confession

Readers, I've been cheating on you. For the past week and a half I've spent all my free cybertime writing comments, posting pictures, and monitoring friends' updates on Facebook instead of keeping the grandparents happy with the latest antics and photos of Sadie Rain. Boo, hiss.

Believe me, I resisted the Facebook fad for as long as humanly possible (especially for someone who sits in front of a computer for 10 hours a day), but once my darling husband joined I knew I'd be quick to succumb. It is painfully addictive---so much so, that chances are you probably already know I'm on there because you are too.

Anyway, let's cut to the chase: there are some anxiously-awaited holiday photos that need sharing!

Eating the first fistful of snow of the season on Thanksgiving night

I'm not sure what to say about this other than...helloooooo 80's!

Taco night (not holiday related but amusing nevertheless)

Sadie, Sophie & Avery awaiting Santa at the Christmas parade

Procuring the tree

Ready to meet Santa Claus...

...and not in the least bit shy:

a christmas classic

Last night we let Sadie stay up an hour past bedtime to watch Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on CBS. Now, I know we could have just bought or rented the DVD and watched it any old time, but there's something about having to WAIT for it, commercials and all, as a much-anticipated marker of the holiday season. The whole experience was extraordinary: she sat captivated for the entire hour, snuggled between Reid and me, pointing at the TV and saying, "Ooooh, Reindeeh! Reindeeh nose! Reindeeh nose!". Our hearts were so full they were ready to burst.

We're really excited for Christmas this year because SHE'S excited. Here are some of the other seasonally-appropriate things she can say:

• "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all way" (note extra stanza)

• "I need Kris kuss tree pleeze" (ok, we'll get one this weekend)

• "Oh! Kris kuss lights house!" (upon driving past one that's all lit-up)

• "Sophie Santuh prade?" (yes baby girl, we're going to the Santa Parade with Sophie on Saturday)

• "Brr cold. Mommy puffy jacket. Daddy puffy jacket. Sadie puffy jacket." (it's freezing out, everyone put on your puffy jackets!)

and as of last night:

• "Rudof reindeeh games"

Happy holidays, all!

first sushi

At 10 months, Sadie got a wooden sushi set and training chopsticks.
At a year, she received not one, but two copies of My Little Book of Sushi for her birthday.
I can't believe it's taken this long to get around to introducing the real thing!

Selecting ingredients

Immediately before stuffing a big piece of king crab leg in her mouth

Mommy jumps in to help roll 'em up

Adding the finishing touches

Yum.

Might need a little work on the etiquette.

Kanpai!

puppy tv

Don't miss a second of the live action:

watch here
(requires flash)

It's better than the evening news or reality programming, at least.  

Actually, I guess it *is* reality programming...

big news

Well, for me anyway.

(No, we're not pregnant.)

I got Lasik! Finally, after 20+ years of glasses, then contacts, then glasses again: FREEDOM. In keeping with the motto of Change, I had surgery the day after election day. New beginnings indeed.

Just now am I able to stand long periods of time in front of the computer, a fact that makes earning a living as a software developer a difficult task. But things are on the mend (aside from a wicked case of dry-eye), and I've jumped from 20/500 to 20/25 vision in two weeks, with things improving daily. It is, in a word, AMAZING.

Reid was able to watch the entire procedure on a 6-ft x 9-ft screen in the viewing area (complete with comfy couches). Here's a pic that he snapped on my cell phone:
Crazy, huh?

beware the candy monster

We've been coaching Sadie on her trick-or-treating technique for a few weeks now. I expected her to have fun, but I didn't think she'd get the hang of it quite THIS easily:

The child has no fear, especially where candy is involved. She'd knock on one door, say "Trih-treee!", clean out the treat bowl ('Sadie, just ONE, ok?'), and run to the next, seemingly unphased by the creepy spiderwebs and grimacing pumpkins:

'Mommeee can haz more?'

We hit about 10 houses before the Peacock and the Bumblebee were demanding to be carried. (That, and the parents were getting thirsty.)

Note Avery's dainty little treat bag compared to Sadie's, which is bigger than her head. It's no wonder that when we got home, the terrifying and ravenous Frankenpeacock reared her plumage:

"MUST...GET...OPEN..."

Although we didn't have any intention of actually letting her EAT the candy, we didn't see the harm in letting her play with it. Clearly we underestimated the steely jaws of Frankenpeacock:

The candy was removed and a full-scale tantrum ensued, shortly followed by bedtime. Finally, the parents got down to a little trickery of their own!


Battle of The Bands: Guys vs. Girls then commenced...

Good times. The next morning? Not so much.

Happy Halloween!!!

phinally!

Life's tough being a Philadelphia sports fan. Let's take the Eagles: they've never won a Super Bowl (as my friend Brian, a Steelers fan, never ceases to remind me). Or the Flyers: they haven't won a Stanley cup since the Broadstreet Bullies days circa 1974. Not being a Sixer (or basketball in general) fan, I can't really comment on their past performance or potential, but do I know it's been at least 25 years since a title of any kind came to the city of brotherly love.

