Making Cookies at Granny and Papa's

Last week, Dahlia was invited to make Christmas sugar cookies up at Granny and Papa's house. Elaine does this annually with her grand kids.

At this point, D doesn't have any cousins to speak of, so it's nice to "borrow" Elaine's grand kids.

The big girls made the cookies and we arrived just in time to frost some (eat some), play out in the snow, read a book on Granny's lap and drive home safely.

Frost some cookies. Eat some cookies.

The big girls.

Me and Dahli "Brrr"!

Play out in the snow!

Thanks for the awesome playhouse Papa!

Thanks for the sugar cookies Granny!

December Photos

Teaching Dahlia about Christmas has been a lot of fun.

We put a tree in the living room, hang socks by the fireplace and dress the dog in a sweater and she doesn't question our sanity.

This is D fake smiling in front of our tree.

"Train"

I pulled a bunch of "new" Christmas toys from smelly storage boxes and D got right to work.

Thanks to my Auntie BJ in Atlanta for this awesome advent train. For now it's decoration, but someday, we'll add chocolates in each drawer.

Muppet being a good sport. She despises clothing.

Muppet was stinky and I like to have her groomed before Uncle Brody gets here for Christmas, since he's allergic, so she was rockin' a fine haircut when she begged me to put the sweater and scarf on her. She posed in front of the Christmas tree for hours, put the camera on remote and took this shot of herself. I think it's so great, I'm having an 8x10 made. So holiday! I can hear the Christmas carols in the background now...

"Hi!" from us

You can see my bruised chin where a soccer ball made my face into a pancake. It's almost healed now.

Since Dahlia is learning several words every day, she can name lots of different things on the Christmas tree. My favorite is when she says "tiki". We have a tiki ornament from Hawaii and Nanny Brenna taught her what it was.

D learns really well with flashcard-type books. I think it's how she learned the word "cookie". Among many others, she loves to say "potty" and "poo" too. Other favorites are "ut-oh" and the old baby classic "bye-bye!"

SNOW! 12 inches and counting

Yesterday, Seattle and the surrounding areas were paralyzed with the threat of a huge snow fall.

Everyone stayed home, but the snow never came. I went out and ran my errands as usual, finished some Christmas shopping, had a facial and still, the snow never came.

I spoke with my dad, who lives an hour north in Stanwood and he had a different story to tell. Snow was falling like crazy up there and wasn't slowing down. He told me that once the snow hits my house, I should be ready, because it isn't stopping. I was giddy!

Around 5pm I was excited to see a few flurries. 20 minutes later we had ice balls tapping on the roof. Not nearly as fun as snow. I went to bed feeling disappointed, but hopeful.

B left this morning for work as usual and I assumed that once again, the Seattle weathermen were off their rockers. Today would be just another day of rushing around.

A while later D woke up. I dragged myself up and opened our blackout window shade to find a whiteout! Yay! Not only did we have several inches of snow, but it was coming down steadily! The day was cancelled!

B returned from his optimistic journey to work. He made it as far as Starbucks, two miles away, noticed that several cars were totally unprepared for the road conditions and decided he didn't want to spend his day driving behind "dumb asses".

After D had breakfast, we all bundled up and ventured outside.

Igloo

Mups, there's something on your nose.

Snow slide!

Snow suit!

Playing on the driveway, can you tell?

Afterwards we came inside and I made D snow ice cream. The recipe is top secret, but I'll share it with you. Just promise not to tell.

Take a bowl of pure, white snow and pack it into a bowl. Drizzle maple syrup over the snow, add a spoon and eat.

B and I also made hot chocolate and let D try some for the first time. She mixed it with her snow ice cream and seemed to have a great, but messy time.

Tonight the temperature is supposed to drop again and we have snow fore casted through Christmas.

While sitting at my desk, I have seen a cross-country skier glide by my house, a farm ATV on the road, kids pulling sleds, the mailman and one truck drive by.

Thanksgiving and November Photos

I finally unloaded my camera in order to sell something on Craig's List for a client. Lo and behold, I also found some family photos.

D seems bigger to me every day. She's saying the funniest things; identifying objects. Tonight she was bouncing on the couch and hitting a lamp. I said "Dahlia, don't hit the lamp." and she stopped and pointed to the lamp and said "lamp". To non parents, this wouldn't seem like rocket science, but to me, when D responds to things I do or say, or predicts the next sequence in a routine, it blows my mind.

These boots are made for... clomping carefully through the kitchen, so as not to lose them. The last time she tried on my boots, she peed in them.

Yay! The cutest mullet on the Eastside is good for something... pigtails! Dahlia started rockin' the pigtails last week and I think I'm going to have her in pigtails for her Santa picture tomorrow. OMG she's going to bawl her eyes out at the sight of that big, red man.



