Happy Easter!

As you can tell, Jewell wasn't in the best mood this Easter. She has been sick (first real all night throwing up kind of sick), so she wouldn't eat anything and really just wanted to go home and sleep. Everyone else had a fun time, though. Our friends Richard and Diana Anderson (with baby Michael, Jewell's BFF/BF) joined us at my sister, Renae's house here in Seattle. Renae's guy pal Stacy was there also. We had an impressive little feast: ham, au gratin potatoes, cheesecake (my mom's famous recipe, prepped by Renae), deviled eggs (I accidentally forgot to bring them and Diana and I drove all the way back to my place to get them), tasty whipped-cream-topped strawberry Jello, and veggies. Oh, and I made homemade rolls! (recipe here; make sure you read the helpful reviews if you want to make them too). But Jewell wouldn't eat anything! Poor little girl. Thank you Renae also for buying Jewell and me a cute Easter present: a new book for Jewell and some Easter dish towels for me!

Jewell's new book

My new Crate & Barrel dish towels

Jewell didn't like the bunny ears too much.

Michael tolerated them.

Le chef

Renae and Stacy did like the bunny ears

We have been going to the park a lot recently. I mean a lot. Jewell constantly tugs at our hands and urges us towards the door. She really loves going outside and practicing her walking skills. We are lucky to live so close to a park. We've also been lucky to get some sunny days; but rain or shine, fully clothed or only in a diaper, Jewell always wants to go out (of course, we always dress her first).



My latest jewelry creation, which I just made for a custom order through my Etsy site.

Jewell strangely resembles me most when she's making her whining face. And I'm surprised she didn't like wearing the necklace.

Just another meal.

Spring Travels

Travis' sister, Tiffany, flew in from Atlanta on Thursday. She is making the rounds in the Northwest visiting family...starting with us. I felt very fortunate we were able to provide her with a fun selection of things to do. Thursday night we ate at the Cheesecake Factory. Jewell has been particularly difficult and squirmy recently because she is learning to walk. This is absolutely adorable, but she just doesn't want to sit still! At the restaurant she demanded to be walked around, and it took awhile before she settled down and focused on consuming farfalle pasta and peas coated in cream sauce. We all devoured several refills of Cheesecake Factory wheat bread. And finished everything off with a nice slice of blueberry white chocolate truffle cheesecake...at home "to go" style because Jewell absolutely wouldn't last another minute.

Friday Tiffany, Jewell and I had a fantastic time at the zoo, thanks to a friend of mine who spotted me a few free passes. I decided it would be a perfect thing to do with Tiffany. We were very impressed with Seattle's zoo. The animals put on a fantastic show for us. We were amazed how the male lion strutted and roared, even pacing and rubbing against the glass to the shrieks of delighted (and perhaps a bit frightened) tourists. The tiger did the same thing, pacing and making a lot of noise. A little cold weather, but Jewell stayed snuggly in her stroller or got the blood flowing as she practiced "walking."

Friday night we went to the Edge of Glass and had glass flowers made. If you haven't done that and you live in Seattle, you should!

Our new climbing friends, Zack and Diana, were at the Edge of Glass, too, with their little girl, Kaylie. Saturday they caravaned up to Leavenworth with us for bouldering. The hike was short, the drive scenic, the weather beautiful, and the company great. My apologies for the lack of any pictures of actually climbing, which I assure you Travis and Zack actually did do. I, however, spent my time keeping the sun off Jewell and enjoying some conversation with Tiffany and Diana. We headed into town afterward for a bite to eat and a look about the shops. They are SO adorable! Mom (Joyce) you have to come see this place! It's a little pseudo-European village, with lots of cute shops.

We have been practicing walking with Jewell a lot recently. I bought her some little Croc-style shoes at Target; she's already broken them in. We walked her all around the Licton Spring's park today, which was a nice change from the daily rounds of the hallways and stairwells in our apartment building. She never tires of walking practice. You can tell from these pictures how much she LOVES it. Also pictured below: Jewell tries her hand using her first set of crayons.

Jewell's Sleep Problems

Last year around this time we were having a problem with getting Jewell to go to sleep. This year that problem seems to have reversed itself. Now she is sleeping 23 hours a day! We don't know what to do. The only way she is even getting enough nutrients is because she will drink from a bottle in her sleep. She just won't wake up.

We have tried everything. All the specialists are stumped. I had high hopes for the baby acupuncture, you'd think poking anyone with 100 needles would wake them up, but that didn't work either.

I guess I can't really complain too much -- she behaves so well in church now. In fact now we can take her anywhere with us. We just prop her in a sitting position every once in a while. No one knows about our little problem, they just think we have a very well behaved baby.

We don't want to give up. Has anyone else seen this problem? Can you help?

More Jewell, More Food

This week I (Jeanie) started doing yoga and Pilates again, and remember how fantastic it feels: so why don't I do it more often? I also remember how fantastic a yoga mat is for baby floor snacks. Here is Jewell, demonstrating.

I made some of Travis' mom's Reese's candy recipe: crush up 1 package of graham crackers (powder fine) with 1 lb powdered sugar and 2+ cups creamy peanut butter (I used more than the 2 cups it called for). Spread evenly over an entire a cookie sheet (to the edges). Melt a 1 1/4 bags chocolate chips with a stick of butter, and quickly spread over the top. Let it cool, then cut into squares to eat. You will need to find people to help you consume them all.

I also made some tasty stir fry for dinner (it's all about FRESH Thai basil). Jewell loves carrots and rice...even a little spicy. And she was getting fancy with the chop sticks (she's already mastered forks, I guess). She also impressed us with her choice of ensemble for the evening.

Dining Out

This week we had the treat of eating somewhere out of the apartment for a few dinners. On Friday I didn't feel like cooking...but I did feel like Asian food. We thought it a good time to use the coupon we got for the Mongolian Grill. The food was...not as good as the Mongolian grill in Walla-Walla. And Jewell was a squirmy worm. She refused to sit on my lap even if I let her play with anything she wanted. She crawled all over the restaurant, much to the amusement of the other guests (and not to mine). It was still a lot of fun and very tasty. And the leftovers were great for lunch the next day.

Saturday we were invited to our friends, the Carter's, apartment for a meal. They made sweet potato burritoes with black beans. I loved them, but I forgot to let them know that beans and Travis are not friends (he was fine; he had a Quesadilla). Jewell and Sawyer got along really well as crawling buddies, both demonstrating the same all-out motion style (think prowling tiger). And they enjoyed playing the kitchen cuboards while dinner was getting ready.