Miss G's Stats

Gillian had her 2 year check-up last week and the doctor was very happy with how well Gillian is doing. Her official stats were: 34 inches tall (49%), 25 lbs 10oz (35%) and her had was 19 inches (65%).  Gillian demonstrated her jumping abilities, which showed Dr. Anderson her large motor skills were intact. When she walked in, Gillian was jumping around in her diaper! She was very social and interactive with Dr. Anderson. She told us that normally they like to see the kids at 30 months, mostly for a weight check, but since Gillian is obviously doing so well she felt comfortable skipping this appointment. That was nice to hear! (: So Gillian is doing very well, something we pretty much already knew!

Tacoma Adventures

Last week was Spring Break for Alistair. We didn't have anything planned, but managed to keep ourselves pretty busy. On Wednesday we headed down to Tacoma to babysit our niece/their cousin Heather. Katelin was at daycare and Jen & Ethan needed some help since her mom was unavailable. So we volunteered! It was a pretty fun day. Heather was a piece of cake, but it solidified my decision to only have 2 kids! Gillian loved helping out. She was on binky patrol. She would be in the other room and would hear the binky hit the floor and all of a sudden I would hear, "Uh-oh! Binky fall down!" She would come racing out from where she was, scoop up the binky and give it back to Heather. She was also on top of bringing her toys and stuffed animals as well as blankets!

Heather is a very smiley baby and very easy going. We had a good time together!

Gillian found the bumbo and decided to sit in it. She thought it was funny! (:

It's hard to believe Alistair is old enough to be able to hold a baby while standing! I had to have him hold her once while I tested her bottle, which made her stop crying and stare at Alistair. So I did it again later and took a photo! Alistair was very sweet with her too. He would randomly walk by, stop and kiss her on her forehead.

 Cousins! Too bad Katelin wasn't in the photo, I don't think we have a photo of the 4 of them yet!

That night we stayed at my parent's house and on Thursday my mom took the day off and we took the kids to Northwest Trek. It was a slightly wet and cold day, so not a lot of people there. We are a hearty crew and it paid off in spades for us! No crowds and the animals were all lively and moving about except the lazy black bears! On the tram ride we saw everything but moose. It was a fun day!

Happy Birthday Gillian!

Our little Miss Gillian has turned 2! It's hard to believe she is only 2, she is so smart and advanced for her age. But she also has her brother to emulate and learn from! Gillian was very tuned into her birthday! She talked about her "Happy Cake" quite a bit and does not shy away from the attention! Unlike her brother, she enjoyed the singing and clapping! She also enjoys cake, well at least the frosting part! We had a family party for her the weekend before her birthday and she had a grand time. She would open each present and then walk out into the middle of the room and hold up what she got for everyone to see! She is quite the showman!

Gillian doesn't have her 2 year appointment until the beginning of May, but I can tell you that she is growing leaps and bounds! She is for the most part into 24 month clothes, but still wears some 18 month stuff. She is getting much taller and I can see this because among other things she can now reach her light switch to turn it on and off. She kind of shows interest in potty training. We haven't pulled out the panties and done the official thing, but she wants to sit on the chair and she tells us when she is wet or dirty. She has a voracious appetite and does a fairly good job of eating. She is definitely pickier than Alistair was at that age. She is our snacker and our carb fiend for sure! Her vocabulary is huge and she has been known to utter up to 5 word sentences! She is a very good communicator. She of course loves her brother and follows him around all time, sometimes much to the dismay of Alistair! (:

Gillian is also our bruiser, our wild child and our dare devil. She has had more injuries since she started walking! On her birthday she tripped and fell while trying to following Alistair over some uneven cement steps. Thankfully the injury was more abrasion with a slight bruise, not a black eye! She does things Alistair never did at her age and she does things that she shouldn't do until she is Alistair's age! (: But we love her just the same. She is a shiny, bright star in our hearts and her sweet, little voice and big, toothy grin can brighten up the worst days! We love you Gillian! Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

International Night

This year we took break from our usual French Night as the Sandholms didn't come out here this winter so they weren't able to join us. Carolyn & Njord and Seth and I still wanted a reason to get away for a couple of days and decided to invite our friends Tim & Megan McDaniel to join us and get away without kids for a few nights. We headed up to Camano Island and used Njord's parent's house while they were away on a cruise. It was a beautiful weekend and was so nice to have a couple of nights without the kids. I was still getting over being sick, so being able to catch up on some sleep as well as just relax really helped my cold finally move along!