Chillin' with dada watching Charlie and Lola.

Lounging and relaxing before bedtime in the world's softest pajamas.

Here I am with my pride and joy, the Thanksgiving turkey... oh yeah, and my daughter. Her shirt says "I woke up on the cute side of the bed."

Visiting Emelyn in Houston

Emelyn has lived in Texas for two years. It was time to pay her a visit and see her place. Especially since she didn't come up to Seattle over the summer.

Sisters 4 Ever

Now that D is a seasoned traveler, a jaunt down south turned out to be an adventure.

Dahlia and my dad came with me. We left B at home.

I've been working too much since I've been back from Houston, so I'm just going to slap some photos up, tell you about them and go to bed.

Boots.

I had to get some boots while I was down there and we had lots of colors to choose from.

Before Hurricane Ike, we had planned to visit Galveston Island, which ended up getting the brunt of the storm. My dad visited Galveston only a year prior and was sure it couldn't be "that bad". Turns out the island was tossed. Houses were sideways on their foundation, yachts were strewn about the highway, threatening signs were left in blood red spray paint for would-be looters. All of the antique stores he visited with his wife were GONE. There were only a few restaurants open and we patronized one of them.

While the pier to this shop over water was gone, there were still posters hanging on the wall in what's left of the building.

Dahlia in front of half a beach-front bar.

We ate fresh seafood at Joe's Crab Shack.

Despite being tired, Em and I dragged ourselves out one night and hit a few bars near Rice University. I met her friend and co-worker Matt. He showed us around Rice Village and we watched scantily clad Texan girls shoot imaginary pistols to the song Paper Airplanes by M.I.A.

They're not dating. Em wants me to let you know.

Look at us! We're out on the town!

Emelyn, ever the party animal, only had to look at a pineapple & rum drink before she was giggly.

We went to the Houston Zoo the show Dahlia the animals. We saw elephants, bears, lions, seals, lots of birds, creepy, crawly things and other zoo-type animals.

The best part was the petting zoo because D could run around. She came across this statue of two bison and something compelled her to give this baby bison a kiss. It was super cute.

Love you!

I fell in love with the pygmy goats in the petting area! They are small and cuddly and they just want love!

This guy will fit in my overhead luggage compartment, right?

Dahlia Playing Dress-up

Here are a few photos of Dahlia being a fun, little kid.

She loves imitating us, trying on our clothing and walking in any shoes she can find.

She loves her Minnie Mouse hat.

oh no she didn't

oh yes she did

And just so we're clear:

Yes!

Bahamas- Atlantis, Paradise Island

Today was Saturday. We have already lost track of actual time and are now tracking how many days we have left until we must return to real life.

For the last few months I have been reading the blog of a former coworker’s wife. I met him at Microsoft. He is originally from Bermuda and like, the Bahamas, Bermuda was settled by the Brits. Heidi explains on her blog, that rather than saying “hello” and “goodbye”, the natives say “good afternoon” and “good evening”. They are very polite and they have the accent. It’s cool that they say Good Ahftah-noon.

We took D to the super duper awesome kid’s pool today and we all had a blast. I was dying to go down the small water slide, but thought it would be too much for D. I can’t even explain this kids pool, but naturally, I’ll try. They have a large pool that doesn’t get any deeper than thigh high. In the center, there is the equivalent of a big toy, but of course the slides off are water slides.

There is a huge bucket on the very top of the toy that is slowly filled by a fountain with water. Every 8 minutes or so, the bucket overflows and tips over, dousing the whole toy and everyone on it with water. They had water fountains coming up through the floors, through fire hose type nozzles, from out of nowhere. It was a blast, but got to be overwhelming for D.

Watch out! The bucket is dumping!

She napped in the afternoon. B read and I took a nap in the sun on our balcony. Can you finish this story yourself? Yep, that’s right, I turned red. It’s not too bad though.

Then we took a walk on the white, sandy beach and explored a hurricane-battered former hotel. It’s next door to our property on the beach. We approached it with caution because it’s in disrepair. The windows and doors are blown open. It actually looks like an 80-room motel, but the landscaping was overgrown, the paint was peeling and it needed some love and affection. I want to make it mine! It just needs a little TLC! Maybe next lifetime.

Our white, sandy beach

We still had a few more hours of happy toddler time, so we went over to see the “shish” in the giant aquarium. The architects of Atlantis made an underwater model of what Atlantis might have looked like if it was discovered. We walked the route and saw all the fish, the old skool diving gear and naturally, the gift store in the middle of it all. We saw some amazing fish, jellyfish, sharks, lobsters (which I wanted to butter up) and other sea life. It was fun.

We walked back to our side of the property and found ourselves on the other side of the hotel, with the big bridge overhead.

A friendly employee of Atlantis took a family photo of us, so that was very cool.

