Luka

dancing queen

2011-05-26T00:24:00.001-07:00

This girl has moves I've never seen before!

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Mama's day 2011

2011-05-10T12:58:00.000-07:00

The Scene: 8 am, mama in bed, bubbly girl "checking" on a sleeping in mama.

Luka: HI MAMA! It's a mama's day!

Mama: Ya, it is. (smiling)

minutes later, papa joins the snuggling.

Papa: Luka, did you remember to tell Mama what day it is?

Luka: Yep, it's a Mamas day.

Mama: Lu, did you know there's a papa's day too, and it's coming up?

Luka: YA!! A papa's day, a mama's day, ANNNNDDD A LUKA's Day!! (with extreme excitement!)

I had a great mothers day. Breakfast, coffee, family, family, food and more family. I love my family. No [literal] pampering for me for mothers day, but my family sure is a joy and it's such a pleasure to entertain them in our home - that was the pampering I needed.

2011-03-15T22:23:00.000-07:00

I was looking for something on the computer the other day and found this gem. I can't remember Luka being this small when we moved to this house. She's so tiny and baby like. It's crazy when you look at them and think they are so advanced, but really it's just your mama ears that understand everything your kid says.

I really miss my baby. I'm by no means saying that I am not fully enjoying my sweet, funny, talkative, assertive, and expressive toddler. I just miss my baby. Thank goodness for this digital age where we can capture nearly everything.

Love you baby Lu. Love you big girl Lu.

More No-hi-ee... please

2011-02-08T00:32:00.000-08:00

I needed another Hawaii fix, and remembered that I had not loaded my pics from my Nikon. How can you not take a good picture with such incredible subjects. The landscape and the kid... ok so enough with the words and on with the pics. (but read on at the end)

The Curls.

This is what happens when your kid sleeps for 3 hours on the beach. They wake up dancing! Wouldn't you?!

14.5 years... still in love and hotter than we were when we met.

Canoe ride!


We're on stage at the Luau. I'm listening... Luka? Not so much. She knows her own dance.

The trip was really fantastic. You know how when you are on the plane on the way home and your exhausted and ready to be home and you feel stuffy, and stuck and tired and need to pee and need to stretch your legs...... dot dot dot, you feel like you're gonna loose it if the plane does not land NOW. Well try having all that and being 2. It's hard. And she lost it a little on the way home.

Let me set the scene: (imagine shrill screaming) "YOUR HURTING ME!!!!!!!!!" The seat belt is jammed up in her ribs but only because she's doing that little slippery move that only a child can do and the seat belt is no longer on her hips where it should be. So she unbuckles it. Over and over and over and over again. The nice stewardess comes by and offers help: "Hi Honey, the pilot needs to land the plane so you've got to put your belt on so we can land. Can you buckle up?" she said it so sweetly. "DOOOOON'T TALK TO ME! DON'T LOOK AT ME" (again screaming shrilly). I want to laugh and cry all at the same time.
I choose instead to ignore her. While I'm ignoring her, I'm suddenly thankful for the bastard last row of the airplane -don't recline - everybody's butt in your face while they wait for the toilet and shimmy around each other to make room for the beverage service cart (which is gonna take 800 years to get to us) - seats we are in. I'm thankful because there is no one behind us to watch us in our moment of toddler beauty. Dan and I look at each other and give each other the nod. It's the - we can't say anything else that will make this better so we just need to stop - nod. Then like a smack in the face I remember all the times I've spent in judgment of parents. Now, mind you I'm understanding and accepting, and don't go around hating on people. But given this situation I probably would have said some nasty mean thoughts about their parenting skills. "Oh great. Just ignore her, that's gonna help." or how about this one? "Woah, control your child". Ya, I've said those things before. I've even said them after being a parent. But who am I kidding some time's control is just gone. Some times you just lose it. Some times you have to stop feeding the beast for it to quit.

We stopped feeding the beast, and after about 5 minutes, she was quiet. And we made home safe. No one punched us, no one said anything to us, and no one even turned around to look at us in disgust.

mama, let's go to "no-hi-ee"

2011-01-26T14:58:00.000-08:00

We've just returned from a family vacation to Hawaii. Dan's company sent him for a conference, and we tagged along to take advantage of the fact that his airfare, and room were paid for. We stayed in Waikiki at the Marriott. Lu and I had 2 days together while Dan attended his conference. We hung out at the pool & the beach both days. It was a blast. It's a struggle to figure out how to get a kid to nap and go to bed at night when there are so many exciting things to do in the pool, but we managed. We rented a car for the weekend and toured the island, stopping at a couple of truly beautiful places.

Diva, walking down the street with her smoothie telling me some story.

The best thing about going to Hawaii with such a cute little talkitive toddler, was listening to her say, Ah LOOOOOOOWWW HAH!! and calling Hawaii "No-hi-hee".

Too cute.

Her Infinate Wisdom: PART 2

2011-01-14T22:18:00.000-08:00

From the mouth of my child as I cried in frustration:

"Mama, calm down. Calm down, mama."

From the mouth of my child as I stared at her with a spaced out 'I don't feel good' look:

"Still not feeling good, Mama? awwww, It's ok, Mama"

From the mouth of my child as we looked at each other in the mirror. (Me with Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye))

"Lemme see your eye, Mom. Yep, It's still pink, Mama."

From the mouth of my child as she described.... well we werent really sure for a few weeks: (Imagine arms spread out wide and sweeping around in slow dancer like motions)

'It's Magiloke!!"

We figured out a few weeks later, Magiloke = Magical. I wish I had never corrected her.

From the mouth of my child as she asks what you are doing:

"Papa, what are you're doing?"

2011-01-10T08:16:00.000-08:00

Mama: Maker of eggs, protector of stuffed kitty cats.

About 45 minutes into her nap today, Luka came into the living room with her pants around her ankles... I think she must have been trying to go potty and was still really sleepy and confused about how to pull her pants up. She cried for a bit, and then came up into my lap. I was working on some things for my business that I've needed to get done, but forced my self to be in the moment. "How often is it that I get to have my child sleep in my arms any more?" I asked my self. She slept and she slept and she slept, making this a pretty record nap. It gave me a comfort that I have not felt in a while.

I am needed every day, for most everything. Wiping butts, kissing owies, changing clothes, making food, dropping off at school, answering questions, playing dolls, reading books... loving my child. 2 years ago I had a 6 month old child and was just heading back to work for the first time since delivering her. What a difference 2 years can make. Today as Luka slept in my arms (after I was able to transition us to a much more comfortable prone position on the couch) I looked at her face the way I was able to do when she was a baby. I stared at her for at least an hour. I didn't have to talk, answer questions, or do anything. I just had to sit and watch her breathe. Admire her face - those cute lips, her sweet soft skin. It was incredible.

It was hard after laying there for a while to not try and find something I could do while I laid with her on top of me. I kept forcing my self to be in the moment and be thankful that this is what my call of duty was at the moment. Reminding my self to be thankful it was not fielding a tantrum, or listening to whining, or rejecting another request to watch a movie. I just had to simply stare and love and breathe in a sweet, gorgeous, happy (for the time being) child.
These 2's have been hard on me recently. I've spent a few days wondering if it would be worth it for me to go back to work full time so that I could send her to school instead of being home with her part time. It's not worth it. Not after today at least. But ask me again on Wednesday after I've been home with her for 2 full days.

Her Infinate Wisdom: PART 1

2010-11-07T23:07:00.000-08:00

Luka has many things to share and many of them are so insightful. For those who have children, you will know exactly what I am saying. For those of you with out kids, these are those kind of things that come out of your childs' mouth that make you stop in your tracks and reevaluate, refocus, and remember what it's like to go about your day with curiosity, wonder, and simplicity.

While driving to the beach for a picnic, Lu saw the park out her window. She changed her mind and wanted to have our picnic there instead. So we followed her nose and turned to head to the park. There was a ton of construction and so I was not able to take the usual route I would have taken. I turned down a side street and the construction blocked my way again. I said out loud: "shoot, I went the wrong way." Luka pipes in from the back seat: "It's ok Mama, It's not the wrong way it's just another way."

Where her infinate wisdom comes from at such a young age I don't know, but I am happy to have it.

Thanks Luka.

Happy Halloween

2010-11-01T01:22:00.000-07:00

Glowing Pumpkin, Roaring fire, Sweet baby profile

Hope everyone had a fantastical Halloween. The clock ticks on and my child (and us) gets older by the minute and I am sitting by watching (not idly, mind you) this crazy miracle happen. She's so amazing. So wonderful, and full of..... amazing things. Tonight she walked up to the door of several homes alone (we were standing closely... don't worry) knocked, and quietly said "Trick or treat!" and then with some occasional prodding remembered to say thank you. Everytime someone kneeled to offer her the candy bowl, she shouted "Um, tsk (sort of a 'tisk' sound of her tongue) I like.... OH! The princess one." She refused to let anyone carry her candy bucket, even when it weighed her down, and made her wobble from side to side with each step as she tried to schlep it with her weight. We only went to a handful of houses! One guy just about dumped the whole bowl in her bucket. We met up with friends at a little Halloween party at C&P coffee. It was awesome! So many decorations, kids and fun kid stuff. Cam was out back behind the half door attaching "fish" (aka goodie bags) to the fishing pole, pizza was on the table and the C&P gaggle ran amok. It was lovely. Eiler and Luka took to the streets after an hour or so of partying and raked in quite a load. I had hoped that the night would begin a little sooner so that we could come home for a fire and to pass candy out to the other trick-or-treaters. But maybe next year... How do people normally do it? One parent goes out with the kids, and the other stays home?

Well enjoy the fun I had playing with our Halloween photos below... Happy Halloween!


Having Fun with Picnik.com - Goulish little Cowgirls

This is how she poses for me. I have about 15 shots of this.


