Awesome Birthday At My Parent's House!

My Mom had asked me what I wanted for dinner on my birthday and I mentioned Thai food and she didn't let me down. She ordered a smorgasbord of delicious Thai entrees a few of which I got to take home with me...Oooooo heaven!

And on top of that Sarah brought an icecream cake! I LOVE icecream cake! There wasn't really even any cake in this icecream cake but vanilla icecream on top, fudge and crunchy cookie bits in the middle and chocolate on the bottom.

Padon and Greg really interacted with each other and wouldn't stop sucking out of each other's sippy cups. Padon wasn't quite sure what to make of the pacifier since he hasn't used one in a long time but he made an effort.

Both babies were taken with the ginormous balloon bouquet that my Mom had gotten me but in the end Padon was scared of it and I think Greg felt he should take it home.

Someone got out the Brio Trains and it was fun to watch everyone get down and play with them and to show Jason, Katherine, and Walter all the fun pieces we used to play with .
I love that the family gets together about every month. I really can't wait until Padon recognizes everyone. I talk about them all the time; I will love it when he is excited about going to their house, who ever it is.

My Birthday Was The Best!

I took my birthday off from work and all I wanted to do was go to the Pacific Science Center with Walter and Padon. Unbeknownst to me Walter had never been and it turned out to be an absolutely fantastic and incredibly fun day!

3/4th of the stuff there was the same stuff that was there when I was little. It was so much fun running around going to Walter, "Oh you have to try this!", and "wait until you see this!", and "I bet you can't do this!" Padon was amazed at all the stuff around him to touch (he found every single electrical socket) and it was so much fun to be able to put him down and let him go and explore. We started out in the bug village which I had never been able to spend a long time in so it was really facinating to read all the stuff and really look at the bugs.

There hadn't been a butterfly exhibit when I was little so I was very eager to go in and see what it was like. It was really neat but trying not to step on the butterflies on the ground drinking moisture from the sidewalk while keeping Padon from picking flowers and eatting butterflies I lost a little of the awe but still walked away thinking it was amazing.

As we made our way out of the bug exhibit they had this great box with mirrors in it so you could see yourself as a bug when you stuck your head in the hole. It didn't work out so well for Padon and I when Walter took our picture but Walter came out great!

I was so excited to go the the PCS mostly because I was dying to take Padon to the Just for Tots section of the center and immediately he was in his element. I loved they new exactly what to provide to make him light up and be really intrigued.

All three of us played in the water,

and the bubble pool wand was more than Padon could imagine. He wouldn't let it go and it went all over the place with him.

We played in all the rooms as much as we could before we had to run out and refill the parking meter again (we were there for 6 gloreous hours). It was raining but it didn't stop us from playing with the water feature outside. The stone ball below weighs 5 tons but with a tiny bit of water and umph Walter was able to get it spinning. It was so cool.

I lifted Padon up so he could shoot the water at the targets and he was so stoked about pumping it up and down.

We were a little soggy in the end but had so much fun. We got back inside the center in time for them to tell us that it was closing and we had to leave. It was a bummer but Walter had had a really good time too and we looked forward to coming back again. Padon passed out cold right away having missed all his naps and we went to the Spaghetti Factory for dinner. Padon slept through the whole thing letting Walter and I have a lesuirely dinner without pulling all the stuff on the table off and to one side of the table, repeatedly picking up silverware and catching flying food. It really was one of the best birthday's I have ever had. We had such a good time.

We're Walking!

Padon started walking at 16 months and I have loved every moment of it!
Padon started walking pretty confidently at the end of September at Banner War and would stand for long moments unassisted. But now at the end of October he is tearing up and down the hall way and getting upset that he is blocked from the computer and sometimes the kitchen. I have loved going shopping with him, watching his face as he walks among the items, and seeing where he would like to go and what catches his interests. It is just too fantastic!

Oh, Man Where to Start?!

Oh, Man where to start?! It has been so long since I posted and I was being so good about it.

I got asked in August to be the Coordinator for PACCAR Financial's United Way Campaign and it pretty much absorbed my life for the month of October. The Campaign week was the week of October 20th and while it was a whorlwind of activity and extrememly long hours designing two websites; one for PFC and one for PLC, flyers and logos, shoping for supplies, and organizing the schedule, it was successful and I think we raised almost $30,000. Rock On!
-

We had all kinds of activites and prizes planned including a Breakfast Java stand where my partner Elena brought in some delicious european coffee,

and a Welcome Party letting people know why PACCAR works with United Way, passing off to the invited speaker, announcing the weeks events, and ushering people to the treats.

With the Theme Office Olympics I designed, delegated, and assembled a mini putt-putt golf course made out of office supplies in our Pavilion that people thought was cool but hard;

We had chair rowing races where if you shuffled your feet you got a 5 second penalty;

and even though I was in a skirt there was so little participation that I played too, hoping to rally the troops. It was a lot of fun!

We had a rubber band archery competition that started with flinging pens across a conference room with rubber bands but when the ink in the pen flew out of the pen all over the table, wall, and screen because of the centrifical force we just stuck to snapping rubber bands. Note the broken Freightliner (booooooo, big truck competitor).

For the Office Olympic games we gave out gold, silver, and bronze (well black) binder clip awards to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners as well as certificates. I won honorable mention as well as 3rd place in the chair rowing race.

We ended the campaign with a crazy and stylish shoe competition and trying to get people in the spirit I wore both my barbie highheel shoe and one of Walter's sweet leather boots.

Ambre wore my last Christmas dream slippers; a pair of sock monkey slippers that I tried to convince Walter I needed last year with the sock monkey print flannel pajamas. I didn't get them and Ambre won first place. Seems I'm not the only one who thought they were super cool!

Elena and I hosted a Thank You! Reception in the end and everyone thought it was a great campaign. Hopefully it will make PACCAR people oooo and awe years to come as they look at my PDR. And hopefully it will inspire someone to give me a raise. Ummmmmm a raise.....