Sequoia and Family

Sequoia (aka Princess Buzz Lightyear) and her Summer Adventures

2010-08-08T09:01:00.000-07:00

This summer has been very busy, but we've been able to squeeze in some fun here and there.

Sequoia started swimming lessons this year and is now in the second summer session. We did the first session with her in the parent/child class (the polar bears), and is now in the independent 3 year old class (the tadpoles). She swims twice a week and she loves it.

She is also becoming quite the puzzle master. She now has three puzzles (Disney Princesses, My Little Ponies, and Dora the Explorer) that are 24 pieces each, and she can do them all independently. I have always loved puzzles and I love that she loves them too!

We've also enjoyed a trip to Faerie Worlds--and we will definitely be going back in future years. It's much smaller than our beloved Celtic Faire, but it fit into that missing piece of our year. I took Sequoia the first night while Dan was away at a fire training event. We listened to great music (Brother was there--which I first heard about 10 years ago), enjoyed yummy food, looked at the fun costumes, and got Sequoia her first pair of fancy fairy wings (from the same vendor I got mine from about 11 years ago!) We brought Dan back with us on Sunday and enjoyed another wonderful day.

Here are some more pictures to enjoy from our summertime adventures =)

Further Adventures of Sequoia

2010-02-18T12:58:00.000-08:00

Finally, a long awaited update! Sequoia has been taking us on wonderful adventures like ice skating (pictured left), train track building, Lego building, and excursions about town. She has also proudly begun her training in video game mastery. She has been playing Zelda on the the DS--she only stays in the main town, but she has already figured out how to control Link for walking in and out of buildings, throwing rocks and pots, talking to citizens, jumping into water, and how to continue (this happens often as she loves making Link jump into the water repeatedly).

She starts the next level of gymnastics later this week and it will be her first parent-free class. Very exciting!

Sequoia has also helped redecorate the apartment. Her bedroom is now all set up for her (her bed is back in our room, but she's sleeping in it and not our bed, so it is progress). She also is great at falling asleep on her own now (as long as Baby is with her). Baby is her constant companion now-a-days.

We also redecorated her play area in the living room. We have bins for each type of toy and a book shelf for all of her books. It keeps everything organized and she knows where everything goes, so she actually can keep her area all nice and neat.

We are also starting to look into preschools for the summer. She asks if she can go to school like Daddy just about every day now.

Here are all the pictures from our latest adventures!

Sequoia's New Car

2009-11-22T11:32:00.001-08:00

After our beautiful blue wagon was totaled (Dan was rear-ended) this week (everyone is perfectly fine) we got to have the interesting experience that is car shopping. We did a lot of research online, checked KBB, Edmunds, and Consumer Reports, and had many advisory phone calls.

The traveling from lot to lot was exhausting and Sequoia really didn't care for it (except for the one place that had a little playroom and the one place that had giant balloons). We looked at about nine cars and test drove about five. We ended up going back and making an offer on the very first one that we test drove. I knew that we had decided on the right car when they had a mechanic take the car to replace the defroster light bulb and Sequoia started yelling at him through the window: "Hey! That's my car! Come back with my car!"

It is definitely very different from our wagon, but we really like it. I absolutely love it! It is very fun and easy to drive. Sequoia likes it because the back seat is up pretty high so she can see really well out the windows. We just ordered a stick figure family bumper sticker, so we just have to pick up a new UO sticker and a Oregon Zoo decal. We're not sure if we want to replace our coexist bumper sticker since the fire chief thinks that the SUV was just trying to coexist with our car, and we don't want to encourage that behavior with the new rig. We're looking forward to trying it out on our California Christmas trip! So here's Sequoia's new car, which she is generously allowing Dan and I to use to drive her around to her various destinations.

It has been awhile...

2009-11-17T23:12:00.000-08:00

Hello all and sorry that we haven't updated Sequoia's blog in awhile! It has been kind of crazy up here in Oregon. Dan has just finished up Fire Academy and is now an official volunteer firefighter!! I've been working many evenings in the pharmacy and getting home kind of late. Sequoia is just as cute and wonderful as ever (as seen above). So now that I have a moment, let me fill you all in on the latest and greatest Sequoia adventures.

Sequoia has been attending a gymnastics class every week (thank you grandma and papa!) and she absolutely loves it. She is very good at doing somersaults and walking across the balance beam. She loves the trampoline and knows a bunch of great stretches that go with fun narrations. On top of all that fun, she gets animal stamps and glitter lotion at the end of each lesson which she thinks is just the best!

Sequoia has also become very into make-believe play lately. She loves dressing up and she loves playing with her dolly and baby. She has been carrying her baby around the house constantly for the past week. Sequoia likes to "hold her like a baby." She has also been pretend vacuuming. She has been begging to do some baking this week, so I think we'll work on making some cookies tomorrow. Daddy found the train set (shown below) at a local toy and hobby shop, and it fit with some pieces that we already had. This has been a big hit in our living room. (I'm not sure if Sequoia or Dan likes it more).

We have also been doing weekly arts and crafts while Daddy is out at the fire station. This week we made a hand and foot turkey to decorate the window along with a set of pilgrims and a turkey which Sequoia colored all by herself. She finally has the patience to do some coloring and is quickly picking up the concept. We also made a Thanksgiving/Christmas countdown garland which she gets to remove one ring per day for the countdown. She thinks it's really fun--she doesn't quite agree that she should only remove one ring per day, but we're working on it.

Lastly, I must say I love the show "Word World." I must say that it (along with all of our library runs and reading) has really gotten Sequoia into language. She loves to point out what letter starts a word when she hears it (sometimes on new words which floors me every time). Being hooked on phonics is really working for her!

