My first sunburn of the summer

This says a few things:
1) I have been pretty good about putting sunblock on myself. When I have it out & am slathering it on both girls, I figure it only takes one extra minute to put it on myself.
2) Laziness won today. I put some on my face & ears & then slapped a little on the back of my legs. We were out longer than I expected & the girls skin seems fine but mine is ever so slightly red.
3) The most important thing this says: we have not had enough sun this summer! I am about as fair-skinned as people come: if I of all people have not had a sunburn yet it means there have not been many hot days!

Seattle Summer Streets

I thought I would have some cute pictures to post from Matt & Addie's bike adventure tonight. Greenwood was having Summer Streets in conjunction with ArtWalk. They advertised all sorts of fun things for the kids: bubbleman! face painting! obstacle course! firetruck to climb on!

No pictures were taken because:
No firetruck could be found :(
"Obstacle course" consisted of a couple of hula hoops & a tunnel :(
Face painter had a scheduling conflict & did not come :(
The coffee place Addie & Matt stopped to get a brownie for dessert was all out of baked goods :(

Addie did enjoy riding in the trailer behind Matt's bike & seeing all the people. She was nominally interested in the bubbles.

Maybe next year will be better.

Going to the Zoo

Papa Wally & Grandma Ellie came up to visit and we went to the zoo. Addie got to go on the carousal (which I never say yes to doing with her because spinning in circles is not my idea of a good time)!

The girls also got some good outdoor play time in:

 including time in our yard, 

swing time at the park 

& time in the sand at Carkeek park.

Have I mentioned before that my mom likes to take pictures? 

For each one you see here, there are another 4 or so I skipped over.

But Addie will be able to re-live their visit through pictures quite easily :)

Matt & I were even able to go out to dinner while the girls had dinner &
 bath time at home with Papa & Grandma!

Smores

Last weekend Addie had her first  backpacking trip with her daddy. Saturday morning Papa Loren & Aunt May picked up Matt & Addie. Addie was very excited that her car seat was going in Papa's car - she had never ridden in it before! They drove north and Addie slept in the car a bit. Then they did a short hike in to a lake. Addie was in the child-carrier backpack but she did walk a little bit. Then Matt hiked back to the car to get his overnight pack that had sleeping bags, etc in it. Did I mention it was a short hike? About 3/4 mile. I requested that Matt choose a short one so that if things did not go well in the middle of the night or something, they could get back to the car with relative ease and speed. Also it made logistical sense with Matt having the two packs. Despite the rain (in August!) Addie had a fun time. She had her first smores experience. But her favorite foods on the hike? Dried pear (courtesy of Grandma Ellie's fruit trees) and dried pepperoni bites (think beef jerkey style). I think this hike will be an annual event. One day Mat will take both girls and I will (theoretically) have a weekend all to myself!

Just a bang trim

I brought the girls in because I was sick of their hair getting in their eyes. Etta, like all self-respecting babies, pulls clips out the second I put them in. Addie endures them slightly longer but they do not usually last if there is a car ride involved. Anyways, it was time. I thought it was time for Etta to get her "baby's first haircut" certificate & such. I was wrong. I realized I did not want them touching anything but her bangs. I did not want any of the cute curl or amazing color taken off. So we will wait on the certificate. After all, Addie did not get her first haircut & the certificate until she was almost 2 years old!

Addie loved getting her haircut. She got to watch a bit of a kids video during the cut, she got to play with toys in a big playroom while Etta got her cut, and they gave her a sucker for her to eat as well!

Etta loved watching Addie get her cut. She did not mind her cut, she just really wanted to grab the scissors & try them out for herself.

Looking for creative ways to use all those zucchini from your garden?

Zucchini chocolate chip cookies? Tried them, yum!
Zucchini in the meatloaf? I hear it is quite moist & tasty!
Zucchini pureed for baby food? But of course!
Running out of ideas?
Try making a few zucchini cars & holding races!

At our farmers market last week they had all the supplies set out, including a box of moderatly sized zucchini (if I were doing this at home I would be tempted to use my baseball-bat size ones & give them 8 wheels or so).  Addie loved this project. They had a race track set up with three lanes (divided by short walls) and a stick you removed from the top when it was start time. I don't think her zucchini ever won a race. It skidded along the side; it needed extra pushes; after numerous trips down it needed a wheel re-attached; but she really enjoyed it. We raced it some & then I suggested we go over to the slides so she (not her zucchini) could go downhill. She went down the slide a few times then was back to the zucchini track.

(yes, I am aware of the fact that her tank top is inside-out in these pictures. 

When she dresses herself it is quite rare for things to be on the correct feet or facing the right direction. 

I care sometimes, she cares rarely. 

You are also very perceptive and noticed that her hair looks a little different? 

There is a post coming up about that...)

My zucchini is not overwhelming me yet this year. As a matter of fact, I am under-whelmed so far. Each year I almost look forward to the onslaught of zucchini because it seems to be the one thing that will come in vast quantities despite the tepidly warm Seattle summer weather. I roll my eyes when I talk about zucchini plants but I also have some misplaced pride in their ability to thrive. Speaking of thriving, my tomato plants are getting crazy big. They smell so good right after a rain or being watered. How do the tomatoes taste, you ask?   I am no where near to knowing, my plants are still in the small- flowers stage. No green orbs yet.

Etta is 9 months old!

Weight: 18lbs 7oz (49%)
Height: 27 1/2 (50%)
Head: 17 1/2

So to all those who make comments about her looking big for her age or chubby: she is completely average size-wise. But we are all aware that cuteness wise she is in the 90% !!

Maybe I will post some pictures tomorrow, but I at least wanted to get those numbers out before I forgot.