Jess and Seren visit pdx

It's hard to believe that it's already been 6 weeks since my niece was born. It's even harder to believe that 4 months has passed since Stella was born! Jess and I have been through the most exciting, trying, happy and amazing moments in our lives together and it's fitting that our daughters will have the chance to spend their lives growing and learning from each other, too.

Hunting for a Christmas tree

We couldn't have picked a more perfect day to go find and cut our Christmas tree. We woke up to a crisp clear day, so we bundled up Stella, packed ourselves in to the car and drove out to Oregon City to find our first Christmas tree. Now it's home and lighted, but I guess we should find some ornaments...

A day to give thanks

This year, there are many things that we are thankful for: our health, our happiness, our beautiful daughter, our loving family, a comfortable home, our generous friends and all of the many memories and experiences both in the past and to come.

Thanksgiving this year was spent at Nick's parent's house in Vancouver, Washington. Nick's brother (Jeff) and his wife (Misty) were in town from Marysville along with their three kids (Matthew, William and Elizabeth). We had a great time!

Stella got to wear an adorable Holiday dress from her Auntie Tiffy, too :)

Girls night dinners

Every Wednesday night, the girls (and our children) get together. One person cooks and everyone else chats and plays with the kids. It's a tradition that goes back to Sunday night dinners up at the commune. I hope we can always find time to keep this tradition going. It's so nice to see all my girls.

Shake it up, baby now...

Becky gave us this awesome jumper toy for Stella. Stella loves it and is quite entertaining to watch!

Four months ago today

Four months ago today, Nick and I experienced the most amazing day of our lives. Stella came in to our world. Stella has taught us that we can love something more than ourselves, more than each other and more than we ever thought was possible.

The day Stella was born, she was so small, so fragile and so tired. She slept and nursed and then slept some more. We cherished any time she would smile in her sleep or open her eyes long enough to catch a glimpse of the outside world.

When she was about 2 months old, she started smiling much more often. By the time she was 3 months old, we could easily make her smile. Now, she wakes up with a grin on her face and laughs as if she's never been happier than to wake up next to us.

Every day, she is learning something new and mastering new skills. I look forward to helping her learn and grow and experience the world. It's the most fun and exciting job I've ever done.

The lamb, the housewife and Aquaman

I know this sounds like it should be the basis of a new comic strip, but instead these were our Halloween costumes this year!

We dressed Stella up and took her to a friend's house party. She was (of course) the highlight of the party, not to mention, the first person asleep. She sure knows how to party hard!