Tree Hunting

The Christmas tree hunt begins!

It was really the best Christmas tree-hunting we have had to date. And really, we deserved it. Just scroll down to last years little adventure to find out why.

It was sunny, there was no snow to navigate through with our little 2-wheel drive volvo, and everyone (eventually) had a good time. Emma had fun dressing Myra before we left too.
Emma had a little attitude starting off and wouldn't stand by Myra for a picture, so Myra and I had our own little tree day picture.It took us a while to figure out what was wrong with Emma. And by a while, I mean just recently. At the end of December. A few weeks post-tree-hunting. She kept crying whenever Drew was on the edge side of the dirt road, and whenever he was on the hill side of the dirt road. She didn't want down either. Well, we have a book to thank again for bestowing our little girl with some fear, but then again a book to thank for the answer. (It all stems from a book called The Caboose Who Got Loose, where little Katy caboose is drug up a mountain side very close to the edge and finally comes loose and flies into the treetops). Ah-ha! But all was better when we reached a clearing that was a great spot to stop for snacks AND great tree prospects. Emma felt much better after eating some beloved candy cane Joe's (Trader Joe's version of Oreos but with candy cane flavored cream centers!).

Apparently, this perfect spot for a snack and hunting Christmas trees, was also a great drunken-deer hunting spot...
It could have put a damper on our short visit, but we decided to do a little cleaning up to do something about it. There was trash, empty beer bottles and cans, empty shells, potato chip bags, even the frame from a little camp shelter just tossed behind some rocks. I was pretty appauled. So, all you hunters out there who like to drink etc, please pick up your junk. Next year, we are bringing trash bags to haul some stuff out.
Our outdoor-loving hound decided to curl up on Drew's coat after realizing we were staying for a while. (We actually think she hurt her foot a little - don't worry she was fine by the time we got back home).
Kind of hard to get a 2 year old, her mother, and her dog to sit still long enough to get a picture of all three and the leaning tree.

Sadly, I think this is as close as we get to getting a picture of our tree in our apartment (the BEST tree-hunting trip and best LOOKING tree yet!) But look at the goof-ball making faces!

Small Celebrations..and the beginning of COOKIES

November's celebration began with Myra's birthday party. Yes, we had a birthday party for our dog. Well, we really just made a cake and lit candles and sang happy birthday to her, but it was a party to Emma. We made pumpkin cake, and no, we didn't feed it to Myra, but she did get some pumpkin puree which she was thrilled about! Emma could not keep her little fingers out of the frosting. (She knew ALL about Birthday cake after celebrating all 3 of our birthdays in October!) The long nights of cookie making produced more than a table-full of cookies. After all that work, they almost didn't make it out the door to our friends because of the first blast of snow we got. After a little aprehension on my part, Drew and I had a lot of fun frosting them and making mini-masterpieces.

Emma and Drew made the gingerbread cookies. Well, Drew mostly made them while Emma ate the dough. She was very into the aprons. She needed to have everyone wear one. She really is a little girl. She hardly took this dress off in December.

Another small celebration was one of my own. I had been wanting to sew these little baby shoes for over a year now, and never got up the nerve. At the anticipation of the arrival of my friend, Emily's baby, I decided to buckle down and give them a shot. They were a LOT of fun, took very little fabric and I can't wait to make some more!

Hopeful in October

My Obama-inspired pumkin carving lit up our gheto-alley porch where we didn't expect any trick-or-treaters.

Emma was originally going to dress up as a princess, and she still thinks she was a princess. But I was going for a more down to earth/funktified princess, so we added an additional gypsie skirt, some socks over her pants with converse on her feet, plus some jewelery that completed the look. She ended up looking like a princess dipped in some gypsie/madona accessories from the 80's.

Bear-bear is right along side us as we get ready to go trick-or-treating in front of the mirror.

I have to admit that although I don't particularly want to encourage make-up (especially at 2), it was pretty fun and pretty cute to watch. We only put on these very clown-inspired circles for blush on her cheeks and some sparkley powder, but she loved it.

