Ahhh...the sweet days of summer

Summer is in full swing here in the Pacific Northwest. That means lots of nice, warm, mild weather, incredible sunsets, just enough rain to keep things wet when you don't feel like watering the garden, and no bugs! Truly my idea of a summer. It also means that we've been busy trying to soak everything up. This summer more than most because it will be our last in Seattle for awhile. Come September we are embarking on a new adventure (i.e. move) that will take us to Philadelphia. We have lots of great memories of this place (and Dan has told me that we cannot change the name of the blog as he wants to move back here), but it is time to move on and try something different for awhile. Besides, being from a military family, you cannot really expect me to last more than four years in any one place.
Here are some pictures of the various things we have been up to this summer....

Not in chronological order, but still shows how much fun we're having this summer.

The more things change

I have a short story to tell. We moved from our last apartment because we felt the room for Miss J was too small. There was no place to put the rocking chair (let alone any other chair) for reading stories and singing lullabies. So we ended up sitting on pillows on the floor to do these essential nighttime activities. I used to develop cramps in my rear from sitting on the hardwood floor waiting for Miss J to fall asleep so that I could sneak out. So I was overjoyed when we moved to the present house with a nice large bedroom for Miss J that had room for her crib, dresser, toy chest, cedar chest, and the rocking chair. Things were great! We could read stories, sing lullabies, and say prayers all while rocking. I had a comfy chair to fall asleep in while I waited for Miss J to drift off (and the heat to click on to make covering noise for my escape).

But after a few months, this whole independence thing started kicking in. Now she wants to choose the pjs, the books, the songs, etc. Which was fine, I can handle choices. But the kicker was when she started to refuse to sit in my lap for bedtime. She wanted to stand next to me while I read the stories, sang the songs, and said the prayer. Or she wanted to sit on the floor while I was up in the rocking chair. Or I would sit on the floor while she was in the rocking chair. Or she insisted that there was enough room for both of us in the rocking chair, sitting side by side. The last configuration was very flattering, but a tad uncomfortable.

So I decided to build a "nest" with lots of pillows and books on the floor of Miss J's room in the corner instead. Since then, we've taken the side off of the crib (our frugal Scotch-Irish version of a toddler bed) and moved the pillows to the floor next to the crib. So we are back where we started a year ago....reading stories, singing songs, saying prayers all on pillows next to her bed.

Two upsides to this full circle: now I get to give her big hugs and kisses while she lays in bed, and I don't have to stay in the room anymore waiting for her to fall asleep (instead I get to sit on the steps outside of her room, listening to her sing songs, talk to her dolls, etc...all while developing cramps in my rear from the narrow staircase).

Knitting...or what I do when I am not working

I'm famous. Or at least that is what I can tell myself. I saw Stephanie Pearl-McPhee on Monday night and it was a great treat. I laughed a lot, learned a little cognitive psychology (so I can count it as a work-related activity), and met some really nice knitters. I was in line with Paul and Naomi (from Stephanie's website) and had a nice conversation with Paul. He knits 7'x7' 7lb afghans and then mails them to Afghanistan. Quite inspiring.
I've haven't written much about knitting here, mostly because I don't want to scare my family. But I think they know by now that I knit. A lot. I picked it up again (after my Granny and Mom taught me in high school) when we were leaving New Haven for Seattle. And I haven't been able to stop. I even took a class to learn how to knit socks. Then I asked for knitting design books for Christmas. It does have it's benefits though, as people who have received my gifts will tell you. I think my sister Em still wears her hat. And Julia is drowning in handknits/crochets. But I love doing it....there is something very relaxing about it. Plus it keeps me awake in seminars. I just have to remember to ask really good questions so people don't get the impression that I wasn't paying attention. The best though came this week when a friend at work asked me to teach her how to knit. That was cool. I hope she comes to enjoy it as much as I do.

