25 going on 50

Whew, what a week! It has been a non stop party here since last Thursday. I turned 25 last week and we heralded in this important sounding number with a costume party and all kinds of fanfare! As we were planning my party (which I don't usually like to do, parties have so much pressure on them to be fun and I don't like "planned fun".) I thought about what kind of party I had always wanted to go to? And voila! A classic cinema costume party it MUST be! Everyone was to come as their favorite old movie character and we would party like it's 1949!
So Kent ordered food from my favorite restaurant (Purple), we got all gussied up and then to put the cherry on top Kent flew up Dianer (one of my favorite people) from California for the occasion.
Fun and games ensued...

Kent came as Prof. Henry Higgins (his all time fav). He manned the bar, put the twists where twists were needed and gave the room a scholarly air.
I came as Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's. I drank bubbly, was bubbly, and lent over all birthday purpose to the event.

Doris Day, Audrey Hepburn, and Princess Grace

An old fashioned sing along! Just like in the movies...a lifelong dream.
We also had a Sherlock, a Baroness Von Schraeder, a Katherine Hepburn, a Dorothy and Scarecrow duo (complete with munchkin 4 month old), a Desi Arnaz, Mary Poppins, Dude in a suit, and sailor from South Pacific.
Oh and who could forget the Barley as James dean!She was our little rebel without a cause. We even put a little ciggy behind her ear (candy of course).
It was a wonderful night. My dad came to run the baby check upstairs so all the parents could enjoy the night foot loose and fancy free.
The best part of it all was that everyone who came had fun with the theme, played my favorite silly games, and got a little lost in yesteryear...because really, haven't you at least one time or another wanted to live in an old movie?
Happy Birthday to me!

Hi there, Barley here...

Mom can't blog at the moment since all of her insides currently want to be on her outsides, and she is laid up on a bed of pain resting. So I thought I would take this chance to exercise my burgeoning talents for all of you and write my first blog post. (By the way, blog is a silly word it sounds like something that should come out of my nose.)

This week has been full of firsts for me. I had my first taste of real food, and appropriately, it was barley cereal (the parents had a chuckle over that one.)

I have been rolling over to AND fro, as well as displaying scooting power. This is a darling picture dad caught of me mid-scoot.

I was just scooting off that pillow on my way to Marseilles. (I hear the weather is particularly fine this time of year, and have no known cases of that swine flu everyone is talking about.)

However, I was rerouted last minute by my dad who assumed I was just being cute. I have since changed my mind on the whole matter... None of my shoes fit and I am not going to go galavanting around Europe like a shoeless vagabond.

Besides, things are nice here! Dad vroom-screeches me around the house as if I were a truck and tosses me in the air (the weightlessness of the experience thrills me to my toes!) AND he makes bagels on the weekend.

And mom, well, she's just too cute.

Oh, and speaking of cute, I was sooo cute the other day. I was in the middle of one of my rolling over exercises and got sleepy (I think I was up too late that night querying about something or other) and I just fell asleep right on my side mid roll! Can you believe it? Mom got a picture. She thought it was just the sweetest... but then again she thinks that about everything I do:)

Well, I think I had better go I have a rumbly in my tumbly and that must mean it's 6:00 and I get delicious dinner milks.

I hope the warmth of love and friendship rests upon the houses of you and yours.

-The Barley

p.s. Today I turn 19 weeks.

4 Months...and taller than you.

So we had Greta's 4 month checkup on Monday and she's doing great! All healthy stats, fat enough, strong enough, smart enough, oh yeah and taller than you.
She is in the 99th percentile for her height! Which Kent pointed out is the biggest number you can get statistically because to be in the 100th would be saying that she is the tallest baby in the world. And well, I don't know about you, but that just sounds boastful.
So my fears of her being a behemoth when I was 9 months pregnant are coming to fruition, and all the pants her age are capris.
Like any good parent Kent is making the most of her skills and since she is skilled at being the tallest ever he is trying to teach her how to walk and get some use out of those daddy long legs.
But we don't push her too hard, we still give her quality time with her friends, like Mr.Snail. She has been fascinated with this little snail for months! Staring at it, learning its secrets, and now it has blossomed into a special friendship.

Couple of Misfits

Do you ever have those days where you feel you don't fit in with the rest of the human race...and for some reason that's a bad thing?
Well then you know. Yesterday was just such a day, a blue day.
But I married someone just as odd as I am, who has been there, and also happens to be the only living expert on "Me". So he went to work banishing those blues for me.
We went down to our favorite pub and just spent the evening being a couple of misfits together.
It's not so bad being the worlds only you, if you have someone to share it with.

Happy Easter!

We spent Easter this year at grandma's house in Olympia!
We had all sorts of Easter fun. We painted eggs (Meg's egg won), had a bird hunt (Kent won) played games (I won!), and searched out Greta's very first Easter basket!
And Easter isn't Easter without all the little kiddos coming out of the woodwork in their little suits and ties, and best dresses.
I think Greta felt very special in her stripey strawberry dress from Nanna. Here she is in her Sunday best!

...And happy about it too!
I hope everyone had a blessed and hopeful Easter!

wonderment

Greta gets this look when I sit her down in her swing that fills me to my very top with love.
She gets the sweetest look of wonderment on her face and her jaw drops (her pacifier goes with it every time). There is a mirror up top and leaves and birds that circle around her reflection. She is amazed by it, and it charms me to see such innocent fascination.
I have often tried to capture her look but she is aware of the camera instantly and the moment is usually lost. I was sneaky though today and got a glimpse of the rare Greta-Bird...entranced.

artsy things!

I am streamlining my interests.
I have started a blog (see side bar for link) for all of my art updates and creative dealings. It is my attempt to separate home and work a little bit. Now pictures of the Barley will not be smushed next to blogs about my work, and vice versa.
Have a look!