Here comes the sun!

We finally got to venture out to Legion Park today and spend some time outside in the sun! It was a nice day, a little windy and we had a great time meeting up with Davi and the kids. Here are a couple of photos from the park, Westley's Wheel of Fortune (the merry-go-round), Super Lizzy, and a roaring good time!

Yesterday when the weather was still gloom and doom galore, we spent time reading and playing games all day. Westley has a new favorite book now! His favorite reading material is the internationally acclaimed, beloved by millions Dr. Suess' There's a Wocket in my Pocket!".
Who could blame him? It's a fascinating tale of zowers in the showers, ninks in the sinks and one very rude noothgrush on my toothbrush...a great read at any age.

Busy, Busy!

Wow! It's been a while since time has allowed an update so let's catch up. Ready???
Here we go...

We had a great Thanksgiving at my Uncle Jim's home with nearly the entire family! My parents, niece, nephew, came up from Eureka and we were joined by my in-laws and our wonderful friend, Sam, for the holiday fun. Sam is the one in the pictures who looks nothing like the rest of us, but fits right in anyway! After giving much thanks for all we are fortunate enough to have, we enjoyed a wonderful meal and lots of great music and conversation, of course!

Christmas was fun, but marred with a bit of illness which kept things interesting. Still, we had a wonderful time with Kaijsa here for a visit from Wyoming and lots of time with Christian's side of the family. Christmas even was spent with Christian's family at Grandma Virginia's home in Shoreline. It was a great evening and everyone had a fantastic time playing games, eating well and catching up. Unfortunately, Grandma was ill on Christmas morning, but we moved the festivities and gift bonanza to her house so she wasn't alone on Christmas, she was well taken care of, and able to enjoy all of us being together. After a big, yummy breakfast and opening all of our generous treasures, we headed home and had a nice quiet dinner with Sam. Steak and potatoes really hit the spot for Christmas dinner! For New year's Eve, I went over and hung out with Scott and a couple of friends, played games and relaxed. Christian stayed home with West and went to be early since it was off to work early the next morning, as usual.










Next on the agenda was Scott's Birthday! Everyone got together at a fabulous Family Friendly Restaurant called the Trumpeter Public House, in Mount Vernon. The food was wonderful, it has a great atmosphere for any and all to enjoy, and they were very accommodating with our large group. For the birthday boy, be bestowed upon him many bags of marshmallows, some other goodies, and a Freshly baked Hazelnut Cake with Nutella cream-cheese icing. Everyone had a really fun evening and West and Lizzie had a little dance time, in between all the hugs West was sharing.

After a short break between parties and holidays, it was time for Westley's Birthday Party! This year, we went with a 50's dance theme since he still loves shaking that booty! On the menu was Homemade Mac and 5 cheeses, lots of veggies, Turkey Burgers and a few other little munchies here and there with a variety of cupcakes for dessert. Everyone had a great time and it was a really fun way to celebrate our amazing, brilliant growing boy and all his hilarity.

Just one day before the big party it was time for the first haircut. We went to a delightful place in Bellevue called City Folks Kids. He got to sit in a firetruck chair and enjoy a balloon while his beautiful golden locks were cut away, and in the end he looked like such a little man! I was so sad to see his curls gone, but the poor kid couldn't see so it was definitely time for a cut. He behaved like a champ and impressed everyone in the shop being so mellow while getting his cut.

While all this was going on over the winter months I was in the process of attempting to keep up with Winter quarter (Attempt failed, but will make it all up...) while I was serving as Assistant Director and Assistant Stage Manager for "Once upon a Mattress" with the Northwest Savoyards. Sam directed the show, as well as designed the sets, choreographed the dance sequences and did an outstanding job with every aspect of the show. As for me, I was backstage along side the great crew every night, and even made a few appearances on stage in my "Brünhilda" costume! (My stage name came courtesy of my friend, our lovely Princess Winnifred, EmilyRose Shotwell.)

