Christmas Day

We had a very fun Christmas. After having Aebleskiver and checking out what Santa left in our stockings we got ready and went out to see family in Maple Valley. During dinner we got to watch snow fall outside. Uncle Charlie, Aunt Cindy and Cousin Mike were incredibly fun for a small girl. She really enjoyed the adult to kid ratio since she was the only kid in the house. :) They played with Amber's new puzzle, then hide and seek and finally pulled out the almost 20 year old Duplo blocks that were saved in a box.

We have created a monster!

Amber has had a wonderful Christmas experience so far. :) We had a nice dinner with just the 3 of us and then opened some presents. Tomorrow we will have a nice breakfast and do stockings and then head out for Maple Valley. Amber got some truly exciting gifts. She got a camera from Mommy and Daddy (which she doesn't want to put down), she also got a game (Elefun) that she has been wanting from great grandparents. I think this is the most fun with Christmas time so far. :) We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!!!!

Fun with Julie

Last weekend we had Amber's great aunt Julie up for a visit. It was an enjoyable time. Christmas through the eyes of a 3 year old is very exciting. :) As well as having another adult to play games! Here are a few pictures to enjoy. :)

First Snow this Season

Well, today we were at Lowe's and looked out the door to discover that the weather man was right. There was snow falling! So far it's not sticking, but it's still very fun to go try to catch. :)

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, very low stress. :) We went out to Marie Callendar's and then saw the Bee Movie. Once we got home we took a few minutes to web chat with family on both sides. Hope yours was great too! :)

Exciting News

The due date is May 13, 2008. We are excited! Amber has lots of fun reading her shirt to anyone who will listen and we are having lots of conversations about babies.

Halloween

Well, we are way behind on posting pictures, but here is one from tonight! Amber was a fairy princess this year, and rather happy about it. :) We did our "trick or treating" at Daddy's work and then at the mall. Now we are happily doing inventory and tasting of all the treats!

Beautiful Princess

Amber is practicing to be a princess for halloween. We are going to make a special costume, but right now dress up clothes plus a new tiara are taking care of it. She loves being a princess, especially when it comes with compliments and getting to do what she wants (which doesn't happen nearly as often as she would like)!!! :)

Truly a "ballet butterfly"

Today we went shopping and Amber saw some wings that she absolutely needed to have. :) Yet another addition to the dress-up box!

Summer Fun

We have had a rather eventful summer, and so have not remembered to post for quite a while! Here are a few pictures from July at least. :)

Here is our girlie posing with a fish at Pike Place Market, and practicing her Borre (I have no idea if that's spelled right) turns for ballet.

July 4th

Well, it was unlikely that we would actually see live fireworks last night since they didn't even start till 10:15, but we did head down to the marina and hang out for a while. It was nice and cool after a very warm day. When we got there, they had a couple singing country style kids songs which Amber found very fun. Since we didn't stay to see fireworks and she was too little for the bouncer, we got shake instead. :)

Auntie Jenn's Visit

We had lots of fun with Auntie Jenn. Amber was very upset to have her go. We really do need a Star Trek style transporter! Anyway, here are a few pictures of playing with "piggy bubbles", blanket world and Amber's amazing help. :)

Moon Sand

It seems that Mommy's friend Michelle gives very fun and interesting gifts. :) Maybe it's because she's still a kid at heart, maybe because she works with kids, maybe because of growing up in a house with preschool teachers...... Anyway, this year Amber received a package containing "Moon Sand" for her birthday. It is rather interesting stuff. Kind of sticky, and it holds the shape it's molded into without adding any water. Needless to say, quite fun. :) This is one toy that lives outside, but it is also one of the favorites!

Fun in Portland

We went to Portland with Daddy.... He went to a Rails conference all day and we played. Amber loved the glass elevator and the pool of course. :) She is jumping in to be caught this year! We were there enough time that Amber even learned to help look for our room number, she thought it was pretty neat to be able to tell her parents which room the key would work for. :)

One day we went to the zoo where we saw lots of animals like Northwest animals, a tiger, elephants and lots of water animals. We also rode the train (which was very popular), and even got to feed lorakeets!

We also spent two days visting the Portland Children's Museum. Amber had so much fun the first day that she specifically requested that we go back the next. :) They have lots of fun things and we definitely need to discover one near home! She got to play store, play with building things, sing on a stage, play a marimba, and much more! It was interesting to see that she is not really much of an introvert. :) On the stage she tried to get the whole room of parents and kids to sing Old McDonald and was playing the announcer. So much fun!

Presents and fun

Amber turned 3 this month and is definitely entering a new phase of life! Thanks to family, we got lots of popular presents. Here she is using her Aquadoodle while dressed as a princess/good fairy.

Also a picture of Amber's new favorite game..... Hide and Seek, though it involves hiding under a blanket with Daddy and a flashlight. It's very exciting! :)

Finally posting

Well, moving went well. Our moving helpers were wonderful, and thanks to Great Aunt Cindy, Amber had a great day without being underfoot. When we got out to Maple Valley Cindy warned that some neighbor girls who were home schooled would be coming over to meet Amber. When the family dropped her off with us again she had played with the girls including lots of dress up. This outfit was given to her by the girls and she was totally happy to add to her dress up collection. :)

More to come soon!

Packing

We are moving in a couple weeks and the packing has started. :) So far Amber helps by tossing books in to the box so that Daddy can re-arrange them.

Teeny Weeny Wigglers

Pretty much ever since we got up here, we have been doing a class put on by the Parks and Rec department. Miss Mary (the teacher) is one of Amber's favorite people. So, finally, close to a year later, here are some pictures!

Warming up with Miss Mary, practicing jumping, walking like a bear, and finally playing underneath the parachute. :)

Yogurt

We discovered a way to get Amber to eat yogurt again today at Costco. They had samples of Go-gurt, and it turns out that the tube of yogurt is a good gimick for us. :) As soon as we got home she had to have one.

Funny faces

One of the talents that Amber perfected while we were in Southern CA was that of making faces. Thanks to cousin Noel and aunties Jenn and Carol, she has a selection. We just got this one emailed to us as a sample. :)

Playdough fun

So, we have discovered that playing with playdough is quite fun. It can be interesting for a long time with very little effort! :)

Christmas Pics

We had a wonderful time in Southern California with family and friends for Christmas celebrations. Amber loved all the extra attention and people to bend to her every whim. :) Here are a few pictures of all our fun! More will come later after we look at pictures from grandparents!!!!