The Hippie Inside

While I was pregnant, I daydreamed about taking Lily through the local farmers market. Yes, there is a bit of liberal hippie in me. I live in Seattle. What can I say? Well, the trips to the local market don't happen every weekend, but last weekend we managed to get over to the U District Farmers Market and picked up tasty local apples, cheese, squash, root veggies,... That afternoon, while I was cooking up some apples, Lily wasn't content on the floor and wanted to be a part of the action.

She had the greatest time gnawing away on that piece of apple.

A Bird's Eye View

Well, it might not exactly be a bird's eye view, but, now that she can sit up, the world is even more interesting!

More pictures!

I've just updated the links to Lily's photo albums. Check 'em out and see what fun we've been up to. Yes, Lily did meet the Cat in the Hat and went on a fun filled trip to the Woodland Park Zoo. She also took her first trip up to Crystal Mountain ski resort where my dad gave her his old snow suit which she happily slipped on for pictures in the snow. Our Bug is also sitting up on her own now and loving her fruit and oatmeal. Veggies are not quite as yummy, but they're growing on her.

Sleep, Glorious Sleep

On January 8th Lily became 6 months old. She got to try solid foods, was perfecting her rolling technique, and was about to reach another growth spurt. We had one night with a blissful 8 hour stretch of sleep and then it started going down hill. We had moved her into the Pack n Play and out of the moses basket. Maybe it was just an adjustment to the new bed? Or maybe she's ready to move on from swaddling? I held on firmly to our friend, Anne's words: "Everything is a phase and they will go into another one soon enough." Part of me enjoyed the extra quiet time with the bug, but on some of those up-almost-every-hour nights I longed for just a 3 hour stretch.

This week I was on mid-winter vacation from school and figured this would be our week for serious sleep training. I would try to keep her in bed and not move her to the swing part way through the night. First step was getting a crib. We had a few offers of cribs we could either borrow or have. Andy called cousin Ted and asked if he could drop the boys' old crib off on his way home from work. He did two steps better and brought along a mattress and bedding and put it together in our living room. Thanks Tacoma Warren-Christensen Family!

That night Lily was in no way interested! I eventually put her down in the swing after a few attempts at the crib fully planning to put her in the crib after her first nightly wake. She lasted a little over an hour in the crib before I gave up and went back to the swing. The next night would be better!

The next two nights she slowly spent more time in the crib and less in the swing. Then yesterday Andy suggested maybe we take down the swing. Can you imagine the look he got?

Andy has yet to experience the full brunt of one of these sleepless nights. He tries to help when he can and I appreciate everything he does when he can. However, with his job, having a bad night of sleep is actually dangerous. The less rested he is, the easier it is for him to get the bends and be sent to Virginia Mason Hospital to spend the next day in their hyperbaric chamber. He's already been sent there once this year and we don't want it to happen again. So, on nights where he'll be working the next day and needs to be well rested, he takes a sleeping pill and puts in his ear plugs while I handle the night duty. Most nights aren't really that bad. She's just had a rough few weeks.

Until last night, that is! The work toward staying the entire night in her crib paid off big! Yesterday I put her down for all her naps in the crib and even put her in there to play while I ran up and down to the basement to do laundry. Then, at 7, I started getting her ready for bed. A story or two. A nice long bath. Swaddle. Vitamins. Milk. Then down in the crib. Lights off. Mozart on. I went into the bedroom to put away laundry and get myself ready for the night. Andy got home an hour later. I fell asleep and woke on my own at 4:30am! Lily hadn't cried out once! I laid there for a few minutes and hoped she was still alive. Do I dare risk going out to check and possibly waking her up? You bet! I wouldn't have been able to go back to sleep otherwise. I crept out, put my hand on her chest, and... Hallelujah!! I snuck back to bed and was woken only by Andy's alarm. He had to get ready for work at 6:30. Lily woke as Andy was getting ready for his day, but that's when I'd be getting her up during the week anyhow. With any luck we'll have a repeat performance tonight!

Bug's First Christmas

We originally wondered if we'd be able to get down to the beach to spend the holiday with my parents and brother. The snow and ice had made travel here in Seattle pretty nasty. With Andy's determination we headed west just as soon as he got off work the night before Christmas Eve. We made it down without problem and Lily was able to sleep most of the way. We had a feeling that grandma and grandpa might want to snuggle with her a bit before we put her to bed at their house.

