A is for Autumn

A is for autumn. 

Pumpkin patches, cinnamon sticks, cozy sweaters, rustling leaves, wood-burning fires, seasonal Starbucks drinks, and all-things-apple (think: pies, sauces, cobblers, and cakes) - these are a few of the images that come to mind as I consider the fall months. Or, in my situation, fall weeks/days, since fall is much shorter here in Alaska than in other states (much-too-short in my opinion.)

I love fall, plain and simple.

When I see those first golden streaks of leaves changing color, it conjures up memories of running to Starbucks en route to church on Sunday mornings with my best friend Elyse. We were in our early 20's, living together as roommates in San Diego, going to college. Fall was our favorite time of year, especially since we loved pumpkin scones, pumpkin bread, pumpkin spice lattes, and dressing in layers (perhaps to hide our enjoyment of all our seasonal treats.) The cool, crisp autumn days were perfect for all of our wild adventures and late nights, throwing caution to the wind as we downed gigantic frozen yogurt cups and brownie sundaes, and pulled all-nighters writing papers and prank-calling classmates through our makeshift three-way "match-making service" (we'd dial a random male classmate and then call a separate female classmate, unbeknownst to one another, and then merge the phone calls, all the while laughing hysterically as we let things play out for our unsuspecting victims.) Occasionally, we'd use our screeching monkey toy to add background noise, and entertainment value, if the conversations took a turn for the worst. Oh, the shenanigans of young girls attending private Christian school! (This is a glimpse of my wilder days.)

I suppose that I also love the fall season because growing up in Hawaii, there are really only two seasons - the summer season and the rainy season (our version of winter.) In many ways, I feel like I missed out on a childhood's worth of fall days. 

Fall is a welcome transition here in Alaska, sandwiching the lovely, longer days of summer and the harsh, darker days of winter. We even get beautiful color palettes, which only debut during the autumn months. Even though I miss my hometown of Maui terribly some days (mainly, during the winter), I'll take fall as my consolation.

Ken, baby girl, and I were able to snap some sweet fall photos while out at the park yesterday. It was a beautiful late afternoon. Alaska does fall colors quite well.

{Click on each photo to enlarge.}

 

 

Baby Girl's First Tooth & Other Highlights of Turning 5 Months Old!

It's official, baby girl's first tooth sprang up through her gums, seemingly overnight, right around the 5-month mark. Bubs, our current nickname for Ruby (which may have started as a quicker way of saying "baby girl" or "babes"?), had been showing signs of teething for the past couple months - nonstop drooling, the desire to bite down on anything or anyone, restlessness, and nighttime fussiness. And then lo and behold, out comes a tooth! Or, rather, in comes a tooth. I had been nervous for weeks wondering what nursing would feel like when she got her first tooth in, and now I know. Ouch! Hehe. 

Here are a few of Bubs' latest milestones:

• Jumping is her favorite sport! She likes to play in her jumperoo as much as possible.
• She can rollover almost both ways.
• She's trying desperately to crawl (!) and can lift her belly up real high using her leg muscles.
• She can now roll herself out of the baby bouncy chair and out of her carseat (Eek! When not buckled in, of course.)
• She grabs for toys, especially her dolly (thanks Wendy!), whenever they fall out of her hands. 
• She recognizes Penny, our puppy, smiles at her and likes to pet her (read: grab at chunks of her fur without letting go.)
• Squeals, screams, razzes, and says lots of "ah-goo's" and "ah-yee's" - her vocabulary of sounds is constantly growing.
• She can sit up for moments at a time, unsupported, but then likes to reach down and try to eat her feet. She ends up in a ball shape.  
• Baby girl wakes up chatting in the night and occasionally in the mornings. 
• She and Mama now have a game that we play together where I kiss her on her chin and then she blows raspberries on my face. She loves it and starts giggling almost instantly!
• She loves to laugh! (When she's not crying because of the pain of teething, of course.) 
• She is fascinated by food (!) and watches us eat with intense focus. Bubs is going to be a great [solid] food eater, I can tell. 

I could go on, but I don't want to overwhelm you with the things-parents-love-about-their-kids-that-others-might-not-care-as-much-about. Lately, I've been obsessed with reading all things Molly Wizenberg (creator of the blog Orangette, arguably one of the best blogs in the world), and am so inspired by her writing. I want to write like that. Share my heart and share my stories, as if we're sitting across from one another at the dining room table. 

I look forward to sharing more on that in future posts, and also updating you on baby girl's newest developments. She is such a joy!

Here is a link to a video of Ken making her laugh: Bubs Laughing

xoxo

P.S. Here are a couple photos of Bubs' new baby bibs. Bibs are all the rage in our house right now, especially since baby girl is teething like crazy. She helped pick these out at the resale store yesterday. Note: If anyone is reading this and has extra bibs to spare and would like to send them our way, yes, I would love that! We can never have enough. ;) 

Baby's First Train Ride!

Planes, trains, and automobiles! 

In the past four months, we've taken baby girl on her first flight, first extended road trip, and now her first train ride on the Alaska Railroad! She's quickly becoming quite the seasoned traveler, and seemed to enjoy the vast scenery on our four-hour coastal train ride from Anchorage to Seward, Alaska this past weekend. While the early morning departure on Saturday was a little challenging for all of us, we were able to relax and nap at our hotel that afternoon, which made our weekend excursion much more manageable. Also, we happened to be visiting Seward at the same time that our dear friends Yoonjung and Dan were in town from Seattle with their family. It was great seeing familiar faces, and catching up with them. What great timing! (You may remember Dan and Yoonjung's visit to Alaska last summer, which I wrote about here.) 

On our train ride, we spotted two large moose (likely weighing around 1500 lbs each) and beluga whales, along with an eagle and a handful of swans. In addition to the wildlife, we enjoyed picturesque views of towering mountains, giant glaciers, glacial lakes, mudflats, and dense forests. Ken and I purchased these train tickets, along with our hotel stay, as a fifth anniversary getaway and it was very special being able to share this experience with our almost five-month-old.

Here are some photos of our trip.
I look forward to sharing more adventures with you soon!