Another fun Picnik.com thing

Transitions

2010-10-19T22:22:00.001-07:00

Tonight we took the side rail off Luka's crib. We purchased a twin big girl bed for her the other day, but it seemed like too much of a jump to put her in the giant twin straight from a crib. So we took the front rail off and added the toddler guards.

Our usual nightly routine is Lu's special ni-night song which involves an ending where I am cradling her in my arms and then I lay her down. Tonight I made it as far as laying her down before she stopped me and said, "no mama, I do it my self". She then crawled out of bed and climbed back up in with a big smile on her face. I still tucked her in. ;)

15 minutes later she climbed out of bed and came to the door to tell me that her binky fell down. But its been about 30 minutes and I think were good. I am not kidding myself to think that my smartie little girl is not going to figure out ways to push the envelope... I know there will be nights I end up with a toddler in my bed, but I love my little girl even when she is skeeming.

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Luka at her first Concert

2010-10-18T09:58:00.000-07:00

I am a HUGE Ray LaMontagne fan. If you don't know who he is, go find him. He's an amazing lyricist, vocalist, instrumentalist etc. I love him and could listen (and do listen) most every day. I came unglued when they added Seattle to their recent tour. We initially were going to have a date night, but we decided that Lu would love it too so we brought her. She did in fact love it. The people you'll hear laughing are our "neighbors" on the grass. They loved her. I love it when she see's their faces and realizes that they are giggling at her.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyN-IytgoLY

laughter is the best remedy

2010-10-18T09:36:00.001-07:00

This video was a little late to catch the best of the laughter, but its pretty good.

Lu and Gracie have bot seen eachother in a while and we got to hang out for the afternoon. Much of the day was filled with side splitting laughter. Not just for them but for me.

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Potty funnies

2010-10-10T00:06:00.000-07:00

Luka is doing a pretty dang good job on the potty. She's struggling a little with the #2's and has had a few accidents.... but we are on a path to success. The other night things were a little too quiet, and Lu's door to her room was shut. Dan cracked the door slightly to see what she was doing. He found her on the potty pinching her nose closed from the stink. Ha Ha.

*Yes, the potty is in her room because that's where she would go to make #2's.

Changes

2010-09-21T00:31:00.000-07:00

Times are changing in the Jaramillo house. For 1 year and 5 months of Luka's life she has spent 3 days of her weeks with Addie, our nanny and Addie's daughter, Gracie. After several months of trying my hand at caring for Silas I realized I was not cut out for the job of being a nanny. Craigslist to the rescue! I found a gal who wanted to make some extra money and watch another child at home with her little girl. It turned out that this sweet little baby was 10 days Luka's Jr. Sweet little Gracie Mae and her Mama Addie turned out to be the best craigslist find I've ever found. I distinctly remember the day we interviewed her. Luka crawled right up in Addies lap. The girls were immediately happy together, and you could see their connection instantly. When we left the car was silent for a little as Dan and I both processed what we had each experienced. About 3 minutes passed and we looked at each other with giant smiles on our faces and asked "Do we really need to interview any one else?" We didn't do another interview. We've had it great. Addie is a fantastic mother to Gracie, and I've always felt that I had a confidant in the battle and joy that is motherhood. She knows my child nearly as well as I do. We could sympathize and relate with eachother because we were experiencing exactly the same things. Not only as individual parents to our children, but she helping me raise my child when I could not. Everyday we would share the struggles and joys in our morning talks, over facebook and through texts and phone calls. Addie has decided to make a career change, and while we are beyond sad to see her go we are happy for the new experiences it will bring for Luka. I hope that we can keep these two girls together as BFF's for as long as possible. They are like sisters, and I have no question that their smart little brains are going to understand what it means to miss one another. Hopefully we can keep their lives coordinated enough that they won't have to.

And so now.... Craigslist to the rescue for the 2nd time!! With another ad for a an amazing caregiver Luka began the next chapter in her early learning career today. On to Tiny Tribe! Jena received the Caregiver of the Year award in 2008 and it was hands down obvious why when we visited. On top of her organization and her ability to orchestrate the day, the children and her teachers, she sent me 5 photo texts today! I was dreading loosing this connection to Lu through out the day, and apparently I won't loose it. Then did you see her blog?? She cooks all organic food, and thinks of all these fun crafts, and MAN these kids really clean up after them selves. I am in awe.

Jena sort of made me feel overwhelmed with all that I am not doing for her on the days when I am with Lu. I don't ignore her, we play and have a great time, and she's so smart so I know I've not been too far off the mark, but seeing all that can happen in the day... SHEESH! I'm overwhelmed but excited to see what Luka will be able to accomplish. I am overjoyed to have found this place.

Thankfully Jena had an opening for Silas too! So Lu gets to be with her other best buddie. When we came in today. Silas was sitting at the table eating his breakfast, he said "Hi, Yuka! I eating oatmeal!" Then when she sat down next to him, he said "Yuka, You want to sit by me?" Made my heart sing.

A big day like this can only be complete with a special treat from her papa. Quesadillas, and chocolate milk shakes. That's my girl.

Nice to meet you, Ma'am

2010-08-24T00:55:00.000-07:00

This last weekend we purchased Luka big girl panties and it got me thinking about Luka's milestones (and thanks to this post from Amy) and also about my lack of blogging and journaling. When Lu was a newborn it seemed that every day I could not go with out a post or an entry in my journal about how much Luka was doing. First it's the small things like coming home from the hospital, taking our first after dinner walk as a family, going to the grocery store for the first time with my newborn, first public breastfeeding. Then comes the babies first milestones; the meconium, sleeping through the night, rolling over, reaching for toys... Just like Amy said, you go nuts over the smallest detail. Everything is important. It's a sign you're not f'ing up, it's a sign your little one is healthy. I am still going nuts over her milestones but I guess the fact that she has to watch Elmo, or lately it's Snow White, when the computer is out that's been preventing me from making more posts about her. I can't imagine if I'd be able to do this with 2 kiddos.
So since my last post some of Luka's milestones include, her first airplane ride quickly followed by her first visit to another country -England. England held several firsts; first movie on the big screen (ok it was in the living room... but still you should have seen her eye balls), mushy peas, seeing the North Sea (a first for mama too). It was an exciting trip, and one we want to repeat.

Luka also celebrated her 2nd birthday - with three parties!!

She loves telling everyone she meets she's TWO! The other night we went for a walk and she shouted to a man across the street, "HEY, I'm two!" He laughed. She got her first stroller and her 3th baby named Else. She loves the name Else.

So proud of her undies!!

The most recent milestone is her big girl undies! She's been going on the potty now for several weeks. Actually, she's been fiddling around with it for months, but she's been pretty serious since just after her birthday. We pretty much goes with out diapers, or pants for that matter, for most of the day. Outings included! We are still in diapers for bed time and naps, and she's struggling with number 2's on the potty. But I think those are normal things. We rewarded her success by letting her pick out a couple of packages of panties this weekend. She loves them. She chose the princess ones of course - but her 2nd choice was a package with Nemo, Jessie (from Toy Story), Cars, etc... she like the cars on it.

We are so proud of her and most important she's proud of herself.

Aside from the experiences in her life, theres all the amazing things that are happening in her head. She's off the charts with her vocabulary and her talking. She's speaking in complete sentences, and she's quite the mimic. It fascinates me when she says simple things like "I am going to the store to get cake." It's a complete sentence!!!! It has structure, and nouns and modifiers (what are those again?), there is an object, and an action. It's NUTS I tell you. For those of you who've taken a foreign language you might remember how hard it is to form a sentence... she's just doing this. She hasn't memorized flash cards, she just says it. Oh ya and she calls her self Goosie. How cool (and cute) is that?

I love this kid.

Tonight when I came home from work, she ran into the bathroom where I was using the restroom, she said two awesome things.... "Nice to meet you, maam." and then followed it up with a whopper..... "GOOD JOB MAMA, You went potty! You need to wipe?"

So far two is not terrible, it's pretty awesome.

Beginning a Tradition

2010-06-03T23:00:00.000-07:00

Dan and I have talked for such a long time about making Tamales. We have also talked many times about creating family traditions to have as our family grows up. Dan used to make tamales with his family every Christmas. They have since lost this tradition and we keep talking about starting it up again.

Memorial Day began and we had no plans. The weather did not look too promising, and we laid in bed reading books and tickling and talking for a long time. Luka had a sleepless Saturday and Sunday and it seemed that she would be catching up on her sleep for Memorial Day. She went down for an early nap, and Dan said... "hey we should make tamales! I'll run to the store and get the ingredients." I was penned with cleaning the kitchen after our delicious breakfast, while he shopped.

He came home with all the fixings. My mouth was watering already! We researched a few recipes online and in an old Mexican Cookbook I have from the 40's. We did a combo of them but mostly followed this recipe. We added a few things to suit our own tastes--------

We ended up getting a 3 hour nap out of Luka! Dan and I enjoyed an unusual morning of working together to craft these tamales, with out interruption from a little one. It was so pleasant, fun, and something that we both miss - time for just us. You know, us?? The people who are making this family. Oh yea, we still exist. We got the meat boiling and the peppers softened. By the time Luka awoke, we had a break in the cooking action that was coupled by a break in the clouds and some actual SUNSHINE!! We took off to the park and a visit to Grandma.

Luka decided one nap was not enough and she went back down for another 2+ hour nap when we got home. We put her down, and set back in the kitchen working hand in hand. Making Chile Sauce, making the Masa, and shredding the pork. We shared some laughs, and talked, and really were able to enjoy the company of one another. I enjoy so much being able to work together on projects with Dan. He's a great teammate, and it's so easy to talk while we work. We really do work well together, and both love being productive. It was wonderful to have an experience like this to reinforce our relationship.

