Birthday Bowling

So my family came up this last weekend for Will's birthday and we weren't sure what we wanted to do.  It was much too cold to do anything outside like we did with my birthday in September.  Then we got a coupon in the mail the day before my family came that gave a big discount for bowling at our local lanes in Cheney.  It came with eight shoe rentals, two family size pizzas, eight soft drinks, and bowling as much as you want for two hours for only seventy bucks.  So that is what we did and we had lots of fun.  I haven't been bowling in years and Whitney has never gone bowling, so we all just had a good time and didn't get too competitive.

Whitney got help pushing the ball down the lane.  My mom was great at helping her whenever Whitney's turn came up.  They used a special light bowling ball that the bowling manager had in the back that was good for Whitney and Conner.  Whitney really liked the machine that brings the balls back (whatever that machine is called) and we had to always watch to make sure she didn't squish her finger or bonk her head on it.

Whitney and I wait to see where the ball goes.  Whitney was pretty fascinated by watching the ball go down the lane to hit the pins.  Here are some more family members bowling.

So we all had a great time bowling.  I think my dad was the ultimate bowling champion.  Will and everyone else did pretty good as well.  I was lucky and got to use the lane with the bumpers; it's a little challenging bowling when you are quite pregnant.

There was a lot of fun hanging out in between turns.  We did a lot of high-fiving and cheering and pizza eating.  And there was only one Whitney escape.  She took off down the lane and I started chasing her before she could reach the pins but the lane was way too slippery and I was afraid of falling.  So my dad ran and caught the escape artist right before she got to the pins.  Altogether, I say we had a fun, successful bowling trip.

Happy 29th birthday Will!  I love you.

And just for fun.  Here is a little video of Whitney who was very excited to see herself on TV when we connected the new camera to the television.

Santas Santas Everywhere

Well, tis the season for Santa to make an appearance everywhere.  Whitney has loved seeing Santa and other Christmas decorations coming up in stores and along the streets.  She knows that Santa says 'ho ho ho' and that he is nice and gives out candy.  Now we just need to teach her the true meaning of Christmas which you cannot find in stores.  Oh well.  Here are some of our Santa experiences lately.

We went to the annual tree lighting at the library.  We have never gone before since we use to live not quite as close to the library, but this year we just walked a couple of blocks.  I didn't know if it was going to be cool or completely lame, but it ended up being fun.  Here Whitney and Will are waiting for the action to start.  It was cold outside while we waited, but there was free hot chocolate and everybody was singing Christmas carols.

Here is the tree all lit up; Whitney really liked all the lights.  There were hundreds of people at this event, so we were all pretty crammed together, but that provided some body heat.

It is kind of hard to tell from the picture, but here comes Santa on the back of a fire truck.  I think all the kids there were very impressed. 

This is the back of us up close to Santa.  It took a little while because there were a long line of children all wanting Santa.  Santa gave out little goodies to the kids - a bag of Hershey kisses and a candy cane and a pencil that says to wear your helmet.  Who knew that Santa was so safety-minded?

I believe this is Whitney's first real eating of a candy cane.  She was too little last Christmas and we never get them any other time of the year.  So this candy cane came from Santa and it was a big hit.  Whitney ate the whole thing, and anyone who knows Whitney knows how unusual it is to get Whitney to eat something new.

We also saw Santa at the local pharmacy where pictures were being taken for a couple of hours.  Whitney is so funny because she wasn't scared of Santa at all; in fact, she went right up to him to share her teddy bear.  But she would not smile while sitting on Santa's lap.  Even the picture taking people couldn't get a smile out of her.  So this is a very serious Whitney.

But we did get a little smile when Whitney got to sit on the back of the reindeer.  I guess that is better than sitting on Santa's lap.

And what is Christmas without extra treats lying around?  I made my very first attempt at homemade cinnamon rolls and I had no idea how much work they were.  No wonder I haven't made them before.

I was worried that they were going to be too done on the outside and still gooey inside, but they turned out pretty good.  We added some powder sugar frosting and they were just perfect.

We received this Christmas calendar from Will's mom last Christmas and we just moved the tree as a countdown for Christmas.  This year we put a little piece of chocolate in each pocket for Whitney to eat at the end of the day.  Although, this calendar might have to move because Whitney has learned how to push the kitchen chair over to the door and sneak a piece of candy while I am occupied in the bathroom.  So she has gotten in trouble a couple of times.

