Zoo, park and more adventures

On friday Baylee and I went with one of our mom groups to explore the zoo for the day.

We had an amazing time checking out all the animals, but we especially like watching the polar bear out and playing. It's rare you get to see them so active!

The gorgeous view of the water at the zoo. It really turned out to be a great day weatherwise too

The next day was so nice and sunny out Derek and I had to get out of the house. So we ventured back to Point Defiance to see what else was around the park besides the zoo

We took a walk all over the park but made our way down to one of the "beaches". It was beautiful and Chloe had a great time playing in the water and with other dogs.

I can't wait to get a good baby backpack so we can do some more exploring of all the parks and trails around us. We ended the day with a wonderful birthday dinner with Derek's family. We went to japanese steakhouse, got to play on the drums while the staff sang Happy Birthday to Jess (Derek's sister) and I, and all around had a great time with family.

I'm starting to think WA isn't all that bad :-)

MMM...rice cereal

Going after her Ducky during bathtime

Hanging out with her friends...these babies are all about bringing Pluto back as a planet

Fast asleep in her jumper

We've been having lots of fun watching Baylee grow and learning all sorts of new things. She's pretty good at rolling over from tummy to back, and will at rare times roll from back to tummy. However she is not a fan of being on her belly. We got her a jumperoo with she just loves! Early in the day she spends a lot of time examining and playing with each toy on her excersaucer. We've started eating solid foods (well pureed, I don't know that I consider that solid!) So far she likes rice cereal, peas and bananas. Avocado was a definite no go!

Other good news, I believe I have a job! I got offered 2 positions. I accepted the one and going through the whole background check. Hopefully I am expecting to start Feb 15th. Which brings me to a trip to CA planned for Feb 9-13th. So excited to get to see some friends again and enjoy some sunshine (hopefully!) Good friends of ours just had a baby Jan 28th, can't wait to meet little Emalee!

Baby smiles

Merry Christmas!

Baylee helping bake

Daddy and Baylee Christmas eve

Me and my silly niece

I couldn't have asked for a better sister-in-law!

Baylee talking to Daddy while she plays in her new toy

We ended up having a wonderful Christmas. Baylee and I went over to my mother in laws where we, along with Derek's sister, baked tons of goodies all day on Dec 23. The next day we finished up shopping (talk about slackers) and then went to Derek's parents to celebrate with his whole family. We opened gifts, had wonderful hamburgers and most of all enjoyed each others company. What a wonderful family I married into! Christmas morning Derek and Baylee both slept in until 10 am! (I'm sure that won't ever happen again) We then got up and headed over to our good friends the Andersons' house and enjoyed family and plenty more gifts there. Baylee was definitely a very spoiled baby. After the rampage of gift opening everyone helped to put together Baylee's excersaucer she got. Once that was complete (hours later) it was time for dinner. Around 5 Derek, Baylee and I headed back home and spent a little us time and finished opening some gifts that had been mailed to us up here. I passed out for a nap while Daddy and Baylee played. Perfect ending to the perfect day.

Leavenworth

The weekend before Christmas Derek and I got away and left Baylee overnight (gasp) with her Aunt Jessica (Derek's sister). We didn't get a chance to do anything for our anniversary this year, so we figured this would make up for it. Leavenworth is this adorable little town that is basically a touristy Bavarian town, much like Solvang. But the atmosphere is just amazing there and tons of wonderful restarants with Snitzel and Apfel Strudle. Love it! What's really great about Christmas time though is the whole town gets decked out in lights and every Sat and Sun night through Dec they have a lighting ceremony and celebration. For more info you can check out Leavenworth.org. We had a wonderful time there, walked around all the cute shops, have a great dinner and carried on to have a few drinks at a local bar. We headed back to our hotel where Father Christmas had come to visit (and have a few pics taken) and everyone was gathered around the fire singing Christmas carols. What a neat experience. In the morning we got up in time for breakfast to hear the alphorn be played right out of the breakfast hall balcony. After checking out the last of the shops we missed and driving around town we made our way home. What a great experience and we hope to make Leavenworth an annual tradition!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We had Christmas parties and pictures with Santa (2 of them actually!)




... and it definitely feels like Christmas on our walk at the park!




And today marks the 1 year anniversary of my mom's death. It's been a crazy year and I cannot believe how much my life has changed since then. I miss her terribly and everyday tell Baylee stories of how kooky she was and how much she would love on Baylee and spoil her if she were here. And even though Baylee may never had gotten the chance to meet her grandma, I hope she will still grow up knowing her. I cannot thank Malia enough for the beautiful flowers she send me today, such a simple gesture but it truly means the world to me!

Snuggles

Just some shots of recent snuggling going on around the Eliason place...oh, and a beautiful shot of my drive home from a Mommies get together, it's beautiful days like this that make me excited to live in WA! Tomorrow off for a walk at the water's edge, and hopefully another gorgeous day