Sunday, December 28, 2008

Welcome Baby George!!


We've got a new cousin! George Whitney was born to Christie and Garrett on Sunday, December 21. He wasn't showing any signs of turning head down, so, Chris was booked in for a c-section. They are all doing great and George is a handsome little devil that loves to sleep the day away. As a special treat to the Cordell Christmas, George was brought over and enjoyed the meal with us at Grandma Margaret's house. He was 6 pounds 13 ounces at birth and, even though Lily is small for her age, George made her look from a giant!

Christmas a little early...


Lily's Grandmommie Linda braved her way through the snowstorm in Spokane to fly to Seattle the weekend before Christmas. It was wonderful having her here to celebrate Lily's first Christmas a little early. While she was here we all tried out the new cameras that Santa had sent for Christmas. The video below is just one sample of Grandmommie's new camera.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Snow Angel

This past week we've been enjoying the promise of a white Christmas. Last weekend we received a small layer which left a nice layer of ice on the roads and forced schools to open 2 hours late on both Monday and Tuesday. Then, after pretty serious warning, the skies opened with a flash and a boom and began to dump snow Thursday morning and send schools into an early winter vacation. With the time off, Andy and I bundled up and trekked out to capture the moment of our cameras.

Lily has now met snow. She has tasted it, made snow angels, kicked it around, and felt the affects of the chill after the snow has soaked her.

Gearing up to brave the cold...

Dancing on snowflakes...

Snow Angel

Papa's Got A New Toy!

Andy has been eagerly awaiting the "birth" of the latest addition to our family. With about the same level of excitement as when Lily arrived, Andy stalked the UPS web page checking his tracking number about every 15 minutes and waiting for the magical word: DELIVERED. He knew that his box had arrived before the school secretary could phone me in class to let me know. The Cannon 5D Mark II is now nestled into his shoulder bag and ready for any and all Kodak moments. The morning after it arrived he took it for its first spin. What better first photo than one of the Bug?

Another Month, Another Elephant Picture


Lily Grace Holloway
5 Months

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Goin' On A Tree Hunt


Last year we met up with Lisa, Brandon, and Lisa's dad's family for a trip to the tree farm. This year we were missing Roger's family, but we had the addition of two fabulous little girls. We got to the farm, bundled up, and got our feet ready to tromp around the trees. We've got a really cozy home that has just enough room for a table top tree. We looked around and saw a couple of potential winners, but in the end we all decided to go get burritos at Chipotle(after helping ourselves to cocoa and a candy cane). B&L ended up getting a tree at a lot right down the street from home and we went for a potted one from Trader Joe's. We're planning to take ours down to Grayland and plant it at my mom and dad's place.

Turkey Day - Part 2




One of the charms of where we live is the ferry boat commuting. This Thanksgiving we joined the ferry line as we made our way out to Bruce and Caroline Klassen's home on Whidbey Island for turkey dinner. Lisa and Brandon were already there with their daughter Evelyn and pup Lucy. Getting out to Chez Klassen is always a relaxing treat of friends, food, and dominoes. If only Lisa and Brandon hadn't had to head out early for a flight the next morning...

Turkey Day - Part 1

Looking back to the date on the last post, it's pretty easy to tell when my maternity leave was over and it was time for me to head back to work. Before I get into the back to work story, I better get you caught up!

Andy and Lily are waiting for the partying to begin! On Thanksgiving Day we partook of two celebrations. The first one was a gathering of friends. We headed over to our friend Justin's house in Ballard to meet up with all the friends who are too far away from family to make the trek for both Turkey Day and Christmas. The spread Justin lays out is totally worth it! We started our food extravaganza with the cold appetizers: meat, cheese, fruit, veggies, bread, yummy dips of several flavors, and (Andy's not so favorite) deviled eggs. Then came the hot appetizers: bacon wrapped shrimp and scallops, little smokies, and clams. Oh, our first tasty beverage was also making its rounds at this point and everyone had a mimosa in hand. Then the much anticipated dinner was ready... the deep fried turkey was brought in from its vat in the driveway, the oven roasted turkey was pulled from the oven and the ham was returned from the BBQ.


Justin did the carving while the rest of the feast was set out. After all, what is Thanksgiving without cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes, rolls, and veggies? I have a feeling that I left a few dishes out, too. After finishing our plates we rolled out the door so we could make the ferry to our next celebration. We left a pumpkin pie and told Justin thank you one more time before hopping in the car and puzzling over how we would manage to eat more that evening.