The Chile Sauce came out great, the meat made the house smell amazing, and the corn from the Masa really made me think of the smells of dinner time in my neighborhood as a kid. I grew up in Southern California and the streets at night had a very distinct smell of tortillas on the stove. It's one of those things that you suddenly realize one day is ingrained in you. It took a trip back to that town for the smell of cooking Mexican food, and the smell of Eucalyptus trees reconnect me with my childhood in a new way.

The recipe made enough meat for 30+ tamales, but we fell short on the Masa dough for some reason. I had to borrow ingredients from the neighbor so we could make another batch of the dough. (another thing I love to do.... silly I know, but it makes me feel safe to know that my neighbors are there for me in my times of need, however small.)

By the time we were done rolling the tamales, we had some meat left over, and we made taquitos for dinner with it. I am not quite sure how there was any meat after all the bites we took as we made them! Infact, I had to wake Dan from a small food coma over the tacos we made so that he could try some of the tamales once they finished.

We took the tamales to Amy, Phil and Else for dinner the next night. They were heaven. Good company, delicious food, and happy babies. Life does not get any better.

Thanks for reading my most giant blog ever.

Big Girls, Big Plans, and some plants Part II

2010-04-21T00:27:00.000-07:00

:: continued from previous post::

The weather this last Sunday was incredible. Almost 70 degrees!! We took advantage of it and began our garden!! I cannot describe the utter joy I have over having my first garden. My Mom and Dad always had a garden when we could. I loved picking the beans and eating the delicious benefits. We plan to have 2 beds in the front yard - which we were able to install on Sunday. As well as a row of veggies on the side of the house. I think Luka will get as much enjoyment out of it as us. Last summer she was a tomato freak so we got 4 different types of tomato plants to feed the need.

I watched Gracie the other day and the above photo is the view from my kitchen sink as I washed dishes. The girls are talking to Ollie our cat. They (the cat included) loved playing together. It really got me thinking about having another kid. I've been really nervous, apprehensive, scared, dumbfounded, at a stand-still, etc etc on the topic of another kid. Being a parent, while it's been one of the most joyful things Dan and I have ever done, and while Luka has been far from difficult, has added strain to our relationship as a couple. I miss my husband some days - I miss just being a girlfriend. Some days it feels like we only exist together. And the daily joys we experienced sharing the thoughts tumbling around in our heads, silly wrestling matches, and serious planning talks, etc --- they're not gone, but it's hard to find time to make those things priorities. All that being said, I want Luka to have a sibling. I don't want her to be alone. And having Gracie over for the afternoon, gave me some more insight into what it might be like. I laid my head down that night with a smidge more positivity about having another kid.

Big Girls, Big Plans, and some plants

2010-04-20T23:43:00.000-07:00

Luka's getting bigger and bigger in every way. All she wants is to do it her self - "I do it!" or do it like a big girl - "Big Girl, Mama, BIG!" For a few weeks I was even beginning to wonder if we were going to have to convert her crib to a big girl bed. She had managed to crawl out of 2 different porta-cribs during nap time! One of those times Addie figured out she had crawled out of the when she heard knocking coming from the other side of the door. Pretty Funny, Luka. For several nights after her successful attempts to get out of the portacribs, I think she was attempting to get out of her own crib at home - at 2am. Not funny, Luka. She seems to have gotten over it, and we've had a week or so of no escape attempts. I'm knocking on wood right now... or probably sticking my foot in my mouth.

Luka, my mom and my self are preparing for trip to England in June to spread the rest of my Dad's ashes. His best friend, Chris Spencer, lives in Norfolk - in a converted Chapel! My Dad visited him during the filming of the 21st century Mummy film. Their special bond grew and grew over the short time that they knew each other into a strong everlasting friendship. When my Dad returned from his visit to Chris he could not stop talking about how peaceful, beautiful, and amazing the Chapel was. He said once that he wanted to live the rest of his life there --- well he's getting his wish. And Chris will get to forever be with his friend - at the Chapel and in peace. Luka was uber excited about her passport. I cannot get over how cute a passport is with a little girls photo on it. I have to say, I am a little nervous about my very social, active, and independent child being on a plane confined to my lap. Yes, I said my lap. I could not stand to pay another $1100 for her to have her own ticket. So pray that she falls asleep at some point, and does not annoy our neighbors. And while your praying.... maybe ask that I might get a wink of sleep too??

Let me tell you a little story...

2010-03-07T21:18:00.001-08:00

First Hair Cute.... er, I mean CUT!

2010-02-18T16:50:00.000-08:00

And remember in my earlier post when I was talking about her being full of emotion. Check out this photo. Perfect example of why she needed a hair cut and how crazy she can be. Love it!

So full of emotion

2010-02-18T16:07:00.001-08:00

WILD

Our child has no shortage of emotions. This photo shoot was taken over the course of an hour. Her face is so expressive.

HAPPY

CONCENTRATION

ANNOYED

CONTEMPLATIVE

She's really blossoming into a little girl, I am feeling like the baby in her is less and less with every new word she utters and every milestone that we pass.

Friends & blogging

2010-02-01T11:19:00.001-08:00

Luka has a ton of friends. This last week we had so much fun with a lot of our friends. We hosted Wes & Jenny on Tuesday for coffee and Scones. It was great to catch up and to help encourage Wes in walking. He was on the very verge of walking and looks like he's done it! Good luck Jenny & Jeff. Walking is fun! Jenny's blog is pretty inspiring and when we talked about how jealous I was of her smart, sassy, informative, and well done blog she told me her secrets. She said that while she is crafty she's not a scrapbooker. She found a website where she could download her blog posts and turn them into a printed book! She's done one a year since she discovered it. So she makes her posts of good quality, well written, and edits her photos so they looks awesome. Plus she's a great photographer so that helps. I am totally going to do this! Her trick for editing is a quick and easy online photo editing call picnik.com. I've tested it out with several... ok ok so more like a ton, of photos. I love the 1969 tool. It rounds the corners like I love and the colors are too cool.

So back to our friends. Wednesday we watched Joey. It was a blast! I've been taking Lu to the play gym at the Community Centers on Tuesdays with Leah and Silas. We missed out because of our play date with Wes, but Wednesday came and Lu was BEGGING to go. She was so insistent. GYM! GYM, mama! We found another community center that was open and the kids had a blast. It was so hard to get the out of the gym to go home for naps.

Friday night we hosted Gracie for an overnight, so her Mom and Dad could move into a new house. The girls have a very strong love-hate passionate relationship. Mostly dictated by Lu's attitude, which is pretty sassy. We DO NOT watch wrestling, and Dan and I really only have tickle wars (which are not violent), so I am not sure where she learned how to do a suplex. But she loves to come behind Gracie, wrap her arms around her chest, lift her off her feet and then slam her into the ground. Gracie is a though girl, and getting tougher by the day. I have no doubt that she'll turn the tables on Lu one day. The girls had a very fun bath which left my bathroom a soaked mess. It was fun none the less.

Lu's word flow is utterly incredible. We had her 18 month well check up and the Dr could not stop talking about how smart she is. Said, "Her vocabulary is well beyond that of a 2 year old. Be prepared for her to be talking like a 16 year old when she's 3!" Yaoza. She's doing great with he ABC's, she can count to 5. She's says other numbers beyond 5 just not in order. She loves tea parties with Papa, loves to color, and Playdough is especially cool.

These are her new boots, she won't really wear them, but they are a 9 so I am hoping that her chubby feet slim down a little in the next year or so so she will wear them. How cute are they?!?! Every girl needs some red boots!

Well, that was a giant post. Thanks for following us and keeping up with our family.

Loves!

2010-01-01T23:26:00.000-08:00

Well 2010 is here! 2009 brought many good things. Luka's 1st brithday, a new house, renters in our old place (with a 2 year lease!), good health in our 3-some, a preggo best friend, and a strong group of great friends getting older and happy together. But it brought a few things that tear my heart up. Loosing my Dad was the worst thing that 2009 brought to me. I welcome you into my life 2010, please be kind, loving, happy and safe. 2010 please envelope my friends and their loved ones with health and happiness, and may any misfortune be minimal.

Our Christmas holiday was a great time. Lukas interest in gifts and un wrapping this year was much more involved than last year. She's full of expression and it's fantastic to watch her face when she's excited. She's mastered the 'o' shaped mouth - face of excitement and surprise. The items that topped her list were a trike with a parent handle. It's so awesome. It's like an old school Radio Flyer tricycle but it has a handle on the back that we can push her with AND steer for her! She can't reach the pedals all the way yet, but by the summer I think this won't be an issue. Papa surprised her (and me... sneeky guy) with her own play kitchen! It's awesome. I love it when she wakes up and says COOK! Mama, I cook. Among other showerings of gifts, she received a table just her size. She loves to color (when she says it it sounds like Kullah - it kills me) so we leave it set up for that random desire to Kullah.

We are beyond thankful to our families for being so fun and welcoming. Christmas Eve dinner at my Brother & Mom's house was splendid. White Elephants at Dan's parents was surprisingly full of good gag gifts! And the Tamales at Dan's brothers were delectable as they are every year.

New Years Eve was spent here at our house with fun crowd of parents and kids. We had the kid party. I love being able to relax and have conversations and adore our kids together. It does not get better. We even had SEVEN overnight guests!!! 3 kids and 4 adults! Luka's giggles when she realized that Tatey, Colin and JoJo were still here were priceless. These kids love eachother so much it makes me cry. With Colin's tickling Luka's chin and saying "Cutie" and all his kisses, to Tate "nacks" shouts, to Luka's "Hiey Jojo, Hiey Tatey", and all the rounds of laps those kids can take around our house. Oh and Gracies booty and hip shaking... I can't even describe how a kid can be so cute.

Here's a few pics for your enjoyment. New Years pics will be up later after I up load them.

