Visit with Poppa

We are enjoying our time with Poppa, my Dad. He was returning to Maryland after his summer working in Alaska and he stopped through our little part of California. We are happy he is here for a visit however brief. He couldn't be on the west coast without a little Violet lovin'!

Wednesday night I picked him up at the airport in San Jose...Yes, I know the way to San Jose. :)

He is able to stay with us until Saturday morning. Vi and him have already taken to each other and she reaches out for him regularly. It makes for a happy house. (Lately Vi has been super, I mean SUPER, clingy.) I am thankful she has welcomed Poppa into her circle of trust.

We enjoyed warm weather yesterday so we spent a good deal of time outside. Today is still undecided. It is an overcast morning and is looking to be a chilly day. We don't have any structured plans for the day, just time together.

Just waking up from naptime.

Yeah for Poppa!

On the couch with Poppa and Smokey the Bear. My Dad works for the Forest Service and I found this little bear at a consignment store a few months ago. Smokey has been waiting for this photo opportunity for some time now. :)

Dad also came bearing many gifts. We have tons of new Alaska gear. Thanks Dad! But we also acquired a new toy. Lauren, my sister, and her husband visited Dad in Alaska this summer and left a fantastic DSLR camera with him to capture some great shots of AK. Well, capture he did and now I get to play with it for a little while in hopes of purchasing it from them. They are both avid photographers and have two other cameras as well. The are not deprived for now.

I am so super excited to be able to play with it and learn more about photography. I am happy to have it in time for Vi's birthday celebration. More about that to come...

For now, some great shots of us. It is all the camera's doing...no knowledge of what I am doing yet.

Oscar, saying hello.

Hi Folks!

 The Daddy

The Momma

More to come about the little get-together this weekend for Violet's birthday. Hopefully, it is warmer weather on Saturday. We will want to be outside. I will post pictures of the day.

Love y'all!



Tree Swing

We have the perfect tree limb in our front yard that was calling out for a swing for Violet. We finally got on the ball and bought one and hung it up. Daddy did a great job of getting it up at just the right height and Vi loves it!

Here she is basking in her early birthday present swing time. 

Check out the flickr photostream on the right for swing video.

And if you haven't seen the giggle fest it is one of our favorite videos ever.  It is also on flickr. She is wearing a red and white jumper in it and laying on the hard-wood floor. It is a fun giggle time with Daddy.

Can't believe she is almost one! We are planning a little birthday party here in our front yard. Our neighbors foster baby is turning one year old the week after Vi. We are celebrating together. Pretty exciting! One whole year! Wow! Time flies!

New Military Camouflage

The military is testing a new camouflage for the case where we may need to go to N. Korea in thick jungles. They think this will disguise our men safely. They are testing it with children's pjs. I think it is effective.

Lately...

We have taken the plunge and started buying camping gear. We were excited to set up our new tent in the yard to practice. We set it up last Saturday and slept in it Sunday for our afternoon nap and then later that night...just to test it. Violet stayed inside, but Daniel and I enjoyed the roomy size and our new bags and sleeping mats. We are planning a trip to Big Sur very soon.

My momma made a quick stop through here on her way back to Maryland. She had been up in Alaska with my Dad for 6 weeks and was flying back. Everyone agreed a short layover in our neck of the woods was needed. (Dad will be here later this month as he returns to MD as well.) She was here Tuesday evening to Saturday morning, just enough time for some Nonni lovin' and a little dancing. This is the two of them getting some snuggles.

We enjoy biking around Monterey and last Saturday we ended up down near the wharf and walked around a Greek festival and a general beautiful sunny day. We sat and enjoyed some traditional Greek music and got a snack in a little cafe downtown. We are so glad to be so close to everything...only a short bike ride away from so much fun!

Vi noshing on a coffee stir stick. Everything goes in the mouth. We are hoping a tooth will show up any day now.

Apparently this restaurant has an interesting appetizer to draw in tourists.

Vi's new favorite way of sitting with Daddy. Daniel turns his chair around at the table and Vi is able to stand and open her mouth for bites. She doesn't look happy here because she was denied a big bite of cheerios. The next smaller bite is for her though.

As always there are a few more pictures in my flickr account to the right of the blog.

Summer Time

We have been enjoying some warm mornings and afternoons here in lovely coastal California. I think it is about time for our late summer. The months of September and October seem to be the sunniest and warmest around here. There have been several mornings were I have put on capris and a short-sleeve top! I know it is hot here! Vi has been sporting onesies and leg warmers like its her job. :)

We are thankful for the warm weather and have been trying to soak up as much as we can. A few weeks ago we went to a friend's neighborhood pool and Vi loved the water. She was not clinging to me one bit. She wanted to face out and dip her head as close to the water as she could. We even went under a few times and no objection to that made me so proud. She was quite the water baby. If we lived in a warmer place I would be in the water with her a lot more.

This week we have a beach get-together with church. Vi won't be going in the cold Pacific but she may like to get close. We will see. She will enjoy the sand I know. :)

I am starting to show a little and clothing is becoming more constricting. I am thankful it is getting warmer too because my skirts are much more comfy on the baby belly then jeans. I'll see my doctor next Monday for the first official visit. Pretty excited to hear the baby's heart beat. Such a wonderful sound!

Here are a few snapshots from the recent days.

Getting curly!

Daily snuggles

All grins

Something sure was funny here. I had just changed her diaper and was getting her ready for bed. No need to fasten 12 buttons just to undo them again... She thought something was hilarious.

Playing on the cool grass at a friend's home.

A random picture Meghan, my sister-in-law took when her family came through here in July. I thought it was pretty funny Uncle Everett posing with a ridiculous hat and Violet only interested in eating his dog tags. She enjoyed being held by him. If only everyone wore dog tags to munch on...:)