Can't wait!

I think someone is excited to go to Grandma & Grandpa's house tomorrow.

Botanical Gardens

The Swan Lake was this years newest addition to the Botanical lights display. Ellie had gone during the day for a field trip with her preschool. She had already found all of the special critters from the special map list while with her teacher, so she was anxious to point them all out to us.

Snowflake Lane

We braved the cold and headed to Snowflake Lane last week. Ellie loved the candy cane lolly pops and the red patten leather boots that the drummer girls were wearing.

have you noticed.....?

Have you noticed that there are not very many photos of the little guy by himself? As you can tell from the above photo the little miss always wants to be in on the action... photos included.

Ice Arena

We took Ellie ice skating this week. It was a lot of work! After about 10 seconds on the ice Ellie wasn't sure that ice skating was a "fun" activity. I think she was a little bit nervous. But after we went around the rink a couple of times she became a little more comfortable in her skates.

Tommy was a trooper despite the colder than average temperatures around here. We all had a fun time, but we were grateful for the hot cocoa to warm us up!

Two little buddies having fun in the cold

Gingerbread Cookies

This is a first for Ellie and me. We have never done the gingerbread cookie thing before. I've never really been a fan of them so I thought why all the work for something you don't love? Well, I made some yummy ginger snap cookies recently and thought gingerbread cookies have to similar so we decided to give it a try. We had a fun time rolling them out and creating little gingerbread men out of the dough. Ellie loved helping roll the cookies out and decorate them!

Holiday Parade 2009

Traditions.
We are in our fourth holiday season in the Seattle area. We've developed some fun traditions over the years. I love this time of year and all of the fun activities there are to do. We kick off the season each year with a trip into Seattle the day after Thanksgiving to watch the Christmas parade.

Tommy enjoyed a little snooze in Daddy's arms while we listened to the bands marching by, etc.. I'm not sure how he slept through it all. But that is our little Tommy. So easy to please :)

For Ellie, the highlight of the parade had to be the candy canes. My favorite was the Seattle Sounders band. I was totally impressed.
We listened to Christmas music, drank hot cocoa, saw puppies, firemen, gingerbread floats, dancers twirl and of course Santa made his appearance.

Halloween 2009

What a fun holiday! Ellie was a different princess at each festivity we went to this year.

Her preschool class did a little parade around the school before heading out the door for the weekly field trip. I love that she is holding her little friend's hand in this picture.

We stopped by the Halloween party at Brandon's work. It was over the top. Each wing had a different theme. This one is from Night at the Museum.

My favorite was the Willa Wonka wing.

The actual night of Halloween. Not sure where all the smiles are....
They sure came back with smiles along with all of their loot. That night the "good witch" came and took all of Ellie's candy. She left behind a Barbie doll. Ellie was excited about the exchange :)

Caramel Apples

Caramel Apples- the combination is unbeatable. YUM! Plus all the goodies you get to add on top. Oh so good :) We had a fun FHE at the Barney's this week.

Ellie had more fun making her apple than eating it. She wasn't too fond of the stickiness. But she did eat all of her M & M's off of it.

Brandon enjoyed his creation made by me. His hands were a little full. Tommy obviously enjoyed all the festivities and conked out from all of the excitement. I have to say Brandon and I are both officially fans of sea salt on caramel apples now. Don't knock until you try it. And please... do try it!

My little helper.....

Mommy & Me- 5 months

Taken by Michael Rowley

OUCH....

Growing too fast...

3 months old

What a lucky little boy...

to have such a fun big sister...

Aspen Grove

We spent a week at Aspen Grove for our Clarke Family Reunion this year. We had such a nice time. It was fun visiting with everyone and relaxing a bit. Ellie loved her time with the cousins. And everyone got to meet Tommy!

Blessing Day!

We feel so blessed to have this special little guy in our family. He truly is a little Angel. He has such a calm demeanor. He is just precious!

Handsome...

4th of July

My parent's get the month of July off. So their first stop this summer was to Seattle! Yeah!
We enjoyed a nice and relaxing 4th of July with the family.

Brandon and Tommy chillin'.

Grandpa taking the grandkids to the ice cream shop! Yum :)

The kiddos playing a game of Let's Go Fishin'

It was so fun to have my parents here for the long weekend.

When a Little Boy has a Big Sister.....

Two Cutie Pies

New Addition

A few weeks after giving birth to Tommy, Brandon took Ellie on one of their Daddy-daughter dates. They came home with the above addition to the family. As soon as Marla (named by Ellie :) ) entered the house I made it known I would have no responsibility for this new addition. I had too many other people to take care of! I wasn't about to add a fish to my list. Ellie promised she would feed it. It is in the fishbowl in her bathroom. Occasionally I'll ask her if she has fed it. In all honesty, I have no idea how it is still alive!