the HAM life

funny funny ha ha.

2009-03-14T17:04:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of Nolie being silly. She put the bucket on her own head and started walking around.

It's already March?!

2009-03-14T16:22:00.000-07:00

We have been so busy this year! Amy started working full time in January at the University as a ventricular assist device coordinator, a great opportunity she could not pass up. Magnolia started daycare a few times a week. It was a little hard to get used to at first, but now she loves it, and has a blast there! Hal contunies teaching respiratory students and working at the UW, so our plate is extra full! We took our snowboard honeymoon in February to beautiful Mt Bachelor and had such a great time. Here are some pictures of Nolie (as she has dubbed herself). She is becoming so grown up, and tells us daily that she is a 'big girl now'. There are some tea party pictures, with Hal at Ballard farmer's market, eating a mini cupcake from cupcake royale (yum), with Erin and baby Isla, and getting ready to slide. Also a short video of the climb up to the slide.

Tree hunting, and randoms.

2008-12-17T21:58:00.000-08:00

We went to North Bend to cut down our tree. It was a chilly and gorgeous day!

halloween!

2008-12-17T21:49:00.000-08:00

Not in order, but here are a few of our little bee on halloween. We spent the day driving, saw Uncle Brad at work, had lunch with Molly and went over to Grandma and Papa's house. It was busy, busy bee.

Random photos from the fall!

2008-12-17T21:45:00.001-08:00

Magnolia had some hot chocolate at Grandma's house in a cute little Starbucks cup. She spilled it all over, but loved the little cup! Here she is with Erin, doing her 'moooore' face (and sign) which she uses for emphesis, and sporting her hat. She likes the side hat look. Kids these days....

Pumpkin Carving

2008-12-17T21:35:00.000-08:00

A little late, but here's some pictures from our pumpkin carving night.

Baby Sawyer and pic from the Heart walk

2008-10-27T22:52:00.000-07:00

Punkin Patch

2008-10-27T22:45:00.000-07:00

We went to Craven Farm in Snohomish to get a pumpkin. Although we got a little lost on the way (thanks google maps), we had a great time with Emily and Auntie Andrea.

Trip to Boston

2008-10-27T20:51:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from our recent trip to Boston. We had a great time meeting baby Lexi, spending time with Grammy, Grampy, Aunt Sue, Uncle Bill and Aunt Janet. We played in the leaves, went to the Aquarium, and met up with my childhood friend Hope.

Summer pictures!

2008-08-20T16:36:00.000-07:00

Hi, here are some pictures from our summer. We are still working on wedding pics, but I thought maybe you all would enjoy seeing our cute baby! Here she is, at the park, on a hike, playing in her old infant bathtub and modeling her new raincoat. Ok, naptime is over. Bye!

She's walking!

2008-06-12T23:08:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, here are a few recent pictures from the last month. Our friends Brooke and Geno came to stay with us from England and we visited the Edmonds waterfront. We returned to build a sand castle a few weeks later. As you can see, Magnolia's hair is getting really long, sometimes she will let me put it in a ponytail on the top of her head for a few minutes (just long enough to snap a picture) Our big news is that she is walking! She is still unsteady on her feet, but is so funny with her 'walking practice' She will go back and forth, falling, and laughing and getting up again. Mostly while is chasing the cat, 'Larry' I am trying to upload the video I took tonight. It is so funny how she can be so busy, and drop everything to look at her toes. Toes do require a lot of attention!

Snow in April?!

