The photos from this website update are from the past month or so in any scraps of free time we might be able to eke out.  There have been some fun times among all the working.  Leo is working hard at potty training.  Odessa is back in ballet on Monday evenings after a brief experiment in a tap, ballet, and tumbling class.

On Friday, we headed to Seattle to explore the Pike Place Market.  It was a gorgeous day with beautiful views of Mount Rainier.  We drove to Alki Beach to take some nice Seattle skyline views before having some delicious pizza in Federal Way.  Odessa and Leo had a blast being the center of attention for 9 visitors.

The following morning we left to spend the weekend in Portland.  Saturday had nice weather as well which afforded views of Mount St. Helens while driving south on I-5.  To take advantage of the sunny (although cool) day, we spent much of the day exploring waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge area, including Latourell Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and Multnomah Falls.  After our waterfall adventure, we decided to grab supper in downtown Portland.  While dining from some of the food carts, Scott’s grandmother tried her first lamb gyro.  We explored (and got lost in) Powell’s.

Although we had been fortunate to have wonderful weather thus far, we woke up to a cold wet Sunday morning.  Not wanting to let it spoil our plans, we left for the Oregon Coast.  It was the wettest we’ve ever been while tidepooling near Haystack but we warmed up afterwards with some great clam chowder.

Although it was a brief time together, it was wonderful to see our family!  We had lots of laughs and special times and can’t wait to get together again!

We left Leo practicing on the potty Saturday morning and drove up to Seattle.  Our hotel, The Silver Cloud, happened to be located right between Safeco Field (where the Mariners play) and Century Link Field (where the Seahawks and Sounders play).  We were on the top floor right down the hall from the doors to the outside pool and hot tub.  While a hotel in Wisconsin with an outdoors swimming area would undoubtedly be closed in January, we were surprised and excited to see  this one open.  Odessa and I swam four times over the course of our weekend.  I dipped my toes in the swimming pool but spent most of my time in the hot tub.  She had fun running back and forth.  On Sunday morning, it started snowing on our heads while we swam.  This was the first snow we’ve seen since Wisconsin.

When we weren’t swimming, we were shopping, eating, or watching movies.  We took a shuttle bus down to Pike’s Market, got some ice cream, and walked around.  We found a cute toy store on our walk back to the hotel where Odessa was excited to spend some of her Christmas money.  It was a bit of a challenge for her to figure out how much she could buy with the money she had.  She kept trying to pick out the really expensive items.

We ordered a pizza for supper and watched a movie in the room.  Odessa ate three pieces of pizza while I could only manage two.  The next morning we ordered room service for breakfast before swimming once more and driving back to Tacoma.  We had a great time together.  Unfortunately, my camera was almost out of batteries so I didn’t take very many pictures.

We had our family Christmas on the 24th.  Scott made the same Christmas duck recipe he’s made several times in the past, which we enjoy very much.  In Madison, we could buy duck at our usual grocery store but in Tacoma we visited five grocery stores before finally venturing to an Asian specialty grocer to find a duck.  Odessa and Leo had a great time opening presents and being the center of attention.  We were very fortunate to receive such generous and thoughtful gifts and cards from friends and family.

We wish health and happiness to all our loved ones for 2012!

Prior to the theater performance, we saw a rehearsal where all the children did their parts with enthusiasm. But when on the stage, most of the kids seemed to be hesitant to perform. An exception, of course, was Odessa, who had more her share of enthusiasm.

This story is probably pretty dull to most people. I realized for the first time what it’s like to watch one’s child perform something publicly. I am not immune to the feelings of pride that most parents must experience. As a consequence, I find it likely that I’m talking about it far too much.

I took a crappy video of the show. You can see her bounding across the stage to meet her peers. It’s pretty cute. It includes other children, and is consequently password protected, like the slideshows. The password is the same as the others. You can view the video here. The video is not very high quality, unfortunately.

Ignoring arbitrary word limits, I will now engage in actual, boring analysis of Leo’s last year. Leo is the most selfless person I’ve ever met. Lest you think I refer to some form of toddler altruism, let me dispel that notion with haste. His greed is legendary. By selfless I mean to say that he simply does not seem to care at all what happens to him. He travels at only one speed, namely, “recklessly fast.” If there are obstacles in his way, such as people or walls, they are of no concern to him. His head is a no man’s land of hills and craters, its diffusely-hued topography a monument to utter carelessness.

Despite all the head trauma, Leo is quite adept with language. It is likely that his parents, though they try to be objective, are suffering from bias and an unfair comparison with Odessa who, at his age, was below average in language skills. A month ago, Leo began saying phrases of a complexity that Odessa could only say by the time she turned three. He is observant and conversant. In seconds he can move from smiling to screaming, and he loves to copy whatever you’re doing. Mimicry is obviously not unique for a toddler, but again, Odessa was not much of a mimic herself, and so it is new for us to see these things in Leo.

This week he climbed out of his crib for the first time. This was something that Odessa had actually done much earlier than him. I came into his room to get him in the morning and he instantly stood up, put two legs over the rail, and climbed down. He astonished himself, and with a surprised intonation he exclaimed, “I did it!” followed by, and I am not making this up, “Woo!” He then ran right by me and out into the living room. And now, I cannot get him to stay in his crib any longer, so that’s fun.

I will be uploading a slideshow on our Vimeo site in a few days. Though I did not post any pictures on our website of the infamous black eye the Sturms gave him this year, there will be a photo of it in the slideshow. Sorry, Sturms, but it was a pretty significant part of the year for him. That thing was a work of art.

I had Saturday and Sunday off again so we made plans to go to Seattle.  Having been in the Seattle waterfront area for a conference earlier this month, I wanted to come back with Scott and the kids.  The day was a bit chilly but very sunny.  Having had rain on our two previous free weekends, this was a welcome change.  We had fun walking up and down the waterfront and looking out on the water and into the shops.  After spending the morning in Seattle, we ate lunch at a local burger restaurant in Federal Way.  The burgers and milkshakes were very good.  We split a milkshake (except for Leo because he backwashes) and it was funny to watch how possessive Odessa became of her share, “Mama!  That’s enough.  No more swallows now.  It’s my turn.”

Sunday we watched the Packers game dressed in our green and gold finest.  After the game, we went to the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma.  Dave and Paula had bought four tickets for Odessa’s birthday and we finally had a nice sunny free day to use them.  As named the zoo is located in Point Defiance, a piece of land at the northwestern corner of Tacoma that juts out into Puget Sound.  We had driven by the zoo but had never stopped before and were looking forward to the experience.  It was a really neat area with a good variety of animals and very helpful zookeepers.  Odessa’s favorite animals to see were the jellyfish, sea horses, and the apes.  Scott most enjoyed the nudibranchs and the owl.  I like the red wolves the best and Leo loved the tigers.

Here are some pictures of last weekend.  A proper Thanksgiving update will likely come later this week.

While tomorrow will bring a return of too much time away from my family, we are already looking forward to next weekend.

Here are a few highlights from the last week.