Welcome Back to Walla Walla

Kaili was cranky as we drove to the Walla Walla airport early Friday morning, can’t blame the girl, we woke her up at 5 am. When we got to the check in counter to check our bags, our flight was about to board. Great thing about small airports I guess. The bad thing, I was hoping Kaili could get some energy out before  we hopped on the plane, no such luck. Of course once we were all settled on the plane, we were told the flight would be delayed due to the fog, so we sat with an impatient toddler on our laps. About 30 minutes later we were taxiing down the runway, and then we stopped. The fog  was back and we weren’t going anywhere. 15 minutes later we headed back to the gate, deplaned and our flight was cancelled.”Welcome to Walla Walla”, the smug flight attendant announced, I’m sure she thought she was being cute, but in the freezing cold, in the early morning with a toddler whom you woke up, that shit isn’t funny!

The next flight we could get on was Sunday morning, same flight, same early morning wake up for K-bear…can’t wait! No really, I can’t wait to go HOME!

We took advantage of having one more Saturday in WA. A  lot of the small wineries are closed during the week, along with everything on Main street. We were able to hit a few that we missed and I was impressed with all of them.

We saw horses and dogs, oh my.

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sweet gal
sweet gal
Golden -Doodle Relic Winery dog
Golden -Doodle Relic Winery dog

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The winery dog at Relic was a hyper pup, and a big one at that. Kaili really wanted to play but she wasn’t quite big enough to hold her own. I was a little more lenient with Kaili and the pup than Grandpa G.

Fingers crossed the weather cooperates for our flight tomorrow. I have a NYE party to plan, oh and a Seahawks game to watch, and grocery shopping, some cleaning to do, laundry, and wine to drink, you know the important stuff.

Off Duty Reindeer

Sunday we spent some time with Shane’s step-brother and family. It was a short visit but we always have a good time with them. All three of their kiddos were great with Kaili and she loved them right back.

K Bear and Andrew's self portrait
K Bear and Andrew’s self portrait
What's the best kind of work? Teamwork!
What’s the best kind of work? Teamwork!

We got out of the house for a few minutes to show the kids the Reindeer at Klickers. Santa must not need the extra help this year.

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At the end of the day we all gathered around the TV to watch Seattle send a message to the Niners, the house was a’rockin.

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Cousins

Christmas eve and Christmas day were spent in pajamas. Presents were opened, food and wine were consumed and we got to play in the snow, well for a little while

Kaili waiting patiently for Uncle to open her doll.
Kaili waiting patiently for Uncle to open her doll.
Kaili, Grandma and Great Gramndma
Kaili, Grandma and Great Gramndma

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Santa came
Santa came

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someone found the chocolate
someone found the chocolate
You can't see it, but it's snowing.
You can’t see it, but it’s snowing.

Today is Shane’s birthday and we are going to hit Main St. for some wine tasting and window shopping. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas

Drinking at the Airport

I got my nails done….Oh and I had the most delicious caramels ever.

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I don’t care if you don’t like maple, or bacon or salt…you will LOVE these things. Stop being so picky!

We spent a good part of Saturday tasting wines out at the airport.

ready for wine tasting
Hat…check! ready for wine tasting
Ringing the bell for good luck at Walla Walla Vintners
Ringing the bell for good luck at Walla Walla Vintners…without the hat.
Sip and sit....good girl!
Sip and sit….good girl!
Buddy the Terrior
Buddy the Terrior

Notice how my daughter will wear her hat inside where it’s warm but not outside in the cold…just like her daddy {who wore shorts all day}.We took Grandma Jo to the Brik { a local restaurant} for her birthday dinner. Eh…. we wont be back there! After dinner Kaili helped Grandma Jo open her presents, I swear this child is attached to her hip!

Grandma's birthday
Grandma’s birthday

Fun times with family planned for Sunday, snow is in the forecast and so is a Sherry cake, the best holiday dessert EVER!

From OC to Walla Walla

I have been waiting to write anything because, well nothing has really happened. That’s the life here during the winter in Walla Walla.

We left John Wayne airport early Monday morning. Kaili was a champ throughout the 2 1/2 hour flight, although it seemed a lot longer to me. We had a small layover in the Sea/Tac airport where we had a little lunch and Kaili met an elf and Santa.

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Tuesday  morning I hit the local YMCA to get some exercise , the weather is SO COLD and the equipment is outdated but the little old ladies playing cards and drinking coffee in the lobby remind you that you are in a small town and then it’s all good.  We ran a few boring errands, hit 3 Rivers Winery to ship some wine home and then called it a day. See, not very exciting.

Wednesday morning we took Kaili to meet her Great Grandma and then proceeded on to some wineries.

L'Ecole
L’Ecole

L’Ecole is a long time favorite. It’s an old school house and has some pretty tasty wines.

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Just  a few more wineries before bringing home dinner.

Found one of my favorite blogs cookbooks in the Woodward winery tasting room
Found one of my favorite blogs cookbooks in the Woodward winery tasting room

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Hassleback #8
Hassleback #8

Kaili found a nice doggy to keep her company while we tasted some really big red wines at Skylight Cellars.

