BabyBendy

Birthday Party I

2012-02-06T09:20:00.000-08:00

Eleanor had a joint dance birthday party with Celia, a friend from school. Looking forward to more partying throughout the month!

Mariners FanFest. We came...

2012-01-29T20:44:00.000-08:00

We saw...

We facepainted...

We faceplanted...

We rallied.

PLAYOFFS!?

2012-01-22T12:56:00.000-08:00

Ellie's best Jim Mora impression.

I've got the fever...

2012-01-19T16:55:00.000-08:00

Cabin, that is. Today, Ellie went snowshoeing over to a local coffee shop this morning where we met up with a schoolmate, Harper, and her mommy. We had some treats and then Harper and Ellie got to do some sledding! The snow has not really stopped yet, though I'd say we only have 5 inches or so. The Governor has declared a state of emergency, but hopefully this will melt away peacefully soon.

Snow Angel

2012-01-17T23:05:00.000-08:00

So, we've had some snow this week. Enough that Ellie finally got to make her first snow lady. And she worked on snow volcanoes (her current obsession), snow angels, and reverse snow angels.

The Shabbat Basket

2012-01-17T23:01:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, Ellie got to bring home the Shabbat basket from school. This included Leo, the Shabbat Monkey, who joined our weekend activities.

Play Date with Sophie

2012-01-17T22:58:00.000-08:00

Lots of art projects and dressing up~

Happy New Year, 18 days late.

2012-01-17T22:54:00.000-08:00

Ellie helped Curt, Amy, Quinn and us ring in the new year.

Never did find the pot o' gold, but a rainbow did end at the end of our street!

2012-01-17T22:45:00.000-08:00

Not much snow, but lots of fun

2011-12-26T21:26:00.000-08:00

There may not be much snow, but it's enough snow for snowballs, snow walks, and Ellie's first time skating!

Santa's Visit

2011-12-26T18:01:00.000-08:00

He brought a fancy fairy princess costume and he also brought over all the gifts from MN family. She is officially spoiled. Oh wait, we kind of knew that.

Candy Cane Lane

2011-12-26T17:53:00.000-08:00

Someone may have found her name on the list of good children...

Happy Hanukkah (1 of 8)

2011-12-20T21:51:00.001-08:00

"This might be the best gift I've ever received."

Mom was there, too.

2011-12-20T10:40:00.000-08:00

Ells and Dad at his non-work Holiday Party

2011-12-19T16:56:00.001-08:00

Only three-year old there.

Yup.

Pretty excited

2011-11-28T23:47:00.001-08:00

Ellie was pretty excited to be invited into the cockpit while we boarded our flight tonight!

More San Francisco fun

2011-11-28T09:55:00.001-08:00

Mom's photos at San Francisco MOMA

2011-11-27T19:45:00.001-08:00

Ellie posed in front of her favorites.

Ellie's photos at San Francisco MOMA

2011-11-27T19:42:00.000-08:00

Ellie kicked off her trip to San Francisco with a visit to the Museum of Modern Art. She saw works of art created with pencil, paint, and wax (crayon) and some of it looked an awful lot like the art she creates! She took over mom's iphone and started to take pictures of the art, and even of Mommy and Nommy. She seems to have an eye for composition.

Ellie and Quinn at the Zoo

2011-11-16T21:57:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T20:18:00.000-07:00

On our way to do some princessing.

Everyone look at a different camera in 3...2..1...

Counting our loot.

Major thanks to Nommy and Aunt Judy for the awesome costume. Yet again.

The life and death of a pumpkin

2011-10-20T21:49:00.000-07:00

Ellie picked some pumpkins

Then she gutted them

Then she carved them

Then she ran around the yard

Yay, fall!

Boo, bad recent posting by dad!

Family Shot

2011-09-22T11:12:00.000-07:00

Nice work, Curt

And just like that...

2011-09-19T07:50:00.000-07:00

It's autumn.

80+ last weekend.

Rainy and in the 50s this one.

Sigh.