Holidys in our New House

2009-12-30T14:00:00.001-08:00

We started out the holiday season in our new house right: 33 people, 6 tables, 1 ham, 1 turkey and countless sides, and sweets. Check out the line up of tables!

Abby Grace mixing drinks! Shes of the mindset that if you mix 7up in Coke it makes the Coke less "spicey".

Excited to see the Holiday Lights with her warm clothes and warm milkey!

Putting up our tree

We love our new house and are looking forward to the rest of our Christmases here.

Lu at the Husky Game!

2009-12-30T13:51:00.001-08:00

She sees purple and she says GO! Huskies!! We only make Huskies in this house! She did fantastic at the game. We had an RV where she warmed up before the game at the Tailgate. She was a trooper through the whole game! She passed out in the 4th quarter and slept all the way through until we got off the bus at our car. The outfit change is due to Mama adding a few too many layers... She couldn't move her arms to clap!!

Marching to the game

GO HUSKIES!!

The big cheese!

Tuckered out baby. I can't remember the last time she fell asleep in my arms.

Catching up

2009-11-21T14:14:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy few months. We bought and moved into a new place about half a mile from our old house. We needed a little more room to grow, more storage, and a little more quiet. We got all 3 things - and more. Heres a link to the photos on my Facebook of the new house. We all love it here and are already completely moved in. The house was built in 1969. It's a 1 owner home. The family used a local builder and we even got the original blueprints. We are enjoying the neighborhood. We have really nice neighbors and there are tons of kids in the neighborhood ranging in ages from 4 months to 14 years. A perfect babysitter down the street just completed her babysitters course!! We are looking forward to growing old and raising our family here.

We had a great summer. Luka is getting smarter and smarter by the minute. She amazes me daily with her depth of knowledge, her sass, and her silliness. She is a great person. Shes running circles around the new house, asking to go potty (though she has yet to go tinkle more than once), she has about 50-75 words... maybe more, she just had her first dentist visit, was a turtle for Halloween, has a new cousin, and likes to try on mama's bra! Our life is spinning happily- hence the lack of posts! Here's just a few pics of the end of summer and early fall.

Hanging with Si at C&P.... summer's almost gone!

Tryin on mama's boots!

Hitting up the beach on her first roadtrip vacation. We Traveled to the tri-cities for the hydros, and then drove to the Oregon Coast. She loved it!

No drinking the bathwater Lu!!

No.. I'm not.

So happy to be clean! And so dang cute!

Hiking outside of Leavenworth. We are above a river and she could not tear her eyes away from the raging water.

Camping for the 4th of July!

Swimming with Uncle Joshey and Jojo and Papa.

Party time with Gracie-Mae. Girlie overnights are super fun!
Family Portraits, and 1 year photos.

More camping... feeding mama.

Hanging out at Seafiar with her bud Jojo. In a blow up Miller Hydro no less.

Oregon Coast

Silly girl on the beach.

My little turtle, with Grandma on Halloween.

Si and Lu at Whale tale park.

Trying on Mrs. Potato Head's glasses.

Listening in on the hydroplane drivers with Papa.

Swinging on the porch at the KOA camping. (it was the last camp site available ANYWHERE!)

New Cousin - baby Kaden Michael. Born 10/14/09.

Tata, Papa, sisi & lu. Who BTW will NEVER be able to have candy again. Swear!

Check out that tail!

OK OK I Could post 8,000 photos, but the last one is super cute! Lu at the dentist for the first time. She did such a good job. Didn't freak out at all!

Some things don't change

2009-08-03T23:17:00.001-07:00

Seafair 2008

Seafair 2009

It's too much.

Birthday Girl!

2009-07-23T23:32:00.001-07:00

So she's officially ONE year old now!

It's so crazy to us. She's a totally independent, smart, and funny girl. I am so amazed every day. She has about 14 or 15 words already. The Dr. is impressed with her verbal skills. She said she is speaking at the level of a 15 or 18 month old!! Here's just some of the words: Hi, Mama, Papa, Tata (French for Aunty), Si Si, JoJo, Tuh Tuh (Tatey) Toot toot (our cat), chhh (cheese), Ba! (ball), Boon (balloon), shhho (shoe), cie (Gracie) AND what's this?

The Dr. was really impressed when she said "what's this" during the visit. Her eyes got big! I was one proud mama. She then proceeded to send in the nurse with 2 giant needles to stab Lu's little chubby leg with her immunizations. She really cried hard this time. So hard she was hyperventilating. I finally thought that if I nursed her she would calm down, as I unzipped my hoodie, I zipped her leg up in my zipper!!!! I felt TERRIBLE! I did not think her crying could get any harder.... it did.

Crazy birthday girl. This is about as "cake faced" as she got.

Tatey thinking about how that ball and tee look better than his yummy banana cake right now. "BA!" I love his green cake beard.

"Uncle Dan! You get that camera out of my face- RIGHT NOW!"

If you haven't been witness to Silas's preaching, check it out. It's the best.

Good cake face.

It's my birthday and I'll cry if I want to.

Look at that Audience! You can't see about half of them!

the caaaaaake.

(drool)

She finally figured out how to blow into the noise maker! She was obviously very proud of her self, as was her grandma... and whom ever is clapping in the foreground.

You only get one FIRST birthday cake! You better make it a good one. Thanks to Mimi of Splendid Cupcake. (I designed her logo... she makes da' bomb cupcakes -- and cake.)

Jeez, does it get any cuter, really?

Uncle Zach and Tatey and Colin came over on my actual birthday and taught me how to hit off a tee and how to field balls.
Grandma and grandpa down at Alki for my birthday dinner.

George from C&P Coffee gave me a banana for my birthday. It was so yummy I could not wait until mama opened it.

My BIG girl. I am amazed in her.

All three in a row. What a fun day.

Leah & Erin- I'm so glad our kids can share an experience like this. I am looking forward to so many more shared fun experiences. Maybe a wedding? No pressure, kids. really.

Lots of memories being made here!

2009-07-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

Our lives have been topsy turvey the last month or so. With my Dad's passing, Luka's 1st birthday, lots of friends getting married, West Seattle Street fair, camping trips and the like... we've been busy and full of emotions.

I said I was going to be better about posting but it's been hard. Here are numerous photos of the last month! ha! Birthday photos to come.... here's just a random sampling of the events.

Future Hydroplane Driver?

I finally got to meet my Great Grandma Betty Joppa!!! She's funny.

Hiking outside of Leavenworth. She's watching the fast river below us.

Driving around in the campground trying to find a good campsite.

After the kids are asleep, the ladies break out a bottle of wine and sit around the fire. What a blast!

Hello! I love camping!

Practicing my poses in the front yard, for the future Miss Hi-Yu competition.

Spreading Dad's ashes from the Bainbridge ferry.

Snuggling in our tent.

First Family camping trip. We had a great time, but the bugs at the first campground were ridiculous! We moved to the KOA in Leavenworth for the second night.

In the pits with Papa at. The Miss Wahoo was being tested, so we went down to Lake Washington with Papa for his lunch break.

Selling my jewels at the West Seattle Street fair. It was a blast, and I did really well!

First giant fat lip! :(

Family Fourth of July camping trip.

Thanks for keeping up with us.

Sunglasses

2009-06-10T10:05:00.003-07:00

Here's our funny girl! She's been acting like Stevie Wonder everytime she puts on our sunglasses. Moving her body and head form side to side. It's hysterical. I found these sunglasses at Target, and I thought I was going to pee my pants, she was being such an entertainer in them. People were coming around the corner to see what all the ruckus was.

See my teefs! 4 on top now!

Check out that dimple!

Hi-eeey!

Are you cracking up yet?

Luka goes Camping

2009-06-02T08:12:00.000-07:00

Luka sleeping in the carrier during our hike down the river.

Luka pretty much had a captive audience the entire time we were up at Red Bridge with the Kostelecky Clan. My good friend Wayne and his family camp up at Red bridge every year during Memorial day weekend. We decided this would be a good oppurtunity for us to get our feet wet camping with Luka. We LOVE camping, and have been dying to take her with us. She is just about mobile and we thought it would be a good idea to learn what we need before taking a longer trip over Fathers day - when--- well she might just be mobile!!! We're talking walking people! The trip was great. We literally did not bring any thing but a case of beer, a package of cookies, some chips and dip, and our tent.... oh yea, and a load of Luka things. ;)

The Kostelecky crew took care of our every other need. And the camp site was so nice and giant. Lauren, Drew and Nicholas really had a good time helping us with her. Hats off to Lauren who was pretty much our baby sitter the entire time. We were able to sit and chat by the fire and know Lu was in good hands. Luka loved her and the boys.

Eating Lunch with her boys.

Rocks

How cute are Drew and Nicholas. CUTE! There's the red bridge in the background.

Luka's cowboy, Wayne.

Hiking with papa and The Kosteleckys.

Trying to kiss Drew through the tent.

Her captive audience.

Lauren and the doggie taking Lu to the river... c'mon are those are capable hands, or what? Even the dog was waiting to protect her!

Yea Drew! Play in my tent with me!

Thanks guys for having us and treating us so kindly. We'll be back next year if you'll have us!

My little Dancer!

2009-05-28T00:09:00.000-07:00

Luka LOVES to dance!!! She grooves all the time - to Dan singing, to her musical instrument toys, to the radio, and to an old Friends CD - Niko. I went to Middle School with Nicole or Niko as she calls her self. Luka just loves the whole CD. Please ignore my annoying terrible singing along. Oh and be sure to watch to the end so you can see the most awesome poop face! Poopin' and Dancin'!

My Dad, The Grandpa

2009-05-26T23:19:00.000-07:00

Dad's health is better today than it was a week ago, but it's been rough going over the last month or so. We found out Saturday that he has had a urinary tract infection that was raging in his body and causing major levels of psychosis. We had originally thought that this was the next stage of the lung cancer - that it had spread to his brain - and it was the brain cancer that was causing the psychosis. Thankfully he is being treated with antibiotics and today my encounter with my Dad was... well, it was my real Dad. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.

