Bits of September

:: We started off the month with a trip to Seattle

:: Alice turned 9 months old. She's 18.6 lbs (50%), 29 inches (90%), and head circumference is 46cm (95%). She started crawling a week shy of 8 months and now she's walking. I can't get over how adorable her chunky little legs are wobbling around. 

She's the happiest little girl I've ever seen. I once had a lady come up and say when she didn't see Robb leading the music (Robb was in Utah for a football game), she was worried we were out of town and she wouldn't get to see Alice for another whole week--her smile is that irresistable.

:: Colby and I went to a birthday party for our friend, Willy. It was Colb's first time bowling and he's a natural (as long as bumpers and a ramp are involved) and obviously the arcade was a hit. Most of the kids were at least a year or two older, so Colby and I spent most of the time with each other (woot for mother/son dates).

:: His vocabulary has really picked up this year and I'm grateful for all the little insights I get now into his imagination. Right here he's pretending to be a robot:

:: Colby's latest creation: the double decker couch car

:: Colby dabbing his blanket with a towel after I told him it needed to dry post washer.

:: Storytime: he memorizes books

:: Now that it's cooling down (although you wouldn't think that looking at my kids' red faces) we've started visiting the park more. Colby has conquered all fear of the slides, so runs around us while Alice and I make our more sedate climb up the play structure (she's more interested in eating bark chips).

:: It rained! I love monsoon season, Nothing smells quite as amazing as the desert after a storm. We hurried out to sniff the air, splash in puddles, and naturally I needed some photographic evidence that we do get some moisture here.

All while Alice shoved gravel into her little chipmunk cheeks.

The Emerald City

We used my mom's birthday (and possibly the extreme heat of Arizona) as an excuse to come visit Seattle and we packed in the fun.

:: Lots of time spent on the backyard play structure. I love these pictures of Colby on the slide. The whole time he's going down he looks like he's either in extreme physical pain or he's terrified, but then he gets to the bottom, smiles, and he's off again.

:: Alice's impromptu bed for the week: 

 :: We met my niece, Isla, for the first time and we're all fans of her big blue eyes and gummy grin. I loved watching my brother and his wife in their new role as parents. They're amazing and she is one lucky girl.

 :: We watched BYU womp on Texas again on Saturday (Mom's birthday wish for the past two years) and then had the real celebration the next day. Robb made a pie in honor of the occasion: his finest work yet.

:: Monday we went to the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma and despite the promised sunshine and heat from the weatherman, it was freezing (we've become wimps in Arizona).  As Dad walked down the stairs he said to Mom, "You know what I've always wanted? A Point Defiance sweatshirt from the Zoo!" So we made a quick stop at the gift store and snagged a leopard seal shirt for me and a Harry Otter shirt for Colby (it's probably his favorite shirt now).

 Colby wasn't sure about the fish

 Or the polar bear...although I was with him on this one.

 We spent nearly a half an hour waiting for their feeding time. 10 or so in blissful silence and then another 15 with a zoo worker going on and on about what we could do for the polar bear population, like changing to different light bulbs and not using drive-throughs before moving on to the dangers of eating while driving...which took up another 5 minutes.

 Colby loved the monkeys

 And the elephants, although he found the sheer size of them intimidating 

 :: Dad found a pedal car for Colby, but ended up pushing him since he isn't quite that coordinated yet.

 :: Tuesday we sailed out to visit Poulsbo. It's been one of my dad's life goals to own a boat. I remember going to the docks with him whenever we visited the coast growing up. We'd walk around for hours (or maybe it just felt that long to little feet), picking out our favorites. It made my heart glad to watch him now, living that dream.

Poulsbo is a magical place, very proud of their Norwegian/Viking heritage, and home to one of the most amazing ice cream parlors I've ever been in (I got pink grapefruit sorbet). And I didn't take any pictures, except of my sorbet, because it was. that. good.

Dad focusing on his favorite part of the picture :)

 :: Wednesday: Dad took us to Pike Place Market

 And we ended the day with lunch at Lowell's and an amazing view

We also stopped at an inner city Target, where we played with the nifty cart-escalator (just in case we fooled anyone into believing we weren't tourists :) ). 

:: Alice made serious strides, literally and metaphorically, towards walking

:: Dad left for Alaska Wednesday night and the rest of the week Mom volunteered to do some babysitting so Robb and I could go on a couple of dates: an RPX (a.k.a. way louder than normal) movie where we lost a small percentage of our hearing, but enjoyed the almost empty theatre and then a trip to the Seattle Temple.

While Mom soaked up as much of this as she could