Christmas in the PNW

I'm typing at my sister's house where we will be staying for the next couple nights. Mike and I decided to extend our stay in the PNW by 10 days so rather than flying back to Boston on Christmas morning, we'll be here for another week. Hooray!
I am sick with something and have only been awake for a total of about 2 hours though it is 4 o'clock in the afternoon. E is sick with the croup and is napping under piles of blankets. So much for our flu shots - must be east coast bugs only that we are immune to. We spent yesterday morning taking E to her old pediatrician for a dose of steroids to help with the inflamation around her throat. She has her first runny nose and sounds like a little teenage frog.
Otherwise, it is so wonderful to be back in the PNW. Our first day here we felt like we were in our element for the first time in months. It was also nice to be able to walk around without fear of freezing our... eyeballs. We are seriously considering coming back for the summer and will keep you posted with our plans.
Time has been flying by and we would like to see a few more people before heading back east. Hope everyone is enjoying their vacations and time with friends and fam. Isn't it so nice to be with the ones you love?

going on

Where are you going?

E's belly was so full with cornish game hen, potatoes, carrots and "nuh nanas" (bananas), that her inny belly button almost became an outie.

Visitors from good 'ol Bellingham.

It snowed. Again. This is the view from our window after only TWO days of snow!

Close shot of a neighbor's car.

Happy Birthday to Me!

The morning of E's birthday.

You say I'm going to like it, but how can I be sure?

I can't believe I didn't take a single picture at Emmy's birthday party. That is what exactly one year of inadequate sleep will do to you. My friend Andrea came a couple hours early to help me set up and prepare. There were a couple toddlers and one kid and lots and lots of adults. I'll try to do better for her next time. We played “How much does Emmy weigh?” The winner came close at 21lb 30z (off by one ounce!) who said she felt like a little less than half a 50lb barbell.

We sang happy birthday, which seemed to confuse the birthday girl. I blew out the candle, Emmy smacked her cake with her hand and refused to eat any. One woman said babies instinctively won't eat anything brown. You can guess why. E tried two nibbles of frosting after my prodding, poked around for a few minutes, and then moved on to the toy maracas someone bought her. That mess you see in the photo is from Mom picking off bits of chocolate frosting. Maybe I shouldn't have made a whole wheat cake.