Music, Pea Soup, and Structure on a Rainy Day

 

Oh, lovely Portland. We had been enjoying so much daily outdoor time that I almost forgot that there is a rainy season here in which it rains all. the. time. All day, every day. Sometimes it's pouring, sometimes it drizzling. It's always annoying. And we have officially entered it. So we've been stuck inside. And I've officially decided we cannot be stuck inside! Seeley has been going banannas. Her development is growing by leaps and bounds. She toddles all over the place, has a seemingly inhuman ability to get to things no matter how high I place them, and her new favorite thing is picking up everything and dropping it to see if it bounces. I'm really feeling the pressure to step up my stay-at-home mom game to keep this active girl busy. I think I'm doing a pretty good job. We read all the time, we practically live at the library and the park, and she is quite the social baby during our playgroup outings. It's just crazy to see her developing and know that we are responsible for shaping this perfect little mind!

Anyways, it's raining, we're bored and there's a lot of Seseame Street happening at the Dickinson-Joscelyn house. There's also a lot of dancing to "Ziggy Marley Family Time"; the c.d. I bought Seeley for her birthday. It's perfect because she's not hold enough to know what a horrific dancer I am ;) Lastly, we made pea soup today and it was fantastic. So wish us luck on finding more rainy day activities!

 

We got to the park as soon as the rain let up today. This girl loves her swings!

 

Nothing like pea soup on a rainy day:)

Recipe from the classic Moosewood Cookbook.

My helper. She mostly just threw Cheerios on the floor.

Mmmm. Onions, celery, carrots, potatoes, garlic and more!

I have enough recipes to last a lifetime!!

 

 

Seeley Turns One! (Part Three)

And finally we come to the birthday party. The party I've been thinking about and not-so-secretly planning since she was born. It was fantastic. And Seeley had her first ever full blown cold. Seeley has never been sick (something I attribute to the natural medicine cabinet that is breastfeeding, but that's another post), so of course her first nasty cold would come on her birthday! The poor girl was snot central and could barely stay awake and consequently spent most of the party on papa's lap. But we still were able to celebrate being together and having this sweet girl in our lives.

When present time arrived, we felt so grateful that so many people helped to build Seeley's library (we had a book theme and asked everyone to give their favorite children's book as a gift.) The funny part was as The Cat in the Hat, The Pokey Little Puppy and The Berenstein Bears were being passed around, people at other tables started talking about their own memories with those books!! When the cake came, not only did we sing happy birthday, but the entire restuarant joined in and clapped at the end! I would say this baby had a great first birthday:)

Devils food cake with chocolate ganache and raspberry buttercream frosting.

Chowing down!

This baby loves being the center of attention.

Haappppy Biiiirthday poor, sick baby!

We love books..

and family!

She's out.

Happy birthday little love.

Seeley Turns One! (Part Two)

For the second leg of Seeley's birthday extravaganza we drove to the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma to have a fun day with Wes' parents, brothers and his brother's girlfriend Jill. Wes and I always talk about how one of the best things about having a child is that you get to do all the fun stuff from your childhood over again. From what I've heard, Wes had an amazing childhood. It seems like they were always going somewhere or playing some game. I'm so happy he can bring all that to the table for Seeley.

We had soooo much fun at the zoo. Seeley had never been but we figured she'd be entertained and we weren't wrong. She's building such a connection with her uncles, aunt, grandma and grandpa. In fact, she made herself quite comfortable on all of their laps and arms. Such a lucky girl.

What's down there?!



Hey you, swimming around!

Tell me more grandma!

Pretty cute to watch all her little discoveries.

Little baby in a big world.

Under the sea!

A view from the top.

Gotta love family!

and I thought Seeley was a cute baby.

Hanging out with Uncle Eric.

and Uncle Nick!

Hanging with the boys:)

As you can tell by her baby grip on his collar, someone is quite attatched to her grandpa. She was pretty much glued to his lap during her birthday sniffles.

Seeley Turns One! (Part One)

Well, it happened! Seeley is officially one. We had an amazing week and, suprisingly, I made it through the whole thing without any tears. Until now. They're not "she's so big/ not a newborn" tears though. I'm crying because I can't believe Wes and I are actually doing it. Raising a child. That that moment when she was born and we were so exhausted and thought, "what now?" "how are we going to do this?" and "how will I ever not be totally consumed by her?" has turned into us being parents, a unit, to a girl that is so funny,smart, friendly and kind. Honestly, not to sound so selfish about someone else's birthday, but I'm proud of us. It is soooo not easy. But sooooo worth it.

Anyways, enough sappiness. On to the fun! My mom got to town before Wes' family and the three of us girls had such an amazing time. I've always been very close to my mother and thought she was the best, but seeing her as a grandmother blows me away. I never knew such love could exist! Needless to say, there was much spoiling going on. It was the perfect mix of getting out and about around Portland and staying low key at home. One of the many gifts Seeley got were some fantastic wooden blocks, shapes, and a wooden puzzle. Wes and I have a hang up about battery operated toys (we want things for Seeley that utilize her creativity) and I swear I could see the wheels turning in her brain:)

Stay tuned for more pics from Seeley's birthday extravaganza!


 



Grandma Susan and Seeley hanging back watching Curious George.

Two peas in a pod, those two.

Big girl with her big girl toys.

Bring it on shapes and letters!

Steps!! (Video)

A couple weeks ago Seeley started standing on her own and only a couple days ago she started taking steps! She's growing up sooooo fast :)

DSCN1874 from tanya dickinson on Vimeo.

DSCN1878 from tanya dickinson on Vimeo.

The Dickinson-Joscelyns Carve a Pumpkin

All the pumpkins where out on display at Fred Meyer today, and of course Wes and I had to get Seeley her own little pumpkin and carve it together. It was fun and messy and Seeley had no idea what was going on:) Happy October!

Ready to go.

Wes working hard with one of those tiny little carving tools.

Whoa.

Learning from Papa.

Goop!

Seeley doesn't know what to think!

Roasted pumpkin seeds next time since I abesntmindedly threw them away.

She came around eventually. Who could resist squishy pumpkin goo?

Our family pumpkin :)