Only got the good stuff

We took some pictures outside over the weekend. I love how these three show some of Greta's unique personality traits.
Like her curiosity. She can sit and pore over a book, her fingers, or a leaf for an extended period of time, while remarking in a very small voice "ta.ta.ta.ta" and assessing her findings in a whisper. (She fits right in with the family as we are most of the time studying our books, phones, and little findings.)
Second, her silliness. She likes to drum her lips with her fingers and make burbly sounds. And she will do it to anyone else who gets close enough.
And lastly, her happy nature! She is quick to smile, laugh, and be amazed!
Of all the traits she could have landed with, Kent and I are glad she got those! We sat up laughing last night as we named all of our faults and what it would look like to have a child only inherit our flaws. The poor victim would be an overly sensitive toast glutton, scared of people, sky, land, and sea. Simultaneously idle and freakishly charged. Spends the day rubbing out his/her eyes and not doing the laundry. Spends the night as an insomniac mathematician factoring prime numbers (not knowing what a prime number is), and hoping it was something like prime rib.
It really makes a couple feel blessed:)

Dr's Notes

It's time to spill the beans...well, the kidney beans to be exact (narf!)
We discovered ages ago when Greta's home address was 123 Womb Street, that one of her kidneys was larger than the other, however with everything else about her vitals normal it wasn't a huge concern, just something to keep our eyes on.
We have had numerous ultrasounds since her home address changed to the greater Redmond area (USA). And we have met with numerous tests, procedures, and Dr's since then. Some very interesting and others most unpleasant. All which have made it known to us that she has a Ureteropelvic Junction, or the partial blockage of her left kidney.
Our Dr gave us the word picture of a 'kinked hose', and I think that explains it nicely (ureter being the 'hose' leading out of the kidney).
So now that it has a name and we are certain of her condition we get to share it with you! We were hesitant to share too much before we had all the facts. But here's how it is:
As of her latest study she has two fully functioning kidneys, so this should dispel all rumors that may fly using the words "kidney failure", "transplant list", or "great calamity". It's wonderful news that her kidneys are still healthy, and shows us that she is in no present danger of imploding or such nonsense.
Both kidney's take in what they ought, it's only the left that doesn't get rid of fluid as it should which has caused that kidney to swell (hydronephrosis). This could lead to serious problems if left unwatched/unknown but thanks to early discovery and watchful eyes she is in a very blessed position.
We have two options, one is to operate, the other is to watch for a little longer to see if it corrects on its own (as some children's do). However, operation seems more and more likely as her kidney has continued to swell over time.
We have had one Dr. who sees her likely going into operation and another who is gathering a few more images in a few weeks time to be sure.
So it's all up in the air and just the right time for your helpful prayers. We have known all of this for some time and feel no great shock or worry over the matter, except for the occasional motherly regret that my sweet little baby has to endure such discomforts. However, when they do occur they are brief and soon forgotten because she really is still the happiest little Barley, who doesn't know or care a fig about some bum kidney-tube.
She's blissfully ignorant of the whole deal and has been enjoying the duty of keeping me on my toes lately. I told Kent the other day that I feel more like a wrangler than a mother as most of my daily duties involve herding Greta out of places and keeping her from grazing on our electrical chords. (Today I turned around and she was gone like a flash! I found her stuffing her face greedily with the chord to our lamp, as she knows she is forbidden to, and was getting all the fun out of it in a frenzy of about 5 seconds.)
So, now that we have filled you in we will be keeping you posted on all her kidney's goings on. Thanks for caring!
(And sorry there was no pictures this post, I tried to find a jolly picture of a kidney to put up...it doesn't exist.)

Love Love Me Do!

Sometimes I feel sorry for people so acutely it makes my heart sick. This last week I have felt sorry in particular for the boys who lost their innocence and optimism during WWI. (I am reading a book where that is the setting and I almost never read a book without being fully engrossed and therefore am subject to all kinds of moody moods.)
But this morning I just feel sorry for everyone who isn't married to my husband.
Because I feel certain, with conviction, that he is better than everyone.
Did you know today is Thursday? And it's not my birthday, nor is it any other day where I should warrant any special attention.
But no matter, this morning I woke up to the click and jangle of keys and someone coming into our house.
What the devil was Kent doing home from work? I thought for sure he had thrown up and the poor boy was sick. He came into our room with two large boxes of breakfast he picked up at our favorite breakfast place, it was a holiday he said and he had the next 5 days off! (a gift from his managers manager for the great performance of his team) and in the napkin he gave me there was a clue.
From there on I was on a scavenger hunt and I was walking all over Redmond (and I do like a good scavenger hunt!)
I had messages to decode:This one told me to go to Starbucks and say "I'm Kirsten, I would like a Kirsten" Which was a special concoction I made myself (and named) in my old Starbucks days. And behind the counter they had my next clue waiting for me with my favorite drink.
From there I went to the grocery store and rifled through countless boxes of cereal to find my next clue, then off to the library to do some research.

