And a few more...

More Seaside Pictures...

Sand and Sea...and Smores on the Beach

This past week sealed it...I was meant to live by the water. I have always had a peculiar fascination with the ocean. Even my dreams are almost always related in some way to the ocean. Instead of the infamous dream where you are running as fast as you can but can't out-run whatever is chasing you...I am always in the ocean, being chased by something, unable to make it to shore. Maybe I was a shark or something in a past life??? My favorite movies growing up were Jaws. I would watch them over and over again. As a little girl, I always wanted to be a marine biologist. Only problem...my fascination was equally matched by incredible fear. The sheer size and power of the ocean just baffles me. That it has the ability to wipe out an entire town is incredibly scary to me. It's kind of one of those things I can't quite get my mind around. Much in the same way planet earth is just another speck in the universe. We walk around each day as if we, and our beloved planet, are the only ones representing life. Seems rather narrow minded...or maybe I've just had too much time sitting in the sand ;)

Anyway, none of us were ready to come home...but alas, responsibility awaits. I wondered if there would be enough to keep us busy in Seaside for a week...turns out we ran out of time. I knew Claire would get a kick out of feeding the seals, but we never made it over to the aquarium. We did however: have a couple campfires on the beach; swim until our skin was unrecognizably raisin like; take a short but long enough hike to remind me just how out of shape I am; search tide pools for funny feeling sea creatures; celebrate Claire's eight month birthday and first Halloween; and most importantly, watch her discover a whole new view of life as she squished sand between her fingers and toes...and then proceeded to eat it BY THE HANDFUL.

My Wild Child

Annie captured this shot of Claire while she was crawling around the other day. While it's not a picture that displays immaculate grooming habits, it's sooo Claire. She started crawling a few weeks ago...September 30, to be exact. She is crawling like crazy now and has definitely picked up speed. She does that adorable thing now, when I leave the room, she protests by crawling behind me and crying as if she has just suffered the ultimate rejection and heartbreak. Anyway...about the time she started really crawling, I started calling her a "wild beast." Maybe not the kindest term of endearment...but very appropriate for Claire. So, when Annie showed me this picture I said, "See, wild beast, right there!"

We are leaving this coming Sunday for a week long trip to the coast. So, we made a run to Target this evening to stock up on baby food, diapers and swim- diapers which I found out are required to use the pool at the resort where we're staying. At first I thought, that's strange. After all, these new fangled diapers have only been around a few years at the most. I guess up until then babies just pottied in the pool, like they do in the bath, and people were none the wiser. Then I thought to myself, they should make adult swim diapers (makes for an interesting visual...don't ya think?). Not that I personally would find them useful, but what about the times you are sitting in the hot-tub next to that old wrinkly man with his arms up on each side. About the time he gets that half grin on his face, you have to wonder. Is he just really relaxed...or was he just to lazy to get up? Hmmm...

Anyway, while we were at Target we wandered over to the toy section. They have this dinosaur on display that measures about two and a half feet tall. You press the demo button and he goes through a series of roars and stomps, complete with the appropriate earth shaking sounds and fierce, glowing red eyes. I figured Claire would be terrified of the thing so we approached cautiously. She immediately pointed at it, looked back at me and said, "ooh, ooh." She LOVED the thing (Christmas gift perhaps?). We had to press the button about five more times and stand there as she stared in amazement. Just another example of why I call her a wild beast. Look at that picture...does that not just look like trouble??? I added "That Thing You Do" to my playlist...for Claire ; )

Berry Pickin'

Yesterday, Claire and I took a much needed day off and spent the day with Grandma and Adele. We took a drive out to Monmouth, a quaint little town about twenty minutes outside Salem, and home to Western Oregon University. Gary is working on an insanely gorgeous house out there and I had been waiting quite some time to see it for myself. I wanted to take some pictures while we were there, but there is still so much equipment lying around, it wouldn't have done the real thing any justice. Hopefully I'll have another opportunity to visit and post some pictures. Anyway...the little gravel road leading up to this mini castle is lined with blackberry bushes, which surprisingly in mid-October, still offered some yummy berries. Claire had never tried blackberries, so we had to get out and pick some. She wasn't quite sure about their taste, but she sure enjoyed squishing them and making a purple mess! We also stopped for some lunch, and despite all my efforts to keep Claire 100% pure and organic, she had her first ice cream cone. She put those two teeth to work and seemed to like the cone more than the ice cream! I think we need more days just like this one...