That's all for now. I know I've left out a ton of stuff, but hopefully I'll have time to start updating this more and we'll catch up a bit better. Oh yes, leaf and puddle stomping is also a favorite activity right now--and in Eugene there are a lot of large piles of leaves and big puddles!

Here are a couple of links for the picture galleries from October and November. Enjoy!

Oregon Zoo Again!

2009-07-12T20:48:00.001-07:00

Way back at the end of June we drove up for one of our zoo trips. We had a blast! Sequoia was very interested in all the animals this time. Her favorite animals were the tigers and a chipmunk that was sitting along the path. Here are some highlights of our trip:

We asked Sequoia what sound she thought the zebras made. She started jumping up and down yelling, "A cow! A cow! A cow!" It was hilarious.
We were looking at some of the nocturnal animals when a guy (20-something) was startled by the large snake in one of the exhibits. Upon which he let out a string of profanities. Sequoia turned to him, shaking her finger, and shouted, "How dare you!!" We were rolling with laughter.
We ate dinner at our usual place, the Sphaghetti Factory. During dinner, Sequoia figured out how to drink out of a straw! This was very exciting because we never showed her how when sucking was an instinct, so we had to try to explain it abstractly. Explaining that it was like kissing seemed to be the key.
At the end of dinner, Dan asked if she went to the zoo today. Sequoia replied with, "Yes, go to zoo! Okay!" and then started marching for the door expecting to go to the zoo again. I guess we have a date to go again sometime this summer.

Here are some more pictures (mostly of us looking at things).

Weekend Adventures

2009-07-12T20:28:00.000-07:00

We had a great adventure-filled weekend! Our long weekends that we have right now are giving us the wonderful opportunity to take mini-summer vacations. We decided to check out Cottage Grove on Friday since it sounded like a fun touristy small town with cool covered bridges. On the way out of town, we stopped by AAA and picked up a bunch of brochures and maps for Oregon. These turned out to be a gold mine of cool activities for future adventures. This is definitely something we're going to do every year so we can keep track of events and festivals in the area.

Cottage Grove was a fun place. We saw a good deal of their fire fighting force, as they were collecting donations along the main street. There was one with a large mustache that I think Dan will need for attending the Academy. We walked along Main Street and perused the small shops. We also walked through the very old timey covered bridge built in 1987. Dan and I were telling stories to Sequoia about how we remembered having to ford the river there before the bridge was finished.

On Saturday, we drove out towards Florence for a beautiful walk through a ferny forest along a stream with lots of waterfalls. Sweet Creek was such a beautiful place! We took a ton of pictures and we hope you enjoy them too! Sequoia did great walking the mile out to the main falls. Dan carried her back as she was a little tired. Definitely a great adventure!

Here are a few more recent pictures of Sequoia.

New Sequoia Videos Plus a Little Extra

2009-06-13T13:22:00.000-07:00

Sequoia Plays Piano (2/4/09)

Sequoia Practices Throwing (3/10/09)

Sequoia and Her Friend Squirrel (4/2/09)

Sequoia Sings the ABCs (6/4/09)

Sequoia also said something the other day that we just had to share with everyone. I wish we had gotten it on camera, but no such luck. So here goes the retelling:

Dan took Sequoia over to the park to play the other day. She saw a little boy (who was a little younger than her) playing. Then she said, "I love boy!" Then she sat down and said, "Sit and watch boy!" We were hoping this moment would wait to happen for at least another 10 years, but she apparently has taken after her daddy. I can already see her walking around with a list of all her "boyfriends" in Kindergarten (his was a list of "girlfriends", but that can be overlooked for comical purposes).

Sequoia Bakes a Pie

2009-05-07T19:31:00.000-07:00

Sequoia baked a pie today in her oven. It was made with her ingredients of choice, crayons and yarn scraps. Once she had the oven ready and the pie mixed, she placed the pie in the oven. Then she realized she had forgotten something!

She took the pie out of the oven and dug through her animal puzzles until she found what she was looking for. She held the green parrot aloft and exclaimed "Pie bird!" She then placed it in the middle of her pie. Then said, "All set." After the pie baked for a few seconds, we all enjoyed her delicious, fabulous, and marvelous pie!

New Most Favoritist Picture

2009-03-26T02:16:00.001-07:00

She is too adorable in this picture! Here are some more new pictures (she took some of them all by herself).

The Amazing Sequoia

2009-03-15T12:51:00.000-07:00

Sequoia has been having so much fun dressing up and wearing as many hats and "hats" as possible. She is very into accessorizing right now. Most days she is running around the house wearing at least two hats and carrying at least two purses (I think she gets this from Dan).

We just had her 2-year check-up with the pediatrician, and she is doing great! She is now 25 pounds (25th percentile), 33.5 inches (40th percentile), and has a head circumference of 19 inches (70th percentile). We are very proud that she did so well with the doctor. She was fine during most of the check-up, and upon receiving a sticker, quickly got over the trauma of her shots (which she won't have any more until she's about four and a half years old).

To add to her amazing grocery stacking from a week ago, we have a series of block stacking as previewed here. We still have no idea how she was keeping them balanced with the tower over her head, but she was doing a great job with it. Her record so far is 20 blocks before the tower fell! She's going to make a great ninja one day.

Enjoy these fun new pictures of little Sequoia!

Sequoia's 2nd Birthday

2009-03-06T21:59:00.000-08:00

Sequoia had a wonderful extended birthday celebration. For the actual day, Sequoia dressed up in her new pretty brown dress and we headed out to the Mall. She played at the play-area and was queen of the slide and the car. After a good amount of exercise we got a hot fudge sundae with mint chocolate chip and double chocolate ice cream. Sequoia believed the sundae made her feel like number one (as pictured below).

