Grandma Wise

Janice Bybee Elgan Wise passed away suddenly May 14, 2014. She had planted flowers in her garden, had breakfast, then retired to her chair to read her scriptures. She peacfully died of a heart attack. I know that Grandma Wise is doing a great work on the other side of the veil, I know I will get to see her again. 

Grandma left behind her beloved spouse of 63 years, I love Grandpa Wise and pray for him! It was great to have Chandler meet Grandpa, I do wish Grandma could have been able to hold her. For Mother's Day I had mailed a card to Grandma with Chandler's picture on it, I am thankful every day that I sent it so Grandma could see her. 

Grandpa's sister, Aunt Gaye got to hold Chandler while she was awake! 

Dad's sister, Aunt Karen gave us the "donut blankie" that Chandler is wrapped in. Aunt Karen has always been one of my favorites :)

Here we are! Car seat. Luggage. Backpack. Baby carrier. We got it all! Thankfully it was great traveling with Chandler :)

Smile :)

It was late/early... Depending on how you look at it. Chandler was taking longer than usual to eat and settle down, as I swaddled her up she smiled the cutest grin and all tiredness was gone and I only felt sheer happiness :) I quickly grabbed my phone and got a few pictures of her smiling. She has smiled for us a few times before, but I wouldn't put her in the  "consistent smiler" category. Soon enough she will be though! 

Weekend Adventures

We had a great time at the Mariners game on Friday! It was "LDS Night" so we got tickets for $11 and had a great time sitting in an alcohol-free zone with tons of babies, kids and families. Plus I saw quite a few people wearing BYU apparel which somehow always makes me feel safe. I love being at baseball games, the atmosphere makes me feel more American and the view of Seattle is beautiful. 

Chandler kinda had a confused look all night, I guess she was just taking it all in! 

Saturday evening we ventured over to Ballard to see the locks that boats pass through, we were amazed with how it all works... We may rent a boat just so we can drive through the locks! There is a garden that surrounds the locks, it's green like everything else in Washington but it's open grass rather than thick trees - we are going to come explore a bit more when our families come to town. 

Real men push strollers :)

After visit the locks we drove down the main road to a little Japanese restaurant, the main road reminded us of Berekley, CA... Quaint shops, hippie people, as many dogs as humans, natural and organic places... Needless to say we TOTALLY fit in! Lol. The restaurant was eh. I was really looking forward to gyoza and was quite sad when she brought out a skinny trendy plate that had 5 baby-sized gyoza... Definitely not like the ones dad makes!  A half a block away from the restaurant is a sushi food truck, I haven't ever eaten sushi from a truck, I've only had corn dogs from trucks. This sushi was AMAZING!  There is a little hut attached to the side of the truck, making a perfect waiting area especially when it is raining. In line in front of is was a dude in gym shorts, he noticed our stroller then said, "my wife is delivering our baby RIGHT NOW", he pointed to the hospital across the street, "she's up there and she looked at me and said 'go get sushi'". Come to find out this was his second time that day to get sushi, I guess pregnant ladies get super powers from sushi out of a food truck! 

Dear Daddy

Dear Daddy,

Thank you for staying up late to play with me, even when you had to wake up early. You like to snuggle with me whenever you get the chance!  I love seeing how you treat Mom, you guys laugh and talk right when you walk in the door. She talks about how great you are and tells me she misses you during the day. Thanks for having a great job that lets mom stay home with me, we are both lucky to have you. Out of all these things, I think my favorite thing  is how you lead us in family prayer morning and evening. Thanks for being the best daddy in the whole world! 

Love,

Chandler

                  I look up to you :)

                       Daddy's Girl

Little Videos

Eyes Open

April 14, 2014

Yawn

April 15, 2014

Sleeping

April 11, 2014

Grumpy

April 18, 2014

Baby Bird #1

April 12, 2014

Baby Bird #2

April 27, 2014

Aunt Madison

Maddy and Jake took a day trip up to Seattle from Vancouver, WA... really they came just to see us... but they did a few sight-seeing things downtown. I loved having Maddy there to meet her first niece!

Chubs in the Tub!

Chandler is such a happy baby! I realized this right when she was born but I just figured it would only last a day or two, and while she does cry louder now, she still has a sweet temperament. Out of the blue Chandler was fussy... now her version of fussy involves wide-eyed, back-arching, wiggly-britches, panting-like-a-dog (which my parents often described my infant years as hyperactive breathing like a dog). So we fed, we burped, we changed her bum, we fed again, spit up on mom, then we spit up on the crib sheet, then we wiggled, attempted to feed again. Then I decided Chandler needed a bath! I put her in and she was cozy warm and just stared at the mirror in amusement. She cried when she had to get out and dried off, but after that she was so exhausted she conked out in my arms. She smelled delicious and I felt so accomplished to have a little blessing right there in my arms.

She stayed asleep for 30 minutes... Then she cried... I held her tight and sang "I'm Trying to be like Jesus" and she went back to sleep. That primary song is mostly for me, it is my continual prayer that I can parent as the Savior would. Heavenly Father sent us this cute chubs in the tub to help us learn and experience joy- oh what a joy she is! We love Chandler Maurine.

Who couldn't love that face !

A friend of mine suggested bathing newborns in a small blanket to keep them warm.