Seattle and Vancouver

A few months ago, my cousin, Jon, and his wife, Kaycee, had their first little baby, Lily, 

so what better reason to head up to the Pacific Northwest than to meet my new niece. 

And I think you should know, Lily is a precious, little thing. Seriously, so very sweet.

And since we were planning on a 5 day trip and had been to Seattle a few years before, we decided drive further north and get another stamp in our passports ... Canada. Vancouver to be exact.

But first, we had to meet Lily for the very first time. And we 

were all SO very excited ... most especially Sophie!

 Lily!

 Father (Jon otherwise known as "Uncle Don Don") and Daughter (Lily)

 Auntie Charlotte with Lily

 Thinking of 3 kids? 

Looks like chaos right?

2 is quite enough ...

I know, I know, I look stupid in this one but how cute is Blake!!!

And after a quick coffee/brunch date with Jon and Lily, we hopped in the car for a 3 hour trip to Vancouver. And how we loved Vancouver ... from the hotel to the city to the amazing food. We had an awesome time and felt like 2 days just wasn't enough time ... wish we had just a few more days ... maybe a week, perhaps two ... we probably could have spent the rest of the month there and it wouldn't have been enough time ... that's how much we just loved Vancouver!

Waiting in line to cross the border.

This is the first time the boys in our family (Andrew and Blake) had 

ever crossed the border, using their brand spanking new American passports!

Oh Vancouver,

How I loved thee ...

And miss thee ...

My cousin, Jon, recommended this Chinese Restaurant called, 

"Legendary Noodles" ... yum, yum, yum, yum, yum!!!

My beautiful daughter walked fearlessly up to the water ...

And took a step in. Highly, highly unusual ... I'm proud of her!

The "J" boys Hangin' out!

I LOVE Sophie's smile in this one ...

Inukshuk

This reminded me of the Vancouver Olympics in 2010

I've been looking for something nice to photograph

to replace the IKEA print on our wall. Not sure about this one

quite yet but that's why I took this particular photo ...

Right before the 2010 Olympic games,

This group of statues came about. It is meant to show people

about the different stages of happiness. It was meant to be temporary

but people liked it so much, it became permanent.

Maple Sugar Latte

I'd never had one before Vancouver.

It was amazing .. yum, yum, yum! 

Stanley Park 

 With Blake

 Sophie had one of the worst meltdown of her life ...

in Stanley Park. It was awful. She was already kind of cranky but

some Daddy had a great idea to offer her ice cream if she behaved.

I heard her offer it and I knew it was over ... and it was. Poor Andrew

thought it would just give her inspiration to cheer up. She didn't. And when she

didn't get that ice cream, she just fell apart. Screamed and cried for nearly an

hour. It was ridiculous. Upset over an ice cream. Ahhh ... to be 3 years old again!

 Sophie's Shadow

Up Grouse Mountain we encountered a bear.

Don't worry, it was behind a fence ... but I had no idea

we would be able to get so close! Amazing!

Always SO happy! 

Bald Eagle in Canada.

Might have made me feel a little bit of American pride ...

Sweetest little guy

You can't tell, but Sophie was being carried in the Ergo Baby Carrier. 

Yep, it fits up to a 40 pound toddler ... though I would never suggest it ...

But here she is ... in the Ergo ... might have been the last time ...

The poor kid didn't get a nap since we were so much on the go ...

He passed out after we left Grouse Mountain on our way to the Suspension Bridges.

I even carried him a way and then transferred him into the Ergo.

And still, Blake slept ... 

Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge

Sophie walked the entire way,

holding onto Daddy's hand.

Hiking

Holding on tight!

Heading across the suspension bridge

Cheese!

So sweet ... love that little boy! 

View of Vancouver from Granville Island 

Lunch on Granville Island

There is nothing more to say than ...

we got pooped on. Hopefully that is lucky.

Sophie got to pick a special treat from the Toy Market.

May I introduce a new puppet in our house ... 

Sophie Alexi Vancouver Canada Jamieson.

And after a fun trip in Vancouver, it was time to head back to Washington ..

to spend time with Jon, Kaycee, Lily and friends. We were lucky that Kaycee's parents

live in Mount Vernon, which is about 2 hours from Vancouver, 1 hour from Seattle ...
so we headed that way for some fun time with Lily and friends!

Lily!

