New Sprinkler

The water was a little cold for Nora this afternoon, but she still had fun! 

Trip

Nora and I followed Daddy on our shortlived trip across the mountains last night. The bike came down with something on the way there and had to be towed all the way back to Kirkland. Not really what we had planned, but it was fun while it lasted! Beautiful views! 

Nora's new art table and chairs 

Before

 

After

 

Thanks Auntie Nessa!

We got a surprise in the mail today! Thank you Auntie Nessa!

 

Having fun with Uncle Bruce

 

Uncle Bruce's eye?

 

Dinner with Uncle Bruce

Uncle Bruce is in Seattle this week for a business trip. We were able to catch up with him for dinner tonight at the Flying Fish in Belltown. Nora and Bruce had fun playing together...and Nora was fascinated with Bruce's beard!

 

Check out my shades

Saturday afternoon we drove up into the mountains for a picnic. Nora got to try on Daddy's sunglasses on the way. Note the absence of a sock on her left foot...removing her shoes is Nora's favorite thing to do on a road trip!

School's out

Nora had her last day of daycare on Friday and dressed up for the occasion. School is out for both her and April until the end of August!

 

Going to Sleep Hell

Putting Nora to bed over the last couple of weeks has been terrible. She is going through her second wave of separation anxiety and it is sucking the life out of Brian and me. The only thing that has improved is her need to be held at every second. If she wasn't being held, she was screaming.

It is Brian's turn to put her to bed tonight. I can hear her screaming bloody murder as he leaves the room. A normal occurrence in the Remfrey house as of late. Hopefully she'll get over it before we go to France!

This seems to be how we leave most any exciting location lately.  

New Dolphin Backpack

New backpack picture....raincoat picture to follow 

On the beach with Mommy

 

So many rocks, so little time

If Nora had her way, we would have spent the entire weekend throwing rocks into the water.

 

On the shore

 

At the Summit

 

Hiking with Daddy

 

Hiking around Deception Pass

 

Crossing the bridge at Deception Pass

 

Daddy UP! Daddy UP!

Who needs an alarm clock when you've got Nora doing bellyflops on you at 6 AM?

Hanging out in the woods

On a walk with Mommy at the campsite. The campground was really beautiful!

 

Daddy's flashlight is SO cool.

 

A Weekend in the Woods

This weekend we went to Deception Pass State Park, on Whidbey Island, for some camping and hiking. It was a bit more of a challenge than the last time we went camping with Nora (a year ago), as she wasn't doing much back then except drooling and sleeping. Times sure have changed!

The look on her face once we got the tent set up was priceless. "Nye nye? Tent? Nye nye?!" - it was the first time in ages that she was actually excited about sleeping! She followed me around the tent, proudly handing the stakes to me as I pounded them in. "Welcome!" "Welcome!" (she hasn't quite figured out in what order "Thank you" and "You're welcome" are supposed to go.)

But this ruse only lasted a few hours. Once we tried to get her to bed, she put up her best defenses...an hour of screaming and yelling later she finally gave in and went to sleep.

We were all worn out by the end of the day, and lulled ourselves to sleep with the sound of the crickets, the ocean, and the sounds of the fighter jets doing practice runs overhead. There is a massive Navy airbase on Whidbey Island.

The next morning it was raining. According to tradition, this means finding a greasy spoon somewhere for breakfast to wait out the weather. We drove down Hwy. 20 until we spotted the trademarks of a perfect location:

"Breakfast Served Anytime" sign? Check.
Lots of rusty pickup trucks in the parking lot? Check.
Named after the owner? Check.

Indeed, we were not disappointed. We had stumbled into the local Navy hangout. The restaurant's booth seating was crafted from salvaged bench seats from late 1980's vintage Plymouth minivans. Yellowed photographs of Navy flyers from every major war, newspapers, and other bits of memerobilia covered the walls. But what clinched it for us was when the waitress arrived at our table and said "what can I get for y'all?" in a flawless Texan accent. We had arrived!

We spent the remainder of the day exploring Whidbey Island, starting with a hike up the hills around Deception Pass. Nora rode on my back, which turned into a game once we got into the woods. Whenever we went under a tree, she would yell "treeeee!" then duck down and put her head on my shoulder. Climbing up the hills with a squirming 20-month-old on my back was a great workout, which I certainly needed after our EXCELLENT breakfast.

Enough with my rambling...on with the pictures! Enjoy!

Singing and Conversations

Nora’s newest past time is singing to her favorite Sesame Street CD in the car. She sings the last word of most phrases. It is a blast to listen to her jam in the back seat on the way home from daycare! She even makes requests: “Elmo” and “Wubba” seem to be the favorites. If she doesn’t want to listen to a song, she’ll also let you know very quickly with a loud and fast, “No, no, no!”

Conversation with Nora is also much improved. Last night at dinner Nora decided she wanted to talk about her friend “Lyssa” (Alyssa) from daycare. “Lyssa hug” was how she talked about hugging Alyssa every morning. She was also worried about Daddy’s owie from their fall a few weeks ago. She said over and over, “Daddy’s owie all better” while she pointed to her hand and his. The other obsessive conversation last night was about Grandpa. She would say, “Paba, where are you? Paba home?” then answer herself, “Paba, bybye, Paba airpane.”

"Come Come Kite!"
 

Kite

Nora, Brian and I enjoyed flying a kite that B brought back from China this morning. We are at Gasworks Park in this photo.  

Thank goodness for ear tubes

Welp, Nora has another ear infection, but thankfully those ear tubes are doing their jobs. Nora has yellow snot coming out both of her ears at the moment! I'm just can't imagine if all that goop was stuck behind her little eardrums. She is quite cranky at home right now and is crying or screaming if I'm not holding her at every second. However, she is amazingly well behaved at daycare! She was better last night as she was able to sit in her highchair and eat dinner on her own, but she was back to sitting on my hip or on the sink all morning while I got ready for work. So much for reading books on her own for a few more days.

Daddy is coming home tomorrow and we are both VERY excited. Ok, so maybe I'm the one that is VERY excited and Nora will be happy to see him. We are going out to the Red Robin tonight with some friends (Yeah, we have made two friends here ;-). It is a burger place that has a wonderful children's menu. Hopefully that will make the evening go quickly!