Number 2

what we've been up to!

2012-01-10T08:00:00.001-08:00

I have all these thoughts that I want to journal about but never have them when I am sitting at the computer. So here are my recent thoughts:
Thunderstorms are amazing here! I can't believe Molly slept thru them lasts night. She agreed that the thunder sounds like God is playing the drums. How cute!

We have been church hunting. We are 0-4 so far. The first 2 churches were non denominational, very contemporary and big. We liked things from each but just wasn't the right fit. I liked the first one but Floyd said it was too big. He liked the sermon at the second church but we both felt the music was WAY too loud. Thought we are at a concert not church. Church #3 was the Methodist church that Molly goes to preschool at. Beautiful church, great sermon but WAY too formal. This last Sunday, we went to a Presbyterian church. Again, still a little too formal. The service just didn't flow. Everyone has been super friendly and welcoming at all of the churches. Molly has been a trooper trying out the churches. I think her favorite was the "treehouse" church-the first church. They have a treehouse painted on the side of the youth building. They had a class just for 3 year olds with craft and story during the service. The other churches she was in the nursery which she is definitely outgrowing.

I have met some new moms at the library. We have a weekly playdate with one family. Stacey has 2 kids, Jackson (5) and Noa (3). Noa is a quiet, sweet little girl. Stacey and I have seemed to hit it off quickly which has been nice and the kids have welcomed Molly into their playing.

Molly and I went to a new playgroup on Friday and lots of little girls to play with. Looking forward to getting to know the moms more. We are also trying a new MOPS group on Wednesday. Unfortunately, it is in Rockwall which is about 25 mins away. I have a good feeling about the group. Of course, Texans are very friendly which is helpful.

As for the city of Greenville, well it is a very blah town. Greenville has great potential to become a nice city but wow! I am really tempted to start looking into getting involved in revitalizing the city. Just not sure how I can go about it and even if I want to invest the time and energy into a city that we may or may not stay in.

Floyd is enjoying his new job. Definitely different from his old one. For as blah as this town is, they have set in place a great infrastructure for expansion. Floyd is used to being hands on in a substation and here there is a lot of computer time to repair problems. This is a great position to expand his skill set.

We have been enjoying being close to Floyd's family. Molly spent her first night with Mimi and PawPaw last weekend. She wore them out! If they started to dose off while watching a movie, she would go mess with them so they would wake up. She woke up before them too! (which is hard to do!) She had them up at 5:45am! Glad it was them and not me. She fell asleep 10 mins from their house on the way home-she wore herself out too. Floyd and I had a great time test driving cars in Mckinney. Neither of us had been to Mckinney before but both really enjoyed it. Can't wait to go explore some more. Test driving cars was a nice way to see the city. A different approach to seeing a new town-haha.

I think that covers all of my random thoughts I have been having. Oh, the sunsets are amazing here. I know, I know. Seattle has amazing sunsets too. There is something so beautiful about the sun setting over an open pasture. I am really enjoying the open space.

well, that's all for now. Until the next time I feel like rambling.

Wow, it's been awhile

2012-01-03T12:57:00.000-08:00

Lots has changed since my last post in April. So much so, I think we need to rename our blog. Any suggestions?

Ok, well, I thought I would have a few minutes to update this blog but I have been requested to play. Can't turn that down.

weekend in the mountains

2011-04-19T14:55:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went to Plain, WA -just outside Leavenworth in the Cascade mountains. We shared a house with our friends Jeanne/Cameron and Jessica/Jeff. We had a HUGE house and a wonderful view. Both Floyd and I decided that we enjoyed that area of the state the best. I love my ocean but being on the river and near Lake Wenatchee was really nice too. The mountains are just gorgeous. It was a steep hike to get to the riverfront but Molly conquered it with no problems. She is going to be a great hiker this summer. On the way back from Plain, we stopped at Stevens Pass to play in the snow. Since the snow didn't really come to us this winter, we went to it. They set off an avalanche while we were there-didn't see it (bummer) but heard the explosion. It freaked Molly out but once we explained to her what they were doing, she was fine and went back to playing in the snow.

don't worry, daddy was right next to her

she had no problems walking over the rocks.

look Mom, I'm tall!

She loved reading on the bean bag chair. Guess I know what she needs for her new room.

jump planet

2011-04-05T18:36:00.000-07:00

Ready to go down the big slide

Floyd took last Tuesday off for a family day. We went to the open play time at Jump Planet bounce house. We had a blast bouncing and sliding on everything. Good times had by all.

Ready to Travel

2011-04-05T18:33:00.000-07:00

Molly was super excited to get her passport in the mail.

just playing around

2011-04-05T18:27:00.000-07:00

trying hard to do a cartwheel

Molly loves to play the cow racing game on Wii. She is hilarious to watch-doesn't really know what she is doing but has a blast playing. (and yes she is in her Minnie Mouse panties.)

Problem solver

2011-03-29T21:40:00.000-07:00

If Molly eats all her dinner or at least a reasonable effort, she can have dessert. Well, she was talking about what she was going to have-her choice a popsicle. She said I could have one since I ate all my dinner. I was leaving for a massage so I said I would have to pass on dessert tonight. Molly said I could take it in the car with me. But I said it would be too messy since it would melt and get sticky. Her response: take a napkin and wrap it at the bottom. Such the problem solver!

Chuck E Cheese here we come!

2011-03-24T21:33:00.000-07:00

Molly and I met her friend Maddy and her mom Dena (my friend) at Chuck E Cheese today. This was Molly's first time seeing the big mouse. Thankfully, he did not make a personal appearance. She had a blast playing games and riding the rides. She saw the characters move on stage and freaked out. They were mechanical but she didn't understand that. She was afraid they were going to come off the stage. (She doesn't like the bird at Red Robin either. We had to leave part way thru a meal one time cause she was in hysterics over the bird at the front door-we were across the restaurant in a corner and he never came near us) Anyway, back to Chuck E Cheese....Here are some pictures from it.

funny little things Molly says

2011-03-22T21:04:00.000-07:00

Molly is doing a great job potty training in the last few days. I had pretty much thrown in the towel for potty training for the time being. But when we were at Target, she saw the Minnie Mouse panties again and said she wanted them. I asked her if she would wear them and go pee in the potty, she said she would. I didn't believe her but worth a try. She couldn't wait for me to wash them so she could wear them. Molly even put them in her washer/dryer in her play kitchen. She wore them both Saturday and Sunday with 1 big accident (thankfully just pee) each day. Monday she was tired and didn't want to so I didn't make her. Today, she was all about wearing her Minnie Mouse to MOPS. We had our first 100% successful day in big girl panties! I'm so proud of her. I know we will probably have more set backs down the road so we will take it a day at a time.

Funny moment: on Saturday after her nap, we were eating a snack and she said "wearing panties is tough", I asked her what she meant thinking it was about making it to the potty in time since we had just had an accident-I was wrong. Molly said "they get stuck in my butt" It took all my will power not to die laughing that she was talking about having a wedgie.

She is a funny girl. Tonight while out for a walk she said, "2 bears are peeing in the woods" the way she said it, Floyd and I thought she was telling a joke and we were waiting for the punch line. But that was it.

catch up

2011-03-18T16:08:00.000-07:00

Opps, somehow I didn't post a few cute pictures from when my sister and her family came to visit for New Years. We had a great time playing in the yard and at the aquarium. Molly adored her cousin and followed him around.

