Ok, so here's a Jan/Feb report!

Ok, time for a "what we've been up to update" partly so I can sit still for a few minutes and reflect and partly b/c it's been a long time since I've really blogged! 2 weeks into it, Toriana is walking almost like a pro, albeit a pro penguin. She has a nearly effortless waddle and it is often her first choice over crawling. But there's still a very wide base of support so it's quite cute if I do say so myself! We have lots of video clips but they take forever to load so I may or may not add one ... need to figure out a way to share those easier. She's up to about 23# and she really doesn't meet any food texture or flavor that she doesn't like (woohoo!!) ... that is, anything except baby food - that is totally rejected almost all the time now. Still not really "talking" in a way that is meaningful to us but she has her own language and enjoys hearing her own voice apparently (often at rather loud decibels ... and/or in a "singing variety).

We went to Great Gma Dorothy's funeral in E WA ... a long trip to honor a special lady who we will especially miss at Chelan, when we go to Oroville, at Thanksgiving, and more. It was wonderful being 17 of 20 gathered together at John&Linda's - there was special pj time eating Gpa's swedish pancakes and waffles, snuggling in for book reading with Gma, and being entertained by lots of loving cousins. We FINALLY got to meet cute little cousin JAKOB!!We also had the privilege of driving Susan W. back to Seattle - Toriana was SO good for that trip and we had such an inspiring visit.
The next wkend we joined a crew of "young'uns" for a long weekend at Mt Baker ... we stayed in a lodge and enjoyed a little time playing in the snow, visiting, singing, and unfortunately driving a bit too much. But, the weather was gorgeous though and we were glad they invited us to join! It was a fun surprise to see "blog friend Mackie" and his brothers and parents at our mtg in Bellingham that Sunday. They're a couple weeks apart in age so it's fun to compare notes!

Ok, that brings us somewhat up to date in the absence of my old "newsletters" (for those who wondered ... when my computer was stolen in May so were my email groups and it's always seemed too daunting to try to collect them and put it together again! Thus, there are blog updates instead... sometimes!)
Now for a bit of photo evidence ...

W/world traveler friend Gwyndolyn in Oroville!

8 of 10 Z grands; Aunt Kristin and cousin Jakob; breakfast w/ Daddy& Uncle Bill

Mt Baker area hike ...

We got to meet baby BRADEN!! So sweet!

Skipping ahead to ... today!

Here's a video that sums up our new accomplishment around here pretty well. I hope to post again next week with more pics, words, etc but for now, this is all. Happy Valentine's and President's Day weekend! (Note, Toriana did NOT grow a tail ... she just pulled her belt half off!)