Leap Year Day

So if you only get one chance every four years to post an entry on February 29th, ya better take advantage of it. So what does one write about on a day such as this? Well I know what YOU want me to write about: The Kid. Yeah I know. I'll write about the kid; but first, let me wax eloquent about something I feel very passionate about. Leap Year Day is the coolest day to be born ever. I always thought it would be really cool to be twenty and say that you're five. I've only ever known one person who was born on Feb. 29th and she was annoyed with it. Seriously, it would be the coolest. Let's just act like it's the coolest just and pretend like you're humoring me.

Anyway, today was V's first Leap Year Day and we had one of the best Daddy Days ever. We've taken the side of her crib off so that we can more easily access goodnight kisses among other things. This is also nice for when she wants to go to bed she just dives in. However, she now can exit the bed just as easily as entrance. This morning she met us in our bedroom at 6:30. Needless to say we were unprepared for this new venture. She's really a different child now because she's mobile. Ya'll know what I'm talking about if you have kids. It's da coolest and the worst at the exact same time. Yeah yeah, I'm getting sappy... Here's some pictures:

V: No spoon for Ben & Jerry's? Cue the sad face.

Dad: DAD TO THE RESCUE!!!

V: Sad face gets 'em every time! Ice Cream is DA COOLEST!

V: Is it OK that I'm wearing Daddy's shoes? What if I try walking in them?

V: That didn't work out so well...

V: I can't believe Mommy doesn't do this more often. Look at Daddy's face!

V: Aaaaaannnnnnd... Model pose! Yeah, that's nice!

Huge Snow Storn

I wanted to add several adjectives to that post title but if you were anywhere near here, you don't need adjectives to know what happened. Approximately three weeks ago we had the most devastating snow & ice storm Washington has ever had. The storm knocked out power to over 100,000 homes, some for almost a week. It crippled the transit systems, blocked people into their homes and threw trees across yards all over the region. No muy bueno.

At work, we threw away thousands of dollars of food. The worst part was that there was no way to salvage it: Normally if we lose power and the food is in danger of going out of temp, we can reduce the price quickly to sell it. However, if every single person in the city has no power, they aren't exactly going to come running to fill a freezer that's probably not going to keep their own food frozen. It was frustrating. Especially since we had limited supply of Duraflame laws, flashlights and D batteries. It's amazing that we probably sold more batteries in that week than we had in the previous six months.

Just so you know, it wasn't ALL bad. It was V's first snow as a "Cognitive Human." We weren't exactly sure what she would think about it because the first time she saw snow, she just played in the yellow snow sat there. Thankfully, she loved it and hear are the pictures to prove it:

Heavy snow people. What's that... Not heavy you say?

Look at this action Chump.

So we got bundled up and proceeded to get our "cute" on!

It's time to teach V how to create the perfect Snow Ball.

Now let's slide down the 4% incline in our front yard!

OK, it's cold and Daddy won't let you sled. Let's go back inside.

Christmas Again

We just had an ice storm that crippled the Puget Sound area. When I say crippled, I mean a full body cast. I actually worked the day after most of the area lost power and you can really see the panic that people have when they have no control over the situation. Our store was running on generator power and we're throwing away thousands of dollars of food. So people are walking in the store, mind you the day after the power went out, asking for batteries, propane, flashlights and wood. These people expect us to do something, anything to help them. When you can't do anything, people have varying reactions. Most of them involved a sad look and a statement that reiterated that no one else has any of the things they need either. I've dealt with no power before, but I've never dealt with it when I've had a child. I think I would be pretty depressed too.

Some people said that we didn't put enough Christmas pictures up on the ole blog. OK, did I see any Christmas pictures on YOUR blog? I didn't think so! Anyway, I'm a nice guy and I can be bought. Send me money and I'll continue to put up Christmas pictures. Until I receive the money, I'll consider these pictures this a loan. Here's the pictures from Christmas #Dos:

V: Oooooh! Look at the pretty paper!

V: They make dolls out of paper AND magnets?! That is DA COOLEST!

V: A bag? You're kidding me, right? I've got to have something to tear.

V: Mimi hooks me up with the coolest pajamas.

V: What? All the presents are gone?

V: 364 Days until next Christmas!? NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Happy New Year!