This was a new experience for me, being an AD, and I think I did really well with it. Sam and I worked together really well and all our late nights at the theatre gave us a chance to develope an even closer friendship which I cherish so very much.

Now that the show has wrapped and we are all moving on to new things, I miss people and being in the theatre, but it's time to focus on family and school once again. Also must say that all the while when I was gone until 2a.m. working on the show (stuccoing walls, sewing tents, painting, helping with fittings, shopping for props and costumes, etc...) Christian was home with West being the best husband ever. He was so supportive, as always, and I am so thankful for all he did, and all he does to take such wonderful care of West and I every day.

A few other things: - West's 2 year stats: 40 and 3/8" Tall, 34.5 lbs.,
healthy and happy, bright as can be. He's full of chatter, and the dickens, and never fails to make us laugh with a grumpy face, or his silly games. He can count to 20, name a lot of shapes, colors, letters and animals. He's very into coloring right now, and is great with a soccer ball. We are so proud of and full of joy to have such an amazing little person in our lives. Even when he starts to be terribly two, or scream at the top of his lungs in a restaurant or shop only to be hastily removed by one of us so as not to disturb other patrons,
we can't help but laugh...most of the time!
- Christian's still training clients at apple, always working on his website and on the hunt for a non-retail job, but we are so lucky we have any income at all right now with the economic crisis.
- Spring Quarter starts soon! Computer literacy, Economics and Survey of British Lit!
- Ordered business cards and registered a Domain Name for my event planning business;
Modestly Merry Events Orchestration and Design. Yay!
- Am taking an Acting Class from Scott Randall!
- We're trying to plan a trip down to CA this summer but all depends on $$$!

Well, West is avoiding a nap as usual, so I must away to settle my super-toddler! Enjoy the new slideshow to the right and be on the lookout for many more frequent updates to come.

We sing...

Yesterday, I was given free tickets to a Jason Mraz concert from Starlight Washington for some past volunteering . I called Christian, he called the grandparents and they graciously agreed to watch West so we could go to the show and it was amazing. West was happy about that and they had lots of fun together. As for the show, the opening act was an amazing Irish artist called Lisa Hannigan. She has a beautiful voice and a really fun Bjork+Tori Amos+Jenny Lewis vibe. She did a duet with Jason called "lucky" and it is the sweetest song ever.

Jason was, of course, incredible. He played a lot of earlier tunes and some new as well, and even threw in a little "Daddy sang Bass" to really get the crowd going. The stage at the Paramount was fantastic. While the crew was finishing set-up and tuning, there were screens on stage showing pictures people were emailing in from their cell phones. So...Westley's picture was on stage at a Jason Mraz show!



We emailed one of his Gnome pictures to a special address and in about a minute it was in the rotation on the screen! You can see here we even got one of the picture up toward the end of the show with the the band on stage.
West wasn't the only gnome in the venue though, since the percussionist actually had a little Garden Gnome at his Bongos all night! How great is that?!

YES WE CAN!

Tonight, November 4th 20087, Barack Obama was has been elected 44th President of The United States!
Words can't begin express how proud, how inspired, I am to be alive in America at this very moment. I believe tonight is the beginning of the best 4 years this country has ever seen, and I am so thrilled to

witness this event of such monumental, history-making proportions in my lifetime, and especially in West's.

Thor and more...

We've really enjoyed all the Halloween festivities this fall. West and I went to a party for our mommy-and-me group and had a fantastic time with all the kids and their moms, enjoyed some great food and fun and we even won for best costumes! As you can see from the Halloween slide show to the right, West was the world's most precious Gnome, "Gnestle the Gnome" to be exact, and I was a gardener!

On Halloween night, West snoozed away with Grandpa Bill watching over him while Christian and I went to Scott's place for a Halloween Bash with good friends. Everyone really had a wonderful time, the costumes were hilarious and inventive and all of us had so much fun! Christian even won 1st place in the costume contest for his depiction of Thor, God of Thunder. I, dressed as Sif, Goddess of the Harvest, looked on proudly as he accepted an excellent prize of DVDs and some other treasures.
Thanks, Scott, for bringing THE PARTY home!!