* The funniest AND saddest part of the whole trick-or-treating '08 was this: We come home from a very sparse outing with maybe 12 pieces total (including more than one piece from starbucks and a little gift bag from a friend). We are sitting in the apartment watching Em eat and laughing, when we hear voices in the alley. Little people voices. This is pretty unusual for our little alley. (Did I mention we have bought candy every year BUT this year because of our location?) The voices get louder and Drew and I look at eachother and pretty soon there is a knock at the door. Drew answers it and he said there was a mob of little kids with about 3 moms holding out huge, already full bags of candy. He tells them he'll be right back and grabs all but about 2 suckers from Emma's bag. Luckily Emma didn't even notice, but Drew and I just sat there staring at eachother and then started laughing. UNbelievable! We have always bought candy before and never got anyone, and the one year we don't because we live somewhere where there just is such a slim chance that anyone would come - we get a mob! I think that next year we will either be prepared, or blow out the candles in our pumpkins if we don't want to have to give away Emma's treasures.

Emma's Birthday #2

Comments comming soon....

Goodbye Binkie

About 6 months ago, Emma had not seemed so attatched to the binkie. She would put it in her crib after nap and when she got up in the morning, and we would take it along on car rides -you know-"just in case" a meltdown caught me off-guard. Or for that matter, to keep a meltdown from happening. Don't get me wrong, I don't have objections to using the binkie, we just felt her time with it wasn't neccessary any more. She has been talking so much, and understanding her withOUT the binkie can be a challenge, especially for those who don't know her, but she had it in her mouth all the time WHILE chattering away. My concerns about it were sort of "confirmed" by our pediatrician, so we decided to give it up. Since I knew I would cave and give it to her if she threw enough of a fit, we figured cold-turkey was the best solution... and to completely get them out of the house.



So, I suggested to Emma that we give the binkies to our little friend, baby Chase. Uh-uh, no way was that going to fly. I can't remember what she said, but I remember the face she gave me and I know she made it clear that she was not down with giving her binkie to a baby. We thought - a binkie fairy? Would she understand that? Then it hit us! We had recently been to the zoo and she loved the baby gorilla. I asked her if we could give the binkies to the baby gorilla.... her eyebrows went up. She started jabbering about the baby gorilla wanting a binkie. So, the next night, Drew and I took her and the 3 binkies we could find to the zoo. We talked all day about the baby gorilla getting her binkies and how great it was to share our things, that she was a big girl, and maybe the Mama gorilla will have a present for her.



As we drove up the hill to the zoo, I looked back at her. She had her bottom lip out and tears were just starting to flow from her eyes. It was so sad! I asked her if she felt sad, and she said, "ya", and let out a little whimper. But by the time we were parked and had talked some more, she seemed more excited.

To make a long story, slightly shorter, she was excited about seeing the gorilla and getting a gift. We didn't actually see the baby (It's "pack" was removed from the exhibit temporarily!), but we told her the baby was in the bushes, we left the binkies next to the exhibit with some other gorillas, walked up to the next viewing area, I ran back and switched the binkies for the gift, and Drew and Emma came back to see a package waiting for her. We told her the Mama came and took them to the baby and left Emma the gift for being such a big girl. She was thrilled with the "country critters" she got.

That first couple of nights were rough, but she did go to sleep. Nap time has been difficult, but it had been even with the binkie, so I don't know that that was the issue so much. She does now have difficulty sharing (I realize ALL 2 year olds do, but we are wondering if she thinks she will not get anything back that she shares....hmmm). She has come to love her "Bear-Bear" even more and is finding ways to comfort herself.

I have to say that although it isn't much fun listening to a crying little girl ask for her binkie at night for a couple nights, she seems fine now, and Drew and I had a little fun with the whole gorilla story. I just wonder what she is going to say when we DO have another baby and I pull those binkies out of a box in that little plastic baggie.

So many stories, so little pictures

Hello Everyone....
I have been trying to upload some pics, but we've got some computer errors that have occured and I can't get to the pictures that I want to... There is much to share, so hopefully it will be up and running again soon. (Sorry dad! I will try to send some via email soon!)

