Baby Z

Some recent videos of E

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 03:52:00 +0000

Future hoops star:

No trampoline needed:

A shirt is like a puzzle:

End of Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 04:46:00 +0000

I'm back at work and Taryn will be back at school next week. It was a short summer, but we ended it with a bang last weekend with a trip to the coast with Charles, Joi, and Max. It was 95 degrees on the beach, which is a rarity in the northwest. Here are some pictures from the last few weeks including our trip to the ocean.

Camping with Elana 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 03:06:00 +0000

We just returned from 4 nights of camping at Birch Bay State Park. It's a beautiful area just south of the Canadian border. Taryn was attending a string teachers' workshop while Elana and I were hiking, biking, and beach combing. We also went to a water park one of the days. Elana loved the water slides! When we were busy with activities, Elana had a great time. But she was a handful at other times. She suffered a scratched knee and face from falls at the beach and at the campsite. But overall, it was a fun week. Here are some pictures:

Elana Loves Corn!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 23:36:00 +0000

Elana has been making all sorts of funny faces lately. I captured a few of her classic expressions over dinner last night.

Katie and Aaron

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 23:26:00 +0000

Our friends Katie and Aaron are back from Trinidad and they stopped by to say hi before they leave for Colombia (via Madison). Elana wasted no time reconnecting with them (she hasn't seen them since she was a couple weeks old).

Hiking in CT

noreply@blogger.com (Taryn) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:18:00 +0000

Here is a little video of Elana hiking in the woods near my childhood home in Connecticut.

Summer in Connecticut

noreply@blogger.com (Taryn) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 20:21:00 +0000

We just got back from a week long trip to visit with the Webbers in Guilford, CT. While Noah was in D. C. at a conference, we were sunning and playing at the beach pretty much every day. Elana sure loved all of the attention she got from Grammy, Big Poppy, Auntie Ali, and Uncle Lorin. She loved exploring my parents' yard, babbling brook and all. It was a very relaxing week. Our only regret is that it had to come to an end!!! if we didn't have to spend 12-13 hours in travel getting there, we would go more often . . .it makes for one LONG day with a toddler.

]

At the beach in East Haven at Gr Auntie Joyce's condo:

Uncle Lorin and his girlfriend Alicia, cousins Elyssa, Dennis and Jamie

cousin Elyssa and Gr. Aunt Teresa

The cousins

Elana loved climbing all over the house

at the beach in Guilford Lakes with Grammy:

on a walk around the lake

on a nature walk in Stony Creek

E with Auntie Ali

Uncle Lorin and Alicia helping E get down to the brook to throw some rocks

Gr. Uncle David with E

Oh My Goodness

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 02:21:00 +0000

I have been trying to watch my language around Elana since she is pretty much a sponge these days. If I'm watching sports and my team does something to trigger a reaction (very common with Wisconsin sports teams) I censor myself and say things like "Man, come on" or "Oh my goodness." Last night, I turned on the last 2 minutes of the Lakers-Celtics NBA Finals game after we got home from dinner at Grandie's and Grandpa Ken's house. As soon as Elana saw that it was a basketball game, she started saying "Oh my goodness" repeatedly. She was making fun of me, remembering how I react to disappointing Badger or Packer games. She repeated the phrase and then the two of us laughed pretty hard. I ran to get the camera and caught a second round of Elana cracking her hilarious joke:

Trip To Vancouver

noreply@blogger.com (Taryn) — Wed, 05 May 2010 04:09:00 +0000

This past weekend we all piled into the car and headed north to our favorite city that isn't seattle: VANCOUVER! We had a great sunny day on saturday--complete with some beach time and some ice cream--then I ran a half marathon on Sunday morning. It was awesome having everyone there to cheer me on. After runnin 21.1 kilometers, we all gorged on poutine. talk about gut rot . . .

Elana really needed to expel some energy . . .

are we in florida?

That's Spandy Andy to Elana's left . . .

Cheering Mama on!

Them some big taters

Ah, the food of the gods.

passover eggs

noreply@blogger.com (Taryn) — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 20:58:00 +0000

18, 17, 18...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 02:59:00 +0000

Great Grandmom Bernice and Aunt Sally arrived last night for a visit. Elana calls her GG Mom.

Here is a video from a couple of weeks ago. As you can see, Elana has mastered counting to 18 or 17.

Adventures in the Neighborhood

noreply@blogger.com (Taryn) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 23:29:00 +0000

We have been on many adventures since Elana's second birthday. I have been mostly enjoying following her around the yard and neighborhood while she inspects every living thing she comes across. Every plant, insect, rock, etc., is absolutely fascinating. It is truly magical to see the world through a toddler's eyes. It makes me excited about spending the majority of the summer outdoors!

Elana's 2nd Birthday Bash

noreply@blogger.com (Taryn) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:53:00 +0000

Wow. What a scene. Imagine 10 kids running around a very small house. THEN add in the following ingredients: shaving cream, finger paints, and a bubble machine. Not to mention the adult beverages being consumed upstairs. That certainly made for an extremely entertaining birthday party! Thanks to everyone who came and hung out with us!

