happy halloween!

learning how to walk is over-rated

the weekend

This weekend Tyler and I had a date! We went to Seattle with some friends and dropped Riley off with my mom for the evening. We went out for dinner, dessert and to see one of our favorite's, Martin Sexton. I had never been away from Riley for that long - - - it was refreshing! And to know she was with my mom was the best feeling. We really miss having family here for that reason. The concert was amazing -check out his music if you don't know who he is. And this venue was one of the coolest I've been in.



The next day we attended the Harvest Festival at our church. It was fun to take Riley dressed up as a little giraffe, even though most of the games were not quite age appropriate for her yet. She did, however, win the raffle so her and Daddy picked out a little ball. She has already eaten a big chunk out of it, so I think it was a good pick.

Here is Riley sitting with a few of her friends - Willa, Asa & Lola.

a little FYI from riley: your snack tastes better when your foot is on the table with your toes curled

dear home,

we moved into you three years ago today. even though you are small, we still love you so. you have given us lots of warm nights and plenty of projects to do! we are very grateful we found you!

More Pictures from the Pumpkin Patch

Ten on Ten (10/10)

7am: 30 degrees out!

8am: Riley's daily book pile

9am: Shower while Riley naps

10am: My two little children watching as I load the car

11am: Heading to freeway

12pm: Arrive at pumpkin patch in Arlington

1pm: Riley loves pumpkins

2pm: My sister Martha & nephew Henry

3pm: Pumpkin ice-cream on the way home

4pm: Riley's 11 month weight: 20lbs 10oz (20#14oz after I fed her!)

last minute family date

tyler called me this afternoon and said he was on his way home from work to spend some time with riley & i. what a great surprise! we loaded into the car when he got home, got some coffee and walked my favorite trail during the fall season.

we stopped a few times along the way to snap some photos, adjust riley and steer doc away from other dogs and people on the trail.

riley became pretty antsy on the way back, so we did lots of shuffling back and forth, trying to keep her entertained so we could make it back to the car.

her main focus these days to get on the ground and show off her walking skills, as well as pick everything up and thoroughly investigate it. it made for a slow walk back to the car! but we were in no hurry, as we were just enjoying our time together and our spontaneous little jaunt. it felt great to break out of routine and spend some extra time with tyler. these times together can really rejuvenate and refresh the heart. and better yet, riley went right to sleep tonight, the best treat of all!

twins

a visit from dj, kristen & cora last weekend.

they came for a friends wedding.

we went for a family bike ride saturday morning.

dj & kristen on the tandem, riley and cora in the trailer (pulled by elizabeth on her bike) and tyler on his road bike.

we stopped at the farmers market to visit with claire and cruise up and down the aisles.

back on the bikes and rode on the trail alongside the water and raced up the steep hill into fairhaven.

arrived at avenue bread and enjoyed a treat, then on to the toy shop.

a fast ride back home, barely dodging the rain, lasagna in the oven for a late lunch and the shooks off to their friend's wedding. the babies with us, peek-a-boo with the curtains...

crawling after e/o around the house and toys, toys & toys everywhere.

sunday morning bath, breakfast at old town cafe and then a goodbye to our dear friends!

don't our babies look like little twins???

the traverse (a bit late!)

the bellingham traverse was a few weeks back. we were lucky...it was a beautiful, sunny day. i started "team spork" off with the 5.5 mille run from downtown, along the waterfront trail, through fairhaven and up to lake padden. i passed off to tyler, who rode his mountain bike around the trails of lake padden. i waited and was able to see him finish and saw him tag off to kevin - a 17 mile road bike ride around lake samish. then to leah, a 3 mile trail run who passed off to the final leg...bret on the 4 mile kyak leg. we were all waiting at the end to see bret finish, then ran (babies and all!) the last .5 mille to finish together downtown. it was a really fun day - -full of exercise, cheering, hanging with friends and enjoying the fresh air and beautiful scenery of the pacific nw. sidenote: our two cheerleaders, pictured above, were perfect little babes the whole day and drew a lot of attention with their matching team spork t-shirts. leah and i were such proud mamas!