I'll try to at least tell some stories of some of our adventures and things Emma is saying here very soon.....

The latest videos

Emma is playing in a fort Drew built for her on the couch/bed:) in the first video... She is reading the "Doggies" story to her lamb, Lu-Lu. She tells Lu-Lu to come sit in her lap and then continues to recite the page "Aaaoooowww... howling at the moon"

Emma was singing "The Noble Duke of York" before I started recording her. She starts back in after a few seconds. Listen for her saying, "Let's try that again". I don't know where she got that:) Then she asks Drew if he wants the pretty head-band. I love my little girl.

A couple of Firsts

Washing dishes became the favorite messy thing to do in the last month. We've had to limit it, because we were afraid of the water damage we might be doing! But she has so much fun mimicking us washing dishes, and "cooking" with her pots and pans in the sink. I learned quickly to throw in dishes that actually needed to be washed and let her do it since she enjoys it so much!

Play dough was another one that I hadn't tried before. I didn't really want to buy it, and never got around to making it at home.... but we got it as a much welcomed party-favor from her cousin Sabrina's birthday party:) She loves it. We mostly make animals out of it and pretend it is food (ice cream in particular). The three different colors are now one color, as I decided after the first time of trying to keep them separated that it was NOT worth it!
FINGER PAINTING! I'll try to post a video. She was VERY excited, but calm about it. And very purposefull in how and where she was putting the color. At least the first few minutes.
I painted her toes the other day for the first time:) It was so much fun... mostly for me. Every time she would catch a glimpse of them the rest of the day she would talk about how pretty they are. I asked her to tell Daddy who painted her nails, and she told him Cinderella did. Yesterday we were talking about it in the car, and Drew asked her again who painted her nails and she said "My mommy Cinderella". I said, "Oh, I see. I'm your Cinderella. Ya, that pretty much sums it up."

Meade Grandkids

We went to Drew's parents' house a couple of times in August, and decided to get ALL the grandkids together for a few pictures. I THINK the grand-kid count is 20 right now! Emma is in the brown dress on the right side. There are four babes under 6 months, I think. (hard to keep track!) Let's see if I can do this: From Left to right on the top row: Erica, Sabrina, Becca, Connor, Hannah, Morgan, Sean, Emma. Bottom-ish rows from L-R: Jennifer(Drew's sister assisting), Riley, Falon, Olivia, Aidan, Rian. Then we have Kali holding who appears to be Orin and Jayden. And Brandon Holding Charlie and John. I am missing Savannah somewhere... Whew! Starting to get a little goofy:)
Fully in the goof-ball mode. This is her first (believe it or not) "goofy face" for the camera. I think she did a descent job. Her cousin, Hannah is in the background with her hand on her face:)
Emma, Rebecca, and Morgan on the tire swing.
I haad to throw this one in. This is her cousin Falon... I think she is in the running for the goofiest grand-kid. Pretty cute!

Lavender Camping

Since we didn't make our yearly stop at the Lavender Festival in Sequim in July, we decided Wednesday that we would head out there and camp, pick some lavender and experience potty training a toddler in the "wilderness". We had more fun than I could have imagined... and more cloth diaper and training pants to clean in the faucet as well! Shhh... don't tell the other campers...

First potty stop on a side street off the highway. Great fun being in charge of Myra and eating a banana whilst trying the potty seat in the great outdoors.Myra, not looking to happy she was left in the hands of a not-yet-2 year old. We nervously perused the campground looking for a spot. There was nothing, but a young couple looking a bit like they were packing things up, so we set up some chairs to save the spot and were off to the trail along the bluff for a snack, some wish blowing and some playing in the rocks and sticks... "Eskimo sticks", that is. (Don't ask, we're still not sure what she is talking about)
Those were some hard wishes to make! Drew had to help out a bit...


The posts are backwards... we actually did a loop around the camp area first in the post below, but later drove up to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Forest. It was a long, winding drive for all weary travelers, only to stay for 15 minutes at the top, but the view was worth it. It looked like the Sound of Music scenes... there was a meadow just over the rock wall - beautiful, even if we didn't exactly stop to take it all in.

