Seattle odds and ends

Here's Cora the Explorer - sorry, couldn't resist that one! Too easy!

We picked up this Dora suitcase the night before our trip, and our little traveler couldn't have been more proud of it. It's garish. Obnoxious. Cheaply made. But as soon as Cora saw it in Toys R Us, she "loved" it. As it was the only small rolling suitcase we could find that evening, we had no other option. She packed and repacked it several times, all by herself.

Aunt Patty turned Alison's old bedroom into Cora's room, and Cora firmly adopted it as her own. She slept in a real big-girl bed - a twin size - for the first time, with lots of cozy covers and sheets.
Thankfully, Bill and Patty have saved lots of toys, so Cora had books, Duplos, Hotwheels, and trains and track to occupy her. She was excited to show Alison, her boyfriend Tyler and his family "her room and her toys" when they came over for dinner.
Here, she is asleep holding a tucked-in Woody, which belonged to my cousin William, during a nap. But when we returned home, she decided she still doesn't like the Woody she was given for Christmas from Grandma and Grandpa.

No visit with Aunt Patty would be complete without some kid-assisted baking! Here, she and Alison involve Cora and a friend, Jenna, with cupcake baking.

Uncle Bill bonding with Violet... who did great on the trip! She got a little squirmy on the airplane, but not bad at all. She was generally happy in Seabeck, and slept pretty well in a travel playpen at night and during naps.
Cora's first firepit! We had promised Cora a fire and marshmallows, so even though it was late when we got back from Mt. Rainier, Uncle Bill gathered the kindling. Another great memory was had, complete with shooting stars in the bright night sky.

On our way home Wednesday, Cora the Explorer traveled by foot, car, boat, airplane and train! (The train was a terminal connection system at the airport.) She loved the ferry, and had fun feeding the seagulls. That's what brought out the huge smile you see above.

Violet enjoying the wind and sun... I had a similar photo taken with Cora on her five-month-old trip to Seattle, so I wanted to recreate that moment. For more on that trip, you can click here and read the posts from July 7-11.

Swinging into Poulsbo

Not far from Uncle Bill and Aunt Patty's village of Seabeck is the adorable Norway-focused village of Poulsbo.

We spent Monday afternoon there and enjoyed a late lunch at the Hare and Hounds, an English pub. Since Violet was missing a nap, and doesn't nap too well when we're out, Aunt Patty worked her magic so I could enjoy my lunch (and pint of IPA).

We strolled through the cute downtown, admired some beautiful waterfront homes, and ended up at a crowded park.

It was Columbus Day, and it was nice to see so many families enjoying the sunny weather outside together.

Cora had her first time on a playground merry-go-round, and her laughter could be heard far and wide.

She is getting so big and strong! A year ago I would have been nervous about her playing on one of these, with the bigger boys pushing it so fast. But she's just fine.

Violet had her first time in the swing! For some reason, I haven't put her in our neighborhood's swing yet, and I'm glad, because it meant that Stace got to be part of her experience.

She loved it, as you can see.

When I watched the following video on the computer, it made me a little seasick, so be warned. But, it is great to hear her little laugh!

Walk in the Woods

Uncle Bill and Aunt Patty's homeowners' association allows them access to a rocky beach packed with clams and oysters.

Cora had a great time collecting shells and small stones, once she got over the fact that "going to the beach" doesn't always mean playing in the water in swimsuits.

Uncle Bill cracked open an oyster and a clam, and Violet got a good sniff. Cora didn't want to get that close.

He also turned over logs, and we found spiders, beetles and a mouse nest. That's great stuff when you're three!

We then took a nice walk in the woods, and checked out huge mushrooms and toadstools.

Stace found a new trick for getting Cora to better cooperate with photos, too. If he allows or instructs us all to be silly for a couple of shots, she'll usually then acquiesce to smiling nicely for another photo.

This came after another photo struggle, in which Cora at first kept sticking her tongue out, and after a stern talking-to, smiled nicely, with her eyes shut.

Later, she found a giant leaf and played peekaboo with Violet.

Mount Rainier

We came home from Seattle on Wednesday evening, and I took Thursday to unpack and attack the laundry.
Now, I have a moment to update the blog...

We had a fantastic trip! We made a number of happy memories we will carry with us forever.

Perhaps tops on that list was our trip Tuesday to Mt. Rainier. Now I've been up to visit my aunt and uncle countless times since they moved from SoCal 17 years ago, and this was my first trip to the glacial-volcanic monster, which reaches more than 14,400 feet into the sky.

Forgive this picture-heavy post, but as you can see, the views were breathtaking. (Remember that you can click a photo to see it larger on your screen.)

The mountain itself is amazing, dominating the skyline for hundreds of miles on a clear day. (This is the Northwest, so "clear days" are special. We were very blessed with gorgeous weather, as you can see.)

Coming in the fall added to the scenery. The brush was burgandy, peach and salmon, begging to be admired.

We parked near the visitors' center and "hiked" a few miles on a couple of different trails. The trails were all paved, so the difficulty was in the thin air and steepness of the grade.

The weather was great, sunny and crisp but not too cold. We saw deer, blue jays, hawks and chipmunks.

Cora had an amazing time. I have memories of Uncle Bill carrying me on his shoulders in Yosemite when I was four, and I hope she likewise remembers this trip!

She hiked like a champion, and tackled a set of rock stairs on her own, "all by myself!" with no help from Daddy. She was very proud of herself, as you can see, posing with Stace by the "Skyline Trail" sign.

Violet also enjoyed herself, in her stroller and later in an infant carrier on Aunt Patty's back.

The only thing better about this part of our trip would have been to stay the night near the park. It's about a two-hour drive from Seabeck, and with two little ones, longer than that. Next time!