Here is Dahlia fake muggin' for the camera.

The people here are amazing. I know you might hear that about host cultures all over the world, but dang, the Bahamian’s know their stuff.

Tonight we had the babysitter some back and we went out to a lounge to have a drink, then waltzed into Bobby Flay’s “Mesa” for another beverage and finally, a 9:15pm dinner. YUM. I had the ahi and B had Lamb. We talked about buying a place here, the food was that good.

I feel compelled to mention that my wardrobe has been challenging. I tossed three dresses into my luggage and found last night, that they’re big. Something happened. Thanks to my new trainer, Shawn, I lost a size and a half and now, the dresses that I wore last year this time, are too big! Yeah me! Boo wardrobe! As if I don’t have enough trouble paying for clothing, finding clothes that fit and actually knowing when to wear what. (I know, complain… complain…) I wore a tacky outfit (Tacky is my birthright- thanks dad!) last night. Tonight, I noticed that my pink dress had adjustable straps, so I worked it and rocked the dress.

Date night!

B and I had great drinks and an awesome time. I am fully stuffed like a thanksgiving turkey and now that I have emptied my brain to my friend the blog, I’m now going to pass out and dream about floating down the “lazy river” on an inner tube tomorrow.

Gym tomorrow too. Maybe the “Body Cyclin’ ”.

Bahamas- Dinner at the Ocean Club's "Dunes"

So, yesterday was Friday and please allow me to remind you dear reader that I do not expect you to care about my daily comings and goings; I simply write to remind myself of the many ways I spend my precious time on vacation.

We took baby D to the “zero edge” pool. Zero edge means that there are no steps down into the pool, it’s just like a big, aqua puddle. You walk in and there you are, waste high in warm, Caribbean water.

Dahlia loved it. We chilled for a while and then, fearing skin cancer, we left after only an hour or so. Holding a bouncy, independent toddler in the pool is quite a workout.

Looks like rain

We put D down and I finally tied on my tennis shoes, grabbed my iPod, complete with new play list and made my way to the hotel gym. I think that each hotel here has a gym, but I went to the fitness center. I paid through the nose for the privilege of sweating on their treadmill and then took an "Entry to Pilates” class for 30 minutes, then paid $20 for the second half hour at which point the trainer put me on a Pilate’s machine. I worked my abs, I stretched, I was board.
Back to the gym with Rihanna’s “Disturbia” and Chris Brown’s “Forever” keeping me focused on not focusing and there I rocked the bouncy workout ball with my abs and push-ups and finished off with another two miles. I felt good, like I was catching up after eating too much for the last few days.

One of the reasons I came to Atlantis, was because they have babysitters. Despite all the scary and horrible stories of children disappearing from their hotel rooms while abroad, I had to take the chance. We have to go out. We put D down to be for the evening with the beloved Mister Cat, her binky and her bottle and made sure she was out like a light. We didn’t hear a peep. Our scheduled babysitter, a complete stranger arrived at our door. I gave her the rundown which was cut and dry: “call us if she makes a noise. Do not enter the inner sanctum, for the child will freak out.” D slept and I suppressed all my worst fears. The sitter was great, a local Bahamian woman who worked as a librarian during the day.

That night we went to "Dune" at the One and Only Ocean Club. Here is another site with a photo of Ocean Club. It was gorgeous and quiet, but it was so darn exclusive that it bordered on boring. There was good people watching, but we couldn't see the view and water etc. because the sun had set.

The food knocked our socks off and we barely fit into the car on the way back to our hotel.

I hope the photos turn out.

***

I'm at home now, posting the photos up. Here is a pic of B after we had dinner at Dune.

Arriving on Nassau, Bahamas!

The flight from Orlando to Nassau was one Elmo DVD and half a Baby Einstein DVD long.

We were on an older, 30-seater airplane. Dahlia was a model baby and reacted well to each and every one of my diversionary tactics, of which there are plenty. Allow me to list them in the event that you too are in this situation.

Diversions for an 18-month old

• DVD player
• Bottle of juice mixed with water with only 3 oz. total, to be refilled as slowly and infrequently as possible
• Slowly reviewing her books and pointing to every single thing one every single page
• Stickers- sticking them on her shoes and hands
• Peek-a-boo
• Saying "yuck" and making a face
• Touching/ lightly plugging her nose (sounds funny but it works)
• Reciting her books at home by memory: Wee Willy Winkie runs through the town, upstairs and downstairs in his nightgown. Tapping at the windows, peeking through the locks. Are the children all in bed? For now it's eight o'clock!
• Asking her where her hair, eyes, knees, feet, shoes etc. are
• This Little Piggy...

Upon landing, we walked across the tarmac, which made us feel like we were in The Thomas Crown Affair. B had arranged a ride to our hotel, so we were dragging D's heavy car seat behind us to what turned out to be a limo.

