Ga-ga for Zebras

"What makes Abigail's eyes get so wide?" you ask. Zebras. Yes, zebras. She seriously LOVES her zebra toys. Whenever she see one of them (she has three -- one on her bouncer, one on her swing, and a rattle that her daddy bought her), her little legs start kicking and her eyes get super wide with delight. In fact, her first attempt at reaching for something she wanted was the zebra on her boncer! It's still a bit far for her to reach, but she will sit there for a long time with hand outstretched and smiles on her face. Each of her zebras is affectionately called "Zoe." It will be fun to see if she still loves zebras when she's older :)

We Love Visitors!

Some of our most fun days are when we are surprised with friends who come by even though there's no parking around here. What troopers! We have had particular fun with Mylee who likes to practice being a new big sister with Abby. Whew! What a trip that's gonna be for her mommy, lol. Speaking of which, Brittany is already practicing being a mommy herself and did a great job feeding Abby so I could get some cleaning done . . . I think Brittany even managed to escape the spit-up monster!

Abby has been getting much more generous with her smiles lately too, and thus has been making a TON of friends. Even waking up from a nap, little Ella got special smiles!

Of course, Grandma is Abby's favorite visitor! :) Abby's precious little smiles are still pretty hard to catch on camera, so I was elated to get these pictures. They are definitely keepers!

Favorites

Just to catch everyone up, I wanted to share a few of our recent favorites.

And just for the record, Abby is definitely a Daddy's girl! Evernight when Jim comes home, she gives him the sweetest smiles and is content to snuggle with him for hours. And he patiently lets her spit-up her dinner on his shirt too. Jim is definitely a great dad; he is full of smiles, playfulness, expression, and love -- all the qualities that our little Abby needs! I love to see them together. It makes my heart warm :)

Reminiscing

I just was organizing old pictures, and came across this one . . . HOLY CRAP! I can't believe I was this big. Freakin' crazy!

A few of you that are far away had been asking for prego pictures, so here you go! Whoa!

Last Day in Seattle

Our last day in Seattle, we finally made it back downtown to go to the Experience Music Project (EMP) and the Sci Fi museum. As you can see above, the guitar "sculpture" was HUGE! But the best part of the museum was the practice room that was full of musical instruments and interactive software to help you improve your skills. So cool! I really wanted to practice the drums, but there were a few instrument hogs there -- boo! Also, you could pay $5 to go into a mini recording studio, practice for 10 minutes, and then record your own CD to take home with you. How cool is that! We were going to do that (even though we don't really know what we're doing), but SOMEONE (Brandon) wouldn't do it with us!!!! :)

Ok, so I had a lot more pictures of the EMP, but the lighting was funny and they didn't quite turn out . . . and they didn't let us take pictures in the Sci Fi museum because the owners were afraid the flash would damage their valuables . . . bummer. Cuz there were some cool things in there (well, at least cool to trekkies like me).

And there you go, our whirlwind Seattle trip in a nut shell. Or at least, in 10 blogs!

Wack-o Biancavillas!

Yes, we're definitely a bunch of sillies!!! :) But Abby is definitely the cutest when she is being silly! (And by the way, that's Brandon showing his girlfriend why he doesn't wear his jeans up at his waist. I think we were all convinced, lol!)

So don't ask me why, but Jim has a major thing for those cut out thingys we've all seen at every tourist trap in the U.S. Thus, we ALWAYS stop to get our picture taken (ok, I admit, I've hopped on the bandwagon and like it too!). Eventually, we will have a photo album full of these silly pictures -- gotta love it!

More From Pike's Place

Trust me, there are a TON of pictures of our afternoon at Pike's Place, but here are the last I will post . . . as you can see from the last picture above, Abby was a bit overwhelmed with all the hustle and bustle.

One interesting note for those of you who love Starbucks, Pike's Place is the home of the very first Starbucks. I was excited to see the store and take a few pictures (which I did), but it's kind of an ugly one and wasn't really worth including any images here . . . but it was still cool to see!

Strolling Through Pike's Place

The one thing I REALLY wanted to see in Seattle was the place where they throw the fish. Does everyone know what I'm talking about???? I had seen the fish throwing mongers on TV and in silly management classes before, and really wanted to see what it was all about. So, on day 2 in Seattle the four of us went down to famed Pike's Place for satisfy my fish curiosity (this was also the day that in the infamous Seattle rain hit . . . and we San Diegans were totally unprepared .. . . even if it was just a drizzle!). Unfortunately, the crowds were rather unbearable and I didn't get a chance to really take it all in, but I did see one fish toss before closterphobia set in. Oh well. But at least I saw it! The rest of Pike's Place was awesome and reminded me of living in Europe. The entire street was full of locally grown produce, fresh caught fish, newly clipped flowers, and a TON of local artisans and craftsmen. It was great! We even got Abby our favorite souvenir: a hand-painted "Baby Crab" onesie (get it --Crabby Abby!).

All in all, the bustle and colors of Pike's Place were exhilirating -- so much so that, once again, I couldn't stop taking pictures. Besides the rain, the only thing that dampened the mood was a major spit-up attack from Abby (haha -- did you catch that pun?). Okay, it's late, and I'm getting silly . . . moving on!

Big Brother Brandon

Abby had the best time getting to know her big brother. There was something very special about having the whole family together. We all loved it!

My Trip to the Top of the World (Well . . . the Top of Seattle)

Once Brandon was done with school, we all went downtown to the Space Needle. Abby was still asleep through most of it . . . but she at least enjoyed her lunch in the brand new sling we bought for the trip. :) And of course, I enjoyed practing more photography and taking in all the sights. Brandon and Jim were very patient with me. . .

More Pictures of Chateau Ste Michelle

Chateau Ste. Michelle

Our first morning in Washington, Jim took me and Abby to Chateau Ste. Michelle winery (just outside Seattle) while we waited for Brandon to get out of school for the day. Can I just say -- the Northwest is BEAUTIFUL! And the winery was no exception. I couldn't stop snapping pictures of the impeccable landscapes and surroundings. Seriously, I couldn't stop!!! I finally put the camera away when I got the "You're crazy" look from Jim. Unfortunately, Abby missed most of the Chateau . . . Little Red Riding Hood was fast asleep. :) But at least she'll see it in her travel photo album!

The Fam's All Together

After a relatively short plane ride and one very long trip from Seatac Airport to Bothell (when traveling with infant -- always have a bottle on hand!), we finally made it over to see Brandon, and his mom (Theresa) and step-dad (TJ). We were so excited to introduce Brandon and Abby . . . and though Brandon wasn't quite sure what to do at first, it was definitely a good moment -- our family was finally complete! :)