Head Bands

Sydney has some serious hair so we have been testing out head bands. Joshua and I both enjoy the "I love soccer" band.

If they did baby superlatives, I would bet Sydney would be voted least likely to be wearing a bow. Alas, here she is and doesn't she look cute?!

Cruisin'...on a Sunday afternoon

Here is an update on the status of Sydney's mobility as of yesterday.

Spring Break - Seattle Style

I had a training in Seattle so we decided to turn it into a family vacation. We visited my brother Matt, his wife Jaime, and their two kids, Ashley and Donovan. My Dad pointed out that Sydney has now been to both coasts - twice - all before her 1st birthday! She did great with the traveling and immediately adapted to the time change courtesy of not sleeping at all on the plane trip to Seattle. Here is Sydney getting acquainted with her Aunt Jaime.

Here she is looking up to her cousin Donovan.

We went to the zoo in Tacoma. Here is Sydney learning about gibbons from her cousins. Note: you cannot see the gibbons in the photo because they are at the top of the cage. I made an executive decision that it was more important to capture the kids than the gibbons.

Donovan, Ashley and Jaime checking out the sea otters.

Matt, Donovan, Ashley, and Jaime cracking up at the sight of puffins trying to fly and then posing for a picture.

Here is a short video of our crew walking around with Donovan's thoughts on heading to the "play park."

All of the kids (big and small) enjoyed the play park.

Elizabeth and Sydney tested the slide.

Here is a video of the slide. Elizabeth is not slowing down to make sure Sydney doesn't get overwhelmed by the speed, she is slowing down because there was a little boy working his way up the slide while they were headed down!

Some Peace Corps friends of ours (Jose and Rosa) came up from Portland to go to the zoo with us. Here is their son Manu with Sydney in the hippo.

Rosa helped Sydney walk with assistance.

Jose and Rosa taught Sydney a new trick...guess what it was?!

Here is some of the group after the zoo.

When Jaime and Matt had to go back to work and Ashley and Donovan had to go back to school, Joshua, Sydney and I saw some of the sights in Seattle. Here we are at an indoor Waterfall Garden in Pioneer Square.

Here we are at Pike's Market with fish being thrown behind us.

We went to the Seattle Aquarium. Sydney was sleepy at times and took a snooze in her stroller but enjoyed a lot of the aquarium when she was awake.

I think Sydney's favorite part was the overhead salmon exhibit.

Sydney also liked the seals and sea otters. Here she is checking out the otters above water.

Here is a short video of her watching the seals from the observation tank with Joshua.

On our last day, we decided to do some hiking. We went to Discovery Park north of the city.

Sydney and Joshua checked out the lighthouse.

The raincoats in these photos are not for show. Seattle weather was exactly what we expected - in the 50's and drizzling. We used the attachment for the hiking pack to keep Sydney dry.

After the Faucher family Northwest finished their daytime obligations, we went to Snoqualmie Falls and did a short hike with them. Thankfully, the sun did decide to make an appearance for this hike.

Here are Ashley and Donovan at the lookout.

Here are Matt, Donovan, and Ashley closer to the falls.

Jaime, Ashley, Donovan, and Matt.

Here is a nice family portrait on our last afternoon in Seattle.

At Home with Balloons

Here are some sights and sounds (mostly sights) from the last week or so. Sydney is a big fan of cruising around the furniture.

I literally caught her trying to do a forward roll this morning. I'll have to teach her to look at her belly button while she rolls so she doesn't hurt her neck.

Mmmm...biter biscuit

Sydney had fun with the leftover balloons from her "Peach" Jennie's baby shower. She can't wait to meet the Ralphs. Static anyone?

Ta Da!

Here's a short clip of her first experience with helium balloons and the joy of things that go up instead of down when you let go.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs

Sydney is doing pretty well with some of the signs we use with her. She signs "more" (which looks a bit like clapping but she definitely understands that when she does it, we giver her more) and "all done." What I like about her rendition of "all done" is that she does it with her arms completely spread apart. I'm sure the technique will become more refined but in the meantime, she is picking up on some of them and we are understanding one another...which seems to be the point! At the end of the video I'm pretty sure she is signing "I am a ham when the camera is on me!"

Quite the Looker

Do you ever feel like people only share pictures of their kids when they are at their best? Cute, matching outfits and clean faces are nice...but not always true to life. The other night after Sydney finished leaving chunks of biter biscuit all over her face, I couldn't help but tell her that she was "quite the looker." Here is the close up...

And the full effect... (you have to love a car onesie with flowered pants and a Santa's little helper bib). We have made a conscious decision not to discriminate on the basis of season when it comes to bibs or other apparel.

Nothing a nice bath can't fix.

Here are some post-bath giggles.