Luka is such a copy cat these days.... You massage feet and she wants to too, you talk on the phone and she wants to too, rub Purel on your hands and Luka rubs her hands together -- oh and my fav (said with great sarcasm) FLUSH the toilet and she wants to too! :-)

My little brother is going to become a father! And My Parents will be Grandparents for the second time! We are very excited for the birth of Kevin and Jessica's first child. He's already a Daddy, as he raises his girlfriend, Jessica's son - Tallon, but this is his own flesh and blood. Jessica, the mama to Tallon and the new little one, is due at the end of October. They invited us out to dinner to be present for the revealing of the sex of the child. IT'S A BOY!!! Luka is pumped, although she wished it was a girl, she can't wait for her cousin to be here. Congrats you two.

Uncle Kevin you are sooo funny!

My first Mothers Day

2009-05-26T22:26:00.001-07:00

What an incredible day. My first Mothers day. I am an incredibly lucky woman to have such an amazing Husband and Child. I actually pinch myself most days to make sure that this is real. Dan took Luka and I out for the afternoon up to Snoqualamie. We hopped the old train up to North Bend, had lunch and then took the train back down to see the view of the Falls. We spent the rest of the afternoon driving around on the back roads - one of my favorite things to do in the whole world (thanks Dad!) - and chatting about how awesome it is to be Luka's parents, reminiscing about my labor and the last 10 months we've spent with this amazing person. Luka enjoyed every minute of the afternoon. Especially the parts where she could flirt with all the strangers on the train, and ride in the new (to us) baby back pack on Papa's back.

Play dates!

2009-05-26T21:44:00.000-07:00

Luka is quite a popular girl. She has so many friends. Check out all these play dates!!!

Colin

Uncle Rich's Birthday Party

Tatey

Wes and Jenny

Luka imparting her wisdom on teething toys. She's exactly 4 months older than Wesley, and, she's got EIGHT teeth now, so she's got a lot of info to share.

She also likes to impart her wisdom to Silas, but he's only 3 weeks her junior and he's not believing everything he hears. This discussion looks serious!

Giving Kisses... something these two are really good at.

Are you kidding me? Can Silas be any more cute?

Bella. She's so stinkin cute! She loaned Luka a TON of stuff to use when she was a baby, we delivered her goods back and hung out in the front yard for a bit. I love her flip flops.

Gracie. This is our nanny's (Addie) daughter. I watched Gracie for the afternoon one day so Addie could get some things done. I had heard that Luka and Gracie were quite the duo, and it was definitely the truth. Luka was so excited to show Gracie all her toys.

Grandma's Birthday

2009-05-26T21:37:00.000-07:00

April 20th was Grandma's birthday. We made banana cake for her. Luka loves bananas, and since it's a Grandmothers job to be easy going and let her grandkids do what ever they want, we found out that Luka likes FROSTING too.

I've been wanting to post these for so long. Sorry for taking so long, Mom & Dad.

Rockin' out!

2009-04-22T16:47:00.000-07:00

I love my papa.

Having a bath outside on the hot day

She washes her tummy. It's so cute. "Rubba rubba"

See Mt. Rainier?

Tired baby... very relaxed.

The Mariani's at Emerald Downs

lovin' her "ton ton" (uncle) Pierre

she looks so big to me here! like such a big girl.

visiting with Bella. We gotta get Lu some of those sandals. Love it.

She's doing a REALLY good job at standing, but I am helping her.

Our buddy Laura, helping Lu out of the rocking chair.

AND..... I saved the best photo for last!

Rocking in the rocking chair at C&P

(see video below!!!)

Luka was really enjoying the warm weather, although, she'd rather not have a hat on and not be in the direct sun shine. We've learned that she has extremely sensitive eyes to the sunlight.

Here's a quick snippet of Luka enjoying the back porch at C&P coffee with Laura and I.

Reminiscing

2009-04-14T23:26:00.001-07:00

Lounging by the pool in Luxor

1 year ago my family and I had the extreme fortune to go to Egypt for a family vacation. We left a year ago yesterday. I was about 7 months pregnant with our little Luka. What an amazing trip...

The view from our hotel room in Cairo.

My beautiful family.

doin what I do best, riding camels pregnant!

Me and my honeys...

Luka goes to the beach!

2009-04-08T22:41:00.000-07:00

Well the sun comes out and it seems that the population doubles. Traffic every where, people everywhere, it was CRAZY this weekend. We were included in the droves of people that soaked up some of that amazing warmth we had beaming down from that unknown round yellow object in the sky. We took Luka to the beach for the first time. It was a strange experience for her and for me. She was not too excited about the sand. I had visions of sand castles, and a little baby with a dirty mouth full of sand, but none of that came to fruition. Alki has always been one of the best people watching places ever... I usually come away asking my self, "what the heck were they thinking?".... this trip -- I did not notice any one, or anything. If your name was not Luka or Dan I did not notice you. I was so absorbed in my little sweet family. What a fun day.

We finally did get our battery charger back and we'll be back to posting non camera-phone photos soon. Lu's doing so many things you all have to see. She's clapping, and waving, pointing, and almost blowing kisses. She's standing all the time, and tonight she let go and stood on her own for about 3 seconds. Watch out world!

Water Baby!

2009-04-01T08:48:00.000-07:00

We knew she loved the water! We took Luka swimming for the first time last Saturday. They have an "Aqua-Tot" class taught by a hysterical old lady in a old skool swim cap, with a sing song voice. Luka could not stop laughing at he

r (or me!). We sang lots of songs like; The Wheels on the Bus, I'm a little Tea Pot and others. They all had movements to them that help get the kids used to doing things

in the water, feeling the movement of the water on their skin, or blowing bubbles, etc. It was a blast. Luka was never nervous. She and I walked right into the water like she had done it a million times. She was VERY excited to see other children there, too. We WILL be headed back soon.

Check out her face here! She's laughing at the teacher!

The pictures are terrible, but they were all we could manage with Dan's camera phone. We've left our battery charger somewhere. Imagine that?! A dead battery and a cute kid. It's an atrocity.

In other news my lap top is back up and running after my hard drive CRASHED! So, hopefully it won't be so long before I post again.

We are on the mend now after having a yucky bout with the flu. Luka caught it first and was sick most of Sunday. Having a lethargic, grey skinned, barfy 8.5 month old has got to be the saddest experience we have had as new parents. I know that that experience pales in comparison to the things we have seen our friends go through, and probably will pale in comparison to something down the road, but Dan and I certainly felt so helpless. Monday afternoon I came down with it on the way to work, and then Dan played follow the leader and got sick that evening. We spent yesterday napping a lot, and hanging out, and taking it easy - there was not much food involved.

Grandpa

2009-03-24T10:47:00.000-07:00

Grandpa has decided not to die, people! My Dad has stage 4 Non-small cell lung cancer and he's not been in the best of health lately. A mini stroke, some falls, mental confusion, weight loss, you name it he's been going through it. As you can imagine it would be hard to sit inside a dying body and watch the world go on around you... it must have been difficult to keep a positive outlook. The last few weeks I have been trying to spend more time helping out in any way I can, and just hanging out with my parents. It's been great and hard at the same time. It's awfully difficult to see your parents in such compromised situations. Vunerable. As a mom and a wife, I am really truly seeing things in such a different light. I think mostly about being a parent and leaving my family prematurely and about being a wife loosing her husband of 42 years. Yesterday I went over to spend the afternoon with my dad, just him and I. And he was up and about and very talkitive. There was no shuffling around, or wide confused eyes-- he was different. We sat down and chatted over a cup of coffee, and he told me that he's not ready to leave us -- "I'm not ready to die yet".

I am a believer in mind over matter and I can see it working in him. I've heard the stories of people curing them selves by thinking positively -- and who knows, it could happen! Even if his positive thoughts just buy us more time I'm ok with that too.

Messy Lunch

2009-03-04T12:21:00.000-08:00

We knew that a double bath time would happen at some point. Today it was unavoidable. With Luka AND Silas demanding they feed them selves... it got messy! How cute are they?!?!?! I know, I can't take it either.

Silas did not want to get out. He was a prune!

some like it hot

2009-03-03T23:55:00.000-08:00

We were eating homemade pizza for dinner and Luka was at the table with us and would not leave the giant jar of chili flakes alone. We set them on the floor to get rid of the distraction but as soon as dinner time was over her obsession was not forgotten. So here she is in all her crawling glory!! I was reading back in older posts and I can't believe how far she has come since the last post about her crawling. That was January 31. Even since yesterday her skills have improved. I was just talking about how the edge of the rug and doorways posed a "boundary" for her -- hah, I should have kept quiet. She seemed to get stuck when she got to the edge. As you can see from this video the hardwoods and the rug behind her - she clearly no longer has a problem. She also is trying to pull her self up on everything! AHHH Walking is probably just around the corner!

Impromptu hangout night. JoJo, Rachy and I snuggling in bed - - chatting the night away. Heaven.

Among her other milestones this last little while: she's discovering new foods every day. She is loving teething biscuits, and tolerating MumMums (which I like more since they are sooo much cleaner). She tried Kiwi, and today munched on my left over apple rind, which she loved. We also explored cheerios which she seems to be indifferent about. She just loves to feed herself.

I visited with some of my girlfriends from High School and Luka is craking everyone up by stealing Bella's tootsie pop. It was almost gone, so I'm sure she did not get much, but she was very determined. I love the look of shock on Teresas face.Candace, Isaiah and Luka

She loves ollie (our cat) and laughs constantly at him. Or tries to give him his much desired petting. He could care less that's it borders on abusive petting, since she's not learned to be gentle yet.

They both bang on the windows to each other, it's so funny.

