Vadajo

A friend sent Vada a really sweet package, full of all sorts of girly trinkets.  Her favorite is the bracelet that lights up when you push a button (cool!).  She even took it to bed with her last night!  Thanks again Arielah!!!

We braved the cold (okay, only 50 degrees, but it felt cold!) to visit the dog park today.  It was a beautiful morning, and we saw all sorts of great dogs, and some ducks, and this fantastic heron.  His perch on this tree looks so physically impossible!

Vada’s king of the hill!

The after-park reward: hot cocoa and cookie!

Vada has re-discovered this hairclip that Grandma Lila gave her last year (she wouldn’t keep it in back then!), and now she loves it.  I think it looks so adorable!

A side view…

After school, we made pumpkin pear bread.  It was a big hit, and Vada was really helpful with the dumping and stirring, and of course with licking the beaters!  The bread turned out okay, despite the fact that I left out the baking soda…   It’s dense, but still yummy!

Snuggling up with daddy…

Isn’t that sweet – she wants to sew, just like mommy!  (Don’t worry, I took the needle out!)

I bought a package of mini cupcakes when I went grocery shopping during Vada’s nap on Sunday.  She was so thrilled to get one for a snack when she woke up!

We drove up to Woodinville to check out Molbak’s nursery.  It was AWESOME!  It was huge!  Had the most amazing selection of plants and trees and all sorts of other stuff, and the indoor shop was all decked out for the holidays.  They even had carolers (Vada was positively entranced by them)!  And a cafe!  We’ll definitely be back.   [Hey, they sell gift cards online, just in case you were wondering...  ]  Sorry there are so many photos – I just loved them all!

What is Vada doing?  She’s trying to kiss the deer on the nose, of course!

After the nursery visit, we went to dinner at Ruby’s Diner across the street.  That place is so perfect for kids!  They have a train going around on tracks overhead, and the kid’s menu folds up into a boat!  Vada sat with Chris for a change, and I loved being able to eat in peace and take pictures.  Best dinner ever!

We had plans to switch Vada to a new bed sometime before the holidays, but were debating exactly when.  On the one hand, we wanted to keep her in the crib as long as possible (containment!).  On the other hand, we wanted her to be comfortable in it before the chaos of family visiting.  I’d been keeping my eyes open on Craigslist, for either a toddler bed or a twin bed.  When I saw this one, I knew Vada would love it.  Personally, I hate the plastic, but it’s not about me, is it?  I had grand plans of making a big production of moving her to the new bed, but it turned out that she was with me when I picked it up, and then she and Chris were both really excited to put it together when we got home, and then we just had to set it up (and move and dismantle the crib) to see what it looked like, and then it was naptime…  And suddenly the crib was out, the new bed was in, and she’s really truly officially moved from baby to toddler.  Sniff…