2008-04-20T22:56:00.000-07:00

So, we have not posted in a while. Partly because we have been so busy doing stuff, and partly because the camera battery charger went missing for 6 weeks or so. I bumble through this computer thing, so that was a major hardship, and besides not being able to take pictures, I was unable to figure out the card reader. (I am aware that is sad)
But enough about my inabilities, lets talk about what we've been up to... Magnolia had her first birthday last weekend! We had a great time with family and friends, the weather co-operated, and Maggie tasted her very first frosting. She tasted, then wanted everyone else to taste. Not as dramatic as I had expected, but super cute.
Maggie is doing all kinds of sweet things, she loves to look up at you and say 'hi' in the softest voice you've ever heard. She loves kissing, you, the cat, her toys, and her reflection in the mirror. She still loves the cat, and has started calling him 'meow-y'. But sometimes it sounds like 'Larry' (short for Polaris?) So now we occasionally call him 'Larry', it does seem to suit him. She looks for the meow everywhere we go, and seems surprised that every house doesn't have a meow (or meow-y). She likes to stand, and cruise on the furniture or walls. She is close to walking, but not quite ready. (It is much more efficient for her to crawl, thank you)
Here are some pictures, but no birthday pictures, sorry. Playing before bedtime, some from the weekend our Boston family was in town, and going out to enjoy the April snow (seriously!)

Spring is springing!

2008-03-14T13:39:00.000-07:00

Maggie is continuing to learn all kinds of new things. She loves to stand supported by the couch, ottoman or someone's legs. She is babbling quite a bit, and learning about different sounds. She likes to point at the dog and say 'Jack!' (I think) and she loves the cat. The cat loves her back, surprisingly, he just purrs and purrs while she pulls on his skin, and tries to drag him by his tail. I think he enjoys the attention. When he is fed up, he just leaves. Maggie's new thing is that she can point to her toes when you ask her where they are, and if you give her a sock, she will say 'sock!' ( I think) and put it by her foot. She is eating all kinds of new things, though her favorites remain avocados, mangoes, chicken, yogurt and cheerios. (not all together). We are still struggling with nap time and sleeping at night. She is up at least once at night, and good naps are sporadic. She has two bottom teeth and two top teeth, and is sprouting two more on the top. I can't believe she is almost a year old. It's true, time flies. Fast!
sorry no pics tonight. I will get some up soon.

Trip to Boston!

2008-02-11T11:06:00.001-08:00

Long time, no post. We have been so busy lately. Here's some pictures of what we have been doing. Magnolia is getting into everything nowdays. She is a really fast crawler, and loves to pull herself to standing position. One of her favorite projects is 'Pulling all the books of the shelf.' It seems to be entertaining, and at the end, there are books to play with! We have also been taking swim lessons with her. She loves the pool! We had a trip to Boston last week, Maggie did well on the 6 hour plane ride, she got a little antsy towards the end, but so did I! Here are a few pictures of us in the airport, the yummy corned beef sandwiches we eat when we go to Boston, taking a walk, and Maggie perched on our carry ons. Babies require a lot of equipment. When we got back, we got to meet our new baby cousin, Cody. He is so tiny and sweet at one week old. It is hard to believe Maggie was that small!

Chrisrmas Pictures! (a little late)

2008-01-14T19:13:00.001-08:00

Here are some pics from Christmas Eve at Great Grandma's. Magnolia had a great time playing with Mason! Christmas Day we opened presents, then went to Kenmore. I was so excited that it snowed! Usually it's a rainy Chistmas, not a white Christmas. Maggie had a great time with the wrapping, and all her new books and toys. Here is a few pictures of her eating avocado chunks from chopsticks at Blue C Sushi (we just got one at Alderwood!), sushi from a conveyor belt, it doesn't get much better. This year we have been enjoying swim lessons, and 'diaper school' (a new playgroup at Edmonds Community College that eventually turns into co-op preschool) Magnolia has been growing and developing at lightning speed. Her sweet, bubbly personality is so much fun to be around! She gets into absolutly everything in her reach, so curious! I love watching her discover new things. She still has the one tooth. Just one. She chomps her cheerios just fine with it!

Happy Holidays!

2007-12-17T13:18:00.000-08:00

The weeks are flying by! We have been so busy with Hal's birthday and Hanukkah, and Christmas coming up. Magnolia has been doing all kinds of new things. She got her first tooth a few weeks ago, and is starting to crawl. She started very slowly, but has been picking up speed as of late. We put up a Christmas tree and she is pretty interested in it! She is also loving standing, and in gaining confidence in her abilities to balance. I can't believe all the new things she is doing. One of my favorites is that she will imitate kissing noises. It is so cute! It is so amazing to watch her explore her world as it gets bigger and bigger. Here she is crawling, with Daddy on our tree hunt, teething on a piece of apple, exersaucing, and by the tree.

