The Walkers

Our house only has showers

2011-02-22T22:53:00.002-07:00

Letter To Santa (Christmas Advent 01)

2010-12-02T09:22:00.003-07:00

I helped with the wording of this letter less than you might think.

San Diego

2010-11-22T13:21:00.002-07:00

St. George

2010-11-20T23:31:00.002-07:00

It's Still Fall

2010-11-10T23:29:00.002-07:00

First Snow

2010-11-08T20:11:00.002-07:00

Ba Ba Black Sheep

2010-11-03T21:21:00.000-06:00

Ba Ba Black Sheep from Miranda Walker on Vimeo.

Sweet

2010-07-28T19:18:00.000-06:00

:-)

At the breakfast table

2010-07-25T22:21:00.001-06:00

She finally has enough hair for some decent bed head.

She's been singing all weekend

2010-07-18T22:07:00.002-06:00

Add another John Denver fan to the list....

Take Me Home, Country Roads from Miranda Walker on Vimeo.

(The video can be a little hard to hear at first but don't worry. She sings the same thing on each page so you'll hear it again.)

Country roads, take me home

To the place, I belong.

West Virginia, mountain mama,

Take me home, country roads...

Harmon-ca-ca

2010-07-14T23:06:00.004-06:00

Azalea found Nate's old harmonica and it has been a nonstop party ever since.

Harmon-ca-ca from Miranda Walker on Vimeo.

There's serious discussion about taking her show on the road. For those of you who are keeping track, Azalea's band now consists of: bongo drums, a shaker, two tambourines, and now a harmonica.

Sounds like an indie band if I've ever heard one.

Conversation after a nap

2010-07-13T15:45:00.002-06:00

Me: Hi Zayley! Are you ready to get up?

Azalea: Yes Mommy! Mustard is okay!

Me: What is okay?

Azalea: No! Mustard! It's okay.

Me: .....

Azalea: Mustard.

Me: Mustard?

Azalea: Yes, it's okay.

Me: Well, that's good.

Azalea: So I okay too.

Me: You're okay too?

Azalea: Yes. Just like mustard.

Holy crap I love her.

Happy Birthday Willy!

2010-06-13T19:15:00.003-06:00

Dear Will,

We're sorry we couldn't be there to celebrate your 2nd birthday with you but we are sure you had an awesome time anyway. We planned to post a video of Azalea singing to you, but our Flip is somewhere in storage. Instead, we'll post some pictures that Grandpa took of you and Azalea the last time we got to hang out back in April. If you ask us, that was way too long ago. :)

Happy Birthday little dude! We love you!

A change of scenery

2010-06-07T13:38:00.003-06:00

So you heard we moved, right?

Well, in the event that you HAVEN'T heard, we recently left our beloved Denver and moved back to IDAHO! Nate accepted a job in Eastern Idaho and just started his second week of work. We're currently staying with my parents while we look for a place to rent. As you can imagine, Azalea is perfectly content to stay here forever and be spoiled by her grandparents. Nate and I, on the other hand, are feeling a little less settled with our stuff in a storage unit and Nate commuting to work each day.

So, between calls to rental houses and hanging out with family, I will try to update this blog a little. Obviously we've been busy but, not posting since March? There's really no decent excuse for that. I can't promise that posts won't be heavy on pictures and light on words...but I'm guessing you won't mind that too much.

What to do when you're a sicky

2010-03-25T22:58:00.002-06:00

Nothing like a little freestyle drumming to alleviate sick-day boredom!

That happy face may not look sick to you, but don't be fooled. That smile crumpled into a full-on over-tired-sick tantrum seconds after these pictures were taken.

She even rocks the foot pedal.

It's one of those days

2010-03-23T15:33:00.000-06:00

Good thing we only have one.

Tambourine Girl

2010-03-22T06:00:00.000-06:00

I took Azalea thrift shopping a couple of weeks ago. I let her walk beside me instead of riding in the cart since she was being such a good little girl. She was cracking me up with all of the, "gasp--mommy! I found it!" and "oh! look!"

At one point she notified me that she had found a treasure, and this time...it was serious. A bag with two small tambourines in it. With the price tag of A DOLLAR, I couldn't deny her this fantastic thrift store find.

Now she can have tambourine parties with her daddy all of the time.

Tea Party

2010-02-23T22:25:00.003-07:00

Azalea went to one of her first big birthday parties last weekend. Her friend was turning three and had a "girls only" tea party. I could go on and on about this fantastic party, but I think I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

She found some.

2010-02-23T22:19:00.003-07:00

I couldn't keep Azalea inside any longer today. She was begging to go outside, talking about her boots and her snow suit. I looked out in the backyard and thought it looked pretty decent. The snow had been melting all day but I couldn't see any mud.

But she found some.

Oh this little girl.

2010-01-13T22:01:00.002-07:00

Azalea no longer sits in her high chair that is connected to the table. Now that she is a "big girl" she chooses to sit in a regular chair with the rest of us, happily perched atop a gigantic phone book. Finally we have a use for that thing.

She's also taken to wearing that hat around the house all day long which is a fashion statement her father and I can really get behind.

Azalea can put her pink boots on all by herself. I did not teach her how to do this. One day she came to me and said "boots!" and she was wearing them. On the right feet. She prefers to wear them with no pants.

She also enjoys carrying stools, books, and other elevated objects around the house so that she can then climb on top of them and jump off of them. Again, not something we taught her.

Azalea's latest dinner of choice is popcorn (ka-corn). Here's an actual conversation:

Me: Zayley, what should mommy make for dinner tonight?

Z: Ka-corn (nods solemnly)

Me: Popcorn?

Z: Yeah. Okaaaay. Sure!

Oddly enough, popcorn is my dinner of choice also.

Azalea and I went to the zoo today and she walked pretty much the entire time.

Me: Zayley, do you want to go to the zoo today?

Z: ANIMALS! Raff, Effant, Zeeba, Backpack!

Me: Okay, I guess we're going to the zoo.

I really like hanging out with her.

I also wish I had her style.

Cake?

2010-01-06T23:15:00.002-07:00

This morning Nate was telling Azalea that her birthday was coming up soon and that we would have birthday presents and birthday cake. She thought the idea of cake sounded so great that she decided to sit herself down at the kitchen table and have some.

Unfortunately, there was no cake in the house.

Lucky for this little girl, she has a thoughtful dad who brought home some cake from Safeway after work.

She does love her some "choca-cake."

Thanksgiving Wrap-Up

2009-12-03T23:28:00.002-07:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Idaho. First of all, we were greeted by dad's turkey which was possibly the best one yet...

Not to brag on dad's behalf of anything, but we saw several people stop to take pictures of his turkey over the course of the weekend.

Azalea was showered with attention since both sets of grandparents were there. That basically meant that under no circumstances (barring sleep) was she ever without someone to play with, talk to, be picked up by, or go outside with. She loves going outside and finally got used to the idea of her big winter coat because as she says it was "coldy."

Bill and Gail went outside one morning while dad sorted cattle with Spence and Ephrain. Izzy got to come along too so she could demonstrate her cattle working skillz. I got some video of her in action too and I'll try to post that later.

Gail and I decorated the table and I was quite pleased with the final look.

Dinner was delicious as always although I seemed completely incapable of taking a shot that was focused or adequately lit. For crap's sake.

(I put together the cheese tray and then promptly camped out in front of it)

Mom and Aunt Connie hustled around the kitchen and wouldn't let me take a decent picture of them. I told them I was taking these action shots for posterity.

