Happy 1st Birthday, Mallory!!!

Well, it happened. Our baby girl turned 1 on the 25th. We had a small, family party, just the 5 of us. It was fun, happy, exciting, peaceful and unreal. I found myself thinking the whole time, "One already? Wasn't I just in the hospital having her?" I know I say it all the time, but this last year has flown by in the blink of an eye.

We had so much fun preparing for her party. Jillian, Griffin and I made and iced the cupcakes the night before and Doug did most of the decorating on party day. She really enjoyed opening her presents and trying to blow out the candle. Well, mostly she just kept trying to grab the flame. I thought it best that she didn't receive any burns on her special day, so I blew it out for her :) She loved her gifts, especially her Laugh and Learn purse and pull-along pelican. Poor thing barely gets a moment to herself with them though, the older kids are always playing with them. You know, anything new and they're enthralled!

All in all it was a wonderful day that we'd been looking forward to with much happiness and a touch of nostalgia. That first birthday is always bittersweet, but we loved every minute of it!!

First day of Kindergarten!!

Well, it finally happened. My baby girl is now officially in school. She had such a fun day and even made a new friend, Olivia. While it was a little sad to see her walk down the hall, Doug and I were filled with pride and hope, knowing she is well-equipped to learn, succeed and be happy. She's such a remarkable little girl and an enormous blessing in our lives.

She's walking!!!

Our sweet little Mallory started walking two days ago. It's so cute because she looks like a walking infant (she's in the 3rd percentile for weight). She just made up her mind to do it and never looked back. Jilly loves how she always walks to her first, and Griffin is annoyed that she can now get into his stuff faster ;) I can't believe her first birthday is right around the corner (9/25). Her first year has flown by waaaaaaaay too fast. But I guess the quote from Barbara Kingsolver is true. "It kills you to see them grow up. But I guess it would kill you quicker if they didn't."

The Eagle has landed...

After a year of hard work, Doug finished making the kids' pedal plane today. It's a wooden, totally handmade, Christen Eagle with a working stick and tail wheel. He even made the tail number N4JGM (For Jillian, Griffin, Mallory). The kids (and myself) have been waiting anxiously for months to see it completed. They were beyond excited to take a test flight today, and they were NOT disappointed, complete with the begging and whining for another turn when the other was "flying." Even sweet little Mallory got a turn. She had no idea what to make of it but she grabbed the stick like a pro and smiled her precious smile :) The kids are so happy with their new plane. Now Doug wants a real one to park along side of it, ha ha! Even though he's the best daddy in the world and deserves it, I don't know if I see that happening, but I guess it never hurts to dream, right?!

I read this when I need a little perspective...

A young mother writes: "I know you've written before about the empty-nest syndrome -- that lonely period after the children are grown and gone. Right now, I'm up to my eyeballs in laundry and muddy boots. The baby is teething; the boys are fighting. My husband just called and said to eat without him, and I fell off my diet. Lay it on me again, will you.''

OK.

One of these days you'll explode and shout to the kids, "Why don't you grow up and act your age?"
......and they will.

OR:

"You guys get outside and find yourselves something to do. And don't slam the door!"
......and they don't.

You'll straighten up the boys' bedroom neat and tidy -- bumper stickers discarded, bedspread tucked and smooth, toys displayed on the shelves. Hangers in the closet. Animals caged. And you'll say out loud, "Now I want it to stay this way.''
.......and it will.

You'll prepare a perfect dinner with a salad that hasn't been picked to death and a cake with no finger traces in the icing, and you'll say, "Now, there's a meal for company.''
.....and you'll eat it alone.

You'll say: "I want complete privacy on the phone. No dancing around. No demolition crews. Silence! Do your hear?''
.....and you'll have it.

No more plastic tablecloths stained with spaghetti.

No more bedspreads to protect the sofa from damp bottoms.

No more gates to stumble over at the top of the basement steps.

No more clothespins under the sofa.

No more playpens to arrange a room around.

No more anxious nights under a vaporizer tent

No more sand on the sheets or Popeye movies in the bathrooms.

No more iron-on-patches, wet, knotted shoestrings, tight boots, or rubber bands for ponytails.

Imagine. A lipstick with a point on it.

No baby sitter for New Year's Eve.

Washing only once a week.

Seeing a steak that isn't ground.

Having your teeth cleaned without a baby on your lap.

No PTA meetings.

No car pools.

No blaring radios.

No one washing her hair at 11 o'clock at night.

Having your own roll of Scotch tape.

No more dandelion bouquets.

Think about it. No more Christmas presents out of toothpicks and library paste.

No more sloppy oatmeal kisses.

No more tooth fairy.

No giggles in the dark.

No knees to heal, no responsibility.

Only a voice crying, "Why don't you grow up?'' and the silence echoing,
"I did."

by Erma Bombeck

I miss them already

My parents were here for a 3 week visit recently and the time flew by way too fast. A 3 week trip is short for them, it's usually more like 5-6 weeks! We had so much fun in that time though. I swear we were busy doing Washington-type stuff almost every day! There is just so much beauty here, it's almost impossible to go somewhere and not be amazed. Below are some pictures of our adventures.

Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic Mountains

My Dad trying to keep Griffin from chasing the 2 fawns

Griffy and my dad on the east coast of Whidbey

My mom with the kids - we were out stretching our legs on a road trip along the Skagit River

After Jillian's ballet recital

I have the sweetest parents - so willing to help out with the cooking, laundry, cleaning, and they never tire of playing horses with Jilly (Doug and I are pretty worn out on that one!). Their visits are always fun and always seem too short. Poor Jilly cried for an hour after they left :( They plan on coming out again for the November birthdays (Griffin's, Jilly's, mine and my dad's) so we have that to look forward to. I know Jilly will be counting the days till they're back!

Busy, busy, busy!

I haven't written much lately because we've been so busy having fun with my parents here. My mom finally got the go-ahead from her Dr. to do some traveling so they flew up 2 weeks ago just in time to get here for Jilly's recital (I need to post about that too). Jilly was thrilled they were able to make it. So, for the last 2 weeks we've been doing all the fun Whidbey Island stuff - touring the quaint towns of Coupeville, Anacortes and Langley, walking the beautiful beaches, visiting State parks, picking the very abundant berries that grow here, shopping, eating yummy seafood and next week we're driving to Mt. Baker to do some sight-seeing, hiking and picnicking. We've been blessed with clear and cool, sunny days and gorgeous views of the mountains lately. The weather here isn't always nice (that should be WA's real state motto) so I'm glad it's been cooperating for my parent's visit! I really need to post some pics, but I'll get around to that after they leave. Today we're off the the tide pools of Rosario Beach, a favorite spot of my kiddos. I can't wait!!!