*a few more...

:a little hike with grandpop:

:watching the boys skip rocks with lola:

:snugglin' with uncle matty:

:laughing at the bubbles:

... and some more scenery ...

tahoe : anne :: rock creek : ben

Remember the SAT analogies? Well Rock Creek is to Ben as Tahoe is to me. The thing is, both are growing on the other at a rapid pace. Really, the Eastern Sierra [including Tahoe] contains some of the most beautiful spots anywhere. We had such a great time hiking, fishing and generally hanging out with family. I'm waiting for the rest to share because we actually forgot our camera on some of the best outings. Here's a couple though of some favorite outdoor/classic Sierra Nevada moments:

Just after we arrived. Vera was already so content:

Out by the Owen's River:

Splashing in the creek:

So many hikes. I can't believe this is the only one I got of her in the backpack - and probably the only time she wasn't happy in it:

Beautiful:

*RCL

It's our last morning here at Rock Creek.  I'm sitting on the steps of the cabin listening to the aspens rustle slightly and the creek rush by [oh and the hum of the laptop... bad bad me].  Vera's inside napping and we'll take one more walk before it's time to go.  What a beautiful time we've had - I can't wait to share some pictures.  Pray for a peaceful sleepy drive home for us!  Well sleepy for V anyway.

*kitchenette

[i may add some curlicues at some point, but for now it's ready!

should I paint the bottom trim green?]

*

It's funny how a child's mind works. I truly believed [not imagined] that Tom Brockaw and Dan Rather were my uncles, that my brother's friend's sister was Mary Lou Retton and that I was little orphan Annie. I wonder what's in Vera's little head...

*12 month snapshot

At 1 whole year Vera:

*loves ice cream, popsicles, grapes, bananas, and really all fruit minus cantalope. green things? she likes avocado and green grapes. she liked pesto once too.

*loves to chase and be chased. around the 'loop' of her room/living room, around the furniture, across the bed...

*likes to put my shoes on for me [this involves holding my shoe up to my foot]. likes to put my shoes on herself [this involves placing her foot on the shoe].

*likes to hand me anything when I say, "oooooh can I have that?"

*loves dogs, birds and ducks. especially ducks.

*says duh [duck], dah [dog], da [dad], doh [no - she just repeats this one back to me when I say no, don't touch that - very cute.]. no 'mama' yet. i think she's trying, but doesn't know how to say the mmmm sound. if I remember correctly from linguistics she instead achieves a bilabial fricative: bbbbbbb. I kind of wish she had some more words, but I think she's been focusing on getting around.

*has 4 almost 5 teeth!

*gives her toys/books kisses, but none for mom and dad :(

*is just learning to sniff flowers - so cute.

*only just doubled her birthweight!! we need to load up on the peanut butter and ice cream, like I said.

*dollie

Vera got the sweetest package in the mail yesterday... a friend made her this sweet little dollie [i think the pattern is from here]. I can't believe how cute she is. Vera was a little hesitant at first -she's never had a 'human' doll- but after a couple kisses and hugs from me, she was in love. We need to think of a cute name...

*[a rant]

I was looking at one of my most favorite blogs this morning and suddenly felt like my head was about to spin off. Literally, like one of those robot girls on Austin Powers. There is just so much creativity and pretty things out there, so many people with seemingly simple, clean, well-designed lives. And I start thinking how I wish I could have this or that, or make that one thing I wanted to, or frame those pictures I have, or paint the kitchen set, or start making those cards, or take those pictures I thought about and my head starts spinning. So I go upstairs and start cleaning up the kitchen again. I mean I have all these big plans for a beautiful/creative space to live in and I can't even keep the kitchen counter clean [the endlessly messy kitchen is becoming a real source of anxiety..]! And it's not like I don't have the time, I mean I find the time to post cute pictures of Vera almost every day, right? So I sat down to read my devotional and -like always- my head gets filled with all the above [that's a whole 'nother topic which I won't get into here]. I continued to think about this blogging [ew, does anyone else hate that word?], and I realized why I like to post so often. Well for one, it's fun. But also, I can get on the computer and find a nice clean crisp picture of my sweet baby and post it on a nice clean white space. There aren't any paper scraps to clean up and I don't have to locate anything hidden away in a messy drawer. So in that way it's a good thing because it allows me a little peaceful project for the day. On the other hand, I need to balance things a bit. So just right now I decided: I am not allowed to post anything until 1) the kitchen is clean. 2) I have read my Bible or devotional and had some quality quiet time.

