Grandpa

Grandpa has decided not to die, people! My Dad has stage 4 Non-small cell lung cancer and he's not been in the best of health lately. A mini stroke, some falls, mental confusion, weight loss, you name it he's been going through it. As you can imagine it would be hard to sit inside a dying body and watch the world go on around you... it must have been difficult to keep a positive outlook. The last few weeks I have been trying to spend more time helping out in any way I can, and just hanging out with my parents. It's been great and hard at the same time. It's awfully difficult to see your parents in such compromised situations. Vunerable. As a mom and a wife, I am really truly seeing things in such a different light. I think mostly about being a parent and leaving my family prematurely and about being a wife loosing her husband of 42 years. Yesterday I went over to spend the afternoon with my dad, just him and I. And he was up and about and very talkitive. There was no shuffling around, or wide confused eyes-- he was different. We sat down and chatted over a cup of coffee, and he told me that he's not ready to leave us -- "I'm not ready to die yet".

I am a believer in mind over matter and I can see it working in him. I've heard the stories of people curing them selves by thinking positively -- and who knows, it could happen! Even if his positive thoughts just buy us more time I'm ok with that too.

Messy Lunch

We knew that a double bath time would happen at some point. Today it was unavoidable. With Luka AND Silas demanding they feed them selves... it got messy! How cute are they?!?!?! I know, I can't take it either.

Silas did not want to get out. He was a prune!

some like it hot

We were eating homemade pizza for dinner and Luka was at the table with us and would not leave the giant jar of chili flakes alone. We set them on the floor to get rid of the distraction but as soon as dinner time was over her obsession was not forgotten. So here she is in all her crawling glory!! I was reading back in older posts and I can't believe how far she has come since the last post about her crawling. That was January 31. Even since yesterday her skills have improved. I was just talking about how the edge of the rug and doorways posed a "boundary" for her -- hah, I should have kept quiet. She seemed to get stuck when she got to the edge. As you can see from this video the hardwoods and the rug behind her - she clearly no longer has a problem. She also is trying to pull her self up on everything! AHHH Walking is probably just around the corner!

Impromptu hangout night. JoJo, Rachy and I snuggling in bed - - chatting the night away. Heaven.

Among her other milestones this last little while: she's discovering new foods every day. She is loving teething biscuits, and tolerating MumMums (which I like more since they are sooo much cleaner). She tried Kiwi, and today munched on my left over apple rind, which she loved. We also explored cheerios which she seems to be indifferent about. She just loves to feed herself.

I visited with some of my girlfriends from High School and Luka is craking everyone up by stealing Bella's tootsie pop. It was almost gone, so I'm sure she did not get much, but she was very determined. I love the look of shock on Teresas face.Candace, Isaiah and Luka

She loves ollie (our cat) and laughs constantly at him. Or tries to give him his much desired petting. He could care less that's it borders on abusive petting, since she's not learned to be gentle yet.

They both bang on the windows to each other, it's so funny.

OH! She rolls over constantly to her stomach. Even in her sleep! She's giving Leah and I fits! We keep checking in on her and she's sleeping face down in her crib. Nose straight in to the mattress. It's scary. We've both tried moving her, but she just seems to wake up. They say that once they can roll over that the SIDS risk is so much lower, but I am still so nervous.

She's also starting to cut another tooth on the top. In true fashion (well, my tooth fashion - prebraces. You remember my fang?) she's getting an eye tooth first! There is a nice big purple hematoma on her gum where the tooth is pushing. She likes to smile giant and show it off, unfortunatley I have not gotten a good pic of it.

Crazy baby face. love it. Please note the teething biscuit all over her face, hands, and shirt. And probably our carpet.

Luka is just so super super happy. Silas had a rough day on Monday and was a little sad, she wanted him to be happy so the last part (of the most giant post EVER!) is a great video of her trying to cheer him up. (PS he's just hungry here and I'm warming the bottle.) She LOVES her Si Si. They are so excited to see each other when they wake up from naps. I want to set the camera up and catch the giggles and chatting that happens post nap. It's great.

Thanks Melissa!

Our doula Melissa Ross, who we absolutely love, sent us this adorable hat.
Thanks Melissa!

Birdwatching for Valentines Day

My husband is truly great. He knows how much I love surprises and how much I love taking drives. I just love it. On Saturday he made pancakes and mimosas (YUM!) and then we got ready and hit the road. I had no idea where we were going, which I don't mind 1 bit! We ended up in the Skagit Valley. Dan had read an article in the Seattle Times about the area and how many birds are there at this time. I don't think that I would have ever chose this to do my self, but OMG it was SO much fun! We saw a TON of bald eagles, and hawks and blue herons, and a ton of others that I have no clue what they were. If you guys are looking for something to do for the afternoon it's a great drive. So beautiful and amazing to see. It would also be a great place to ride a bike. It's flat in alot of places and there is so much to see. Here's some photos of our day. 4 bald eagles and a hawk!



Love you all.

She really loves him

Luka cannot get enough of Silas. She truly adores him.

get closer, you!

Stinkin dress + stinkin' cute baby = LOVE

Lu attended her friend Peyton's Baptism on Sunday and wore the stinkin cutest dress you've ever seen. Stinkin dress + stinkin' cute baby = LOVE. Can you handle it? I can't. Thanks Auntie Rach.

The lady in the pew behind us kept saying that if there was a beauty contest Luka would win. :)