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!

Halloween Ladybug

Click the new "Lily-Halloween" link under photo albums for more Bug pictures.

Delicious!

Every Tuesday Lily and I head over to Bertschi School to visit the pre-k class and visit with friends at the school. Before we turn the stroller around and head toward home, I go to the front porch of the Hooper House and load up our order of fresh local produce from Full Circle Farm. It's this great service that supports local farmers and fills our home with wonderful organic fruit and veggies. The drop off location is our school and it arrives every Tuesday with a list of what should be in the box and some new recipes to try. We tried this one last week. Yum!

Pear Custard Bars
Recipe from Simply in Season

1/3 cup butter (softened)
1/3 cup sugar
Cream together with an electric mixer.

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Add and beat until combined.

2/3 cup nuts (chopped)
Stir in and press into an 8 x 8-inch baking pan. Bake in pre-heated oven at 350° F until lightly browned, 20 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

8 ounces cream cheese (softened) or 1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
In a mixing bowl cream beat cream cheese until smooth (no need to beet the yogurt). Mix in sugar, egg, and vanilla. Pour over crust.

3 cups fresh pears (peeled and sliced)
Arrange over filling.

1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Combine and sprinkle over pears. Bake in preheated oven at 350° F for 25 to 30 minutes. (Center will be soft and will become firmer upon cooling.) Cool for 45 minutes, then cover and refrigerate at least 45 minutes before cutting. Store in refrigerator.

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...

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!

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!

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!!

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.