Our little leprechaun

2011-03-18T15:27:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day.....a day late.
Molly enjoyed posing for the camera. Unfortunately, the delay on my camera is a little slow for a toddler so I missed some good poses. She picked out this outfit her self. I told her she could pick out a shirt and skirt at the store. I added the leggings so she could where in wintertime too. She shopped the whole store and picked out these frog shoes to match and also tried to talk me into a strawberry shaped purse. She got the shoes but no purse. What can I say, I'm a sucker sometimes.

Carpenter in Training

2011-03-18T15:19:00.000-07:00

Daddy’s little helper. Molly has to be in the middle of the action.

notice the proper working attire…..her tutu and her pajamas.

As you can see, we are fixing the hallway closet so it has better storage. The original builder designed it to be a coat closet but it fit a hanger but no coat on the hanger-wasn't deep enough by a 1/2 inch or so. how silly. We are also replacing the handrail/wall on the left side of the stairs to match the new railing on the right. We discovered we need to replace the stairs though. Opps! Molly was helping daddy remove the carpet. She was in charge of turning the shop vac on and then she would run down the stairs and use the hose to suck everything up. Giggling the whole time. I could hear her at the other end of the house. FYI bad idea-carpet on stairs coming from the front door. I wish I would have taken a picture of the amount of dirt/dust UNDER the carpet-where you can't vacuum.

melts my heart

2011-03-01T21:59:00.001-08:00

Last night when I got home from a mom's night out, Molly was still awake in her room. I went in to say goodnight. As I was fixing her blankets for her she mentioned something was missing tonight. I asked her what was missing. She said "its not the same without you here". How sweet is she! She truly loves having all 3 of us together. She may or may not want to pay attention to us when we are home but she wants us all in the house together. She's so cute.

bushy beard

2011-02-23T19:04:00.000-08:00

So every winter Floyd grows out his beard just for snowboarding. He says once the beard ices over, it insulates his face and keeps him warm. Needless to say, I can't wait for snowboarding season to be over so he will trim the beard.
This was today at Stevens Pass- best day of the season so far. It snowed 8 inches while they were there.

growth spurt

2011-02-16T21:43:00.000-08:00

So we thought something might be up for the last few weeks. Molly's sleep and eating habits had changed once again. For 2 days, all I could do was feed her every half hour it seemed like. Well today as she played Tinkerbell, I noticed her legs are no longer the chubby toddler legs anymore. She has the knobby knees of a little girl. Tonight I was filling in the application for her passport and came to the question of height. We measured her 2 weeks ago and she was 35 inches give or take a 1/4" (Floyd and I can't agree on what her height was-haha, we should write these things down). Tonight she was a solid 36". Yup, Molly is 3 feet tall. She only has 23" to go to pass up her Momma.

the alphabet

2011-02-16T16:16:00.000-08:00

Molly now can say the whole alphabet. Of course, whenever we try to record it she never will say the whole thing. She also spells her name. She usually will spell it and then shout Molly Nelson. Again except when we are recording it, then she just spells it. Why won't she let us capture the cuteness! I haven't gotten her to count yet on video, working on that. She can count into the teens but always skips the number 6. don't know why, she used to also skip 8 but she has now added that number in.

Molly's imagination

2011-02-15T16:00:00.000-08:00

I heard a bunch of noise while Molly was playing in her room for quiet time so I thought I would check it out. This is what she was doing….she also rearranged some of the drawers in her room.

Week at a glance

2011-01-21T14:56:00.001-08:00

This was all last week. Sunday, Molly stuck a small blue candy up her nose at church. I hope the lesson was learned about sticking things in the nose. Thankfully, it was candy and started dissolving. Blue was running out of her nose. We were eventually lucky enough to blow her nose and it came out. Just in time for the babysitter to get there and Floyd and I to go to my "thanks for being on consistory at church" brunch. Which by the way, that morning at church, I had coffee duty, had to say a little something about being on consistory, then brunch. I had no time for Molly and her blue candy that her daddy had given her. I saw her rolling it on the floor and told her not to put it in her mouth, didn't think I needed to say "don't stick it up your nose" I will have to add that to my list of warnings.

By Thursday, she must have been bored so she took a head dive off a chair at the grocery store. She likes to eat lunch in the deli department and watch people when we go grocery shopping. We got there around lunchtime so I said sure, hoping this would mean easier shopping trip and home for naptime. wrong! While I was paying for lunch, she climbed up in a chair 5 ft from me. She decided it was dirty and went to get off the chair but she was on her knees and her foot got caught on her jeans. so down she went, head first onto a cement floor. WOW! Once, she calmed down she asked for her macaroni and cheese and ate it all! While she ate, I called Floyd and the dr.s. We were able to get right in. She was a trooper. No tears at the dr.s just wanted to read a Snow White. the Dr. pushed on her bump trying to see if there were any broken bones and she just sat there. he kept asking her "does this hurt" finally she said "yup" in her soft voice. I was ready to cry/kill him for pushing on her bump that was huge and looked so painful! No damage just an ugly bump that is totally covered by her bangs. She needs a haircut but I may wait another week until it goes down a little more. Dr. said it may take a few weeks. These pictures were taken 3 or 4 days after the fall.

cute little piggies. her first pedicure.

Life Events of Molly

2011-01-09T20:29:00.001-08:00

Molly has had a few days hit or miss with wearing her big girl panties. (which she is really excited about). Yesterday she wore them all day with no accidents. She even went to play at Rich and Kate’s. Before we left to go to their house, I asked her if she wanted to put on a pull up to go play. She just looked at me and said “Mom, they have a toilet too”. Duh! We had another successful day today. Yeah!!!

Today proved to be another day of firsts. She stuck a small blue candy up her nose at church. She had found it on the floor-no idea what from. I was working in the kitchen with coffee hour duty when I told her not to put it in her mouth. Next thing I know, she has her finger in her nose telling me something is in there. I asked her where the blue candy was-“in my nose” GREAT! Well, we decided to come home and see what we could do since our friend the nurse had already left. Before we even left church, blue started running out of her nose. Thankfully, the moisture in her nose was dissolving the candy. When we got home, another nose blow and out it came. After all said and done and she is fine. It really is funny.

Oh that girl keeps us on our toes.

I forgot

2011-01-07T15:40:00.001-08:00

So I realized when I posted Christmas pictures that I didn’t post Texas pictures but then I was sidetracked and forgot again. So thanks to Jeanne reminding me, here are pictures from Texas. This covers feeding the ducks (Molly’s morning job with PawPaw), playing with all the cousins, our trip to Austin and San Antonio (the Alamo and Riverwalk with all the cool lights), and Molly’s first horse ride.

texas

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Videos from the morning

2010-12-25T12:50:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T11:26:00.001-08:00

We have had a fun Christmas Eve and morning at the Nelson household. Last night, we all went to the 5pm service at Church where Molly had the honor of carrying the baby Jesus up to the front of the church to place in the Nativity scene. During different songs, the characters of the Nativity were carried around the sanctuary and placed up front by different children. While we all sang “Away in the Manager”, Molly ran baby Jesus up to the front and placed him on the stage. As she did this, in her full Molly volume we hear “I did it”. She was so proud of herself-as were we!

