Pit Stop in the Burg

On our way home from our trip in Seattle, we stopped at Dan's parents house outside of Ellensburg for some playtime and dinner. On our way there, we told Lola where we were going and she said, "And we will see Grandma Linda, and Grandpa Jack, and Uncle Andrew, and all the people who love us."

Andrew and Lola played together before he left to go play hockey. He taught her how to blow bubbles. It was cute to see them playing and laughing together.

 Grandpa Jack made music with Lola at the dinner table, tapping their spoons on different things to see what kind of noises it would make.

Cuddling with Grandma Linda, and holding Grandpa Jack's hand.

The Seattle Aquarium

We had such a wonderful morning on Monday. The three of us headed to the Seattle Aquarium to explore. Lola loved all of it. She walked right up to the tanks and would watch the fish swim for such a long time. She amazed both of us and touched the starfish in the touch pools. Our favorites were the octopus, the seals, baby sea otter, the tropical fish, and puffins. Lola would laugh at the seals, otters, and puffins when they would dive into the water and say "they dive down and swim so fast!" "They are so funny swimming all around!" Her best memory are the "fishies" though. She loved them all. After the Aquarium, we finished our downtown outing with lunch at Ivar's. It was a great, rainy day adventure in Seattle!

Seattle!

One of our favorite things to do is go to Seattle. We have so many wonderful friends that live there and always have a great time visiting. We headed over to the west side for a wedding and stayed until Wednesday so we had extra time to visit and explore Seattle together.

We stayed at Meghan's apartment while she and David were visiting his family in London. She was kind enough to leave all of her copies of the Alaska Airlines magazine which currently features an article on Spokane, and Dan is the "up and coming attorney" who they write about and show a picture of him flyfishing in the Spokane River. James, Rachael, Lola, Abo and Katy had to see for themselves :)

 Walking and jumping in the rain with Rachael, and her roommate, Julia.

Wong's wedding.

Lola and Kinslee got to play and dance at the reception. Lauralee was two days away from being induced with Baby #2.

 Dancing with Katy & Abo.

 Family dancing and singing to Whitney Houston.

 Rachael and James took us out to eat at Via Tribunali for the yummiest Italian food, and then went next door to Maggie Moon's for ice cream. Lola finished hers and then climbed onto Rach's lap to share her icecream as well.

 James, Rachael and Lola

 Our friends from Spokane, the Bennett's, moved to Seattle from Atlanta just a few months ago and have settled into a home with an amazing view in Magnolia. They treated us to dinner on Monday night, and on Tuesday morning, Lola and I hung out with Toni and her girls, Risa and Tali. Lola was not into taking any pictures when we were with the girls, so this is the only picture I have of them. They were all bundled up, ready to explore the beach, which lasted about five minutes because they were too cold! We went to a restaraunt that had an indoor play area and they were much happier! 

 Hippie-Lola, hanging out in Rachael's apartment.

 Lola's godparents, Katy and Abo, treated us to a Mardi Gras dinner on Tuesday night. Lola thanked Katy with a kiss.

 Remember Lauralee, pregnant at the wedding with Baby #2? She gave birth to another beautiful little girl, Tayslee, on Tuesday morning. Before we left town on Wednesday, we were lucky enough to meet this sweet little baby. Lola was so sweet and very gentle with Tayslee. It made Dan and I both excited for our little baby to arrive in a few months! It's going to be so incredible to see Lola be a big sister.

We all took turns holding Tayslee...even Lola! We can't wait to get back to Seattle to see her grow!

25 weeks

We are trying to take pictures the same weeks that we did when I was pregnant with Lola, so we can compare how my belly is growing, but we seem to always be a week late! Lola got in on the action today. We are 25 weeks along. I told Lola that the baby can a lot of sounds outside my belly now, so it's important that we talk to the baby.

Things she says to my belly:

"I want to see the baby in mama's tummy."

"Hi baby, are you a baby?"

"Hi baby! It's Lola. I'm your sister."

"Hi baby! You're a good baby."

"I love you baby."

Lunchtime Interview

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Baking at Nana's

My mom is known by many for her amazing cookies. Chocolate chip are the best, but she really can take any cookie recipe and make them unbelievably delicious. Her sugar cookies are one of the only desserts that do not have chocolate (a staple in my prenatal diet:) yet totally satisfies my sweet tooth.

Sour cream sugar cookies with cream cheese frosting: Lola and I made the cookie dough and Nana made the pink frosting for some Valentine's sugar cookies. We had baking night and then brought a platter of cookies to our coop preschool today. They were a hit. Hopefully one day, Lola and I both will be able to bake as well as Nana.

Couch Time

We don't tend to watch a lot of tv, but when she does, Lola loves to cuddle up on the couch. During "Baby Signing Time," she snuggles with Lucy, her baby doll. When it comes to Zags games, she loves to sit with Dan and repeat everything he says. "Come on Pangos!" "Shoot it Rob!" "Yes, David!" "Let's go Zags!" Here, she was brushing her teeth and watching the last few minutes before bedtime. 

Bubble Wrap

We received some great books for Christmas with art, crafts and activity ideas. The other day, we tried out bubble wrap painting & printing, from "First Art: Art Experiences for Toddlers & Twos."

I gave some bubble wrap to Lola just to play with in the morning, which she loved until I showed her how to walk on it and make the bubbles pop. She wasn't a fan of the loud noise, but really liked the texture, and also enjoyed using it as a blanket to wrap her baby up.

Later that afternoon, I let Lola paint it and then we made prints together. A few days later, we received a package in the mail that had bubble wrap. Recognizing it right away, she said "Look mama, bubble wrap! Should we paint today?"