Almost two . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Taryn) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 23:30:00 +0000

Here some recent photos of the nearly-two-yr-old. It is hard to believe it has almost been 2 years. . .

Arizona 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Taryn) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 23:44:00 +0000

We recently returned from a very sucessful trip to visit Grammy and Big Poppy in Fountain Hills, Arizona. Elana was great on the plane both directions, but it certainly was exausting entertaining her the whole time. We did a lot of hiking, feeding the ducks, playing on the playground, and just hanging out playing toys. Elana loved spending so much time with her grandparents and her Auntie Ali.

Elana has begun showing signs of the terrible twos lately. She is the sweetest little girl most of the time, but when she doesn't want to do something, you certainly know it! We have had to come up with interesting ways to convince her to get into her car seat or stroller on her own. Otherwise, we have to hold her down to get in. That is the only time we see this side of her, and it is NO FUN!

On the other hand, she seems to be getting smarter and smarter every day. Her vocabulary has pretty much exploded in the last few months. She can identify almost any object she sees. She can sing every song on the cd of kids songs we play in the car. It brings tears to my eyes when I hear her singing "Do a Deer" in her crib while she gets herself to sleep for her nap. She is speaking in complete sentences, even if they aren't grammatically correct. She blows my mind. We are so lucky to have such an amazing little girl.

Santa on a Garbage Truck

noreply@blogger.com (Taryn) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 21:28:00 +0000

Here are a few pics from elana's first Santa experience at daycare last week. She is in the bottom picture, 2nd from the right. Yes, Santa came on a garbage truck. She hasn't stopped talking about it since it happened:

Here is a pic of Elana on the plane on our way to AZ last weekend:

more to come later. . . .

Spinning Around

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:28:00 +0000

With Taryn and Elana in Arizona for the week, I have found myself watching videos of Elana in her absence (not as fun as the live version). Here's a recent video of Elana spinning around the room.

Music at the Mall

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 04:53:00 +0000

Today Elana and I went downtown to see Taryn conducting her chamber ensemble. They were playing Christmas songs for a couple hours at Pacific Place. They piped the music throughout the whole mall. The first picture shows Elana after she realizes that her Mama is in the vicinity.

Elana stayed close to the action:

Reunited at last:

On our way out, Elana ventured into the AT&T store - she saw the balloons on display, not the phones. The manager was nice enough to give her one. She said "thank you" under her breath.

Halloween and Fall Hike

noreply@blogger.com (Taryn) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:44:00 +0000

Elana had a very fun Halloween, despite her strong dislike for the top part of her costume. There was a party at her daycare on Friday, and on Saturday we visited some of our neighbor's houses before going to our local park for a Halloween Event. We ended the night at Grandie and Grandpa Ken's house for some homemade pizza. YUMM!!

Today Elana and I climbed a mountain with some friends of ours. Noah stayed behind to get some work done, which meant that I was doing the full parenting duty during the hike. Thank goodness for good friends! Somewhere during the day Elana didn't get her nap, so by the time we were heading home she was acting very strange. She was asleep before we hit the highway, and thankfully stayed that way as I transfered her to her bed. Phew!

la la la la la

noreply@blogger.com (Taryn) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:56:00 +0000

this was too cute not to post :

Video Update

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 04:25:00 +0000

Apple Sauce: this is Elana's first attempt at jumping.

On the Mic: listen as Elana sings some of her favorites, starting with Happy Birthday.

Last days of Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Taryn) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:15:00 +0000

School is back in session, and everything is pretty much running on auto-pilot again. We thought we would take an hour to cherish one of the last beautiful days will probably have for a while here in Seattle, and headed to the beach. Elana loved it.

Zeichners and Webbers

noreply@blogger.com (Taryn) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 22:25:00 +0000

What fun we have been having around here. The Zeichners finally arrived a few weeks ago from Wisconsin, and it has been great spending so much time with them. The Webbers arrived on Wednesday night on a stopover before their Alaskan cruise. Since both families were in town and it was Mama's birthday, we decided to have a party. Martinis, music, and lots of babies and kids!!! What a perfect afternoon. Thanks so much to everyone who came over to share in the fun.

Maya, Elana, and I on Maya's hammock

Edie, Maya, and Elana

Grillmaster Webber

The GIGANTIC sunflower in our yard

Elana finishing off a beverage

The band

Elana and Uncle Aaron

Uncle Aaron, Elana, and Erica

Elana trying her first sushi

papa feeding her mac and cheese with chopsticks!

the happy grandparents

Fruit and Teeth

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 05:12:00 +0000

Here are a couple of recent videos of Elana Lee.

1. Fruit

This was a couple of weeks ago during the hot weather. Elana loves her fruit.

2. Teeth

Elana brushes her teeth every night. Here she is last night after her bath.

Party Girl

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:54:00 +0000

We have had a busy weekend of weddings other various events. Elana had a lot of fun at Becca and Sam's wedding last night. She especially loved the fruit platter.

Can you tell where Elana's dad went to college?

Sydney (and Holly and Drew) came over for brunch this morning. Elana showed off her pirate hat.

Elana discovers something new every day.