Once she was in bed last night, the baking and wrapping fun began. Floyd was great help in all tasks. For some reason, I love to bake at night when it is quiet. Needless to say it was 1am when we went to bed. Molly was awake at 2, 3, and 3:30 this morning asking for her Christmas music to be turned on. She was afraid of Santa coming in the house and couldn’t sleep. Floyd and I were so confused when she first woke us up. I don’t think I fully woke up until I sat down in her cold bathroom. Thankfully, she slept in to almost 8am! YEAH!!! She wouldn’t go into the living room by herself. Again, afraid Santa was waiting for her. We have had a nice slow morning of homemade cinnamon rolls, opening and savoring each gift, and talked to all the grandparents. Rich, Kate, David, Eric (Shelly’s brother), and our neighbors are all coming over for dinner later today. 7 adults and 3 kids 2 and under. Should be fun.

I hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful time. Merry Christmas!

December

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First week in Texas

2010-11-27T20:08:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone!

We have been having a blast in TX this week. We have had great weather-close to 80 for a few days. Then on Thanksgiving Day, we dropped about 20 degrees within an hour. By the time the cold front had moved thru we had gone from 70 in the morning to 48 in the afternoon. Ouch! Today was a gorgeous 60 degree day. Of course last night was the first frost in the 20's. We had the Nelson Thanksgiving today with 93 people. We think this was a record attendence. Floyd's parents hosted the shindig. Craziness! So much food (everyone brings a dish or 3). Lots of family photos taken and stories told. It was a good time.

Molly has been having a great time playing with her "friends" - cousins. They all arrived after she had gone to bed on Tuesday so when she woke up there was a houseful of people she hadn't seen in 2 years. They have been playing nonstop since Wednesday morning. All the kids have been great about keeping an eye out for Molly. She's been have a blast running with the big kids. Her cousins range from 2-16 years old. Quite the range. She was coloring with Autumn and Amber in the living room. I guess the the two of them left to go to the bathroom/ get something to drink, not sure. Molly came running to me asking where her "friends" went. She is still learning their names. She called her oldest cousin, Kaitlyn, "girl" the first day cause she didn't know her name. Molly was heading out the back door and we asked her who she was going outside with. Her response "the girl" and pointed at Kaitlyn who had gotten up to follow her outside. So sweet. They were stuck together like glue that day.

When her oldest cousins were getting ready to head home today, I told Molly what was going on. She pointed at her other cousins (the younger ones) and said "they don't go home, they stay". Tomorrow is going to be a hard day when the rest of the cousins head home.

Floyd, Molly, and I are planning a trip down to Austin and other cities on the way for this week. To do some exploring while we are here. We never get to come to TX for this long so we thought we would take advantage of it.

Well, I forgot my camera cord to upload pictures so I will post pictures when we get back home.
Oh, so we missed the first snow fall in Seattle this week. We got 2 inches of snow and it has been really cold. So sorry we missed it-haha not really. Maybe a little since it would be so fun to play in the snow with Molly.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and safe travels.

Cool

2010-11-17T15:02:00.000-08:00

Last night, I let Molly watch Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer for the first time. She was so excited. A talking snowman, a reindeer, and SANTA. She didn't really know much about Rudolph but she knew the movie had Santa in it, her latest obsession. When Rudolph's nose first lit up, she came running to me to tell me all about it. She kept running to me to tell me what was going on. I moved down to the floor where she was laying her head propped up in her hands. I asked her how she liked Rudolph. Her response "His nose is so cool!" Love it! When the movie ended, she told me not to take the cd out of the player. It had to stay there to watch again. I am loving her excitement about the upcoming holidays. This year is going to be so fun. Now if I could only get her daddy excited about Christmas lights, Santa, and Christmas music. He really can be a bah-hum bug. I still love him and will respect his opinion on the commercialized Christmas. But I still love it and reserved the right to teach Molly all about it.

Thanksgiving should be a ton of fun with all Molly's cousins to play with and getting spoiled by Mimi and PawPaw.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our trip to Michigan

2010-11-15T21:12:00.001-08:00

We packed up and flew to Michigan just in time to play in the leaves and go trick or treating. My parents have huge, beautiful oak and maple trees which created a wonderful amount of leaves to play in. Our friends Stacy, Russ, and their kids Anna and Owen came over for the day to play. I don’t know who had more fun playing in the leaves Floyd or Anna! We all had a great time.

For Halloween, Molly was a bumble bee. We went by a few of my parents friends and then to the firehouse, where they were having cider and donuts. She was spoiled with coloring book, crayons, and candy.

We also met Patty and Casey’s new little girls, Anna and Lexie. What sweet little girls. Molly enjoyed playing in Anna’s room and reading her books. On our way home, we stopped at Franklin Cider Mill. Oh, how I’ve missed that place. Yummy cider slushy and donuts. Molly enjoyed watching the cider wheel and the ducks.

My mom had a new little shadow for the week. Molly loved playing with Nana. First thing in the morning, Molly was asking where Nana and Grandpa were. She really enjoyed sleeping in a big bed (twin mattress on the floor). Nana had bought her Tinkerbell sheets. Molly did a great job in the big bed. At the beginning of the week she would sleep up against the wall and not use the pillow. By the end of the week, she was sleeping in the middle of the bed with pillow. She also was quite the adventurer. Molly loved to explore the attic. The last night we were home, Floyd put her to bed and came downstairs. A few minutes later, he said “I think Molly is playing in the room”. When we went to bed, it looked like she had dove into bed and fell asleep-sideways and no blankets, feet hanging off the side of the bed. In the morning, I looked in the attic to find the door open. I asked her if she had been playing in the attic after bedtime. She innocently said “yes”. And then went on to tell us how she turned on the light, what she played with, etc.

The time change got us on the way back but I think we are recovered and ready to travel again. Fall is a great time to go home to Michigan!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Michigan

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few more pictures

2010-10-29T17:44:00.001-07:00

Molly had a Halloween party at her Little Fishes Preschool class. She loves her teacher Ms. Elizabeth.

October Highlights (and the month isn’t over yet!)

2010-10-25T19:50:00.001-07:00

Hey look at me, the month isn’t over yet and I’m posting again. Go me! Well, I don’t know what we did this month. Molly had her first field trip with her little fishes preschool class. We went to The Farm for a hayride to the pumpkin patch, petting farm, and barn maze. She had a great time running around, plus there were 2 playgrounds. The morning we went, the mother pig had her 12 babies. So we were able to see piglets a few hours old. Molly got to pick out her own pumpkin to bring home. I know she had a good time cause it was impossible to get her to leave. Thankfully, the weather cooperated and the rain held off until later in the day.

Molly had decided to be a bumble bee or in Molly words “bumble da bee”. Of course, since we bought her costume and she has been wearing it around the house, she now wants to be a Tiger. Oh well, Bumble da bee it is! She is a pretty cute bee if you ask me.

I joined a MOPS group (Mothers of Preschoolers) this fall. I have been thinking about joining a mom’s group since Molly was born just never found one that fit the schedule and that I liked. Both Molly and I have enjoyed the first 2 meetings. Molly is a Moppet and has her own classroom with 12 other 2 year olds. They have story time, craft, and playtime while I have breakfast with the other moms. We will have some speakers, crafts, and volunteer projects to work on during the meetings. So far, I think it is a good fit for us right now. Maybe some new play dates will emerge from it.