In Seabeck

We are at Bill and Patty's house!

After a three-year-absence for me and Cora, and longer for Stace, we are having a delightful time with my favorite aunt and uncle.

They live on 2 1/2 acres out in the country west of Seattle, and Cora loved helping Aunt Patty to pick three baskets full of apples from their three-tree orchard.

Cora also helped peel, core and slice the apples, and we've all enjoyed drinking their juice.

Cora and Aunt Patty made a batch, and then Uncle Bill, Stace, and my cousin Alison's boyfriend Tyler made more than a quart more. It's amazing how much better fresh juice tastes than the juice we buy at the store!

The weather our first two days was typical Pacific Northwest, but today (Monday) was nice and it's supposed to be good the rest of our trip.

We got in late Friday night, and spent Saturday recovering and relaxing. Cora and Patty picked apples, we ate very well, and Stace and Bill worked on Bill's new addition. He bought a 1961 Sunbeam Alpine (a British classic) that needs a lot of love, and Stace helped him clean up the engine. They were very pleased to find that it wasn't frozen (whatever that means).

Now, Stace is searching Craig's List for classic cars, in earnest. Thanks, Uncle Bill.

Ten years later

JT and Jim have been in town, and we were lucky enough to have them stay with us overnight.

At top, we have JT and Cora making cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Yum!

Unfortunately it was quite rainy on their day with us, so there wasn't a lot of fun to be had outside. Their first week here set records with crazy heat, and their second week featured several rainy days. Not fun!

On Wednesday night, we also had Jason, Stephanie and baby Morgan over for dinner.

Jason, Stephanie, JT and I were friends in college, and Jason, JT and I were all editors on Pepperdine's newspaper.

Here we are 10 years later, with our kiddos. Wait - you don't see JT's kiddo? That's because Baby Neal is still in utero. We're so excited for them!

Come early February, JT and Jim will join us all in joy of parenthood.

At least, we are guessing it will be early February...
Baby Morgan was supposed to make her appearance at the end of August, but she broke free early - two months early! Praise God, she seems to be doing just fine, after weeks in the NICU and lots of doctor appointments. She's now over eight pounds, and succeeded in making Violet seem huge.

Great job, Stace!

Stace was busy over the weekend finishing up some house projects.

Violet's room is now fit for a baby girl. Stace put up a wallpaper border, painted the fan blades sage green and hung some pictures.

Above the changing table is a beautiful verse from the Velveteen Rabbit, a gift made by our friend David on his letter press machine.

On the other wall we have up our scroll from the county celebrating Violet's birth - a lovely surprise gift since I haven't worked covering the county for 3 1/2 years now.

(Yes, Violet's middle name isn't quite right, but I think it's beautiful just the same.)

Stace was also busy over the weekend putting up curtains in the playroom. They are thermal curtains, so they should help during our heat waves and cold spells since that room isn't well insulated.

I took a closeup photo to show the pattern - I think they look really nice with my grandparents' couch.

And, one last brag on Stace.

(drumroll...)

He is the new supervisor of the manufacturing engineers! His promotion was announced a week ago and took effect Monday. I'm so proud of him; he's very effective in his job and it's great to have that noticed.

Tidbits

Somer has been doing so much better since we gave her a steroid shot the day we got her cancer diagnosis. She is eating a can of the special food a day, and that means she has put weight back on. She has been more active with the girls, and Violet is definitely taking notice of her. She stares at her now, and sometimes tries to pet/grab Somer if she comes close.

Cora got to take Skippy, the Skipper Club mascot, home for the week. He and Nemo both shared Cora's bed. Stace was laughing about having to tuck in a plastic fish.

Our pretty girl. I bought some little bows for Violet but they all require a lot more hair than Violet has. With a few spare dollars on an Amazon gift card, I treated Violet to a bow made just for her.
Grandma has been off this week from her school job, so I put her to work in Cora's classroom. Cora's preschool requires us parents to volunteer without bringing siblings of the students, so I timed two of our volunteer dates for my mom's week off.

Five months!

At five months, Violet is ready to play with sister's computer!

Cora still loves playing with her baby sister. In fact, when I have to wake Cora up from a nap - never a great thing because she often wakes up crabby - I like to bring Violet with me because it usually improves her mood.

Nice bracelet?

I steamed our carpets this week, so Violet spent a night in our room in the playpen while her carpet dried. I read a book on babies (Babywise II) that recommends using the playpen regularly, for a safe place for baby to play, and to get them used to sleeping in places other than their own crib. Cora was a great sleeper from three weeks old, but she slept so well only in her own bed. Vacations weren't good at night with her until she was two. I'm hoping we can improve that with Violet.

Peekaboo!

I was forced to switch our stroller setup Thursday after Stroller Strides. I've had Violet in the main seat, all the way down, which is the setup when you have a tiny infant and a bigger kid. She turned herself over and could have come out if she had tried hard enough (and I wasn't paying attention). I liked her back there because it was so shady; with her in the back seat properly, she is in the sun, and it's been too hot for long pants and sleeves.

Violet can sit on her own for about 30 seconds now! She is so strong... I have to be determined and quick to get her buckled into her car seat when she doesn't want to be strapped - she can flip over fast, or arch her back with power. I also notice her strength when I'm trying to burp her and she would rather keep nursing - she'll wriggle around and fuss.

We went to the doctor's today to finish up her four-month shots. She was 15 1/2 pounds on the doctor's scale, wearing clothes and a diaper. Other Violet five-month tidbits? She loves laughing at her sister's silliness, has started noticing the cat (who is still doing pretty well) and loves to spit, or blow raspberries. She especially likes doing it to the baby in the mirror, and loves to make us laugh by blowing raspberries.