Dancing and Fun

Dora does not leave her hair in any kind of "do" for very long, but yesterday I tried something new so here are some shots. Eli came in when I started taking photos so we have a few of him too. Nothing special--just snapped a few shots before church.

This one is my favorite.

This morning I got on to look at a friend's blog (who has music on it) and the kids decided to dance--dad got roped into it. I snapped a few shots--we're still in pajamas... Haha.

Check out Dora's bed head!

BBQ Nirvana?

So Whitney got a new grill for Christmas from my parents... I thought it was a gift for him since I don't often eat meat. He has made things on it a few times--and Whit's famous for his grilled bacon, tomato and fresh basil pizza. BUT, tonight, he made steak for us and hot dogs for the kids. He used this local blackberry barbecue marinade and it was snowing outside. Somehow all those elements combined because I always eat a bit of my piece and give it to him. This was steak that cost $7 for both at Wal Mart... so not the "finest angus beef" or anything. He had to FIGHT me to get me to give up some of my steak to him and I ate a bit (okay more than a bit) of his hot dog!

Maybe it's just because I'm pregnant but that was the best steak I've had (other than Beef Wellington--let's be real here.)

:-)

Mmmm, Beef Wellington. Okay, so maybe I am pregnant and eating everything in sight, but still, Way to Go Whitney!!

-Bridget

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DORA!!

I can hardly believe it's been TWO YEARS since Dora was born!! I am equally awed that I will have another princess in a few short months.

Dora was such an angel, from the time she came into the world. Look at that angelic little face!

She had almost no hair, but we didn't care! She was our sweet little napper during the day. (Then she was up all night!)

Here she was at one--a year ago. Holy cow, how small she still was!

Even then she had a sweet tooth... that has only developed from that first cake.

And okay, so this may not be the best shot of her, but egads, look how skinny I was!! (Which only highlights how FAT I am right now!)

Finally, some quick snapshots from this morning. She is cuter every single day. WE LOVE YOU DORA!!

My little princess is TWO!

Redwoods

On our way home we stopped off to see some Redwoods. They were gorgeous, but it's hard to get photos because they're so big and it's always so dark under their canopy!

Poor dad--two kids on his back! I wonder what he will do when baby Emerald comes along!

I think grandma really liked the redwoods...

Eli found some mushrooms--and clovers!

Crescent City Aquarium, Second Visit

On our way home, we drove to the Crescent City Aquarium. It was great fun--again! The kids are playing so nice--look how cute!

You can really see poor Dora's eye here. My little baby! She had a great time with Lerdleluh.

But as much as she loves grandma, it's DAD whose shoulders she usually perches upon. This is just so classic of how she looks up there.

The kids really enjoyed the sea lion show.

See how close we were? Look at Dora's little red shoes dangling...

And we got to pet starfish, anemones, sea slugs, hermit crabs, etc. Their tidal pool is really neat. Dora wasn't as scared of it this time.

There's my mom holding some kind of sea slug.

The starfish were really pretty--some soft, some crunchy. They apparently will eat each other--ick! Don't worry though--their limbs regenerate.

A shark tried to eat Eli, but he was pretty good natured about it... Dad saved him.

Then the same shark almost got Dora!

Here's where we pet the sharks.

Here's where the shark ate us all!!

See? I was there.

Oregon Beaches

Dora got these sunglasses from her birthday from our friend Lindsey and she loves them. Cute!

On day three we headed out to drive down the Oregon Coast and found this great little secluded beach. We were the only ones there. The kids had a ball--playing with sticks and rocks in the sand mostly.

There was a little estuary (?) creek? that fed into the ocean right there. Pretty neat! And also neatly pretty...

I could not get Dora to look at me. Seriously in the hour or more we were there, she looked up once. SAD. She was SO taken with digging in the sand and burying then finding her white rocks.

Here's that one look... not a happy one either!

Isn't it pretty?

I love my husband. And on a side note, HE'S HOT!

Also, can I just say, Dora got cellulitus around her eye and Whit got us antibiotics that helped SO FAST! I LOVE travelling with my own doctor.

I love that these two are finally playing pretty well together a lot. Dora is starting to talk and that's making a big difference.

Hey if your hands are covered with sand, what do you do? Wipe them on your pants!! Just after this photo was taken, Eli found some quicksand and sunk up to his knees in it! Don't worry, Dad got soaked but he rescued him.