A Year in Review

Every time the New Year approaches, it leaves many of us wondering...what did I do with my year?  Where I have been?  Where am I going?  Well, I know in the case of the Fuller clan it has been a very full, busy, but meaningful year.

We started off 2010 with Sydney just having completed her first birthday.  A great milestone by itself, and leaving us wondering what we could expect for the second year of her life, and also for those of us living in our late 20's...wink wink :)

Well, in June we took a big journey to Australia.  This served the very important purpose of Karen donating bone marrow to her uncle Dennis.  And during the trip, we did get to see some great sights of Sydney, but more importantly we got to spend time with Dennis, Kris, and Rebecca.  We were grateful for the time that we got to spend with them and to get to know them.  They are great people, and we are glad they are family.

Later in the year, we also got to visit Sydney's uncle Nathan, and all of her cousins in Florence, Oregon.  This was also a special time as she gets to see them just once or twice a year.  But it's truly the case that quality, and not the quantity, of the visits truly makes all of the difference.

Sydney also got to experience her very first (in person) Seattle Sounders game, began to experience the joys of 'going' on the potty, and also developed physically, mentally, and verbally...especially over the last few months.  Her texting abilities have grown exponentially, and her use and fluency of speaking IM has well exceeded expectations.

It's always fun to see how she compares, physically in this case, to the previous year.  The pictures below shows one set that was taken in April of '09 in Seattle to the comparables that were taken this week.  It's just a great visual reference of how this little girl has progressed.  It's amazing just how quickly she has grown, and I can only imagine this next year will be more of the same.  She is truly becoming a little lady :)

 

Beyond that, 2010 has brought great times with all of her family members, baby friends, and older friends that care about her.  She also got to visit with her friend Reina from Japan, and also kept up with other BFF's, including Maggie and Kate.  All in all, a great and amazing year.  We would not have changed much about it.  Having said that, I believe the best is still to come!



Nana shows Sydney how napping is done...
or is it the other way around?

Happy New Year!  Welcome 2011!!!

Ho Ho Ho!



Sydney's 3rd Christmas!



Mother's and their offspring :)



Well, the busy part of the holiday season is over.  Christmas eve and Christmas day have come and passed, so hopefully this will mean a few relaxing days before gearing up for New Year's.

But, all in all, Sydney enjoyed her third Christmas.  Uncle Nathan came on Wednesday, and Nana from Montana came on Christmas eve, so it was fun spending time with all of them.  While Sydney gets the luxury of visiting with Nana for the next week, she'll miss her Uncle Nathan and Cousin Thomas who have already returned to the warmer Oregon coast.

Christmas eve and Christmas day of course brought the crowds together for a great time...a lot of visiting, a lot of food, and a lot of fun.  I suspect this year clued her in to, and later years will confirm, the realities of sugar highs...which are inevitably followed by sugar crashes, and also the miracle of the 'turkey coma' (the undeniable need to sleep following the consumption of large amounts of turkey).

While I could write so much more about the season's adventures...as always, a picture is worth a thousand words.

 

Sydney enjoying her horse...

Joe enjoying Sydney's horse...

Uncle Steve's wish came true...a baby
and a doggie...what a great day!

What a good looking crew!!!  Gotta say...
good genetics :)

Happy Holidays!!!

Naughty or Nice???

Sydney's first Christmas...barely
more than a week old!

"He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake..."  OK, when you read that line by itself, it really is sort of creepy...like you are being stalked...or worse yet, you picture Kathy Bates standing over you while you sleep similar to what she did in the movie Misery.  But, in the traditional sense of those lyrics, Sydney is very eager to find out if she was deemed nice this year.  Just a few short days away and she'll be able to get reliable verification.  And I'm fairly confident she made the nice list.  Of course, even if she had been naughty this year she would not likely get coal in her stocking, as that is not very eco-friendly and is generally frowned upon in the Pacific Northwest.

Sydney's second Christmas...
what a cutie pie!





There is much to look forward to this holiday season.  Sydney's uncle Nathan and cousin Thomas will be coming up on Thursday this week.  And on Friday, Donna (aka Nana from Montana) will be coming to spend the week.  There will be a number of festivities, foods, and fun, but spending time with family is what she is truly looking forward to.

And while she will have a growing appreciation for presents, I fully expect she will continue to be more fascinated by the wrapping paper, bows, and boxes that accompany the gifts.  The gifts themselves will likely be a bonus...ha ha!

In other recent occurrences, Kate celebrated her second birthday this past weekend.  Happy Birthday Kate!  It was a fun event where those aged two years old, and also those much older whose ages will be kept confidential, had a great time.  Four of the kiddos in attendance were from our birthing class, and it's always great to when they can spend some time together.  Sarah (Kate's mom) also has mad baking skills, and it's always fun to see what she creates.  This time she made some fantastic cupcakes for the celebration. 