My clues eventually led me back home and into the fridge. Ah-hah! The old hollow egg trick! This was my last clue, and in it I discovered that the treasure I was seeking was with me the entire morning, it was at home when I was home, and out when I was out....my surprise was in the soles of my shoes!
Kent knows how I pine like a silly tween for the Beatles! And I have been especially giggly for this game coming out next week (however I was not too hopeful considering the current moratorium on all spending that has fallen on our household as we save for our house). But that just added to the surprise! So calling all Friends-And-Relations you are cordially invited to bop your heads with us in the coming weeks, however a warning... I will be doing this...

Babies in tummies babies on floors!

She sees the camera, she likes the camera, she eats the camera!
And if my girl doesn't have her daddy's sweet eyes then I will eat my hat...(or the camera?)




Today Greta and I made a trip to Silverdale with Aunties Meg and Lindz to celebrate Lindsey's little Brennan in her belly!
It was great to see some of my favorite people from the place I spent so much time growing up in.
and crazy to see all of the babies of my friends crawling around the floor where I used to be crawling on the floor (only in my case it was teenage angst).
Time does zoom!

Happenings

Things are surely picking up around the Walter house.
We are still knee deep in the closing process of this little number.If I haven't mentioned it before it's only because I still can't believe that we are actually pulling off buying a house (such a grown up thing) and that we really will be moving next month!
So we are pricing repairs and renovations and spending way too much time thinking about things like grout.
Then you have Greta, braking records in the 200 meter crawl. As I posted last week she was inches away from crawling and later that day she did! It's been "Wow! You're over there!" since.
On top of Dr.s visits and friends and family flowing in and out we have had lots of happenings!
Tomorrow we will be joined by the Great Juice Johnson, whose name is neither really Juice nor Johnson but to every one else a simple Lindsey will do. She is great with child and has come from VA to show us her tummy and to play!
So if you don't see me for a few days it's because well that first big thing, then chasing the other thing, and playing with that last thing.
Oh and one more thing!
This stuff! Now available at my Etsy Shop:)

The Market!

Saturday mornings Kent takes me to the Saturday Market to let me play.
It is our favorite way to buy eggs, flowers, and produce for the Maison de Walter. It is also where we get new and tasty vittles for The Barley's meals.
This week we are on a beetventure! After much back and forth-ing at the market (Kent being on team beet, and me being on team anything the doesn't stain like beets) Kent rallied for the win and Greta will be feasting beets for the week.
Our trips usually have the objective of picking out Greta's new veggie, but along the way we are happy to pick up whatever tasty snack presents itself whether it's a hot hero sub served by two very tan, very Italian men, or a ratatouille tamale fresh out of the imagination.
Greta is eyeing Dad's sub. I don't blame her, it's Nom!
I think one of my favorite parts are the amazing flowers. There is something so luxurious about having fresh flowers at home during the week. 5 dollars and 15 dahlias later I parcel my bouquet into smaller vases and place them about the house to add sunshine.
The market is such a happy place! All the stands of seasonal fruits, vegetables, and smiling mom and pop farmers. Each week we go we leave with the impulse to quit what we're doing and start carrying shovels.

-P.s. Greta is breath away from crawling...so you can expect a post saying "Look who's crawling!" to be popping up soon.

All aboard for Ocean Shores!

We had such a lovely vacation last week!
A whole gang of family (21 of us at least) made it to Ocean Shores on Sunday to spend several days together in a train-turned-house to play games, eat food, and all in all enjoy one another and the beach.
It was Greta's first true beach experience and her first dip was thoroughly documented.
During the day there were kites, boccie ball, Frisbee, and sandcastles....actually just one sand castle, also known as Kent's Pride which there is more photographic evidence of than New York City.
It is a great Hall tradition to make sand castles at Ocean Shores, the like that will land you a spot in the news (true!) This year the building was overseen by Kent S. Walter eager to prove that the Walters can represent.
And when everyone else was back at the train eating lunch and playing Yahtzee he was at the beach dating the sand castle.
Upon completion it featured a working moat, draw bridges that could withstand the weight of an adult, a mud quarry, and stable area!Each night all the aunts, uncles, and cousins would cozy into the kitchen caboose and lie to one another in noisy games of Mafia. Nothing brings a family together like suspicion, deceit, and betrayal:) Then we would pile into the hot tub until half of the water had displaced and it was just a jumble of cousin's limbs much like pickles in a pickle jar.
We had such a good time though it was a sad day Wednesday when we had to say good bye to everyone.
We had family going back to Texas, California, and Idaho, and it was like the day after Christmas when all that's left is scattered wrappings.
Greta spent most of our time at the beach on grandpa's shoulders. I think this picture is hilarious and it looks like she didn't want to go home either.