Love This City

Isn't it funny how you really don't appreciate or know your town/city until guests arrive?  While Noa's mom was visiting, we were able to enjoy Poulsbo on several occasions. I realized that every time I walk through our small downtown, I really love it.  Poulsbo is just so cute and can be so picturesque, especially when the sun is out (sometimes a rarity here in the Pacific Northwest).  I love that our little city has Norwegian roots, hosts small festivals and quaint downtown shops.  It just makes me happy to be here and I'm so glad we found such a place to settle for a few years.  

The waterfront is absolutely beautiful at the end of the day. There's a nice little paved walkway that goes right along the water and stretches from one end of Front Street (our main street) to the other.  Walking along this path, with my family, watching the boats, people, and of course, dogs, is so serene and relaxing.  I love it.

We drove around on a beautiful evening and looked at some of the gardens and fun houses that Poulsbo has to offer.  I deemed this Craftsman my favorite.  It is so quaint and it has an amazing front porch!  If it only had an attached garage and a fenced yard, it would be perfection!  I decided that I could live there tomorrow if the option presented itself.

Another day, we visited a local park, called Poulsbo Fish Park.  I had been meaning to go here for a while now since it's near a Thai restaurant that we frequent.  The park has a bunch of nature trails and as the name suggest, a fish theme.  See what I mean....

I still need to spend more time here and try all the trails.  I'm looking forward to taking the dogs and Ruby. But, it's a fun little find, for sure.

Help Support Kitsap County's Homeless Pets!

I recently sent out an e-mail to some friends and family, but wanted to extend it out to my small group of blog readers.  Here is a copy of the e-mail I recently sent out.  I am pretty much pleading and don't typically use the blog for this kind of purpose, but our little shelter could surely use any and all help!

Hello Friends and Family-

As most of you know, I am super passionate about the work of the Kitsap Humane Society, where I work.  Each year we house and care for thousands (yes, thousands!) of animals.  This year KHS took a hit when our upper management team abruptly changed and a financial crisis hit, causing several programs to be cut, including Humane Education.  Although I am sad about the program cuts, I am still optimistic about the changes taking place to revive our shelter.  Even with limited staff and resources, the folks at KHS work hard to provide for the animals each and every day.  Our mission has not changed; we will continue to rescue, rehabilitate, and re-home animals.

So many of these animals at KHS have touched my heart with their stories;  dogs who are abandoned by families on the move.  Cats who suddenly need a new home because the owners developed allergies.  Puppies found in a dumpster.  Strays who have never known the comforts of life inside a home or the love of a family.  These are the animals we serve and work tirelessly to match them with a forever home. 

However, caring for these animals doesn’t come without cost.  In order to cover some of these costs, the Kitsap Humane Society hosts events that will help bring in donations and critical funding.  PetsWALK is one of these annual events. This year it will be held on Saturday, June 9th, at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds. Participants will walk alongside their furry family members to raise support for KHS.  There will be also be vendors, demonstrations, food, and animals available for adoption, of course.  An all-around great time, pretty much.  All the money raised at this event goes directly to shelter operations and animal care. 

 This year, I am unfortunately unable to attend PetsWALK, but I want to contribute to the mission of KHS in any way that I can.  So, I am making efforts to raise funds for our "little shelter that could." I am asking for your support for the homeless animals of Kitsap County.  Your contribution - even as little as a $5 donation - will help pay for the costs of feeding and caring for homeless animals.  Simply go to https://kitsaphs.ejoinme.org/16624 to make your donation.  Your financial contribution would be greatly appreciated by all the staff, volunteers, and animals of KHS.  Of course, no one would be more thankful than me.  :)  

My Sincerest Thanks,

Julie

PS - You can read more about our shelter, view adoptable animals, and learn more about PetsWALK 2012 at our shelter's website: www.kitsap-humane.org

Are you trying to be adorable?

Cause it's working.

Weekend Highlights

It's been a busy weekend over in our part of the world.  Noa's mom, Carol, arrived on Saturday, just in time for us to walk through downtown Poulsbo for Viking Fest, an annual event celebrating the Norwegian roots of our tiny town. 

Viking tent displays were in the middle of the fair food and entertainment. 

Organizers held a paddleboat race on Liberty Bay.  I am not envious of the participants at all.  That water is probably FREEZING!

Noa and Carol - I should have made them wear some Viking helmets, complete with the horns, for this photo....guess there's always next year.