(mom is very happy when she is making pie)

(Connie hid behind somebody else in EVERY SINGLE picture I took of people at the table...therefore, I'm forced to post this picture as the only documentation of her presence)

(One out of focus and one poorly lit. COME ON! Why did I even take pictures?)

And now...the picture's you've all been waiting for: Azalea's second Thanksgiving.

Hope you all had wonderful Thanksgivings and best wishes in your upcoming holiday festivities!

Not a swimsuit

2009-11-15T22:02:00.003-07:00

We had another big snow storm this weekend. Church was cancelled and we had a great day bumming around in our pajamas. When Nate went out to shovel the driveway, I decided that it would be a great time to dress Azalea up in the new snow suit that Grandma Nina gave her. I was, however, mistaken.

I think the misunderstanding happened when the word "suit" left my lips. I'm pretty sure that anytime Azalea hears the word "suit" she automatically thinks, "swimsuit" and that she obviously must be going swimming. When I began stuffing her into something that was decidedly NOT a swimsuit there began to be much weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.

I persevered.

We'll probably need to get her some gloves. Or some socks wrapped in grocery sacks.

Azalea appeared to be apprehensive about the snow...though I prefer to think she was just keeping an eye out for ninjas.

We didn't spend too much time outside...mainly because I was not dressed for the elements. But you can bet we'll be out there again before the 50 degree weather comes back. We can't have Azalea growing out of that suit without getting any use out of it!

I'm sure she'll like it more once she forgets what a swim suit is right?

Waiting for Parker

2009-11-05T21:20:00.002-07:00

We've started going to Parker's school early to pick him up so that Azalea has time to play on the playground equipment. Why on earth did it take me two months to decide to do this? I don't know...

She can go down the slide all by herself...but it takes her about three minutes to gather her courage.

Chicken Little

2009-11-01T21:37:00.003-07:00

This is the best picture we have of Azalea's Halloween costume.

And it was taken by Ben. (Thanks Ben)

I could feel bad about the pitiful lack of pictures that we took of her on the second Halloween of her life; but, considering the waffling that went on about her costume...I'm gonna go ahead and declare us successful parents once again.

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween. And from the looks of all the adorable costumes floating around on blogs right about now...it looks like you did. :) Happy November!

Always the helper

2009-10-27T21:04:00.002-06:00

I see a few speech clients on Mondays so Nate stays home to take care of Azalea. Yesterday I arrived home to this scene:

Apparently Azalea walked up to Nate while he was washing dishes and said "help." Which is code for, "let me play in the water next to you."

Nate is a really good dad.

Azalea is a really awesome kid.

Fashion Advice

2009-10-14T23:51:00.002-06:00

There are times when these luscious locks just need to be tamed.

For times like this, may we suggest: the headband. Simple, fashionable, and always in season.

Be sure to stock up on a few basic colors so that you can always coordinate with whatever you're wearing.

Even if you're wearing your winter footies too early because you've grown out of this season's fall fashion pajamas.

I forgot...

2009-10-14T09:13:00.002-06:00

I forgot to mention here that I'm hosting a giveaway over on my personal blog. Check it out if you haven't all ready. Be sure to hurry though because comments close tonight at midnight!

Tuesdays and Thursdays

2009-10-13T13:24:00.003-06:00

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Azalea and I drive our friend, Parker, to Kindergarten. Azalea is quite smitten with Parker and has a wonderful time when he's around. Even when she's having a day when all she wants to do is walk around crying and whining (ahem*today) when Parker gets here it's all smiles and giggles and blue skies. Here's just a glimpse:

Photo Shoot

2009-10-12T05:00:00.000-06:00

Since it snowed this weekend, I pulled out a bunch of winter gear to protect myself from the elements. Read: beanies and scarves. Azalea has loved putting on all of the hats that are kicking around. Today she said, "hat...picture!" And I obliged.

I'm quite certain I will NEVER get sick of looking at that first picture.

Papa Ken Has the Best Toys

2009-10-07T07:13:00.004-06:00

Most of the time we were in Idaho, Azalea was hanging out with Papa Ken. It's an obvious match since she loves being outside and he's the only one of us who spends almost his entire day outside. Plus, she got to ride around on farm equipment...and you all know you love to do that. (admit it) She woke up from all of her naps saying "Papa? Papa?" As soon as dad would come in asking for Azalea, she was up getting her "shoesies" and trotting out the door. The video below demonstrates most of what we saw of Azalea during the trip.

You can see how it may be hard for us to compete with such entertainment upon returning to Denver...

My Bad.

2009-10-04T13:12:00.002-06:00

I've been having so much fun over at my personal blog that I've completely neglected our family blog. Over a month since our last post?...I am ashamed. I promise to step it up.

In the meantime, we've posted the pictures of our trips to Bear Lake and Idaho on Flickr. If you are an immediate family member and have already seen these pictures...I'm sorry. I already said I'm going to try to do better. Maybe this will appease you

Hesitant

2009-10-04T12:15:00.001-06:00

Uncle Kevan has come for a visit after finishing his bike trek. Z warmed up to him quickly...until he let his hair down.

She just wants me to look my best.

2009-09-07T13:50:00.000-06:00

Azalea is not so into my barefoot in the kitchen look. About mid-morning she usually comes in with some suggestions to help me "class things up a bit."

A Taste of Colorado

2009-09-06T15:34:00.010-06:00

So we went to A Taste of Colorado Yesterday and I wanted to write a blog about it, but dad won't let me use the computer so we compromised and he's taking dictation. Dad has this really annoying trait he picked up from Grandpa Bill where he always complains about crowds, so we decided to park far away and go downtown on what I have been told is called a 'train,' although, I've heard some call it the 'light rail.' So dad bought some tickets while mom and I had a little self photo shoot.

The way A Taste of Colorado works is you go in and buy tickets, and then use those tickets to buy food. Dad says that it's probably a way to mask the actual prices you're paying for the food, but that's ok because we didn't go to get a bargain. I guess the food prices are about on par with what you would usually pay at a fair. Also, using the tickets seemed to help the lines move fast.

The first thing mom and dad got were two mini cupcakes (blueberry lemon and chocolate raspberry) and some spicy Louisiana hot links. I thought the cupcakes were great, mom and dad said they were just ok. The hot links looked great but mom and dad kept telling me they were too hot... I think they just didn't want to share.

While we were eating those things I got to push my stroller around, which was awesome. Also, some guy asked if he could take a picture of me because I'm so awesome.

The next thing we got was fried gator. I didn't want any, but mom and dad said it tasted like chicken, but with the added flavor of how lizards and snakes smell so I don't think I missed out on much.

Next we got some smash fries for me and mom and dad got something called chicken pakora. The fries were decent and mom and dad loved their chicken.

After I had eaten some of my fries, we got some plantains which I also enjoyed.

On the way to our next stop, mom took a great picture of the capitol building that I would like to include here.

After we stopped to look at the capitol, mom and dad split an awesome shrimp taco... again I didn't want any.

By now I was starting to get annoyed at how long I had been sitting, but my patience was about to pay off, because we got shaved ice that we got to flavor ourselves (we got green apple and blue raspberry) and a Pepsi. I tried to eat the Pepsi with a spoon straw after the shaved ice was gone, but it didn't work very well.

Next came mini-doughnuts. I've had these in Seattle before and these weren't as good, but they're more than passable.

After doughnuts it was a time for another break. I took the opportunity to give out some kisses.

After kisses I ate a melomakaruna which is a very very dry and crumble cookie.

See?

Then we had the best thing all day, a cup of strawberry banana gelato and a cup of lemon gelato. Man that lemon gelato was good. Also, I gave out more kisses.