OH! She rolls over constantly to her stomach. Even in her sleep! She's giving Leah and I fits! We keep checking in on her and she's sleeping face down in her crib. Nose straight in to the mattress. It's scary. We've both tried moving her, but she just seems to wake up. They say that once they can roll over that the SIDS risk is so much lower, but I am still so nervous.

She's also starting to cut another tooth on the top. In true fashion (well, my tooth fashion - prebraces. You remember my fang?) she's getting an eye tooth first! There is a nice big purple hematoma on her gum where the tooth is pushing. She likes to smile giant and show it off, unfortunatley I have not gotten a good pic of it.

Crazy baby face. love it. Please note the teething biscuit all over her face, hands, and shirt. And probably our carpet.

Luka is just so super super happy. Silas had a rough day on Monday and was a little sad, she wanted him to be happy so the last part (of the most giant post EVER!) is a great video of her trying to cheer him up. (PS he's just hungry here and I'm warming the bottle.) She LOVES her Si Si. They are so excited to see each other when they wake up from naps. I want to set the camera up and catch the giggles and chatting that happens post nap. It's great.

Thanks Melissa!

2009-02-21T16:08:00.000-08:00

Our doula Melissa Ross, who we absolutely love, sent us this adorable hat.
Thanks Melissa!

Birdwatching for Valentines Day

2009-02-18T10:46:00.000-08:00

My husband is truly great. He knows how much I love surprises and how much I love taking drives. I just love it. On Saturday he made pancakes and mimosas (YUM!) and then we got ready and hit the road. I had no idea where we were going, which I don't mind 1 bit! We ended up in the Skagit Valley. Dan had read an article in the Seattle Times about the area and how many birds are there at this time. I don't think that I would have ever chose this to do my self, but OMG it was SO much fun! We saw a TON of bald eagles, and hawks and blue herons, and a ton of others that I have no clue what they were. If you guys are looking for something to do for the afternoon it's a great drive. So beautiful and amazing to see. It would also be a great place to ride a bike. It's flat in alot of places and there is so much to see. Here's some photos of our day. 4 bald eagles and a hawk!

Love you all.

She really loves him

2009-02-17T23:11:00.000-08:00

Luka cannot get enough of Silas. She truly adores him.

get closer, you!

Stinkin dress + stinkin' cute baby = LOVE

2009-02-09T11:10:00.000-08:00

Lu attended her friend Peyton's Baptism on Sunday and wore the stinkin cutest dress you've ever seen. Stinkin dress + stinkin' cute baby = LOVE. Can you handle it? I can't. Thanks Auntie Rach.

The lady in the pew behind us kept saying that if there was a beauty contest Luka would win. :)

Lu & Si

2009-02-02T16:56:00.000-08:00

Some fun ones from our wild photo shoot! They were so excited to be naked. So fun.

happy, pretty, clean, LOVE

2009-02-02T16:31:00.001-08:00

Sunday paper in bed, heaven.

Sweetest face ever.

I love Sundays.

She's moving FORWARD!

2009-01-31T17:36:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure if I'd call this crawling yet, but she really is using an amazing combination of moves that actually take her forward. She's got the army arm pull, the grabbing the carpet and pulling, the launch etc etc etc. This was taken last night and even today she's gotten even better. HERE WE GO!

cool girl

2009-01-26T13:21:00.000-08:00

Luka has really sensitive eyes, just like mama.

Brushin my teefs

2009-01-23T23:28:00.000-08:00

Luka LOVES to brush her teeth! Seriously, she scrapes the bristles across her teeth. It was hard to capture the sound because she likes to grab the camera. Her hand eye coordination amazes me. And I love watching how she examines the toothbrush by turning it around and around. She's so amazing to me.

Sunday walks are so fun!

2009-01-23T23:11:00.001-08:00

Stinkin' cute!

Venturing out! DOUBLE TIME!

2009-01-14T13:34:00.000-08:00

We got a double stroller for the Kiddos! It's great! They had such a fun time today. I was very excited to be able to do this and it was not as hard as i thought it was going to be.
Check out how cute they are!!!

Oh and SILAS TOOK A BOTTLE!!! Yea! It was hard work for Leah but she persevered!

I like a binky now too!

Just Chillin'

Twins!

Coffee Break

This stroller is AWESOME! They can face you face out or face eachother! Luka was so excited to see Silas the whole time she was kicking her legs so hard and cracking up at him the entire walk. Silas was so happy to look around and see the world. YEA!

Back to work

2009-01-08T08:41:00.000-08:00

Well I'm back at work this week. Only part time, thank goodness. Luka is in good hands while I am away. Leah and I are working opposite days and sharing childcare duties. And my parents are pitching in as well. Luka is in great hands and having a super time playing. Here are some photos that Auntie Leah took of Luka. She's started making what I call "the big cheese". It's a pretty hysterical giant smile... Leah managed to get a couple of good shots of her doing it.

THAT'S NOT WHERE BABIES GO!

2008-12-29T13:22:00.000-08:00

Luka is scooting around now as she tries to crawl. She's only moving backwards, so far, and she's finding herself in some funny places. She looks like she thinks it's funny in this photo, but not being able to go forward is really making her frustrated.

Reflections

2008-12-26T21:00:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Luka has had her first Christmas! Time is just flying by. She's getting big so quickly. Before our eyes, daily, things are happening like crazy. We took a moment on Christmas Eve to reflect on what we've been through, and to dream about what is to come. We stood over our sleeping babe and cried (ok I cried, Dan just choked back the tears) about the amazing fortune that has been given to us. We are so blessed to have such a healthy, happy baby. Playing Santa was a fun treat I had not thought about until it was here. This holiday really made us see being parents in such a new light, and playing Santa is only one of the fun roles we get to play. We are thinking of traditions we can develop as parents to allow us to keep our focus and remind us of where we came from. And traditions we can do with our children in the future. We feel traditions are what gives the holidays that extra special-ness and we want that to be what is important to our children. While we know that the gifts take a strong place in the American Christmas, we hope our family traditions can bring something else to our children. It may not be until they are adults that the impact of these traditions is realized upon them, and that's ok. I guess they'll probably realize the weight of these traditions the moment they look upon their child on the first night they play Santa.

Luka is now sitting up unassisted, has two teeth, is eating solid foods -- her first food (peas) was a Christmas gift to us all -- exploring her mouth, making new shapes with her lips and tongue -- including gagging, and coughing galore, and tonight she began banging her toys down on the book I was reading her -- I can just see the pots and pans and wooden spoons on the kitchen floor symphony now. Oh, and she's also sleeping in her big girl bed all through the night! Whoot whoot! I think it was harder on us then it was on her.

Mailing Christmas cards. (ps we had one come back with that lost it's address lable -- oops-- if you didn't get you'rs let us know.)

Luka smiling at Pop. I can't get enough of that!

Look how good I can sit now!

Santa's Margo & Danielle came bearing gifts.

Snowed in and baking cookies for our friends and neighbors.

Opening her stocking!
Everybody loves Christmas morning.

We took my parents to the Nutcracker ballet for their Christmas gift. They loved it. My dad played in the Sacramento youth symphony and the Sacramento Symphony for the Nutcracker Ballet as a kid and teenager so he's seen it many times before, this was a first for Mom and for Dan.
I've always wanted to be his little "balla-ina"

Crazy Lady!

2008-12-23T00:00:00.000-08:00

Yaoza! Luka LOVES this toy. Thanks JoJo for loaning it to me. Everybody get your tissues out cause your going to cry tears of laughter.... well, at least I did. (the first time, and rewatching it on the video)

What a fun weekend!

2008-12-15T09:18:00.000-08:00

Christmas tree shopping

Hey Y'all! Well, I 'm going to ring in this new year as a 30 year old! Scary! My 30th birthday was Thursday and we celebrated this weekend. Dan rented us a room at the Inn at the Market, right above Pike Place market, got us some babysitters for the night (Grandma and Grandpa Jaramillo) and we had dinner and some dancing with friends in Belltown. IT WAS SO FUN! I missed Luka terribly but did very well considering. No crying. :) Even in the crazy snow, people turned out and we had such a fun time.

Walking to the next place in the snow!

Rach and I dancing! At this time we were the only ones in the club (we're old, people that get to the club late are much younger than us, beside, we got the best spot! A podium all to ourselves!)

My Mamas! Braving the weather and leaving their children at home. :)

Pike Place market under snow. The view from the rooftop terrace at the hotel.

Friday night Luka was the baby Jesus in the Live nativity at Highline Christian Church. It was really neat. There were donkys, sheep, and llamas! The poor cast had to be out in the terrible weather Friday and Saturday. Their spirits were good though. Luka participated in 2 shows. She was under cover in the magner swaddled up in Mary's arms, so she stayed very warm. She enjoyed the spotlight, she just looked around at all the people and animals, she never cried! During the last show she fell asleep. Too cute.

Luka, I mean Jesus, sleeping. Mary is really pregnant!

Luka's First walk in the snow! All bundled up! She probably can barely breathe from all the clothing she has on. Plus I zipped her up in Dan's giant jacket. Her feet hanging out the bottom crack me up. She stayed really warm and our body heat together kept me warm.

Jeez... I forgot how long it's been since I posted... alot has happened. Here are some photos of Dan's Company Holiday Party at the Museum of Flight. Luka opens her first present!

It was a phone! And apparently she knows what to do with it! HA!

And lastly... she decorated the Christmas tree with us.

Luka says, "thanks for reading, Happy holidays!"

