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Sunday, December 19, 2010

Happy Birthday!

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I'm two!!!

That's what she'll tell you when you ask her how old she is... as she holds 5 to 10 fingers up in the air.

Regardless, on December 9th our little Linden turned two. We kept it pretty mellow... opened a few family presents prior to having 2 friends over (1 for each year... I wonder how long we'll be able to keep that up).

Last year, Linden started up a tradition by holding her hands up in the air, expression-less.

Back in 2009...
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2010 Version
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Opening her first gift...
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Dora the Explorer slippers among them...
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Narcissism setting in.
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Kyah and Logan joining in the fun.
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Happy Birthday to our sweet girl!!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Spinnin' ABC's

A few weeks ago Kacy caught Linden on film running around in cirlces while reciting her "ABC's".

It comes to a dramatic conclusion that can only be witnessed with your eyes...



Prayers are being appreciated for the little baby...

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Please be a deer and hand me that pumpkin?

This year's Halloween is not much different from most with kids. A trip to a local pumpkin patch, then meandering through a corn maze and finally getting dressed up in a costume on the 31st...

She really wanted to let us know that she found one...
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This one was old hat...
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She figured she'd fill up on some water for our trip into the maze. You never know
when you're going to get lost!
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And lost did we get!!
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Seriously. We were trapped in there for over 20 minutes and couldn't find the
exit, nor the entrance!! Fortunately Linden wasn't concerned that we kept passing
the same people over and over again...
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For Halloween Linden dressed as a deer. Thank you Uncle Scotty! I'd like to
say she was trying to growl like a wild deer (because deer growl right?), but
this was her attempt at smiling for the camera.
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The family shot. Kacy was a pirate and Brian was a... well... dork.
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This is Linden with her friend Kyah at a neighborhood Halloween party hosted
by some friends. It's so nice to see rabbits and deer living in harmony...
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Saturday, October 30, 2010

Wedding in the Sierra Nevadas

A few weeks ago we had the privilege of attending a dear friend's wedding up in the Sierras. We stayed in a rustic little cabin on Huntington Lake for 2 nights and had a wonderful time celebrating Lindsay and Shon while hanging out with our college friends.

A shot of our lovely accommodations.
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Linden called it our "special house".
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Since Kacy was part of the wedding party, Linden and I went for a hike/walk.
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Linden discovered an activity all kids love...
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Throwing rocks into a lake!!!
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Linden got a little antsy during the ceremony... so we had to take a walk to the shore.
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Linden and Kacy enjoying the toasts...
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Unfortunately the quality of this photo isn't very good. Linden really enjoyed dancing
with the bride and groom (Lindsay and Shon)
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Sunday, September 19, 2010

Back Seat Driver

Last week we (I) finally installed Linden's bike seat. We've had fun riding around town all week... but mostly to the park so she can ride the swing.

Later she did admit to us that she was a little bit "scared" and didn't want to "fall". But all in all she said it was fun.

Here are a few pictures of her first few moments riding with me.

She was a little unsure at first... but she did enjoyed herself once mom got on her bike
so we could chase her around.
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Dad beaming with pride... Daughter praying for her life...
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Seeing these photos enlightens me to what an unfortunate view Linden has. Fortunately, she has been pretty gracious about having a front row seat to Daddy's tushy.

Monday, September 13, 2010

10 years...

We celebrated 10 years of marriage on September 3rd!! What an adventure it has been thus far! It is really hard to believe that 10 years have passed since our wedding day... but we aren't weary. We are blessed to have found one another and are especially thankful for the memories that we have created as a family.

We were able to create another great memory by spending a week in Panama!! Just the two of us!! Kacy's mom graciously offered to watch Linden as we headed off to our own little mini paradise to relax, swim, sleep, read and enjoy one another's company. It was an incredible week that completely exceeded our expectations. Best of all, we came back refreshed and energized. Thank you Nana!

Here are a few pictures below... and for our "slideshow" you can click here.

This was right after we arrived. We couldn't believe how beautiful it was!
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Here's our bungalow. Our own private paradise.
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View off our back deck. We took many dives into the warm Caribbean.
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Like this...
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They even had a little ramp so you could slide your kayak straight in. My face evokes
plenty of confidence...
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We even had a brief encounter with a friendly baby sloth!
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This was on our way to dinner on our actual anniversary. They made it very personal
and special.
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Here's to 10, 20, 30, 40, more!!!

