Skagit Valley Trip

I'd been wanting to take photos of our girls for a while now. Today felt like the perfect day. The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival has been going on for a week & it was supposed to be sunny. Conrad & I drove 1 hr to get there. Not a tulip in sight. However, there were plenty of daffodils. :-) I'm going to have to try again when I'm down in Portland next week. ;-)

Daddy's Girls

Cate is definitely growing out of her naps, which means she likes to go to bed early. :-) At 7 p.m. she curled herself into Conrad's arms, with her blanket & bottle, & was out by 7:15. When I laid her in her crib, she stirred & said, "Night night." I smoothed her hair & said, "I love you, Cate." She literally fell asleep smiling.

When I came back downstairs, Bronwen was in Conrad's arms. She said, "Phew! I got my spot back!" Ha! These girls sure love their daddy~

Tender Things

Every time I scoop Cate up into my arms & say, "I love you, my baby," she says, "I not baby; I Cate!" Hahahaha! Now she knows it's a joke (Bronwen & Ava run up to her & snuggle her & call her their baby), so she just laughs & laughs. :-)

Nothing more humbling than a sweet toddler, who when she falls, picks herself up & says, "I fine." It makes me want to cry every time she does that. I don't know why.

The Weekend of Cancellations

Why is it that when there are no expectations you end up having the best time of all? This sums up last weekend.

Cancellation #1: Friday night dinner out with friends

We ended up needed to take my Jeep to the dealership to have the brakes checked out. With one car out, Conrad telecommuted for the day & we had a great time. Our work outs were amazing, we got groceries together & we only had Cate to worry about. Of course after all that running around, we got the call to get the Jeep (less $416 -ouch!) & Cate was done for the day. Let me just say, you know the saying, "The Terrible Twos?" It is not a myth. To top it off, she had an ear infection & no nap. Yikes! There was no way we were going to meet people in a public place for dinner with our toddler. The call went out. Instead, we had the loveliest time eating at home, baking chocolate chip cookies & watching a movie. Bliss!

Cancellation #2: Saturday Outdoor Children's Photo Shoot

Imagine it; Paved brick pathways surrounded by gorgeous cherry trees in full bloom. Japanese Parasols in pale pink & three darling little girls. Now imagine the 30 mph wind, rain, hail & temperatures in the 40's. There was no way that was happening. I had to make the call, but my friend totally agreed. Hopefully the weather cooperates next week. :-)

With Saturday free though, we all went to the gym as a family, got a great lunch from Safeway, changed into sweats & enjoyed relaxing..... :-)

Cancellation #3: Saturday moved to Sunday Photo Shoot

Same thing as the day before. Conrad & I surprised the girls & took them to Chuck E Cheese's in the morning. The place was empty (we got there as soon as it opened up), so the girls had free reign. Ava & Cate loved the pony ride & Bronwen enjoyed it all. Afterward, Conrad took his four Douglas girls to Red Robin. On the way home, we stopped at Starbucks.

This was one of my favorite weekends in a long time.

Dentist = No School

My three little girlies had their dental check-ups a few Mondays ago. Bronwen & Ava did great! Cate on the other hand, was not so pleased with having someone put their gigantic hands in her mouth. Ironically, it actually helped when she screamed & cried because her mouth was open enough for the hygienist to clean her teeth. ;-) Ava, being the great sister she is, tried to comfort "Googs" (the picture cracks me up -"Captain, we are now preparing for take off!"), but was out of there the minute Cate got too loud. Anyway, all check-ups were awesome; no cavities. By the time the appointments ended, it was already near 11. I didn't feel like taking Bronwen to school, so I declared a hooky day!

We went to one of our favorite places for an early lunch, Shari's, then spent the rest of the afternoon playing Barbies, Mario Brothers, going to the park & just spending good time together. It was a perfect day. :-) I love my little girls so much.

"Binky"

I never used pacifiers for any of the girls. None of them ever seemed to care about them, & as long as they were nursing or had their bottle, they were happy. Well, a few months ago I came across a couple of pacifiers in the house & thought it would be cute to see Cate would do with one. She immediately reached for it & popped it in her mouth. She looked very satisfied with herself. I figured it was because she always saw her friend, Lizzie, from the gym, with one in her mouth, so now it was finally her turn to have the cool toy. ;-) It went from being super cute (come on, she looked like an adorable little Koala with it in her mouth), to then scary. "Mommy? Where Binky go? Binky!!!!" I threw them out (actually I tossed one & Ava tossed another). For a few days Cate randomly asked for Binky, but then she forgot about it. Until Saturday.

While I was at a photo shoot, Conrad loaded the girls in the car to take them to McDonalds. As he was about to strap Cate in, she ducked down, grabbed something from under the passenger seat & popped it in her mouth. He said she looked like a little ninja. She found "Binky". Uh oh!!

Grey's Anatomy in Seattle!

I met Julie 8 years ago at Sandia National Laboratories. She was interviewing for a position within our department (polymer aging at the time) & my boss wanted her to get a "real" perspective from me of what it was like to work at the labs. We laughed a lot & I just remembered thinking, "Wow! This girl is going places." She is. After completing her PhD last summer, she now attends medical school at Columbia University. She happened to be in town for a few days & I couldn't get enough of her. Despite all the years & distance between us, our friendship remains the same.

Highlights of the day:

*Getting lost (even using my Navigation System -I know, I know ;-)) while getting to the fabulous Cafe Ladro

*Watching Cate soak Julie up. Cate is pretty shy around strangers, yet within one minute she was letting Julie hold her, was eating Julie's scone & even danced for her.

*Pulling Bronwen & Ava out of school early so they could spend time with Julie. Bronwen asked me, "Mom, why do you want me to spend time with Julie so much?" Me, "Well, when you & Ava were very little, she was very special to me."

The truth is she was there when I first found out I would have trouble getting pregnant & the subsequent roller-coaster that went along with that & treatments (Who knew I'd have our 2 other babies without any trouble!). She deemed Bronwen with the name, "Skeletor," when I was pregnant. Julie & our other coworker, Tim, "What are you going to name her?" Me, "I don't know. I'll have to see what she looks like, then decide." Julie, "Well, you already have the picture [the ultrasound]. Skeletor!" Hahahaha! She came to my baby shower & gave Bronwen a cherry blanket & the book Guess How Much I Love You (still have both). She visited me in the hospital with both girls. She visited me at home with Ava & brought her the cutest sweater & hat. She was always there for me when I needed her. She is my friend.

Julie, thank you so much for spending time with me. I love you! :'-)