Yesterday, we held a harvest party for the friends and neighbors and make fresh apple cider. Our church supplies the apples and cider press for us to use. Nothing like fresh cider! Unfortunately, due to weather and being football Sunday, and nap time for some, not many made it but those of us here had fun. Molly loved to put the apples in the press and watch the cider drain out. It was a challenge to keep her fingers out of the running cider! We also had chili and muffins, and cupcakes. Great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

The highlight for me this month will be going home to MI for a week. I am excited to meet my friends new babies (and see my friends of course) and to see my parents. Oh, and to go to Franklin Cider Mill. Well, I think that covers it. Until next month, have a fun and safe Halloween. Enjoy Fall!

October Fun

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September Highlights

2010-10-12T16:41:00.001-07:00

Ok, I know it is October… I’m a little behind. We had a fun September with ferry rides, family visiting, and working on the downstairs bathroom. The push was on to finish the bathroom downstairs that we started in April (yes, we’re a little slow). And no, we didn’t get it finished. We made it work for Floyd’s parents to use but we still need to grout and do final installation of vanity, etc. I am so excited with how it has turned out. I will post pictures of it once it is all done. When Floyd’s parents were here, we took a trip to the zoo. I took Molly on her first carousel ride. She picked out her horse and I stood next to her. She did ok at first and then realized she was moving and let go of her horse to hold on to me. Once we talked about what was happening and it was like the merry go round at the park, she held onto the horse with one hand and me with the other. Of course, she wanted to go again once the ride was over. She loved reading stories with Mimi and PawPaw. Mimi made Molly, myself, and herself backpacks. They are great! Floyd and his dad replaced our electrical panel and did the demo of the big room downstairs. All the wiring is done and walls are reinsulated. Drywall is going up tonight with the help of Rich. It already looks like a whole different room down there. So excited. Well, that wraps up the September highlights. Hopefully, I can get some of October posted soon.

September Highlights

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highlights of August

2010-08-20T15:07:00.001-07:00

here are some photo highlights of the month so far. We had a pool party at the local swim club with church last weekend. Perfect day for the pool-hot and sunny. Our neighbor loaned us her “Jeep” that was her son’s. Floyd got a new battery for it and Molly loves driving it around the yard. Her favorite direction-backward. Yup, she likes to drive in reverse. What a funny girl. I have even given it a spin. Had to make sure it was safe for our little girl. haha.

our new house

2010-08-20T14:58:00.001-07:00

One more project checked off the list. House is painted and they did an awesome job.

Before

After

before

After

try #2

2010-07-29T16:23:00.001-07:00

ok, so I just finished typing a long post and was about to load pictures when my computer pooped out on me. Needless to say my post is gone. Somehow, I don’t think this is going to be as long but I will save it while typing this time.

So it has been a crazy month. Molly turned 2-can you believe it?, I was snack lady at church for VBS. We had 85 kids this year, another great turn out. And sadly, Shelly and Jonathan moved to California. But not before staying with us for a week. It was a crazy week! I think we all had fun with so much going on. Our hoped for down time didn’t exactly happen much but we were able to enjoy sitting on the deck talking while the kids were sleeping. Molly loved having them here too. She still talks about Jonathan non stop. I think it is safe to say she misses them. She’s not the only one!

We had a fun birthday party for Molly on her birthday with cake and BBQ. She had a blast running around with the neighbors and J.R. and David. Her verbal skills are expanding greatly. She has surprised us with sentences as long as 8 words. She can jump with both feet off the ground and loves to climb and hang off the bars. She is starting to play dress up a little more and have more imaginative play. It is fun to watch. She knows the alphabet but doesn’t quite get them in order. Same with counting to 10. She skips around a little.

We have made it to our local beach a few times now that summer is trying to surface here. The kiddie pool has been getting good use by Molly and David. Molly has really taken to going to the library. She loves her books. She will sit on the couch and have us read all 4 books and then ask to read them again. Curious George is a favorite. Jumpy Jack and Googly also ranks pretty high up there. She knows how to check out the books herself-with some help of course. She has her routine while we are there, says hi to the fish, plays with the puppets, tries to play the preschool games on the computer, and randomly grabs a few books to take home. I don’t know how she decides what books to pick but they have been good so far. She carries our library card to the checkout, pulls out the stool to climb up on, scans the card and books (that’s where I help out), and prints the receipt. She proudly carries the receipt to the car. Now that the weather has been so nice, we have started reading her books on the roof of the library. It is a nice park like setting plus a great view of the water. Great place to watch all the boats go by.

Oh, Floyd and Rich went kayaking last weekend. They really enjoyed themselves. They kayaked around Lake Union, went thru the Ballard locks (transitions from the Lake to the Sound), paddled to Golden Gardens, had lunch, and then headed back to Lake Union. It took them a good portion of the day. It was something they both have wanted to do for a long time.

Ok, so maybe this post is turning out to be as long as the one that got away. I will post a few highlight pictures. I will post an album with all pictures for those of you who just can’t get enough of Molly. Hope summer is treating you nicely! ok, the blog draft is saved, let’s load some pictures!

Molly’s turning 2!

2010-07-01T16:15:00.001-07:00

here are pictures from Molly’s 2 year photo shoot. Plus our new family photo. Enjoy!

Hunting Dust Bunnies

2010-06-19T22:14:00.000-07:00

While I was hunting dust bunnies under our bed, Molly was helping sweep the floor and dust. What a helper. I was almost done and about to say it was time for lunch when I notice water on our hardwood floor. Then Molly says, "i washing the floor". I'm thinking "there's no water in the bathtub -where is she getting the water?" I followed her into the bathroom to see water all over the toilet seat. Yup, she was dipping her cloth into the toilet bowl for water to clean the floor. I took the swiffer cloth away from her and threw it away while explaining we don't use the toilet water to clean things with, etc. No sooner did I walk out of the bathroom, did she grab it out of the trash and bring it back out into the bedroom saying "we need to dry it, let it dry" I managed to convince her to put it on the side of the tub to dry (I then knocked it into the tub where she couldn't reach!) Needless to say my plan of just dusting/sweeping has now expanded into steam mopping the floors and cleaning the bathroom. I love my little helper. I couldn't even be mad at her about it. She was just helping her Momma.

Videos from gymnastics

2010-06-15T21:46:00.000-07:00

Gymnastics last class of the session

2010-06-15T21:34:00.001-07:00

The last class of every session is a “show” class for parents, grandparents, etc to come see what the kids have been learning. Molly wasn’t quite her energizing bunny self on Monday (I heard her up at 3am talking and playing in her crib) during class so she didn’t do many of the skills. I was able to get some good photos and a few short videos. So here ya go…..

Class photo

Practicing her Itsy Bitsy Spider at the end of class.

Just hanging out Bear Crawl Checking out her medal. She wasn’t exactly cooperating by this point.

Below are more photos if you just can’t get enough of Molly!

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Molly the ballerina

2010-06-10T21:51:00.000-07:00

We saw a ballet class practicing one day and Molly was fascinated. Now when she twirls around she calls herself a ballerina. Needless to say when I found this tutu at Costco, it needed to come home with us. She loves showing it off.

