Not a Public Announcement

Today was another field trip...luckiest kid in the class... Olivia's lesson today was about the immigration process. We witnessed 145 individuals become US citizens (2 of our friends specifically). I heard them all swear to denounce all other sovereigns, princes and the like. It was something. My three observations of the ceremony - (1) it was like graduation - no matter how many times you ask people to NOT cheer, they still will, and the announcer looks like scum asking them to hold applause till the end (2) its a contemporary ceremony not traditional - I was expecting some marching band music but instead the country song "I'm Proud to be an American" and (3) a greeting from Obama - just think of all the administrative hoohaw that happens with a new president! JR and I joke about the marketing expense of WAMU becoming Chase (signs, stationary, deposit slips...) the US government is no better!

Congratulations new citizens!

Christmas in July

Good thing its not Christmas yet. I'm really hoping something I make for this child will fit. I had big ideas that her infant wardrobe would be fine knitted cashmere and silks. Instead she regularly wears cotton from Carter's with the most retarded wording. "mommies dream come true! - Grandma's sweetie!". I'm a bit of a sucker for these things at times...but I don't want a walking billboard unless it is for the brand "stephani marie". We'll see how long I can keep her from promoting the Fortune 500 brands - I'm sure Bert and Ernie will soon be blazing from her clothing. I sure hope not.

I made a collection of winter gear last July. I went a bit crazy - but I was performing a stash busting event trying to use all the yarn possible. Next time I'll make a variety of items rather than one item in a variety of colors. I had enough yarn for two Santa hats so I planned ahead (just like her wardrobe) and made the infant and small versions. Looks like the small will fit just about right come December. I can hear it now "Santa will you bring me..."

Nah thats not it - it'd be..."Santa I'll trade you a hat for a..." Now THATS my girl!

Record Temps

100.8 - that is the temp of her head not the air temp in Seattle. We have our first cold. Its mild and so is her complaining. No kids with 'the fever' are allowed at 'the daycare' - so we're home juggling email, conf calls, baths, snot and tylenol.

Seattle is recording some of its highest temps of the season. JR and I do a high five for A/C on a regular basis these days. The ROI on that silly, impractical investment...turned out to be pretty good!

Full Service

Remember the days of full service gas? These days that is a rare thing. I remember grandma NEVER filled her own tank, she always got full service at Pie Town. The guy would fill-up, clean her windshield and then bring the little tray with the receipt to sign (did she tip?). Even way back then she was ahead of her time using credit for everything...wonder if she got cash back? JR and I both hate the fill up - we'll argue over who has to do it. I typically pull the girl card and play up chivalry (and win). I've been known to drive home with spark plus mis-firing to avoid stopping for gas. Lawn mower fuel is my savior!

This weekend was a trip to the Lavender Festival. Unfortunately it was a bust. We have become accustomed to spontaneity (aka procrastination) but life with baby is keeping us - me - more on our toes. Last year we did our research, hopped in the plane, landed, walked across the street and enjoyed the free transportation to all the lavender farms. This year we skipped the research, hopped in the plane, landed, walked across the street and found Angel Farm was closed...no free transportation to town and the main festival. Crap. AND we had our first lap child event so no car seat on this flight - which means no cab to the festival. So back in the plane we went and flew to lunch at the Howard Hugh's place I can't remember the name of. Decent recovery but hopefully someone learns their lesson! I think in this photo Olivia is trying to tell dad he's coming in a little hot and should go around...

Who was that?

We must have quite a lot of blog readers. Olivia keeps getting photo requests...and they are not just from me! We were playing tourist today. We hit the market and Starbucks. Olivia was in her chariot and it seems she was very popular. A photo request occurred on more than one occasion. People could not get enough of her or her 'ride'.

This is also a good example of her new 'smile'. I'm not sure what happened but she now is closed mouth smiling with a sprinkle of crinkly nose and a snort or two. Its quite funny. In this photo she is not only displaying her new smiling skill...but her grab your hair and pull skill...poor groupies...they don't complain.

Got Spinach

She's a regular Popeye the Sailor. We made baby food today and in the process thought we would let her have a taste or two. Well we must have forgotten what time it was or something because she sat down and had Thanksgiving dinner for one. She chowed down big time on spinach - you couldn't get it to her black hole fast enough. Then I thought lets finish with some fruit, some desert to finish the meal you know. In the meantime I kept making the rest of my bounty. After the fruit disappeared she licked the blender from the green beans and washed it down with a sippy cup of milk. We don't know where she hid everything that went into her mouth - but we're pretty sure which side we'll be seeing it from again. So far she's experienced - avocado, cucumber, oatmeal, banana, fruit cocktail, strawberry, blueberry, green beans, spinach and carrots. I'm not sure which was her favorite...eating seems to be enough of a favorite - what doesn't seem to matter.

Self Port 2.0

We had pretty much perfected the self portrait. Several of our best shots are taken from Jon's own arm. We had finally gotten so good - Jon's self portraits are actually much more reliable than the generosity of others. We typically turn down offers from passers-by to 'take our picture'. What they create is generally not worth the digital memory. Our next challenge is to determine how to get Liv into the self port. This weekend was our first attempt. It took several attempts, but we got close to something worth keeping. We've got to teach Liv about timing her smile...but we'll get there. Practice makes perfect!