ok, thanks for listening. and um I'll post a cute picture of Vera later because I found my camera battery charger!

*

I have these adorable wooden birds up on the wall outside Vera's room. When I was pregnant, I remember thinking how the baby would love them and we could point to the birdies when we'd leave her room. Well she discovered them and isn't content pointing - we have to take them down every time as she grunts [i wish there was a better word for the sound she makes...] with excitement.

***

*a few more...

...of my favorite moments from our trip:

family boat ride::

i loved seeing the cousins playing together::

vera loves "coloring," doesn't matter if the cap is on or off::

the boys heading across angora lake to jump off cliffs::

enjoying chocolate popsicles and fresh lemonade::

she loves to take a drink and say "AHHH!!!". and then you do it too, and then she does it again::

the family just gets bigger and bigger::

vera loved her raft time with daddy::

... and how cute is this bikini? $3.50 @ Old Navy:

[[one more summer trip left! stay tuned :)]]

*matching

[Gegi and I thought these were cuter than a posed photo anyway]

*the cupcake

*** ***
Vera and Marie's birthdays are a couple days apart so we celebrated them together. Vera was nearing bedtime meltdown though, so she had her cupcake before dinner. She was pretty dainty at first, wiped a little frosting in her hair and then devoured the rest.

***

all the cousins cheering her on - i think they were hoping she'd get messier ... [ok, in this picture they look bored, but they were cheering her on :)]

the birthday girls. last time we were at the lake we celebrated Marie's 1st birthday! I can't believe Vera is going to be a little girl like this before we know it!!

*la arena

I love Tahoe sand : beautiful, clean, coarse tiny grainy bits of perfectly polished rocks that I love to run my hands through, shape into castles and bury my feet in. I had a feeling that Vera would loooooove playing in it too, and she did. She could sit contentedly for a good long while with bucket and shovel in hand or even just picking up handfuls and watching it sift away.

...what a long, full, wonderful trip we had - I'm going to have to share it in incremements...

*happy birthday peanut!

This is one of my favorite pictures.  I took it with my cell phone in the hospital room on Vera's first night.  Ben had gone home to sleep and it was just me and her.  I remember it was [finally] really quiet and still and I just stared at her sweet alert little face.  It was surreal after all that waiting to finally meet her, and looking at the picture fills me with a sweet sense of nostalgia for that moment.

Happy Birthday Vera!  

We love you so much - we can't even believe how much!

*happy 4th

I love to think back on that happiest of days ... an amazingly beautiful setting, [almost] all our friends and family present, beautiful flowers, good food, a delicious/gorgeous cake [rivaled only by julie + jeremy's], a wonderful Christ-centered ceremony - all to crown the joyous happy excitement we felt at the prospect of what our lives together would bring. And here we are 4 years later. Memories of new homes put together, new friends made together, meals shared together, a few character building arguments together [just a couple :)], a precious little family started together - - - Ben, I'm so glad we get to do this together!



*(sorry, i can't figure out pictures on ben's laptop)
** I feel I should thank everyone again for helping make our wedding so amazing. so many beautiful details!

*here we are

::::{a much much anticipated trip to tahoe.  i did find a wireless connection in the cabin [smokeyjoe's - i'm quite disciplined, only online a couple times] but having a hard time uploading photos.  this is my favorite pirated picture off google.  it's really that beautiful here }::::