Sequoia has also enjoyed showing off her stacking skills while helping put the groceries away. She has also coined the fashion statement of dolly dresses being used as flashy hats. As for her current proof of genius, (we're allowed to call it that because we are her doting parents) she applied her recently learned concept of walking downhill, and created the word uphill to describe walking up a slope. As she had not heard the word uphill before, we find her word creation and concept application absolutely amazing and wonderful.

Enjoy these new pictures of our big toddler and her wonderful adventures!

Fun Dress-up Time

2009-02-03T15:49:00.000-08:00

Oh my we've been away from the blog for a while! We are back with new Sequoia pictures and news. There is a Christmas post in the works too =)

So what's new with the world of Sequoia? The most notable thing is that she is a full-on toddler now. No more baby stuff for her. It is amazing looking at the pictures of her from Thanksgiving and comparing them to now--she is such a big girl! She looks adorable in ponytails, but they don't last long. She just likes having her hair up like Addie for 5 seconds at a time, 10 seconds on patient days.

She is all about dressing up lately. She wears her silky fairy skirt just about every day. We get many compliments when we are out and about. She also likes dressing up in her pirate costume (she says "arr"), and her various knit garments ("special Grandma dress," "special Mommy blanket").

She also loves playing with her new table and chairs, which she has vigorously personalized with crayon. Her oven is another favorite. She is not so much into pretending to cook things in it, but she enjoys dropping various stuffed animals through the range and getting them back out through the oven door. She also has been making a bunch of new music on her little piano. She likes to sing la-la-la while she plays--definitely a future band child.

Here is a list of new common Sequoia sayings:
I like it! I love it!
I love you.
Yum! Smells good.
I did it!
Climb up top. Careful! Fall down.
So...on the bottom?

Sequoia happy. Good morning.

No thank you.
Come here (insert noun)
Bye bye, later, right back.
Oh nice! (the inflection on this one is awesome)

On top of all of this wonderful stuff, Sequoia is also starting potty practice time. Our bathroom looks so strange without the kitty/baby gate. She even has special Elmo panties. We've been having a good start, and we're being very low-key about it.

There is probably a whole lot more that I can't think of right now...oh well. Here are the latest pictures. Check out the one where she is holding her dinosaur's hand...too cute!

Snow Days

2008-12-16T13:16:00.001-08:00

We are enjoying this unusual amount of Christmas holiday snow. We had somewhere between 3 and 4 inches of snow Monday morning. Dan really wanted to make a snowman, but unfortunately the snow was a little too powdery. Snowballs just turn to snow spray. We layered up in all our knit winterwear and played in the snow at the park. Sequoia really enjoyed it. She liked it even more when we got back home and she got to have some warm hot chocolate.

It is sunny today, but very cold. It is in the 20s and will get into the low teens or even single digits tonight--plus more snow and freezing rain on the way. Hopefully it doesn't delay our holiday plans too much. Meanwhile, enjoy these wintry photos!

Thanksgiving

2008-12-10T13:09:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving was a success this year--we actually ate on time! Dan's turkey was fantastic, I found a stuffing recipe that is definitely a keeper, and Margaret's pies were divine as usual.

Sequoia wasn't too interested in the turkey feast since she was on her eating nothing but cereal, fruit, and cheese phase. Dan also kept us all entertained with many balloon animals and a special Thanksgiving wreath. After a day of Sequoia play and eating lots of food, the three of us fell promptly asleep around 8 pm.

We had a great Thanksgiving this year, and a great preview to how wonderful the Christmas holiday will be with Sequoia this year. Last year Sequoia slept through many of the holiday festivities, and when she was awake she was still learning how to walk. This year is going to be so much fun! Sequoia is now talking up a storm and she loves playing and running around. We are also looking forward to getting together with Sequoia's cousin Addie so the two toddlers can play together.
Here are lots more pictures from Mark and Margaret's (Papa and Gamma) Thanksgiving visit.

Reading with Daddy

2008-11-15T23:30:00.001-08:00

Sequoia has been having a ton of fun with her Daddy. He has been making her balloon animals every day, and she loves the funny voices he uses to read her books. She now thinks all cows are Scottish. She knows most of her library books by heart and likes to say a lot of the words with us. Sequoia can now count up to fourteen, but she likes to skip seven and eight (she thinks it's funny). She also has started showing a big interest in letters. She likes us to write out letters for her and spell out words for her on her blocks. She also likes surrounding herself with all her animal toys and bears and having tea parties. She has named one of her bears Teddy (the cream one in the pictures) and carries him and her Dolly around everywhere. Such a fun girl!

Check out these new pictures of Sequoia playing with balloon animals, reading books, having a tea party and showing off her puddle-stomping boots!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-02T01:19:00.000-07:00

We had a spooktacular Halloween! Sequoia helped us carve her first pumpkin. She thought the goopy insides were neat and liked squishing it between her hands. She then went through two costume changes before the day was over. First, since she had seen Daddy dressed like a pirate (a Bookaneer to be exact), she wanted to dress up like a pirate too. We both think that her pirate picture is awesome--you can see features of both of us all blended together, even more than usual. Later that night, she got all dressed up in her fairy costume so she could match Mommy's woodland sprite costume. She helped hand out candy to trick-or-treaters and then visited with all the costumed math peoples. She was also thrilled to see baby Natalie! We all had a great night, and Sequoia was even in bed at a reasonable hour--even after creating a patty-cake song distraction and sneaking a handful of candy corn and swindling half a Kit Kat from her pal Dan Wang.