According to the Mayans and several other dead civilizations, this is the year the world will end. Live it up while you can people! I'm guessing that most of you will be spending all your retirement savings and flying to far off places that you've never been. Do it now before the world as we know it is completely gone. In light of this completely random event in the whole pantheon of time, we took the opportunity to give our daughter something that she wouldn't be able to get if the world did happen to end. This opportunity you ask me is what? Yes, a trip to a brewery and her first tasting. Below are the captured glory moments of a first tasting:

Dad: Remember: Swirl, sip, swish, swallow, savor. That's copyrighted too.

V: Smell was first, then chug right? Yeah...

V: Some forward hops with a slight nutty taste... interesting!

V: If I could get my thumbs to work, I'd give it two thumbs up...

V: Mom to the rescue! Thanks Mom!

Dad: Yes, I taught her everything she knows. Including how to finish it off.

So This is Christmas

Let's get this straight: We totally didn't spend too much on the kid this year, everyone else did. Everyone bought the kid too much. I've heard this happens every year. It's totally going to happen for the rest of her life until the family stops loving her. This, as I understand, will never happen. So my conclusion is that she's going to be continuously littered with items of semi-usefulness on this Christmas night, forever. Awesome isn't it? We're getting a shed next year for the plethora of presents V will get next Christmas. So to all those who gave: Thank you! We appreciate it very much!

V's Christmas #2 is in the books and we are happy to say that we survived. Twas a good time for all and I'm sure that the pictures will speak volumes. We are, needless to say, tired but excited to play with V and all her new toys. One of the coolest things we've unearthed is that we've started reading her Bible to show her the story of Baby Jesus and she's enjoying it. She's actually requesting it at night time now to read before bed. It's a great feeling having a child that is already requesting to read the Bible. Parenting? Yeah we got this! Enjoy the pictures:

Yes, Friends, the proverbial tree. Over 9 feet tall!

Dad got a new headset for Christmas so guess who gets the old one?

After 40 tries of trying to capture the kid Christmas Breakfast...

Dad just takes the camera and captures a great moment!

We all get presents so we dance the dance of joy!

Her favorite present: An exact replica of Millee!

It Rained

And rained... and rained... and rained... It rained for a week. 7 days straight. I'm not lying, I started tearing up floorboards to build an ark. To top it all off, Black Fursday was in the middle of the rain so I didn't have time to finish the ark. I can't remember the last time it actually rained for that long in one continuous downpour. I'm completely exhausted from working this weekend and today is the first day it only rained for 6 hours instead of 20-24 hours in a day. In honor of the fact I saw the sun today, here are some more pictures of Hawaii. This is essentially me wishing that I'd went to Hawaii last week instead of last month. VIVA HAWAII!!! Now I'm depressed:

Here's the view from our balcony. Notice that there's no rain.

I'm able to drive with the top down because there's no rain.

We can watch the sunset outside. We couldn't if it was raining.

Enjoy the serene scenery untouched by water from the sky.

We chose to stand under the tree to take the picture. Still no rain.

We can set the camera up on a table, sit on a dry stone wall and smile because we know those clouds behind us aren't rain clouds, they're happy clouds. I hate rain.

It's the Holiday Season...

Ah yes, the Holiday season is quickly approaching and that means that we're totally insane at The Land of Red & Khaki. We really want everyone to buy stuff but do it in an orderly manner and be sure to tip your waitress. To be honest, if I keep talking about work I might throw the computer through a wall make The Boss angry so I shall digress slightly.

Halloween was a couple weeks ago and V went as the proverbial superhero Booyah Baby. It was a homemade costume that April painstakingly spent hours crafting. I thought it went very well and the pictures below definitely do it justice. We went trick or treating around the block and V definitely got the hang of it at the end. At the beginning, she just sat there looking at people drop candy into her bucket. About halfway through, she realized the candy was coming at every door so she'd hold up her bucket to them saying "Triwteet" which is French for "Trick or Treat" (we think). Towards the end, she'd drop the bucket in the driveway, run up to the door and just hold out her hand. It worked. I think we got the most candy.

Since we didn't do Christmas cards last year (we had an 8 month old at the time), we're going to do them this year. Here's some pictures below of some pictures that didn't make it to the card but still have class and refinement. Enjoy these as you wait for the Christmas card you're not getting:

Red cheeked back from Trick or Treating and still smiling!

She's practicing her football stance for next year.

V: HA HA HA! Extreme close-up! Look at me! Look at me!

V: I'm sorry. I offer this leaf as a peace offering.

V: If I get do the "Cute Pose" I get kisses from Mommy!

V: Yessssssssssss... SMOOCH!