She managed about an hour of cuddles and then we whisked her upstairs to sleep in her moses basket in my old room. Mom had to work Christmas Eve and my brother, Matt was driving over the mountains from Boise, Idaho where he is currently working on a project for work. He really can't turn down the per diem pay so he's been doing a lot of traveling for work this past year. Anyhow, with them not around the house, Lily had some grandpa time. Eventually mom was released from work early and Matt made it safely to the harbor.

Christmas Eve dinner was a feast of salmon and family. Lily got into her new holiday jammies and eventually made it to sleep. The next day was a whirlwind of food, gifts, and holiday jolliness. Lily got the royal Reichenberger treatment. She now has her very own rifle, flannel shirt, and rocking horse. She also got three great new stuffed animals: a polar bear, a reindeer, and a mammoth. Andy got wool socks and cast iron. I got rain gear so I won't get too soaked as I ride my bike to work. The day was a great success.
Grandma loved her new boots and Grandpa and Uncle Matt were looking forward to trying out their "seasonal beverages." It was a fabulous holiday, but the thing we learned was that babies' usual routine goes right out the window during the holidays. Luckily they are resilient and relearn routines in just a couple days. We wouldn't have done it any other way.

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.

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

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.

It's okay, Grandpa!

Grandpa Reichenberger went under the knife last Monday. In his right hip a calcification had gotten so big that it was pushing his leg out of socket. Ouch! He now has a new hip and is on the road to recovery. This past weekend we all went down to the beach to give Grandpa our love and support.

Cousin George

We are expecting an extra special treat this holiday. My cousin Christie is due to give birth to baby George on Dec 27. Just the other weekend, the Cordell side of the family all gathered to shower Chris with love and baby things. Now all we need is the baby!

Chris and her nieces are cutting the cake. Rachel (the youngest of the nieces) is checking out Lily and getting excited for her new cousin.

Seattle Children's Museum

A couple weeks ago I loaded Lily up in her brand new stroller and took her for a nice long walk down to the Seattle Children's Museum. We met up with Kristie, one of my oldest friends, and Zoe, her daughter, who were accompanied by Denise, Kristie's mom, and Shy, Kris's niece. The high points were the Mr. Potato Head exhibit, the Whole Foods shopping center, the water table, and... Who am I kidding? It was all great. Lily watched as Zoe and Shy ran all over and experienced all the centers. Some day she, too, will be running around with her big friends.

Signs of the Season

Over the past couple weeks the most wonderful thing has started to happen. As we wander down the streets, I keep noticing little signs of the season: Christmas trees for sale, twinkle lights outlining windows and filling trees of homes and and businesses in our neighborhood. We city folk aren't the only ones jumping on the holiday bandwagon a little early. I noticed a tree already decorated in a home down the street from my parents'. The "sign" that started the wave of holiday cheer for me was one that I have looked forward to every year that we've been in our little nest here on the hill. It's one that we can see from any of our west facing windows. Here's the view from the kitchen...

It isn't the clouds and all their texture. It isn't the ferry boats crisscrossing the water. It isn't even the Space Needle! It's that big yellow sign on the side of the theater pronouncing that it is officially time to get your tickets to see the Nutcracker! Can you see it in the view from our window? It's right there on the right side of the picture. Here it is a bit bigger...

I have the most wonderful memories of going to see this as a kid. Before Maurice Sendak created the current scenery, the King Rat was actually played by a dancer who did this fabulous dance just as he was dying. It involved his feet and arms repeatedly shooting up in the air and falling down as he lay on his back. Not that it isn't wonderful now, because it most certainly is! In a couple years we'll have to take Lily so she can start building her own memories of Sugar Plum Fairies and a magical Christmas.

Could we please take her picture?

That is exactly what they told me today as I was hunting down a diaper pail at Babies R Us (or as my mom likes to call it...We B Babies). Who am I to deny a photographer the opportunity to catch Lily in her lens. I hadn't really dressed her for the occasion, but I couldn't say no to a free picture!

Just a touch late...

For those who have been asking... here is Lily's elephant picture from her 4 month birthday.

Hail to the Chief

On November 4 our little family put on our coats and stepped out into the rain to make our way to Trinity Lutheran Church, our local polling booth. Out of the doors poured smiling people all sporting I Voted stickers. This is the last time anyone in the state of Washington will have the opportunity to do their voting without dropping their ballots in the mail and people were pretty proud that they had been able to fill in their bubbles and feed their choices into the big black vote counting machine. Ah, the satisfaction of knowing your votes have been counted. Lily gave a pat to the dalmatian with the red, white, and blue bandana while Andy fed his votes into the box. We walked out the doors of the church with big satisfied smiles and stickers on our shirts. Ahhhh!