The Tidal Pools

This week Claire and I took a little trip to some tidal pools in North Seattle, at Carkeek Park. It was a cool, breezy overcast day--the type that always threatens to rain but never does. We went with my friend Cheryl and her little girl, Katelynn. We got there right before low tide at 11:00, just in time to see some really cool things. We probably wouldn't have found half of the marine life we did if it wasn't for the help of some young kids who were also there on a summer camp. They pointed us in all the right directions.
We saw crabs, starfish, anemones, hermit crabs and little fish.
I learned a few things too. 1) the tide comes back in really fast and 2) it does not bode well if you are a crab or startfish and you are out in the open at low tide. I don't think we saw a single crab that hadn't somehow been mauled/ torn apart/ partially eaten by a seagull. The smart ones hide under the rocks.
Overall, it was a lot of fun! We plan on going back. :)

Cheryl and Katelynn

Anemone

Sea Stars aka starfish

He looks ok, but he's not alive :(

The culprit

Teeth!

Claire's little bottom teeth ( the incisors) are coming in! I felt it only fitting that I take a picture to document this important milestone. I had to really fight Claire to get a decent picture. She just wasn't interested in holding still so mom could get a picture! It did help that she was trying to eat my lens--she opened up nice and wide! So I will just go ahead and post the pictures showing the battle. :)

Chewing on my camera cord

Tongue in the way

Hand in the way

Blurry due to moving

Finally got it!

Welcome, Summer!!

 I think summer in the great Northwest is finally upon us! The weather has been absolutely GLORIOUS! The temperature has been ranging in the mid 70s to low 80s,  the sky is a beautiful with no clouds and the evenings have been cool and long. THIS is why people live here. THIS is why you put up with the stinky weather the rest of the year. While the rest of the country swelters under oppressive heat, we up here in Seattle are enjoying every minute. From the cool mornings to the bright sunny warm days to the long, light-filled evenings.
There is an old saying that folks around here pass around: summer officially starts after the 4th of July. Boy, were they right! The 4th was a pleasant sunny day, but a little on the cool side, especially for July. But along came July 5th and summer came in full force. Woohoo!! So summer starts a little late around here, but when it comes, it is amazing!

Today we had a typical summer day:

Went to the pool

Played outside

And enjoyed a great barbeque with friends

SUMMER ROCKS!!!!

Happy Half Birthday!

Six months ago today, my beautiful little Claire was born on Tuesday, January 3, 2012. It's been an incredible six months! A lot of sleepless nights, a lot of diapers and a lot of hugs and kisses later, Jason and I are still going strong and loving being parents to our little Claire! She is our little angel, our little princess,  our darling little girl who has been such a blessing in our lives. She has brought us more happiness than I realized was possible. And she is the sweetest, happiest baby! I know that all sounds super cliche, but it really is how I feel! I look forward to the next six months and all the growth and development Claire will experience.

To celebrate her half birthday, I took her to Target and got her a fun mobile.  I probably spent about a half hour looking at different toys and musical contraptions. I hope she likes this one. She also got to sit in the front of the cart, like a real little baby!

Oh, and to make this time even more monumental, look at what I discovered on Sunday:

A little tooth bud!

You have to look closely. It's on the right side.