The Littlest Fireman

Long before Thomas was born, he received his first Halloween costume. At his surprise shower thrown by the Fire Department at SE Thurston, Chief Auntie Rita and Commissioner Auntie Kathleen gave him his first firefighting outfit.

We stopped by today for his first ever "trick or treating" experience...and to show everyone at the station how cute (and manly) he was at nine months. Chief Rita presented Thomas with a special fire bear, and he got lots of snuggles and hugs from both the Chief and Auntie Rhonda.

He missed Auntie Kathleen, but knows that as soon as she's feeling better, he will come visit. Auntie Kris just needs to get up earlier. :)


Riding behind the fire truck is very serious business. Especially if it's The Wee Truck for The Wee Ski.


To get some perspective on the actual size of The Wee Truck, I give you Paul in comparison. :)

The Wee Fireman sends his Happiest Halloween Greetings!

Sweet Halloween Goodness

They are not Bakerella-decorated quality yet, but I'll take 'em!

Things I learned in my first ever round of making cake balls:

• Do not make cake balls while hungry.
• You need to make the balls ahead of time, and chill them. I chilled overnight in the fridge, but popping them in the freezer for a bit helped significantly.
• They are messy.
• Do not combine making cake balls + feeding the child. You will tear your hair out at the mess.
• Do not make cake balls while hungry.
• Do not expect perfection on the first round. There is a steep learning curve for insane Bakerella style prettiness.
• And you really shouldn't make cake balls while hungry. Cake + frosting + candy shell = heaven.

Good stuff:

• Directions from Bakerella
• Yummy ideas for cake + frosting combinations
• The Pioneer Woman Makes Halloween Cake Balls

Overheard last night

Last night, Jonathan and I were working through our schedules for the next few weeks.

My last Relay Regional Summit is in Salt Lake City in November. With the swine flu in crazy effect, I decided to schedule a quick 48 hour trip, leaving Thomas behind with Jonathan. It's a crazy amount of scheduling to leave him behind...so I may have been a bit Type A about it. :)

Me: "I'm leaving a week from Thursday - don't forget."
J: "Oh, I won't. We've got plans."
Me: "Plans?"
J: "Yup. We're heading to Gymboree for a new Wing Man shirt, and then hitting the bars together."

A Snuggly Sunday.

Today...

• We slept in until 8 a.m. All of us. This is a miracle.
• We went to Mass and braved the typical toxic zone for the flu. Thankfully, there were very few coughers and sneezers present. Screamers? Were there screamers present? At the end of Mass? Quite possibly. And the screamer's name might have been Thomas.
• Had an awesome shoot - braving through the rain - and a sneak peek will be up in the morning on Finian Road. So ridiculously hard to choose my faves! There's something about fun kids + great parents that makes my job so easy.
• Came home to the sight above. Thomas was taking his early afternoon nap when I left. When I drove down the driveway, his sixth-Mommy-sense must have kicked in, because he yelled until Jonathan went to get him. And then they took a nap on the sofa until I got home a few hours later.
• We all had a big weekend. Both boys are asleep right now. Me? Wide awake. Loving the quiet + the productivity that I'm finding late tonight.
• Looking forward to making cake pops or cake balls this week. How can Halloween almost be here?
• Also looking forward to a date night with Jonathan on Halloween. Heck, Thomas is too young to get the trick-or-treating part of it, so he'll still dress up, but he'll be hanging with Grandma and Grandpa. The two of us? We're heading to dinner and a movie. I'm hoping for Zombieland. Jonathan thinks I'm kidding. I am not. Anyone seen it yet?
• Surprised Jonathan with Cowboy Pizza from Papa Murphy's. He was happy.
• Lots ahead this week - vaccines for the Wee Ski, dentist for me, swimming, projects, 2 shoots, and cleaning out my office.
• Life is good.

Time for bed.

An incredible Relay Summit in Seattle - more than 600 Relayers came together to get fired up for the 2010 season. Thomas ended up spending the day with us at the Summit (after a fun day yesterday with Grandma at the hotel)...when our plans changed due to the flu...so we made the best of it!

More to come on Summit tomorrow, because the whole Ski family is exhausted. We were hoping that Thomas would go down easily tonight...but this is what happened:



I love the video monitor. It rocks.