Happy Birthday Lauren

Dear Lauren,

Fourteen years ago today, at 8:52 a.m., we met for the first time. The first thing I said as I sat staring at you in awe, "It has his (your father's) nose." So, I was reminiscing a bit this morning about how we've celebrated this day over the years...

Your first birthday we celebrated as a double-birthday with your friend Claudia, whose birthday was four days before yours. Do you even remember Claudia? I love looking back at the pictures from that day...you were both stripped down to your diapers, strapped in your high chairs with cake from one end to the other. I remember you had an allergic reaction, which I think we concluded was most likely from the hot-pink dye used in the frosting, and broke out in an entire body rash. Then, I believe it was your fourth birthday, you invited several friends from your preschool and we had a party at the Gilbert House. Looking back at those pictures, it was evident you thought you were already big stuff, pigtails and all! When you turned double digits, I wanted to do something really memorable and special. So, we went to the Space Needle in Seattle. Do you remember when you drew that picture and set it on the window? It took about an hour for the Space Needle to make it's full rotation, but about the time we were finished with breakfast, your picture made it's way back to our table. Then there was your twelfth birthday when I had a limo pick you and your friends up from school and spend the night at the Phoenix Grand Hotel. Even the suite seemed pretty small with eight girls running wild. If I remember correctly, I don't think any of you actually slept at all that night. You certainly gave the hotel staff a run for their money! And now, at fourteen, you just asked to go shopping and then out to dinner at your favorite restaurant.

Even though this year seems to pale in comparison to your past birthdays, I hope the day is still special for you. I know this time in a girls life can seem uncertain and confusing. Rest assured, you are an amazing girl and will weather these years and soon look back with great affection as I do. You are the most generous person I know. From the time you were a tiny girl, every time we made a trip to the store, you would bring with you all the money from your piggy bank. You would usually buy candy or stickers and divide them up equally between everyone. You are also one of the funniest people I know. You have an odd sense of humor equal only to my own. As you are learning, and will continue to learn...the vast majority of the population doesn't understand us! That's okay though, it's more fun that way. You are growing up to be an amazing young woman, and are every bit as beautiful on the inside as you are on the outside.

I know this post is all about you...but I had to add the picture of you and Annie, who so eloquently define a love-hate relationship, and of course a picture of Claire. After all, you live in a house full of girls, you've learned to share the spotlight...right? Happy birthday Lauren...I love you.

Where did my baby go?

I was talking to my mom the other day about our trip to the coast we are taking the end of this month. We will be gone for seven days and I hadn't realized (or taken the time to really think about) we will be gone on Halloween. "How can we be away on Claire's first Halloween?" I asked. "She'll only be eight months old," mom replied. I quickly said, "No, she just turned seven months...oh, I guess she will be eight months old then." Where has the time gone? I know she is still a baby but she's not really a little baby anymore. She's just changing so fast. My mother and I had tea the other day with her neighbor, who has a two month old daughter. Claire looked like a giant next to her, and Claire is on the small side for her age. She is really turning into her own little person. As exciting as this is, I kind of miss the newborn days. She was so tiny and helpless. Just in the last couple weeks I have seen more and more of her little personality. And wow...it's quite the personality! Lauren and Annie were both fairly mild and placid. Claire, on the other hand, is already sassy and full of attitude. Anyway, here are some seven month shots. This "old man" face, she just discovered she could do today. Probably has something to do with the fact that she has a cold and her nose is like a faucet...I know, gross! D'ya think she'll need a haircut before she's a year old???