December Trip to Colorado

We got to go to Colorado for Dec. 14th through 19th and had a blast....We went for Michelle and Todd's wedding and had a lot of fun helping out with the reception decorations and everything else that went into the plans for the wedding day! Congrats to The Blacks, we love you guys!

here are some pics....

Christmas Traditions...

Does anyone have any interesting traditions for Christmas?

I love Christmas, it is just the best! It's so exciting for this to be our 1st Christmas with Breanna also! (Someone told us the best present we could get for her is the wrapping paper and boxes :)We finally bought ourselves a Christmas tree (didn't have one last year in Hawaii :( ....and I'm really impressed, I thought Breanna was going to destroy it, but guess, what, I was WRONG! WAHOO! She hasn't tried anything dangerous or destructive at all, which is very rare for her. I'm thankful that she's still crawling, not walking yet, because if she was, the tree starts at just the height that she would be standing....that would be a lot more tempting!
It actually snowed here on Dec. 1st, that was awesome! Big snowflakes, it was beautiful, we videotaped it because apparently it does not snow in the western half of washington all that often. (The snow did NOT stick though, sadly, b/c it stopped snowing and continued raining, it got all mushy, then just wet....we were going to build a snowman, yeah right!)

We are spending Christmas here in Washington, not going to be with either family, so we really need to do some fun stuff and create our own exciting Christmas. I want to be a lot more impressive than last year, it was just really hard to get excited about Christmas in 80 degree weather (not that I'm complaining, I would give anything to be there again :) But, I was bad at starting out our family traditions, plus Rob's parents were there so, we really didn't do it "alone".

So, my family always did the 12 days til Christmas, which I loved, and want to carry that tradition on. They also cook a special bread called pitica (Bad Spelling) which I will make this year, but besides that.....still trying to come up with some great ideas.

Anyone willing to share??

Seattle Cruise 2007

Celebrity Mercury

Our cruise was wonderful!! We had so much fun, but I have to admit I was relieved to get home. Breanna napped in her stroller the whole 4 days, which she NEVER naps in! She would not nap in the room with her play pen, but oh well! We survived and had a blast.

The first day was Seattle so, of course, we just drove up to the port, and then had to do the whole security thing to get on ship. My little baby had to be "patted down" which was quite interesting, but something we'll always remember. I'll also remember Rob refusing to move away from security when they told him to "make room" while Breanna was being patted down. He said, "I'm not leaving, that's my daughter." Such a good dad! But, they called the supervisor and he had to leave :( (Are you kidding me, they could have been a bit nicer about it).

We got on board and as we were stepping on ship they were handing out glasses, which we took, til we realized it was Wine in the glasses :), so they luckily had orange juice that we switched to....but that was the beginning of the "Royal Treatment".

I have been on cruises before, but never as "high" as we were on this one. We were on level 9, which was awesome b/c in most cruises, the higher the room, the less sea sick you'll get. And we had a good size room, which they are tiny rooms, and a BIG window. My parents never have gotten us a window room, we're usually at the bottom of the boat :) (No complaints though, I'll do anything to go on a vacation, and believe me a room w/out a window is NOT a sacrifice :)

My parents got an AWESOME room. It was a Sky Suite, the deck/veranda was as big as the room! It was amazing and made the cruise very enjoyable for sightseeing off of the deck.

We went walking around downtown Seattle after we tried to have Breanna take a nap, yeah right. But, she did nap the whole time we walked around a noisy, car filled, people talking, construction noisy city!

We sailed away around 5:30PM and that was really cool to see Seattle and the whole coast with the city lights for awhile. Every night there was a really fancy dinner that we went to and survived with Breanna! It was definitely testing her patience, the whole dinner would take about 2 hours and 15 minutes. But, it was worth it for us, great food, appetizers, salads, soups, entrees ???, and desserts (and we could order ANYTHING and more than one thing from each category). Let's just say we didn't lose weight on the cruise! It was awesome!

It was the smoothest sailing cruise ever, we were in the Puget Sound so there was barely a wave the entire time, I am one to get sea sick and I didn't even think about it once.

The next day was Vancouver, BC. This was so much fun. We went downtown, to Stanley Park (a beautiful city park, kinda like Central Park in NYC) and through neighborhoods, down by the waterfront, and shopping. Busy day, we walked ALOT and Breanna slept in the stroller again :)

After dinner each night my dad took Breanna to this lounge that had a piano player and the lady would play songs for Breanna and my dad would dance with her, it made my heart melt.

There were shows each night after dinner, there were 2 different times, so Rob and I switched off and went to the early and late shows alone so that we could have one in the room while Breanna was sleeping. (I was lucky and got to go with my parents, Rob went alone). But, the last night my dad babysat Breanna so we could go on a date ALONE. So fun! My mom took a shift after the show so we could stay out a bit longer, we had a blast. They took time during the day too with Breanna so we could run around the ship a bit, go to the hot tubs, or go exploring on our own. It was great to have them there for company and for the time they spent with Breanna.

The 3rd day was Nanaimo, BC. A very small town in British Columbia. Maybe we didn't figure out where the cool stuff was, but it was not that great of a town for being a tourist :) It is a beautiful location though right on the water with a few cool historical buildings. We had fun, but enjoyed Vancouver and Seattle better.

I have to try and figure out how to get more pics on here. My dad has the pics on his camera and uploaded them to a website....but I want to download at least a few onto here.

Until then...that's enough for now, I'll write more about it if I think about anything really cool/interesting or funny that I forgot about the cruise.

HALLOWEEN

I have realized lately that I am horrible at a couple of things:
1. I am horrible at being on time! I used to be VERY good and an on time person. Since living in Hawaii, and I'm not trying to put the blame on something other than myself, I obviously adapted to the lifestyle and the way things work there. Being on time is NOT of upmost importance. It drove me nuts when I first moved there. Even one of my professors would show up 10 minutes late EVERY DAY to class! Aaah!

From the influence of Hawaii and my always late husband, I have become a slacker on being on time. I just realized it a few days ago when I was 20 minutes late to meet a friend (luckily she was later than I was, due to a Dr. appointment.)

I was supposed to meet @ 12:30PM and at 12:20PM is when I finally could bear to wake Breanna up from a nap. Then of course I had to load her in the car and drive which took alot more time then I had imagined!

So, that's one of my new goals. Be on time. (I do miss Hawaii where it just doesn't really matter if you're late!)

#2: I am bad at planning. Lately anyways, I am not planning very well, which doesn't help with the being late! Here's my most recent example...Halloween.

I not only waited to Halloween day to choose costumes for Breanna and myself, I ran around to buy them and barely got us ready in time to leave for her first "trunk or treat". Just my luck, Walmart electricity was out and so we had to go to a few stores (I had planned on an easy trip to one store to get costumes, candy, etc).

Poor Rob ended up being a "Ghost" b/c we had a white sheet at the house he could use...apparently he didn't like the idea too much b/c he actually never dressed up :( We ran out the door at 5:30PM, had to stop and buy candy really quick (b/c I had failed to do so during the day) and got to the trunk or treat 2 minutes late (thank goodness they took late arrivals in the parking lot!!)

We had lots of fun on Halloween and Breanna was the cutest last minute ladybug ever. Thank goodness for $10 costumes at grocery stores!! I know, I'm horrible!

Any advice for good planning and being on time? Rob and I both need them. We have a lot going on in our lives and minds and need to be organized. I used to be the organized one, but I seem to have let that slide since having Breanna.

Cruise 2007!!

Rob and I are VERY excited....we are going on a cruise this coming weekend, Oct. 26-29!!My parents are taking us on the cruise for a Christmas present, wahoo! The awesome thing is that it's out of Seattle, so we don't even have to take a flight, we just have to drive an hour to the port! We are going to Vancouver, B.C. and Naninamo, B.C. and maybe Victoria, B.C. (I'm not sure about that last one!!)

So we are thrilled and can't wait to go! I've been doing alot of online research to prepare for bringing an infant on a cruise, it should be interesting, but very fun. I'm really excited also b/c we have her grandparents with us to let us go out one night and do the tag team babysitting.

We're going to bring her pack-n-play to sleep in and hang a sheet around it b/c when we stayed with some friends, we were in the same room as her and she would wake up and start screaming when she saw us and then wanted to play, multiple times throughout the night.

Also, we are going to be very flexible at dinner and see how long she can last in the dining room and once she's had it we'll take turns bringing her out where she can crawl around, while the other person can finish their dinner.

We'll see how it goes, but I'm very excited!

Rob's brother Rodney took this picture at the top of the continental divide in Colorado. I was pregnant with Breanna at the time....I love this picture because of the amazing background and how he captured the beautiful scene.
We went to Capitol Hill in Olympia on Sunday and it was BEAUTIFUL outside, talk about a perfect fall day. We ended up spending almost 3 hours walking around the capitol, lake and and beautiful historic homes.
Breanna did very well chilling in her stroller, she was a happy girl. This is at the end when she was tired, it was 7pm and she needed to get home so she could go to bed...I love her face, it makes me crack up!

This is at the lake near the capitol, we go there to see the ducks and seagulls and it has a great walking trail. Breanna laughs at the ducks...she just loves animals.

At home eating, which she loves to do....she's starting to be able to do finger foods now, so that's really fun and exciting (especially for her) but very messy!

My Girl

Fun Family Facts

(Fun Fall pictures of Breanna)

Okay, so I'm finally gonna do the fun family facts!

ROB DOUGLAS:

-Born March 14 1979 in Coshocton, Ohio.
-His dad was in the army, so they moved around alot: Ohio, Alabama, Texas, Germany, Utah.
-Served a mission in the Eugene, Oregon mission '98-'00
-One of 4 boys (#3)
-Lived in Hawaii for 4 years, surfed for 2 of the 4 :)
-Graduated from Brigham Young University - Hawaii in April 2007 in International Business
-His favorite meal is Enchiladas
-He loves outdoor activities and computer games
-He doesn't like:
-His favorite color is blue
-He is passionate about learning, especially about investing, real estate and owning businesses.
-His favorite holiday is Christmas

BROOKE DOUGLAS

-Born September 19, 1983 in Fairfield, CA
-My dad was in the air force, so we moved around alot: California, Oklahoma, Michigan, Illinois, Colorado (where I was mostly raised)
-One of 4 girls (#2)
-Lived in Hawaii for 4 years
-Graduated from Brigham Young University - Hawaii in June 2005 in Psychology
-I love walking, hiking, skiing, waterskiing, going to the beach, snorkeling, scrapbooking (but not really, i like scrapbooking on the computer the easy way b/c i'm lazy).
-This is our first "winter" in 4 years - kinda scared
-I really don't like: cockroaches, being cold, calling people on the phone, when breanna cries, taking her to the doctor to get shots :(
-We were only married for 13 months when breanna was born
-I was a career advisor at BYUH for 2 years until I had Breanna
-My favorite color is purple
-My favorite food is ??? anything good
-My favorite holiday is Christmas

BREANNA DOUGLAS

-Born January 28, 2007.
-The doctor and nurse predicted she was 6-6 1/2 pounds, she was 8 lbs. 4 oz.
-She started crawling at 7 months and has been loving life ever since
-She tries to hang on to my legs all the time while I'm trying to get something done
-Her favorite book is "Five Little Ducks," she pushes away other books and her face just lights up when I get it out to read to her
-She rejects all "baby food" and wants people food that is soft enough to eat or crumble
-Her favorite color is purple, just like her mom. (I can decide this for awhile longer :)
-Her favorite food is a banana
-She is a whopping 17 lbs. 8 oz. at the young age of 8 months!
-Her nickname is "chunks", but we recently decided we can't call her this or else it's gonna stick, so her new nickname is "pebbles".
-We think her favorite holiday will be Christmas

Happy Halloween

I know it's not Halloween yet, but I thought this was a really cool background! (Marci, I got to the site after looking at your great new template on your blog, I love it!)

Anyways, I'll be back in a bit with a few "FUN FAMILY FACTS!" Wahoo! Sorry for taking so long Natalie, and thanks for inspiring me to actually sit down and take the time to do it!

Some Pics

(This is Breanna's cousin Brendan. When we went to Colorado he wanted to hold, feed, play with "Baby Breanna". He also kept telling his mom that he wanted a little sister like Breanna :)(This is just at the house one day, she always wants to climb on me)
(Successfully managed to take one picture while we were out and about....they look so much alike, it's crazy!)

Here are some pics just to post some! I need to do a better job and take more pictures OUTSIDE of our apartment :) I take lots of pictures when we're here and I bring the camera with us when we go places on Rob's day off, but I don't remember to actually take pics!

Babysitter???

Does anyone know how much is "acceptable" to pay a babysitter? I just asked a young woman at church to babysit for Breanna this coming Saturday night.....I have no clue how much to pay her????

If you couldn't tell, I have NOT been good about getting a babysitter. My goal when we moved to Washington was to have a standing date night with Rob and have a babysitter lined up for that so we could go out once a week without Breanna.

Well....since then, it hasn't happened. I'm too chicken to leave my baby girl with anyone!!!! Every week I think about it and then I don't call any girls on the young women's list because I feel to scared to leave her with one of them.

Can you say separation anxiety??

Rob paid this lady Pam in our ward watch Breanna last week and took me out to dinner for my birthday which was great, but I felt comfortable because I know her and she has 3 of her own children, and carries Breanna around like she is one of the family. We went out at 4pm and got back at 7pm so that we could get Breanna before she got cranky and tired. We had a BLAST, but I know that I shouldn't rely on families to babysit Breanna, especially for a night out.

Any suggestions on feeling comfortable with a babysitter??

Vacation, Vacation

Ok, so the weirdest thing happened today......

We asked Breanna for input on where she wants to go on vacation for her first vacation and this is what happened.....

So, from experience, this meant to me that she wants to go on a cruise!?!?! Well, that's where I have heard this song played over and over again!! I guess Breanna already has a mind of her own! Now, if only we could get someone to sponsor this dream of hers....

PS - No need to tell me....I know I'm a dork :)

My baby girl is crawling.....well, trying to!

Just wanted to share our exciting news that Breanna is crawling!!! Now, she's kinda funny looking when she does, because she always sticks one leg out and is slow, but I'm so excited! She crawled all the way from the end of our bedroom, through the hall and into her room yesterday....of course I was tempting her with toys along the way! So fun!

Out on the lake

Okay, so I know I said I'd put some funny pics up and I will, but I just wanted to post some pics of this past weekend. We went to the lake on Saturday and it was tons of fun. Breanna did SO well on the boat, she even took 2 naps!! (I think the rocking motion and vibration made her fall to sleep in her carseat!)

I love being out on the water, it was a blast and great relaxation for all of us!

One bad thing though, I got stung by a bee while we were boating, and crazy thing was we were not stopped, we were going pretty fast and the stupid thing stung me....what's up with that?

Well, besides that it was a blast and I want to do it again when we get the chance. Washington sure is beautiful and has gorgeous lakes!!

I was just looking through our pictures and realized I NEVER take pics of just Rob and I anymore, it's all Breanna. So obviously, this needs to change. This is one of the only family photos we have a kind lady took for us while we were taking turns taking pictures of eachother with Breanna.

So, that is my goal to take more family pics and more pics of us as a couple because I know I'll keep taking pics of Breanna.

I looked and found some of my favorite pics of us as a couple, I'm going to find funny ones next that I like of us, these are just ones posing for the camera, so I'm going to find candids that I love!