She’s so proud

2010-06-10T15:06:00.001-07:00

As motivation for potty training, we take Molly’s picture when she goes on the potty. She also gets a sticker. She really only uses the potty before bed but is having great success with it-almost every night. She will sit on the potty sometimes before nap but that is hit or miss. She is also getting good about telling us when she has a wet diaper –another good step to saying bye bye to the diapers!!

yup that’s our backyard

2010-06-10T15:03:00.001-07:00

Molly helped Floyd cut the backyard grass for the first time.

sweetness

2010-05-20T23:57:00.001-07:00

Playing with daddy I had been sick and resting in our room all day as to not share my germs. Molly thought I needed some snuggles and climbed in bed for a few minutes. It was the best medicine all day!

party girl

2010-05-20T23:49:00.001-07:00

when did she get this big?

getting herself dressed

2010-05-20T23:46:00.001-07:00

Molly helped pick out her clothes for the day but wasn’t ready to get dressed so I left them on the chair and went to get dressed myself. When I came out to the living room, she was on the floor getting herself dressed. I guess she wasn’t ready to take off her Tinkerbell jammies yet.

helping daddy

2010-05-20T23:39:00.001-07:00

We got Molly her own lawnmower so she could start cutting the grass. She ran miles around our yard while we worked on the landscaping and cut the grass, etc.

taking care of her baby

2010-05-05T22:34:00.001-07:00

Molly set up her boppy pillow and blankets this morning to “nurse” her baby (from her belly). While she was nursing her baby, she read her the bible. It was too cute!

A weekend of baking

2010-05-05T22:29:00.001-07:00

Molly woke up Saturday morning asking for pancakes. We told her to make them herself-ok, only kidding. She did ask to help---“I do it”

they were good pancakes! she can make them every weekend!

After making a cake on Sunday, she helped herself to some chips that were on the counter. She is so beautiful!

random pictures

2010-05-01T11:32:00.001-07:00

Wearing her fishy jammies-can you tell she likes fish? she was probably watching her aquarium video. she loves the sea turtles.

Her new purse. Thanks Nana!

Her new teapot. The first night we got it out, she called it tea. The next morning when she came out of her room, she ran right up to it and said “coffee time”. Can you tell she is born and raised in Seattle? Someone asked me the other day if she has had coffee cause she always knows when someone is having a cup of coffee. I wanted to ask the lady if she was joking, Molly’s not even 2, of course she hasn’t had coffee. She’s lucky if she has 4-6 oz of juice a day. She has enough energy as is, she doesn’t need the caffeine. that’s saved for mommy and daddy!

different version of fishing

2010-05-01T11:23:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday while I was enjoying a day of scrapbooking with friends, Molly and her daddy went to a local park/stream to help put salmon in the stream. The local fish and wildlife breed the salmon and then release them into the local streams and creeks. Little kids are invited to help carry the fish to the stream Needless to say, she had a blast! Sorry I missed it but definitely a fun outing for Daddy and Molly. It is always so hard to pick which pictures to post.

waiting for my fish

carrying a cup of water back from creek to put the fish in. very serious job. by the time it was ready to start, she had made several trips back and forth adding water to other peoples buckets. She loves to play in the water. Floyd thought she was going to be worn out by all the trips she was taking by the time they were ready to start.

getting directions of what was to happen. not a bad turn out for something that isn’t really advertised.

got my fish!

carrying my fish to the creek. Daddy forgot my bucket so we improvised with a big cup he had in the truck.

Molly was too fast to get a picture of her dumping them in the creek. Fun was had by all!

Ocean here we come!

2010-04-19T14:59:00.001-07:00

Molly was very excited to go to the ocean this weekend. We usually go to Seabrook in the fall but had a coupon so we loaded up and met our friends at the ocean. We had a full house this time-busting at the seams. 8 adults and 3 kids. Friday was beautiful when we arrived. Erin and I got to go for a walk around the community and enjoy the ocean and listen to the waves. Sadly, Saturday morning brought rain, rain, and more rain. Mostly a misting all day long with some strong winds. We did venture for a short trip to the beach and quickly returned to the house for baths and hot cocoa! After naps, came play time at the park. After the kids were in bed, the adults played games, sat in the hot tub and just relaxed. Oh, how did I forget to mention-and ate! We always have way more food than we can eat. Love the homemade egg rolls! Sunday morning brought sunny skies again. We took a side trip on the way home and stopped at another beach for Molly to play in the ocean. And play in the ocean she did. We were dipping our toes in the water and Molly was playing in the sand, when a bigger wave came in and brought more water than Molly was expecting. It went up her leg about 3 inches. She was so surprised, she freaked out and fell over on her butt. Then she really screamed! The look on her face was priceless. Wish I would have taken our camera on our walk on the beach. haha!

oh, Molly learned how to climb the ladder up to the top bunk. Once she figured that out, there was no stopping her. She had to keep up with Ellie and Joey. I think it is safe to say, the kids had a great time!

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Pictures from Texas

2010-04-19T14:13:00.001-07:00

So we have made it home and I have been lazy about posting pictures. Here are probably way more photos than you want to see but how do you narrow it down. We had a blast playing with Mimi and Pawpaw and can’t wait to go back.

The pictures cover Molly’s first egg hunt on the porch. Our trip to Tyler, where my camera died a few photos into our trip. I was so mad that I didn’t charge the battery and of course it isn’t a battery I could get at the drugstore! We went to the children’s park which had great stone fountains, a bridge so nicely named “Molly’s bridge”, and a statue of 2 teddy bears playing. Of course, Molly climbed up on the bears and gave them hugs after my camera died. I think Floyd was trying to torture me! We had a great time paddling around the pond in the evening and enjoying the beautiful sunsets. Floyd worked with his dad and Uncle on building the deck on the front of the house for his mom. It also includes a walk way around the side to connect the front and back deck.

Molly would get up every morning asking for PawPaw “check cows, tractor, check cows….pleeease! she quickly learned that using her “nice” words (please), she could get what she wanted. haha. we also were able to go visit Craig and Jodi (Craig was our best man at our wedding) and their 2 girls. Molly had a blast playing with Cailyn on the trampoline.

I think that covers the highlights of the trip. Enjoy the photos!

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testing

2010-04-19T14:09:00.001-07:00

testing new way of posting to the blog. having problems with the pictures.

Texas!

2010-03-29T19:29:00.000-07:00

So I forgot my camera cord at home so pictures will have to wait until we get home. We are having a great time-I think Molly is having the most fun. She is loving hanging out with Mimi and Pawpaw. She would follow PawPaw around all day long if we let her. (The boys are building a deck-not really where she needs to be!) We have had great weather-a bit windy this weekend but beautiful. Sunny and warm! Supposed to be in the high 70's this week. Can't wait. Floyd's mom is doing good. She as graduated from the liquid diet to the mash potato diet (soft foods). Molly runs from window to window when she is in the house to see the cows. And moos at all of them. When she is outside, she just wants to ride the big tractor. We took her out in the paddle boat today for a nice trip around the pond. I forgot what work a paddle boat can be. I need to be doing that every day!

Well, I should join everyone for games. Happy Easter!

Proud Molly

2010-03-24T14:24:00.000-07:00

A very proud Molly with 2 stickers on her nose. She gets a sticker everytime she goes peepee and poop in the potty. The other night she did both before bed. We were so excited. She wanted to wear her stickers on her nose. To make it extra special, I got out the camera. She loves her pictures.

playing in the dirt

2010-03-24T14:16:00.000-07:00

one toy shovel scoop at a time. she's a hard worker!

taking over for daddy

come on dad, where should I put it?

I missed getting the full picture. She was swimming in the dirt. Arms and legs moving and dirt flying. Needless to say, when she came inside, she went straight to the bathtub.

