Sheri Dee Meets Hayden Marie

For those of you that don't know Sheri Dee, she is a very near and dear old time friend of our family. When I was born we lived in Norwalk, Ca. My Mom lived right around the corner from Sheri. They had been friends for a while. Perhaps I should note that my Mom's a tad bit on the young side (I'm 29, she's 44. You can do the math). Sheri is a few years younger than her and Sheri would babysit me sometimes. Sheri LOVED Boy George (I'm pretty sure she STILL totally does) and her room was covered in music posters and porcelain masks (I later went on to collect porcelain masks when I was in middle school). She worked at McDonald's (I thought this was AWESOME!) We would watch videos on MTV together. I don't personally remember ALL of this cause it was quite some time ago but I've heard many a stories over the years. I'm constantly reminded by her of things like:

1. I referred to Billy Idol as "Mo, Mo, Mo"
2. I pronounced lipstick as "Lip-dick"
3. And in my world, Chicken McNuggets were "Chicana big nuggets"

How awesome is it to have somebody that you still keep in contact with that knows these types of things about you? Pretty friggin' awesome, if you ask me! Other fun facts about Miss Sheri Dee?

* She took me to my first big concert. Who was it, you ask? None other than Janet Jackson. Her Rhythm Nation tour, even.
* She let me be her Flower Girl (they are no longer married, but little girls feel pretty damn special when they get to be in a wedding)
* When I graduated from Highschool, she gave me her wedding ring from said wedding and told me to make myself a "graduation ring" with the diamonds from it. I STILL wear it to this day, every day. It's my right hand diamond.
*She took me to see Drop Dead Fred and it was my favorite movie for the longest time!  
* We spent many a fun time baking with Sheri when I was a kid. I remember going to the store and buying all the makings for fudge and cookies and cakes along with a bottle of Pepto-Bismol for the belly ache afterwards.

Sheri always took me to do the funnest things and the memories go on and on.

I was beyond excited when she contacted me to tell me she was gonna be in Seattle for work (she lives in CA). She stopped by last Saturday for a visit and met Hayden. It really was a bit of a full circle moment for both of us. We both got a little teary-eyed during the introduction. Sheri will ALWAYS hold a very special place in my heart and it was AMAZING to see her and little Hayden together. Thank you for stopping by, Sheri! I hope we get to see you again soon. WE LOVE YOU!!!

Summa Time Shenanigans

Chris and I went to Soundgarden at the Gorge last Saturday and I must say we were LONG overdue for an evening of just us time.  A big thanks to Grandma & Grandpa Proulx for intercepting Hayden in Moses Lake last weekend so we could have a night to ourselves. We, like so many others, get so caught up in our day to day responsibilities (caring for Hayden, work, bills, chores, errands, etc) we forget to stop and connect in the ways we need to and know we should. It was nice to have and afternoon of relaxing in the sun, an evening of incredible music and above all time to focus on each other.

The Gorge

Chris Cornell ~ AH-MAZING!!

We camped at the Gorge and left bright and early Sunday morning to head over to Coeur d'Alene for a few days of family and friend fun in the sun! We finally had some time off AND the weather was nice. Imagine that! We had a big BBQ on Sunday with loads of friends and their kids. It makes my heart happy to spend time with old friends that I pretty much grew up with, watching our kids all play together. I love lounging by the pool with my parents, watching Hayden and her cousin be silly little girls. Life just feels "right" when we're there. As time ticks by I feel myself yearning more and more to be closer to family. I want so badly to share Hayden, every development and milestone with all the ones we love. Sigh...Perhaps some day that can be a reality for us. For now, this little blog along with pictures and videos will have to due. Here are some of the photos from our time in Cd'a:

Popsicle Princess

Holland & Hayden

Davi Lyn, Hayden, Oliver

Holland, Davi Lynn, Hayden

Fun times with Cousin Holland

Grandma and Hayden

Filling water balloons with Daddy

Chillin with Pappa

More posts to come hopefully sooner than later. I've been a bit of a slacker. I know. Hayden will be going in for her "15 month" well visit soon (probably closer to the time that she's 16 months) we've been busy and are running a tad bit behind schedule. Her personality is really starting to pop and every day it's something new. A lot of imitating games and silly antics. She is getting good at communicating when she needs/wants things and can say a few words (Momma, Dadda, hi, bye, bubble, no, nigh nigh,  SHOE!) You know, all the IMPORTANT stuff ;) She makes the funniest faces. Including one where she opens her mouth super wide like she's shocked and shakes her head. Usually she'll do it if the vacuum turns on or if she see's something she really likes or sometimes just cause she knows it'll make us laugh. Anything for a reaction.

She's learning how to test us and see what she can get away with. She is absolutely fearless and we find ourselves having to watch her every move! She is keeping us very, very busy but we're loving every second of it!

Happy Birthday To The Man I Love

We celebrated Chris' birthday last week, Wednesday to be exact. I really wanted to get a good birthday photo of him, but this is all I got:

Which doesn't really come as much of a surprise considering over the years when I  try to get a photo of Chris I end up with snap shots like these:

He's a total goof ball, but I LOVE IT! It's obvious where our daughter gets her silliness from!! We celebrated his 3rd annual 29th (wink, wink) by going out to dinner as a family, just us three, to Elliot Bay Brewery in West Seattle. Yummy beer and food in a kid friendly environment is always a good time for us! Hayden got to color and people watch and we got to enjoy some time outta the house, a good meal and tasty beverages with no clean up. Awesome! We followed up with some birthday treats from Cupcake Royale. That place never disappoints . Chris & I have been together for nearly 5 years now and I'm excited to continue to grow older right along with him. To many moooore!!! Happy Birthday, my love!

Birthday Yummies!