Friday, October 31, 2008

Jack O' Lantern

It's Halloween morning. I've got laundry started down in the basement, a cup of coffee next to the computer, and am watching the rain pour down. I am sure the floods are coming and am wondering how trick or treating will go tonight. Andy's sister is coming over with the family and Lily is set to spend her first Halloween dressed up and begging for candy along with all her cousins. We'll post pictures of the blessed event. Not to worry!

We've definitely gotten into the spirit of things and spent the night carving and feasting on pumpkin seeds. One of the pictures of me as a baby in my parents' albums is of my first Halloween next to my very own pumpkin. The face was painted on and the teeth spelled out my name. With that in mind, we carved...

Monday, October 27, 2008

More Punkins!


We just can't get enough of pumpkin patches! Andy has always told me these great stories of his trips to the fields of orange globes and how the really good farms had goats. Well, I came across a pumpkin patch that not only has goats and other barnyard animals, but also has a pumpkin cannon that shoots pumpkins up to three football field lengths away! It sounded too good to pass up! I called my friend Lisa and sent a message to my friend Annie (two of my fabulous friends from college and two of the Ta-Ta's) and we set a date for yesterday to bring our girls out to hunt for the Great Pumpkin. Annie came with Nina. Lisa came with Evelyn and Brandon. I came with Lily and Andy. We watched pumpkins fly across the fields. We scratched behind the ears of a goat and some pigs. And we left with a perfect little pumpkin. It was the first time we'd been able to get all three of our daughters together and there are sure to be many more gatherings in the future!

A little bit of Japan here in Seattle


One of our favorite people from our Japan adventure passed through Seattle this weekend! Diane was one of the wonderful literacy teachers that I worked with at Ikego and one of our fabulous circle of friends. This week she is spending time with family down in California, but had to fly through either Portland or Seattle on her way there. The Kasparek and Holloway families agreed that she made the right choice in picking Seattle. We got to spend all day Saturday and part of Sunday with our dear friend. Saturday, after meeting her at the airport, we brought her home for coffee and, once the Kaspareks arrived, we headed out to one of our favorite spots for lunch: Volunteer Park Cafe. Then, while Vanessa, Chris, Emma, and Camden were entertained at the Backyardigans show, Andy, Lily and I took Diane over to the Ballard Locks to see one lone fish (nicknamed Louis the Loser) swimming up through the ladder. Oddly, this was Andy's first trip to the Locks on foot. He's decided it is now one of his favorite places in Seattle! After leaving Andy to go off for a "business dinner," we met back up with the Kaspareks and headed out for a slumber party at their house in Silverdale. Lily spent the evening laughing and watching football with Chris while Vanessa, Diane, and I visited. The night ended with Emma reading and singing for Lily. The next morning we had just enough time for a quick breakfast before heading off to the airport. After a mix-up with the ferry schedule, we ended up driving around, but that just meant that all three of us got a bit more time together. Which one of our friends from Japan will come over next?

Mmmmm Ice Cream!


Last week Lily and I spent our days and nights in the company of two of our favorite four legged friends. Bud and Junior were our "job" for the week as my mom and dad jetted off to Yellowstone with friends. The only bump was getting down to their house. We are a one car household and Andy needed it to get back and forth to his new job. With that in mind, my dad drove up to pick us up before meeting up with mom and co. to head off to see Old Faithful and her own set of critters. Our meeting spot: Dairy Queen. And when at Dairy Queen, one really MUST have a dip cone. Lily was eyeballing our cones and dad couldn't resist giving her a taste. Then, when mom arrived, she needed to join in the experience. Lily was one happy little soft serve eating fool... until she had her first brain freeze.

HA HA HA

Lily just reached yet another mile stone. She's been talking up a storm and letting us know she's going to have a lot to say very soon. And over this past week she's started giggling. It's the greatest!

Friday, October 17, 2008

Rally Time


Okay all you true Red Sox fans. It's time to show the team some love.

Lily's First Field Trip


Lily's life is filled with firsts: first baseball game, first ferry ride,... And since my pre-k class was headed out to their first field trip of the year, we decided to tag along. Every year, the pre-k celebrates harvest by heading out to the pumpkin patch to hunt for pumpkin flowers and find the class pumpkin. Yes, we all had a blast!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Lily is 3 months old today!


Before Lily was born, her Aunt Kara sent her a "growing animal" to help us record her growth. She doesn't seem that big, but looking back at the pictures... Well, take a look for yourself!

2 months

1 month
It's hard to believe she started out this small and she's now holding her head up almost all by herself!!

Monday, October 6, 2008

Welcome Baby Evelyn!!


Andy and I were first introduced by our friends Lisa and Brandon Klassen. Lisa and I went to Reading, England together during our junior year of college and became fast friends. Andy and Brandon had become friends during their time together in Americorps on lovely Whidbey Island. We were a part of their wedding and they were a part of ours. The only thing that could make life even better is if we could raise our kids together. Consider it done! Lisa gave birth to Evelyn Estelle Klassen on Sunday September 28th, her due date, at 6:53 PM. Evelyn weighed 8lb 2oz and was 20.5 inches long. She looks a lot like her mom, but I'm sure bits of Brandon will show through in time. At least that's how it's worked for us. Lily has a lot of Andy's looks, but little bits of me are starting to shine through. At least that's what people keep telling us. The girls looked pretty happy to finally meet.

