A December Whirlwind!

This past month has been pretty crazy. I sang in two choir concerts, gave a capstone presentation at the art museum for my docent class, finished the school quarter, and then started prepping for the class that I just started to teach.

A few days before Christmas, Grandma P passed away, and we went as a family to Utah to attend her funeral. She was an amazing lady who loved to learn and read, and she accomplished a lot of great work within her community too. I think it is pretty impressive that the administrations of both local universities sent flowers to the family:

The B family men at the funeral

The kids were quite good at the funeral. My dad and sister L came, and I think Sam was a lot more attentive because he was sitting next to L. We actually stayed at my dad's house, so we got to spend some time with family and extended family while we were there too. Sam and Lucy loved playing in the snow with some of their aunts:

V got to see Lucy in the Christmas Queen outfit that V bought for her

Second cousins! Lucy and Vera

I got visit with three good friends in three short, thirty-minute stints. It was good to see Joanna, Heather, and Katherine, although each of the visits was much too short!

We made sure that we went down and visited my Grandma L. She is doing better than when we saw her in July, and I'm glad that we were able to have a nice conversation with her (although she kept getting confused as to whether she was in her right room in the nursing home). I'm glad Sam got to see his "Gingerbread House Grandma."

Before we flew home, we met with V by her work and got to eat lunch downtown. V took us on a tour of the underground tunnels near her work, which Sam thought was pretty neat!

We came home right before Christmas Eve. That day was a little bit of a blur, since we were getting last-minute things ready for Christmas.

Christmas Eve bedtime story

Christmas morning! Sam got a Kylo Ren helmet (he specified to Santa that he did not want a mask) and costume!

Santa brought Lucy a toy kitchen, which came with a little phone!

Christmas breakfast. J made delicious cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting. Sam said that he made this face in the picture on purpose, but I think he must have been about to sneeze.

Christmas also didn't go quite like we expected. On Christmas afternoon, Lucy tried to take her new Fisher Price popper vacuum downstairs to our basement and fell down the flight of stairs, breaking her arm in the process. She fell just about thirty minutes before E and C were supposed to do a video chat with our family from their missions in the Philippines and Hong Kong. Lucy calmed down enough that we were able to start the video chat, but in the middle of the chat J was worried that something was wrong: Lucy wasn't using her right arm, although she could wiggle her fingers. J ended up taking Lucy to the ER before the video chat had ended.

J and Lucy in the hospital

J's brothers and their families arrived in town on Christmas night. We joined them at RB the next morning, since Lucy and J were at the hospital the night before. For the most part, Lucy was really cheerful and happy, despite her cast. The kids had a fun time playing with cousins.

Cousins peeking at each other between the banister

Sam got to join the grown-ups on an outing to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It was really fun to see it at the Cinerama, since Paul Allen's personal collection of Star Wars costumes was on display in the foyer!

Cousins walking in Snoqualmie after an outing at a bowling alley

Lunch at the Seattle Center! 

Lucy chose a bright lime green color for her cast. Maybe she and her mom like the same colors.

Cousins and brothers

J and I were also able to slip away to Vancouver, BC for a few nights to celebrate our ten year anniversary. We are so grateful that we had family members who were able to watch the kids so we could get away. J pretty much planned the whole thing. We stayed at a lovely Bed and Breakfast called Thistle Down House in North Vancouver. It was really nice to relax and spend time with each other. J said afterward that it was nice to spend time as two people, without the titles or roles of "dad" and "mom."

Anniversary selfie in Lee Bul's installation Via Negativa (2012) at the Vancouver Art Gallery

We went to Granville Island to seek out the Giants installation by Os Gemeos. This is a detail of the installation (there are actually four silos that are painted, but two of them were hidden behind some industrial machinery).

At the Hotel Vancouver New Year's Eve party, where we danced to a live band playing Motown music!

Brunch at the Tea Room in Stanley Park

And now we are back home, and things are getting back to normal! School started up for me and Sam again, so we are getting back into the normal routine. 

Lucy has learned how to get along with her cast. She makes a great padawan for Kylo Ren.

And she can still push her stroller!

Black Lace Dresses and Buttons

I'm pretty sure that Kate Middleton and I would be friends if we ever met. I mean, we both love art history and we both love black lace dresses. What more do we need to have in common? I've been smitten with the black lace dresses that Kate has worn, and I think I'd like something similar to wear for my anniversary date with J.

I found on on a blog entry from the What Kate Wore website that this is the Long Sleeve Amoret Dress by Temperley London which sells for about $4,000. That's a little out of my price range!

Kate Middleton in a black lace gown by Diane von Furstenberg

Black dress by Beulah London (for only $1,000 this time!)

I love the scalloped neckline and hemline of this black lace Dolce Gabbana dress.

This Erdem dress is navy blue, but is also is really great.

This Dolce Gabbana dress is more plum-colored than black, but I like the neckline and the long sleeves.