Saturday afternoon we went down to Camano Island State Park to stretch our legs and enjoy the sunshine. It was a brisk day, but beautiful nonetheless!

We went for a beach theme for the centerpiece - shells, glass and rocks The guys prior to the appetizer Us all fancied upOur first Course: Smoked Salmon Stuffed Crab Cakes with Avocado Wasabi Tartar Sauce
Second Course: French Onion Soup

Third Course: Apricot Glazed Game Hen over Apricot and Fennel Wild Rice Stuffing with Roasted Butternut Squash

Fourth Course: Green Apple and Fennel Salad with a Light Vinaigrette

Fifth Course: Cheese (:

Sixth Course: Cranberry Obsession Snow Cake Seventh Course: Nuts!

Lots of Wine!

First Camping Expedition of the Year

The first weekend in February we headed out to Grayland Beach with my parents and Ann & Bob who brought Carrie. We had a fun time, for the most part. I was getting over have a 24 hours bug, Seth got the 24 hour bug while we were camping and Alistair was discovered to have an ear infection the morning we left (we got him on antibiotics). But other than that, we had a blast! The kids had a lot of fun playing together. This is my favorite photo of them, I call it Oshkosh and Rainboots! Saturday the adults of the group, minus Seth and I, headed into town to go to the Westport Winery Wine Weekend and met David & Judy and Uncle Dan & Aunt Donna. When they had had their fill, they headed back to came and we all hung out for the day, had a few meals and played between rain drops. While they were gone, we took the kids out to the beach. Alistair & Carrie wanted to dig in the sand. Alistair found a chair leg from a plastic chair that did a decent job.

On the way to the beach, there is this bench with a nice view of the water. They are taking it all in!

We also played in the amphitheater where Alistair & Carrie took turns setting up movies we were going to watch and telling us the synopsis before we "watched" it!

Gillian assisted

Sunday before we left, we walked out for one for beach viewing. Nana & Papa with half of their grand kids.

We missed Daddy, he went home with Grandma & Grandpa Saturday night so he could get over being sick.

Museum of Flight, finally!

The week after Christmas, we took Alistair to the Museum of Flight. We also met Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Joe, Aunt BJ and Aunt Lisa there. We had a great time, Alistair was in 7th heaven and we spent just about 4 hours there! We learned a lot! When we got out of the car after we arrived, a 747 was lining up on the run way right outside the museum to take off. It was LOUD, but exciting to see!

Little did we know until later when watching the news, it was the new 747-8 they just debuted. The day we saw it, there were chase planes that also took off and came around to fly by the 747 as it took off, probably filming a promotional video and taking photos. It was cold and crisp, but a beautiful day for that kind of thing!

Alistair and Gillian really enjoyed looking at all the different planes and took advantage of any interactive exhibit!

Our future pilot!

Astronaut Alistair in Outer Space

The world's cutest astronaut

On the Concorde, standing by the cockpit

Sitting in the media area of Air Force One

Seth & Alistair sitting by the Jenny, last stop before we ended our 4 hour tour of the museum!

Ravioli Day 2011

As usual, New Year's Day was celebrated with the traditional Ravioli Day. This year Heather was the newest participant. She mostly slept and ate her way through the day! The food to tide us over until the main meal! It's too bad how we starve ourselves!

Time to make the sausages!

3 little monkeys jumping on the bed...

Alistair was very helpful making the ravioli this year. He contributed both at the filling table...

...and the rolling table. He had the flour on the face and shirt to prove it!

Everyone taking a snacking break before the next phase

BBQing all the delicious sausages...drives the dogs NUTS!

Mom was crowned the official sous chef of Ravioli Day from here on out

Gillian wearing Grandma's fancy headband...goes well with the monkeys!