Sleepy time for us! Good night!

Of Rudolph noses and bouncing back

Yesterday, Thomas took a two-foot swan dive off the changing bench at the Y. My normally happy, resilient nine-month-old dove face first onto the plastic grating that covers the tile.

The tip of his nose was bleeding. There was blood all over his upper lip. After a few minutes, the pattern of the grating began to emerge on his forehead. After about five minutes of frantic screaming, he calmed down. He was a little dazed, but he reached out for the shampoo bottle that he had leaned over for when he fell.

And then he giggled.

If only I could bounce back so quickly after my nose gets bent out of joint.

Hypothetically speaking, of course. :)

Maybe I can learn a lesson here!

The Littlest 12th Man

The Wee Ski went to his first Seahawks game today. We made a day of it - heading up early to beat the rush, visiting the pre-game fun stuff at the Qwest Event Center, and helped Thomas adjust to the craziness that is Game Day.

We'd been reading our "Let's Go Seahawks" book for the past few nights, and flipped through it on the way up north. You can do a lot of flipping during a 90 minute drive. The Wee Ski also napped a bit. Papa drove and listened to the pre-game on the radio, and Mommy read blogs on her blackberry.

Since it was a good bonding time for father/son, Jonathan wore Thomas in the Bjorn, and Thomas wore the season tickets around his neck. Thomas can come with us without a separate ticket for 3 more years. That's what I'm talking about.

With a sold out game and more than 60,000+ fans expected, we wanted to help Thomas adjust to a slightly bigger crowd than we would normally find in Rainier. :)

We got there early, had some snacks, walked the sights, and got some photos.

I love that this child knows what a self-portrait is. He is better at these than regular photos.

Because of the famous 12th man at Qwest, the incredible deafening noise that the fans make, Jonathan bought Thomas special earmuffs to help protect his ears.

Thomas was not a fan.

We conceded and made him wear them only during the times that Arizona had the ball. Unfortunately for both Thomas and the Seahawks, that was a lot.

Thomas mastered the art of flipping them off his head when he was done wearing them.

And Papa would snuggle him back in, and slide the earmuffs back on.

Earmuffs! (If you've seen Old School, you'll know that by the terrible play of the Hawks today, we needed both real and virtual earmuffs :) )

Fine, I'll wear these stupid things. Can I have a nap now?

Time to rally! If only the Seahawks could have rallied like he did...I'm pretty sure this is my most favorite photo of late.

During the third quarter, Thomas and I slipped outside for a bit for a change of scenery. We happened to miss a giant fight that broke out 2 seats down from us - where 2 Steelers fans got beaten up by Seahawks fans, and then were ejected. Jonathan sent a warning text to stay put outside. :)

We ran into Noah and his papa near the end, Kevin and Heidi at the beginning, and a handful of firefighters that Jonathan knew.

And then it was lights out for the Wee Ski. Most of the 4th quarter and the walk back to the car.

Night night!

Here's hoping Thomas brings more mojo for the team the next time he goes!

An incredible miracle, mate

When I was watching this video this morning on the news, I unconsciously scooped Thomas up and held him tight.

What an awesome miracle.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Quick Takes • The I Did It Early Edition!

Not long enough for a full blog post, not short enough for twitter...

1. So looking forward to the week ahead - our second date night of the week (tonight), the pumpkin patch and Thomas's first time seeing his cousin play football (for the Bellarmine Youth Football team - 6th grade) tomorrow, and his first Seahawks game on Sunday.
2. The living room looks awesome. With all the walls a lighter shade (and the two brown walls repainted to the light taupe) and lamps in the corners, everything is so bright. We are blessed with a fantastic wrap-around porch, but it also inhibits the sunlight from coming in the windows...and now light is bouncing everywhere. It's the best feeling as we head into wet, windy fall.
3. I am so wishing that I can paint one of our kitchen walls with one of these chalkboard paints. It's a toss up for me between the sweet tangerine and army boy shades...but I am being veto'd on chalkboard paint right now. I am still holding out hope. Maybe I'll get a quart of the orange sweet tangerine paint for Halloween. :)
4. Loving honeycrisp apples right now.
5. I am addicted to crock pot recipes right now. In finding my balance for daily work, I realize that I have not magically become a night owl when I don't have to get up at 4 am...and I am still much more focused with more energy in the morning. Crock pot dinners are fantastic. I'd love it if you shared a favorite recipe or a link to one online. :)
6. Loving these felt softies from Saintly Silver. Thomas picked out one for himself (St. Thomas Aquinas) and a custom one for Avila (St. Teresa of Avila), that he mailed up to her for her feast day yesterday.
7. And a special prayer request...for my grandpa, who is recovering from an adventure to the emergency room and in the hospital over the past few days. For his peace and recovery over the next few days. It is truly a miracle that he is still with us after this adventure a year ago.