We are getting closer to planting grass in the backyard. But then I wonder how I'll keep Molly out of the dirt while we wait for grass to grow. She might be upset when the dirt pile goes away.

brings us up to date

2010-03-18T16:32:00.001-07:00

She helped clean her room on Tuesday.

So after watching her drag the big broom and swifter around, I spotted this little broom with matching dustpan at TJ Maxx. She now carries that around the house. She swept my room, her room, and the bathroom. Now if only the dirt would go in her dustpan and into the trash. Floyd tried to show her how that works. It was fun to watch. She is my little helper.

random

2010-03-18T16:24:00.000-07:00

helping us clean up the backyard. getting closer to planting grass.

she asked me to take her picture-what a poser!

helping Daddy vacuum. he must have missed a spot.

reading The Family Handyman magazine after breakfast. just a little light reading. she loved the add of the vacuum with the cape.

Molly picked out this dress on sale for this summer so it is a little big. I had her try it on to make sure it wasn't going to be huge on her this summer. of course, she asked me to take a picture. "camera, camera please" too cute!

our new room

2010-03-18T16:19:00.000-07:00

our new room has been converted into a ......train room. it was supposed to become the guest bedroom/office but we don't need it as that yet so Molly has taken over. Her cousin gave us all his trains and tracks plus some blocks so she is all set up. we have nicknamed her Mollzilla since she destroys track faster than you can rebuild it.

bike trailer for molly

2010-03-18T16:11:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Floyd surprised us and took Friday off from work. It was a nice day so we decided to break down and buy a bike trailer for Molly to ride in so we could go biking again. She LOVES it! Maybe she just loves wearing her new helmet that she now brings in the car with us when we go run errands. These pictures were taken before we went for the ride. You can tell she is thinking " what are they doing to me" " what is this contraption". The whole first ride she held onto her seat as Floyd took her over every bump and curb he could find. I wasn't sure if she would want to get back in the thing ever again. I was wrong-everyday she asks to go for a ride. We didn't buy the stroller attachment so we can use it as a stroller cause it was over $100 but now after using it-it might be worth it. smooth ride and easy to push/steer. we shall see if the wants wins over the needs as my dad would say. "is it a want or a need?" I always hated that question cause it was usually a want! I still ask myself that question today. Sometimes giving into the want is a lot of fun!

Don't look Grandma!

2010-02-24T15:24:00.000-08:00

The kids (and adults) played outside at David's 1st birthday party since it was a gorgeous day. Molly climbed her first tree thanks to dear old dad. I was inside and just happen to glance out the window to see my little girl up in the tree. Evidently, she tried out a few different spots and had a blast. Don't worry Dad was standing directly below her in case she fell.

photo shoot

2010-02-24T15:15:00.000-08:00

Molly and her man Jonathan. Too bad you can't totally read the shirts. His says "#1 Hunk" and her says "Naturally Cute" It is really difficult to get 2 kids to sit still and smile long enough to get a picture taken. There was one taken of Molly running away from Jonathan. Unfortunately her head got cut off otherwise it was really cute.

Such the model. this is daddy's favorite picture. she looks so grown up!

She's driving now! She picked out this car from the storage room while Jonathan was having his pictures taken. She HAD to sit in it. I love this picture.

Loving her bunny that Mimi gave her when she was born. She sleeps with it every nap and night. We would be in trouble if we lost it!

vacuum broken and playdate with Maddy

2010-02-24T15:04:00.000-08:00

We were talking to Mimi and Pawpaw on Skype when all of a sudden Molly said "vacuum broken" I asked her if she could fix it with her tools. She ran over and got them and started inspecting.

when in doubt of how to fix-get the hammer

Molly and her best friend Maddy at the indoor playground. Maddy is in her gymnastics class and we have a weekly playdate too.

It is fun to watch them interact more and play together.

Maddy rocking on her fish!

Portland

2010-02-05T14:48:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, we headed down to Portland to visit friends and family. Friday, we stayed with a Matt and Shawna (Matt was in the Navy with Floyd). Their friend Jason was in town on business and we hadn't seen him since our wedding. Molly had her first lesson in Foosball. She loved it. The table hadn't been fully assembled yet so it was Molly's height on the ground.

Saturday night we stayed at a hotel so Molly and her cousin, Mr. Man, could play in the pool. Pool Pool Pool

just lounging with Mr. Man. He did a great job playing with Molly and watching out for her.

Mr. Man cleaned out his bedroom to make room for his lego empire expansion. He gave Molly all of his Brio trains. She LOVES them. Choo Choo.

Unsuspecting Mr. Man sitting on the floor. Molly will come up to you, turn around and back into your lap. Mr. Man can make that girl giggle nonstop. She adores her cousin.

My sister, her son, Molly, and myself. I think this is the first time a picture has been taken of just us sisters with our kids. I like it!

Finally Asleep on the car ride home. She was tired after a long weekend.

random days in the life of Molly

2010-02-05T14:19:00.000-08:00

She has learned to unlock her crib wheels and likes to move her crib into the middle of the room. Today, she grabbed a washcloth and cleaned the floor under her crib.

Molly with all her favorite friends.

reading about the tree on our hike

"Are you coming?" parents are so slow!

molly will be playing dominoes in no time. we are using them to learn numbers and counting. plus colors. pretty useful plus they are fun to stack and knock over. Floyd built her a structure before he went to work for her to find when she got up. I should have had the camera ready. When she saw it, she looked at me, looked at it, smiled big and knocked it over.

Award Ceremony

2010-01-26T20:41:00.001-08:00

Molly had her first awards ceremony. We missed last sessions ceremony. Of course, I forgot my camera but our friend Dena took a few pictures for us. Floyd even earned some brownie points and took off work to come see the new gym and what Molly has learned in the last 20 weeks. Molly goes to the Little Gym once a week to play. She has learned somersaults, walking on a balance beam, woop-de-dos, and backward rolls (or whatever they are called). Our gym moved locations part way thru this session to a smaller but much nicer facility. Molly graduated from the Birdies class and will be starting the Beasties class on Monday.

Molly was chosen to demonstrate doing a somersault on the balance beam. that's my girl! Look at her arms up in the air-nice form!

She is a great encourager. A cheerleader all the way. She wears her medal around the house all day long. It is so cute. She was sitting on her little potty chair, completely naked with her medal around her neck. I wish I had had a camera within reach.

Stole the show

2010-01-17T20:51:00.000-08:00

Look it at how long her hair is getting! She isn't so sure about wearing things in her hair but she loves hats.

This picture doesn't even come close to showing how cute she was today. She was the star of coffee hour after church today. This dress has matching brown leggings with the same detail as arms. Everyone loved this outfit. A family at church passed this along with some other clothes. Unfortunately, they weren't at church to see her rock this outfit. She was struttin' her stuff thru church like she owned the place today. That's our little girl!
Needless to say, her dad did good dressing her today. When she came into our bedroom to show me, I said something about her being too cute. She smiled big and said "cute". another new word.

Family Day

2010-01-16T22:26:00.001-08:00

Isn't she beautiful!

Today, we had family day. We all slept in this morning. I think Miss Molly had been up in the night playing her music. I know I heard it at 4:30 and maybe again at 6am. We ate like kings for breakfast. Then off to the Children's Museum. This was the first time we have gone there. And it was blast-see the following post.
Tonight before bed, we had game time. Well, Floyd and I played Wii bowling while Molly cheered us on. We haven't played bowling with her since she as maybe 6 months old. We would hold her while we bowled and she would just giggle. Tonight, we started off holding her while we bowled and she watched what we did. Once she got to heavy to hold for the whole game, she pulled up her chair and cheered us on. She knew when we got a strike or spare and would laugh and clap for us. It was so much fun. What a great end to a wonderful family day.