Lil' Kickers

2011-09-19T07:45:00.001-07:00

Ellie started up "soccer"* last weekend and we're having a great time.

*Lots of running, lots of playing, a surprising amount of parachutes.

Cooling off

2011-09-11T21:17:00.001-07:00

First day of school

2011-09-06T10:37:00.000-07:00

New class. New teachers. New friends. New outfit.

Same goregous Ellie!

Our week on Orcas

2011-09-05T21:21:00.000-07:00

We had a really amazing time on Orcas Island this year. Lots of relaxing. But lots of activities too.

Exploring, whale watching, whale not seeing, our first big girl bike, our first night camping, mega forts and tons of fun with Curt, Amy and Quinn (fresh off her first birthday!)...

Here's a bit of the action:

First time camping (1)

2011-08-31T21:25:00.001-07:00

More cruising

2011-08-31T21:09:00.000-07:00

Crusing the Sound

2011-08-31T16:52:00.000-07:00

Tour de Orcas

2011-08-31T16:44:00.000-07:00

Summer in Seattle can only mean one thing...

2011-08-06T14:58:00.000-07:00

Brown lawns!

Oh, hey

2011-08-05T07:07:00.000-07:00

Pretty much my favorite picture ever

2011-08-04T21:01:00.001-07:00

I wish Ells was looking at the camera though.

Not the best quality photo ever...

2011-08-04T10:20:00.001-07:00

But at least it's a family shot!

Breakfast smiles

2011-08-04T10:17:00.000-07:00

Just trying some big kid stuff

2011-07-30T22:05:00.000-07:00

1...

2...

3.

First time jumping in on her own. Pretty excited.

Ellie got an ovation from the people at the pool and proceeded to jump approximately 200 more times in hopes of recreating the moment.

Co-Captains

2011-07-30T22:03:00.001-07:00

Spontaneous Friday morning dance party

2011-07-15T11:44:00.001-07:00

The name says it all.

Turn your volume way up for full effect.

Wicked moves start at :50.

Happy birthday, Poppy!

2011-07-15T06:54:00.000-07:00

Ellie decided to do some moodily-lit photos to help celebrate.

We love you and can't wait to see you this weekend!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Iwen!

2011-07-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

It's probably pretty obvious, but Ellie has some serious moves.

And she's putting them on display in honor of Grandpa's birthday.

Hope it's a great one!

Happy Father's Day to Poppy, Grandpa Iwen and...me!

2011-06-20T20:33:00.000-07:00

Father's Day is always extra special for me as it's the day we found out we were pregnant with Eleanor.

This year we went to see the Mariners play (and win) then headed home for a great BBQ.

Pretty awesome day all around. Hope yours was great too!

Ellie had a great time in Minnesota!

2011-06-15T21:50:00.000-07:00

Swinging with Grandma

Blurrily celebrating Emily's graduation

"Making" brownies

Hanging out with grandma and grandpa

Ellie and Jules at Graduation

2011-06-15T21:43:00.000-07:00

I was expressly disallowed from putting up my favorite pic.

Yum, cupcakes!

2011-06-04T21:16:00.001-07:00

Congrats to Julie and Eric on their graduations!

Congrats to Ra-Ra on her move!

Congrats to... Yeah, that's everyone.

For now.

Trying to prep Ells for our leaving town by getting her excited about talking each day via Skype

2011-05-19T21:01:00.000-07:00

Her response:

"How will I kiss and hug you if you're on a screen?"

New task, suppressing massive guilt.

Sigh.

You talkin' to us?

2011-05-18T21:49:00.000-07:00

Oldie but a goodie

2011-05-17T09:27:00.000-07:00

And by oldie, I mean March.

It's about time someone used those drums

2011-05-15T21:45:00.000-07:00

The highlight is when she counts us in at :06.

Man, I need a new crash cymbal.

We love you, Mom!

2011-05-08T22:40:00.000-07:00

And Grandma! And Nommy!

And, if you look too closely at our teeth, peanut butter!

Somebody loves her some Professor Longhair

2011-05-02T23:35:00.000-07:00

Another one from Spring Break.

