Happy Valenti... Oh shoot.

Love

February seems to be speeding past us. Time flies when you are having fun! We have had visits from two favorites, Gramma and Aunt Anna. Samuel, being a two year old boy, decided to wait until after Gramma left to start actually saying "Gramma", which when she heard it over the phone was almost enough to bring her right back. It is a little more like "dramma" but the intention is there. Samuel, always our literary scholar, is currently reading 'The busy world of Richard Scary' and rereading and rereading. His page turning is punctuated with exclamations of "doldbug!" With Aunt Anna here we warned her that he have an 'echo' now, to which Samuel responded "echo!" He repeats strangers when we are out at the store and most things we say. Brennan is still fairly quiet unless he sees some food. Apparently, between each bite of food there is just too long of a pause for him and he squeals until you plummet another spoonful of goodness into his awaiting open mouth. When he hears you shaking a bottle he starts to breathe faster and faster until it comes into view and he begins his oh so pathetic little "uhheh, uhheh, uhheh, uheh, ehyaaaaaaaaaa!" Whence said bottle finally enters his starving mouth he makes a satisfied "nyun nyumm mmunn" sound and chows down. Just a bit over dramatic but aren't we all? Brennan is as we say "grabby." As in, if something comes anywhere near him he reaches out his tiny little hands and grabs on for dear life. This can be our hair, shirt, necklace, maybe the spoon that is all too slowly delivering his food, any toy or puzzle piece and also his own pacifier {Which he yanks out of his mouth, with a "pop!" while falling asleep, only to result in a sad 'I am a victim' cry and the restarting of the whole falling to sleep process} Fun times.

These are a few photos (of the hundreds Anna and I took) at Point Defiance Park. Samuel fed ducks and played in the trees. Poor Aunt Anna was terribly cold.

But the drive through the park brought some beautiful scenery!

We are really enjoying our church, New Life Renton, and weekly comment on how we love the basic Biblical preaching. Like, here is a section of verses from the Bible, here is the story it tells, here is how it applies to you. Easy. I get it. I like where it comes from. Right now we are in a sermon series about Simon Peter. What a real guy! He was so, what's the word?? Well, we'll just say, he didn't always get it. He wasn't super smart, and cool. He made major mistakes and went on to Lead the church. Jesus actually said to him "Get behind me Satan". I find many of Peter's musings quite funny. As our Pastor eloquently put it: "The Bible is really interesting, You should read it."

This week was full of sun glorious sun. Samuel tried something he hasn't done in a while- play outside! Wheee! We picked up a new bike helmet for his monster head and a plastic baseball bat and ball at Target. At first he held onto the wrong end of the bat and swung it at the ball on the ground, golf was his first sport you know. He has learned the correct way, though and I am sure he will soon be hitting Gran Slams. Saturday we decides to venture out since it was such nice weather (54 degrees and sunny whoo hoo!) We packed up everything we would need and an hour later hit the road for Northwest Trek. A very cool place, like a more natural, calm zoo like experience with all native North American animals in native settings. The carnivores - bears, wolves coyotes etc- are behind electric wires and water and various other safety features yet still in very natural looking environments. It is a beautiful place.

Yes this is real.

Otter

Linx

Amazingly these next pictures were taken from a moving tram!

Bison

Mountain goat

Goose

Swans

Elk

Wolves

Wild animals!

Family fun

I think spring is really starting. How do I know you ask? No not the week full of sunshine we have had, or the temps in the 50's. Not the tulips making their debut, or the chorus of frogs croaking us to sleep every night. I know spring is here because my allergies have erupted like Mt. St. Helens! Yikes. This will be an interesting season. ta ta.

Two of Brennan's favorite things- His bottle and his foot.

Brennan giving Aunt Anna some love

He has such a penetrating gaze...

Isn't this boy just barely two years old?? He looks so big!

Samuels sing a long

Brennan- One minute of joy

Brotherly love

Where did all these grey hairs come from??

