Parties

Charlotte was all dressed up for a memorial service honoring my stepmother's wonderful life on Saturday.
On Sunday we went to Ollie's first birthday. Edison was a little overwhelmed by all the excitement and the lack of his afternoon nap.
Edison & his friend Jamie at the kiddie table.
There were 11 kids there - kind of crazy!
Charlotte and the birthday boy, Ollie, in baby jail.

Visits with Friends

I just love this one of Charlotte. Her face in this picture is so similar to that of a photo of my mother (Charlotte's Nana) when she was a toddler.
Eben is away at sea - okay, the Great Lakes - for a few weeks to complete a certification program. While he's gone, we've been able to see a lot of our friends. On Saturday my friend Sara came over with her son, Ollie. It has been awhile since Charlotte has hung out with this cool dude. He turned one today! Happy Birthday, Ollie!
We actually had a sunny weekend for a change. But it was a still cool and a little windy. Nevertheless, we met my friend Natasha and her two kids: Ronin (3) and Lenin (4 mos.) at the park on Sunday. The kids were never in one spot, so I didn't end up getting any pictures of them together. Check out the green grass though - everything is starting to grow here again and I'm so happy about it!
On Sunday night my friends Ashley & Brad had us over for a fantastic spinach and black bean lasagna dinner (sounds kind of funny, but it was amazing!). Charlotte got to play with Pierce, who is only a couple weeks older than she is.
Meanwhile, Edison got to play with his buddy, Colin. They are less than a week apart. (Ashley and I actually met in our birth class.) And I got to catch up with Ashley - which was divine!
Here's to great friends!

Time with Granddad

Edison & Charlotte crawling under the buffet - they made it their fort for the afternoon.
Charlotte playing in her room.

Edison & Charlotte got a big box of stuffed animals from Ms. Hirsch. Of course, Edison likes the box, too. Thank you for your generosity!
On Mondays, Granddad picks Edison up at school and they come home to play together. He stays for dinner and we have a great time during these visits. He is a great reader.
Finally - a break in the rain showers and we can go outside!
Charlotte was full of energy last night. Lots of dancing and wiggling

MARCH - In the Play Room

We didn't do anything in particular last week- just lots of time in the play room. Charlotte likes playing with the hammer.
Charlotte likes using Edison's bike as a walker.

Edison is ready for party time!
Check out that stare!

A Visit from Uncle Matt & Chrissy

My cousin Matt and his girlfriend Chrissy flew out from DC to visit us. We had a great time! Matt always brings the fresh powder when he comes - we went skiing his first day in town with about 2 feet of fresh powder at Stevens Pass. It was an amazing day.

Edison adores his Uncle Matt - probably because Matt is willing to get down on the floor and play games with him. During Matt's visit, the first thing out of Edison's mouth every morning was "Where's Uncle Matt?" The second thing? He would ask for Chrissy - who is also amazing with our kids. Number three? Breakfast!
We spent a chilly day being tourists in Seattle. This is a picture from the waterfront.

Yours truly with Charlotte at the Pike Place Market.

It was super cold - and windy (you can see the white caps). But, it was a beautiful day on Puget Sound! The Olympic Mountains are in the distance (looking west from Seattle waterfront).

Charlotte is nine months old now. She is starting to "cruise" around - walk around while holding on to furniture. Here she shows off her new moves.

A Visit From Uncle Palmer

Eben's twin brother, Palmer, flew out to visit for the long weekend. We had a blast! On Saturday we went to the lovely Bavarian mountain town of Leavenworth.

On the way home we stopped at Stevens Pass to do some sledding. Here is Palmer with Edison. They definitely look alike.

Edison definitely enjoyed the snow and has started to really like sledding.

As you can see, it was an absolutely gorgeous day. But... Charlotte was not feeling that well. We were all wondering why she was so fussy. I like to call this the "before" picture....
Five minutes later... the "after" picture. Charlotte threw up all over herself (inside her snow suit) and all over me (inside my jacket, inside my sweatshirt, inside my shirt, in my hair). YUCK! It was definitely hard to clean up after that. We pulled the plug and headed home as best we could. Charlotte is getting over this little virus and is feeling much better.

The Zoo

We went to Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle last weekend. The theme for Edison's class at school this month is the zoo, so it was neat to be able to make connections between what he was learning about and the actual animals. He liked the gorillas a lot - especially because a gorilla stars in one of his favorite books, "Good Night Gorilla."

Edison also enjoyed the elephants. Not featured in photos but also big favorites: the giraffes, the meer cats and the tigers.
Charlotte liked the zoo, but she is equally impressed with our cats - getting all worked up with giddy every time she sees them. Featured here is Winnie.
On Sunday we went skiing. Since we didn't have anyone to watch the kids, we took them with us. Fortunately we went with our friends Matt & Lisa. Between the four of us, we took shifts with the kids at the lodge. It wasn't ideal, but it worked okay.
At the base area of Stevens Pass.