Behold, a car seat in a limo

I can hear you now, dear reader... but what were we to do? Refuse the ride?

A view from "the ride" to our hotel

Dahlia watching the fish (pronounced "shish") during dinner

We're all checked in now and comfortable in our room. B ran to the grocery store today and had the kind of coronary only he can have when he saw the grocery dollar total. I think everything costs 3x as much here since it's all shipped in.

We floated around in the huge, zero edge pool today and were the only ones there. We walked on the beach and sat in the warm water. Why does it smell like sulphur? I picked up a shell and the inhabitant poked me. I set it down again.

Tonight we had a low key, but delicious dinner with local specialities.

Vacation. Good.

Universal Studios

After D awoke from her post-Disney World nap, we headed over to Universal Studios' City Walk for dinner. The Universal Studios theme park was closed, but the restaurants around it were lit like Christmas. City Walk is a nice area because there aren't any cars. It was made to be touristy, so it was well thought-out.

This plane is another dramatic set to attract tourists. I think it was Jimmy Buffets Cheeseburger in Paradise Bar.

Palm trees and the sunset at City Walk.

B has to go to every hard Rock Cafe in every city he's in (he's one of those people) and so we did. His food was cold. Fortunately, I ordered a salad. To be fair, the service was pretty good.

Sunset at the Hard Rock Cafe, Orlando

D is a very independent eater these days, so our table was totally trashed by the time we finished. At least she ate, we drank (I had a Bahama Mama) and we had a good time. D is also very good at making friends.

Disney World

Like I tend to do with most things, I mapped and planned our route to and through Disney World.

In order to make the most of our precious three hours of happy toddler time, I pinpointed the exact rides that Dahlia could go on. The list was short, but with the lines, the ice cream stop and the insane heat, it all worked out. (This is me patting myself on the back and sighing in relief.)

Disney World... the land of Disney in Florida, is vast. I don't have the patience now, but I want to compare it to the state of Rhode Island. There are tons of Disney attractions on the Disney World property which are separated by highways. They have miles and miles of land in every direction. Disney knows how to direct the masses.

So we "entered" Disney World and then drove for another 20 minutes at 60mph, following signs to our park of choice, "Magic Kingdom". Then we parked the car and rode a tram to a monorail. Then we got on the monorail, which took us to the front gate of Magic Kingdom.

(Please excuse my minuscule photos. I have a hunch that Blogger's new Picasa has something to do with it. It's making all my photos the same, tiny size. Boo!)

Magic Kingdom decorated for Halloween

"Main Street USA" with Cinderella's Castle in the background

We walked directly through the castle and found the carousel. The line was super short and we only had to wait for the ride to go 3-4 times before it was our turn; Dahlia's first ride!

Standing in line for D's first ride.

Whee!

The ride spins three times and then it's over, just before everyone gets dizzy and falls off their horses. D figured the ride out quickly and was smiling in no time. It didn't hurt to have a nice breeze flowing through her angel-mullet.

Dumbo was next door to the carousel, so we hopped onto everyone's favorite flying elephant. D immediately reached for the knob that makes the car ascend and descend, but we left the aeronautics to Daddy.

Dumbo!

Did I mention the heat? Dang, it was hot. We stumbled over to an ice cream shop after skipping on $4 bottled water. If we're spending money, let's make the most of it!

Next, we hopped onto Winnie the Pooh's ride. It's a typical car ride, with the bar over the lap. It took us through a Pooh story and herky-jerkied us around on the track. Between the narrator, the moving car and the unfamiliar experience, Dahlia became scared toward the end, during the rainstorm. She looked at us for reassurance and we held her close. She didn't cry.

Winnie the Pooh is scary!

Pooh's toddler playground was nearby (20 steps away), so Dahlia ran around and played in the fountains. Dahlia also played in the fountains in Ariel's Grotto before she, Dahlia that is, (I would hate to mix up my Disney princesses and confuse you) turned into a pumpkin. Suddenly, D was just standing there watching all the other kids and I knew it was time to bolt.

Imagine the odds; a kid pulled the fire alarm in the women's bathroom, so I had to change D outside. With the fire alarm going off, me taking off D's beloved swimming suit and all the excitement, she had the inevitable Too Much Fun meltdown. Given the circumstances, I let her get away with only wearing a shirt, which I had to wrestle her to the ground to put on.

On our way out, we declined buying a ton of Disney paraphernalia and just got her an embroidered Minnie Mouse hat. Then we took the monorail, the tram and the car, back to our lodging.

It took around 45 seconds for her to conk out in the car on the way home.

Dahlia is a fun kid. She is getting very smart and I'll be darned if she's not already learning how to manipulate us... .
Here's her new, fake mug for the camera. Can you believe it? Momarazzi whips out the camera and she's ready! Sheesh!