It's been a great October and we are gearing up for a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration in a few weeks,
and preparation for all the Winter Holidays.
It's baking time!!!!

Great Grandma and West

Great Grandma Virginia and West
October 19, 2008

She always enjoys spending time with her first great grand-baby!

A day at the Pumpkin Patch!

Autumn crisp and new...

Finally, an update! We've been quite the busy family since last I posted news. Allow me to catch you up on our lives post-July.

We had a nice, full, August with lots of celebrations for friends and family including birthdays, anniversaries, and a lovely wedding in Oregon for our dear friends, Alan and Amber. It was incredibly hot and there was little more walking-through-the-woods-in-heels-time than expected, but the garden ceremony was lovely and it was nice sharing the occasion with so many friends.

September was fairly uneventful aside from the start of my schooling at Everett Community College. I ventured outside my planning experience a bit to cater and design a lovely breakfast for 20 at the office of my dear friend, Sami. She's a lovely woman and I was so thankful for the opportunity to try something new in terms of planning and catering. The morning was a huge success, the food was wonderful and it was a proud day in my book. We also had the pleasure of watching Sami sing at the Mukilteo Lighthouse Festival and had so much fun, but West especially enjoyed dancing along, and he loves his Sami!

Christian is enjoying his time at Apple being in the Alderwood store. He is working hard to update his website and get side projects done when schedules permit. He's also enjoying having more time with West while I work on school work or other projects around the house. Christian is always working on some idea for a short film, or an animation project and is trying to focus so he can really see things come to life and finish one idea before beginning another. I'm beginning to think he's far too creative for his own good, but he never ceases to amaze me with all he is capable of!
West is growing so quickly, no big surprise there, and his vocabulary amazes me every day. He is constantly talking and singing, loving to read, dance (still!) and play hall-ball, our little rainy day hallway soccer game. He also loves looking at pictures of all our family and friends, playing in his room and doing puzzles. First word of the day, every day, is "puzzoes"! Recently, we have been sharing Christian's Lego man "Bruce" (an old FAO Schwartz set-piece) with West and they are the best of friends! Favorite things lately, aside from puzzles, are zippers, mommy's spaghetti, bouncing balls, looking at pictures, Superman, sharing books, stacking and demolishing soft-block towers, blowing kisses, splash...I mean bath, nights, and hours of snuggles.

School has been interesting so far. Most of the class work is done online but for a few tests which I take on campus. The biggest challenge for me to this point has been the business math class and just keeping myself in check with the assignments and all the reading in each class, plus optional exercises and posting to online discussion boards. So far, I am getting by but I know I need to step up my focus and really set aside more time so I don't feel so stressed on Sundays trying to get everything in.

West and I have been enjoying mommy-and-me group activities when time and budget allow us to attend, and we are looking forward to upcoming Halloween parties and a trip to Stocker Farms for Pumpkin selection! While his costume has not been settled yet, Christian and I will be attending our wonderful friend's (Scott) big Bash on Halloween night as Thor and Sif (Wife of Thor, Goddess of the Harvest). We have a lot of work to do on our costumes and finding work time is challenging, but we're looking forward the end result. Pictures will be posted once they are completed!

With Christmas right around the corner I've been planning lots of sewing and knitting projects since we'll be keeping buying to a minimum like so many others, this year! I've recently joined a knitting circle thanks to Lyra, a cherished friend. We meet once monthly, eat, knit, chat, eat more, knit more and enjoy time away from the everyday goings on. The group, recently named The Wicked Stitches (Love it!!) is so fun and I'm very thankful to be part of such a great circle of friends.

Lastly, I am so thrilled to announce my return the the stage...or at least the back-stage! A few weeks from now auditions will be taking place for Northwest Savoyards production of "Once upon a Mattress" for which I will be serving as AD (I think!) to Sami! This is such a wonderful thing and I could not be more pleased to be involved with theatre and where so much of my heart lies. The best part of all this is that we will be putting the on show at the Everett Historic Theatre where I have done so many other shows in the past. Simply opening the doors and breathing in, listening the the heartbeat of the building, is like being home.

