Live life and be kind

This week our dear friend Keely died which is hard to grasp because she was so full of life.  Just this past weekend she was visiting friends at the beach and having brunch with the gang.  She fought against using pain meds because she didn't want to be 'druged out' and miss anything.  Life was for living and damn if she wasn't going to live each moment that was left.  I have never seen anyone embrace life as she has.

Elizabeth knew her as the gal who always had candy.  She loved to see Keely walk in the door cause she knew chocolate and sweets were at hand.

Her sister Cory, mom Doris and husband Andy gave such a gift to her close friends by allowing us to share these final days and hours with them.  The end was as she would of liked.  There was laughter, kind gentle supportive love and of course good food and wine.

She worked so hard to prepare each of us for these next steps without her.  Be kind, be gentle and live the heck out of life!!

Annual Anniversary photo

Every year we take a family photo on the beach where we were married.  We are happier today then we were six years ago.  I suppose that is the goal.  Life is good.

2010

2009

2008

2006

Ballet Performance

 Elizabeth has been in a ballet class this year and today was her end of year 'performance'.  Really they just placed chairs in the class room and parents were able to watch.  I am amazed with how her teacher keeps 10 kiddos focused and moving together for an hour.  To make it even more impressive she does this ALL day long.

 Parents were given the opportunity to also dance with the kids.  Jeff and Elizabeth weren't really doing any ballet and instead opted for a more improvisational style.

Of course there was a nice bow at the end.  The icing on the cake was the teacher gave each of the students a rose with a personal note.  I must have read that card to her 10 times today.


One quick unrelated comment about our day.  Due to my changing size I desperately needed to do some clothes shopping which I don't really enjoy at the best of times.  I told Elizabeth we were going to the mall for a bit.  "Whats the Mall" she asked.  Like I said I don't really shop much and never at the mall.
We get there and she was MESMERIZED!  She kept saying "It is so big.  Look how big it is and it is all connected."  She asked if Jeff knows about this place and then could not wait to tell him all about it this evening.
Don't worry, it is not like I am anti shopping.  She definitely knows all about REI.

Little mommy in practice

 I realize that with Elizabeth's pregnancy we spent so much time dreaming about what she would be like, what we would be like as parents, how our lives would change, and preparing ourselves for taking care of a new little person.  Not to mention actually actively changing our lives to prepare for her (crib, childbirth classes, new baby room, new jobs to support child, etc).
This pregnancy is vastly different because we view it now through her eyes.  How is she going to change with a sibling, is she excited and are we preparing her well enough for this new little person.  Well she is EXCITED.  She loves breast feeding her babies and you can often find a doll shoved under her shirt.  "My belly is getting biiiggg"  she will say.

She will grab my belly and tell the baby what ever might be happening at the moment "I'm all wet from the shower, can you smell my hair?"... "Can you see my new pretty dress!!".  She drags this breast feeding pillow throughout the house just in case her baby gets hungry.  She is fun!

Camping

Spring has sprung and camping has begun.  We actually had SEVEN weekends in a row with NO rain.  We went to Leavenworth for a long weekend of camping.  It is a  place where previously we have done tons of climbing and returning there always makes us a bit nostalgic for those times.  

 We did manage some hiking despite each of us carrying a kid.  Elizabeth even hiked about an hour of it her own which is great at three years old.

 It is fun to hear her thoughts about camping and nature.  She told us that the loud river sounds like buffalos.  She points out the deciduous versus conifer trees and loves to carry a pocket full of rocks, sticks, pine cones.  As she leaves the trail she will empty out our pockets full of treasures cause 'we have to leave it for the next hiker to enjoy'.

Today the rain returned but I'm not complaining.  The great weather has allowed early camping trips and constant playing outdoors.

I have a great job!

Those who don't work in pediatric oncology often comment 'Isn't it so sad' No... 'How do you work there?' because these little people are larger in all ways than most adults I've known.

Well it is not always sad and this video is why I work there.  Are ya jealous of my job now??  You should be cause these kids rock!  Not to mention the awesome staff who might need some dance lessons though. HA!

Life has been busy and we have been focused on enjoying this busy life and have not blogged or really taken many photos.  

Elizabeth's language and imagination have exploded.  She will literally spend thirty minutes telling us a tale within her world of imagination.  I don't even know where she comes up with some of the vocabulary she uses.  

We are partially to blame for her whacked out mind bending tales.  Each night we read three books and tell two stories.  Originally these stories were summaries of days past or days to come but have now evolved to what she calls 'stories I have not heard in a whhhilllle'.  This means a made up, silly story that is outrageous and funny.  I tell you it is a challenge to come up with two new stories EVERY NIGHT.  Every once in a while you are allowed to repeat one that she particularly likes but that is not often.  

Below are a few photos we have managed to take the past month of so....

She still cuddles.  Thank goodness.

41st Birthday celebration back east.

Riggor... the only dog Elizabeth likes.  Mostly cause Riggor does not lick.  Fair enough.