After that set of kisses it was almost time to go. But not before chocolate covered bacon, a beef brisket sandwich, gyoza, a california roll, a bottle of water, a brazilian sausage, and some bacon wrapped chicken.

Finally, after all the eating was done, we got back on the train and went home. I rode like a big girl, as you can see by the way I hold on to the bar.

So that's what $40 will get you at A Taste of Colorado.

Per Lucy's Request

2009-08-29T22:59:00.003-06:00

We all know that Azalea has a wide fan base, but a special request has been put in from one of her admirers in Idaho that I had to fulfill immediately. As you know...3 year olds don't like to wait too long.

This is a video of Azalea and me killing time at the vacation home we stayed at with Nate's family in Jenner, CA. We have more pictures of that vacation to post as soon as I locate them on our multiple picture folder abyss. Cross your fingers for me and enjoy the video!

Being Silly from Miranda Walker on Vimeo.

Finally you guys.

2009-08-21T21:41:00.003-06:00

We finally got Azalea a freakin' riding toy. (Thanks Grandma Nina)

It's clearly the greatest toy ever and it makes lots of noise and sings songs and has a piano on the front and it has this secret compartment where she can hide a bunch of her toys and she can ride on it or push it or be pushed on it and iiiiiit's sooooooo awesooooooooome!

With a blankie and a riding toy, her little one and half year old life is complete.

Okay so can we please go back to being happy now and not crying and being cranky all the time because we may or may not be cutting two teeth?

Oh.

So much for that...

2009-08-21T21:17:00.004-06:00

Oh hi mom, it looks like you think you're going to take some pictures of me.

Hmm...that's interesting.

Oh hey, what's this that I've found?

Aaaaaand you're done.

There's still 45 min. left of our anniversary.

2009-08-19T23:14:00.004-06:00

Five years ago today Nate and I got married.

The most exciting part of marriage for me was the fact that Nate and I got to live in THE SAME HOUSE. Two years of long-distance dating made marriage feel like a permanent slumber party in my opinion.

Dating in separate states meant lots of talking via IM, too many red-eye flights, and a crazy last-minute road trip where I may or may not have almost killed all of my roommates by driving us off the road.

And now, after five years, I still never get tired of hanging out with Nate.

I love you so much. Here's to five years of slumber parties.

She even picked out the costume.

2009-08-14T23:52:00.003-06:00

The other day I had Azalea with me down in the basement while I was trying to make sense of the giant mess we keep down there. I was playing some kid music on Pandora and dancing around a little to keep her entertained. I quickly realized that her "dancing" has graduated from moving her hips and arms back and forth--to full on choreography with steps and turns and jutted hips. We danced around the basement and by the end of the song I realized that I was tearing up! You know...because I was sharing this little moment with my daughter who was getting so big and oh yeah because I'm SUCH A SENTIMENTAL SAP. (lovely alliteration Miranda--Oh why thank you!) Honestly I don't know how anyone could live with me.

Anyway, on to the tape.

:: Please note the excellent use of the stage.

:: I'm pretty sure she was trying for an awesome lift at the end, but her partner's hands were full.

:: Also, forgive the poor camera angles. The camera crew was apparently dancing while taking the shot...so unprofessional.

Z-cakes Dancing from Miranda Walker on Vimeo.

How Can This Be?

2009-08-13T11:41:00.002-06:00

Ahem.

2009-07-28T22:37:00.001-06:00

Dudes...

That is hair.

And it is curling.

Something tells me it's all happening...

2009-07-12T20:25:00.002-06:00

AT THE ZOO!

That's right folks, we took Azalea to the zoo for the second time in her little life. The first time I went with my friend Serin because she had a guest pass and Azalea was way to little to know or care what was going on but not this time! Nope, this time she was mezmerized by the animals. Whether or not she thought they were all "puppies" is another story.

She really enjoyed looking at the elephants. We even got to see a demonstration with the elephants and learn that the two there were 50 and 40 years old, and that they frequently get tested for TB which can be transferred from trainer to animal and vice versa. Huh. Crazy.

There was a lot of this happening all day.

Azalea was so good the whole time we were there even though it was hot and we didn't let her run around with the lemurs like she really wanted to. She held our hand when we wanted her to and any crying was usually remedied with her cuppy. I honestly have no idea where we got this obedient child.

I'm quite a sucker for the giraffes so that is where we had a quick family picture taken (thank you Brian).

Azalea was pretty sure she could take on a Polar Bear and was planning a sneak attack. We told her she should probably wait a few years.

It was too damn hot for penguins. (You're welcome Jenny.)

In the end we decided to get a zoo pass so that Azalea and I can go to the zoo WHENEVER WE WANT. Hooray zoos!

P.S. You can check out more pictures of our zoo trip on our flickr set.

Ouch, my heart!

2009-06-16T22:17:00.001-06:00

Sweet, sweet, Cooper was gentlemanly enough to hang out with Azalea for a little while at the park today even though she was cranky, tired, and too little to run around with the other kids.

I have more pictures of our trip to the park today to be blogged about later!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILLY!

2009-06-13T15:46:00.005-06:00

Dear Willy,
I hope you have a wonderful 1st birthday. I have found that having a whole party planned around your entire year of existing is somehow even better than the fact that the world has already been revolving around you since the moment you came into existence.

If it looks like I am cranky in these photos it is because:
1. I am kind of sick.
2. I am not at your birthday party.
3. My mom just pointed out that even if I LIVED IN SAN DIEGO I wouldn't be able to come to your party...because of #1

Anyway, I love you and I think you are a great cousin. I don't even mind that you have more hair than me. I can't wait to hang out with you in this "Bay Area" place that our parents keep talking about. Also, my parent told me to tell you that your gift is in the mail.

Love, Your favorite cousin,

Azalea

Green Mountain

2009-05-22T21:29:00.003-06:00

Now that we have such a sweet baby backpack, we've been going on quite a few family hikes. These pictures are from our hike to the TOP of Green Mountain a few weeks ago. The view from the top was beautiful.

Zayley seems pretty happy as a passenger. Sometimes she gets bored and fussy, but that is usually when the hike has taken us a couple of hours. And by that point, we're all a little fussy.

She is also really in to pointing right now so whoever is carrying her usually spends the entire hike with an authoritative baby finger pointing forward in his/her peripheral vision.

Man. Ain't that perty.

I know all of these pictures make it look like Nate did the majority of the carrying; but, I'll have you know that so far our system is as follows: one parent carries up, the other carries down. Then, we trade for the next hike. So there. Also, of course we ALWAYS bring Izzy. If we didn't, I'm pretty sure we would reek of hike the way a cheating spouse reeks of perfume and she would divorce us.

Here's to more family hikes. I'm thinking Memorial Day.

More MORE More?

2009-05-21T17:41:00.001-06:00

Cousins Can Be SO ANNOYING!

2009-05-20T20:06:00.005-06:00

All By Herself

2009-05-19T20:29:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I noticed that the house was very quiet.

I asked Nate to check on Azalea to make sure that she wasn't dumping all of our DVD's into the toilet or something equally fun and exciting. Nate walked in to Z's room to find this:

Sometime when we weren't looking, she learned to climb into her rocking chair all by herself!

As you can see she was quite proud of herself. She especially enjoyed looking at herself in the mirror and rocking.

I was lucky enough to catch it on video. This is also when we learned that she could get down by herself too. Who knows how long she's been doing this!

Z climbing into rocking chair. from Miranda Walker on Vimeo.

And in case you were wondering...she picked out her outfit all by herself too.

Rachel is a Nurse!