It's February 2010. Where does time go? It has been almost a year since our blog was up and running, and even then it was only once a month.

Some changes ahead-

I will now write from my point of view; I used to write from Samuel's perspective, but now that he is not the only child around here, we'll adjust to Mom vision.

I'll try (try being the operative word here) to write more often.

I mentioned before about our blog going private, I am holding off for now. 




Sooo, here we go:


Tomorrow Brennan will be 6 months old. Samuel turned 2 January 20th. The past year has brought huge changes to our life. Brennan was born into our family August 11, 2009 (right on his due date!). He came in at 21 1/2 inches, 8lbs 9oz., at 5:29 am. He was a sweet quiet little baby, who barely cried and was a great sleeper. This really helped in us in our transitioning life at the time, but let me tell you, he was just foolin' us. Today he is a feisty little bugger, with a bit of a dramatic streak He is definitely an attention lover especially from the ladies ~ I wonder if we have an actor on our hands? He certainly has a different personality! But he is a cuddly little snuggler, and he wakes up chatting and smiling. God blessed us with a great boy. 


Samuel is at the stage where he is beginning to repeat everything he hears. He talks a lot, narrating our car trips  by pointing out every truck, taxi, car and motorcycle and their color. He is especially fond of small fast looking cars or convertibles which are all deemed "uncle" after his uncle Jared's speedy red convertible. Samuel is a big reader and loves puzzles. He is also my quiet one, very reserved in new places and around new people. I thoroughly enjoy this part of him, that still needs Mommy close by in certain situations. There are a growing number in which I am cast aside and his sprouting independence leads him away. He is also a terribly polite little boy and surprises me often with his cleaning up skills and putting things where they go. I am sure he got that from me. ha. 


Last summer David was offered a new job in the Seattle area. After lots of prayer and advice seeking we packed up our 5 week and 20 month old and left the home we had known since we got married in the city I was born and raised in! Ya think it was a change? Actually we love Washington weather, which is what everyone thought would be so hard to adjust to, its the distance from family that proves difficult. It catches you off guard in the small moments. Missing my grandparents 70th anniversary celebration was only the first of many (and I am sure many to come) moments of wishing we were only a 2 hour car ride away instead of a 2 hour flight. A year ago 2 hours by car would have sounded crazy to me. I never would have thought it was something I would entertain, but my perspective has shifted. And now I am finding myself being molded by the hands of a great potter, and the wheel started spinning when we landed in Washington. Here I am a girl, used to having 30 or so family member within, oh about 6 miles. I had never sought out a babysitter, never had to. And paying one? huh?  Our church home was so comfortable, its where we met and my family has attended for 15 years give or take, that we were sad when they announced plans to renovate the old carpet  and pews (pea green and mustard yellow) along with many other out of date items. So here we are far away from the things that were so comfortable and routine. Here we are being molded and formed in a beautiful place, out on our own, like a baby bird being shoved out of the nest to try out their wings and figure out how to live without relying on the comforts they had always known and the protection of their mother.

Life in Washington has been absolutely enjoyable (despite the obvious bouts of pouting and feeling desperately far away from "home"). The weather we have had has been considerably mild and being a CA girl rain is still an anomaly to me-  We often are hit in the face with  gorgeous views of Mt. Ranier shimmering and snow covered. There are lakes, rivers and islands galore, just waiting to be explored and enjoyed. The air is always crisp and clean smelling, like after it rains, because usually it just did. There is a great support of local foods and healthy living which we do our best to follow. We have great friends who live up here that we have hardly seen in the past few years and now we love getting to spend time with them and be in their lives! We are just staring at blank pages ready to be filled with God's teaching, adventures and possibilities. 




There are too many pictures from the last year to choose from, but here are a few:

We've been renewed for another season!

Well, we are approaching the one year mark in our unintentional hiatus from blogging. I have been thinking lately of refocusing my facebook, twitter, email efforts and concentrating them on our blog. However I also think I will be making it private. Weird things going on out there with peoples pictures and such. So keep an eye out!

Julia