3 Years Ago Today...

...Seth and I were married at Glover Mansion here in Spokane. It doesn't seem like it's possible that our wedding was 3 years ago already! I feel so lucky to have such a sweet, caring husband who's also an incredible father to our daughter. I love you babe, and can't wait for all the years to come together! Happy Anniversary!

FEED ME!

We're working on beefing up Miss Ella a bit, and we just started feeding her solids this past week. She loves it! We knew she was ready - she'd been reaching for our forks, spoons, drinks, anything for weeks. So with our pediatrician's ok, we started her on oatmeal on Thursday. Only 4 days in and she's like an old pro already. Who would have thought?! Not a big surprise that we've got a good eater on our hands - mommy and daddy have been known to enjoy a good meal too. ;)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT MAIA!

A day late.... sorry Maia! We hope you had a fabulous time at the baseball game celebrating your special day! Wish we could have been there! We're looking forward to seeing you in July! We love and miss you!

how many chairs does one girl need?

I put Ella's highchair together today, and she really seems to love it! Had to figure out where the heck we have space for it.... it's got to compete with the bouncy chair, the jump-a-roo, the swing, the bumbo, etc, etc..... Goodness gracious, this girl's furniture is worth more than mommy and daddy's. Sad.

This one's for you Aayla!

Our friends Jenn, Don & Aayla loaned us their Jump-a-Roo when we were preparing for Ella. We brought it out for the first time a few weeks ago and I took a little video, but never got around to posting it. I understand that Aayla loves to watch Baby Ella on the computer so wanted to post this for everyone (but especially for Aayla) to see! Keep in mind this was the first time Ella had tried this out.... she is moving around quite a bit more in it these days.

5 Months Old

Hope everyone had a great weekend. The weather was beautiful in Spokane, and it was so nice to be able to get out and about without having to bundle ourselves up. It was actually pretty hot, but I can't complain (give me a couple months and I'm sure I will be). Seth and I got quite a bit of yard work done, so we don't have to feel like we have to hide from the neighbors because of our overgrown lawn and weed-filled flower beds. We probably won't win the yard of the month prize, but there's definite progress being made! Ella enjoyed hanging out with us outside too - she really seems to love getting out of the house after being cooped up all winter. She is officially 5 months old today! We took a walk last night and we took a picture at the end..... before we forgot all together.

HERE COMES THE SUN

The forecast looks great for the next few days. In the 70's today and then up into the 80's the next 3 days. Wow!! Time to get out into our neglected yard!

We're Home!

We arrived back in Spokane last night at around 9:30 - it was so good to get home! We had such a fun trip, but traveling with a little one can really take it out of you....and her of course! We took a ton of pics - I'll post a few below. Here's a quick run-down of our trip.....

Thursday 5/8/08 - chopped my hair off just before we left for the airport (you'll see in the pictures). It had been about 6 months since my last cut, so it was way overdue. We flew out of Spokane, landing in Denver at about 5:30 pm. Seth's brother Oliver met up with us and we all got in our rental car and headed to our hotel, where Seth's Mom, Dad and sister were waiting for us. We went to dinner at the Cherry Cricket Bar near our hotel (Seth's Dad, Tim's choice, and a good one!). Then time for bed!

Friday 5/9/08 - Breakfast at the hotel, then made our way to the Cherry Creek Mall for a tiny bit of shopping. On to Priscilla's of Boston where Maia had her final wedding dress fitting. She looks so gorgeous!! Then to lunch and into the car where we caravaned up to Loveland, CO for a quick viewing of Maia and her fiance Steve's new house. (This girl has SO much going on.....graduating from pharmacy school, buying a house, moving, and getting married). Their house is great! We met up with Seth's Uncle Earl and Aunt Janell and all of us went to dinner before heading on to Laramie, WY.

Saturday 5/10/08 - An early morning - graduation was at 8:30 am. Maia is finished with school - congratulations! Now a few tests and she'll be a pharmacist officially! After graduation we all got together at Steve's parents' new home in Laramie and celebrated a bit before heading to dinner at the coolest place. About 30 minutes outside of Laramie is an old ranch turned B & B/restaurant, called the Vee Bar Ranch. We had a great dinner (even with Ella letting us know she didn't appreciate us keeping her out so late).

Sunday 5/11/08 - My first Mother's Day. We checked out of our hotel and met up with Steve's parents and sister for brunch at Altitude, a restaurant in Laramie. Yummy brunch.... i think we all at too much. Then we all said goodbye and Seth, Ella, Oliver and I got in our car to make the drive back to Denver and the airport. After dropping Ollie off for his flight, we were able to meet up with my good friend Courtney at a restaurant near the airport. Her daughter, Harper was born just a couple weeks before Ella, so we were able to meet each other's kids for the first time. I'm so glad we were able to get together, even if it was only for a few minutes!

First plane ride








with Uncle Ollie









with the Grad









the whole family








Harper & Courtney with Ella and me

To sum up - we had so much fun! Ella did wonderfully and I think really enjoyed being out and about and hanging out and meeting the family. It was a lot for her though and we heard about it on the plane home last night. But I think it was worse for us than anyone else on the flight, as some of the other passengers commented on how good she was!? Now we look forward to our next adventure - heading to Rapid City in July for Maia's wedding!

Family's First Trip

Tomorrow we leave for our trip to Laramie, WY. Seth's sister Maia is graduating from Pharmacy School at the Univ of Wyoming on Saturday - YEA MAIA! So we, and the rest of the family are meeting up to celebrate with her. We're flying into Denver tomorrow evening and meeting up with Seth's brother Oliver at the airport, and his parents and sister a little later. We'll all actually be staying in Denver tomorrow night, and then making our way to Laramie on Friday afternoon. I'm so anxious about the plane ride....who isn't with a baby?! Thank goodness it's a direct flight. I'm sure when we get back we will have lots to tell you all. Wish us luck!

Since I probably won't be able to blog until Monday, just wanted to say Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!

Bloomsday Weekend

So it's been over a year since I've really done anything you could consider working out. But I got a wild hair and decided to sign up for Bloomsday (7+ mile run that's been run in Spokane for over 30 years) this year. My brother Gabe, and his girlfriend Nancy, and their friends Clint and Michelle came over from Seattle for a fun weekend, including Bloomsday. Gabe, Nancy, and Clint all ran the race and did really well. Michelle and I walked it - thanks for walking with me Michelle. I surprised myself by feeling pretty strong all the way through - and even today, I'm not too sore. Seth stayed home with Ella for the morning while we were all out and they had a great time together. Ella loved it, as she was in a great mood the rest of the day and entertained all of us with smiles, and talking.
It was a fun few days, and we had great weather which always helps when you have company I think. We're looking forward to getting over to see Gabe and Nancy's new place sometime this summer. As you can see in the pictures, their dog Cassie gets along really well with Ella. They were pretty funny together.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Today our Bloomsday guests arrive.....Gabe, Nancy, Clint and Michelle. Probably won't be blogging much until Sunday or Monday. Here's an Ella fix until then - some pics taken recently......