Wednesday, November 24, 2010

7 months old and her first snow!

Seattle actually got “hammered” with snow starting on Monday night. I used the word “hammered” because it’s completely relative. We actually only got probably 3 inches of snow, but Seattle is surprisingly super hilly. So not only did we have drivers on the road that have NO idea how to drive in the snow, then you throw in a mix of San Fran type of hills and it was a disaster. I actually tried to leave the house and couldn’t make it up the hills that surround us. So we turned around and came home and didn’t really leave until this morning (Wed). It ended up getting really icy as well, so schools have been closed and it’s felt like a snow day!

Hannah Gray and I played outside on her toboggan and then drank hot chocolate to warm up. She loved her “hot chac”. A little later in the day, we ventured out with Tenley for her first experience in the snow as well. Hannah Gray was reluctant to taste the snow as I was trying to encourage her to do it, then she warmed up to the idea and was running around literally licking the snow off of everything!

AND, Tenley hit the big 7 months old this week! So hard to believe it’s been 7 months already!!! It sure goes quickly with kids, but especially after you first!

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Hannah Gray stood on the couch looking out the window with her binoculars watching the snow fall, just yelling, “no! no! yay!!”

Just cute

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Last weekend, our zoo did a Thanksgiving Day “meal” for selected animals. I decided it would be a fun thing for me to take the girls to see. We saw the jaguar really up close just after he finished his turkey and Hannah Gray thought that was pretty fun. It ended up being a really cold day (this was just before Seattle got a lot of snow!), and I didn’t bring any mittens for Hannah Gray. So it ended up not being a ton of for her I’m afraid. Here she is, with her hands in her pockets trying to keep them warm. But I thought these were really cute pictures anyway and wanted to share them with you!

Mmm, squash!

Tenley began eating squash last week for the first time, but then got really sick for about 12 hrs. It was scary, she was throwing up and anytime a baby is puking, it just seems wrong! So we laid off cereal and the squash before we tried again. But she did love it. Here are some pictures of her first tastes of it.

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B is sitting up!

Since Tenley arrived home with us from the hospital, Hannah Gray has always called her “baby sissy” or “baby” (I know, so personalized and not at all generic). However, she began to shorten this on her own by referring to Tenley as “B”. So that’s kind of become Tenley’s own little nickname…

Tenley is SO laid back that she’s just been so nonchalant about everything requiring a lot of movement. She can roll over, but prefers to sit in whichever position she was put down in. She could sit up, if she wanted to. So this is big stuff that she’s sitting up and liking it! I think she likes being able to see what’s going on around her and reach further for her toys. So here she is, doing her thing!

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Momma’s Bday

I know this entry is a little backwards, but I didn’t have a chance to post some pictures of my birthday before we left for CA. Hannah Gray came in to see me that morning saying, “Haaappy DAY!” loosely to the tune of Happy Birthday. It was pretty cute. She kept doing this all day and anyone that we talked to, she would make sure that she said, “Momma, happy day!”. It was an absolutely beautiful day, hitting in the mid 60’s with lots of sunshine. We could see both the Cascade and Olympic Mountains just off our street. It had been cold and rainy the day before, so the mountains were covered in snow. It was beautiful! We headed to the zoo b/c isn’t the zoo always a fun place to spend some time?

Ethan made a great dinner and chocolate birthday cake for me. Hannah Gray helped blow the candles out and open presents with me. I actually had a soccer game later that night, so after the kids were in bed, I was able to get out and have fun playing soccer. It was a great day! 

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Tuesday, November 16, 2010

What’s up Dude??

Last week we loaded up and headed south for a trip to see my parents who were in Napa, CA for a business trip for my dad. We left Tuesday midmorning and did the whole 14 hr trip in one shot. The girls were awesome the whole way!