Put on a little "Mardi Gras in New Orleans" and watch her go.

Little Swimmer

2011-05-02T23:24:00.000-07:00

Oldie, but a goodie. From Palm Springs back in March. This was Ellie's first swim on her own.

By the end of the trip she was bobbing and paddling for 30 minutes at a time.

Wow, it's been awhile!

2011-04-25T21:53:00.000-07:00

Sorry.

I pledge to do better. Here's a peace offering.

Well hey there

2011-04-06T18:11:00.000-07:00

16th Hole, Family Shot

2011-03-29T22:27:00.001-07:00

We stupidly forgot to do our standard Palm Springs family photo this year, but Ellie and mom darted out to the 16th tee box for this quick shot.

BTW, my drive was awesome.

The rest of the hole, less so.

Bike girl

2011-03-25T10:23:00.000-07:00

Yoga girl

2011-03-25T10:20:00.000-07:00

Just a little preview of Ellie's three-year old photos

2011-03-19T07:29:00.001-07:00

Kite Hill at Gasworks Park

2011-03-06T14:23:00.000-08:00

Not a ton of wind, but still lots of fun.

Minnesota Birthday

2011-02-24T23:34:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Ellie celebrated round 3 of #3 with all our Minnesota family.

A great time was had by all. Especially miss Ells.

There was bowling, Mall-of-America-ing, ride riding, Lego Land-ing, cake decorating, present opening, Happy Birthday singing, hugging, smiling and lots of fun.

Oh and it snowed 18".

Birthday girl at school

2011-02-15T23:28:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday, sweet Eleanor!

2011-02-15T05:48:00.000-08:00

Our girl is three years old.

Hard for me and Mindy to fathom.

It's unbelievable that all this joy has been crammed into three short years. At the same time it's impossible to believe that it's already been three years.

Ellie is sweeter, smarter, funnier and more amazing every day. And that's an entirely objective judgment.

This weekend we celebrated with family and friends (head cold be damned) and today (the real bday) we'll have a snack party and school then probably hit Ellie's favorite haunt Tutta Bella. Then Mindy and Ellie are off to Minnesota for more celebrating.

Thank you to everyone who's helped make Ellie's year so great. She's a very loved little lady and we all feel extremely lucky.

Happy birthday, sweet girl.

Three years and ten hours ago...

2011-02-14T22:10:00.000-08:00

Big kid bed. Big time hit.

2011-02-11T21:15:00.001-08:00

Someone is turning three in a matter of days and as an early gift, we unveiled our new big kid bed/bedroom when Ellie got home from school today.

Suffice it to say it was a hit.

We've been "playing" go-to-sleep all evening.

That said, it's 9:20 and she hasn't gone to sleep yet...

The coolest part is that Ellie's new bed used to belong to her Grammy.

We're about to turn three here

2011-02-11T21:14:00.000-08:00

Time for a new look.

Piggy-back ride

2011-02-08T09:56:00.000-08:00

Yep, it's pun week.

Just hanging around

2011-02-07T21:54:00.000-08:00

We had a great weekend down in San Fran

2011-01-18T22:24:00.000-08:00

Don't believe me?

See for yourself.

Told you.

Ellie's favorites parts of the Aquarium?

2011-01-09T23:51:00.001-08:00

Yep, still the gift shop and this thing...

Winter Break

2011-01-01T10:23:00.000-08:00

Happy 2011, all!

Mountain Getaway 2

2010-12-30T10:34:00.000-08:00

Back from the mountains

2010-12-28T21:54:00.001-08:00

We had an awesome time in Suncadia*

Tons of fun swimming, sledding, snowshoeing, eating, playing.

Videos on the way...**

*Despite our loud/vomiting neighbors.
**Again

Best of both worlds

2010-12-25T14:29:00.001-08:00

So as fun as Hanukkah was, Ellie was pretty fired up for Christmas too.

And for good reason, she had a very fun morning and got some super cool gifts from everyone in Minnesota.

We love the Cars Legos, cute clothes, great scarf and...

