last days of summer . . .

We have had a busy couple of weeks! We just said goodbye to our friends Jason and Susie who were visiting from New Hampshire for about a week. We had a lot of fun while they were here. Here is a picture of us at the Ballard Farmer's Market:

Today is absolutely beautiful--sunny and 75 degrees. We got outside for a an early jog around Greenlake before hitting some yard sales and going to a brunch. At the brunch, Elana met this chihuahua that made her crack up. Every time that dog came anywhere near her she would reach her hand out and start giggling. I was bummed that we forgot the camera for that one . . .

We ended our day with a nice walk to the beach through Carkeek Park with our neighbors Tom, Erin, and Maya. Here are some pics from the beach:






What a great day. I wish every day was like this. On Thursday night we take a red-eye flight to Philadelphia to attend a family wedding. Elana will be meeting her Great G-ma Bernice and a lot of extended family--she is VERY excited. Look for a lot more pictures after we get back . . .

We will leave you with a pic of Elana hard at work in her "office":

Mt. Zion

It has been really difficult getting into a groove with working and coming home to take care of Elana. I have been trying to take her out every day when I get home so she has some "outside" time, but that will probably change once the weather starts getting gloomy again. I am still trying to figure out a way to become a millionaire so I can stay home with her :)

Here is a cute pic of Elana in her new pink track suit:


This past weekend Elana and I went for a hike out on the Olympic Peninsula. Mt. Zion is small mountain in the Olympic National Forest. It was a beautiful day.

Elana and Sophie hanging out in the back of the car:




At the top of Mt. Zion with Danielle (you can see puget sound in the background):

Jumping, Reading, and Eating

Today's post is a collection of videos that we have taken the past couple of weeks.

First, Elana loves jumping up and down as you can see:



Elana really LOVES reading:



This last video is pretty long (it might take a while to load). It will give you a glimpse into the fun we've been having lately feeding Elana solid foods.

Bananas and Carrots

Nothing much exciting to report this week. Just another week of work and daycare. On Saturday night we went over to the Brastad house for burgers and fries. Elana liked hanging out with Jonas and Caleb. Here's a pic of the kids with their papas:


We have been feeding Elana bananas pretty regularly. She really likes them. Today we let her suck on some grapes through a mesh feeder. I think she has quite a sweet tooth. We tried to give her carrots today, and she wasn't as fond of those. I think there was more carrot in her hair and on the tray of the high chair than in her mouth. She is quite happy with herself in this photo:


Labor Day is usually considered the end of summer for the kids who have to go back to school shortly thereafter. If you looked at our garden, however, you wouldn't think it was anywhere near the end of summer. We still have a lot of kale, swiss chard, squash, and tomatoes that should be ripening in the next few weeks. Here is a bowl of stuff we picked and made into a salad a few days ago:


Back to work tomorrow :(