We hope you all had a great Halloween too! Enjoy these cute Sequoia pictures =)

Sequoia's Great Adventures

2008-10-06T21:49:00.000-07:00

Sequoia has taken us on some great adventures this past month. She makes sure that we get our physical activity in by leading us on daily walks to either the park or the mall. She is definitely queen of the castle at the mall's play area. She loves the slide and has figured out many different ways to slide down in order to keep it interesting. We've also had some great Sesame Street finds at the various second-hand stores in the area. I'm not sure how much fun she has while we're there (Mommy has a blast), but she likes the goodies we find. On top of all this local fun, we've also managed another zoo trip recently. Sequoia had a great time, and even managed to swindle an Oreo cookie from some nice grandparents while we were walking around. We've definitely been enjoying this very outgoing and opinionated little one, or as Sequoia would say, we're 'totally' having fun!

Here's some new pictures with some of Sequoia's new outfits and a hat I just knit for her (well it still needs edging, but finished enough...)

Sequoia at the Park

2008-09-22T19:49:00.001-07:00

Princess Sequoia

2008-09-18T15:20:00.001-07:00

Dressed in royal purple finery, Princess Sequoia directed her subjects on proper bead measuring and crown wearing. After a long day of play and hat changes, our Princess finally fell fast asleep, stretched out on her royal pillow and mattress.

Enjoy these pictures of her Highness!

More of Sequoia Doing Cute Things

2008-09-13T21:14:00.000-07:00

Sequoia Dancing with and Walking Her Duck

Along with walking her duckie around the house, she also likes to play a game where we chase her with the duckie. When we finally catch her, she plops down and has the duckie kiss her toes and belly.

Sequoia Doing the Gymbo Dance

New Adorable and Amazing Sequoia Videos

2008-09-01T11:06:00.000-07:00

Sequoia Yoga

Sequoia Counts to Five (well, actually two to five)

Summer Friday at the Zoo

2008-08-23T16:38:00.000-07:00

We had a great Friday in Portland this weekend. We spent the day at the zoo (which has become our annual anniversary trip). It was a nice clear day, which turned out to be a little too hot in long pants, but it there were a lot of shaded places to stop along the way. We got to peak at the construction of the new Red Ape Reserve and the new Lion enclosure and it all looks very exciting for next year. Sequoia really loved all the animals and really got into spotting them this time.

On our way out of town we stopped by the Old Spaghetti Factory, which we found after only one short block of backtracking (we're bound to find it on the first try next time). We got a table upstairs which overlooked the river. It was really nice and Sequoia loved her spaghetti and meatballs and my minestrone soup. Sequoia fell right asleep once we were back in Eugene. It was a really fantastic day.

We took a million pictures--please enjoy! Some of the first shots are from the last couple weeks. As you can see from the pictures--Sequoia really loves Elmo and Ernie a lot. =)

Sequoia Looking at Addie

2008-08-11T13:34:00.000-07:00

Sequoia loves looking at Addie's blog. She asks to look at it at least once a day (usually much much more). We think it is so cute how she says "Addie!"

16 Months

2008-07-20T10:31:00.001-07:00

Sorry that we haven't had a chance to post anything new for a while. We're still getting the hang of both of us being in school at the same time. Sequoia is adjusting fantastically. She does early morning activities with Daddy and evening time with Mommy, with all of us spending our afternoons together.

Sequoia is doing all sorts of amazing things now. She can say over 70 words now, ranging from animal names and sounds to colors to food to more abstract things like "why?". She is currently working on learning "please" and "thank you" and says them both with very adorable smiles. She has also started following directions pretty well, and understanding simple explanations for various whys. She is also becoming more proficient with a spoon and fork, but we still have a long way to go in technique and neatness. Sequoia has also started asking for specific things when she wants them which has made our jobs a little easier, but a little harder at times. She loves playing with bubbles and getting dressed up with her sunglasses and purse. We're just absolutely enjoying all of her wonderful new toddler antics.

We also recently were able to make a quick visit down to California for the 4th of July weekend. We had a wonderful time. We spent all day Saturday up at Pinecrest Lake for Mamoe's (Margaret) birthday. We had a great time visiting with everyone there--Ma and Pa, Chuck and Claire, Jemiah and Serena, Sissy and Mike, and Auntie Katy. Sequoia loved the lake and had so much fun splashing in the water along the shore. Daddy and Mommy also got a chance to go kayaking around the lake with Jemiah and Katy.

On Sunday we spent the day with Katie's family. We had a great time visiting with Poppie, Dad, Kelly and Kevin, April, and Signe. Sequoia got to open some fun presents while we were there. The activity box from April has been a huge hit. She thinks it is hilarious as seen in the laughing video. She's also been having fun trying to push the mice around the track from Kelly and Kevin. It was a great visit both days. We wish that we could have stayed longer, and are looking forward to our next trip down.

Here are some recent pictures of Sequoia having fun.

New Sequoia Videos

2008-07-20T10:19:00.000-07:00

Sequoia Laughing with Daddy

Sequoia's New Peak-a-Boo Game

Naptime with Daddy

2008-05-22T18:47:00.000-07:00

Sequoia took her afternoon nap on her daddy's shoulder. It was too cute! Enjoy these peaceful pictures of Sequoia along with some showing off her destructive and goofy nature.