Here are the answers to the most frequently asked questions I get about Magnolia...
1-No, she is not sleeping through the night. She used to sleep all night without waking up. Now she wakes up about every four hours.
2-She is eating pureed fruits and veggies still. She likes everything we have offered her. Her newest favorite it to take a quarter of an apple and scrape it on her new bottom tooth!
3-Cloth diapers are awesome! So much easier than I anticipated.
4-She is happy, fun and calm most of the time. But when she is tired or hungry, or has tender gums... watch out! She will let us know!

We wish all our friends happy holidays!

Gobble Gobble (Happy Thanksgiving)

2007-11-24T17:21:00.000-08:00

Here's some photos from the last few weeks. Grammy Linda came for a visit, we went to Great Grandma's (GG's) on Camano Island for Thanksgiving and played with cousin Mason. Maggie talked up a storm on Thanksgiving, she wanted to make sure everyone heard what she had to say! Mason wasn't to sure about that, he would cry when Magnolia got really loud. She had some sweet potato and apple puree, but dinner was cut short when some food accidentally got in her eye. That does not feel good (sorry Maggie!) She was more interested in what else was going on anyways. She has been having so much fun lately, scooting around backwards and starting to pull up on people and furniture. We dropped her crib mattress down last week. She loves being sung too, and likes to 'walk' around holding on to someone's hands. She also likes being naked (sorry Maggie) Ahh the simple pleasures of life. We hope all our friends had a great turkey day!

Busy busy busy

2007-11-14T00:41:00.000-08:00

I don't even know what we have been doing the last two weeks! But here's some pictures of Maggie. She is doing all kinds of new fun things, like scooting backwards on her hands and knees, trying to pull up on people, and furniture, putting everything in her mouth, and laughing. This girl laughs at everything, remind you of anyone? It is so funny because I will get her laughing, which makes me laugh, which makes her laugh even harder. I remember last winter when I was pregnant and Erin said to me 'your baby is going to love your laugh'. I thought 'she will either love it, or it will drive her nuts.' So far, she is digging it. She finally fits into her Wilco onsie, I feel like such a cool mom, with my kid already in a band tee (I think Aunt Bee will appreciate this the most, or maybe Uncle Brad) She is also loving eating. (She really loves everything, seriously the happiest child)

Halloween, continued...

2007-11-01T19:14:00.000-07:00

Maggie's first Halloween was full of spooky fun. We first went to pick up some gdiaper inserts in Issaquah that we found on Craigslist. (We are making the switch to cloth diaper service in the next few weeks and will also use some gdiapers when we need something to throw away. The gdiapers are great because you can flush them, toss them or compost them!) On our way back home, we stopped at Grandma's school and saw all kinds of costumed junior high kids. We listened to some talented kids in music club sing their songs, and showed off Maggie in her ladybug costume. She also was wearing her trusty pumpkin hoodie as a backup. We then went to U Village to meet up with Shellie and Eli, who won Amy's 'favorite costume of the year award' as Einstein (Albert 'Don King' Einstein). Shellie and I then brought the kids to work where they attracted quite a crowd due to their adorableness. We picked up Hal and went to dinner with Auntie Nessie and Uncle Deuce. We ended the evening with a fun party at my coworker Steph's. Today we continued our dress up at baby group. Here's some photos!

Happy Halloween!

2007-11-01T19:04:00.001-07:00

Here are our masterpiece pumpkins! (Photo courtesy of Daddy) Costume pics will be posted later tonight when peanut is sleeping. Hope everyone got lots of tricks or treats.

Learning the Keyboard

2007-10-22T17:46:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to my parent's house for dinner. Maggie showed off her musical skills and we all watched. She loved this little keyboard! She is still the happiest baby, she smiles and laughs all the time. Only when she is hungry or tired does she get grumpy, and then, watch out! Magnolia is starting to become more mobile, she scoots backwards on her hands and knees. It won't be long before she is into everything!