Children's Musuem

2010-01-16T21:47:00.000-08:00

Going into the treehouse

Future banker

Construction Zone

Not sure if it is a liquid or a solid? Do know that it is icky!

Playing with clean mud and dinosaurs

Molly loves trains and that is no exaggeration. She wanted to climb up on the tracks.

The best part of the whole museum-the rooftop playground. This tower had an amazing view of the mountains and of the Sound.

This play structure had at least 5 slides. This will be a great place to play when it hasn't been raining. The rooftop playground also had chimes, drums, etc to play. Plus......

Look what she found!

Puzzles

2010-01-16T21:36:00.000-08:00

So I just downloaded the pictures from todays outing and found these. Molly loves to sit at the coffeetable and play with her puzzles. And I can't turn off the underline. help!

Fearless

2010-01-15T14:14:00.000-08:00

Miss Molly did her first unassisted somersault on Sunday. Out of the blue! We were just hanging out and out of nowhere over she went. She tried to do it again but hasn't been able to. She has also jumped getting her feet off the ground -once. I think it freaked her out. She had this look on her face that said it all. She keeps trying to do it again. She has blossomed at gymnastics class. She has no fear of the balance beam. Still doesn't like the bars too much but she did go over to hang off of them all on her own on Monday. She normally doesn't do that.

Well, I think that is all from our end of the world. I'll try and take/post more pictures soon.

Exciting news!

2010-01-09T21:02:00.000-08:00

ok so maybe not exciting news for you but it is for us. Molly is just shy of the 25th percentile in weight. When she was born she was 75th percentile and stayed about 50th until she started crawling and walking. Then it was all we could do to keep her in the 10th percentile for the last 6-8 months. And she eats constantly! but she nevers stops moving. She went in for her 18 month vaccinations and a weight check on Friday. She is a whopping 22 lbs 4 oz. and 31.5 inches tall (50th percentile for height). that's our little girl!

She has started trying to say "I love you". Those are some sweet words coming from her. I didn't realize how much I was waiting to hear her say it.

New Words

2010-01-02T22:35:00.000-08:00

Molly's vocabulary is expanding greatly these days. This last week she has said quite a few new words. Here are a few: turtle, park, Richard, Shelly, Shawna, blue, yellow, one, two (in order), stairs, down. I can't remember anymore but I know there were more. She is mastering please and thank you. We are still working on when to use them correctly. She has figured out that if she uses please when she really wants something but she knows she shouldn't have it or do it, etc-that we might break down and let her have it, do it, etc. (within reason) How can we resist a "pease"?

When walking into the YMCA, Floyd asked her if she wanted to walk or for him to carry her. She said "carry". I asked her tonight when we were snuggling before bed if she wanted to go to the pool again, she said "yes" . It is great she is really starting to verbally communicate with us.

I almost forgot my favorite: love you! She has only said that once and I had just said to Floyd that I can't wait til she can say "I love you".

Our little girl is so smart! I can't wait to see what this new year will bring.

Oh, I forgot POOL of course.

Pool, Pool, Pool, Pool, Pool, Pool, Pool, Pool, Pool

2010-01-02T22:10:00.001-08:00

Molly sporting her new bathing suit. While we were getting her dressed to go to the YMCA, we talked to her about swimming and if she remembered swimming while we were on vacation, etc. Hoping to get her excited about the pool. During the car ride there, she was chatting away-I still wish I could understand what she was saying! I asked her where we were going, she replied "pool" over and over and over again until we got there.

getting ready for the pool!

Last days of 2009

2010-01-02T21:54:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

New Year's Eve with the Riddles (that is Shelly, Roger and Jonathan).

Molly loves her cereal bowl with the straw. We usually have oatmeal or eggs/french toast for breakfast but today I didn't feel like making anything more than a bowl of cereal. She LOVED drinking her milk from her cereal. She even drank my milk!

One minute Molly was playing and then it was quiet........She had climbed up on the couch to take a break and watch a little Sid the science kid on PBS.

Star Thief!

Roll, J.R., roll!

2009-12-29T19:32:00.000-08:00

Smack in the middle of the parachute!

2009-12-29T19:19:00.000-08:00

Molly and J.R. "at the bar"

2009-12-29T19:06:00.000-08:00

Roll Molly, Roll!

2009-12-29T18:52:00.000-08:00

Molly getting Dizzy at the gym!

2009-12-29T16:26:00.000-08:00

wendy and molly on the balance beam

2009-12-29T15:40:00.000-08:00

2009-12-26T09:41:00.000-08:00

Here are some videos from discovering all the presents and playtime with them. OOPPS! the first video is sideways. what can i say, it was 8am and I hadn't had my coffee yet. Molly is practicing her "thank you" which you can hear in the second video.

We needed to help her to open the kitchen package. She would look at it but never went over to it to see what was underneath. it took some coaxing on our behalf but she loved it. We had a great day playing with our new stuff and had friends over for Christmas dinner. When our friends arrived we realized that Molly was still in her pajamas. She didn't care at all. She was comfy. Bonus: it was easier to get her ready for bed-which she was ready early with all of the excitement of the day.
We are very blessed to have had such a wonderful Christmas. We missed all our family and friends this year but it was nice to have a quiet day just for family play. We hope everyone had an enjoyable, blessed Christmas. We love and miss everyone!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T21:37:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas tree!

Molly picked the smallest gifts to open first.

She would tear off the smallest pieces of paper at a time and had to throw them away-right then before tearing any more off. We needed to "assist" her in unwrapping otherwise we would still be unwrapping. Don't worry we would just hold onto the package and she would pull on the paper. At least the paper tore in bigger pieces.

She got books, puzzles, blocks, and a leap frog reading thing. And of course.......

HER kitchen

Santa, AKA Jonathan

getting ready for Christmas

2009-12-25T21:12:00.000-08:00

We started Christmas Eve by delivering pumpkin bread to a few neighbors and then off to church we went. Molly was invited to take part in the children message during service. Wow! what a challenge. She played with the nativity scene, talked, ran around on stage all while Jan was telling the kids about Angels. Jan was thrilled Molly was up there taking part. From the parent of the child running around---AAAAGHH! The rest of the service was nice but we ended up having to take Molly to the back of the church since she could not sit still or for that matter even sit down. Seriously, how do you reign in an 18 month old for a church service. She is usually in the nursery on Sunday morning.

Shelly, Roger, and Jonathan came over for a few minutes.

Nearly impossible to get a good picture of 2 adults and 2 kids.

Molly's big Christmas present was her Kitchen. The consumer reviews stated that it was taking people around 4 hours to build this kitchen. Really? Floyd had it all assembled in 2 hours flat. Molly is very lucky she has such a handy daddy.

easiest gift to wrap.

Christmas part 1

2009-12-25T21:02:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, we joined Rich and Kate at Shelly and Roger's house for an early Christmas celebration. We had a wonderful dinner and the kids got to open some presents. Molly and David helped each other open the presents and played with each. Molly got a baby doll (how do they instinctively know what to do with a baby!?), a bucket of food for her future kitchen, a talking dog which she loves to take in the car, and a fairy treehouse. She loves playing with all her new toys. here are a few pictures from round 1, the preview for Christmas Day.

