This is as still as Clementine gets. She is one busy girl! From now on, when I need a picture of her I'll be setting her in a tree! I love this adventurer and I love that she is always down to try something new.

On this trip to Hovander Park, a place we know intimately, Cam and I decided the light was right for some portraits. We sat her in that tree and snapped away! Daddy put on a show to get her laughing. It never fails! You can see in these pictures how much she lights up!
Of course, my favorite. She looks so big and grown up in some of these but this last one reminds me of itty bitty baby Clementine. It's the tongue! She's made this funny smile with her tongue out since she was about 5 months old.
Love her.

Hotel Shenanigans

During Spring Break, Cam was SUPER busy with his new job (and still is)! He even had an overnight trip and since Clementine and I are always up for an adventure, we came with!

We got the neighbors to watch Jack and hit the road. Cam was working in Kirkland which is quite near where we lived when Clementine was a baby! Oh, the memories! We stayed at a lovely hotel in Redmond that was so well decorated I wanted to take notes. And the staff there was SO helpful with Clementine, too!
When we pulled up I realized I had to check in and unload the luggage AND crib by myself--with Clementine in tow! That was a little nerve wracking, especially once I realized that the hotel lobby was decorated with blown-glass art! EEK!
Lucky for me they had a ton of these trolleys out front. Clementine hopped right on her chariot and she stayed put till we got to the fourth floor! I think the chariot ride might have been her favorite part of the trip!



She also loved the gigantic hotel room bed where she could jump (we only jump on hotel beds) and wrestle with daddy once he got off work! She could also cuddle up with Kirby and watch Sponge Bob from the bed!
I had bought these water wings for Clem as swimming pools are still pretty new for her. She gladly wore the water wings when it was just the four of us, but later some "big kids" came down to the pool. They were maybe 5-8 and did not need water wings. They had goggles and could dive. Clem watched from the edge, peeled off her water wings and then whispered to me: "Go away, mommy."
She so badly wants to be big.
I let her walk on the stairs by herself but she wouldn't let me reach out for her. She confidently stepped off the third step toward the fourth and was literally in over her head. She wasn't scared but that was enough to let her know she does need mama nearby.
We played the rest of the time together, but without the water wings.



Then Nolan came up to the room where these two shared a snack of goldfish crackers and explored the nooks and crannies of the hotel room.

The next day while Cam worked, Clem and I visited my friend Ann on Tiger Mountain in Issaquah. Driving to her house, I couldn't remember why we'd ever left--I was filled with so much nostalgia!
I had hoped to visit more friends and my old school but we just didn't have long enough! Next time we'll have to take a longer mini-vacation.

Tiptoeing through the Tulips

My Spring Break was earlier this month and the shortest week of my entire life. I want a redo.

We did do some fun things though, like meeting Aunty Sissy and Cousin Nolan in La Conner to do the Tulip Festival. Spring Break was pretty rainy so when we woke up and heard there was little chance of showers, we drove right down to Tulip Town!

Clementine was so excited to see cousin Nolan. I didn't even tell her we were going to see him but somehow she just knew! She kept saying "Noley, where you are?" and "Nolan, what you doin'?" on the drive down.

When we did see him, she wanted to hold hands with him in the stroller! It was pretty cute!
While it wasn't raining it was windy! Windier than anything I've ever experienced! I bought Clem and Nolan a pair of pinwheels to celebrate the wind (and give them something to do while Meg and I snapped pictures).
This one is my all time favorite:
There were all kinds of tulips there--here's an Alaskan named tulip!
The scenery was beautiful and serene but the weather was not. We got a few good pictures then walked back to the car--the wind was just too much for us!
Lovely La Conner:

Easter 2010

This year's was Clementine's first full-on Easter celebration. She got to dye eggs for the first time and then search for them! She loved the festivities.


She loved dying eggs with Daddy while I took pictures and laughed at the two of them. Clem was a little hands-y to say the least!
At our house, the Easter Bunny comes AFTER nap time. Right after she got up, Clem was in great spirits and ready to search for eggs in the backyard with a little help from Jack.


When she found them all, we came inside to decorate egg-shaped sugar cookies with the bunny sprinkles I'd found.
Only it didn't go exactly the way I thought; it went more like this:
and this:

Blog Catch Up

It sure has been busy around here lately, although I can't say specifically why. Here is a quick update from the last few weeks!

Clementine and I wore our green for St. Patrick's Day (and I have a bunch of laundry to fold).Clementine disassembled my label maker. But before that I labeled her foot. You know, just in case.
This is how we keep Clementine from going to sleep in the car, with canned laughter. She is such a great mimic.

Clementine's Greatest Hits

Here is Clementine singing her greatest hits of 2010! The above video is Clementine starting to sing Happy Happy Nolan, transitioning into EIEIO, but the letter order tricks her and she gets caught up in an Alphabet frenzy! My favorite part is when she sings "LMNO" with a mouthful of Cheerios. PQR and S are much clearer.

Below is a video of her singing Happy Happy Nolan (a song that doesn't exist) in it's purest form.

Day at the Zoo

I've said it before and I'll say it again; I LOVE Woodland Park Zoo. We have so much fun when we go there!Last weekend was really the first reliably sunny day we've had this year so we high-tailed it down to Seattle Saturday morning to meet up with Cam's family at the zoo!

Not only was it the first day of spring but it was also Clem's first adventure out in public without a stroller! Well, we had the stroller but only used it for tired legs, not the whole time. We weren't sure how she would do, if she'd stay near us or take off like a jack-rabbit, and we were pleasantly surprised. She definitely blazed her own trail but made sure we were close by. The first 15-20 minutes we were there she wanted me to carry her! She warmed up pretty quickly though!

Each time we walked up to the exhibit's window she's eyeball all the other quietly gaping big kids that were already there, then march right up, jab her finger to the window and say "HEY! YOU ANIMALS! WHERE YOU ARE?" in a very big voice. Then we'd leave the exhibit and she'd say "Animals?"
She saw some big kids playing on these stone lions. She waited until the big kids were gone then walked up, put her hand in the lion's mouth and said "OW!" She's so funny.

I love this face!!!
The biggest hit of the day were the sea otters. Clem would watch them dive in, blow bubbles and search for something in the rocks. She loved watching them swim!

This is as close as I ever hope to be to a grizzly bear. Scary.
As Clementine walked up to this statue she said "Aw, a baby!"

We saw lots of amazing creatures at the zoo. Clementine was definitely in her element and had a great day!