2009-05-09T21:42:00.004-06:00

Our dear friend Rachel graduated from the Regis Nursing Program on May 1. For her graduation party she asked if I would be interested in helping her make cupcakes and plan decorations. I was deeply flattered and immediately suggested we try these hi-hat cupcakes that I had been dying to make. They were a beautiful success!

Rachel snapped this lovely picture while we were making the cupcakes the day before the event. The topping is meringue that you pipe on and then DIP UPSIDE DOWN into MELTED CHOCOLATE to coat the outside. Nerve-wracking I tell ya.

Rachel wanted to use spring colors for the decorations so we covered the cupcakes in yellow and white melting chocolate and topped them with what else but more yellow and white! (sprinkles...three different kinds)

And of course, our most avid of cupcake eaters declared them: DELICIOUS.

Congratulations Rachel! We're all proud of you.

Up To...

2009-05-02T21:05:00.004-06:00

We have received numerous phone calls and emails lately wondering what we have been up to and if we have any news to report. Allow me to now use our blog for its primary purpose: updating people on the minutia of our life.

April 16-23

We took an unexpected trip to Idaho so that Nate could interview for a job with J-U-B Engineers in Twin Falls. This was actually his second interview (the first was over the phone) and I was invited to come along. We both thought the interview went well but we're waiting to hear back from them. Thus...no news. As always, it was fun to be in Idaho with friends and family, and it was interesting how the thought of possibly living there made us look at things differently. Of course Azalea was spoiled with attention and got to do a little farming with Grandpa Ken.

No Hands!

Chillin' with Uncle Spencer

Azalea would like to suggest a dinner option for you tonight.

Chad looks just like my dad doesn't he?

Azalea looks after the last of three bunnies in the Davis Family.

Isn't Idaho beautiful?

On the drive home I looked back to see Azalea doing this. What the? She hasn't done that in ages.

April 24-29

Fortunately for us, Azlaea didn't have to suffer from her usual attention withdrawls after leaving Idaho because the day after we got home Bill and Gail (Nate's parents) flew in from Washington for a visit. It was great to see them and for once, we actually had some plans in mind to keep us all occupied. Nate took Bill to a Pin Ball Expo with Ben and Brian, we all had tea at the Brown Palace Hotel in downtown Denver, and we had a small get together for Nate's birthday on the 28th. If we took any pictures the entire time Bill and Gail visited, I sure can't find them. So I would like to thank and credit Bill for the following pictures.

Keepin' it real by playing outside in our underwear. Oh wait, that was just Zayley. Would you look at those thighs.

This is my favorite picture of the Pin Ball event. Look behind Nate in case you're worried that he is the oldest person there. He wasn't...so don't judge.

We took a trip to Jose O'Shea's (our favorite Mexican restaurant) so that Azalea could gorge herself on black beans.

The outside of the Brown Palace.

Waiting for tea and sandwiches.

Because I took Bill's camera and made him move.

A little more about Nate's birthday: He got a couple of presents that both of us can enjoy. Azalea and I gave him an external flash for our camera. It looks like the one on Ben's camera as they try to take double flash pictures or have a flash race or whatever.

Bill and Gail got him a Deuter kid carrier backpack. I don't have any pictures of either one of us wearing it yet but here is a picture from the manufacturer.

This thing is so totally sweet. Anyone who likes to hike and has a kid should save their money and buy one. Or, have a birthday and get their parents to buy it for them. We've already used it on Green Mountain and we love it. Thanks Bill and Gail! (And yes, it comes with the bear.)

I made Nate a rockin' cake that (as an added bonus) was delicious. I used my friend Charlotte's recipe for a "Giant Ding Dong Cake" per Nate's request. It wasn't the most beautiful cake ever, but I was overflowing with pride none the less.

Ta-Dah!

Here Nate sucks the ganach off the end of the candle. Or pretends its a cigarette...you decide.

And there you have it. That is what we have been "up to" lately. Minus the pictures of Rachel's party last night that are still on our camera. Now that I've taken my entire evening to write the longest post ever ~~please leave us alone.~~ (I mean) I am looking forward to spending some quiet time with my little family while we wait to hear whether or not Nate has a job in Twin Falls. Wish us luck!

Critical Micelle Concentration

2009-04-10T23:24:00.006-06:00

I know, I know, this blog is supposed to be about Azalea, with an occasional post about her parents. But this was just too cool to not slap up on my blog. It's how soap works, with candy corn, in space. It's also a big deal for water treatment, where you run across the critical micelle (My-Cell) concentration from time to time. Anyway, I grabbed this video from the Science Friday website.

Also, if you're viewing this in a reader, come visit my blog to see the video. There was something up with the embed code and it doesn't seem to be showing up.

Seattle Wrap-Up

2009-04-08T21:38:00.000-06:00

Hi it's Azalea. I've decided to finish up with the photos from Seattle since it has become quite apparent that my mom and dad are not going to do it. Welcome to the second and last installment of our trip to Seattle (which was in FEBRUARY). This post will mainly focus on food....which is basically the focus of my life anyway.

Grandma and Grandpa Walker have a nice big kitchen with lots of room to run around and play. There is a nice island in the middle that I really enjoyed making laps around in down time, you know, when Grandpa Bill or dad weren't reading me Brown Bear. I also enjoyed sitting on the island while I helped mom make thumbprint cookies. (She was like a compulsive baker trying to take advantage of being at sea-level).

And by help I mean...licked everything clean.

We also visited Grandma's friends Perk and Sirkku Bingham. They had this beautiful sun room at their house so we decided to sit there while it, er...rained. All the adults had a great time laughing and drinking tea while I walked from one room to the other over and over and over.

Sirkku makes this delicious bread called Pulla. My mom loves the stuff and got all excited when she saw it. I had to fight her for this piece.

We celebrated my birthday on Bainbridge Island the night before we went home. Grandma gave me an ENTIRE PLATE of nilla waffers for my birthday cake! I decided to take a bite out of all of them so that nobody else could eat any of them. Not unlike mom when she is in the presence of a plate of pulla.

I'm fairly certain I have an older sibling lurking around somewhere waiting to eat all of my food and steal my toys. Just to be on the safe side, I eat everything as fast as I can so he/she can't get it. Mom says she doesn't understand it, but I'm pretty sure she would eat my stuff if I wasn't eating it so fast...so I'm covering my ground either way.

Have a Good Monday!

2009-04-06T13:31:00.000-06:00

Maybe it would help if somebody tickled you.

Tickling Z-Cakes from Miranda Walker on Vimeo.

A Day in Seattle

2009-03-13T22:54:00.002-06:00

In February we took a vacation to Seattle to visit Nate's parents. The last time we were there Azalea was only three months old so we were long over-due for a visit. Our dear friends Carl and Nicki recently moved to Bremerton (yeah, Bremerton) so we were happy to see them again too. One of the days we were there we decided to play tourist family and hang out in downtown Seattle with Carl and Nicki for the day. We were both pleasantly surprised at how quickly Azalea adopted the disaffected Seattleite persona.

Big Brass Pig. Meh.

We had a wonderful time hoofing it around Seattle; and, consistent with most of my visits to Seattle, it hardly rained at all. (It only rains in Seattle when I live there)

Do you see the LUSH store in the background? This picture was taken moments before I spent our life savings there.

Azalea had a wonderful time waiting for the ~~stupid~~ ferry. It was so nice of Nicki to walk all over the terminal with Azalea. She is a big girl now and was sick of riding in that stupid stroller. She thought she should be allowed to walk around just like all of the other ferry commuters.

Of course the ferry is quite a nice ride once you're done waiting for it. Azalea enjoyed looking out the window and eating goldfish, and I enjoyed taking pictures of her doing that.

More to come about our exciting adventures in Seattle so stay tuned!