This is her performing a 10 minute song and dance routine for relatives.  It was only 10 minutes cause I cut her short

Kathryn comes!

Kathryn flew to Seattle on her 9th birthday by herself! We were all very excited to have her arrive and thrilled to know that she loved the solo flying. Were not sure what we would have done if it had gone badly as she was going to have to return in a few days.

They slept together in the bunk bed and the first night neither really slept well as both were beyond excited. I checked in on them at 11pm and found Kathryn asleep and Elizabeth just sitting awake. Around 3am Kathryn woke and colored for an hour or so before finally passing out again.

Kathryn loved reading to her at night and it was so cute watching them cuddled together. One morning while playing in the room they came upon the books that grandma recorded. They both sat together listening while Jeff and I teared up in the hallway.

We spent the next few days running them ragged and both passed out for naps and bedtime. There was a Purim fair with face painting, bouncy machines and crafts.

We also spent tons of time just playing around the house and yard although Kathryn deemed Seattle 'FREEZING'.
I hope these girls continue to find a friendship as the years pass. I love thinking of them together as adults sharing their lives.

Just a Day

She is just fun. She is our little buddy. She has funny things to say. We need to be better about recording this time as it is just sailing by so fast. We have also been slack about taking photos lately so today when the sun broke we headed out to capture the afternoon.
She still has fun ways of saying things.

Poop - poey poey

Beginning of something is referred as end (she just can't get this right but somehow uses 'end' appropriately)

Elizabes, basroom, kashleen - the 'th' is not happening

She has two imaginary friends. She doesn't really play with them but talks about them frequently. Alecea and Josie. Josie is a boy. We don't know anyone with these names. Just something she came up with in her little head. Often times she will report that Josie has taken something from her or has forgotten to share. She wants me to intervene. I remind her that she has a strong voice and can tell Josie herself.

My mom also had an imaginary friend whose name was Simra. I love that Elizabeth is following in her lead.
She has a couple of funny noises. When she eats something she really likes she will hum and hum and hum throughout the meal (my mom also did this).

Elizabeth also has what we call her 'thinking' noise. It is hard to describe but sort of like a blowing of air through her teeth. She makes this whenever she is concentrating or deeply involved in an activity. She has actually made both these noises since infancy. I hope they don't go away but I imagine it may get annoying to others when taking the SAT.

At the end of our photos today she then sat quietly and fed her baby for quite some time. As she will say "I am such a good little mommie". I hope I am also.

A Trailer pull

Skiing at the end of the earth part II

We spent the last week with the Corvalis crew in the Methow. It is the same place we went last year with our friends Kyle and Ann . We actually rented the house next door. We missed them desperately this year!

The little town of Mazama where we stayed is just that... little. There is one small store, a place to rent skis, 200 km of cross country ski trails and a boat load of snow. Our house did not have cell phone coverage, no cable and nothing to do but play in the beautiful wilderness.

Lucia and Elizabeth had an incredible time together and would go hours without needing anything from us grown ups. Oscar mostly just watched the fun.
Jeff was the primary Elizabeth pack mule although we were particularly impressed with Scott lugging both Lucia and Oscar along especially when on skate skis.

We had a home made sledding hill from snow that fell off the roof. There really was an incredible amount of snow and even bright sun each day.

We got the girls on skis. Elizabeth was so proud of herself and keeps saying "I'm a skier now".
Elizabeth and Lucia mostly played babies all day long. Here they are both "cooking babies in our bellies". So cute!!

This is going to have to be an annual trip. Next year we'll try and wrangle Kyle and Ann out this way again (a test to see if they are one of the 6 folks reading this blog).

The Sun will Come out Tomorrow

There is an obsession in our house with all things Annie. Was cute at first but we are getting quite sick of the soundtrack. She sings, hums and talks about Annie all day long.

Stuff

She says things daily that make us stop and laugh. She announced one morning "Momma chocolate make my belly feel good". She has fallen in love with the movie Annie but wants to make sure that 'Ms. Hannigan won't come here will she'. When asked about Annie she will declare 'I would actually really like for Annie to come to my house'.

The other morning with Jeff she wanted to eat breakfast on our high bar stool but he also needed to take a shower. She promised she would be fine so he reluctantly agreed, set her breakfast up, placed her on the high stool and went off to shower quickly. When soaped up he heard her screaming hysterically of course thinking she has taken a digger he ran in the kitchen where she immediately stopped screaming and calmly said 'I need a napkin'. She can be a wee bit dramatic at times. No comment on where that trait comes from.

Christmas Eve Park Fun

We spent the holidays in Memphis having more forced family fun then anyone counted on. Between visits to the park (check out the standing and sliding below), games of house tag, dance off parties and learning to ride a bike we remain thankful that there were no broken limbs. It was a bit of a wild ride. Elizabeth has taken 2-3 hour naps every day since returning to Seattle. We'd do it all over again.

Even Auntie Laura got in on the fun, often she is the instigator.

Highlight for sure was Pops and Bill sliding. Complete nut jobs!