Happy Birthday to Danelle and Papa!

This week I got to spend 2-1/2 days visiting the granddaughters in Kirkland. Mom and dad too, of course :o) Lou had a flight to a conference on Sunday so I stayed over there until his return late last night. Before he left, though, we got to help Danelle celebrate her third birthday on Sunday. Shane has already posted pictures on their family blog, but suffice it to say she had a great time being the center of attention with both sets of grandparents there to help. Doughnuts, tortellinis, cake and ice cream, presents, and Chinese food --

all her favorite things in ONE day! She was beaming all day.
(that is a mirror in the back, not Dayna sitting at another booth...)

I also got a good photo (finally!) of the sisters. I was trying to get Thea to smile when Danelle also climbed up on the bed and said "Take one of both of us together, Grammie!" So we put them together on the bed, Dayna talked to Thea until she smiled and I got this:
Turns out Thea can be pretty happy when she's happy -- on the changing table and when she's oohing and coohing at you. We think she might turn out to be a "talker."

On Monday we went swimming. [The two pictures we got there are on Dayna's camera.] Danelle likes to swim but hasn't been able to go since the baby came because Dayna only has two hands. Even with our 4 hands, it was a handful getting us all dressed/undressed/redressed and in/out of the pool. The locker room was freezing, for some unknown reason, so we tried to hurry. Thea "swam" too; just in the water with either Dayna or myself, getting the feel of it ... and then she fell asleep! Danelle did "eensie-weensie spider" around the edge of the pool, kicked, blew bubbles, jumped off the edge in to me, climbed on and off a floating mat, swam to the edge (with a push from one of us), and went to the bottom to grab a toy (again, with help from Dayna and a push). She isn't afraid at all, loves the goggles so she can see, and will be a good swimmer someday. So if you plan a visit to Kirkland, bring your suit and you can go swimming too!

Lou's plane landed at 11:25 PM and we got home this morning at 2:30 AM -- I drove it all and did pretty well, considering the hour. The last 3 miles are always the hardest, perhaps because there are no white lines painted on the side of the road, and the center line is iffy. Lou had a good conference, I had a good visit, and Danelle is now 3. At breakfast yesterday she said "I want to have another birthday!"

Today, of course, is Papa's birthday -- Happy Birthday to You too! We had oysters for lunch here today, in honor of the occasion.