Eskimo sticks

Drew asked Emma to give me a kiss, and the little monkey came after me with her TONGUE! She hasn't done that since she was tiny! Of course we LAUGHED, so she wouldn't stop coming after me... She thought it was hilarious.On our way back from watching the sunset, Myra was walking with Drew in front of me and I said, "Myra stop walking like that" and Emma said -(no joke) - "Myra stop walking like that, you a old lady who lived in a shoe".



Potty-Time again Saturday morning...and snack time in the tent.I went to open the back of the Volvo in the morning and the ONLY key we brought - BROKE OFF. We kind of stood around for a while wondering what to do. Drew called 411 for Locksmiths, but the ones he got a hold of only did lock-outs on the weekend, but they could be there MONDAY morning.... um, hmmm... we were running low on clean cloth diapers, no ice in the cooler, and limited walking trails to entertain us for 2 more days.

We walked toward the camp-host... no signs of them. Actually no sign of them at any time during our stay just their camper and a car. Real helpful. We walked toward the ranger station...and saw a PHONE BOOK hanging off the public phone!! Drew flipped through as Emma and I played with "mama and baby" rocks. I heard Drew murmur, "You've got to be kidding". The "Locksmith" pages were ripped out. I saw Emma stand still in the midst of her playing. I knew she was up to something... so I carried her back to the campsite careful not to smush anything in her pants. I still don't know how he got a hold of someone... I was busy cleaning messy pants. He found someone who would be there in the afternoon... ahhhh.... thank GOD!

So, this is us waiting around. Practicing our poses. And coloring.

After we got the new key and followed the locksmith to the bank to pay him, we (got coffee for me) and drove around a bit while Emma took a snooze. We bought a map and noticed a park we had never been to down on the water. We had a picnic on the rocky beach and Emma made her way down to the water. We both thought she would be busy playing in the rocks the whole time (she loves to "pick rocks"), but she spent about an hour playing in the water with seaweed. It was so much fun watching her play! I still can't believe she loves playing with slimy seaweed in rather cold water, but is terrified of a warm shower. Go figure.

After the beach we headed to a Lavender farm we went to the year I was pregnant...there were very few people there - it was great. We cut a whole lavender plant for $12!! That's about 9 bundles, and they are normally $5/bundle! Can you tell we love Lavender?? Emma does too. She calls it "Yav-a-ber". SO cute when she says it.

She was pretty pleased with her bundle.



Sorry for the repeat pic, can't figure out how to get it off....

We then got a "special treat" which always equals ICE CREAM to our family!
The best fire we have had EVER. We can't ever seem to manage much of a blaze, but we made it happen this trip. Note the diapers drying on the bench. Drew was making warm apple sauce for Em...
We read stories by the fire and sang her to sleep by the fire. It was great to sit and listen to Drew sing(!) by the fire. There is something so peaceful about a sleeping child. She was OUT.



She didn't wake up until about 8a.m. Sunday, which is longer than she usually sleeps! She doesn't look like it, but she was ready to GO! We decided to go for a walk and try to spot some dear. Emma has a book that my brother and sister-in-law got her for Christmas about a fawn in the woods. She was very excited to see one!!

Walking and looking.

We spotted a couple, but no babes.
"back to the campsite" is what she would say when she saw our tent and car... and back to playing with "Eskimo sticks" - still wondering about that one.




BLUEBERRIES!!! TONS of HUGE blueberries! We went back to the lavender farm that also had berries and other produce. I forgot the camera in the car, so I didn't get any of the massive clumps hanging off the bush, (or the powerful poo Em had while we were out there) but took a few when we got back to the car.... we need a bigger freezer. DELICIOUS!! Emma liked the green ones - oddly enough. We had to cut her off, as we had quite a drive and a ferry ride ahead of us and our diaper supply was dwindling.

The Ferry... we love the ferry.


Almost home....





I'll try to delete this one and get a better video of her playing up soon....