Little Gamer

2008-05-22T18:45:00.000-07:00

Cute Spoon Eating

2008-05-14T23:20:00.000-07:00

Sequoia just keeps getting cuter and cuter! She now has a total of eight teeth with her new top molars. She has been putting them to good use eating anything and everything she can get her hands on. She really likes some strange foods for a toddler--things like rhubarb, fennel, and broccoli. She currently has only one food that she dislikes, peaches--she won't touch them.

We are finally using our baby monitors! In preparation of Mommy's return to school in a couple weeks, we've started an earlier bedtime routine. She is starting to get the hang of having her last late night snack, brushing her teeth, the last diaper change, pajama time, story time, and then sleepy time. She now goes to bed awake and falls asleep in her bed pretty much on her own. This is very different from the mommy=mattress situation we had before. So of course, Dan and I are using this quiet time to grade papers, do homework and housework--eventually we'll find time to relax.

Enjoy these pictures of Sequoia's silly faces and her cute purple toe toes.

Miracles Do Happen!

2008-04-30T21:32:00.000-07:00

Yes. This is Sequoia sleeping on her own in her own bed with Dolly!

This is Sequoia feeding herself breakfast with a spoon and making very little mess!

Sequoia is growing by leaps and bounds! In the past week she has added new words to her vocabulary (including PaPa, tree, pretty, otter, bird, purple, toast, and crunchie), she started dancing with her feet (it looks like some form of tap dancing), she has a new way that she smiles where she scrunches up her eyes and gives a big grin (yet to be caught on camera), she can feed herself with a spoon (as long as the food she's eating sticks to the spoon), and as of last night, she is sleeping on her own in her toddler bed. She is also very opinionated, and is very melodramatic if she doesn't get her way, or if we don't respond fast enough to her whims. Wow!

She is going through a large growth spurt (or she will soon be the size of a whale...) as she is eating constantly. She has her three normal meals plus six to seven snacks. This is good since she was almost too tall for her infant car seat, but didn't weigh enough for her next car seat. Now she is in her new fancy forward facing car seat which she finds very comfortable and much more interesting. Around the house she is now tall enough that she can reach up and pull things off the edges of the dinner table and nothing in or on the dvd racks is safe.

We rearranged our bedroom and converted her crib to a toddler bed yesterday. We are proud to say that she actually slept in it the whole night! She woke up about five times, but I was able to get her to fall back asleep rather quickly each time. She did get in bed with us around 7am for morning nursing, but she did sleep on her own for almost 8 hours (not counting the momentary wakings of course).

So many new and wonderful developments. This is definitely one of the many magical times! Enjoy these new pictures!

Thank you Grandpa!

2008-04-30T21:21:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago, Sequoia, Dan, and myself all came down with a horrible stomach flu. Sequoia bounced back the next day, but Dan and I were pretty rough. So wonderful Grandpa jumped on a plane to Eugene and helped take care of all of us. It really made a wonderful difference in our recovery and Sequoia had a great time with her PaPa (her name for her Grandpa).

So here are some pictures of the two of them having fun making dinner together. Really, really thank you Pa for taking such great care of us!

Springtime Stylin'

2008-04-26T01:05:00.001-07:00

Spring Break

2008-04-05T15:10:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful Spring Break with Grandma and Grandpa (and even a fun visit with Auntie Katy). We ate great food, had wonderful visiting, Sequoia showed off all of her talents, shared Sequoia hugs and kisses, and spent a rainy/snowy day at the Portland Zoo. It was a wonderful time. We can't wait to see Grandma and Grandpa again (she has been carrying around their picture as a substitute in the meantime).

Check out these pictures from our great visit!

Big Beautiful Brown Eyes

2008-03-19T22:48:00.001-07:00

Dancing with Daddy

2008-03-15T19:18:00.000-07:00

Sequoia was dancing with Daddy while I made dinner, and then she fell asleep on his shoulder. These are such sweet pictures of our little one with her happy daddy!

Sleepy Time

2008-03-11T01:02:00.000-07:00

Sequoia took a short nap with Dolly the other day. It was so cute that I had to take a picture and share it with all of you!

Her Daddy's Girl

2008-02-29T01:25:00.000-08:00

On Thursdays we normally go to Gymboree for Sequoia's class, but since she is still a little sick we decided it would be best for the other kids if we stayed home instead. Sequoia had other plans. Around 5:05 pm (which is around the time we usually leave the house for her class) she walked over to her car seat and started shaking it back and forth and babbling, obviously letting us know that we were running late for class. Dan and I looked at each other--she couldn't possible know that it was Thursday, could she? Well, she wanted to go out, so we put her socks and new big size 5 shoes on and packed up my purse, and we headed out to the mall to walk around.

When we got to the mall, we left the stroller in the car since she insists on walking everywhere. Dan set her down on the ground and held her hand while we started our lap past all the stores. She started window shopping, but she didn't seem too interested in anything in particular. Then she smelled chocolate in the air, and quickly made a beeline for the Euphoria Chocolate store. She ran in the store and started looking over their chocolate truffle selection. We spent about five minutes in the store looking at various chocolates before we could pull her away to walk the rest of the mall. She's definitely her daddy's little girl--chocoholics all round =)

Sequoia's 1st Birthday!

2008-02-26T20:11:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that our little mastermind is a whole year old! We didn't do much for her birthday since we've all been sick for the past week, but we had a little party with just the three of us. After a little visit with Grandma and Grandpa over the web cam, Mommy whipped up some lasagna and chocolate cake for birthday festivities. She absolutely loved the chocolate cake.

She got some great presents for her special day. Grandma made her a special sleepy time dolly that she now carries around everywhere (we even put dolly to bed at night and she can't wait to say good morning to her dolly). She got some pretty new dresses and outfits too.