Here are some more affordable black dress options that I like:

Scallop Lace Dress

With This Ring Dress Black (Shabby Apple)

This is a maternity dress (eek!), but I wonder if a non-pregnant person could get away wearing it.

Milly Celia Lace Dress

And on a side note, I've been thinking a lot of about small buttons and how much I love them on dresses and shoes. Speaking of Kate Middleton, look at the back of this gorgeous greenish-blue Jenny Packham gown of lace and chiffon that she wore at the London Olympic Games gala:

Also, I think I need some Victorian boots that button up. I've always wanted Victorian button boots (ever since I watched Shirley Temple put them on, while using a button hook, in A Little Princess). These are the best options that I have found so far, but I'm going to keep looking.

Thankful for Rest and Singing

I feel like Thanksgiving really has snuck up on me this year. This morning I realized that we never even got out our Thanksgiving decorations. Maybe we will get them out tonight, if we get everything else in order beforehand. Right now we are experiencing a bit of a lull in our preparations, since Lucy is napping.

I realized a few days ago that the past few months have been especially busy for me because I have an unprecedented amount of students with special needs. Over one-third of my students have some type of disability which affects their learning in a classroom setting, or have personal problems which are affecting their school performance, or they are an international student and/or an athlete. With all of these various needs (and the extra accommodations that I need to make for these students), not to mention the new challenges of teaching an art history class very early in the morning, I am worn out!

So, this Thanksgiving, I especially feel grateful for the opportunity to rest from work. I won't be resting in general, since I'll be chasing Lucy, giving Sam the attention he needs, and helping J in the kitchen. But at least I won't be worrying about work and all of my students who need help.

This Thanksgiving too, I am grateful that I sing in the university choir. Although it can be tricky to get to choir rehearsal some days (and I know that my absence creates more work for Jeremy at home), I really do love the opportunity to try to improve my vocal technique. And my choir director is such a delightful and perceptive person. I hope she never retires. I especially love that she has a background in vocal pedagogy, because I learn more things about my personal voice and technique through our rehearsals. I often feel like the vocal tips that she gives the class are intended specifically for me. (Perhaps this isn't the case, but I am paranoid all the same.) Just two days ago I learned these things:

• In order to use the "f" fricative effectively in singing, you shouldn't bite down with your "f" on the top part of your lip, because that will restrict the air flow. Instead, you should place your teeth behind your lip, so that the air can flow freely. (How logical! She gave us this advice while we were rehearsing "Fum, Fum, Fum!")
• When singing an "ah" vowel, only drop your jaw extremely far down (what I learned as the "two-finger method" in terms of creating space) when you are in your very low or very high register. When you sing an "ah" in your middle register, you don't need to drop your jaw down low, even in an attempt to blend. You can keep your mouth relatively closed (with only a "one-finger opening") and just have the open space be created by lifting your soft palate. 

Singing in choir is definitely one of the most rewarding things that I am involved with right now. Although I enjoy my volunteer work as a docent in a general sense, I am more rejuvenated when I leave my choir rehearsals. I am grateful that the act of singing allows not only for self-expression, but also self-improvement and learning.

Recent Lucy and Sam pics

It has been so neat to see Sam take on the role of an older brother over the past year and a half. Sam is such a sweet, loving boy. I knew that he would be great with a little sibling, but it makes me really happy to see how thoughtful, protective, and loving he is toward Lucy. In turn, Lucy adores Sam. She asks for him all the time when he is at school, and she cheers every afternoon when she sees his school bus pulling up to the bus stop.

Here are some of my favorite recent pictures of the two of them together.

Lucy update

St. Edward State Park, September 2015

It has been several months since I have been able to sit down and write an update on sweet little Lucy. These past few weeks have been extremely busy for me — sometimes to the point of feeling almost unmanageable — but everything has worked out in the end.

One of the reasons that I have been kept so busy is that Lucy is walking, crawling, and getting into just about everything. I feel like if I try to make progress on keeping the house clean, I'll take one step forward (working in one section of the house), while simultaneously Lucy puts me two steps back (by going into another room and making a mess while my attention is elsewhere). Ah well. She is very curious about a lot of things, which I'm glad about. I took this picture last week, after she got into the pantry and filing cabinet of the secretary desk:

Lucy's favorite activities now include playing with the DVD cases, "Goin' Fishin'" game, the Pizza Mania game, and putting lots and lots and lots of stickers in her Sesame Street coloring book (she likes to make a collage and layer the stickers on top of each other).

She is just starting to get into pretend games, especially if she gets to pretend feeding one of her stuffed animals or dolls. We got her a little picnic basket with some pretend food, and she likes to go on picnics at least once or twice a day.

She also has really gotten into bubble baths over the past week. Every time we ask her if she would like a bath, she responds, "Bubbles?"