Friday, August 27, 2010

Lake Livin'...

A few weeks ago we joined our Small Group for our annual trip up to Lake Nacimiento. It was a great weekend of fun in the sun!

Here's a couple of great shots of Linden's first time on the tube. :)

Kacy looks a little more freaked out than Linden...
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After a satisfying good run... The smile says it all.
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Monday, August 16, 2010

Tid Bits II

The documentation continues...

Since Brian and I are both lovers of food, and all things to do with eating, I feel I must comment on our daughter's food preferences. And by preferences, I mean her level of pickiness. Sadly, it is high. Her choices almost always consist of some kind of starch (bread, pasta, tortilla) and cheese. Period. So, we are serving a lot of macaroni and cheese, cheese quesadillas, and toast with cheese. Grilled cheese sandwiches are not the same as toast and cheese for some reason. Go figure. Thankfully she is a fan of peas and broccoli, and will down yogurt like there's no tomorrow. So far she's a vegetarian by choice... but she did chow down on some bacon at Esau's last weekend, so there's hope.

We have discovered that Linden is willing and capable of completely manipulating us (surprise, surprise). She has always been a decent sleeper, though she loves to be rocked to sleep and we have had to work on our nighttime routine... but we had gotten it down to a decent science. However, during our trip to Seattle in July we discovered that it was not WE who were working on her bedtime routine... we were actually being WORKED by our sweet little girl! Sleeping while away from home had always been challenging, and the first naps and nights in the pack 'n play were difficult as we expected. The second night after numerous tries and lots of crying, our host Mike, offered to try his hand at putting her down for the night. We happily let him have a shot (probably with a little doubtful smugness to boot). He headed to her room, and we heard her quiet down on the monitor. About 45 seconds later he re-emerged, and she was silent the rest of the night. WHAT!?!? We were dumb-founded. He continued to put her to bed (each time in less than a minute with zero fuss) for every nap and evening, for the rest of our trip. Needless to say, our bedtime routine (or mind-set at least) changed drastically once we got home.

In addition to her bedtime manipulation, Linden has become quite the little negotiator. A typical exchange goes like this.
Linden: "A cookie?"
Mom: "You need to eat your peas before you can have a cookie."
Linden: "Peas, a cookie, K? Peas, a cookie, K?"
Thankfully, she's still agreeable to what we require BEFORE she gets what she wants. But she's very sure to repeat the 'deal' to make sure she'll get what she's negotiating for.

We try to go to the zoo as much as we can, since we have a family membership and the Santa Barbara Zoo is so relaxing, beautiful, and manageable. Linden loves finding each animal and naming them, and between the zoo and her books, she's built quite a repertoire. Feel free to skip over this part, but for the sake of documentation, these are the animals Linden currently recognizes and names: dog, cat, cow, bird, sheep, monkey, kangaroo, hippo, penguin, chicken, bee, horse, elephant, giraffe, lion, snake, mouse, frog, fish, crab, whale, turtle, peacock, flamingo, moose, bug, raccoon, bear, walrus, wolf, pig, dolphin, tiger, and squirrel. And we just saw a llama on a recent road trip, which she thought was a giraffe, and now calls a "mama."

Lastly, the thing we are both enjoying so much with our blossoming little girl is praying with her at night before bed. She LOVES it, and settles down expectantly in our lap and tries to fold her little hands together. We start praying "Dear Jesus, please be with..." and Linden pipes up with names of people to pray for - different ones each night - and prays for her friends and family along with us. Usually if we name one member of the family, she will fill in with the other family members. And she always throws in some random in-animate objects like "table, watch, bed, rocking chair, etc." Once she got really creative with Brian and thanked God for "grass and running." It is such a joy to see her starting to think of others and to recognize that she loves the people who love her. So, consider yourselves prayed for by our very own little Linden.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Tid Bits

Since this blog has become more of an on-going virtual baby book for Linden, I (Kacy) feel like I need to document some recent behaviors and Linden-isms that have become part of our daily routine. So, for posterity's sake:

Our girl is a regular motor-mouth. She says new words everyday and is a real chatterbox, which is so much fun. I am enjoying this "conversational" stage much more than the "cooing noodle" stage. She points out and names most of the animals and items in her books, and when we ask her "how many" there are, she points and counts "two, three, two!" Not sure what happened to the "one", but as long as we pick groups of two, she appears to be quite advanced.

