mainland trip - part 1

ok, time for some back-log...

our trip to the mainland last december started off as every trip starts - with packing, which caleb was eager to assist with.

(or is he unpacking?)

the first leg of our trip was to go see our friends who had moved near tacoma, WA, where we hope to move in a few years (and hope that they will still be there when we get there!)

they live right next to Puget sound, and though it was chilly, we had a great time exploring. 

one of the large military ships in the sound

you have to look closely, but you can see huge starfish, wider across than a basketball

my cute little chilly-bear all bundled up

some modern sculptures at a fountain park across the sound - we took the ferry to get to it

never before seen ornamental cabbages

while i was there, i got to attend a tea hosted as a thank you to the volunteers at a crisis pregnancy center my friend works at - right up my alley! it was a beautiful tea with wonderful women, but unfortunately i only managed a shot of the table

in fact, in an apparent attack of self-absorption, i only managed to take pictures of sights and caleb the entire time i was there, without a single shot of my friends. so sorry guys! i guess i was having to much fun to think of pictures. 

that being said... i did get pictures of caleb,

 here he is playing in a nursery 

and enjoying unfamiliar toys

we did have a great time, though it seemed much to short. caleb got to have plenty of practice in 'sharing' and 'taking turns' and 'not head-butting our friends when they take our (but really their) toys.'  

the only hiccup for the trip was that it was the first time i was staying in the same room with caleb since he was able to stand up and peer over the edge of his pack-n-play, and let's just say, that did not go too well. as soon as he saw me the game was up, and he would only be satisfied if he was in bed with mom. each night, once he woke up and saw me, it would be about an hour of getting comfortable (he always started out wanting to lay on mommy's chest with his head on my head - guess how long that lasted,) followed by many hours of almost-sleeping. 

needless to say, the next place we stayed, we had separate rooms.

but we loved our time in washington, and can't wait until the next time we get to see them. we miss you guys!