New Friends




We had seen pictures, but hadn't had a chance to actually meet them in person. Another perk of our S.F. visit (there were so many!) was getting to finally lay our peepers on Ellis Stahley (son of Brook and Kim) and his cousin Annelyse McMickin (daughter of Bethany and Abram). Picture #1: Ellis is reading a book before bed with his mom. Picture #2: Lily and Annelyse cuddled into their pods getting a power nap before the Lee-Tong wedding reception. Picture #3: Lily is getting a cuddle from Bethany and Ann (grandma to Ellis and Annelyse).

Tong Wedding





Okay, so the trip to San Francisco wasn't purely just a whim. Andy's friend from junior high and high school, Doug Tong, got married on Saturday. It was quite a fancy affair and Doug had it planned out in great detail. We heard that the wedding party received 14 pages of mapped out itinerary! The rehearsal dinner took place at McCormick and Kuleto's in Ghirardeli Square. It was an amazing meal with a gorgeous view out over the Aquatic Center toward Alcatraz. The following afternoon Bruce and Ann Stahley chauffeured us out to the wedding which was held at the Stanford Chapel. Talk about beautiful! The reception followed that evening at the Rincon Center back in downtown San Fran. Janet (the blushing bride) wore at least three different gowns. The meal was delicious and consisted of at least 10 different plates ranging from jellyfish salad to shark fin soup to mango custard. There were eloquent speeches and fabulous dancing. In the pictures you'll see not only our family, but also Pauline, mother of the groom, and Andy with his friends Dave Beltran (with his son Aidan) and Brook Stahley (with his son Ellis). The final picture is dark, but I hope you can make out Janet and Doug and their first dance.

Zoom Zoom Zoom


It's time to brag on Lily a bit more. On Wednesday, Lily went on her very first airplane ride. With gritted teeth and crossed fingers we ducked onto the Boeing bird. Smiles guided us down the aisle, and Lily did her part to cordially counter with her own bubbly rendition. The funny thing was, as we continued toward the rear of the plane, peoples' smiles let show hints of uncertainty. A natural reaction really, one that I have been guilty of many times; babies on planes equals noise. Unbeknownst to them, however, I shared their fear. The only thing worse then a fussy baby, is being the one who created her. But all was going smoothly and I was going to play it like a calm and collected pro. My face read "don't sweat it folks, she does this all the time", but, truth be told, I think I need to put some work into that face. For my bluff was called and people rifled through their carry-ons for their ipods. Fortunately we had a whole row to ourselves. Maggie pulled out her hooter hider and made all the necessary adjustments in order for a quick and quieting feeding. We were cleared for take off and, shortly there after, we were smoothly climbing through a polished blue sky. But this tale kind of ends there. I know, the scene was set for Lily's manic mile high meltdown. Or at least a diaper blowout that would have the flight attendants scurrying for the Febreeze. Sorry for the build up, but she did great. We watched a movie on our computer and the Bug just slept. Actually to fully play this story out, she woke and grinned from the plane to the bus to the train, and then along the ten block walk to our hotel. In our rooms, Maggs and I marveled with proud parent pride as we put her and our guard down for the night. Ah, but the night did not end there. It is only fair to come clean and say that Lily slept like a 3 month old on a foreign blow up bed. Night two was better!
~posted by Papa Drew Bob

Too Cute For Words


So we might be a bit biased...

Bug and the Beast


For those who don't know, Lily has somehow acquired the nickname "Bug" (and may be emailed at bugholloway@gmail.com). The Bug had been waiting the majority of her short little life to meet the one family member she hadn't had a chance to meet yet... the owner of the beastly dog (named Bud) in the picture... my brother, Matt. Lily and I took a couple days and went down to visit Grandma & Grandpa Reichenberger and Lily and Bud bonded over their anticipation of Matt's return. They didn't have too much longer to wait! The company Matt works for as a helicopter structural repairman was getting ready to bring him back from their shop in Hawaii. On September 20 both Bud and Lily were there in Seatac to meet him when he touched foot back on home soil. Matt's reaction to Lily... "Hmmm... Yup! Want to see my new tattoos?"

Sweet Caroline!


Yes, Andy and I have now officially been married for three years. To celebrate this accomplishment Andy got us tickets to see the musician he's most wanted to see. Someone who has shaped his life and evokes many great memories. Yes... We saw Neil Diamond. And not only did we see Neil, but we were so close to the stage that we could almost see the sweat on his brow. Our friends Vanessa & Chris were also in the crowd as were a couple of the folks Andy used to work with at the dive school (Christy & KC). Words could not express how fabulous the night was... And we had no worries over Lily. She spent the evening with her Aunt Asha - my co-teacher at Bertschi. I'm not sure who had a better night...Asha or us.

Precious Moments

Okay, so maybe we've become a bit goofier, but one of our favorite times of the day is when it's time for Lily to wake up and face the day. We look down into her moses basket to see her staring straight up at either us or the ceiling fan and grinning a gigantic grin. Then comes the best part... We take her out of her basket and lay her on the bed so we can open up her little cocoon of a swaddle and let her stretch. Could life get much better?

Quick Catch Up

It's been a busy month! We've been running around visiting with friends, going to another baseball game, seeing the always-fabulous Neil Diamond, and traveling down to San Francisco for a wedding. The next few posts will dive into some of the events a bit more in detail, but, needless to say, we've been having a lot of fun with our little girl!

We finally got to meet my friend Kathleen's nephew. Isn't Jude a handsome devil?


We also helped our friend Lisa (and her pup Lucy) pass some time while they waited for the birth of Baby Klassen.


Two of our favorite B's - bath and bed time!


And, most recently, Lily's first airplane trip and a visit to our "family" in San Francisco for a wedding.