A Quiet Christmas

This year, we opted not to travel for the holidays, and stay home.. I was looking forward to being here for Christmas, and made all sorts of plans. Seattle got snowed in, and it was beautiful. Emma and I had a memorable trip to visit friends, her on her pink saucer, flying along on the sidewalk, and me pulling, walking/running and enjoying the exercise. I decided the next day we’d get out the skis I had bought her as an early Christmas present.

And that evening Emma suddenly got very sick, with sustained high fevers/chills, body pains, later an awful cough. Some sort of flu (tho we both were immunized) or a flu-like virus. We’ve been house-bound since then, except for a trip (with chains on the car) to the doc, as more and more snow fell. It has been 5 days, and Emma is still fairly sick, only now starting to improve.

So tomorrow we will spend the day, just of the two of us together, unwrapping presents, and it is totally ok… All I need in this world, right now, is to see her recovering and happy. This season has been a good reminder of what is really important- our loved ones and our health. Merry Christmas everyone.

Thanksgiving at Rainier, Santa's coming!

We had our traditional (for us) Thanksgiving on Mount Rainier, shared with our Seattle 'family'. A little sun, a little snow falling... perfect. Emma threw the first snowball.

Christmas is so much fun with a 4yo, Emma is totally into it. She was most impressed that Santa actually made it to Seattle, at the Tgiving w/e parade. Our tree is now up, I'd post a pic but the rest of the place is in chaos. This weekend..

Emma turns four, and 2yr Anniversary

The end of October is a busy time of year for us- Halloween, Emma's birthday, and our anniversary together. Emma was a cute-as-a-button Dora for Halloween- we went trick or treating at the nearby shopping center, it has a walking area.. what a scene, full of tots in costume. Emma was wide-eyed at all the candy being given out.. I don't think she knew that much candy existed. Very fun. The photo is of her preschool class in their Halloween finery.

We had a "Dora" birthday party, complete with a Dora adventure (Swiper stole the bday cake, the girls needed to follow the map to find it). "Big kids" Sam and Helen dressed up in costume for their roles, part of the hunt wound thru the back yard, etc. Kind of hard to explain in a sentence/two, but Emma is still talking about it.

On our "Gotcha Day", I gave Emma a Chinese silk dress. Two years is a bit of a marking point- for only now has Emma has been with me, as long as she was in China. This is a thoughtful time of the year for me- we celebrate Emma's birthday, and at the same time I think of those in China that took care of her for so long. I can't even begin to imagine parting with a child after two years, and I wonder how her foster parents are. And of course her birthparents are in my mind at this time.

Emma is still recovering from her fall, both physically and emotionally.. this next week we will start getting some additional help, on both accounts, to hopefully help things along.

Scary fall

Emma took a bad fall from the play structure at her little preschool... climbing on the rounded outside of a tunnel, where it wasn't designed for kids to go... it was on the backside of the structure, out of direct view of the teacher. Needless to say, they are making some changes and it looks like a new play structure will be implemented. It happened 5 minutes before I arrived to pick her up, Emma was so shaken she couldn't communicate.. I immediately packed her in her carseat and drove her to our Children's Hospital ER, where we spent the next 6 hours getting xrays, a CT, etc. Fortunately no damage to the bones.

Emma spent a week in a neck collar- and is rapidly recovering. But it will take her longer to feel secure again. Our old nemesis, separation anxiety, is back.. We will get past this in time again, on her schedule.

What a summer

What a summer! Much of it was spent outdoors enjoying the various local outdoor pools and beaches. Emma's Aunt Pam and her boys met us in Oregon for a wonderful week of camping. Emma's cousin Emily came for a visit (during an atypical heat wave). And at the end of the summer we spent a few weekends in a row, cramming in lots of camping and high mountain meadow experiences (ummhh.. most elevation gain done by the car). Emma loves picking huckleberries in the mountains, and just being outside- she has a genuine appreciation for outdoor beauty that I adore.

July 4th in the snow

Emma and I had a wonderful Fourth at Mt Rainier- playing in the snow up high, hiking in the big trees lower down. Up high we saw a black fox and a white fox, both very close. Emma spotted a nearby marmot first and was thrilled.. she's been pretending to be a marmot (call and all) since. Best memories were just hanging on the lodge porch, eating and reading and watching the nearby deer.

Car Camping

Just a pic from last weekend, our first camping trip of the year, with friends. Emma loves hanging with the 'big girls'. We are at that stage where Emma is too heavy to be carried, and too young to walk very far.. so for a couple years, car camping will be our thing. I do admit to missing the mountains, but am looking forward to exploring them with Miss E, when she gets her hiking legs!

Folklife Fools

Emma and I had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend, going to our Folklife Festival for a portion of three days. Emma and I danced our first little contra dance together (a sweet 8yo helped Emma on her side of the line).. wish I had that on video. New this year, Emma was into the fair food. And the amusement park... loving the spaceship that flew around, and up and down, at a rather good clip.

Visit from Nana

Mom came for a visit, and we had a wonderful time- a fancy-schmancy Mother's Day brunch, a magical day at the zoo, a trip to a nearby beach, etc. Emma loved having her Nana here, and is still talking about it.

Beach season opener

A visit up to a nearby beach yesterday- it was unseasonably warm and sunny. The tide was way out.. a trip to get water for sand castles led to rather quick shedding of clothing, and Miss E couldn't get enough of the (quite cold) water.. We hadn't anticipated needing a bathing suit (truth to be told, we were headed to do some hiking but changed plans as Emma's little legs were tired from the bike trip the day before). Gosh what a day.

It's all about the bike

Emma has a bike, and is totally enthralled with it. She had to learn all the words for the components, and wore her helmet more often than not, inside, for a few days. In fairly short order she's gotten the hang of the coaster brake, and occasionally I have to break out of a fast walk to keep up :-) Now I watch her testing- trying out steering with one hand, killing time waiting for a slower companion by weaving back and forth..

Misc Pics

Spring

Happy Valentines Day

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Snow Fun

We've been up to the snow a few times- Emma loves just being out, and her bright pink saucer. One sunny day we were out and Emma announced she had to pee.. after a trial run, she succeeded, behind a tree(no easy feat in a bulky one-piece snowsuit). She proudly announced "I'm a mountain pee-er!" Now that's my girl. Carseat shot is a tired and happy Emma, ready to go home.

Christmas

Rocking Horse Video

This video was taken early-December, with Emma riding her beloved Diamond.