Walking along the beach in Alki
Catching a Mariner's game where we almost got pelted with a foul ball (thankfully it hit about 6 feet behind us.)
Woodland Park Zoo, where it is always fun to just wander.
And out favorite, Gas Works park. It was a great visit, but was over way quick. Thanks for visiting us Soder Clan. We hope you can make it up again before the end of the year.
I love spring flowers. The queen and king of them would have to be tulips and daffodils. I have planted more bulbs in my short 30 years than most people have. (My parents bought like 60 bulbs one year and I planted them one fall all in their front yard.) Needless to say, they are my favorite. Luckily, I live in a state that has a Tulip Festival every year. This year we were able to go and see the beauty of the area and it didn't disappoint. (Last year we couldn't go because it was too far from the hospital and I was too prego to enjoy it.) I loved the fields of daffodils. 
There were beautiful gardens there and also a breath-taking field of pink tulips. 
There was also a cute little boy that was with us that enjoyed all the activities (including tromping through muddy paths to get to the beautiful fields and riding the most of the time in the front carrier.)
And of course there was the family portrait taken in front of the windmill (with the slight chance it could end up as our Christmas card come winter.) 
We had a great time and enjoyed the entire place. Next time we need to bring our galoshes and try to come on a less rainy weekend. (if that actually exists in the Pacific Northwest.)
Like I said before, while I was in Utah it felt like I was a single parent, running the show by myself. During this weekend, I got to spend a lot of time meditating in my kitchen, where I think I do some of my best thinking while making some pretty delish dinners. On Friday, we went to the Seattle Aquarium and had a great time because the weather actually cooperated with us and made it into a sunny spring day.
On Saturday, we went to Bellevue for a little shopping and Kirkland for a little down time at the Lake. 
Sunday was a quiet day that ended with us taking them to the airport. It was a great visit and it really was refreshing to have some visitors here to not only get my mind off of everything happening in Utah, but to really make me happy to be back home in Seattle. It is always great to revisit your city with a fresh set of eyes. It makes you appreciate being at home and feeling like things are going to be ok. And now I can just relax and exhale because the next few weeks are going to be boring compared to the last two.
A happier time in Edinburgh
Heading to restaurant that had ambiance like this.....
(I don't know what other cities are on this website, but it freakin' rocks. We got our $25 gift certificate to this yummy restaurant for only $2 (our total Valentine's date dinner, a rocking $18 including two dinner entrees and dessert, what a SCREAMING deal!!!) 
Taking a stroll in the freezing cold wind....
Ended the night at home having a great laugh (playing 'jumbo elephant' with a 9 month old will make everyone happy including Thing one and Thing two.) and our warm pj's.
We have always loved watching movies. It was the closest thing to our hobby. Now things have changed, but are kinda the same (most of the movies we want to watch aren't very 'family friendly'). We still try to do movie nights, usually on Friday or Saturday, but now they are usually more kid friendly. Like this weekend, we watched the movie Ponyo. It was pretty good with a lot of great voice talent (Tina Fey, Matt Damon, and Liam Neeson), however, it was originally a Japanese animated movie. The story was pretty fairy tale-ish, but the characters they had in it were a bit odd. (those Japanese are a crazy and imaginative bunch!) There were a couple of head scratching moments, but overall it was a cute movie.
The best part of the night was definitely the popcorn. I have been giving Baby a lot more new foods and so I decided to give him a few small bits of fluff off the popcorn. He loved it. And took it really seriously. If I didn't move fast enough he would get mad and bounce off my lap and try to grab his own handful of popcorn. I love introducing him to new foods, and this was definitely one of his favorite. I have the feeling he is going to love movie nights too! 
I love how he looks like, "Dad, can't you see I am busy eating popcorn, can you get that camera out of my face???"
At the Gardens, it was beautiful to see all the lights and was amazing they could create all those displays with just lights. They had all kinds of different flowers, trees and animals created from lights. 
It was a great time and we can't wait to take him next year when he can really enjoy them.
Baby is eating up all the attention and all the love and kisses from everyone. It is only half over so I am sure we will have many more sweet moments to blog about.
On Saturday, we had Baby blessed. He was really wide eyed as he watched the Priest read the blessing. Baby was so amazed by all the gold icons on the doors of the alter and was excited when the Priest allowed him to touch the icons. And of course, the thing that made me happiest was dressing my boys up. I think my new drug of choice is putting ties on my baby. 
Baby Loves his backpack
I call him 'Hannibal' because he wears a muzzle when we walk (and very vaguely you can hear him say 'Chianti' and make a sucking noise like on the movie Silence of the Lambs.)
It has been such a beautiful fall here in the Northwest, that I will forgive it for the crappy summer. I love fall. It has to be my favorite season (until of course I see Spring then I forget the beauty of Fall and become infatuated with all the new growth and colors.) But back to Fall, I love all the leaves and especially love to crunch the fallen leaves on the sidewalk and gutters. That is right, I still walk in the filthy disgusting gutters to satisfy my need for that crispy sound that only comes once a year. This picture just makes me smile and want to walk back down there to stomp and kick through one more street before this fall turns into the swampy cold, rainy winter that is just around the corner. 
It is definitely the little happiness in life. I am glad that one thing that has carried over from my childhood is the leaf crushing thing (well that and my horrible bad habit of chewing my nails, but that is for a different day.) I think I better leave the laptop and head out while the sun is shining......
You know how one day you look up and things have completely changed. Today was that day for me. I had my camera out and was able to snap a few pictures of a very cooperative baby. I have know for a while that he is no longer a newborn, but today, as I was editing the pictures, I realized he is getting so big so fast. (as I know everyone always said, but you never believe it until you are living it.)
He is smiley and happy (unless he is hungry, but as you can see, he doesn't miss many meals on my clock). His little personality is starting to shine through more and more. He finds our crazy Thing 2 hilarious. I love that he finds laughter contagious, and if we are laughing he will bust up as well. And of course, it is common knowledge that baby's laughter will heal any bad day that the real world can throw at you, so we are in good shape at the Sodermoto house!
that they would go to a pumpkin patch that you had to ride a hay ride to the field to pick your pumpkin. 
The only thing that the young couple didn't plan on was it being so cold. So instead of going to on the quaint little hay ride, they decided that it was too frosty and the baby wouldn't care where they got the pumpkin from this year. So they left and went on a trek to find another pumpkin patch. So with the baby safe in his car seat in the warm car they set off on their journey. 
After a few wrong turns they discovered this beautiful little tucked away neighborhood that had big fall trees full of fall leaves and it was along a very out of place red bricked road. 
It was a nice break to drive along the red bricked road and enjoy the scenery, but there were no smaller pumpkin patches. After about a thirty minute detour/scenic drive, the young parents did discover the perfect place for their baby to find his first pumpkin. 
When it was found, they all were happy that they had discovered what they were looking for. (The 5 month old was actually still deciding if this was the perfect pumpkin or if he should still be asleep in the warm cozy car and also wondering why his mother put him in such a ridiculous hat.) 
The End.