Pudding time

2009-12-18T21:49:00.000-08:00

Floyd teaches on Thursday nights so Molly and I get to play all day and night. Last night, we made pudding together. She was a great help. She wanted my apron on so it took some tying but I made it work. She did a great job trying to stir the pudding. But the most fun came when getting to taste the pudding after waiting the longest 5 minutes for it to chill in the frig.

"More Pease"
If she got any pudding on her face/mouth she would immediately use her thumb to scoop it into her mouth and then suck on her thumb to get every last ounce off. Too cute!

Early Christmas Present

2009-12-18T21:31:00.000-08:00

Molly got her first tool box from Grandma and Grandpa, who specifically said for Molly to open this present when it arrived. She loves it! Molly says "daddy" a lot when she is playing with it.

Learning to saw.

Packing up for the day. She gathered up all her tools into the box and tried to fit it into her train. The tool box came with 2 pieces of "wood", 2 screws, screwdriver, hammer, saw, and a vibrating drill. She is a little scared of the vibrating drill. She threw it in the air the first time she felt it. Molly is also practicing her new phrase "thank you". We were on the phone with Grandma and Grandpa when she opened it and started playing with it. She told Grandma "thank you" in her cute little voice. I'm so proud of our little girl.

photo shoot

2009-12-16T14:55:00.000-08:00

I just don't know where the blond hair and blue eyes come from. She is beautiful though!

She is such a lady.

She's got the run way walk down. Molly loves pockets. I think this is the favorite part of this dress. I just love the dress on her.

Decorating our Tree

2009-12-16T14:18:00.000-08:00

Molly's stocking that Grandpa picked out for her last year.

Molly was a great helper hanging the ornaments on the bottom half of the tree.

She wore her Christmas dress to church the other Sunday. She loves her dress and most dresses in fact. I loved the expression on her face.
Molly has been doing a great job not playing with the tree too much. For the first few days she would pull off the wood ornaments so she could play with them. Floyd and I painted them years ago. They are Santa, a snowman, a soldier, and a king. they have a string to pull that moves the arms and legs and a little bell that jingles.
She loves Christmas lights like her momma. She looks out our slider to see the lights on the street behind us so we decided to hang lights on our deck so she can look at them too. She tells us to plug in the lights. She also tells us "more" when we only plug in the tree. We have eventually added lights wrapping the banister on the stairs so we would have "more". She is too cute.

picking out our christmas tree

2009-12-16T14:10:00.000-08:00

Molly had to step on every stump we walked by. She had a great time running around the tree farm. It took all 4 adults to keep track of her.

Family photo in front of our tree before Floyd cut it down

Shelly, Roger, and Jonathan came with us to find the perfect Christmas Trees for our homes. It was fun to go on the hunt for the best tree. the great debate if a tree was too big or not big enough, the right style, spacing of branches, etc. And of course, every tree I looked at Floyd was ready to cut it down. In the end, Floyd and I walked up to the same tree and said this is it. Of course, we ended the event with Hot Cocoa to warm up by the fire.

David and Molly

2009-12-04T12:54:00.000-08:00

Molly is the cutest elf ever. She looks like an elf! Even more so these days since she is getting chubby again. Her belly is huge and her cheeks aren't far behind. Her legs and arms are stick skinny. At least some of her pants are fitting her better these days.

Molly loves her puzzles. She is now able to put the farm animals in the right spots and make them fit. Thanks Stacy for the puzzles. oh, don't ask about the shirt around her neck. That was an old shirt of mine she has taken to wearing. Stylish, huh?

David playing with Molly's train. He thought it was pretty cool. I can't believe how old he is!!! they are going to have so much fun playing together. So far they like each others toys.

Christmas Tree Lighting

2009-12-04T12:35:00.000-08:00

Santa arrived to light the Christmas Tree in downtown Edmonds. Santa got off the truck right in front of us. We lucked out having never been to the tree lighting ceremony before.

Molly was checking out the tree

We ran into a friend of ours from church who offered to take a family photo of the event. Santa was available for pictures at the museum. We walked around town for a little while to let the line go down and to check out the Christmas lights. Molly did a great job meeting Santa for the first time. She didn't cry right away but we didn't get the picture taken with him before she started crying. So this year, we have a family photo with Santa. Mommy got to sit next to Santa on his sleigh. I'll see if I can scan the photo to post it.

don't know what to title this

2009-11-24T21:26:00.000-08:00

Molly is learning new things every day. In fact, Anna at daycare asked me today if I was teaching her to read (already!?) since Molly picked up a sippy cup and stared at it, "reading" the name on it, put it down and found hers. I guess she can recognize her name now. cool.

Anna also mentioned that they played with the nature cards today. As Anna was talking about the different pictures, Molly was picking up the card she was talking about and giving it to her. The fish, ocean, and crab are her favorite cards at home.

Anna also commented that she will be ready to potty train soon. we have been noticing that she says "pee" at random times and we figure that is what she is doing. she will also squat down when she goes "pee" sometimes. The last few days, she will randomly (well, randomly to us) go over to the blanket we change her on and will pull it on the floor or go to her room and point at the diapers. I still think she is a little young. Everything I have read says to wait until after 18 months or it will take longer to potty train than if you had waited to start. I also don't think I am ready for potty training. Don't get me wrong would love to not change diapers anymore but .......oh this could be a long journey. i'm not ready for my baby to be a kid.

She no longer likes to snuggle before nap or bedtime. The routine went like this: she picks out 2 stories to read, snuggle, lay her down almost asleep. now it is story-usually 2 sometimes she skips the 2nd, she points at her crib and grabs her blanket, slides off my lap and walks to the crib. I love that she is able to put herself to bed but I MISS my snuggles. Again, mommy's not ready. Notice the trend....Molly's growing up faster than I'm ready.

So this leads us to the newest thing she is learning......to blow her own nose. wow-how nasty! She will use anything!!! I thought she was going to help fold laundry (using help loosely) but she grabbed a washcloth and started blowing her nose. I gave her a tissue and took the washcloth, explaining we use a tissue not our bibs, blankets, washclothes. She used the tissue, walked over to the trash, threw it out, went back to the laundry basket and got another washcloth to blow her nose again. Using a tissue is entertaining to watch. she balls it up and rotates it as she keeps blowing. Needless to say, snot everywhere. sorry if too much detail but welcome to my day. i am hopeful our cold (yes we all have a cold now) will be gone quickly.

Feel free to post title suggestions or any potty training suggestions.

baking up a storm

2009-11-21T21:37:00.001-08:00

I had to make 72 cupcakes for church tomorrow. I was pleasantly surprised that she didn't come want to help-not that I would have minded but it is an extra challenge and I had a lot to make. So once I got the first batch in the oven, we sat down to "bake" some of our own. She was so cute in her little chef hat.
As you can see here Molly is feeling much better. She is getting over from a cold and croup. She is such a sweet and generous little girl, that she has now given her cold to both of us! Floyd says not him (he is in denial that he is getting sick) he claims he doesn't get sick. i hate to tell him but he does get sick but he has an incredible immune system and will be fine in a day or 2 at the most. I will have this cold for the next 2 weeks. Maybe that's cause I have been a giant kleenex for the last week......i know gross.

sorry the video is sideways

2009-11-11T16:24:00.000-08:00