Finally, here is a cute little video of Whitney talking about Santa.

We have been having a great December.  Will had his birthday yesterday and that was fun.  Whitney made a little card and practiced saying 'Happy Birthday Dad'.  We went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner since that is one of Will's favorite restaurants.  He got some peanut mnm's, a new lunchbag because his is falling apart, and a new wristband for his watch from me.  Then Will's parents sent us a digital camera.  So it was a great birthday.  Now we are just waiting for this baby to come.

Happy Turkey Day

Well, we have had a busy last week, but a very fun one.  We went down to Pasco for Thanksgiving to be with my family and we had a great time.  There are a lot of pictures though, so just scroll to the bottom of the post if you get tired of looking at them all.

Whitney loved the family dog, Zoey.  It took Zoey a little while to warm up to her, but after Whitney gave her a couple of treats, she seemed to think Whitney wasn't so bad of a person.  It was cute how Whitney would call out to Zoey whenever she was outside because she wanted another chance to pet the dog.  Maybe one day Whitney will get to have a pet dog, but that is several years down the road.

My dad decided to burn a bunch of dry weeds one day while we were in Pasco.  Whitney was really interested in the big fire.  Thankfully, there were a lot of eyes watching her to make sure she didn't get too close to the flames.  We took the chance to make some delicious toasted marshmallows.  Whitney and I stand by the stick for the first picture before we toasted; that was a hard picture to take because the dogs kept wanting a treat.  I gave my toasted marshmallow to Whitney and she seemed to think it was good; she kept saying 'yummy'.  Half of the marshmallow went to the neighbor's dog who had a hard time getting the sticky treat off Whitney's hand.  So that was pretty funny.


Then came the grand turkey day.  It was a great feast.

Here is the turkey table decoration that Will's mom sent us.  She said it was a gag gift, but I thought it was a pretty cool turkey and deserved a position of honor on Thanksgiving.  So here it is front and center.  Whitney really liked the cool feathers.

Isn't that a beautiful turkey?  Whitney wasn't too interested in getting her picture taken by it, so she looks kind of bored.  But Will and I are happy because we know it is almost time to feast.  And there is nothing like a big feast when you are eight months pregnant.  My dad has always been the official turkey carver.  I hope Will does that too when we make our own turkeys.

Eating corn on the cob for Thanksgiving is normal, dipping pickles into jello is a different story.  Whitney seemed to really like dipping the pickles though and as long as she was eating, I was happy.  Thanksgiving was great.  Thank you family for letting us come down and hang out for a couple of days.

Here are just a couple of other pictures from what we Cheney-ites are doing.

We got a fair amount of snow the weekend before Thanksgiving; Whitney loved playing outside in it.  This is the little one foot tall snowman that we made.  Whitney thought it was hilarious that we used rocks for eyes and a carrot for its nose.  And did you know that is is illegal in Alaska for a kid to build a snowman that is taller than him or her?  Isn't that just a random law?


We received a wonderful baby care package from Ruth and Dana that had some cute clothes and little booties for baby Isaac.  It also had a hex bug because Whitney just loved playing with the one Dana owns. 

Here Whitney plays with the little bug.  She would laugh whenever the bug would touch her foot or go under her legs.  So thank you Ruth and Dana for the wonderful presents.  They were a big hit (especially the peanut butter mnms for my pregnancy sweet tooth).

I believe this is one of the pictures Whitney took, with a little help from mom.  Will was having a fun time making faces one night, so we got out the camera.  It was fun. 
Anyway, that was a lot of pictures, but don't say I didn't forewarn you.  I hope everyone is doing okay and had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Bye!

A little Snow

So we got a little snow last Saturday; it ended up being about two inches.  Now we know that winter is coming to Cheney.  It had all melted in just twenty-four hours, but Whitney did get a chance to play in the snow a little bit.

I think the video is really cute.  Whitney just loved crunching through the snow.  We bought her some snow boots a couple of days ago, so when a big snow comes she will have some better protection for her feet.  I just know that she is going to enjoy playing outside in the snow this year.

Or we could just put Whitney in my boots and her feet would be kept warm.  Whitney loves trying on our shoes and having us help her walk around in them.

There have been a couple of nice day weather as well.  Whitney and I went outside to play in the leaves.