Fun filled weekend of thanks

2008-12-01T09:07:00.000-08:00

Our First Thanksgiving
(finally at home, just us, after all the meals)

Luka had actually had 3 first Thanksgivings! We celebrated Thursday with Dan's family, Friday with mine, and Sunday with some of our friends. They were all a blast and the food was delicious, especially at the Friends Thanksgiving. We are feeling the need to eat salad the rest of the week however. I tested my skills in the kitchen for a few things to add to the meals. My most successful attempts were at making the desserts for Friends Thanksgiving. I've always felt that bundt cakes were so festive, and I was given a bundt cake pan and cook book for a wedding gift, so I thought I would put it to use. I greased the heck out of the pan, flowered it and IT WAS AWESOME!!! Not one piece stuck in the pan! I made butterscotch pound cake... it was the hit! I also made Du mp Cake which was super delicious, and two burbon spiked pumpkin pies. Unfortunatley the whipped cream for the pumpkin pies lacked the whisky your supposed to spike it with, but it was in the pies. It's hard to remember everything when you've got a baby and 3 desserts to get out the door on time.

Abby Grace, Luka and I cheering on the "Turkies" at Dan's family flag football game

Kids and adults get to play!!

Hanging out with Grandpa, he makes me laugh.

Can you tell who was the life of this party?

Friends Thanksgiving at Leah and Pierres house. That's Tate, Luka, Joey, and yes a sleeping Josh!
Christmas Star

On top of all the Turkies and thanks, there was a 30th birthday to celebrate too. Amy Jean Cullen Gregersen turned THIRTY! We celebrated with her on Friday night. We went to Westlake Mall to witness the debacle of the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony, (poor choir) and eat at the Elephant and Castle. It was such a fun time. Luka enjoyed being a party animal again. It was so fun to hang out and see everyone. Especially Uncle Phil and Auntie Amy. Luka really loves Phils giant arms, he hugs her like a little teddy bear and puts her to sleep. It's good practice for him and it creates the baby fever in the Gregersen house... we're all desperatly waiting for Amy to join our little mommies club.
Uncle Phils snuggly arms!Clearly she get's her party etiquette from her dad.... spits. Look at her she's a party animal!

EDIT!

2008-12-01T09:01:00.000-08:00

Somehow I put the incorrect church and day for the live nativity that Luka will be in. The correct church and day are: December 12th at Highline Christian Church. Performances are at 7, 7:30, 8 and 8:30.

Big City Girl

2008-11-24T10:15:00.000-08:00

I'm exploring my face and mouth... I think Silas challenged Luka to a raspberry dual and she's been trying soo hard. Look out for a video soon, she almost has it!

What a great weekend! Saturday was filled with PJ's, pancakes, terrible football, jewelry making, and an engagement party for our friends Scott and Laura. They have asked me to make their wedding rings, and this weekend she wanted to have an engagement ring to wear to the party. I crafted a lovely little number and it was a hit. The sweet little necklace I crafted looked amazing on her as well... if I do say so myself. Sunday, Luka went on her first adventure to the big city! We wanted to take in all that was the amazingly gorgeous day yesterday so we headed downtown. We were also doing a little scouting for the big THREE O partay that's coming up...sheesh. We hit up Belltown, Pike Place Market, and the Olympic Sculpture park. I love my husband and I love my baby. We are such a fun family. I wish every day could be the weekend.

This is what you get when you ask random strangers to take your photo... he was not the best photographer.

Better photographer, Dan. Oh, yea.... I got some bangs cut this weekend... LOVE EM!!

Here's Scott and Laura, after opening the engagement ring box. How fun to have the engagement ring be a surprise to both the bride and groom! I'll post photos soon of the ring to my Rebekah J Designs Blog.

Passed out in the Bjorn on the big city walk. too cute. She loves the Bjorn Allie, thanks for loaning it to us.

Chatty Luka

2008-11-21T17:46:00.000-08:00

We went to Trophy Cupcake a few days back and Luka decided to tell everyone what she thought. I think she's saying, "Good luck Jenny.... you don't know it yet, but your about to me a mommy in 5 seconds!" Well not literally 5 seconds, but in a matter of days, our friend Jenny gave birth to a healthy baby boy 5 and a half weeks early!! Welcome to the world little Wes. Can't wait to meet you.

big time

2008-11-20T09:58:00.000-08:00

It was not planned.... well not planned for last night, that is... but Luka slept in her big girl bed last night. She's been having a tough time with this second tooth. It bothers her in the night and she's not been sleeping as well. Last night she awoke at about 12:30 when we were coming to bed. I tried to rock her back to sleep to no avail. I wanted to give her some baby Tylenol and I needed both my hands to do it, so I laid her in her crib so I could administer, and right after I gave her back her binki she was out!! I couldn't bear to move her! It must have been a sign that it's time. Big girl!
She's also making kissy sounds. I've been waking up at 4am to smacking kiss noises coming from the bassinet. It's too cute. I think she might be a south paw, she seems to favor using her left hand. Thanks grandma Bobbie.
If any of you are feeling the spirit and would like to see a live nativity, Luka will be participating as baby Jesus!! December 12th at Highline Christian Church. Performances are at 7, 7:30, 8 and 8:30.

Uncle Kevin Turns 21!

2008-11-17T21:01:00.000-08:00

I'm a little late posting this, but I'm catching up on posts today. My little brother turned 21 on the 9th and we celebrated with dinner and drinks at Mick Kelley's in Burien.

"Oh, my god Luka you are sooo cute!"

yum yum

2008-11-17T16:49:00.000-08:00

She's got some bird lips and quite an appetite!

singing...

2008-11-17T16:39:00.000-08:00

for Obama.... thanks Auntie Margo.

SWINGIN' AWAY

2008-11-13T11:34:00.000-08:00

We got this bouncy door swing thing from my brothers girlfriend, Jessica. I had it tucked away for when she was old enough and today I thought it was time.... LOOK AT HER GO! She had such a good time. Please ignore all my annoying prodding to get her to smile and talk. She loves looking at the camera, but not talking to it.

Thanks GiGi!

2008-11-04T09:14:00.000-08:00

Grandma GiGi (Gail Jones) got Luka some cool bath toys for Halloween! She really enjoys the bath and these make it even more fun. Thanks GiGi!

Oh our little savior! And a little tooth.

2008-11-03T12:58:00.000-08:00

We have been having a terrible time getting Luka to take the bottle. She did great when we started her at around 6 weeks, for about 2 months. Then suddenly she would not take it. I've tried multiple nipples including a bottle that cost FOURTEEN DOLLARS! Actually it cost $28, because on the first trip to purchase the bottle I unknowingly dropped it outside the car as I was loading Luka up, and came home with out it. We had to go back the next day to get another one. I have a few sippy cups around for Colin and JoJo to use so I tried to see if she might like those as well. She seemed to like the idea but the part that you sip from was a little too big and hard for her mouth. Not to mention that there are 3 giant holes that the milk streams out of, so she was choking on the milk. We found these sippy cups at Target called sippy trainers. (Green jar Luka is feeding her self with... genius! I swear!) The part they put in their mouth is soft and she can gum it. She took it like a champ. And they were only $3 for two! We also, just incase the sippy cups weren't a hit, purchased one more bottle. She took that too!!! I am not sure if we just happened to find two ways to feed Luka by chance though. She has been teething and the tooth has popped out in the last few days.... it's possible that all the trouble with the bottles was just because of her teething. None the less.... we're going out to party.... WHO WANTS TO BABY SIT!?!?!?! She'll be good for you (i hope). As today comes to a close and I sit infront of the fire, filling out my ballot, I am relishing in the fact that we've had 2 days of successful bottle taking. YEA!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FRIENDS

2008-10-31T12:58:00.000-07:00

Getting caught up!

2008-10-30T11:36:00.000-07:00

Visiting Auntie Leah in my Halloween outfit... their couch is such a good back drop!

Testing out my new cowgirl hat.

Our little bumble bee... it's too bad I cropped out the antennae, they are cute.

I've been wanting to post a bunch of stuff lately but Luka has been awake so much more during the day that I've been consumed with staring at her and talking with her, and trying to get her to roll over. She's got a little cold today and I she's taking a super long nap today! I should be working on jewelry stuff but.... this is too fun.

Here's an awesome video of Luka's other boyfriend Tate Daniel. Luka is teething... that's right TEETHING!! and she tries to bite on Tates arm. Hysterical. I'm betting there will be a little white tooth to take some pics of in the coming days! It's right below the surface and all of her shirts are being drenched in slobber!

Baby Loves Disco

2008-10-30T11:16:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I forfeited my Husky ticket to the UW vs. Notre Dame game so Luka and I could attend Baby Loves Disco with Jojo, Rachelle, Tate, Colin, and Erin. Baby loves Disco happens once a month in a night club that is retrofitted for kids during the day! They have a DJ, Lights, several bubble machines (I am sure that this an addition the evening club goers wish they could enjoy) and they even have a bar for the designated driving parent. It's was a blast! Joey and Colin were dancing around in their costumes, while Tate and Luka hung on to their dancing mommies. Tate was a pizza (a great hand me down from big brother), Jojo was a lobster, and Colin was a bat. Erin put her best witch costume on and Rachelle and I went as eachother.... I know lame. I didn't think my beer wench costume was really appropriate. ;) There were great handouts and free stuff like snacks and juice, and even BABYLEGS!! Luka scored a few pairs! She loves her babylegs. Here are a few photos of the day.

So much dancing, had little Luka tuckered out! She went as a Bumble Bee but was tooo hot from all her awesome dance moves.

She ROLLS!!!!!!

2008-10-29T21:03:00.000-07:00

Here are two awesome videos! Part one and Part two of Luka learning to roll over. She rolled over about a week ago and I have been trying to get her to do it again every day to no avail. I really wanted her to do it when Dan was here so that he could witness it. I spend such a great amount of time with her everyday, and because of that I am able to see all the firsts. I enjoy it very much, but I think of how hard it must be to be the Dad at work all day long while she goes through all these firsts. Thank goodness pop was here for her second attempt!!!!!! With the camera going no less!!!