The big song...and then blowing out
the candle.



Showing how to truly
enjoy a cupcake!

 In other news, Sydney's Great Grandparents (Harry and Carol Pagels) celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this past weekend.  Reaching their 60th is just amazing, and we are so fortunate to have such a great foundation for our family.  They are certainly the best grandparents (and great grandparents) that any grand kids could ask for.  Congratulations!!!



Have a wonderful Holiday Season!!!

Get’n Down in DC

The epicenter of bureaucracy…the pillar of politics…the capitol of our nation. I recently made a work trip to Washington DC where I spent a few days attending a conference.



While I was there, I spent the majority of time in workshops or at conference activities. Fortunately, I was able to get a small amount of time to see just a few points of interest in the city…at least the ones that happened to be in the proximity of my hotel. I was not alone in my nearby walks. Excluding my work counterpart, I was also escorted by a spirit very dear to Sydney (and me)…and one that also happens to be a world traveler. That is Kooky Bird (or just Kooky for short). Kooky was picked up in Australia at the Toronga Zoo, and likely made on even another continent. But a week ago, I would have never guessed at how invaluable Kookie’s experience and travel tips would be on this current travel adventure. And for those of you who can’t figure out where he got his name, he is a Kookaburra…afterall. Kooky helped to make me feel like I had a little part of Sydney with me on the trip. In the end, it gave me a chance to have some fun taking pictures with my feathered travel companion.



Kooky at the Washington Monument.



The say life has it’s ‘ups’ and ‘downs.’ Well, most times this is used metaphorically. Unfortunately, in my case, I experienced it literally while on the trip. On my journey from my room on the 9th floor to the lobby of my hotel, the hotel elevator got stuck between floors four and five. This left the elevator unresponsive to any button pushing or general desires for it to move. The bell was rung, the operator was called, and three brave souls (one of which was me), were trapped in the elevator awaiting help. What seemed surely to be six days, was in fact only about 17 minutes. I was rescued, signs of emaciation obvious, loss of weight evident, and a dramatic desire for java ever present. While there were no injuries or casualties, it does add a little extra memory to the trip.



Unfortunately the weather was extremely cold. While the temperature was cold, the accompanying wind made it truly bone-chilling. When the sharp cold makes your nose run and then also makes it freeze to you, that provides a good indication that flip flops and shorts are not appropriate attire.



Kooky visiting the National Christmas Tree.




Kooky at the White House.



   

Outside the Lincoln Memorial...





Despite being away from my wonderful family for a few days, technology was great in helping stay connected. Skype was very handy in allowing us to video call each other, giving me a chance to read Sydney a bedtime story, as well as find out how her day went. This let me know the latest ‘bus’ count, as well as the new words she surely learned that day!  But, even when a trip goes well, it's always nice to come home :)

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Two is the new Three

 

Although Sydney's official birthday is not until the 15th, she had her birthday party this past Saturday, which undoubtedly helped to avoid a busy upcoming holiday season. She had a great time, opening presents, gossiping with friends, and talking about the latest toddler fashion and hip toys. Ya Ya Sherri hosted, and there was a lot of great food for the consumption and digestion from those in attendance.



It's hard to believe she is already two...so many changes from her first birthday a mere 365 days ago. It's not often you double your age, but she did it in style! Her speech, her physical activity, her mannerisms...all have accelerated at an amazing rate. The days of infancy are far behind, and she is certainly turning into a young lady. I just hope the next couple of years don't go by as fast as the first two.



We did work hard to teach her she was turning 'two.' So, Sydney of course loves saying two. I think she realizes the symbolism of the number with her age. Unfortunately, the side affect of this has meant her counting to five seems to stop at two...then she just repeats the number...like a CD that is skipping. Oh well, I'm sure she'll be ready for the next numbers after the month is over and it's not her birthday anymore. Then we'll start her with advanced counting, and then on to geometry and trigonometry :)



In other news, Sydney continues to be fascinated with Christmas lights and buses. Those are the two things that we consistently search for every morning on the way to daycare, as well as the return trip home. She is getting great at spotting buses, even to the point where she can discern a 'school bus' from a 'public transportation' bus. She can even point out the 'airport shuttle' bus. Her fascination of buses occasionally leads her to say, "I wanna." When I tell her there is no space in her room for a bus, she is not dissuaded and will simply mention her request again at a later time, either hoping I forgot or hoping that the physical dimensions of her room has changed....perhaps both! As for Christmas lights, we'll take her on an evening adventure at some point soon so she can see all that the neighborhood has to offer.



Have a great week!!!



The "cake"



The "girls"
(Kate, Sydney and Maggie)




Gift opening begins!