This wrinkly nose face reminds me of my sister E when she was a little Wernkachunk

Lucy also really loves to read books right now. And she especially loves reading books in her little stuffed green chair. This chair used to be Sam's until about a week ago - we decided to get him a bean bag chair because Lucy was so obsessed with sitting in Sam's chair. We moved the green chair into her room, and she loves walking over to her bookshelf, choosing a book, and then coming back to settle herself into her chair. 

Right now she really loves the Child's Play board books, which have little cut-out sections to reveal images. For a few weeks she really liked reading the "This Old Man" book with me. She liked me to sing the song and tap the rhythm of the song on the book pages. But over the past week or two she has become really into "The Farmer in the Dell" book. I also tap the rhythm of the pages while I sing the song, and she likes that. If I don't tap, then she tries to tap for me.

Lucy began walking when she was about fourteen and a half months old, which was a lot later than Sam. She has still preferred to crawl though, and it has only been about a week that she has become determined to walk at all times. And now that her motor skills are improving, she likes to try to dance and hop. She especially likes dancing to the "Watch Me Sing" album that I used to listen to when I was little (with the "See Me Run" song!).

She is very social, happy, and affectionate. She likes to wake up with a smile and rarely is grumpy. And I love that she gives lots of cute kisses and hugs. These are the words that she uses on a regular basis right now:

• Mom
• Dad
• Sam (Although she is still hesitant to say this word sometimes, because she can tell that she doesn't quite get the "S" and "m" right. She was more confident when she didn't realize the distinction between the letters, when she used to say "Bam" or "Dam" for "Sam.")
• Diaper
• Kee-kee (cookie)
• Pih-pih (caterpillar)
• Bop
• Hhhhiii!
• Hooome!
• Poop
• Shoe
• Yes/yeah
• Bye
• Elmo
• Deet Deet ("Blues Clues" - she says this while opening and shutting her hands)
• Affe (giraffe)
• Ook (book)
• Uh-oh!
• Bluh-uh-luh (This means "banana." She says it by basically saying "bluh" and wiggling her tongue back and forth.)
• Up
• Shut
• Bubble

Here she is, trying to help herself to whatever she finds in the pantry

She is a darling girl and I really enjoy getting to spend so much time with her. Her hair is curly in the back, and it is especially curly when she gets out of the bath. I'm not sure if it will stay curly as her hair grows a bit longer, but it is very cute. The bouncy curls match her cute, cheerful personality. We love our little Bubba!

Family Halloween Costumes

I'm supposed to be grading the mound of papers sitting next to me, but I keep getting distracted by the Chasing Fireflies website. I always like seeing what family costumes they have for sale each year, even though I don't know if we'll ever be able to justify a thematic costume from their website for our whole family. Nonetheless, these are the costumes that I think would be fun.

The Downton Abbey family costume

J would lovingly roll his eyes at this costume. I don't think anyone in the family would care to dress up like characters from Downton except for me. But for me to wear a dress like Lady Grantham! That would be fun.

The Wizard of Oz family costume

I could get Sam on board for doing this family costume, I think! I'm not so keen on being Glinda (I'd rather do the Dorothy costume, if need be, although I'd rather have Lucy be Dorothy). Ideally, I think we would have Sam be the Tin Woodman, J as the Cowardly Lion (or the Scarecrow), and Lucy as Dorothy, and then I could be either be Ozma (a childhood wish realized too late!), the Lion or Scarecrow (whomever J doesn't want), Glinda, or the Wicked Witch. If I did go as Glinda, though, I'd rather go as the Glinda that appears in the Oz books (as drawn by J.R. Neill).

Breakfast at Tiffany's costume

If Lucy and I were brunettes, then I think this would be a fun costume to pull off. Maybe my sister C would be a better candidate for this one.

They still have the Vampires of Versailles costumes for sale, which I think would be my ultimate costume dream! I blogged about them and the "Ghostly Adults" a few years ago. But I'm sad to report that the "Ghostly Adults" costumes have been discontinued - I'll have to find a nineteenth-century ghost costume elsewhere.

Leavenworth and Deception Falls

Before the insanity of the school year started, we were able to meet up with our good friends M and JB for a quick weekend getaway in Leavenworth. It was really fun to connect with our friends (they abandoned Seattle at the beginning of this year!) and get to play with their little baby girl. Hopefully Lucy and Baby J will grow up to be cute little besties. We feel lucky to know these neat, intelligent, thoughtful people and have them in our lives.

Sam took this picture, which accounts for the perspective! 

On our way back home, we drove on Highway 2 through Steven's Pass. We stopped for about 45 minutes to walk along the Deception Falls trail. It was a nice way to end the fun weekend, and it also gave us a chance to stretch our legs during the drive! The trail is a loop trail, and is under a mile long altogether.

Sam is in the phase where he wants to pull a silly face every time I try to take a picture. 

There is an old gully (riverbed?) that is filled with cairns that hikers have made over time. It is really a magical experience to walk over the bridge through this area.