A weekend in Bavaria

Well, not really Bavaria. But it sure does look like it. And everyplace was Das Something Haus or Markt that. We took a short break to drive up to Leavenworth, WA; home of the German Alps in Washington state. It is up on the eastern side of the Cascades, so we had to drive through some mountain passes to get there. But it was worth the drive, even if you only look at the scenery and skip the wurst and bier on the other end. We stayed at a terrific little hotel (Pension Anna) where we had breakfast every morning served up by ladies in dirkles. The hotel was right in downtown so we were able to stroll the streets of Leavenworth. The location of the hotel also meant that we could drink beer in the evening and not worry about driving back to a hotel.

The snow was incredible to see and this was the real reason we chose to go to the Cascades. We have had some snow over here on the western side of the mountains, but it never lasts very long. And it usually throws the entire city into panic mode. So we thought it would be nice to go away for the weekend and experience real snow, in a town that actually embraces it, instead of fearing it. We thought that we would do some snowshoeing, but decided not to, thinking there wouldn't be enough snow. There was enough snow, as the pictures taken below at Lake Wenatchee State Park attest to. But we had a good time just the same: walking near the Columbia River in Wenatchee, walking along the Wenatchee River in Leaveworth, visiting the Salmon Fish Hatchery at Icicle Creek, and eating German food. Julia had a good time too, although she kept asking to go home....

Can you see how tired we were and in need of a vacation?

Where the baby fish are raised before being taken outside

Where the baby fish live outside for 15 months or so....

Another shot of the outdoor fish runways....they get a nice view, don't they?

I think I will sit here and admire the mountains...where is my hot cocoa?

She got worn out by all the fresh air...this is by the Wenatchee River

Family Picture at Lake Wenatchee...the snow was at least 3.5 feet deep!

Where's the sausage haus?

Downtown Leavenworth

Julia next to the impressive bald eagle at the Fish Hatchery

We had a good time and Julia amused everyone we met. She was tickled to have both her mommy and daddy sleep in the same room as her. She also enjoyed the sausage and was particularly impressed that German breakfasts included meat, cheese, yogurt, and fruit. Auf Wiedersehen!

What In the World Have We Been Doing?

We have been reading "The Poky Little Puppy". And playing in the snow (three times since Christmas!)! And using the potty (all of us). And running! And trying to jump up and down (this mostly involves bending of the knees and raising of the arms, but there is always much excitement). Julia is a full-fledged toddler now...just look at the pictures for proof. I cut her hair (or at least gave her some very stylish pixie bangs). She tolerates the barettes and ponies much better now, but there are some days when she refuses to have anything in her hair. Her independent streak is really starting to come out now too. Luckily her tantrums are not too bad and she is still easily distracted. But I do have to laugh at her sometimes when she gets upset. She can still put up a good fight at bedtime, but those are getting less traumatic too. I am sure it will start all over again when she moves to a regular bed.
Her latest accomplishment? Talking in little sentences. Mostly these are either demands ("Mommy sit!, Daddy play! Ju-ju eat cheese!"), but sometimes they are descriptions of what is going on in her life ("Cat chase!, Ju-ju sleeping, Daddy airplane Tuesday."). It is so amazing to hear her try out new words and immediately pick up on new language. She has her colors down pat and has moved on to days of the week and the alaphabet. I catch her trying to sing the alaphabet song to herself (only H through L..then it is a blur until you get to P and W). She is also fascinated with babies...we've seen some new babies in the past few weeks and a couple of her daycare friends are expecting little siblings. So she always asks to pray for the babies at night. Very cute, although I am sure this solicitous concern would not extend to any future sibling she may have.
We've all been very busy around here. Dan has been interviewing with different universities (only one more to go and then the potential second interviews start). I was away earlier this week at a meeting in California and spent a lot of time in the previous week working late to prepapre for the meeting. We travel to Baltimore next week for a short meeting and a short visit with the Klein/Beusch families. So there has been a lot of airplane travel (hence the Daddy airplane references) going on for us. I am teaching for two weeks once we get back from Baltimore and then we were hoping for a short break. Maybe take a long weekend to visit the coast or the mountains. But I am afraid that work will intrude very quickly.
In other good news, Dan got his grant! Which means he is smart! But I new that already. It is good news though and hopefully give us some more options in going forward from here. We will get some more pictures up soon....