We had her one year check up with her doctor today, and everything, aside from her little cold, looked great. She's about 18.5 pounds and 29.5 inches tall (20th percentile in weight and 65th in height), so she's tall and skinny. She also got a new book from her doctor today, which already has some great teeth marks in it.

We hope you enjoy all these cute birthday pictures of our adorable girl! Thank you to everyone for sending birthday wishes.

Walkin' Series

2008-02-16T13:23:00.000-08:00

Duck Walkin'
December 26, 2007

Lion Walkin'
January 10, 25, and 27, 2008

Workin' on Walkin'
January 14 and 26, and February 11, 2008

Christopher Walken
March 31, 1943

Super Walkin'
February 15, 2008

Sequoia playing in the snow...

2008-02-16T12:55:00.000-08:00

and eating it too!

Almost One Year Old!

2008-02-10T17:13:00.000-08:00

I Love Grandma and Grandpa!My hair is so spikey and cute!

Eating snow with Daddy is so much fun!

Check out my new big girl car seat and Mommy's new hairdo!

We can't believe how close it is getting to Sequoia's first birthday. She is almost walking (random steps here and there for the time being). It is kind of like big foot--we can't seem to get it on film.

Aside from almost walking, she is starting to understand a lot more words, she can see the difference between cats and dogs now, and she can put things in boxes instead of just emptying everything (even though the emptying activity is still her favorite)--on top of all that she can also drink fairly well out of a cup! Lately she has also started crawling and walking around the apartment with blocks or her teething ring in her mouth roaring--it's hilarious--and she wants to be carried around so she can point at things so we can tell her what they are called. Now she can say Daddy, Momma, duck, cat, dog, dat (her word for that when she wants to know what it is called, or if she wants something that she can't reach), toe, and down. Plus she loves clapping, so anytime she does something exciting (like throwing a block) she claps for herself, and she claps along with people on tv shows.

We have been going to Gymboree for about a month now, and she loves it there. She does pretty well with the other kids and mommies, but the sight of any other daddy makes her cry. We love how none of the toddlers in her group have normal names--the only other girl is Monroe, and then the boys are Brody, Cole, Seth, Jackson, and Justice--can you tell that this is Eugene?

Well, we are having a great time with Sequoia and watching her master all of her new tricks--which also includes being tall enough to climb on top of the coffee table by herself (she's about 29" tall and 20 pounds). We miss all of you and are looking forward to upcoming visits during Spring Break (we don't expect any snow then). Enjoy these pictures in the meantime!

Big Girl in Cute Jeans and New Mittens

2008-01-11T22:42:00.000-08:00

Check out our cutie pie in her adorable jeans and new shirts (and her new knit sweater and mittens!) Sequoia has just joined Gymboree and loves socializing with the other toddlers--and we all love bubble time! She has even climbed on a few of the other moms while she's been exploring. It is a great experience for her (and for us -- getting to see her interact and learn to play with other little ones). This is just such a fun time of exploration. Enjoy these new pictures!

White Christmas in California

2008-01-06T22:06:00.001-08:00

We had a great trip down to California for Christmas! We were able to spend about ten days visiting with family and friends and it was fantastic.

Sequoia experienced her first snow while we were there. There are some adorable pictures of Sequoia checking out a snowball with Daddy. She also had fun walking around in her pretty red dress (for a little while at least). I think by the end of our trip she was starting to figure out how to rip open packages, so we think she'll be more than ready to help tear open her gifts and anyone else's that she can get her little hands on.

Thank you to everyone for making our holidays so special this year!

We hope you enjoy these fun pictures of our wonderful white Christmas!

More Thanksgiving Pictures

2008-01-06T21:48:00.000-08:00

Here are some more pictures of our wonderful Thanksgiving that we had here in Eugene. Check out the picture perfect turkey that Dan cooked and the world's best pies that Grandma Margaret baked.

The Little Explorer

2007-12-11T22:09:00.000-08:00

Sequoia has enjoyed exploring the entire apartment--crawling, walking, digging in boxes--basically anywhere that is remotely accessible to her. Daddy has baby-proofed all the cabinets in the kitchen except for one filled with pots and plastic containers for her amusement. We are also now official baby walkers as she loves to hold our fingers for balance as she chases the cats around the house. Check out these new pictures of this cute little adventurer.

Sequoia in Action

2007-12-11T21:58:00.000-08:00

Sequoia's description of the rain falling outside

Sequoia feeding herself yogurt

Sequoia giggling with Mommy

Sequoia sorting the laundry

Sequoia walking with Mommy

Playtime and Bathtime

2007-12-01T14:05:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of Sequoia playing with her kitty Merlin, the baby girl passed out after a trip to the mall, and taking her ducky bath. So cute!

Little Polar Bear

2007-11-27T21:59:00.001-08:00

We just had to post these adorable pictures of little Sequoia in her new polar bear outfit (thank you Grandma Margaret and Grandpa Mark!) It is so soft and she is just too cute! She has a little bump on her head from trying to walk around the apartment, but it just adds character. Check these out =)

Thanksgiving

2007-11-26T21:47:00.000-08:00

Sequoia just had her first Thanksgiving and turned nine months old. We spent the weekend visiting with Grandma Margaret and Grandpa Mark and enjoying some great food. Dan cooked the most awesome turkey, and now we have been eating our leftovers (since we ended up with enough food for like 15 people). Sequoia liked trying the turkey and feeding herself extra sharp cheddar cheese balls.

Aside from all the great food (especially the pie) we got to visit with family near and far for Thanksgiving. It was wonderful to see Ma and Pa and Auntie Katy, and we were happy to get to visit over the phone with all of Katie's family and Jemiah (who was representing the Walter clan). It was truly a great first Thanksgiving for little Sequoia.

