Gettin' into trouble

Just having fun at home with our little mischief-maker.


Fun in mom's closet.

Cooking!

Laundry basket = book tub

They turned out...orange!

My attempt at basketball-decorated sugar cookies for the team slumber party.

Merry and Happy!

Sarah and Mom


Tree


Bedtime story

We had a wonderful Christmas with our princess at the Lundahl house in Lacey. B is starting to understand holidays which is really fun--in the middle of a family gathering she stopped what she was doing, looked around at everyone and said "Christmas" for the first time. She had a great day playing with her toys, aunts, uncles, grandma, and pets.

Hello Santa!

We visited Santa on Saturday at the Mary Bridge Children's Hospital Tree Festival. It was B's very first experience with Santa and it was too cute. The festival was beautiful and it presented a good opportunity to remind B that "Christmas trees are not for touching". Thanks to aunts Laura and Kendra for coming with us to take pictures!

We had her 2 year appointment today--she's still a stringbean at 35 inches (95%) and 23.5 lbs (10%). Her pediatrician said she's wonderfully healthy--and busy! We knew THAT already.

Party with a capital B!

We had B's family birthday party today. By the end, she was so hyper I thought I'd never get her to bed. Presents and cupcakes will do that to a girl! Luckily, she conked out as soon as our guests left. Oh, and Steve was at the party--just behind the camera most of the time!

I still CANNOT believe I have a full-fledged two-year-old on my hands! B, however, definitely knows she's a two--she refused to wear her skirt, her tiara, or her shoes (all specially picked by mommy for the party). This is a phase, right...then I get my agreeable baby back? Right?????? OK, don't tell me!

Thanks to everyone who shared this special day with us!
B's little fingers could not resist a swipe at the frosting.


Happy birthday, sweet girl!

And...it's good!

Cannot...eat...fast...enough.

Silly B with Aunt Kendra.


Pressies.

I'm noticing a theme!

Night nights...just a few more minutes with our new toys.

Go Tigers

B got to spend her birthday evening watching at her first Tiger game. She loved watching the cheerleaders and she was so excited when she got home, she couldn't stop cheering! 6 p.m. is usually the most wild and crazy time of the night, right before she crashes. :)

Piano and playdough

On Monday, we drove up to Redmond for a relaxed play day with Jillian and Holly...and it turns out, some pretty serious piano lessons!

Pretty baby Holly.

"Look, Holly...I'm gonna need that toy."

Reading to Holly.

Reading with Aunt Bec.

Jilly making pizza with playdough...or was it waffles?

Teaching piano to babies. It's a tough job.


No, like THIS!


Whooo hooo, she's getting it!

Cupcakes!

B is getting a bit picky about her sweets--imagine! My own daughter! She turned up her nose at birthday cake this past weekend and doesn't seem to like chocolate, so I wanted to make sure that she would get to enjoy her birthday cake at her party on Saturday. Elisabeth knew of a great cupcake bakery (New York Cupcakes) at Crossroads in Bellevue so we went up for a tasting--oh who am I kidding, it was just an excuse to eat some cake!

As the pics show, B absolutely loved the cupcakes. Pengis one and two got some as well. I can't wait to serve them at her party. What a treat. And HEY! Crossroads is a cute little mall with some fun shops (one was called--I think--Common Folk Clothing Co.--adorable clothes and neat toys) and a great food court.

Two more Thanksgiving weekend photos

B with aunt Julie, and back at home, trying her tiara on Syl.

Giving thanks

I'm not sure that B really "gets" Thanksgiving yet...we checked out a book from the library, but without big visible symbols (like Santa and Christmas trees) it just doesn't make a lot of sense to a 2-year-old. What Thanksgiving really needs is a mascot, just to get the kiddos on board. The turkey fairy, perhaps?

Anyway, we had a great turkey day in Redmond. Bianca had a blast running around with her cousins--they ran around and she followed, laughing and thinking that she was every bit a "big girl" too. :) Unfortately I didn't get too many photos of the actual day.

The following day the Jacobson's threw a fourth birthday party for cousin Sophia. Bianca wasn't sure about wearing her tiara but she was happy to try it on the cat when we got home. :)

B at the piano.

Farmor helping B with her tiara.



Sophia's got hops!

We have so many things that we're thankful for--our beautiful healthy daughter, our family and friends, and the fact that we're finally back home in the Puget Sound.

Storytime

Reading to her baby. AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. More and more, we're finding out little bookworm happy in her glider, reading with a pile of books. If this is what two is like, I think we can handle it!

Tears and scissors

Well, molars suck. Big time. My poor girl is suffering, and she barely napped today, but with the holidays coming up I was desperate to get her hair trimmed, so off to a kiddie-hair salon (Zoie and Friends at 6th and Orchard) we went. I didn't take a camera and I'm glad because it was a bit hairy, no pun intended. The stylist did a good job of being patient with us, and I ended up holding her for her entire cut. But, we managed, and B's little locks are finally evening out. She looks like such a big girl I can hardly believe it. I think when other people look at her, they see a child, not a baby. I still see the baby. Maybe I always will--maybe that's part of being a mom.

Today at Costco she had to touch every red thing she saw. This week she's thrilled by triangles, and the letters H and W. It's not from Sesame Street, because we're leaving the TV mostly off during her waking hours. At Costco, she was entertained by an audio recording of some CDs for sale, and she stood and danced(Steve stayed with her) while I picked out some gifts for family. She had a ball dancing but when it was time to go, she simply said "bye bye music". And she pushed the stroller all the way to the car (braking, of course, for red things).

When we got home, she decided, completely on her own, that she wanted to reorganize her bookshelf. Her obessions and ideas come from the same place as her dance moves--the incredible, mysterious toddler brain of hers. Can't wait to see what's next (I think!!!)

One more

One more from last night: I call this one her "aunt Laura" pic. :)