Brown Bear

2009-03-11T20:54:00.004-06:00

The other day Nate decided to test whether or not Azalea was actually following some of our simple directions. This is what happened:

Brown Bear from Miranda Walker on Vimeo.

Clearly she is a genius. Yeah I said it. GENIUS BABY.
Also, I see that this is our third video post in a row. So, I guess that's what we do now.

Asparagus

2009-03-05T14:58:00.006-07:00

Look, Azalea can eat asparagus too. Although, her reaction isn't quite as entertaining.

Asparagus from Miranda Walker on Vimeo.

Busy Ball Popper

2009-02-27T23:21:00.002-07:00

Uncle Lorney, Auntie Laurel, and Willy got Azalea a Busy Ball Popper for her birthday. Many of you may have seen these before and yes, they are as fantastic as you imagined they would be. It has taken Zayley a while to figure the whole thing out. She still makes a screeching noise when we turn it on and we can't tell if they are screeches of glee or screeches of anger that the balls are flying all over the place. Observe:

Busy Ball Popper from Miranda Walker on Vimeo.

Meathead

2009-02-27T22:04:00.003-07:00

For her birthday I knit Azalea the Meathead Hat out of the book Knitalong. I'm beside myself over how adorable it is.

The yarn is soft, affordable, and the pattern knits up quickly. The directions say to knit the hat flat and then sew up the seam but there's really no reason to. I knit this hat in the round easy-peasy.

Oh yeah, and here's a random picture of Z being silly/adorable because this is my blog.

And Now...It's Time To Party

2009-02-27T21:35:00.003-07:00

We decided to have Azalea's birthday party on her actual birthday with a handful of close friends. I had a hard time figuring out what to do for Zayley's first birthday because on one hand, I spend a significant portion of my life reading blogs about parties and parenting (clearly they go hand in hand) and I wanted to throw a fancy-schmancy party. However, on the other hand, I get that she's one, and that she's not going to remember any of it. Personally, I thought it turned out to be a pretty fantastic party...if I do say so myself.

And now, on to picture of the birthday girl. Here she is in her tutu that her lovely Auntie Laurel gave her. Does she love being in her tutu...meh...not so much. But she's dang cute in it. Plus, it's like having a little decoration walking around.

Nate and I got her Duplos after she couldn't get enough of them at the Stamps' house. Currently, she enjoys throwing them in and out of the bucket.

The picture above was stolen off of Brian's flickr page. Now that I've mentioned his name I'm pretty sure I can post it here legitimately without asking for his permissioon...even though he's sitting across the room from me.

Ben and Rachel got Zayely bath toys and she loves them. She also loves that they are magnetic because she carries magnets around the house trying to get them to stick to things other than the fridge. She seems to be pleasently suprised when she's able to successfully stick them to these boats.

And of course, none of Azalea's milestones would be complete without some Skype. We called both sets of grandparents so that they could see Azalea open some presents, look confused while we lit candles, and suck the frosting off the top of a cupcake.

I like to think that Azalea is training for a cupcake eating contest where hands are not allowed. She has a lot of work to do though because it took her FOREVER to eat this thing. Thanks for this picture too Brian!

As I'm posting this, I'm realizing that I just took down the last of the decorations without taking any pictures of them, and I'm pretty ticked off about it. I especially wanted to post a picture of the birthday banner but you're going to have to trust me when I tell you it was awesome. At least we got a picture of the cupcake presentation.

The Winner!

2009-02-27T21:24:00.002-07:00

Remeber this post when I told all of you to go vote for Azalea at Happy Cakes? Well, SHE WON! We want to thank all of our wonderful friends who voted for Azalea and we hope you enjoyed the prize cupcakes as much as we did. (If, for some terrible reason, you voted but didn't get a cupcake...we're sorry...but they're all gone now.) Keep on going to Happy Cakes everybody! I hear $2.00 Tuesdays are back!

Free Advertising

2009-02-27T21:14:00.002-07:00

The morning of Azalea's birthday we needed to go to the grocery store to pick up a few extra supplies. The woman in the flower department thought Azalea was so cute that she gave her a balloon to play with. Now, not to sound snotty here, but I didn't see any OTHER kids at the grocery store with balloons so I can only assume that Azalea was the cutest baby the lady had ever seen. We didn't even mention to her that it was her birthday! I'm just sayin'.

Anyway, I don't know why I didn't anticipate the fact that Azalea would have the time of her life with this balloon. I'm considering buying her a balloon every time we go to the grocery store from now on. Apparently the urge to hold the balloon by the string and bounce it off of yourself and off of things around you like a maniac is instinctual.

I'm posting these pictures as a bit of free advertising for King Soopers. I'm sure they'll be contacting me soon because they'll want Azalea to be the new face of King Soopers. Let me know if you know of any good agents.

Sorry About That

2009-02-27T21:13:00.000-07:00

Wow, look at that. Our last post was on January 31st. That's cool.

Since then, Azalea turned one and we took a vacation to Seattle. I will now commence with the picture posting. Here we go.

Azalea & Rachel: Photo In Need of a Caption

2009-01-31T21:01:00.004-07:00

I found this picture while I was sorting through the pictures of Azalea's first year. Since I have such clever witty friends, I thought I'd open up the opportunity for you to supply the caption. Don't let me down.

RAWRRR

2009-01-30T14:55:00.004-07:00

Today is draw a dinosaur day. Mine is a closeup... and also maybe something from doom.

Nate is a Wizard.

2009-01-27T21:05:00.002-07:00

Noooooo....he's wearing that silly hood to show that he has completed his MASTER'S DEGREE! Yaaaaaay!
After years of hard work, Nate has finally graduated with a Master's Degree in Environmental Science and Engineering. He is again hard at work slathering the internet with his resume hoping to get a job during this time of *ahem* hiring freezes.

Azalea and I love you so much Nate, and we are very very proud of you. Thanks for being such a great husband and dad.

P.S. Nate would like you to know that he's better than you now because of his degree.

Ahem

2009-01-25T19:34:00.001-07:00

My father-in-law would like me to include the fact that the steer pictured below is, in fact, alive.

I am not afraid of stuffed cows.

It's Time Agaaaaaaain!

2009-01-23T21:20:00.008-07:00

I KNOW you've all been wondering when we're going to post pictures from this year's National Western Stock Show, so here they are!

I must first say that the stock show (as well as a whole lot of other things) is like, a million times more fun with a kid. See something you think is cool but don't want to look lame taking a picture of it by yourself? Just plop your baby down on it and voila! Best photo-op EVER. Observe:

We pretty much made a bee-line for the gigantic long-horned bull/steer (? I didn't check) to get a picture with Azalea riding on top. After wrenching Azalea's fingers out of her mouth, we were able to eek a few moments of smiles out of her.

My parents will attest to the fact that when I was a little kid there would have been no way in crap I would have gotten on top of that steer. I don't care how many other kids were doing it...I would have been too scared. And don't be fooled by my seeming nonchalance while atop this beast. There was a brief moment when Nate and I were deciding who would get up there with Azalea when I thought, "no! I'm too scared." But I'm a grown up now and I know that sometimes you have to work through the fear to get a good picture of your kid. See how motherhood has made me so self-sacrificing?

Next stop: Petting Zoo sans ice cream cone full of food for the animals. We were pretty positive that either Azalea would eat the food before the animals could get to it, or one of the animals would bite her entire hand off when trying to get the food from her (herbivore or not man). Okay, I'll shut up for a minute so you can look at pictures.

Hey look, a kid and a kid. HA!

You know how much I adore goats, right?

Azalea was curious as to whether or not this thing's mama was a llama.

