CHRISTmas!

Christmas is probably my absolute favorite time of year. Not only are there many family get togethers to be had, but it's the celebration of our Lord and Savior's birth. Praise Him for all the beauty this holiday brings to so many!

Annie sure enjoyed the festivities. From school Christmas programs to all the buzz with presents and food galore....I'd say she did well.

And although this year was an especially bittersweet Christmas for our family, we can rejoice with the angels as my grandfather is now resting in peace with our Savior. It's never easy losing a loved one, but we know he would have enjoyed the family time we had together! Any excuse to get all the 7 grandkids together is a plus!

A Milestone Not Worth Bragging About!

I never thought I would say this, but my daughter had a "first" today that I truly cannot say I am proud of. Yes, my friends, we are talking about the very first time this little girl, this sweet angel of a girl, actually grossed me out. The reasons the pictures of the actual incident aren't posted are obvious, but the ones that are here, are of our "intermission" shall we say...as we awaited the tub to be emptied and cleaned out after Annie POOPED in it during her bath.

Oh the joys of parenthood.

A Cupcake for Annie!

Well, I can't believe it's happening, but it's true. Annie is turning 1 this weekend, and I really don't know where the year has gone. We've experienced more joy than we ever thought possible with her in our lives, and we eagerly look forward to many more incredible years ahead, celebrating her life!

So last night I decided it was time. The girl has waited an entire year for this, and I'm ready to spoil her, just a little! Ok, ok, so maybe she's had a bite or two of cake/ice cream at birthday parties and such, but this time it's her turn! Now I really wish I could say I was even slightly crafty in the kitchen, but since I'm not, I figured good 'ole Betty Crocker's recipe would suit just fine for Annie's first cupcake experience! Daddy had to work, but we made sure to capture the special moment on camera.


Here she wasn't quite sure what to DO with the cupcake.

Realizing how yummy frosting is...

Realizing how yummy the whole cupcake is...

"Happy Birthday to ME, Mom! That's good stuff!"

A New Experience

Annie had her first experience with a toothbrush tonight.....and I think we should say...the jury is still out as to whether or not she liked it. I would say it wasn't a bad experience, except for trying to get her to "open wide." As you can see, she wasn't sure what to think!

A Day to Play for all of my Parents' Grandkids!

The weather couldn't have been better for a day at the Family Fun Center in Wilsonville. It was an "end of the summer/back to school send off" for all 7 of my parents grandkids. Although at this point, only 4 are returning to school. Nonetheless, we all made the trip to play and laugh and enjoy each others' company. What a great day!


Here are the kids playing "putt, putt golf."


Here are the kids LOVING the bumper boats!


I still can't believe this one....we actually got MOM to drive the go-kart for she and Kylie! I think the adults had more fun with this one than the kids did!





Here's this sling-shot thing that the girls wanted to do.




And our little all-star, Brody...the lone boy in the fam, got his turn at the batting cages!


Dad surprised Mandy and I with tickets to the bumper boats since we "missed out" on the go-kart driving. Gee...thanks dad for letting the kids SOAK me! :) But it was worth it, and the kids LOVED getting a 2nd chance at the squirt guns!



And finally...the end of the day arcade games and prize selection. I think it's safe to say they all had a blast! Can't wait for next year!

Annie's First Time in the BIG CITY!

Wow. What an amazing experience, taking a 9 month old to the big city of Seattle! One of our dearest friends, Lindsay, and her husband, Kyle have been telling us we need to come visit, and we felt it was about time that we actually did!

Using one of Brian's longer weekends, we were able to head up North just after visiting our newest niece, Isabelle on Wednesday, August 12th. Izzy was scheduled to be born via c-section on my birthday (Aug 23rd) but with minor complications revealed at one of the last ultrasounds, they decided to take her a little early. We were thrilled to meet the newest Straus, and what a dolly she is!