Someone was looking pretty cool for the event.

We probably enjoyed the walk through Poulsbo Place as much as the festival, maybe even more.  It's such a cute little neighborhood!  All the houses are painted in fun, bright colors and they all have immaculate gardens.  We kept oohing and aahing over each one.

 I went in to work for a few hours on Saturday morning.  It was worth it because I got to see 36-hours-old kittens!  They were so, so small!

On Sunday we helped a friend with some yardwork.  After a break for a bite to eat, she brought out the family's snake to show the kids that were there.  Although I'm not much of a snake fan (I much prefer animals with fur), I really wanted to hold him.  The snake behaved himself, but I was still a little creeped out by him.  Thankfully, I was able to hold it together for the picture.

He's a corn snake.  His name is Kernal...ha ha.

Noa was much cooler than me when it was his turn to hold Kernal. 

In other weekend news, Ruby tried avocado for the first time.

She liked it!

She kept trying to grab the spoon from Noa.

And when she did, she managed to get avocado all over her hands, which led to her getting avocado all over her face.  She didn't seem to care one way or another, as long as her thumb was still available.  That's become the new favorite thing to suck on.

Oh, and as promised, here is a a picture of her first tooth.  I circled it since it's not easy to see in this photo.  Ta-da!

We are so excited to have grandma in town for the week.  I'm sure there will be lots to blog about during her visit!  Stay tuned!

6 Months!

Ruby turned 6 months old this week!  It's hard to believe she's already at the halfway mark to one year!

Age: 6 months

Weight: 12 lbs, 13 oz

Length: 26 inches

Sleep: sleeps in her crib, wakes 1 - 2 times a night; typically takes 2 - 3 naps each day

Eating: breastfed with supplemental formula, began solids (cereal)

Appearance: blue eyes, blond hair (the bald spot is filling in!), wearing 3 - 6 month clothes, cut bottom front tooth

Wow!  Ruby is growing like a weed.  Just when I feel like I have a handle on everything Ruby-related, she hits a new milestone or begins a new stage.  That girl is keeping me on my toes!  This month marks many new changes.  One is starting solids.  As mentioned in a previous post, we started Ruby on rice cereal, which she accepts, but doesn't seem to love.  I hope to try some vegetables this week in addition to another kind of cereal.  She JUST (as in TODAY), officially cut her first tooth.  Teething has been a painful experience for Ruby and we've had to use all necessary means to make her comfortable: teethers, Tylenol, and teething gel.  

Ruby LOVES her jumperoo, her feet, and playing peek-a-boo.  When she's on the floor or in her crib she rolls all over the place, from front to back, and back to front.  She isn't crawling yet, but very close.  When she sees a toy that's out of her reach, she will do whatever it takes to maneuver herself over to it.  Although we practice, she isn't ready to sit on her own yet, but we will keep trying.  She still loves going to see the sitter each week, having daddy time, and interacting with people.  It's definitely a fun stage right now (minus the teething!).

She still loves those feet!  Diaper changes are getting challenging because all she wants to do is suck on her toes, which makes it difficult to replace the diaper. 

She has finally surpassed Sadie in weight, but she still weighs less than Gunnar, who tops the scales at over 14 pounds.  She'll get there.

Feeding time is pretty fun and yes, messy.  She seems to tolerate the cereal, but not really enjoy it.  I have found that I am not above making ridiculous noises and facial expressions to get her excited about food.  I just pray that it never gets caught on camera.  I'll pretty much do anything to make her smile, even if it means making a fool of myself by making crazy airplane noises.

The day we introduced cereal, we practiced sitting in our "princess seat" so that she was used to it.  She seemed to like it from the start.

Oh, and that outfit she's wearing was too cute.  It even has a little hoodie vest (it was in the wash this day).  I'm happy that she doesn't seem to mind modeling her outfits for the camera - in fact when I pull out my iPhone, I think she hams it up on purpose.  Oh and she's rocking the headbands these days.

Sleeping is going much, much better than those first few months.  Ruby can now sleep a much longer stretch (5 - 6 hours) and I only have to feed her 1 - 2 times a night, so I am able to function so much better during the day (I still try to sneak a nap here and there when she sleeps during the day).  Since it's a SIDS risk to have blankets and bumpers in the crib, it pretty empty, expect for her seahorse, which I don't care for, but she absolutely loves.  I've caught* her snuggling with it more than once.