Part 1

Part 1 takes place yesterday morning. She's still in her jammies and in such a good mood. Here's a shout out to all the grammas and grandpas out there!

Part 2....

were so proud of our sweet growing baby girl.

fall fall fall, lovely fall

2008-10-29T20:20:00.000-07:00

Leah, Silas, Luka and I ventured out of the West Seattle neighborhood to visit Trophy Cupcakes in Wallingford on 45th. The owner was featured on Martha Stewart making her cupcakes. They made the chocolate graham cracker cupcake with marshmallow frosting on the show and we had to have it!! I know.... are you going to stab your self with desire yet?!! IT WAS DELISH!!! Luka even tried to get her hands on it. You should have seen her eyes. You would think that shes had some chocolate before. (no I did not give her any... I am selfish with food and treats... Joey doesn't share food, you know.)

After enjoying our coffee and cupcakes we headed over to Greenlake to walk off our treats. The days have been beautiful lately. Fall is in full swing and the leaves are amazing. As we drove to Greenlake there was a large truck in front of us that kicked up all the leaves on the ground. There were so many it looked like there was a tornado of yellow flying leaves in front of us. So fun. All over the park the kids were having an awesome time playing in the leaves. A dad even brough his rake to make a pile for his kids... too fun! Here are some shots of the rest of our fall afternoon out.

Waking up is hard to do

2008-10-24T17:09:00.001-07:00

This video is long (4min) but it's so worth it. It's the best of all things that are Luka. The stretching, the faces, the wide eyes, the crazy hands, the expressions..... it's so fun. Enjoy! Oh and turn your volume up so you can hear our conversation at the end.

embarrassing!

2008-10-16T11:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had a great afternoon. Just hanging out and enjoying the gorgeous fall day. We bundled up and walked to our favorite hang out, C&P coffee. And sat in the cutest rocking chair! We gotta get one of these for home! Luka loved it. I can just see her in a few months figuring out the rocking and going to town. Then we walked up through the leaves on the street to the West Seattle Nursery. We were just checking out the gorgeous fall stuff thats changing colors, blossoming, or growing berries like this amazing purple bush. If I was a real plan extroidinarre I would have noted the name of the bush, but I just enjoyed the berries. PURPLE!! Love it. We were looking for Lavender plants to plant in a pot I'm gonna take from the dump our neighbor has out back. A perfectly good pot they've dumped back there! Finders keepers losers weepers. Then we walked down to the grocery store to get some things for the Turkey I was preparing for dinner. I noticed a the power lines were covered with birds and they were chirping and chirping so loudly. I was fascinated. I pushed the walk button and waited for the light. As I waited I watched the birds and noticed the splatting sound on the ground and the staining of the sidewalk from the birds pooping after eating berries. I even took a second to snap a photo of them! The light turned green and I walked across the street into the store. As I was purchasing some boullion cubes Luka awoke and I chatted with her there in the middle of the aisle. I then noticed a brownish purple chunk on her neck. There was no chocolate in sight and I knew it could only be one thing... BIRD POOP!!!! So add it to the record books... Luka has had her first embarrassing moment.

The culprits! Stupid birds!

Look what I can do!

2008-10-10T08:08:00.000-07:00

Luka has developed a new trick! She loves to stick her tongue out! I began sticking my tongue out at her couple of weeks ago to encourage the GIANT smile I got every time. I could see the look of determination on her face every time I did it as she tried to do it her self. She has finally mastered it. My only fear is the next step, that's definitely inevitable... RASPBERRIES. Watch out now, she's a barfer and a spitter. NICE.

Good till the last drop.

2008-10-10T07:51:00.000-07:00

Luka was diagnosed with GERD (gastroesophageal reflux). Baiscally her esophagus is not fully developed and it allows her food to come back up frequently. She barf's a lot. It's very common in infants and nothing to worry about right. It peaks in infants at 4 months and usually subsudes by 6 months but can last until about 1 year in some cases. She's a happy GERD baby. Some infants have quite a bit of pain from the stomach acids. So far, she is only slightly bothered by it. The doctor suggested to mix some rice cereal with some mama-milk and spoon feed it to her before breastfeeding. The weight of the thickened food in her belly should help her keep the breastmilk down. SO, we tried it last night and man... she took to the spoon like it was an old friend!!! Good to the last drop.
We feel so proud and lucky to have such a good baby. We're crossing our fingers that we remain as lucky as she develops and grows and changes. For now we are excited that we've reached this milestone.
Oh and expect to be handed a giant burp cloth when holding her! We apologize in advance for any ruined clothes.

HAPPY 31st BIRTHDAY POP!!!

2008-10-07T10:31:00.000-07:00

We celebrated in style for Dan's birthday! First a few pitchers of beer and friends at the Skylark then a celebration we like to call DANTOBERFEST!! Here's a photo of his gift and the par-taying.

The birthday present.

Skylark Party. Luka's looking more and more like her pop!Dan's new favorite game... something with a hammer and nails, and this poor stump.

The winners get kisses on the cheek from the beer wench.

Uncle Gordon putting Luka OUT! She was sleeping sooo good in his giant long arms.
Monkey see monkey do.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUBBA.

Caught on Camera!

2008-10-03T11:29:00.000-07:00

Luka has finally reached out to grab an object. She's been eating her fists for weeks and she just 2 days ago reached for her "Mr. Sunshine" (thanks to who ever got it for us!!). I grabbed the camera quick (is that a first time parent reflex?). Here's her star appearance! To music even... enjoy! Your witnessing history here folks!

Bebe Pod Chair

2008-10-03T10:19:00.000-07:00

I purchased this chair for Luka yesterday and she LOVES it! It's giving me and her a new freedom. She seems to feel like she's one of us. For now I shove a little blanket in the sides to support her a little more until she's stronger. But check her out! She's holding her head up really well and REACHING for objects! PS: I know it's bad parenting of me that she's on the counter in this chair and that she could possibly fall out. I realize I should not be putting her up here. oops. Won't do that again, but the photo is priceless.

priceless.... asleep on the job.

Do the Puyallup!

2008-09-28T18:04:00.000-07:00

Luka is adding to her list of firsts daily. She's found her hands and is constantly going cross eyed looking at them. My mothers words, "if you keep doing that they are going to stay that way" are ringing in my ears. She's begun sleeping through the night! Bed time at about 10:30 , up at about 6:30 or 7... somedays as late as 8:30! She's hit a small stumbling block with bottles for a few days. She decided that if mom is in the room there is no way she's going to take a bottle... the real thing is much better. We finally figured out her issue and I go in the other room. She's also playing with her mouth, trying new shapes for her lips and sticking out her tongue. We keep making razzberries at her, or "motorboats" as we call them, and she seems to want to make them as well. Were seeing spit bubbles form but no razzing yet. I am sure it will be along soon enough.

I had my first full day away from Luka yesterday. Gramma Bobbie came and stayed the night and Dan and I went to the UW vs. Stanford game. Kick off was at 7 and we began tailgating at 3! It was a great time! I missed Luka, but I think I did better than I expected... I only called home once. Of course the experienced Gramma Bobbie had no need to call me!

Another first for Luka was the Puyallup Fair! We went in the pouring rain with Leah, Pierre and Silas. We had a great time and ate a TON of food!

Sunday walk

2008-09-15T18:13:00.000-07:00

We walked about 6 miles round trip on Sunday enjoying the GORGEOUS day. Summer seems to be hanging on by a thread and we are grasping at all the sun we can get before it's gone. Plus Luka loves to go on walks!

Check out this Seattle family photo!

Lovin' my Pop

2008-09-15T17:56:00.000-07:00

We hit the Husky game again. We were hoping that Luka would be the good luck charm the Dawgs needed, but it looks like it's not working. None the less, tailgating is a great time.

They are making the same face! Some say she looks like me, but I'm beginning to see more and more of her pop.

A football lovers dream.

Peyton and Jen partying it up! Look at those cheeks!

She loves the sound of the crowd. She's either cheering with them or sleeping through it!

Call the ZOO!

2008-09-10T09:33:00.000-07:00

Luka went to the zoo for the first time this last week. So many firsts!!! She had a great time eating while watching the elephants and getting her pants changed in front of a bear! WOW! Her favorite things were the butterfly exhibit and the FLAMINGOS! We were really excited to see the monkey exhibit (to see how she compares to the other monkeys) but they were all asleep! We could only find ONE!

I'm checking out that bear over there... did he see anything during my diaper change?

Get your groove on Lu!

I'm sorry but does it get any cuter than a giggling baby?

Back there behind us in the tree is the ONE monkey we saw... and he was so boring!

love

Luka LOVES the bath!

2008-09-09T12:17:00.001-07:00

Here's a short video of Luka in the bath. Hope you don't mind a little "revealing". It's baby parts! But her little kicking legs are too cute! Check out how she responds to her name, too! Dan and I talking in baby talk is an added extra..... Enjoy!

Hey you!

2008-09-09T09:44:00.000-07:00

We have so many fun things happening in Luka's and our lives that we've gotta share! You all know she came to us on July 15th, 2008, and now you've gotta see what else is going on.

This last weekend she attended her first Husky game. We are new season ticket holders this year! We are hoping that the year improves from the first two games. Although the last game was a loss it was a great game. None the less Luka enjoyed her self and so did Peyton. We tailgate and sit with our good friends Luke and Jen Lysen and their daughter Peyton. That's Luke "flying" Peyton around at the tailgate party in the parking lot.

She also loves hanging out with grandpa! He's so nice to talk to. We're lucky to have our families so close so that we can see them frequently. We have so many great friends and family and we thank our lucky stars that we have such a positive happy place to raise Luka. Check out the latest picnic in the park with Silas, Pierre and Leah, and Colin, Tate and Erin! What a fun warm almost end of summer day. We're sad to see it go so we tried to take advantage last Sunday in Seward Park. THAT'S A LOT OF BABIES!