And a photo to share...how lucky am I to wake up to this sight this morning from my bedroom window?!?

My lil' swimmer

Today marks the completion of Thomas's first session of swimming lessons. He is in the Shrimp/Kipper track at the Briggs YMCA, where we go each Tuesday and Thursday morning. There are a few other moms and a few dads that bring their wee ones to learn to swim.

He is a little fish. His instructor, Chelsea, is so good with the kids. We sing a lot of songs - the "people in the pool" is his favorite. Like "the wheels on the bus", except he gets to splash as much as he wants. He would spend the whole class splashing if he could. It's like a giant bathtub. He learning how to float on his back, how to climb out of the pool (modified for a 9 month old), how to jump back in without fear (just like Humpty Dumpty does), and how to swim underwater for a few feet while holding his breath. It's mainly to help him be comfortable around the water.

We learned the other night that climbing out of the pool has taught him how to climb steps, as we watched him climb up Meegan's stairs. But since there was no water to jump back into, he waited for us to get him.

But today's class was very different.

Today, I was "that mom".

You know, the mom who causes the scene?

The lifeguard took Chelsea to the other side of the pool during class to let her know there had been an "incident". Chelsea came back and explained that they were on poopy alert (wow, I swore that word would never make it onto this blog) because someone had gone #2.

And they began the diaper checks.

Thomas did not pass with flying colors.

I got to learn what it was like to be the mom of the child who pooped during swimming class.

Humility, thy name is Shelley.

Thankfully, the lifeguard had caught it quickly when Thomas was sitting on the side of the pool, so there was no 'floaters' to mess up the pool. (That was my big fear: clearing everyone from the Y so they could drain the pool and I would forever be known as the Poop Mom). The lifeguard cleaned the area down with the hazardous waste cleaner, and I had the privilege of learning how to change a messy swim diaper.

I am positive that I burned off some time in purgatory.

When we came back to class, everyone was laughing with us, not at us. No one wants to be "that mom", and they got to experience it vicariously through me.

As for Thomas? He was splashing away, thrilled to be back in the pool.

Pretty sure he had no idea what just happened.

But he's ready to go next Tuesday for his next five-week session.

I may need a lemon drop before then.

Getting scrappy with it

After painting the living room over the last week (while decluttering and cleaning out), I realized that my 12x12 scrapbook for 2009 is sorely underfilled.

I decided that I needed to simply do. it. now. So I pulled together three simple layouts - one with the latest design from CZ Design. So incredibly excited that she is designing for Designer Digitals now. Pretty sure I ran through the house naked screaming. It was that good.

Thomas and Grandma • Cathy Zielske's Layered Template 01


Thomas at Eight Months • Ali Edwards Layered Template No. 34


This one is from Anna Aspnes, but I can't remember which one.


The rest of the currently very small book is here.

12 of 12: The Thomas-centric Edition

When we woke up and Thomas had a low-grade fever, plans changed for the day. Lots of nursing (for him) and sleep lay ahead for both of us.

I had been up working since about 4 am, so I crawled back into bed with him at 6:45, and we slept until 9 am. I honestly don't remember the last time I did that. It was heavenly.

And that is where we begin, on this 12th day of the month. Here is today, in 12 photos, just after we got up.

Bed Head • 9:04 am
Poor child, cursed with my curly hair.

In his jumperoo • 9:28 am
This is the place you'll find the Wee Ski in the morning while I'm doing outside chores (feeding the animals, letting the chickens out, watering plants & herbs). Oh wait - there's no bookcase behind him! And that's a new wall color! That is change I can believe in.

Done with Nap #1 • 11:36 am
And ready to rock & roll. See those raccoons behind him? Those are painted on the wall. It's a sweet looking room. Ready to be unveiled this week, right here on the blog.