So our trip began around 3pm on that Wednesday afternoon, having no idea how our little Annie would do on her longest car ride ever. We took the truck, which provided more comfort for all of us, and to our delight, Annie was a champ. She managed to get a pretty good nap in before stopping for a bite to eat for Brian and I. Not to mention, she did well herself in the Burger King parking lot with her applesauce and other yummies.

We made it to Lynnwood at just before 8pm. Lindsay was working the Mariners game, so we settled in and chatted with Kyle before all of us crashed out around 10. It had been a long day, but we knew an even longer one awaited us the next morning.

Thursday morning we got up bright and early, early enough to catch up with Linds before she and Kyle headed off to work. They were such gracious, wonderful hosts, we couldn't have had it any better anywhere else. They had done their research on some typical tourists spots to visit if we had interest/time before the Mariner/Yankee game that evening at 7. So we tried to get as much in as we could, starting the day off at the "Sea Star." One of the actual ships used on the TLC reality show, Deadliest Catch. Brian is a big fan of the show, so we thought it would be fun to see what the fisherman see and from their perspective. It made for some great pics, and started our day off well.




Next stop....downtown, lunch with the Guzz. (Lindsay's nickname for as long as I can remember). After parking the car, walking a few blocks, brushing shoulders with Alex Rodriguez, we met Linds for lunch. Yes, that was A-Rod we passed on 6th street. After all, he was in town for the Yankees premiere night in Seattle.

After lunch, is was off to the market, followed by the Seattle Aquarium and then onto the Space Needle. Some of the funnier moments of the day took place at the Space Needle, where other tourists (I presume) got a bigger kick out of Annie than they did of the sights they were seeing. Again, made great memories and pics for all time.







We finished the night at the Mariner/Yankee game where the Mariners got stomped by the good old boys. We still enjoyed ourselves, especially after the game had ended. Lindsay took us down on the field, and there we got some great behind the scenes pics of the field and what it's like from the players perspectives.






Friday morning was here before we knew it. One last stop...the Sound with Lindsay before hitting the long drive home. We should have anticipated it, yet didn't quite expect a 6 and a half hour + drive. It was ridiculous to say the very least. Needless to say, Annie amazed us once again, taking nearly a 3 hour nap, and keeping content with mommy and toys in the backseat with her.




It was a GREAT experience. We now know this little girl can take long road trips! Hooray for the years ahead!

Family Camping....With Friends

Well, believe it or not, we had our very first camping trip together as a family. Actually, it's the first time for Brian and I to have camped out together period. Hard to believe, as much as we both like being outdoors, but true. Life gets busy, and I guess the last few summers we just didn't get around to it. So we figure we might as well give it a try..............IN STYLE!


Thanks to Dave and Sally (Brian's folks) we were able to camp out with our Sunday School class in LUXURY! I guess it's hard to call it camping when you get to spend time in a 34ft air conditioned trailer! But it was nice to have with Annie being so young, giving her space to crawl around and burn off some energy. (That's right, I said CRAWL around....remember the last post where I knew it would happen any day...well it did. Litteraly.) Not to mention, better sleep without the wild wilderness noises surrounding us.


Our camp "site" was out at a couple from church's (Bruce and Wendy Robbins) property, just outside of Monmouth. A private little escape from the business of life was just what we all needed! Being that it was a family camping trip, it was the perfect place for all the kiddos to run and play. We did it all from singing songs around the campfire, to great fun in the sun with water games and scavenger hunts. A family tradition we are excited to start!

Mommy's Big Helper!

So I do realize she is going to be off and running in no time, but I love the ease of setting Annie down on the floor in the kitchen while I'm doing my best at being Betty Crocker. She absolutely loves "helping" me in the kitchen! Maybe it's just the being close to me that she loves, but I think she's genuinely interested in the things I do, especially when things make noise, such as cooking. The freedom now of completely supporting herself has given Annie a sense of pride, and Brian and I a sense of "ahhh..." to know we don't have to be right there at her side, every second of the day. We love the little moments in life like this one.