We hope you enjoy these pictures of our big girl from these past few days.

Playing Peek-a-Boo

2007-11-01T14:13:00.000-07:00

We were getting ready to go out last night, and while we were bundling Sequoia up, she started playing peek-a-boo with her Daddy!

Sequoia's Zoo Trip Videos

2007-11-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

Playing at Lunch

Carrot Eating

Howlin' Halloween...

2007-10-29T23:45:00.001-07:00

And some fantastic bed head! We drove up to the zoo for their Howlin' Halloween event on Sunday. It was a blast! Many of the pens had special Halloween treats like pumpkins and paper bats. There was also a scavenger hunt for bigger kids.

Sequoia really liked looking at all the other kids in their costumes. She also had a lot of fun playing on the grass at lunch, sizing up with the polar bears (the size chart is a little off--she's now 27.5 inches tall and weighs about 18.5 pounds), and feeding herself a carrot at the rest stop on the way home.

It was a really nice day. We hope you enjoy these pictures!

Visual Confirmation of Teeth

2007-10-27T20:46:00.000-07:00

Teeth!

2007-10-20T21:38:00.000-07:00

Sequoia now has teeth! Her bottom front teeth have started coming in. The bottom left is really starting to pop up and the bottom right tooth is just punching through. We haven't been able to get a good picture of her new teeth yet (they are really cute).

Here some cute pictures of the almost eight month old girl! She's really getting into climbing (check out her up on the self of the end table).

More Sequoia Movies

2007-10-20T21:34:00.000-07:00

Sequoia Rain watching the rain

Sequoia playing on her changing table with Daddy (Parts 1 & 2)

Sequoia Standing Movie

2007-10-13T16:49:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of Sequoia standing up in her crib. We had to split it into two parts so they would fit on YouTube. She has some great giggles in these. Enjoy!

Part 1

Part 2

Standing Up

2007-10-12T19:21:00.000-07:00

Sequoia amazed us last night by pulling herself up to standing all by herself! Now she is trying to pull herself up on everything and anything that she can reach. This has lead to a whole new view on what needs to be baby-proofed--time to clean off all the tops of the end tables.

Check out these pictures of our little cutie pie.

Movies!

2007-10-12T18:28:00.000-07:00

After receiving a wonderful new video camera (thank you!!) we finally get to post some movies with Sequoia in action. Look at this adorable little crawler/climber!

Sequoia's First Home Movie

Playtime (Parts 1 & 2)

Collection of Cell Phone Pictures

2007-10-08T18:47:00.001-07:00

We finally were able to transfer our cell phone pictures to the computer so we can share all of them with you. Enjoy!

7 Months and Mobile!

2007-10-04T21:57:00.000-07:00

On September 14th, Sequoia figured out how to crawl! She is now very good at army crawling around the apartment and has explored the entire living room and dining room areas. She loves chasing the kitties who still haven't realized that she is mobile, so she can sneak up on them and attack them. She also loves to pull out all movies off of the bottom shelves (she'll actually pull them all out and then wait for us to put them back so she can pull them all out again). She is also having a lot of fun climbing things. She climbs over pillows, cats, and us. Dan had to lower her crib mattress so now she can't climb right out over the railing. She also loves climbing half way into her car seat and playing with the straps. She's getting faster at crawling and is trying so hard to pull up to standing (she can pull up to her knees already!)

6 Months Old!

2007-09-04T20:56:00.001-07:00

It is hard to believe that she is already six months old. Sequoia is now such a big girl! She is wearing 6-9 months clothes and weighs about 16 pounds. We are on that last box of diapers debating if we can go one more pack of size 2 before we have to size up to size 3 (time to move to cruisers--the special crawling diapers).

She can't quite crawl yet, but she is trying very hard. She is a master at pivoting and rolling, and she can almost sit all on her own. She is also very proficient at grabbing toys and hanging onto them for long periods of time.

Sequoia is also very vocal. She loves babbling and giving us raspberries. She has a mantra that repeats to herself when she is falling asleep--she will say her name to herself over and over again (quoia, quoia, quoia). She will also say "boo" when we are playing peek-a-boo, "poo" when her diaper is getting changed, and an assortment of sounds that do sound a lot like "I love you" and "Hello." I think "Dada" is only about a week a way (I'm hoping she'll have it down by the time Daddy comes home from Quals).

On her 6 month-day she tried rice cereal for the first time. Since then, she's now tried oatmeal and sweet potatoes. She absolutely loves the sweet potatoes. We are aiming to try some peas this weekend.

She still loves playing with her Space Tube and her Bear Book (which is getting some nice wear and tear marks). She also loves paper, so we're constantly trying to keep Daddy's math books out of harm's way. She has also bonded with Merlin (one of our cats). They love to play together in the afternoon and he is great at just letting her pull his fur and ears.

Check out these cute pictures of the little love on her special six-month day.

Second Zoo Trip

2007-09-04T20:34:00.001-07:00

After having so much fun at the zoo with Grandma and Grandpa, we had to go back. So on the 23rd of August, we decided to go back and as a wedding anniversary present to ourselves we became Zoo Members. Now we can take unlimited zoo trips for the next year, hooray!

This time we packed up a sack lunch of peanut butter, honey, and raisin sandwiches for Mommy and Daddy. We had an excellent time, even though it got a little warm. Sequoia didn't get to see her bats this time, since the second we stepped into the viewing area she fell fast asleep. Apparently the flapping of all the little wings was very comforting.