Her eyes have maintained their blue color, which makes me incredibly happy.  I think she has her father's eyes and I hope that the color is permanent.  My eyes are typical brown and I always figured that my children would inherit the same generic color.  So far, hers have maintained a beautiful hue of blue.  I realize that they can still change, even up to a year old, but each month with those beautiful blues makes me happy.

I was so proud of my little traveler this month.  I think she was pretty proud of herself too.  The airport  was pretty exciting for her as there was so much to look at.  I was happy to see child seats in the SeaTac airport.  As she gets older and we travel more, I hope that she will be a fun and easy travel partner.

Oh, Ruby, you are growing much too fast!

*Our baby monitor is a camera that is attached to her crib.  I can watch her through my iPhone and also take snapshots of her.  Pretty cool, right?  The camera and app are available here.  Thanks to the Yaus for hooking us up!  It's a lifesaver!

First Food!

A couple of nights ago, we gave Ruby her first taste of rice cereal.

She's wasn't really sure what to think about it at first.

But she eventually accepted it pretty easily.

Tonight, she was still a little excited, but really, I think she just liked having her picture taken.  Most of the cereal ended up on her chin or her bib anyway.  

First Mother's Day

My first Mother's Day was fantastic.  Although Noa had to work in the morning, I awoke to some beautiful flowers, a card, and a happy baby (well, happy once she was fed!).  I received a bunch of text messages and Facebook notes wishing me a happy first Mother's Day, which was a fun way to start the day.  Plus, it was absolutely beautiful outside - the sun was shining and it was in the 70s - a wonderful gift for western Washington!

Noa was unexpectedly able to leave work early and join us for church.  During the service, I was given a rose for being a new mom.  Afterwards, I wanted to get a photo of me with Ruby and the rose, but I had to keep it far away from her since she decided it looked like a teething treat.  She didn't like that I was taking her "teething" toy away.  Guess she decided to try her fingers instead.

Afterwards, we had a casual lunch of pizza and beer at home (one of my favs on a hot, sunny day), naps, and family hang out time.  I love spending time with my little family, especially on beautiful weekend days.  It doesn't get much better than this.

I love being a mom, more than I ever would have imagined.  At the same time, it is terrifying.  I am now responsible for this little person.  I'm constantly questioning myself and praying that I make choices for Ruby that will impact her life positively.  I'm learning to let go of imperfections and realize that I don't have full control anymore.  Ruby is her own person and doesn't always do or act how I would like her to.  At the same time, watching Ruby grow and become a person is truly joyous and she is constantly amazing us with her newfound skills.  It is a delight that both Noa and I share.  When I was pregnant, I was worried about the changes that would take place in our marriage once we became "mom and dad," but I can see now, that although there are changes, they are for the better.  Ruby has brought us closer together.  She is a gift in so many ways.

 I am incredibly grateful for having such a strong, capable, and loving mother (love you, mom!).  Now that I am a mom, I depend so much on the advice and support of both my mom and Noa's mom.  They have been invaluable each step of the way in learning how to raise a daughter.  I hope that I can raise her as gracefully as they have raised their children.

Wow.  I completely got off topic there....the rest of Mother's Day was spent with good friends.  We went to one of my favorite places, the dog park, where we got to hang out with another mommy friend, Amy, her hubs, Daniel, and their new little addition, Ben.  The dads took over baby duty while we supervised the dogs in the play area.  

Ruby and Daddy

Noa and Daniel with the kiddos

Our doggie troop: Charlie (the dachshund), Gunnar, Sadie, and Roger (the Corgie/Shepherd mix)

Afterwards, we headed back to our place to grill up dinner and hang out.  The dogs played in the backyard, while the we ogled over Ben (Ruby went to bed pretty much as soon as we got home), caught some NBA playoff action on TV, and chatted.  

Ben loved the playmat and was making faces in the mirror, staring at the toys, and enjoying having mom nearby.

Trying to get a picture of the dogs was pretty hilarious since they had no idea what I was trying to do - having some treats on hand helped the process.  I'm glad they had a little playdate; we've been meaning to get them together for awhile.  I think they had a blast careening through the yard with each other as the sun was setting.

It was a perfect way to celebrate my first Mother's Day with lots of my favorite things.  I'm so proud to be a mom, especially to such a sweet little peanut.  I'm already excited to celebrate again next year!