My cousin Jon went crabbing that morning

Fresh crab for dinner ... yum, yum, yum! 

Bedtime cuddles!

Superman wasn't happy

Sophie feeding some cows with Uncle "Don-Don"

The Pangs ... new and improved! 

Pre-ride back to Seattle cuddles

The cousins! 

Andrew used to work in this building.

That fact obviously bored Sophie

Kaycee and Lily ... trying out the Ergo!

Pepper decorations

Dungeoness Crab

Not as yummy as what Jon served up! 

Pikes Market Place

Fresh Fish

Fresh Veggies

Amazing Pepper Decorations! 

Flowers

Running with Auntie Kaycee

Love that HAIR!

EEEK ... don't take a picture of ME Auntie Charlotte!

With the girls! 

Blowing dandelion

Singin' in the hills! 

Blake practicing his walk

Our friend, Kayla, and her son, Saifo, now live in Seattle

so they came out to visit with us! 

Sweet friends!

With Kaycee and Lily

Trying out sunglasses at Target

She said she was cute ...

Sophie loved these ones too

but we said no ... she wasn't happy about it.

Security Anyone? It's Lily, the security guard! 

So happy! 

Sophie saw this "Pop-t-i-cle" and 

insisted on having her picture with it! 

Getting a lift from Uncle Don-Don

Dinnertime Entertainment

Where Jon used to work - "Zeeks Pizza"

Yum, Yum, Yum, Yum ....

With the Space Needle

What a great trip this was ...

from Seattle to Vancover to Mount Vernon,

we had the most amazing 5 days! 

The highlight was of course getting to meet Lily and hang out

with her lovely parents but we also loved Vancouver and can't wait to

go back! It was an amazing place ... until n

One SUMMER Blog post

Is it possible to go all summer without posting ... one. single. blog. entry? 

I just did ... and it's a rotten shame because there has been so much that has been going on!

Ah well, we can't look back now can we?

Forwards onward ...

Andrew has been busy traveling for work ...

to and from Minneapolis and back. 

He calculated that since January, he has been gone 50 full nights.

That is 50 nights away from us ... sounds terrible doesn't it?

Thank the good Lord for my parents - we could not have made it 

those 50 days and nights without them!

Sophie has probably been the busiest of us all ...

She went to summer school at her preschool for 2 months this summer.

She had a great time playing and eating popsicles, or as she calls them,

popsticles ... all summer long. It's a minor miracle that she's still tiny and petite.

Blake is the typical second child.

Poor little guy has so few of his own friends ...

and most of his friends are siblings of Sophie's friends.

He spends most of his day getting his sister to and from 

her activities. The best thing, however, is getting some special

undivided time with mommy this summer while sister is in school.

6 whole hours ... I don't know who loves it more, Blake or me.

As far as me, I am a typical mom.

I spent ... still spend, most of my time getting the kiddos to and from places.

But thankfully I had some pretty great mommy friends (Annie and Yuli) 

to hang out with ... and we spent lots of time together this summer.

Here are some of my favorite summertime pics ...

 Sophie and her bestie, Charlie

Charlie and Sophie were born 7 days apart 

and have known each other their entire lives.

I think someday, they might get married :) ! 

 Praying at school

Meredith (Sophie's buddy)

There is something so amazing about this photo ...

A princess having a meltdown ...

Classic.

 It was super hot this summer

We spent a lot of time in our kiddie pool

 This summer Blake learned what to do when Mommy says ...

"CHEESE!!!!"

 CHEESE!

Blake's little bud, DD.

One of my most favorite photos from this summer ... 

Our friend, Meredith, in the sprinklers

 Sophie

Love this one of my kids ...

They are so funny! 

It was a pretty amazing summer ...

Wish it could go on forever ...

Happy FIRST Birthday Blake!!!!

My Baby Blake, 

... can I still call you that?

You'll always be my baby ...

Happy Birthday to you!

You are one years old today.

How can that be?

I am reminiscing on the day you were born. It was an amazing day ... of course, there were the normal jitters but it was a planned birth ... and before we knew it, our family was forever changed.

What an incredible year it has been ... simply remarkable.

You are such a bright star - one of our greatest delights. You have the sweetest personality ... winner of the worlds BEST smile ... very good natured. You are so patient - especially with your sister who tends to yank the "best" toys out of your tiny hands ... they are, apparently, "Sophie's toys" and you are most welcome to play with them after she's done. Even with all the patience in the world, sometimes that reasoning doesn't fly.