Mommy got a huge treat and got to see the wolves twice! We also got a cute little ocelot sticker for our car with the zoo membership. Then on the way out of the park, we stopped by the gift shop and bought Daddy some yummy fudge, and a little stuffed panther for Sequoia.

We are looking forward to our future trips with Sequoia--check out these cute pictures of this little outing!

Aquarium and Beach Outing

2007-09-04T10:49:00.001-07:00

A week after going to the Zoo, we decided to take a trip up the coast to the Newport Aquarium. Sequoia really liked the Aquarium since all the animals were close to the glass and she could reach out and almost touch them.

After looking at all the neat fish and jellies, we took a walk through the outdoor area which housed the sea otters, sea lions, and octopus exhibits. We met a very friendly sea otter which was equally curious about Sequoia as she was with him. He swam back and forth, rolling over in front of her for a good five minutes. She had so much fun (and so did the large crowd of people behind us who were watching the otter play with Sequoia).

After we were all done at the Aquarium, we drove to a nearby beach and introduced her to her cousin Addie's favorite food, sand! Sequoia tried to get two fists of sand into her mouth right away, but as you can see in the pictures, it didn't taste as good as she was hoping. The ocean was a little to cold for her liking, so instead of playing in the water, we took a nice little nap on the beach. Another great day!

First Trip to the Zoo

2007-09-04T10:33:00.001-07:00

We met Grandma and Grandpa (Margaret and Mark) at the Portland Zoo on August 4th for Sequoia's big first trip to the zoo! It was a really nice visit and Sequoia had so much fun looking at the animals (those that were close enough for her to notice at least). I also got a great workout carrying around the little 14 pounder in her Baby Bjorn.

She really had fun visiting with her grandparents (and it only took her a couple hours to remember them this time...so maybe by Thanksgiving, she'll know exactly who they are from the get go). Sequoia had a great time being cute and showing off for Grandma and Grandpa.

Amongst her favorite exhibits were the fruit bats (all their flying was very interesting) and she loved looking at the Polar Bears with Grandma.

We finished off our wonderful day with Sequoia's first trip to a sit-down restaurant, the Spaghetti Factory. We made it through the salads, but we got a little tired, so Mommy and baby got to take a little nap in the car for the rest of dinner. What a wonderful day! Here are some great pictures from our little excursion.

Sequoia at 5 months

2007-08-28T20:42:00.001-07:00

She just keeps getting cuter and cuter! At five months Sequoia's chubby little thighs really fill out the leg holes on her Bumbo chair (she's almost gotten stuck in it a couple times). Her three favorite toys are her Space Tube, her bear book from Grandma and Grandpa, and the kitties (when she can get a hold of them). She is now a pro at rolling over both ways, sucking on her thumbs and toes, sitting up with some support, and going on long outings with Mommy and Daddy.

She has had a very full month of going to the Zoo and visiting the Aquarium and the beach for the very first time. Check out these pictures of our little explorer!

4 Months Old--So Many New Tricks!

2007-08-27T20:56:00.001-07:00

At about four months old, Sequoia started rolling over one way really well, holding her head up so she could try out sitting in her pink Bumbo chair, and getting up on her elbows to try and crawl.

Her dexterity greatly improved over this month, and her repertoire of toys increased. What a sweet little one!

Also her Daddy shaved for the first time since he grew in his mustache back in junior high--check out these cute pictures of Sequoia with her silly Daddy!

Ready for big girl clothes (3 months old)

2007-08-27T20:40:00.000-07:00

Sequoia finally fit into her two piece outfits...ooh such a cutie pie! We also set up her high chair so we could finally eat dinner together at the the table. She loves sitting in her high chair--it became a game of 'lock and load--ready for blast off!' Our little future astronaut =)

We also started taking outings to the grocery store and the mall together to start getting her used to being around a lot of people. She's been the favorite baby at the grocery store ever since.

Check out these cute pictures of the little growing girl.

Happy 12 week old girl

2007-08-27T20:32:00.001-07:00

Sequoia started smiling and sitting up against our legs around this time. We also bought her a little Rainforest play chair that she absolutely loved (and still really enjoys now).

We really enjoyed this new level of interaction with our little girl. She is such an absolute joy!

Sequoia girl 8-10 weeks

2007-08-22T18:16:00.001-07:00

Little Sequoia absolutely loved flying around in Daddy's arms during these early weeks. I can't believe how tiny she was. Back then she couldn't do a whole lot on her own, but we had so much fun just carrying her around like good Mommy and Daddy taxis.

Please enjoy these pictures of little Sequoia with her cute little round face.

Introducing Sequoia

2007-08-19T08:48:00.000-07:00

Sequoia entered our lives on February 24th, 2007 after 40 weeks and two days of anticipation. She weighed 7 lbs 9oz and was 19 inches long. She was also covered in fuzzy dark hair, and when she finally opened her eyes, we saw that they were baby slate grey. Thankfully for me, it was a relatively easy and short labor.

We spent one night in the hospital and then were more than ready to get this little one to her new home and introduce her to the awaiting kitties. Over the next pretty sleepless week, we tried getting use to being parents with the help of Sequoia's Grandma Margaret and Grandpa Mark.
See some early pictures of Sequoia here.

Page Under Construction

2007-08-12T23:29:00.000-07:00

Hello Family and Friends of Sequoia!

We're following in Laura, Mike, and Addie Ray's footsteps, and setting up a blog for little Sequoia. Since I still have another week until I'm a full time stay-at-home mommy, the page will be under construction for a while. We're looking forward to sharing all our stories and pictures with you all!

Love,
Katie, Dan, and Sequoia