Ski Trip

This was Penelope's first time skiing. She did great! She was pretty comfortable balancing on the skis, but when it came to moving fast, she didn't like it. She woke up really early, so by the time she had her lesson, she was cranky and ready for a nap.

After her nap, she was excited to go back up on the slopes and try again. She was doing really well, until a snow boarder crashed into her. Ah well, she got back up again anyway. She's a trooper!

I can't tell you how amazing our stay was up at Crystal Mountain. The views were amazing! Here's a picture of my skiers and Mount Rainer.

We had to squeeze in a little hike before we went home. This trail was beautiful. There was snow dusted moss everywhere and the forest just seemed so bright because of the snow. For some reason Penelope hikes way faster in the snow. Here I am trying to catch up with her.

Hello

 


Penelope is going to be a big sista!
 

"Mommy pooped in her pants"

I was opening a bottle of sparkling water and the fizz sound came out. We all know the sound. Penelope laughed and said "mommy pooped in her pants". Already, farting sounds are funny to her. Farts and such must be innately funny.

On a different note, Penelope has been hanging out in her room before falling asleep for the night. When we think she's quietly sleeping, she's actually taking her pajamas off and changing into a new outfit for the next day, or finding a toy for Ein. Around 3 in the morning, I turned to lie on my back and found Penelope sleeping between me and Derek. She's a restless sleeper and managed to be perpendicular to us, shoving both of us to the edge of the bed.

Penelope makes us laugh. She also makes us really tired in the mornings.

On the Farm

On our recent visit to Sacramento to visit Erin and Anthony, we went to a farm in Capay, CA for a grape stomp, wine tasting and more. Much fun was had by all.

Gobble Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Professional

My home haircut wasn't cutting it. So, Penelope finally got a haircut from a pro.

Let's Dance

Penelope's Poh Poh was up for a visit. The two had lots of fun dancing and shopping.

Big Girl Bed

Past couple of weeks, Penelope has been climbing out of her crib. She'll leave her room and run to the potty. She seems to know that's the only acceptable reason to get out of her crib. She does this even if she had already gone potty minutes ago. For safety and other reasons we got her a twin bed. Today was the first day. She was extremely excited. Couple minutes later I heard something in her room. She had climbed back into her crib and said she doesn't want to sleep in the big girl bed. Sigh.

Happy Halloween

As soon as Penelope was up from her nap she was ready to go trick or treating. She had gone to three places, Derek's work, downtown Ballard, and the neighborhood of her friend Natalie. She LOVED trick or treating. She only ate one candy today; chocolate, of course.

Arboretum in the Fall

After starting the Fall with colds, silliness was in order.

In good company

The end of September was a lot of fun for us and for Penelope. Summer celebrated her birthday here in Seattle, which brought Adam, Jennie, and Willy out too. Penelope had a blast playingwith and being entertained by them. We then left for California to see more friends. We were in Sacramento visiting Erin and Anthony, in Modesto visiting Chieu and Lisa, and in Sunnyvale visiting Poonam, Nikhil, Evelyn, Jennie, Chris, Annika, and Declan. We are so lucky to have such great friends in our lives.



Quotes of the month:
"I'm the boss of you" - Annika yelling to Declan
"Translate" - Annika asking us to translate after not understanding what Pen is saying to her.

Carbon River

Smile

This picture makes me happy.

Cooling off

It has been a scourching 80 degrees in Seattle! Here's Pen cooling off.

Soccer

Saturdays in West Seattle, Penelope has soccer. It's loads of fun. The best part is going to Bakery Nouveau afterwards!

Complain Complain

I've read somewhere how blogging helps a parent stay positive. It's true, I tend to leave the really frustrating and agonozing times out of the blog and I'm left with the beautiful and great moments with Penelope. I'm going to vent a little today. So if you hate to hear me whine like my child, just enjoy the picture and ignore the rest of my coments.

My child doesn't enjoy eating. When she eats, she eats very little, not enough to sustain her till the next meal or snack. What do we all feel like when we are tired and hungry? Multiply that by a two year old and you've got Penelope! I feel like I'm trying to control a tornado. By the end of the day, I'm a house that has been lifted off its foundation and trashed to tiny pieces. She's so wonderful to other people, but how am I already "mom"(the enemy)?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Thanks to Penelope's Poh Poh, Derek and I were able to see a movie together! Not just any movie, Harry Potter! Actually, we saw very little of Penelope that day. We were gone five hours in the morning doing a Warrior Dash and she had a very long nap. We pretty much only saw her for three hours that day. It did not bother her at all that we were gone. This day was a treat for us parents, but we definitely missed our Pen.

Great Grammy's 90th Birthday

We took a trip to Placitas, New Mexico to surprise Penelope's Great Grammy's on her 90th birthday. It was a great time with family and James Dog.

Balloons and Stickers

I wonder what she is thinking about when she stares at her balloon.

Clamming

Charlotte and Natalie took us girls clamming in Belfair. It was awesome!

Wheels

Four Day Weekend

Last Weekend Derek was in New York and Penelope's Poh Poh was in town. We all had a lot of fun! We did a lot of shopping, eating at the best lunch spots, and had great food made for us. Yes, this applies to both Derek and us girls. Thanks to the gracious hosts in New York (Doug and Bob) and guest, Poh Poh.

Hoot

This weekend, I was sick, and Derek had to take care of two babies. I don't recall very much, but sounds like Pen and Derek had a blast together.

It's getting warmer!

Take That!

Day 3 (last day!) of potty training. She went potty 11 times. One of them was poop! Whew! She had only one accident and it was outside. Ok, so you may be wondering what's with the Take That picture. Over the phone, the nurse left me with a dreadful option to help her poop. I've seen the signs, she needs to poop but refuses to go in the potty. I'm desperate! I finally bribed her. We told her she could watch Take That on the DVD player if she sits on the potty and tries to poop. Wow, that worked like magic! She sat down and pooped! She got to watch Take That do their circus thing on the potty. Ok, so this might be too much pooping info, but it's a really big deal in this house!

Day 2

On day 2 of potty training Penelope has gone 8 times. Unfortunately, she still hasn't done the #2. Oh well, I'm just happy there hasn't been any accidents. Hooray!

There are many ways to potty train. Penelope has been having potty time for the past two or three months. I don't remember. After her snacks and meals, she'll have potty time; where she sits on the potty and I read her an endless number of books. She had gotten to the point where she would just go pee as soon as she sat on the potty. If you were wondering how long I'm going to update the blog about her potty training, no worries, just three days. We are using Fellom's technique. So if anyone visits us in the next three months, you'll be seeing a lot of Pen's bare bottom.

Day 1

It's our first day of potty training! Penelope has done really well for her first day. No accidents. She did go potty 13 times today. Does this mean where we go is dictated by how long Pen can go between potties?

I was advised to give an update about Penelope.

Her Favorites

food : Chocolate

tv show : Caillou

music: Take That

book: Take That booklet that comes with the DVD

song to sing: "Grandma take me home" -Casper Baby Pants and "Patience" - Take That

phrase: "I can do it"

place to be: beach

activity: paint her face like a clown cause that is what Take That did in their concert

play: games with cards

Happy Easter!