Despite that, your sister STILL adores you and you STILL adore her. In the mornings, neither of you smile until you see each other. I love that. I hope that you will always have a special smile for each other.

You are so curious. It's good ... and bad. I've stopped you from the possibilities of electrocuting yourself by nearly sticking your fingers to investigate the electrical socket ... or the times I saved you from the (many, many, many) attempts to exit the house to explore the great outdoors. Somehow I think baby proofing is on the (very ... immediate) horizon.

You're babbing a lot lately. I swear you say, "Gung Gung", which is your grandpa ... but otherwise, you just babble away.

The past week, you've started to stand and cruise around, holding on firmly to the couch or any hard surface that you can reach. You love standing and reaching for toys or anything we've tried to "hide" from you. I've even caught you climbing Sophie's chair ... trying to take a peek out the window. Fortunately for me, you're not quite tall enough ... yet. Soon enough Blake, soon enough.

I pray that you will always have that 

sunny disposition and precious laugh ... forever and always.

May you always know how very much 

we LOVE you and are PROUD of you!

I love you Mr. B

Yours ... forever and always,

Mommy

Easter and Desmond's 3rd Birthday

This year, we spent part of our Easter celebrating 

our friend Desmond at his 3rd Birthday.

We went to church in the morning and then headed over to 

Desmond's house for a Birthday/Easter Party Extravaganza. 

We've known the Watson Family since it was just Brian and Suzanne 

and then excitedly waited for Brian and Suzanne to return from 

Rwanda with a little boy they named Desmond. And now, Desmond 

and Sophie are classmates at school, so it was so special to get 

to celebrate Desmond at his 3rd Birthday!

Desmond is obsessed with the movie, "Cars"

 Desmond's Car tattoo

 Sophie got some heart tattoos too! 

 Sweet Meredith!

 Lining up for the Easter Egg Hunt

 Sophie found some eggs ...

 Sophie searched for more eggs ...

 And then found some more ...

And then went back to hunting for eggs ...

 Sophie and her bestie Alexi

 Happy Birthday to you Des!

 Blowing out 3 candles ....

 

There was a cotton candy machine ...

Sophie might have been in heaven ...

really and truly ...

Sophie and Blake go to the Getty Villa

For weeks, possibly months, my mom has been talking to Sophie about the Getty 

and meeting "Pau Pau's Getty friends" ... so Sophie was definitely excited 

to go when my mom invited us to visit her over our Spring Break. 

And what happened was completely and totally unexpected 

but I suppose when you have a 10 month old and a 3 year old, 

nothing in life can really be expected.

It all started out so well. 

We arrived at about 12:30, a little before my mom's shift was done so we 

took our time, getting out of the car, making sure we had everything we 

needed and then finding my mom, who was in the Family Forum.

Pre-chaos 

Sophie was SO excited to see Pau Pau!

This is when chaos hit.

A few weeks ago, one of Sophie's classmates got sick in class, in the middle of the school day. 

Since then, whenever Sophie has gotten upset, even in the slightest, she'll make herself throw up. Sounds ridiculous right? It is ... and so frustrating.

So, back to the Family Forum. Shortly after we arrived, we saw my mom and as she excitedly ushered us to the Family Forum ... it happened. Sophie saw what can only be described as Aphrodite (which my mom has been teaching her about) flying, otherwise known as shadows against a wall, Sophie started slowly backing away ... in a panic. I heard her say, "I want to go home, I don't want to see Aphrodite flying" ... and then I knew what exactly was going to happen while still hoping against hope.

Oh and yes, it happened ... Sophie gagged until she threw up. Right in the middle of what is known as the Roman kitchen. I was mortified. But then what could I do? I handed Blake to my mom and rushed Sophie off to clean her up ... then back to the car to change her clothes and back try to salvage what had started out so well but had gone badly so quickly. 

And despite Sophie crying that she wanted to go home, all the way back from the car, she actually ended up having a great time in the end. Sophie greeted many of my mom's Getty friends and we had lunch in the cafeteria.

It was at the very least .... memorable.

Post-chaos ... 

Lunch with Pau Pau

My sweet little boy ..,

all dressed up for a special occasion!

Pau Pau with the Grandkids

Something about this photo just made me smile ...

The photo of the day ...