july, july, july

Hi there. We're cooking quite well in this lovely July heat. Rare for the Pacific Northwest, to have temperatures consistently in the 90's... I know, all you guys down in the California heat wave are cursing me, but seriously... us pale white girls in the PNW are melting. Fi is proving that she is a true PNW baby... she does not like the heat so much. I can't blame her.

So one morning we took a bunch of photos. The end of her fourth month. Here it is:

She's about to sneeze...

Sneeze complete...



Highly skilled at finding her toes...


Blurry shot of our most common nursing grip, the double fist. I took this knowing that some day, my hand won't cover her forearm. In fact, it already doesn't! She grows so fast...

(did I mention that she is in the 90th percentile for height, weight and head size? not that any of us are surprised... but at her 4 month check-up she was 27 inches, 15 and some pounds. Almost double of her birth weight! And six inches of height! yep, growing fast...)


This is my second favorite nursing position, the wringing of hands. She is trying to figure out how to nurse from both at once...


As G says, she is exploring the world through her tongue... everything goes in that mouth of hers!


She is the happiest baby...

I made some flags to decorate her room... here is the beginning of her name flags...


Then I got distracted and made her a dress...


It's lined!
And bloomers to match:

Back to the name flags...

Close-up...
Especially of the star, because I love it...

And pink flags for the girl...

And finally, a shot of Fi and our friend D having a deep moment of communication...


I should also mention that last week she creeped, for the first time. She flipped over to her tummy, and made her way across the floor. Not crawling, specifically, but "creeping" as our PEPS leader identified it... it was shocking. Then M (our childcare superstar) told me that "she's going to be a six-month crawler!" which flips me out. I thought she would be a baby for a bit longer... but no. She's outgrown her infant car seat, she's wearing 9-month clothing... she is going for broke. And she is a true W - as our family motto around here is, "Go big or go home!"

the end of June

So we went back east for a spell. We went to a wedding, visited with family and loaded up a moving van full of furniture. I flew home with Fiona by myself, and G drove the van across the country. He brought along our nephew for the ride. Then my dad and sister came for a visit. And then I went back to work. Fiona is spending two days a week with G, and three days a week in a family childcare.

And of these three weeks we have surprisingly few photographs... sorry grandma!! So here is what I have...

We had burgers at the Charcoal Pit in Delaware.

G is telling Fi all about the salad she is missing out on.


The next morning, Fi almost sat up by herself in this booster seat at breakfast...

Fi on the lawn in front of the house her dad grew up in:


Fiona on the airplane home...


and a close up...


So hopefully we'll get the wedding video off the camera so I can take some pictures again. Hopefully some good summer pictures will make it here!

we're headed out...

Sorry for the lack of photos... we are headed back East for a visit with G's family, as his sister is getting married. Wish us luck on the 5 hour flight with the four month old. Much to share once we get back.

Enjoy summer, now that it is finally here!!

oh June, so far you're a good one!

It's been blue skies and summer temperatures here for the last few weeks... so much so that I can't remember the last time it rained! And this week in particular has been pretty fantastic... Fiona has had three firsts so far... her first real laugh on Sunday, a boisterous thing, full of delight and joy. And then she figured out how to roll onto one side. Not all the way over, mind you, but enough so that she turns about 90 degrees. And today, well, I let the picture speak for itself:

Yes, dear readers, she found her feet.

In other news... the week in review:

She is a happy girl, except when she isn't...

Her first Golden Gardens kayak beachfire. She hung out with our friend B:


And, of course, with her papa...

Rhe sunset was phenomenal that night... I think it set at 9:01pm!!

Seriously, the only way this could be better is with a blended drink in hand...

Last weekend we helped our friend D install a tigerwood floor at his house. As you can see, Fi supervised.

And finally, another foot grabbing shot... it looks like a pilates move to me...
So that's our story for now. We are headed to the San Juans this weekend to visit an old friend and take in the island life.

month four and counting

We are approaching the year anniversary of when we found out I was pregnant. Which means that Fiona has been alive (I know, dangerous territory here, I'm not really getting into this political/theological argument, just speaking from a purely biological perspective) for a year. So amazing, the changes she has gone through in that time. I read somewhere that if we continued growing at the rate that she grew in the womb, we would be the size of a football field by the time we are three. Yeouch.

Speaking of growing... Fi is out of her 0-3 month clothing, and even out of some of her 3-6 month clothing. She didn't even get a chance to wear some of clothing given to us... we simply had too much of the smaller sizes. So crazy. There is no need to buy anything new for a baby - so much of it already exists. And we live in a very generous community.

She is so alert and awake – she sees everything going on around her. She is vocalizing/talking all the time at home and in the car, but not so much when we are out around other people. Shy, maybe? I wonder how many of the things she does now will she do in the future, as a young girl and then as a teen and then as an adult… will she always stretch her arms and curve her back when she wakes up? Will her smile always be so big that it makes her scrunch her shoulders up to her ears? Will she rub her eyes when she is tired? Will she raise her eyebrow when she is thinking? I am so excited to meet her, to see who she becomes. And I am cherishing these moments too…

We are falling into a good rhythm around here... she sleeps in and then we have awake time and eating time and nap time... and then the cycle repeats a few more times throughout the day. I've gotten to the point where I can put her down for a nap when she gets tired (eye rubbing and red eyebrows) and she fusses for a few minutes but then crashes for an hour/hour and a half.

Since I am back to countdown mode about returning to work, I have a list (big surprise!) of things I want to do before July 7th. I doubt I will actually get to any of it, but if I do, I will post photos. My list includes some sewing, some printing, some cleaning, some organizing. Oh, and hanging those darn tiles in the hallway!!

the very end of May

The end of May means many things. My birthday, for one. Well, I guess that is the major thing in my world. But this year, it also marked another interesting milestone - I became a permanent telecommuter. That's right, no more office for me! I am working from home from here on out, except when I travel.

So to commemorate the event, I took a couple quick pictures of Fi and I packing up my office...

I will never see this view again!


Fi helped pack boxes. She told me what to keep and what to throw out. From her throne.


We also had the birth class reunion brunch at our place... It was great to see folks with the babies on the outside, and hear all the birth stories. Here's a couple snaps of that craziness:

The babies!


Again with the babies, proud parents in the mirror...


All the mamas...


All the papas...

The weather is delightful in Seattle right now... nice and sunny and we have to get outside. So more soon!

the end of May

So we had some more adventures. This extra six weeks off has changed my outlook, at least for now. My best friend M came up from SF for a visit... we took a road trip down to Portland to visit with A & T and their boys, E & L. Here comes the bragging part... M read books to Fi in the back seat – and she almost turned a page by herself! (and M scolded me for not reading to her more!). Then, M came into our room one morning to sing a good morning song to Fi… she tickled your sides and said “Hi!” in a big voice… and Fi looked right back at her and said “HI!” back… we almost fell over. It wasn’t repeated though… so we’re pretty sure you don’t know what it means yet. Soon though…

Photos to prove it happened...

Fi and her papa in our host's backyard:


Fi and her future boyfriend, the darling L:


Serious blue sky outside of Forest Grove:


Tia and Fi in the backseat:


Mom and dad up front:


We stopped by the Saturday Market (on Sunday, yeah, it confused me too) looking for a doll maker, but alas, could not find her...


and on Monday morning hit the Portage Bay Cafe in South Lake Union, lovely spot!


Hope you all had a lovely holiday weekend!