We explored Napa our first day there and enjoyed the absolutely beautiful country. It was relaxing just to look around and see the huge sky, mountains and beautiful fields and vineyards. We even did a little bit of wine tasting that first night and we learned a lot about the process and flavors!  I have a new appreciation for it, especially since I thought all red wines tasted like I sucked on the dry stuff of a banana peel and then threw pepper into the back of my throat. I even found some reds that I really LIKED, not tolerated. And I even got to celebrate my birthday with my folks since we won’t be going home for Thanksgiving this year.

Napa and the surrounding area is full of cute little towns with amazing little delicatessens and shops, so we enjoyed exploring. We hit Sausalito, which is a town on the water that has a lot of house boats. Not houseboats, but houses that float. That was really neat to see as well. Of course we enjoyed the amazing Inn and Out Burgers (Hannah Gray can DOWN a thick milkshake like it’s no one’s business, so you have to protect your shake or it could be gone. Then she gives you these little puppy dog eyes and says, “pahlease?” Too stinkin’ cute).

Then on Friday we drove to San Francisco to spend the day. We did the whole thing- rode a trolley car (which Hannah Gray kept calling a train) and she LOVED it. We even had those great seats on the outside up near the front. We went to the wharf and saw lots of HUGE sea lions that were very active which HG thought was hilarious. There was a little boardwalk type of area that an old fashioned carousel complete with seals to ride on. We did that and she didn’t understand that when it stopped moving we had to get off. This was the first carousel ride that she really, really liked and didn’t get scared of. Mimi and Grandpa bought HG a little sea lion that barks that she named Frisco and has slept with her every night since. We just had a great time all around. The girls loved the time with Mimi and Grandpa and HG is still talking about our time together. In fact, she keeps picking up the phone to call either Mimi or Grandpa and talks about our trip together.

Thanks so much for inviting us down to join you on your trip. We had a blast!   

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“No purse doggie”

I think I mentioned in a previous post that Hannah Gray has been praying for “anuder big doggie” pretty much since the day we arrived in Seattle. Every time we pray, she throws in “anuder big doggie”. And last week, she added her own little twist to it. Ethan was doing bedtime with her in her room and I was putting away laundry in our bedroom which is right next door. I heard Ethan ask Hannah Gray, “what would you like to pray for tonight?". To which Hannah Gray responded, “anuder BIG doggie. NO pus doggie!” Ethan, not really knowing what she said asked her to repeat it and he figured out that “pus” is her “purse”. We both about died! She had been carrying around her two pursed all day and we had seen a couple little dogs in town including one that was hitching a rid in a bag. I think we must have referred to it as a purse doggie, and that’s what she remembered. Obviously, she felt the need to be very clear with God as to which kind of dog she wants. The girl knows what she wants!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

“Towl Gr”

Hannah Gray was a cowgirl (aka towl gr) for Halloween. Tenley was going to carry on the tradition of being a pumpkin as we have a onesie and a matching hat. But when we were getting dressed, Hannah Gray asked what Tenley was going to be and I said “a pumpkin”. That was no okay with her as she said, “baby towl gr too!”. And I thought for a second and realized that was a pretty good idea! So we put Tenley in jeans, a white t-shirt and put a pink bandana around her neck.

The weather was great! Sunny and brisk unlike the day before which was cold and rainy. So we went to a local outdoor mall where all the stores participated. Hannah Gray was a little overwhelmed, but then quickly got the hang of it.

The evening wouldn’t have been complete without seeing a 2 yr old dressed as a hooter girl…

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We had to wake her up from her nap to go, so she’s looking pretty groggy at this point. :)

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For the first 15 min or so, every time we’d get a piece of candy, she wanted to eat it. She didn’t understand the concept of collect and waiting until the end. Finally she realized that this is great and got on a roll.

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so much for the “melt in your mouth, not in your hands”. Thanks blue m and m’s.

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“I’m not sticking my hand in there!”

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rough picture I know, but she was laying on the ground trying to see her jack o’ lantern.