Christmas Time

We are having fun this Christmas with a toddler.  Lotty did consent to wearing a very pretty dress for our family portrait (as well as for a party at Auntie Kathryn and Baba Dan's house) and has had fun trimming the tree.  She is quite skilled at that, as you can see by the video below.  Lotty also went on her first hike today.  We estimate that she walked for about half a mile, holding Daddy and Grammy's hands, before wanting to get into the backpack carrier.  Grammy and Grandpa Brown were quite proud, as were Mama and Daddy.  Merry Christmas!

Halloween

Lotty was a bunny rabbit for Halloween.  (Max didn't seem to notice, which is strange since he has a thing for rabbits.)  She makes for a very cute bunny.  She did a little trick-or-treating with her cousins, John Clair and Jacob, who were dressed as a demon and a wizard respectively.  We ended up having to give most of her candy away since we were running low.  She didn't really need it anyway.

We also got this nice video of her hopping around on the floor.

Lotty in her Halloween Costume from Paul Brown on Vimeo.

Pumpkin Patch

Lotty has recently started going to daycare two days a week.  They went to a pumpkin patch and farm not far from our house in Edmonds.  Unfortunately, Lotty wasn't able to go with them, so we decided to go as a family the following Saturday.  There were many animals to look at, including turkeys, ducks, peacocks, pigs, kittens, rabbits, chickens & chicks, and pygmy goats.  Lotty had a lot of fun looking and petting different animals.  We also found some nice pumpkins in the pumpkin patch.

It looks like Lotty is having a pretty heated argument with this goat.

Lotty is getting a good close look at this one.

Lotty says she likes this one.

Lotty & Max Enjoying the Sun

These pictures were taken in Lotty's room with the sun shining in.  Lotty and Paul were putting away Lotty's laundry when Max joined us.  He was enjoying sitting in the sunshine so Lotty decided to join him.

Lotty petting Max nicely.

Geologist or Archeologist?

Lotty and Paul went down to the park with our friend, Ryan, who was visiting Seattle for the Labor Day weekend.  Lotty enjoyed the swing and also walking around in the grass with help from Daddy.  Both of them wore their sandals, being a hot day for Seattle (in the 80s).

After a nap and dinner outside on the patio, Lotty enjoyed playing in the dirt.  Since it hasn't rained here in a while, the dirt was very dusty, but still tasted good: strong tannins with hints of dry leaves.  (We kept most of it out of her mouth.)  Lotty thought it was very interesting to feel the soil fall through her fingers.  She found rocks which were also carefully tasted. After the dirt passed through her fingers, she brushed her hands together to get most of the dust off before picking up some more.  As far as we know, she didn't find any fossils or artifacts.

Lotty Scootching

Here is a little video of Lotty's new preferred method of mobility.  She can cross from carpet to hardwoods to area rugs and back again.  You will just have to guess what happens to the blue and white water dish at the end.

Lotty Scootching from Paul Brown on Vimeo.

Family Reunion back in July

We all few out to Indiana for a Kaufmann family reunion (Paul's mother's side) at the end of July.  Playing in the sand at the lake's beach was pretty fun, but the rain clouds moved in.  Not long after this picture was taken, it was pouring as we scurried back to our room.

One of the highlights of the trip for Paul and Elizabeth was the nice time that Lotty had with her Great Grandmother, Helen Kaufmann.  We don't get to see her much, so this time was special.

Lotty did very well traveling and dealing with the time zone change.  She is a good flyer and doesn't seem to mind the changes in pressure.  That being said, it was nice for her to return to her own crib.

Lotty's First Birthday

Today, Lotty is one year old!  We celebrated with family this afternoon, but this morning we had a present for her and we got some nice pictures of her opening it with Elizabeth.

Lotty is excited to get the present.  She does a pretty good job of getting the tissue paper and book out of the gift bag.  She likes "lift the flap" books where she can interact with the story.  She is also good at turning pages.

While the book is fun, the tissue paper soon captures her attention.  She likes the way it rips into long strips and then smaller and smaller pieces.

Baby Steps

Here is some video of Lotty taking some baby steps.  Note that she claps at the end.



Lotty Takes Baby Steps from Paul Brown on Vimeo.

Aquariums, Hiking and Drool

We all went to the aquarium in May, when Grammy and Grandpa Brown were up for a visit.  We also got out for a little hike at Larrabee State Park.  It was a little wet and cold, but Lotty seemed to enjoy the hike through the forest.

Here are some new portraits of Lotty looking very cute and showing that she has lots of teeth.  She enjoys biting food now, even though she still can't really chew.  All those teeth coming in gives her reason to drool.

Mother's Day

We have some pictures from Mother's Day that we wanted to share.  Lotty and Elizabeth were both very cute in matching pink tops.  Max wanted to get in on the shot, too.  The last picture shows how big Lotty is getting.  She is pretty much as tall as the trees in our backyard.  It was really nice to enjoy being outside in our yard with the sun shining.

The day before, Lotty had some fun with prunes.  Nothing like a good Saturday morning prune facial to get the day started.

Bath Time

Did I splash you?

Do I have to get out?

Fun on the Swing

Lotty tried the swing for the first time the other day.  We walked to the park just down the street from our house where they have a few swings.  She seemed to have fun, even though it was a little chilly out.  This was about at 6 PM, so the sun was just going down.

Paul & his new bike

Pictures of me and/on my new bike are on the web.  You can find them here:

http://www.vendettacycles.com/vendettacycles/gallery/kobalt%20blue/index.html

The bike is a real joy to ride, though I have only been able to put about 330 miles on it so far, between weather and spending time with Lotty.


For those that are curious, it is a lugged steel frame with polished, stainless steel lugs that were pinned during the brazing process.  It is built up with the Campagnolo Athena 11sp gruppo and very classic Mavic rims (open pro) and Brooks leather saddle (B-17 with copper rivets).


Paul

Snow Camp (Belated)

Sorry this has taken so long to get up.  Paul was sick for a little while and we have all been busy with work stuff.  Well, I guess not Lotty.  Maybe she should have updated the blog.


We went to our church snow camp back in February.  Basically, it is a time to go up to the church camp, which has cabins and a lodge and most of the amenities of home, and hang out and enjoy the snow.  This was our first one with Lotty.  She looks adorable in her pink snowsuit.  This was also her first time riding around in the backpack, which worked pretty well.

Here are some other pictures of the snow that turned out pretty nicely: