2010 is off to quite the start...

Tomorrow is March 1st and I was just realizing that a) I hadn't posted an update in a while and b) WOW a lot has happened in the first two months of the year. Where to begin....hmmm...probably chronological is best, so here we go....

Sampson
I happened to be downtown in mid-January at the same time as the SPCA adoption truck. Of course I made it a point NOT to look at/in the truck, but when I walked into Old Navy one of the volunteers was there holding one of the cutest little mutts I'd ever seen. Since Cass passed away last April we'd entertained the idea of getting another dog, especially since Paco has seemed lonely, but we couldn't take the chance of adopting a big dog that may hurt Lily and we're not little dog people. Well, that changed when the volunteers told me this particular little dog had been abandoned by a family and was great with kids. Said dog then looked at me with his big googly eyes and I was a goner. Chris gamely agreed to meet the little guy so the next day we took Paco and Lily to the Bellevue SPCA. Paco meeting him was the biggest non-event in doggie history (sniff, pee, done) and he seemed completely unfazed by Lily (who was of course on her best behavior). So just like that, we had a new dog. Lily wanted to name him Lamb, but Chris couldn't stomach the idea of yelling "Here, Lamb!" at the park, so Sampson it is (although Lily call him "Mr. Little Doggie" more often than not). He's a lap-lover, big dog taunter, window licker, snorer and all around gem of a pup. We're couldn't be happier with him.

Kona

Last winter was a particularly harsh one in Seattle and by February we were totally burnt out on cold and wet, so this past fall we decided that February would mean a new tradition for the Lowe family - tropical vacations! This year we visited Kona for the first time and LOVED it.

Some highlights from the trip:

- No agendas. With the exception of 2 planned boat trips and a luau, every day was spent doing whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted...and it was heaven. Lily spent hours in the pool, her pleasure quadrupled by the freedom her little inner-tube-attached-to-a-shirt floatie afforded her. We drank tropical drinks (to our surprise, Lily LOVES pineapple bubble tea), made sand castles, explored the reef, ate SPAM (well, Chris did) and just enjoyed being a family.
- CHRIS GOT A NEW JOB!!! He had interviewed at Starbucks the week we flew out and the hiring manager called him while we were walking on the beach, helping Lily collect treasure. In this picture Chris is answering the phone, ankle-deep in crystal-clear water on a perfect 80-degree day. Does it get any better??
- Showering. The promise of a warm one was the only thing that would get Lily out of the pool. She would hop in the shower, suit and all, and stand there as long as our environmental consciousness would allow. She's sing, babble, carry on conversations with soap and giggle away. I've never seen a kid who loved standing under hot spray as much as she does.
- Spinner dolphins and Green Sea Turtles. We saw lots of both - especially turtles since our hotel had a turtle breeding and conservation program. They were huge, peaceful and beautiful and I felt incredibly blessed the day one swam within a foot of me. The Spinner dolphins were out in force as well - they live all around the island as we snorkeled next to a huge pod of them (I need an underwater camera!!). They followed our boat for a while, prompting this exchange:
Lily - "Can I have a dolphin?"
Julie - "No, sweetie, there home is here in the ocean"
Lily - "But whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy??"
- Not so much highlight as funny anecdote, the morning after we got home, Lily woke up in tears. When I asked what was wrong she said "I don't like home, I want the hotel!" I hear ya kid, I hear ya.
- Added bonus: Spring sprang while we were gone. We came home to pink and white cherry blossoms galore, dafodils, some early tulips and actual light in the sky at 6pm. Not a lot, but enough to soften the re-entry blow.

Lily
Every time I update this blog I am amazed at how many things there are to report. If someone had told me that a child changes and surprises you this many times every month, I would have given them a very doubtful look. But here I am, struggling to make sure I don't miss a single change or quirk, knowing that it'll be gone and replaced with a new one in a blink of an eye. Just a few of the recent ones:

- iPhone savvy. Yeah, she's always been skilled at finding the camera on a phone, but she's really taken it to the next level with our iPhones. She watches Hello Kitty on YouTube, finds Angelina Ballerina on the iPod side, plays games and even programmed in a security code when we were in Hawaii. Yeah, wasn't so thrilled with that one since she of course forgot it immediately, but the fact she got the same sequence of numbers twice in a row to create a passcode is impressive.
- "Is this 3?" Lily has recently caught on to the fact that the numbers 1 - 5 can be represented with her fingers and she likes to verify this throughout the day. You tell her she has 5 minutes left to stand in the aforementioned shower and a little hand will immediate emerge, fingers extended, with her saying "this is 5?" Repeat for 2 cookies, 3 pens, etc
- Her dad also taught her how to do "rock on!" with the same tiny hand. She loves it so much she decided to teach me as well. While sitting around one day she took my hand, folded all my fingers down, unfurled my pinkie and pointer and shook my hand while yelling "ROCK ON, MAMA, ROCK ON!"
- I have no idea why, but she loves to bust out in gibberish, especially "bladee-bladee-bladee." If you answer in a like language she's delighted to continue the conversation.
- Love of babies. She really does adore the little ones...at school she likes to visit and hang out in the younger kids room, she points them out around town and always wants to say hello. She really is a friendly gal...in fact, in addition to babies she also loves to wave out the car window or when walking down the street to anyone whose eye she can catch. Construction worker, mama, homeless guy, businessman...she's an equal opportunity waver and generally elicits a smile from everyone she greets.
- Skirts that spin. Her girly love of dresses and skirts has been ratcheted up a notch and she now requires that all garments create a pronounced circle when twirling. Her reaction to dresses and skirts that don't spin ranges from mild disapproval and a wardrobe change to near-hysterical tears. Needless to say I now test all garments before purchase.
- Not sure if I hit this one before, but bedtime/going to school procrastination can be headed off by asking how she'd like to be carried up the stairs. Her favorites? Like a kiwi and like a pinecone. I have no idea how these items should be carried, but upside down seems to work just fine.
- Unintentional hilarity - it continues. When she's mad she very dramatically says "You're not my friend anymore!" complete with arm throw, hands on hips with scowl, or crossed arms and turned back. It's not meant to be funny, but it tends to crack me up. Another one: while I was getting for work the other day, Chris was getting Lily ready for school. He asked her if she'd like to show me the cute outfit du jour, to which she replied "Mommy's in the shower - she needs her space." Is my girl wise or what?

2009 was definitely a challenge on several levels, but 2010 is off to a great start - can't wait to see what happens next!!