March 15, 2011

Miles is one!

In a party that saw our living/dining room more crowded with friends and family than it has ever been, our little buddy celebrated his first birthday. Miles, who goes by a number of nicknames -- Buddy, Dude, Bobbaloo, Chunky Monkey, Sweet Boy, Little Man, and a number of others -- is turning out to be quite the social bug and thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Here are some shots of the party:

the crayon table was a big hit


the Evans, Kulpers, Whites, and Kennedys all came to celebrate with us


so did the Andersons, Alderfers, Roys, and Libbys


Miles wasn't sure what to do with the cupcake


Grace helped make the cupcakes and knew exactly what to do


flinging frosting everywhere


at party's end

Putting Costco Quantities to Good Use

When Grace runs out of things to do these days, she grabs a book and hands it to me. Does she want me to read to her? Nope. The book is this one:


and she's hoping I'll find an idea of something fun for her to do. The activity for yesterday involved the 36-roll package of Kirkland Signature toilet paper. Yes, it's useful for more than simply stocking the bathroom for six months. We made towers (and Miles knocked them over), pyramids (which Miles knocked over), and buildings (yep, Miles knocked those down too). Then, in a shot reminiscent of one from about two years ago, we buried Grace in the rolls...


and Miles ate them.


Who knew toilet paper could be so much fun? And as an added bonus, it makes virtually no noise when towers of it crash down. A big improvement over wooden blocks.

A Rebirth (or Reusing Well-Loved Items)

I have had this quilt what seems like forever. It has been used as a cover on my bed, as a snuggly wrap on my couch, as a picnic blanket at the park, as a padding to cushion lying on the back deck, and much more. It has traveled extensively, with use in Minnesota, Oregon, Maine, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and California, not to mention stamps in its passport for China, Ecuador, Great Britain, and most of Europe.


To be honest, I can't even remember how this not-so-beautiful but very cozy quilt came to be mine. It was lovingly made by members of the Women's Missionary Prayer Fellowship at Mountain View Alliance Church in Snohomish and given to my mother as a thankyou for speaking at some kind of event at the church. Why it's in my possession rather than hers I'm not sure. After so long what I am sure of is that I would never have parted with it.

Except that the inevitable began to occur. Holes developed, then larger tears, and finally huge rips that threatened the integrity of the whole thing. What to do? Salvage the remaining good parts and use them to create something new.


This is what the rest of the world calls a sleepsack -- sort of a sleeping bag with armholes, to keep kids warm without the dangers of accidentally getting covers over their face. But this is what Grace calls a tuck-tuck suit. (She's a big fan of any kind of suit.)


When she outgrows this one, I think we'll go to normal bedcovers. So we're enjoying our last few months in the tuck-tuck suit phase.


After all, we still get to snuggle with the quilt, but now there's an adorable girl inside it. What could be better?


Beautiful.

Yikes, We Missed a Day

(Yep, we warned you we might not be able to post every day, and one of those crazy days popped up yesterday.)

Today was absolutely beautiful. Gorgeous, in fact. Sunny, warm, blue sky, light breeze, 75-80 degrees -- in short, a perfect summer day. We don't see many days like this so we took advantage of it by heading to the park at Silver Lake. Grace liked playing at the sandy beach, Miles ate the sandy beach, and we brought a fair amount of the sandy beach home with us.

A quick shot of Miles waiting for his turn in the water...

Miles Recommends

Amazing, all the ways in which children who share the DNA of the same two parents can be completely different. Grace has had her favorite books over the last couple of years, and Miles' favorites are not the same. Here are a few that he can listen to over and over:

Will You Wear a Blue Hat?

This one is written with a great cadence and gets stuck in your mind (but somehow isn't annoying).

Buenos Dias, Bebe

One of those free gifts from the hospital when Grace was born. This is Miles' diaper-change-time reading of choice (although we're not sure if he's reading the Spanish or English).

Touch and Feel Adventure

We have many "touch and feel" animal books, but this is the one that actually gets picked up on a regular basis. It's a Fisher-Price book, and the animals match with all of their toys.

Family Photos

We had a photo session recently with Ashley who, in addition to being our wonderful babysitter, is also a wonderful photographer with a great eye. She captured the moment so well, this phase in which we currently find ourselves.

And it was a fun shoot too -- did you know that Seattle's Gas Works Park was home to Honk Fest? A three-day extravaganza of brass bands, funky outfits (are you required to wear a tutu, loud stripes, or metallic pants to participate?), and general Seattle weirdness. The sun shone brightly and tuba was our soundtrack.

Flowers for My Hair

We have a little girl who loves to pick flowers. Great when they're wildflowers in a public place or weeds in our backyard. Not so great when they're tulips or other cultivated flowers in someone's garden. But there's no denying the little heart tug when Grace holds out a flower and says, "Mommy wants a flower for her hair?" (And yes, it's a question -- she asks everything as a question.)

The flowers, of course, last less than a day so to remember this phase photos are necessary. This floral offering came during a recent weekend at Ocean Shores.