Christmas 2008

We had plans to stay at a cabin this christmas but the weather didn't cooperate and so we stayed home instead.

Here is a picture of the tree and trimmings that we bought and threw together the day after Christmas. I had vowed to not purchase anything for the holiday, but that really depressed me. I felt like Odessa was missing out on some of the magic of the holiday.

So, bright and early on Friday morning we headed to Target and bought a tree, some trimmings, and a few horribly commercial, plastic gifts for Odessa to open. And at 50% off! We also made it to the toy store on NW 23rd and I bought her a bouncy horse ("pink bunny!" accoring to O) and a special doll that I had been wanting for her.

We decorated that afternoon and opened gifts after nap. Although I know Odessa wouldn't miss it, she really, really had fun! And I had fun enjoying some of the traditions that I was missing and bringing a little of that magic to Odessa.

I love the second picture -- you can tell Odessa is about to totally melt :)

Happy Halloween!!

This is definitely the most fun Halloween we have had with Odessa. I don't think you can really blame her for the last two years -- she was just too little to be all that excited about traditions. It is a lot more fun though now that she actually kind of "gets it".


We have been talking about how, on Halloween, we get dressed up and go visit people and say "trick-or-treat" and then they give us candy. At the mention of candy, her eyes light up and she says "yay!" (okay, for sure my kid). I am glad that she is not yet at the "why??" age because the strangeness of the holiday would be difficult to explain.


The only problem is that she thinks the phrase "trick-or-treat" is like a secret weapon -- whenever she sees candy she looks up at me and says "trick-or-treat" expectantly. I can almost see her thinking "aha! Now I know the magic word!" Somehow "please" and "thank you" haven't made near the impact on her vocabulary.

Cape Meares

So we are not into buying a lot of stuff for Christmas. I loved it as a kid, but now as an adult living in middle-class America, I just don't really get it. It isn't that I am shunning commercialism either. It is more practical than that. There is really nothing that we want really badly and that we wouldn't just purchase ourselves. Yes, I could buy Larry a new sweater. Or he could just buy one himself.

Anyway, my point it this. We went to Cape Meares for the Christmas holiday prefering going to someplace over getting things that we really do not need or care about. We had a really good time and were bored out of our minds all at the same time. It was nice to have the days "off" and have nothing that we had to do.

We hope to go back sometime in the Summer. I think it will be great when the weather is warmer and we can play on the beach and eat dinner on the deck.

Mothers Day 2007

My first mothers day couldn't be better: Napping and playing with my beautiful baby; eating donuts; receiving a great gift from Lar (which he managed to pick out all on his own!); enjoying the sun on our balcony; making a yummy dinner of yams, cous cous, and pork chops. Yes, I can actually cook and am beginning to enjoy it more and more.

I hope to remember how lucky I am at least once a day.

Creative Genius at Work

Here is Odessa working on adding her personal touches to the Valentines she is sending out.

Odessa's 1st Valentines Day

The heart locket is from my Grandma Shirley -- you can't tell from the photo but it has my initials inscribed on it!