Nate had to hold both of Azalea's hands all the time to keep her from sucking on her fingers after petting the animals.

We spotted this donkey in the corner but he seemed to be pretty engrossed in eating so we didn't think it would be wise to disturb him.

Then we moved on to look at the less-fun but very cute bunnies. Azalea thought it was stupid that people are supposed to keep their fingers out of the cage, especially since her fingers were the perfect size to fit inside.

Oh yeah, and then I took this picture to document the fact that my child has completely stopped looking anything like me and now looks 100% like her father.

And then I took these pictures to document this momentous occasion... That's right, Azalea's CLAPPIN' SUCKAZ!

And of course the stock show experience would not be complete without Azalea eating an entire brisket platter by herself. She said it was "no Pat Hendrix barbecue, but good nonetheless."

***I would like to take this opportunity to give my family in Idaho a shout-out to tell them that we missed them all this year. The hall of education just isn't as fun without you Aunt Kathy. Also, to those of you who have never come to visit us during the stock show (I'm pretty much just talking to you Chad and Lisa)...LAME.***

TV

2009-01-21T21:33:00.004-07:00

It's no secret that I have wanted a 'big man TV' for some time now. Well, I finally decided to take the fiduciary plunge and go for it... plus it's on 3 year financing with 0% interest. Also, it makes me feel like I'm doing my little part to pull us out of this recession. Anyway, doesn't it look great?

Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, it broke. As soon as I left the house this morning I guess it started doing that. But it's ok, it's under manufacturer warranty. Plus, I bought the extended warranty so it'll all be fine. Also, don't ask me why I'm watching According to Jim, I don't know either. And before the questions start pouring in (based on all the readers we have) (and based on all the people that actually read posts not about Azalea) the lines don't go away when I switch inputs or turn the TV on and off. Actually, turning the TV on and off changes the patterns of the lines, but they're all still there. The thing that really vexes me about it though, is that the lines go exactly half way across the screen... strange.

That'll about do it

2009-01-21T16:28:00.005-07:00

It's official, as of today I have, "Successfully completed all requirements for the degree Master of Science (Environmental Science and Engineering)." Or at least that's what my letter of completion says. It's no diploma but that will come in May when I 'officially graduate.' And to celebrate, a present for all of you. Can you guess what it is? Well it's a pdf version of my thesis: Membrane Distillation Processes for Treatment and Recovery of Water in Geothermal Power Plants. I know, exciting right? Anyway, if you do decide to take a look I'd suggest page 51 (63 of the entire document). There are some pretty pictures there. I mean, they're not of Azalea or anything but I think they're pretty sweet.

Walker 2009

Publish at Scribd or explore others:

Also, this scribd thing is pretty neat. Click on the upper right side of the window to make it full screen.

Update: Some guy added my thesis as a favorite on Scribd which freaked me out because I plan to publish some of my findings. I changed the privacy setting to private. This means if you're looking at this in a reader the document won't show up. To solve this problem come look at the blog itself.

Peaceful Transfer of Power

2009-01-20T10:36:00.002-07:00

I know Azalea will never remember this historic day, but I thought she might someday appreciate some proof that she was there... if only through television.

You're going to have to dance for it...

2009-01-18T23:12:00.002-07:00

Attention: I have found my recipe for the sandwiches that I previously posted about. My friend who gave me the recipe said it was okay to share, but since the recipe is a friend of a friend's, I'm not going to plaster it all over the interwebs. (Shut-up, I know we have like 5,000 readers) So if you would like the recipe for these sandwiches please email me at mirmandy27(at)yahoo(dot)com.

That is all.

Azalea's Resolution

2009-01-06T22:39:00.003-07:00

Azalea thinks she needs to be like her mom and start exercising more.

She's gonna get so toned.

Good Eats

2009-01-06T20:42:00.006-07:00

Okay folks, we've got A LOT of food pictures to post and I've decided to put them all up at once. I don't blame you if you just look at the pictures. Food pictures are some of my favorite eye candy. Also, you're welcome for including the recipes.

These are the sandwiches I made to feed the people that attended Nate's thesis defense in November. I got the recipe from my friend Sarah and to use her words "these are heaven!" I made half of them with ham and swiss, and the other half with roasted red pepper and provolone. They were a big hit and (in my opinion) were a huge contributor to the fact that Nate passed his defense.

While we were in Hawaii I had my DREAM BREAKFAST. Pineapple waffles with whipped cream and coconut syrup (drool). I could hardly stop thinking about them and made sure to buy coconut syrup while we were in Hawaii. I decided to re-create it for our Christmas morning breakfast and it was all I hoped it would be. I even got a new Belgian waffle maker as an early Christmas present so I could make them the way I wanted to! (Yes, that means I have 3 waffle makers...what, I like waffles, back off.)

This is a picture of our lovely Christmas dinner. Nothing too special: ham, Gail's dressing, red potatoes, and these really good green beans we heard about on NPR. You should try them.

Zayely ate cheerios. No I'm just kidding. She ate everything we ate. It's possible that she would never stop eating if we allowed it.

We had so much ham leftover that I decided to make split-pea soup with homemade sourdough croutons. It was so really good. Hey Mom! Look! I made and ate split-pea soup!

I made these delicious homemade peppermint marshmallows after being inspired by my dear friend Rachel and also A MILLION OTHER BLOGS. You know how it is when the internet makes you think you need to do things that you don't actually need to do? Homemade marshmallows are one of those things. Mine weren't as fluffy as Rachel's... I think I may have beat them too long. But they were still good and great in hot chocolate.

OKAY START READING AGAIN BECAUSE THIS IS THE BEST PART!

A few years ago I read a Sunset article about a family that ate crab every year for New Year's. I decided then that I would like to do the same. Then...we moved away from Seattle.

But this year my dream came true! Ben's birthday was on January 1 and he is also one of our only friends who likes crab. We decided to give Ben a crab dinner for this birthday and thus Crab Crackin' New Year's was born! We got Alaskan King crab from Costco and it was amazing(way better than what Carl and Nicki had). We all stuffed ourselves so much with crab that we barely had room for the baked potatoes and salad.

Azalea didn't eat any crab. Instead she ate cheerios and lemons. Because baby cakes likes her some lemons.

P.S. I forgot to take a picture of these Kahlua Pecans that I made but they were just, oh my gosh, I'm out of excited words to use about how great these are. Make them.

Azalea Meets Santa

2009-01-06T20:05:00.005-07:00

If you've had the wonderful oportunity to meet Azalea face-to-face, you may have commented on how sociable and pleasant she is. She is rarely scared to go to anybody and we've never had to deal with any separation anxiety (knock on wood). Of course when it comes to Santa...the story changes.

Azalea met Santa while we were in Hawaii. We plopped her down on his lap and walked back to check out the adorable picture that was about to be taken. At first everything was okay...

Then Azalea had a look at exactly who was holding her...

Then she tried to escape...

Then the water works started!

(I'm so sorry to admit I think pictures of babies crying on Santa's lap are hilarious! If we hadn't sent out a Christmas card already, THIS would have been our picture.)

Fortunately, dad was able to step in and save the day. This Santa was super nice and let us take a bunch of pictures with our own camera so that we made sure we got a few without Z crying!

Better luck next year?

Merry Christmas To All...

2008-12-24T22:16:00.004-07:00

And to all a good night.

It's Official

2008-12-24T16:44:00.004-07:00

We have a kid...so we have a Christmas card. Here is a scanned replica.

If you did not receive a Christmas card, please accept my deepest apologies.

You may direct all hate-mail and disgruntled comments to mirmandy27(at)yahoo(dot)com. Please remember to include your address so we can avoid this situation in the future.