It took Whitney a little while to want to pick up the leaves and throw them over her head.  I made a little pile of leaves and thought she might want to jump through it or something like what we did as kids, but she must be too young.  Whitney mostly would grab a bunch of leaves and half throw/half drop the leaves over the stairs.  The wind would whip the leaves a little distance before hitting the ground.

And we have a couple of random pictures of what we have been doing lately.

Whitney and Will tried on hats one night.  Whitney even kept hers on for quite awhile.  I think it is because she liked looking at herself in the hallway mirror with different hats on.

Almond bark went on sale at the local grocery store, so we decided to have a chocolate dipping party during one of the Amazing Race episodes that Will and I both enjoy watching.  We had pretzels and bananas and strawberries and cookies for dipping.  I think my favorite was the pretzels. 

Here Whitney is all smiley.  She was jumping on the bed and then she and Will had a bear throwing contest.  It is hard to throw something to Whitney because she keeps her hands pretty close to her chest and doesn't separate her arms at all.  So I declare Whitney the winner because she was able to get Will to catch more of her throws than she was able to catch his.  Whitney is able to throw pretty accurately most of the time.  We will have to sign her up to be a pitcher or something.

Whitney likes sitting in the little cupboard under the TV (look out Harry Potter's cupboard).  I really don't know why because she barely fits and has to take care to not hit her head on the ceiling, but she enjoys it.  Here she is eating an Anderson Yucky Roll and just as content as can be.
So that is how things are going in Cheney.  We are hoping to not get much more snow before Thanksgiving because we want to drive back down to the Tri-Cities for the holiday.  So our fingers are crossed.  Anyway, goodbye.

Halloween (Part 2)

Here are the pictures actually from Halloween day.  Whitney and I went around Eastern campus with lots of other children to go trick-or-treating to the different buildings.  We were in the front of the pack, which was great.  And we worked on getting Whitney to say 'treat' or 'candy please', but she wouldn't actually say it for anyone.  But maybe next year she will be less shy around strangers.  Here are some pictures from the festival that was on campus after the Trick-or-Treat.

Will was able to meet us at the festival once his work was done.  Here he tries to hold up the Minnie ears which tended to try to lie flat against the head.  But hey, the costume was only three dollars, so I can't complain.  There was popcorn and cotton candy and caramel apples for anyone to eat.  Whitney loved the popcorn the best.  She also really liked her black balloon; we tied it to her wrist for a little while, but then we moved it to the stroller so Whitney could play some games.

Whitney liked the bowling (she loves anything having to do with a ball).  I didn't get a good picture of her bowling though because a kid I use to know at the daycare came up to say 'hi' to me.  So here she is chasing the ball after she rolled it at the pins.  Whitney did pretty good too. I will have to let her bowl for me in the future.

Whitney spun the roulette wheel for candy.  I am not sure she knew what it was for because after she spun it she walked away before waiting for it to stop so she could collect a piece of candy.  But the nice person working the booth gave Whitney some candy anyway.  I think the cute outfit helped Whitney's case.

Whitney goes fishing with a little of mom's help holding the pole.  I use to love the fishing booths at fairs growing up, Whitney seemed to think it was only okay.  She got a funny little rubber bone thing that I am not sure quite what it is for.  Oh well, it is already lost amongst our other toys in our apartment.

Whitney wasn't sure about this whole golfing business, but she knew the balls went into the holes, so why putt when you can just drop them in much easier?  I think that was Whitney's philosophy.  So she carried the club in one hand and put the balls into the holes with the other.  I think she had the right idea; a lot of the other kids we saw golfing were having a really hard time.

There was a little hay bale section that I think was meant for children to sit on and get their pictures taken.  Whitney wasn't too taken with the idea of staying sitting on the hay, so this is the best picture I could get.  I was only a little worried that she was going to pull the paper off the wall because she really looked like she wanted to.  But everything was safe.

This is Whitney in Japanese.  There were several Japanese exchange students at the party who were doing things with the children.  The top symbol means 'whi' then the middle symbol is the 't' and the last symbol is the 'ney'.  I think it it pretty cool.  I should have had them make my name as well.

So that was our Halloween.  We had the ward trunk-or-treat, but that only lasted like twenty minutes while the kids went around collecting candy.  This year, Will took Whitney around and I stayed by the car to pass out candy.  After that, Whitney was too tired to go trick-or-treating for real.  So we stayed home and relaxed.  It was a great Halloween.  And now we have lots of candy to satisfy my pregnancy sweet tooth.  Hooray!