Biggest baby ever!

Okay, maybe he's not the biggest baby ever but West is still off the charts! At his 18 month check-up today, we learned his weight is 31.2 lbs and his height is 36.25 inches. It's wild to think my son is that big and not even 2! The doctor was greeted by Westley announcing "Doctor!" as she came in, after we just told him the doctor would be there soon. It was pretty priceless and the happy welcome pleasantly surprised our pediatrician.
She said he looks great, is right on track in terms of development, eating right,
drinking lots of milk and water, and general health.
It does a mother good to hear these things!

In grown-up land, I have decided this will be the year I actually start school and attempt getting an Associates degree in Business. My application has been accepted, I've selected my classes and have chosen some options for orientation and advising dates/times. If all goes smoothly with financial aid I will be attending Everett Community College for 2-3 classes per semester over 2 years. My schooling will unfortunately be funded by student loans, but the payoff when I can finally start my own Event Coordination business will more than make up for it. I will be taking my classes at night since I will be getting a weekend job once our crazy busy August is over and complete, people are married, birthdays and
anniversaries are celebrated and we can all get some rest.
The prospect of going to school so soon is very exciting so here's hoping everything works out!
On to the next...
August, here we come!

(If anyone is absolutely dying to get me a birthday gift,
Home Depot gift cards are just the right size! Seriously! )

Feeling at home

At last, we've nearly finished unpacking and settling in to our new home in Everett. It's really beginning to feel like home. After we get a few more small pieces of storage furniture, we'll be good to go and I can finally have easy access to my cookbooks!

Westley is really enjoying the space and having to spend less time in baby jail. He's been paroled, so to speak. Christian is enjoying being in his new store and West and I have been enjoying each other a great deal since I've been home with him more. He's constantly running, slipping and sliding on the wood floors, having a great time on walks to the produce stand and exploring the playground at Wiggums Hollow park just down the street.

(A little bath time fun with Daddy there for the soaking!)


(West's favorite morning activity is dancing with Ellen!)

Though most of what he says is gibberish to us, West's vocabulary has expanded quite a bit with new words like bread, Cotton (the name of his favorite bear), butt, turtle, doggy, duck, book, water, hat, nose, eyes and the list goes on. He's also learned to blow kisses and it is the absolute sweetest thing ever! Next week we will have his 18 month check-up. It's hard to believe he's only been here for 18 months since there are many, many days when I look at him and think he has to be at least 2 years old! It's been such a bizarre, incredible, adventurous time in our lives and while it has been extremely difficult at times, I can't remember much of what of life was like before West arrived. His laugh is infectious, his smile so handsome, and he is such an inquisitive, thoughtful child. Lately, now that he knows what a camera is for and how to say "pitcha" (picture), he's really been into modeling. He comes over, touches the camera, says "pitcha" and stands back a bit with a big grin on his face. My little Zoolander.....

While July has been fairly mellow with a nice Independence Day celebration at our good friend's Ranch (Stevie's home, The Pines) and a couple of minor illnesses (West had the croup, an awful thing for a mommy to try to make better), and a lot of unpacking and cleaning our new home, we are looking forward to a busy August full of outdoor activities and a little travel. With 2 out-of-town Weddings, My Birthday day of fun at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, a visit from Aunt Kaijsa, and lots of other birthdays and anniversaries the time is sure to go quickly. This coming weekend West will have his first visit to the Woodland Park Zoo as we all go with a group of friends and 2 Japanese Exchange Students they are hosting.

We are looking forward to more beautiful weather, lots of wedding fun, time with friends and family, grilling and chilling (after we acquire a grill, that is...), and enjoying life as best we can. We hope all of you are happy, healthy, and enjoying your summer days!

Just below you will see West
and my lovely Cousin Rose
enjoying a story.

Just above, say
"Howdy" to Westley the Watermelon Farmer!