Thursday, December 24, 2009

Making Cookies


Well, we've had a delicious cookie making party. Millie loves helping mommy bake and the cookie batter is unanimously the best part!

The next day we rolled out the dough and used our new cookie cutters to make the best looking cookies in town.

We had so much fun rolling, cutting shapes and then for the best part......

...decorating with sprinkles! Chef Millie took over this part and really made sure each and every cookie had a thick layer of blue and red sugar sprinkles.

They didn't last very long either...

Taking a break from baking while talking to Papa on the phone. We talk almost everyday and most of the time get to see him on Skype too. We miss him so much! Love you Mike. I miss my best friend/husband!

Have a very Merry Christmas. One more day and Grandpa and Lola will be here to celebrate with us! We can't wait.

Friday, December 11, 2009

O' Christmas Tree


Sunday we headed off to Keith and Scott's Christmas tree farm in North Bend. We went with some very good friends, all of us in search of the "perfect" tree. The best part was the gorgeous views that we are so lucky to have living in the Northwest and we even got to see a bit of falling snow.

Millie posing with her friend Sofia.

Thumbs up to our future Christmas tree. It is so hard to find a tree at these U-pick farms, too many to choose from! But I love the one Millie and I found.

Sawed off, and now to shake out all the hidden squirrels, leaves and loose pine needles!

Millie decided it would be a good idea to relax with some candy canes in front of the fire after all the hard work of tree cutting at the farm. I settled in for some apple cider and watched the horse and rider from the farm greeting customers.

Inside and time to get serious with decorations while rocking out to Christmas tunes.

...and here she is in all her decorated glory. I wish I knew how to take a better photo to show off the glow, but I think that involves a tripod? Any hints on how to take a great xmas tree photo?

Monday, December 7, 2009

Hello December!


December is here! We started day 1 with our annual tradition of opening a door each day on our advent calendar. Counting down the days until Christmas!

It is such an exciting time of year we can hardly stand it!

Time to hang up decorations.

Enjoying the fire and coziness of being warm inside. We have had really freezing temperatures here the past week. Only getting up to the mid 30s during the day and low 20s at night. Brrr!

Millie is busy getting our Christmas cards ready.

Thursday was the Christmas tree lighting in Snoqualmie. This year Millie announced very firmly that she "wants to sit and meet Santa." So that is what we did. She only got a bit unsure of the whole idea at the last minute, but was persuaded by the candy cane Mrs. Claus handed out.

Here is Millie getting ready to go out for a night on the town in her seasonal headgear. Stay tuned for photos and updates from our Christmas tree hunt!

Friday, December 4, 2009

The grandparents have arrived!


We had a really great Thanksgiving with Mike's parents. Millie is always so happy to have her Lola and Grandpa here to visit and spoil us (and I am too!)

Grandpa is very busy carving the turkey for dinner. Millie and Lola get one last hug and snuggle in before the big meal.

Oops, looks like there's one guest that can't wait for the turkey to be served at the table!

Millie and I get ready to go for a hike the next day with our neighbors. Here is Millie modeling her new winter coat.

Monday, November 16, 2009

November days


We had a bit of sleet on Friday (yuck!) but the next day it made for a pretty picture of Mt. Si. Millie and I walked past the other 5 houses on our side of the street to take this photo. Very lucky to have this "backyard" view.

Millie has been very busy lately reading books from the library. Here she is the middle of a very intense tale of Mickey and the Beanstalk.

When she's not reading books these days, she is busy coordinating dresses and accessories from the closet.

Or she may just be wrecking havoc in her room. This ugly scene was created in just under 5 minutes but took triple the time to clean up since "someone" was suddenly too tired to put anything away.

And this cat, Deli, is simply too tired these days to even open his eyes. Although I did get him to lift his head from my blanket. When I figure out how to work the timer on my camera, I'll take some photos of me looking very tired too.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Washed out, grey and ugly


So I am feeling exactly like my view off the porch today. Woke up to another day of rain, a cranky kid and no place to go. (Nobody here has attached garages, so I have to look at everyone's run down sheds which does not help with the view.)

I love fall, but November always seems the gloomiest month to me. Winter and cold is just around the corner and summer is forever away! At least December is cheery with decorations and xmas, Jan and Feb may bring beautiful snow and March and April means spring is on its way again.

I think we'll be doing a lot of this today. We need more puzzles just like this Oma!!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

New table


Dear Mike,
As you can see this antique table looks just perfect in our living room!
Love, Melanie

Halloween

Well Fall has arrived and with it cool weather, lots of leaves, Halloween and yard clean up!

Helping mommy carve the pumpkins and save the seeds for baking.


Here's Millie showing off the ladybug costume! Just waiting for the big night.

Millie and all her neighborhood friends dressed up and ready to do some trick or treating. On Friday the stores in our small town gave out candies and treats to kids who dressed up. It was like having 2 days of Halloween!

Collecting goodies from the stores downtown.


Friday, October 30, 2009

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Posing at the park


You are the cutest kid ever!
Millie at Farrel McWhirter animal farm in Redmond, Wa

Monday, October 19, 2009

Fall City Farm


It's really starting to feel like fall around here. Summer has come to an end, but now I think we are ready for cooler weather, pumpkin picking, Halloween, sitting next to a warm fire...all the fun parts of fall! Millie had her first preschool field trip last week and we all went to Fall City Farms.

The weather was sunny and perfect for being outside.

Here's Millie learning how an apple press works. She had just thrown in her apple to make some cider.

Enjoying the cider!

Millie found a really great pumpkin. Look how strong she is!

Millie lost in the middle of the hay maze. She's standing in the left corner figuring out how to find her way out.

A very fun morning at the farm.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Visiting


I love this photo of Millie and our sunflowers. We actually grew them from a tiny seed, they went crazy in our soil, must be very fertile from all those floods we've had!

We spent a great weekend with Millie's Lola and grandpa in Spokane earlier this month. The weather was nice and Millie got to spend some time at a festival in town too! Even though the grandparents are 4 hours away, it is so nice to be invited to spend a few days with them in their home.

Round and round we go!

We tried getting a nice smile from Michael....

Here is Millie on her new 12 " bicycle. She LOVES it. We are usually pedaling down to the park every other day on this bike. And I love the size, it is so cute and tiny. Maybe she'll be without training wheels by age 4? She learned to ride her scooter at 2 years, 8mths.