AWESOME DJ TABLE/KEYBOARD!

Thanks, everybody! Love you and Merry Christmas!

More pics and videos to follow...

Sleepy time

2010-12-24T10:14:00.000-08:00

Get that camera out of my face!

2010-12-14T21:13:00.000-08:00

Darn paparazzi.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!!!!!

2010-12-01T22:01:00.000-08:00

We love you so much.

We're so sorry we didn't post this yesterday.

We're going to use knee surgery recovery as an excuse. Again...

Did we mention how much we love you?

Happy Hanukkah!

2010-12-01T21:57:00.000-08:00

Oh and, hello Christmas. Be patient...

SNOW DAY!

2010-11-22T13:20:00.000-08:00

By which I mean, lots of snow. So much that they closed Ellie's school down early.

Been snowing since 4am and it's still coming...

Rocking it at Yo Gabba Gabba

2010-11-15T21:47:00.000-08:00

The live performance of Ellie's favorite show, Yo Gabba Gabba made its awesome way to the Tacoma Dome* this weekend and we were lucky enough to take in all the fun.

Highlights included free DJ Lance glasses, a flashing glowstick for Ellie, beatboxing by Biz Markie, a confetti bomb going off in my face and Eleanor's pull-up letting loose on Mindy's leg.

A great time was had by all.

In the words of the aforementioned DJ Lance Rock, "Listening and dancing to music is AWESOME!"

I'll try and post a movie or two tomorrow.

*AKA, Center of All That is Awesome

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T21:33:00.000-07:00

Awesome costume.

Trick-or-treating with Grammy, Mom, Dad, Curt, Amy, baby Quinn and Quinn's Grammy.

A win by the Giants.

Halloween doesn't get much better than this!

Big thanks to Grammy and Graunty for creating the best costume U-Village has ever seen.

As reported on Facebook...

2010-10-28T14:55:00.001-07:00

This morning Ellie and I were talking about the World Series and she was asking how it works when she paused and offered, "So it's kind of like the Piston Cup in the movie Cars?" Shortly thereafter she described roots as "mouths for trees."

Rocking a little Baby Quinn

2010-10-28T10:53:00.000-07:00

That's a yawn, not a scream of abject terror.

Oh, Hello.

2010-10-17T05:39:00.000-07:00

The Chase

2010-10-16T16:35:00.000-07:00

The Strut - Parts 1 & 2

2010-10-16T15:30:00.001-07:00

Getting excited for Halloween!

2010-10-10T13:22:00.001-07:00

Rhythm Devil

2010-10-05T07:21:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-03T06:31:00.000-07:00

Pumpkins, hay rides, mini donuts and a pygmy goat. What more could you want?

A tale of two breakfasts

2010-10-01T05:51:00.000-07:00

I'm hiding...

2010-09-30T07:27:00.000-07:00

An enormous (if slightly late) welcome to Baby Quinn!

2010-09-26T21:39:00.000-07:00

Quinn is beautiful and sweet and we're so glad she's here!*

Ellie's been obsessed for months. Quinn's actual arrival only makes things more exciting.

*She's already WAY bigger than in these pictures.

Minnesota '10

2010-09-14T22:33:00.000-07:00

Okay, so we're a few weeks late. And we did a lousy job taking pictures. And the ones we did take aren't exactly hi-def.

But hey, we had a great time and wanted to share the fun.

Apologies to everyone who's not pictured. Like I said, we did a lousy job on the documentation front.

Somebody got a really cute new haircut...

2010-09-06T16:04:00.000-07:00

Ellie goes all Jerry Lee Lewis on the ABC's

2010-09-01T13:38:00.000-07:00

Summer beauty (with fruit pouch)

2010-08-19T07:06:00.000-07:00

Making zucchini bread with Auntie

2010-08-08T14:37:00.000-07:00

Ellie's blog, 70s edition

2010-07-28T21:57:00.001-07:00

The power of Pixar

2010-07-18T23:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Poppy!

2010-07-14T23:00:00.000-07:00

We love you very much and can't wait to celebrate with you this weekend.