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The last tasting room we hit was in downtown Walla Walla. Yes there is a downtown, it’s not big but it’s promising. Charles Smith winery was quiet, had the urban loft vibe and put out some great wines….oh and there labels were nice.

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We ended the day with Ice-Burg, a local hamburger joint that puts out great food, well pretty good food.

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A quick video with grandma and a kiss goodnight. Until tomorrow!

Grandma and KBear
Grandma and KBear

Remembering

Did you guys watch the  Sandy relief concert? So good huh? Unfortunately  I was forced to stop watching an hour of it when two shows started to record. Stupid old-school TiVo. I wasn’t about watch Moonshiners, people are weird for liking that show, I happened upon these pictures.

My little Ewok
My little Ewok with her big bandage
big eyes
big eyes
Photo on 2011-12-27 at 15.08 #2
big eyes, the better to freak you out with
HPIM5381
before she was a walker
SMOOCH
SMOOCH

It’s been a very uneventful week. The highlight has been this breakfast, that’s pretty sad.

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Kaili had 2 naps today, that is why she is so happy.

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Kaili treats her baby doll like shit, she clearly favors her teddy bear.

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Transitioning

This past week Kaili has transitioned from two naps to one nap and I don’t like it.  First thing in the morning we go to the gym which is great because she gets out of the house and plays with her friends, this pushes her morning nap closer to 11:00. Problem is, she is only sleeping for 1 hour. NOT LONG ENOUGH. Even if she is tired later in the afternoon she wont sleep, so she is getting overly tired and waking up in the middle of the night. Why are we moving backwards? I have to find a way to lengthen her nap, any suggestions?

This weekend we drank Argentinian wine, ate Indian food and Kaili went to her first birthday party. Kaili also got a lot of play time with her doggy Rillo. Our next door neighbors Labrador has been diagnosed with throat cancer and wont be around much longer. I am trying to let Kaili get all the play time with him as she can before we leave for Wa. Rillo may not be around when we get back. This makes my heart hurt.

A girl and her dog
A girl and her dog
"give me the toy!"
“give me the toy!”

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Kaili’s friend Isla is turning 2 years old and had a party at PlayWerx in Carlsbad. Kaili had a really fun time but started to deteriorate the later it got.

The slide was her favorite, followed by the cake.

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yum
yum
Just say no to the party hat
Just say no to the party hat

It was a fun time, but she did not sleep well that night.

Hi Santa

It has been almost two months since Kaili got her last bad cold and she still can’t shake the stupid cough and runny nose. Then last Friday she randomly woke up from nap with a 101 degree fever. Luckily it didn’t really seem to affect her attitude or appetite and then poof, it was gone. We hung low during the weekend hoping to keep at bay whatever bug was trying to get her and that has seemed to help. Although our weekend was low-key, Sunday night TV was not. Are you watching Homeland? Isn’t  it   ridiculous how good it is? Well written, well acted and plain “edge of your seat” tense all the way through. Amazing. Anyway, back to K, this week she seems to be just fine and I have been able to drag her to the gym with me, you know, just in time for her to catch something right before our trip.

She has been SUPER clingy with me lately, especially in the late afternoon-early evenings. Since she seems to deteriorate around 3:00 pm.so we get to the gym as soon as it opens so she is in the best mood possible. Today when I picked her up I could tell she hadn’t been crying and she was entertaining  herself with toys. A lot of times she wants to be held by one of the care-givers, so it was nice to see. When she saw me, she started running my way but then she stopped and looked at the toy in her hand, she ran back to put it on the shelf and then made her way to me. The fact that she did that without anyone asking her made my heart smile.

We had to postpone taking our X-mas card pics last Friday due to Kaili’s fever and now the weather has been threatening rain. Who knows how the pictures will end up now.

Since it hasn’t actually rained we have still been able to  hit the park every day.


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We also got out to the mall to see Santa. I wasn’t sure how it was going to go since she has been attached to my hip lately but she did fine. There weren’t any tears but there weren’t any smiles either.

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We have been talking about Santa, reading Christmas stories and listening to Christmas videos to prep her for the visit. She seemed really excited when I told her who we were going to see but the elation diminished once we walked into his little house. She walked up to him and waved but once she was on his lap and I backed away she was a little nervous. I must say the entire thing was underwhelming. I mean a child should either be super excited to see Santa, or completely terrified. Where is all the fun?

Happiness is…

Seeing this mug everyday.

She’s so happy that I let her out of her cage the house.

Goody two-shoes has to “read” the rules..

before she plays.

Then there is music, something else I can not live without. I want to share this gem with y’all. My heart melts, Kaili loves it, it has to be good right?

The Most Exhausting December..

Oh, it’s not  December yet? Sure seems like it.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I don’t know about you but I am completely turkey’d out, all good for another year.

I am 2 gifts away from being completely done with my Christmas shopping, that feels nice. The the not so fun part is wrapping them all and with a toddler this year, oh boy I can’t wait.

Kaili is really getting enjoyment out of painting these days, however she is very particular with anything on her hands.

Q-tip painting
“OH”
Final product, Christmas spirit y’all