Punkin hunting

2007-10-17T14:07:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we went to the South 47 Farm to go through the Corn Maze and find some pumpkins to carve for Halloween. We had Grandpa Nelson and Uncle Brad and Aunt Andrea with us to help us through the corn maze and find the perfect pumpkin. Maggie wore her jack o lantern sweatshirt, and had some awesome photo ops on our outing. Here she is among the pumpkins, with her Grandpa and her face in a scarecrow.

Sitting up

2007-10-13T15:09:00.001-07:00

See, Magnolia doesn't spend all her time in her high chair. She likes to sit and play in the living room, too.

Apples, rejected!

2007-10-13T14:45:00.000-07:00

Maggie was not too excited about the applesauce. The first day she only ate two bites, but she is getting used to it and last night she ate it up! I then made her some bananas, which she wasn't too sure about. I am making her food ahead of time and freezing it in ice cube trays. When it is dinnertime, we just warm a cube!

Squash time

2007-10-09T18:02:00.000-07:00

So Maggie had her first solid food last week. I made her some yummy pureed squash, she was not too sure at first what to do with all that texture and different taste, it sure is different than 'shirt milk'. But now she is really into meal time. The last picture of Hal feeding her while videotaping is pretty typical mealtime around here, including the dog trying to get a bite. He is going to be so happy when she starts on cheerios. She loves him so much, I am sure she will sneak him as many as she can. She gets so excited when she sees him. She laughs and squeals and her arms reach out. He just likes to taste her. Tonight I made some applesause. We will see how she likes it. But who doesn't like applesause? Oh, yes, Magnolia has found her toes. She always wants to have them in her hands or mouth, even in the high chair. Yummy yummy toes.

New Maggie Pics

2007-10-09T17:55:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Maggie in her exersaucer last week. She has such a good time! She laughs and laughs. Notice the 'drool bib' I swore I would never put her in a bib just for drool, I just don't like the way they look. But I cannot keep up with it, so I gave in. This is not the first time I disagree with Maggie's fashion choices I am sure!

Magnolia's Room

2007-10-09T17:49:00.000-07:00

I thought I would post some pics of Magnolia's room for those who have not seen it. I think it may be my favorite room in the house. I had such a fun time putting it all together!

Baby Group

2007-10-05T18:20:00.001-07:00

Here is a picture Allison took at our baby group two weeks ago. Maggie is the baby in the denim dress! We hang with some pretty cute babies! Clockwise from Maggie is Ryder, Jaxon, Oscar, Ella, Nora, and Katie. We have really enjoyed our group get togethers. It is really nice to meet other moms and babies Maggie's age.

Sippy cup

2007-10-02T22:53:00.000-07:00

Maggie and I had a very busy day today, one of the things we did was go to a class about starting solid food. Maggie is letting us know that she is ready for this she is very interested in mealtime sitting in her high chair every night when we eat dinner. This week we will start food! She has been practicing with her sippy cup and some water, as you can see.

Zoo!

2007-10-02T00:58:00.000-07:00

We took Maggie to the Woodland Park Zoo last week with Shellie and Eli. She slept most of the time, until we got to the elephants. Still, she did not seem too impressed, until we reached the farm animals. That girl loves her chickens! and cows and sheep and goats and pigs.

Our summer vacation!

2007-10-02T00:43:00.001-07:00

So these pictures take a long time to post. I am going to keep adding a few as often as I can. Here is Maggie camping in her fleece suit, the new high chair, and us at the M's game.

First Post!

2007-09-29T17:00:00.000-07:00

So I want to share some pictures from our summer. We went to a few outdoor neighborhood concerts at St Edwards State Park, we also went to three Mariner's games, enjoyed the wedding of Brad and Andrea, Grammy Linda came to visit, Maggie went on her first ferry ride, we camped in a yurt on the Washington coast, and lots of other adventures with our newborn. I am playing catch up here, I have no idea where the last five and a half months have gone!