uncle Pat welcomed Hugo Anthony into the family on June 21st. Luna & Gracie headed down to Seattle to meet the new cousin and visit just 2 days later. Luna could hardly wait. When I came home after being in Seattle for Hugo's birth, Luna met me at the door and demanded, "Where's my cousin Hugo?" We are so happy to have a new baby in the family and what a cutie! More cute cousin pictures to come soon!

Uncle Brian & Hugo

New Mommy!

Luna & Grandpa taking a break outside with Luna's new Iguana (thanks Uncle Pat & Aunt Emily!)

What a cutie!

Grandpa with the first grandson

Gracie wanted some Auntie love

The two new cousins: giant Gracie with little Hugo

Luna & her babies

Me & Gracie

The new family

Our little artist

2011-06-22T08:35:00.000-07:00

OK. So I realize that as a parent, I can be a bit biased towards my own child. However, Luna suddenly went from scribble toddler drawing to full on stick people literally overnight. The other day, she says "Mommy, check out my family". I look over at her scribble pad expecting to see a bunch of lines and scribbles and see the following family portrait:

Wow! I know it is just stick figures, but this is like a night and day difference from what we have seen from the girls so far. By the way, in case you are wondering, in the picture from left to right: Brian, Luna, me, Gracie. Impressive.

Yee Haw!

2011-06-13T15:10:00.000-07:00

Luna decided to wear Brian's cowboy hat at dinner the other night while eating her corn. Not only did she love being a cowgirl, she ate the enitre ear of corn (which she stole off my plate, by the way).

Anacortes Weekend

2011-06-12T15:00:00.000-07:00

The girls and I spent the weekend in Anacortes while Brian was out of town for a bachelor party. The weather was fantastic and we got out for walks, played at two different playgrounds and had a picnic dinner. I'm still getting used to taking care of two kiddos so it was a HUGE help to have my parents help while Brian was away!

Cool saucer swing

Sliding with Oma

Putting on sunhats to go outside

Luna on an adventure with Grandpa & Mommy

Me & my girl

Gracie was all smiles:)

Luna has started sporting a dimple....so cute!

Luna & Oma

Luna testing out her new scooter

Kicking off Summer!

2011-06-10T14:41:00.000-07:00

Visiting Auntie Emily while on bed rest

Marcus & Luna have painted toe nails!

The men making dinner

Getting ready for some baseball!

Luna getting instructions from Marcus

Ichiro hits!

Luna getting a little big for the highchair

What a cutie!

PJ time

Hug & Kiss Goodbye

Xander & Luna playin' ball

Stacee & Gracie

Luna icing a boo-boo on her bum

Slip n' slide

Cupcakes!

Luna & Sarah in sugar heaven

Gracie chillin' on the back deck

Our resident artist

Drool queen

Toddler Tumbling Class!

Playdate with Maya!

2011-06-08T17:57:00.000-07:00

We had the chance to visit Maya's "fourth floor" playroom last week. Wow! It is a toddler's dream come true... paints, a tent, slide, trampoline and a roller coaster. Luna was having so much fun we had major 2 1/2 year old meltdown when it came time to leave. Thanks Maya, Susan & Zoe for having us over!

Luna jumping in front of Maya's artwork

Getting ready to roll

Getting directions for the first run

Maya is an expert on the roller coaster

Luna is ready to catch Maya at the other end of the room

Maya works on another masterpiece

Memorial Day

2011-05-31T15:49:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day Weekend we headed down to Anacortes for a "stay-cation" at my parents house while they were out of town (so nice of them to let us stay!). We spent the weekend relaxing, hanging out on the beach and going for a ferry boat ride. The weather was great, making us so excited for summer!

Luna searching for rocks to throw at Washington Park

Playground mishap

Gracie is all smiles these days

In an attempt to resist napping, Luna fell asleep in the chair instead

So excited to be on the ferry!

Oh so windy!

Getting ready to disembark

The girls got into bed with us one morning. We had a blast taking pictures and being silly:)

Luna is a tough kid and tends to get lots of cuts, scrapes & bruises. Brian walked in on her one afternoon taking care of some of her "ouchies".

Luna's New Hobby

2011-05-26T09:28:00.000-07:00

Gracie gave Luna a new camera at the hospital. She has been busy clicking away ever since. Below is a video with most of her early shots. I apologize in advance for the blurriness of some of the photos, but the blur emphasizes Luna's constant motion. Note the point of view of many of the shots; pretty fun to see the world from her perspective and height! Enjoy:)

The photographer

Playin' at the Park

2011-05-24T15:26:00.000-07:00

Luna, Gracie & I headed to the park last Friday morning after dropping Brian off at work. It was a gorgeous morning and we had the playground all to ourselves. Not a major event, but it was great spending time with my girls outside. Needless to day Luna had a grand time and was very "stylin' profilin'" with her headband and sunglasses.

We're going to the playground!

Riding the airplane

Thumb's up, Mom!

Luna & her motorcycle

"Sister" joined us on our morning outing & watched the fun from the sidelines

When Luna wanted a break from the playground, she decided to play with rocks

Spring has arrived!

2011-05-20T21:46:00.000-07:00

Spring finally showed up this week with temperature's creeping up to almost 70F! Awesome. Luna celebrated by putting on her birthday suit and running through the sprinkler. Brian and I were laughing so hard watching her go through the water again and again. I thought we would be out there all night!

Cleaning off her backside

Action shot!

Gracie slept through mot of the fun

Getting dried off

Sprinkler jumping is so exhausting!

Mommy's Best Medicine

2011-05-14T21:29:00.000-07:00

I ended up in the hospital Tuesday night with severe abdominal pains and found out I had to have my gallbladder removed (turns out pregnancy hormones can cause gall stones). After two nights in the hospital and away from my girls I was able to come home. I've been a little sore, but otherwise doing just fine. Luna & Gracie kept me company in bed while I was resting; they're the best medicine a momma could have!

I owe a huge THANK YOU to Brian being with me at the hospital and to my mom and the McClanahan's for watching the girls for us. It was scary enough to end up in the hospital unexpectedly; we feel so fortunate that Luna & Gracie were in such good hands while we were unable to be home.

Not liking Tummy Time

Luna explaining how it all works to Grace

We have SMILES!

2011-05-10T17:05:00.000-07:00

Momma's Day

2011-05-09T16:09:00.000-07:00

After a week of stomach flu in our house, we celebrated Mother's Day with a fantastic lunch at our house with both our moms. Brian tried to get a photo of all the ladies but it was hard to get everyone to look their best at the same time. Pretty funny, actually.......

Beginning of May.....

2011-05-07T15:52:00.000-07:00

Time flies when you're having fun! Here are some pictures from the beginning of the month. Enjoy!

Uncle Bob came over for dinner and a story

Relaxing with Gracie

Daddy and his girls

Oops! Mommy forgot to put sunscreen on the girl

Cranky Gracie visits with Sarah & the rest of the Science Team

Mary Burgess stopped by for a visit

Gracie is becoming much more alert

Nice face Mom

Don't you just want to kiss those cheeks!

Cuddling with Uncle Bob

Luna and her books. This girl LOVES to "read"!