She received a hand-me-down kitchen set (thank you Abbey!!) from a friend recently, and her favorite game is to play short-order cook. She forcefully requests (demands) that we sit on the other side of the kitchen, and then she proceeds to cook up quesadillas (kay-kuh-deeya), cereal, corn, milk, toast, and pizza for us. She is also always sure to offer coffee to Mommy - but knows that Daddy does not drink coffee. I am a little mortified that she has this figured out, and it makes me realize I must drink more coffee than I should! Yikes.

Linden is a girly-girl through and through. She takes anything with a handle (including grocery bags and her Halloween bucket) and makes it into a purse. She loves to put on Mommy's jewlery, which she calls "a pretty." She is also obsessed with babies... real ones and fake ones. Her baby doll is always dressed in an interesting combination of clothes, which Linden picks out from her drawers and laundry basket and then forcefully requests (demands) that the baby be dressed in them. She has recently started having strong opinions about what she wears each day, and often chooses her pants from her drawer. Thankfully she is still content choosing her top from two options I give her.

Personality-wise we've discovered we may have an extrovert on our hands... which is a bit shocking for two introverted parents! Linden loves to "go car" and take walks. She helps us walk Otto every evening and usually loves walking hand in hand with one or both of us. There is a neighbor who is often reading on his porch when we walk by, and she looks for him during the walk, asking if we "see him our friend." But when we get close and he waves, she pretends to be shy, but usually eventually gives a wave or a smile.

Linden has gotten interested in the potty lately, so we went out and got her a little plastic pink potty of her own. We aren't holding our breath, but from time to time she'll tell us she needs to pee pee or poo poo and wants to try to go on her potty. The cutest part is, she sits on the potty and says "I try, I try" while she's obviously... trying. It's about the most adorable thing ever. She has successfully pooped one teeny bit, and peed once on her potty. When she's not using it, her baby and/or Elmo can be found "trying" to go on the potty.

Linden has never become attached to a blanket, toy, or pacifier... which has been both a blessing and a curse. However, she has chosen a very random method to soothe herself. She is fixated on my moles. I have two slightly raised moles (and no, they are not hairy)... one on my upper arm, and one under my chin. She loves to rub them as she's falling asleep, just after she wakes up, or if we're cuddling. She knows the word "mole" and sometimes she rubs the mole and says "Mommy mole... nice." Guess I better never have those moles removed!

This has become exceedingly long, so I'll continue with part 2 later...

Monday, July 19, 2010

Firsts in Seattle...

While in Seattle, Linden experienced a number of "firsts". Here's a brief list:

First time at Pike's Place...
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First solo trip captaining a canoe...
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First flattering mirror... (the same can't be said for mom and dad)
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First roller coaster (Priceless expression... I promise she enjoyed the first half).
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First time driving (note the hands at 4 and 8 o'clock...).
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First nap in a backpack.
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First baseball game (The Yankees scored 2 in the 9th to beat the Mariners 3-1).
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AND her first time dipping her toes into an ice cold river...
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Life is at it's best when experiencing "firsts". Especially when you experience them vicariously through your own child.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Seattle with the Farrells

We spent some time in Seattle as a family in early July. Linden got to see and spend some quality time with one of her best buds... Lily! Thanks to the Farrells for putting up with us for a week!

They were attached at the hip as soon as we arrived.
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Both enjoying a steady diet of frozen peas...
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Enjoying a train ride at Remlinger Farms.
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Hiking the Denny Creek Trail on the Snoqualmie Pass.
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Lily and Mike thoroughly enjoying the hike...
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Linden was unimpressed...
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Next: Firsts in Seattle....

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Montana Photo Shoot

Back in May, Linden's uncle Scotty took us out into the fields of the family farm to take some fun shots. Here's a small (or large... considering my lack of objectivity) sample. Thank you Scotty!

Happy Camper...
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Uncle Scotty must have told a funny...
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Boogie Down!
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Standing Ovation... for what!?
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Within the wheat field...
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I'm pretty sure we trampled at least a bushel of wheat...
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The clan...
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Two beautiful ladies...
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