Otherwise, have a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. See you in 2009!

Wish Him Luck

2008-12-08T00:02:00.001-07:00

Nate is defending his thesis tomorrow. He's been working so hard for so long. Azalea and I are very proud of you Nate!

Christmas Baby

2008-12-07T23:45:00.004-07:00

Poofy red dresses and berets are pretty much the reason I had a baby in the first place.

I like to eat turkey in an old brown shoe...

2008-12-07T23:29:00.003-07:00

We spent Azalea's first Thanksgiving in Idaho. It was a nice quiet dinner with my parents, brother, grandpa, and aunt. I loved the fact that it was like any other Sunday dinner, except it was Thanksgiving so we had to have massive amounts of food.

Luckily for Azalea, she is all about the table food these days so she got to eat what everybody else was eating. I also discovered that the majority of food we eat on Thanksgiving is pretty much baby food consistency...mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, jello...apparently we're not big fans of chewing on this particular holiday.

We decided to give Azalea a chance to manage her own portions with the mashed potatoes. She took this opportunity to cram the biggest fistful of potatoes possible into her mouth. She was not pleased with the result.

By the end of the meal however, she had figured it out and spent a good while banging her plate on her tray signaling that she would like more food to go into her mouth.

Now that we're home we realize that we have effectively trained Azalea to beg. If we sit down in the living room with food she's at our side as fast as her fat little legs can get her over to us smacking her lips and giving us the "whatcha eatin'?" look. Keep in mind that we don't allow our DOG to beg but do we allow our baby?...you betcha.

Halloween Re-visited

2008-11-21T20:05:00.003-07:00

I've been meaning for a while now to post more pictures of Halloween. I just don't think everybody got to see the full effect of Azalea's bee costume. I mean, Rachel and I made a tutu, and flower shoes, and fuzzy antennae...well, here she is in a picture with Rachel the gypsy. See for yourself.

Also, I never told you about our costumes! Nate and I dressed up as Juno and Paulie. Because teen pregnancy is awesome.

Okay that's all. I'm happy now.

*Photos By Ben

Maybe You Haven't Seen How Adorable Our Baby is.

2008-11-16T21:55:00.003-07:00

Nine months old. 18 lbs. 2 oz. 26 in. long.

Likes her fingers and her dad.

Yeah she's bald, but we still love her.

Pics by Carl

Golden Gate Canyon

2008-11-16T21:32:00.003-07:00

Our friend, Ben, suggested we get off our lazy back-sides for a Saturday and come on a hike with him. We said "okay."

What! Hiking in November? You betcha. The weather was beautiful and rumored to be in the high 50s. There was a tiny bit of snow on the ground and everything looked gorgeous. I love you Colorado. (I love you too Miranda)

Azalea was a freakin' champ on the hike. She sang and talked in her carrier and didn't get fussy until it was time to turn around and go back. I thought I would be able to pack her on the hike since I carry her around all day right? right? Ummm...no. Turns out carrying her while you're walking around the house is somewhat different from walking up a rocky slope. I gave her to Nate about 10 minutes in.

Fortunately, Ben provided us with some shreds of evidence that I was actually there. Yeah, I know what you all were thinking. I sent Nate and Zayley off for a hike while I stayed home eating my homemade muffins. Well Ha! Here I am!

And here I am again!

Thanks again for the motivation and the pic Ben.

Hey Denver-ites

2008-11-12T15:32:00.003-07:00

Have you been to Happy Cakes yet? Odds are if you've hung out with me in the last four months you've either been there with me, or received a sweet cupcake as payment for babysitting or something-or-other. Anyway, it's time to get yourselves down there again to vote for my baby's beautiful face. Happy Cakes is having a photo contest of people eating their cupcakes and showing of their "happy faces." Azalea just entered today with this picture.

Voting takes place during the month of November so don't delay. Besides the voting you can eat some of Happy Cakes WONDERFUL cupcakes. Remember, Tuesdays are $2 days! The winner of the photo contest gets TWO DOZEN cupcakes you guys. That's more than enough to share right?

Beauty

2008-11-07T15:19:00.004-07:00

No, I'm not talking about my wife, or my daughter, although the title would be completely appropriate for a post about either one of them. This post is more about the beauty of the unseen, which is to say, my thesis, or more specifically, Figure 4.7 of my thesis. I'm not going to go into what you're looking at in this picture, partly because I know my science type posts only draw a fraction of the audience that pictures of Z get, and partly because this stuff is unpublished, hot off my computer, which means it could be stolen. However, without details and the words that used to be in the text boxes, it's pretty much useless. Plus what's life this day in age without a dose of paranoia? Anyway, here's the figure I keep rambling on about. I'd argue that it's the best one in my thesis.

Happy Halloween! (pt. 2)

2008-10-31T23:57:00.003-06:00

Happy Halloween again!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T11:07:00.001-06:00

Hi, my name is Zayley and I'm not a baby anymore, I'm a little girl! As evidenced by my long sleeved shirt with frilly cuffs and jeans. Before long I'll be wearing short sleeved shirts under long sleeved shirts under short sleeved shirts. I'm going out shopping for my mom and dad's costumes now and will post some picutes of my rockin' costume later.

Also, sometimes I don't like getting my picture taken.

Blog-ovations

2008-10-30T22:46:00.002-06:00

Apparently I clean up the blog as often as I clean up my house. Okay maybe it's not quite as bad but seriously, I would think about using the bathroom somewhere before you come to our house.

Anyway, you may notice a few changes to our blog background over the next few weeks. Unless you read our blog with a feed reader which I'm assuming most of you do.

I digress.

Please don't mind the mess. And no making fun of my lack of html/css skillz.

Assessment of Traditional and Novel Membrane Processes for Recovery of Cooling Tower Water in Geothermal Power Plants

2008-10-23T11:58:00.006-06:00

Check it out.

No really... check it out.

p.s. I stole the last graphic from a webcomic... I can't remember which one.

More Random Pictures of Azalea in Adorable Outfit.

2008-10-08T21:15:00.003-06:00

Seriously. How do I get anything done during the day aside from dressing her up and taking her picture? I have no idea.

Cheer Up Grandma!

2008-10-01T19:52:00.002-06:00

Apparently my mom and I both had kind of bad days yesterday. She emailed me requesting pictures of Azalea to cheer her up. Unfortunately, I received that email at the height of my crankiness and seriously contemplated quiting the blog forever because I couldn't handle the pressure of constantly keeping it updated. (so I get a little stressed...back off)

It seems like when I have bad days, I lose all ability to cope with Azalea's evening neediness. And yes, contrary to popular opinion, Zayley does cry and demands face time in the evening. I've learned that I have to consciously tell myself the morning after a bad day that "today is a new day." Otherwise, the fact that Zayley is crying first thing in the morning would probably set me off just as quickly as it did the night before. So far, it works wonderfully. Also, taking pictures of my baby's nasty cookie face helps a lot too. Seriously, how did she get the goo to look like a goatee?

So don't worry about work, mom. Come to Denver and eat cookies with Zayley instead! In the meantime, I'm taking applications for somebody to keep my blog updated. I just don't have time. The pay is...well, the pay is not good.

Azalea Loves Izzy

2008-09-22T20:54:00.004-06:00

So, these pictures pretty much speak for themselves but you know me...I can't NOT write about how cute they are.

Azalea's mouth is wide open whenever she plays with Izzy. We're not sure if it is just because she's excited or because she actually contemplates putting EVERYTHING into her mouth. Even big fuzzy alive things.

