shabbyblog background

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Happy FIRST Birthday Ellie Crammit!

Today we celebrated Ellie's first birthday with our playgroup down at South Bank - a man made beach along the river- in the middle of the city.  




planking

..still planking




Its my party and i'll cry if I want to.

I brought the boom box, and Dyllan was dancing for over half the party.  Everyone was entertained by her "moves"- she looked like she was on Spring Break.


More dancing..



Our group.  In our regular spot.






Present time.

She'll eat her grapes first.

Present from her friend Ella.  Too cute.

"no, you gave it to ME"

"you got something in your hair.."

friends swimming

birthday cupcakes, made by Dyllan.  Lemon poppyseed (small ones) and Banana (big ones)


who wants to blow out the candles? Dyllan?  Ok.

this face.  and that bald head.  Gotta love her.


doing what she does best.. snarfing down food.



more presents- Dyllan will help open them.

"um, can i have my present now?"

"im smiling, but really.. give it to me"

Dyllan dancing till the end.  Did. Not. Want. To. Leave.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Moms group Christmas party

I found a great mothers group "Brissy Mums of Kiddies under 5" on meetup.com when we first moved up here. Funny way to meet people- but i gave it a try and im so glad i did!

Lucky for me it was only new when I joined. We have gone from 10 moms to over 60 in the group now. There are about 12 that are regulars.. And some super fun moms- all with kids the same age as Dyllan and Ellie.

Yesterday we had our Christmas party- a bit early cause one of the moms is a photographer and she wanted to do a photoshoot for us all! It was so fun- and I think we got some fun photos. I'll post them when I get them. Here's a peek..

A Quote from Dyllan

We were driving and Dyllan was looking out her window at the clouds.

"Hey mom, look at that cloud. It looks like a baby hippo- just like Ellie"

Friday, November 15, 2013

Ahh Friday

I look forward to Fridays every week. I am really enjoying my weekends now that it's not broken up with working on Saturdays.

Last night Dan finished around 3 so we took advantage of the gorgeous weather and met him for a picnic by the river. It was fun to sit there in the park and watch the ferry do its drop offs of busy people in suits and ties on their way home. The crew teams were out paddling until the sun went down. Dyllan and I met a nice old man with two little dogs who happily sits in the same spot every Friday night working on his painting.

After hanging out by the river we headed back for margaritas and nachos at the local Mexican restaurant. Dyllan insisted on dressing up for her night on the town.. She was quite the spectacle. And loved every minute of flaunting her high heels.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

An Original By Marianne

The other day we received a giant care package from Yunny. She packed us all kinds of goodies- from cookies to stickers to a ball of yarn. But my favorite thing was this adorable birthday outfit she made for Ellie.

Not only is it super special because she made it, but it brings back memories of my childhood.

Gowing up, my mom would make everything.. Not only did she have a successful business making spandex and matching bike helmet covers, she also made a good chunk of Sean and I's wardrobes. From matching Hawaiian shirts for Sean and Dad to wear to Disneyland to my relay teams matching swim suits for A Champs swim meet. She made all of our Halloween costumes (Sean remember when you were gonna be a pumpkin - cause she had a pattern sitting around- but didn't have orange fabric- so you were a tomato instead??). She made my Christmas dresses (I still remember hating the poofy short sleeve taffeta dress that made noise every time i moved but had to wear it anyway). She even made my cabbage patch doll and I matching sweat suits- that was so cool. For Christmas one year she made all of us cousins rabbit stuffed animals- the fancy kind with beautiful fabric and long soft ears. She slowed down on the sewing as her career in real estate took off.. But she could and would always make something if there was a need. And fixing and repairing things were her specialty. In fact she and I (I did nothing..) even made roman blinds for Dan and I's first house. We were super thrifty and made them out of sheets.

Gone are the days (I think?) where moms actually make their kids clothes. It's a shame really.. I am still kicking myself for not learning to sew from my ultra talented seamstress of a mother. And yes, it's on my bucket list to learn.. Once I learn to have some patience..

So Yunny, this gift was a very special one. One that won't be leaving our closets.. One that my kids will most certainly have to pass on to their kids.

How fun is it to have something handmade.. With love.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

America Trip 2013: Poppy's Birthday

Another "better late than never post.."

Three days into our trip was Dad's birthday.  Lucky for us, we had a reason to go down to the Casita, BBQ more ribs than we could possible snarf down, and swim till way past bedtime.  Its nights like these that make summer in Seattle so special.  The weather is amazing, the lake is warm and inviting and hanging out with the family is the best.  We have the Casita BBQ's down to an art now.. everyone has a job.  Sean is always on the BBQ (the good old fashion charcoal kind- that smells amazing while it takes it sweet time heating up), Dan is in charge of the music, Girls make the guacamole and sides, and Dad strolls around his garden scoping out Sean's lack of gardening while casually socializing with each of us. We usually finish off the night with a boat cruise until the sun goes down.  


Poppy and his granddaughters.
Ellie was pretty excited for her first boat ride!

It looks like the pictures are out of order, and our internet is too crappy to try to change them. It already takes me too long to post.  So oh well.

The morning of dad's birthday we woke up and headed to the park to play.  The kids (and the big kid- Dad) all had a nap.  I should mention that Dad deserved a nap- after doing a massive birthday swim set with the masters at 5:30am.  After naps we walked down the the Shore Club for a swim in the pool before heading down to the Casita for Ribs.

Poppy and Dyllan off to get popcicles.

Cheeky Girl is pretty excited about her yard stick Popsicle.







The Casa got a make-over!  It looked amazing.  And the new owners were so friendly.


Two new Sussex's!

Just a couple of ribs..

Tasting the guac

Ready for the boat ride Ellie?

The perfect birthday present for Rib night.. Bacon flavored floss.  And yes, it tasted like bacon.  It actually tasted like you were flossing with bacon fat.  Gross.

Action shot



Heading out for a sunset cruise and presents.