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August 30, 2004

Trepidation At The Beach

The unusual rolling swells made for some nice wave action at Carkeek Park the other day. Estella ran back and forth tempting the water and running from it with giggles and laughter. She got really sandy.

She just woke up with some light crying. I went in to her room after a couple minutes, noting it wasn't going to resolve itself, and she says, "Water." So we go into the kitchen, her head nestled on my shoulder. She then says, "I want milk." So I pour her a bit of milk and she drinks it down. I then give her some water and she drinks that down. I take the glass and she nestles back into my shoulder.

On our way back to bed she notices mama sleeping as we walk by the bedroom. She says, "I wa' kiss mama." I let her down to kiss mama's cheek and then take her back into her room and lay her down in her bed and she nestles into the covers and pillow.

Posted by clappstar at 10:15 PM

August 29, 2004

Humming Bird

This tiny bird makes an incredible hum as it whips and darts around. I took this from only a foot away and was quite worried that the little fellow would run into me and poke me with his pointy beak.

Posted by clappstar at 10:56 PM

August 28, 2004

Outdoors At Home

I found this little grasshopper in our yard today. He was very calm while I snapped some shots. Check out those cool red legs.

The cats have been laying around the yard all summer long.

Posted by clappstar at 11:48 PM

August 26, 2004

Talking Twos

The stop action of a camera, even 1/60th of a second, can create a rather suprising image. Here it appears as if the water has frozen on Estella as she pours it on her head in an attempt to wash her own hair. She isn't a big fan of water in the face, but she loves to "cleem up" so she is learning to wash her hair and body.

Estella is so very talkative these days. She is polite and interesting to just chat with. She wants to hear what the plan for the day is and inquires about it later. She has been calling herself a baby lion and today at dinner she was a monster, complete with deep voice and hands above her head. She tells me she missed me when I get home from work and gets so excited when I come home it almost makes me want to cry.

She is cued by geography and surroundings to ask questions or mention things. We were driving north to Carkeek Park tonight which is also the way to the hardware store which is close to a donut shop. She says,"I wanna donit, dada." When we drive past the Greenwood and 85th PAWS store, she always says, "Kitty sleeping. They 'ake up?" A while back she would say, "Bye, dad," two blocks before we'd reach my work.

If you have an Estella anecdote you'd like to share, please post a comment about it.

Posted by clappstar at 11:54 PM | Comments (1)

Crazy Phone Camera

The new phone has an imager. I won't call it a camera, because the images are so poor. Here are two images that I worked on a bit to soften the fuzziness. The camera makes you have a crazy face.

Posted by clappstar at 01:59 PM

August 19, 2004

Pig Tail Hair

The little one grows and grows. Her hair is just long enough for pig tails. What a contrast against our tree. She says the same word for squirrel, store and stroller. I can't even spell the way she says it. Tonight we read 10 stories and it wasn't enough. It is so warm, hard to sleep even.

Posted by clappstar at 10:12 PM | Comments (2)

All Belly, All The Time

The baby kicks and stretches and you can even see his heels push up against his mama's belly. He rides around all day, upside down.

Posted by clappstar at 09:08 PM | Comments (0)

Fish Ladder

The fish are swimming up the Lake Washington fish ladder. I think they are blackmouth Chinook salmon. Quite big too.

Posted by clappstar at 08:50 PM

August 18, 2004

Due September 2nd

Robyn and I wait. She looks as radiant as ever, belly and all. Working out four days a week and taking care of Estella while lugging around a 30 pound belly is an impressive feat.

Posted by clappstar at 09:56 PM | Comments (3)

August 15, 2004

Back on the Saddle

My old friend Josh from Colorado visited a couple weeks ago. He got me back on my bike. While he was here we rode close to 90 miles over about five days. Not much if you are riding in the Tour de France, but substantial for me. I have subsequently biked to work about fifty percent of the time over the last three weeks. I feel great and happily remember how much fun biking is. Josh, meanwhile rode a 100 mile mountain bike race this weekend!

Hardcore, go Josh.

Posted by clappstar at 08:50 PM | Comments (3)

August 10, 2004

Curls

She has the perfect curls that roll right over her ears. Mama puts her hair up for fun.

Today was a dry day for the little one. She is almost a big girl, getting used to using the "potty". She sleeps in a big girl bed and tries hard to wash her own hands. Playtime is not complete with out the "Clean Up" song and putting away toys. Her favorite come-back right now is "Why?"

Posted by clappstar at 10:23 PM | Comments (2)

August 09, 2004

Discovery Lolly

We walked through Discovery Park on a beautiful Sunday morning. Estella rode on the backpack. A lollypop is a perfect way for her to pass the time. One lollypop = 15 minutes of quiet. Of course, we love the noise.
Speaking of noise, we watched the Blue Angels from Kerry Park.

Posted by clappstar at 07:56 AM | Comments (2)

August 07, 2004

I Go Sood

Estella looks ready to go to school, or as she calls it, "sood".

Posted by clappstar at 09:53 PM | Comments (2)

August 04, 2004

Beginning Biking

At the church family camp she was introduced to bicycling. She can't pedal but she likes to wear the helmet and get pushed around on the bike.

Posted by clappstar at 09:29 PM

August 03, 2004

Seattle's Tallest

Side by side they stand, each in their era, the tallest buildings in Seattle.

Posted by clappstar at 09:51 PM

Playground Stairs

After getting some coffee on Queen Anne Hill at Macrina, we walked around the block to the elementary school so Estella could play at the park. It was chilly and there was a breeze, but later in the day the clouds burned off and the blue sky and sun shone through.
Josh and I biked Skookum Flats out by Mt. Rainier. There was a million roots, very technical, but very awesome.

Posted by clappstar at 02:31 PM | Comments (1)

Space Cloud

Seattle started chilly and cloudy and finished sunny, hot and blue sky. This is a view of the Space Needle at 9AM.

Posted by clappstar at 12:08 AM

August 01, 2004

All Clean

After swimming in the lake, she took a bath and is all clean.

Posted by clappstar at 11:38 PM | Comments (3)

Lawn Chair

The weather has been great. The blue sky, the green grass, the white chair, the gate and the lightly tanned Estella made for a cool photo.

Posted by clappstar at 01:00 AM