Blanket Bags by Liz!

Here's Gretel's Wobbler classroom holding all the new blanket bags that Grandma Liz made for them. These colorful bags are designed to hold naptime blankets, saving thousands of plastic bags from the landfill over the years! Teachers Linda and Mary Louise are thrilled with them, and the kids had fun posing for pictures with them. Thanks Grandma Liz!

Gretel's Wobbler class L-R: Cadie, Samantha, Amos, Gretel, Willa, Violet and Sadie.

A Weekend to Ourselves

For President's Day weekend Casey and I were lucky enough to have a few days just for the two of us. Gretel and Alistair stayed with their Grandma Liz and Grandpa Larry for a few nights while we made off for their beach cabin in Florence. At first we didn't know what to do with ourselves, but managed to fill our time with mushroom hunting, a walk on the beach, some coastal exploring, eating out in a restaurant or two, and even going to a movie! Here are some pictures from our getaway weekend.

We didn't find any mushrooms of the edible variety, but saw some beautiful (likely) inedible outcroppings of others.

Our all-local meal.

The crabbing docks in Winchester Bay.

A Visit to Astoria and Cannon Beach

Gretel and her mother got to take a trip to visit Auntie Sally and Uncle Roger in Astoria recently, and also circled back through Cannon Beach to see Barbara and Rainmar. It was a whirlwind trip but so nice to catch up a bit with these folks.

Gretel had a great time playing with all of the stuff at Sally and Roger's house.

The weather held for an afternoon walk on the beach with Sally, Barbara and Rainmar.

Gretel learned about sealife from Barbara.

We met a very friendly stray dog on the beach, then Gretel proceeded to follow it home until she was quite far away from us. Who knows how far she would have gone if it weren't for taking a tumble and needing someone to dust her off?!

I think that Barbara and Rainmar took a shine to little Gretel, and she was most certainly taken with them. We hope to visit all Coastal nerds again soon!

Photo Shoot

I did a little photo shoot with Gretel one day recently when she was all dressed up. This beautiful little outfit was made with much love by her Grandma Liz and came complete with the polkadot onsie that is trimmed with lace from Gretel's great-great Grandmother Woodis' collection. The turqoise pinafore is fabric from Gretel's great Grandma Norma, and is detailed with a little gnome pocket. An instant family heirloom!

(As my friend Andrea would say, "have I seen this look before or what?!!")

The Willie Boat!

For those of you who haven't heard, Casey has a new drift boat! A gift from his Grandpa John and Grandma Dorothy, this boat is the new excitement in Casey's life. It will mean some great fishing trips this spring and summer! (which is something we will all benefit from!)

Did I mention it came attached to an '88 Chevy pickup that can haul it (as well as stone, dirt, lumber and other necessities around our house)? Yep, we are some truly lucky people. Thank you Grandpa John and Grandma D!!

Schiffany Baby Shower

We recently attended a baby shower for our friends Brad and Tiffany, who are expecting a little girl in February. It was the most interesting shower I've ever attended, with a paperdoll theme and incredibly good food, pink champagne, and a cool cut-out doll to take your photo with! Here are some silly outtakes....

18 Months Old!

Gretel turned 18 months old on December 29th. Here are her vital statistics:

30 inches tall (20th percentile)
23 pounds (30th percentile)

She is happy and healthy and continues to amaze us daily! She is an incredibly domestic creature, always mothering a doll or cleaning something, or working in her kitchen. She loves to read and is particularly interested in nursery rhymes right now. Some of her other current favorite books are "Joseph Had A Little Overcoat", "Hardscrabble Harvest", "On The Farm", "Duck on a Bike", "Hippos Go Berserk!", "Dancing in the Kitchen", "The Rain Came Down", all of which we have read over and over and over.

Gretel is learning to say new words all the time, even though perhaps only her parents can understand them . . . ! She says "apple" and "stop" (which sounds like "Bop!" and it's quite funny when she tells Alistair to "Bop!"). She uses the word "shoe" for both shoes and socks, and she says "pants" and "hat". She uses her sign language "please" and "thank you" (with a little prompting) and of course still has long babble conversations throughout the day with herself! Her animal sounds continue to progress, as does her piano playing and her comprehension of what we are saying.

Gretel is still a Wobbler at her school and enjoys every minute of it. She has friends there that she has known since she was 6 months old (Sadie, Will, Willa, Amos, Samantha, Violet, etc.) and she loves her teachers Mary Louise and Linda. We're still nursing about 3 times a day and neither she nor I are wanting to stop just yet, so we'll keep with it for awhile longer. Anyway, we think she's doing great in all aspects of life and we're so happy to be her parents. Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure.