October/November 2010

I was sitting here looking at all the Christmas cards we received from people and started feeling inherently guilty. So I put down my book and decided now would be a good time to blog. Ironically, I can hear Rad waking up and thus I will have to continue this later.

I'm going to see how long she can entertain herself in her crib....So in October, Radler and I hiked up Cougar Divide, with some friends, which is up close to Mount Baker. While I had old hiking boots that fit like a charm, I had Juddy's socks and ended up with some gnarly blisters. I did most of the hike barefoot. I think the total hike was 7 miles round trip....I'll bet we did 5. It was probably Big Happy's favorite day since Radler was born; he ran, snift, peed, swam and ran some more. Radler was a trooper, although it's not like she had to do a whole lot; I mean really, she got a 5 mile piggy back ride! It reminded me how much beauty is so close to where we live and how much more I want to hike. That happens to be one of our goals fro next year, to hike more. It's as much for my sake (physically and mentally) as it is for Radler (get her out of the house experiencing nature) and of course Big Happy's. Juddy got a sick Radler backpack for Christmas so I foresee a lot more hiking this year. Oh, there she is again...I think she's done entertaining herself....

We also headed out to Orcas Island for a weekend to see my dad. My work has been really, really busy (which is great considering how many mortgage loan originators are struggling) and I was hoping that a trip to Orcas would center myself as it has for 2 decades. Unfortunately, that was not the case. It was fabulous to see my dad, and go hiking but the "full release of the real world" that I was looking for was absent. That just might be "Welcome to Momhood". Do you ever stop wondering, worrying, thinking? Thus far, the answer is no. And I am slowly prepping myself for this level of anxiety for the remainder of my life. I wonder if that's why women make less than ideal monks? How tough is meditation while you're constantly thinking about your kids and family? Based on my limited work to clear my mind during a trip to Orcas or a massage, I'd say VERY difficult!

For those of you with kids, you know that the first year is really a "by" year. You don't HAVE to do anything for any of the holidays, and when you do, it's for the parents sake. The kid certainly has no pre-requisite of how the holiday is to transpire. So for Halloween, we dressed Radler up in this ridiculous horse outfit, crawled around the kitchen, laughed our a**es off, and went to bed. We didn't even make it to the Sudden Valley kids carnival!! Oh well, Radler didn't care, and we were thrilled. We also managed to see our friends in Seattle the night before Halloween and celebrate Paulie's 40th birthday. Happy Birthday Paulie!

Walking became much more important in our world as well in October. We didn't actually take any first steps, but we got the push cart and thus cruising around the house became a regular activity. Check out that "flash dance" outfit!!!


And we're going to end October with a quick "it's never to early to have THE TALK with your child".....



Fast forward to November.....


I have practically NO pictures of November until Thanksgiving. So, you get no dialog and a bunch of Thanksgiving pics for November...ENJOY!













Hugs and loves to everyone!!! Have a very fabulous holiday season and we wish you all the best in the new year!

Hugs, Loves, Kisses and Squeezes,

The Rosellison's