But the Phillies did it! They gave a much needed shot in the arm to a diehard, but desperate, sports town.

Now, I don't claim to be much of a baseball fan. In fact, I find it rather boring unless I'm at the park with a beer in one hand and a dog in the other. But as a child, the Phillies were the team I grew up with. I remember clearly my grandpa sitting on the front porch every summer night listening to games on a little transistor radio. I wasn't much interested in the score---just how soon the ice cream truck was coming---but the crackly sound of the announcer's voice is what sticks with me. That, and the Phillies Phanatic, whom every kid loved:

Watching the games this past week, I was glad to see the Phanatic hasn't changed a bit. (It also occurred to me that he was probably the model for the Capitol City Goofball on The Simpsons.)

If there's one thing about Philly sports fans, it's that they're never surprised when their team loses. In fact, we're only surprised when they win. Maybe that all changed this week. It's possible my Dad even knew something the rest of us didn't way back in May when he gave Sadie this cheerleader uniform:


Hooray, Phillies!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Notice something else about this picture? Sadie can now reach the kitchen countertops. And stove knobs. Time to put away the knives!)

hugs & kisses

There's just no denying how cute Sadie and Sophie are together.

with no further ado

I've been trying to capture the ABC song on camera for at least a month. Finally...here it is for your listening pleasure:



She used to sing the final verse, too ("now I know my ABCs....") but it has gradually morphed into just one, long, continuous ode to the alphabet, over and over and over....

what up, cuz?

We spent four short but fun-filled days in Charlotte last week visiting my sister, bro-in-law Ted, and new (but already two months old!) nephew Bergen. Considering she now has to share the attention and affections of Malu and the rest of the family, Sadie was as nurturing as could be expected for a toddler. She even cuddled and gave kisses:

"pssst---you're cute and all, kid...but I'm still number one around here."

Timing-wise, the visit couldn't have been more perfect. We got to celebrate Ted's and Greg's (and Reid's, early) birthdays, and hit the legendary Waldhorn restaurant for an authentic-style Oktoberfest.

"Prost, kleinkind!"

And these photos are just the tip of the iceberg...for now, off to the pumpkin patch!

only in philly

Not once throughout this whole satire of an election year have I been tempted to write about politics here on this blog.  All of that changed last night, in what I can easily call my proudest moment as a Philadelphia sports fan:

In case you can't hear it over the deafening chorus of boos, that's VP-nominee-self-proclaimed-hockey-mom-insult-to-women-everywhere Sarah Palin being introduced for the ceremonial puck drop.   

GO FLYERS!!!!!

(Read the full article here.)

i didn't fall off the face of the earth

I've just been super, crazy busy.  As in:  

- Removed the roof from the bus and restored it (pictures to follow)

- Went on a weekend getaway (baby-free) to Portland

- Had guests in town 2 out of 3 weekends

- Took an 8-hour road trip to the Eagle Cap Wilderness (more pictures to follow!)

Okay, enough excuses.  Update coming soon...

photo shoot

So, perhaps I exaggerated a bit, because apparently the photo shoot wasn't a total disaster. Despite the kicking, screaming, and general crabbiness, the photographer managed to get a fair amount of good pictures of little Miss Sadie Rain.



He captured quite a range of expressions, I think...


Funny that this one ended up being one of our favorites; it was taken right after she flung herself down on the floor, full-on tantrum style:


And this one couldn't be more fitting for our sweet little thumbsucker:


All in all, a good snapshot of Sadie at 18 months...

somewhere in eastern washington...

... in a time long, long ago...

road trip, the fifth and final installment

It's been too long. I need to conclude this drawn-out saga before we embark on our next road trip---which just happens to be this Friday---and get buried under an even bigger pile of pictures and stories.

So where were we? The 4th of July, Missoula-style. Let me just say it didn't disappoint. There were meat smokers and wine pulleys, jello shots and monkeyballs, but oddly enough no fireworks. No matter. We had an epic time getting rowdy in Kevin's backyard:






The next day, we packed up our stuff at a comfortable hour and hit the road westward...in Butterball. We were feeling lucky, I guess, especially with Ken & Shawn at our backs. So we set out for Oregon, planning to camp at the best available spot before dark. We found a sparse and surprisingly unpopulated campsite on the banks of the Columbia River, a mere 4 hours from home. We were in the clear! The next day, seemingly invincible to a breakdown, we even found time to visit Stonehenge and a Columbia Valley winery:




Did you know there was an actual-size replica of Stonehenge in Washington, built to the exacting specifications of the original? Yeah, neither did we.

All in all, it was quite a trip---eight days of cavorting and caravaning around the northwest with a great group of peeps. I could have lasted eight more. We were in no hurry to get home, despite the fact that our engine could bust up into a churning mess of metal at any moment. But it never did. Butterball made Bend, albeit noisily. As of this writing, she's in the shop for a rebuild and that four figures worth of work I declined in Montana. Oh well, she earned it.

Next up? The Fuckaroos 5.5 crew (PAWS UP!!) reunites in Joseph, OR this Friday for Labor Day weekend. I'm pretty sure Joseph's not ready for this...