After she had played a while, Azalea puller herself to a stand on Izzy. Yeah, you read right. I was in just as much shock as you so I didn't get a good picture of it. Oh well, it wasn't the first time anyway. The first time was yesterday in church...on her carseat. Whew...here we go.

BEST AUNT EVER.

2008-09-11T14:27:00.003-06:00

Look what Auntie Laurel sent Azalea in the mail today! The adorableness...can you stand it? The tutu even came with a matching headband!

I couldn't be bothered with a decent setup for these photos...I had to get Z in that thing and take pictures FAST. Of course you know there will be plenty more pictures to come...in better light, with actual posing, and adorable baby tutuness.

Also, these pictures should quell any suspicions that Azalea does not in fact LOVE the camera. One flash and she's workin' it.

The card inside said the tutu came from Tiffany Wheeler at The Maddie Patch (which is a shop on ETSY). Clearly, Tiffany is a genius in the baby tutu design arena. It's highly likely that I'll be purchasing from her in the future.

Also, nobody needs to worry about buying any more clothes for Azalea. She'll pretty much just be wearing this as long as it fits.

She is going to TOWN on that mango!

2008-09-09T19:07:00.004-06:00

My sweet friend Jaime gave me the idea of splitting a mango with my husband and giving the seed to my baby cakes. Azalea was grateful for the opportunity to suck on something so ridiculously sweet and it was hilarious watching the thing slip through her hands.

I recently gave up the rules of introducing new foods to Azalea. You know, the ones that are like,
1. Wait 2-3 days between new foods that are introduced.
2. Introduce vegetables before fruits (which Neve will tell you doesn't work anyway)
3. I don't remember the other ones that I'm not following.

I pretty much give her whatever I can grind or smash up. No don't panic...I'm not giving her peanuts, egg whites, or cow's milk...I know better than that. But since Nate and I don't have any food allergies, our pediatrician (currently one of my favorite professionals in the whole wide world) gave us the go ahead to be a little lax in our feeding habits.

I tried to drag my feet on introducing solids to Azalea, truly I did. But she was insistent. She was grabbing food off of our plates, eating peas ecstatically, and smacking her lips whenever I ate in front of her. Neve finally laid the smack down and said, "Miranda...she's ready to eat solid foods. You should feed her something." Fine.

Oh how I love sticky messy baby. No seriously, I do. I strongly believe in babies making messes.

All in all, another successful evening meal. For those of you who are curious, Azalea also enjoys eating: avocados, bananas, peas, sweet potato, plums, oatmeal, cupcake frosting, limes, paper, cell phones, and your finger.

Yes, yes, it's lovely to be home...

2008-09-02T15:58:00.001-06:00

All of the pictures are loaded onto Flickr. Also, Zayley misses all of you and would like to be picked up.

Aahhhh....

2008-09-02T09:19:00.002-06:00

So we're home from California and slowly getting back into the swing of things. Nate jumped right back into school (even though he wasn't ACTUALLY on vacation) and Zayley and I have been doing laundry (she's a big help in that department) and getting the house put back together. I'm working on loading all of our pictures onto Flickr for your viewing enjoyment so I'll let you know when they're all done. My plan is to put up one more post about Idaho and then I'll fill you in on the exciting beach-filled details of our trip to Oceanside. Happy September everybody!

Vay-Cay to Idaho! Part 2

2008-08-21T14:43:00.004-06:00

We spent our second day in Idaho visiting my best friends, Jen, Dallin, Claire, & Erica in Idaho Falls. We started with a little visit to the Temple and the falls.

For those of you who don't know, Jen and I have been friends since 2nd grade. Erica lived next to Jen growing up so we've all been friends for a long time. So of course I was soooo excited to find out she would be having a baby girl a few months after me because we were starting a second generation of best friends! Now Erica is due with bambino numero dos in September and guess what...it's a girl!

Azalea had already grown accustomed to her grandmother's nice air-conditioned house so she wasn't too keen on the heat. We tried our best to keep her covered and sun-blocked up.

She is also mildly resigned to the fact that I can't quit nuzzling her.

Of course the best part of the trip was when Baby Claire and Baby Zayley got to meet! Azalea is about three months older than Claire; and, as it appears, is a little more high strung. I believe in the picture below, she is explaining to Claire where her eye is.

Holy crap, couldn't you just die.

Though she was a little sleepy, Claire did take an opportunity to give Zayley a little love. Or to try to tell her to shut-up. I'm not quite sure.

"Hey HEY hey!"

While Claire was sleeping, Zayley started feeling generous and decided to loan Claire on of her headbands. Of course she wasn't generous enough to give one to her. She's just a baby you know.

At the end of the day (like dummy-heads) we realized that Jen and I hadn't taken a picture of us together with our babies. So we took one in front of Target. Lovely.

Snip Snip...

2008-08-21T11:03:00.004-06:00

You likes?

I think Kelli at Turning Heads Studio did a fantastic job! Thanks Kelli!

WARNING Bathtub Pictures

2008-08-16T16:22:00.003-06:00

The other day Azalea walked up to Nate and said, "Hey dad, I'd like to take a bath. Will you run me some bath water?"

Okay, not really. But she is sitting up like a champ, so much so that it's silly to put her in her baby tub anymore. Also, she's getting two teeth and eating oatmeal and peas (which I can't shovel into her mouth fast enough) and growing out of her clothes and I'm really starting to freak out about it. The growing up! It's happening too fast!

Speaking of teeth. Dirty teeth growing in and making my baby cranky all the time. Oh forgive me, I meant to say, making her cranky when she's home alone with me.

Vay-Cay to Idaho! Part 1

2008-08-16T15:04:00.004-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, my parents stuffed me into the back of the car one evening and I quickly fell asleep. When I woke up the next morning, we were in a new place that my mom kept calling Idaho. Apparently it's where she's from and she's a big fan of the place. In Idaho, there are cows, dogs, and a house that's waaaay bigger than ours with Grandma and Grandpa Black inside. Sometimes Uncle Spencer is there too.

Uncle Spence has this awesome beard that is perfect for grabbing onto. I liked pulling on it with both hands and listening to him scream. Except one time it scared me and I accidentally started crying. What I really wanted to do was put the thing in my mouth, but every time I tried my mom freaked out and wouldn't let me...something about it being gross.

I had a great time in Idaho. My mom and dad brought my bouncer so that I could hang between the living room and kitchen and bounce to my little heart's content. I hardly ever had to play by myself; however, my mom still made sure I took an occasional nap even though I tried to cry harder to get Grandma or Grandpa to come save me.

The first day we were in Idaho my mom's friend Makenna came over to visit with her little boy Rhett. Rhett is way bigger than me but I still thought he was pretty awesome. That is...until he stole my barf rag.

Seriously, what's up with that anyway?

Before they left to fly back to South Carolina, we took a happy little picture. Too bad I'm not looking at the camera. I'm pretty sure Dad tried hard to get me to look because he kept saying my name. (I'm still pretending that I don't recognize my name)

Grandma Nina and Grandpa Ken (who was trying to get me to call him GK...I'm not sure that's going to stick) got to read me lots of bedtime stories too. Here is GK reading me a story that he said was called F-Off Peers. He told me it was about not doing what your friends tell you to do if you know it's not a good idea. I'll have to remember that phrase for when I'm in school.

When GK read the next book he made some wierd noise whenever he turned the page. My mom said she used to listen to this book on tape she was little and when she was supposed to turn the page there was a grasshopper sound. GK was remembering the tape and making the sound for me...isn't that cute?

That's it for day one in Idaho. Lots more to come!

P.S.Mom took a picture of these Creamies because she wanted Jenny and Dallin to see them. Something about Crazy Dallin never having heard of them.