My First Quilt

My good friend April made Finn a beautiful quilt before he was born. When I found out Eric's sister Tonya and my sister Tara were both pregnant I asked her if I could comission her to make them each one. She lovingly told me it was easy and she'd teach me to do it instead. I took that as a challenge. So when Tonya found out she was having a girl Eric and I went shopping for fabric. Oh what a date night that was! So after only about 8 hrs of work this is the finished product.






I am really pleased at how it turned out and it really wasn't as hard as I feared it would be. I learned alot and gained a closer relationship with my friend. I look forward on working on my next, as soon as Tara finds out what she's having.

OMG funny!!!

Lotus Elise

A good friend of mine bought this car. It's not a sports car...it's a race car. I'm not kidding. I've never ridden in anything like it.

Finn is crawling...

He's been crawling for a few weeks now...more on this later.

A week of non-stop partying!!

These pictures are all mixed together just so this doesn't take forever. There are pictures from Chuck-e-Cheese, party with friends, new shirt, new toys, new cap guns and swinging his new batman sword in the dark.

Sully

You've had a Birthday, shout Hurray!



We want to sing to you today,



One year older and wiser too,



Happy Birthday to YOU!!!!!

Check Out Finn's New Do

I got bored last night and decided Finn needed his hair cut and what's better than a Mohawk on a 9 month old? He can't really get any cuter but this did kick up his cuteness a level or 2.



Eric had the opprtunity to design this tee shirt for my nieces school in Texas last month. Aunt Chrissta (aka the PTA president) sent the kids each one. Cute huh?

The Guardian

This cartoon will print in "The Guardian" newspaper in London on Saturday. Oh, and wait until you see my Sunday cartoon...put it this way, I'm predicting email.

The Tree Finally Fought Back

Amara has had a favorite tree that she climbs and abuses since we moved into this house. I am always worried she is going to fall out and break a limb but, knock on wood, that hasn't happened. Today she fell out and got these injuries. She's not so sure about the tree anymore. It's not so fun when you're the one being picked on!



She is ok. No one (Grandparents) worry too much.

I was lookin' for you baby...

This post goes out to...well...you know who you are.

Outstanding Citizen

Amara won the monthly citizenship award today at school! She won for: "showing the character trait of cooperation. Amara is always one of the first to jump up and be willing to work with others."

She is very excited and we are very proud of her.

The Yak

I went fishing on the Yakima (The Yak) this last Saturday with a couple of friends. We rented a drift boat and tried to catch a few trout. We spent most of the time, however, trying to figure out how to control the drift boat. Not an easy task when you've never done it before. All in all we had a great time even if we did only catch one trout between the three of us.

My Everything

Michael Buble has a new album coming out tomorrow, yes you heard me ! Go buy it! Here is a little taste of what he has to offer you!

The Last Few Weeks

The last few weeks have been full of fun and growing. We bought a new tent at Costco for the summer, so we thought we'd set it up to try it out. It was fun, especially for me cause I slept in the house.




We were invited to join a babysitting group in February and a few Saturdays ago it was our turn to watch all the kids. We had one 6 year old, three 3 year olds, two 1 1/2 year olds and a 9 month old. It wasn't as scarey as we thought it was going to be. They all played really nicely, no one cried and all survived. All in all it was a good night.



The kids are getting bigger right before our eyes. Amara continues to lose teeth, Sully is finally going to Sunbeams on his own, and Finn is just about crawling and just starting to pull him self up to things.




Eric got the opportunity to go speak in Amara's kindergarten class last Monday. He told them a little about his job, let them ask some questions and then taught them how to draw George W. and a dog. Amara thought it was so neat to have her Dad there and all the kids thought she was so cool cause her Dad was so tall and got to draw cartoons for a job. Needless to say she was the bomb at recess that day.





We are all happy and have more blessings than we know what to do with. We were able to break bread with 4 families this last week that are our friends. We really are surrounded by some of the best people on earth. I am thinking about starting a cooking group with a bunch of girl friends up here. What could be better than food, fun and friends? I'll let you know how it turns out.

Some of our favorite things

To help all of you get to know us a little better I thought I would share with you some of our families favorite things:

Finnigan
* Mom
* Paper (to eat)
* Peas
* Kids running around him
* Music

Sully
* Anything sharp/tool like
* Popcorn (he consumes 1 bag a day by himself)
* Cartoons/Anything animated
* Cheetos
* Water (to drink and play in)

Amara
* Anything sweet
* Playing with friends
* Music (singing & listening, singning time in primary, dancing)
* Ros Hitchcock
* Babies

Brandi
* Cooking for friends
* Date night with Eric
* my kids
* Michael Buble
* sunshine

Eric
* Diet Coke
* Anything sweet
* fishing, camping, frisbee (outside activites)
* watching movies at the Morelock's
* Brandi, Amara, Sully and Finn
* WARCRAFT BABY!!! w/AJ and Andy

So now you know a little more about us. What are some of your favorite things?

Cloth diapers

A good friend of mine has decided that even in the absence of a laundry service he will use cloth diapers for his baby to be.

In jest and fun, here was my response:

Let me err on the side of a--hole and say...good luck with the cloth diapers. You are a better man than I. I can handle a great many things and I have handled a great many things, but if there is one thing I can't stand it's handling the feces of another human being.

Sure it's kind of cute for the first couple weeks when the poo-poos are tar based and there is not much of a smell to them. Then they turn mustard yellow with the consistency of fresh diarrhea. It only gets worse from there. As the all breast milk diet gives way to the introduction of various pureed food you are greeted each day with a kaleidescope of color, texture and excruciating smells.

I can't imagine the delight of getting the chance, no, the opportunity to revisit this gift that keeps on giving when it's time to wash the diaper. And because I know you both lead busy lives, Mr. superman reporter and beautiful school teacher, many of these delightful treasures will have the time they need to fully develop and ripen. If there is one thing I know, it's that the only thing worse than a stinky dump filled diaper, is a day old stinky dump filled diaper.

So, tonight when unfurl my son's latest treat from his non-biodegradable disposable diaper , wipe his tiny butt and place the diaper in an airtight safeway grocery sack and tie it in a knot, I will think of you. And I will know that you are a better man than I.

We had a Happy Easter

Due to the gas prices being a bazillion dollars a gallon and the whole family lately being on their death beds we did not attempt the 5 hr drive down to Oregon for Easter....

(Brandi started this post but hasn't finished it yet so I will.)

Now that Amara has been sick for the last couple days, it's official, we have all been sick. Lots and lots puking. These pictures however, are from the few days off from sickness we got on easter weekend. We had a great time and great dinner with great friends. As we get back on track in the next week or so, we should get back to regular posts.

We are looking forward to the summer and the great Seattle weather that comes with it. We just bought a tent and are planning on doing some camping. I got a new baseball glove and I've been taking Amara and Sully to the park to practice. I'll take some pictures soon and get them up.

Please Forgive Me

I owe all of you "Through the Gray" fans an apology. Sorry it's been so long since a post. In the last few weeks we've had visitors from Oregon ( Grandma and Grandpa Moo ), a trip in an ambulance for Eric ( long story, but he's ok now ), a new tooth for Finn, a stomach bug and a night of vomiting for Sully, the loss of a tooth for Amara and one tired Mom! That sums up the last few weeks for us, so really how mad at me can you be.

Here are a few new pictures just for fun!

Nickel five cent...foo

Another art night creation. Another round of inappropriate happiness.