Dirty Chickens Eat Mud • 11:45 am
I wish they'd lay me some eggs. Now. I fear if it doesn't begin soon, it will be spring again before they begin laying, when it's warmer. And yes, it's obvious we have a mole problem. However, we also have a grass-growing problem, so it doesn't bother me as much.

Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies • 12:25 pm
Fresh outta the oven. Mmmmm.

Candy Corn • 1:34 pm
Refilled for the husband.

On the road again. • 4:10 pm
Heading north for a cut and color for me, cut for the Wee Ski.

At Bank of America. • 5:00 pm
Evidently, he did not like me driving over speed bumps and was crabby when he woke up.

A snippet of my life • 5:25 pm
Blackberry ready for our Training Task Force call at 5:30 pm, extra diapers, wallet, and baby sling.

Paige and Thomas • 6:09 pm
Thomas showing off his yanking skills. So far, nobody has pulled his hair when he's pulled theirs. No one, except for his mommy. And he doesn't pull his mommy's hair too often anymore. Coincidence? I think not.

Ready for Haircut #4. • 6:38 pm
Meegan is an angel with him. I can't believe he's only 9 months old and is on his 4th haircut. For the love, child. He almost didn't let us cut the back...which struck the fear of a mullet in Mommy's mind. We made sure the back got cut.

All done! • 6:55 pm
Onto my color and cut...no more gray for me! Oh, the trials of being 32...

Find more 12 of 12 days from around the world here.

Earth to Mommy

I am awake. Come get me out of my crib. Can you see me?

I think I'll just attack the video monitor camera kind of like the Blair Witch Project. Then I'll give the camera a big wet kiss. I'm ready to go, Mommy!

Come get me!

The skills that really matter

A few years ago, I thought of all the things that was important for me to find in a husband (strong faith, a sense of humor, a forgiving nature, the ability to challenge me to grow, and a joyful heart). I now realize that I had neglected one very significant trait.

He must kick ass in musical chairs.

Yesterday was Bosses Day at Connolly Tacon & Meserve, where the staff puts together a fun (and competitive) day full of activities for the attorneys. Set away from the office, it gives them time to bond. The office is closed for legal business that day. Yesterday's festivities included a continental breakfast, chair massages, a dictation contest, homemade lunch at the Grange, and a massive game time which included Name that Tune, Cranium, Knock, Ladder Golf, and Musical Chairs.

How happy am I that there is video footage from the both the preliminary rounds AND the finals? A huge thanks to Chris for uploading these gems to the internet, so no one should miss out on seeing my husband rock the musical chairs.

Enjoy. My Thursday gift to you.

And I do think that watching Carter (in the gray sweatshirt) is an early weekend present. He has a very distinct surfing style of musical chairs strategy. :)

The prelims:


And the finals:


And the overall winner of the day's challenges?

My husband.

Sunsets in the northwest...

...could not be better anywhere else.

We held our normal Thursday night dinner tonight, since Mom and Dad are taking off to Leavenworth for their 39th anniversary tomorrow. Thomas was in heaven: Grandma + Grandpa + the doggies + water + Dodgers baseball.

I made lemon oregano chicken with feta, butternut sage risotto, and roasted cauliflower. I tried my hand at whole wheat dinner rolls - they were OK, but didn't rise long enough. I'll master them yet. I threw some roasted garlic butter on them and called it good. :)

After dinner, we changed the Wee Ski into his jammies and he and Grandma played down by the water.

...they saw an airplane. It was exciting stuff.

...and I got some of my fave silhouette shots yet. Gina, the just-out-of-the-bay-from-swimming Portie, wanted in the photo too.

Grandma and Thomas snuggling up...

Thomas and Princess MommyLeia.

Didn't my mom do a good job? I was expecting that I wouldn't have even been in the frame when she shot it. :)

The setting sun...

Straight out of the camera. Yum. I ♥ northwest sunsets.

Grandpa teaching Thomas how to cheer for the Dodgers. They got a run! Jump up and down!

This is all very exciting, Grandpa. But it's exhausting. I am sleepy now.

And a few minutes later...this.

What a fantastic way to end the evening.

Headed home to Jonathan. Glee! is on in a bit.

Good night, internets!