20 months old and enjoying the summer!

We're gaining on 2 years old! Karina has been having fun with her friends, playing in her new backyard and at the local water parks. Her favorite word is now "NO." She is entertaining us with her impression of a chicken however. We'll try to get that on film. Very exciting news is that she can finally stand up on her own from sitting!! For a kid who never crawled, this is a big feat (and has made everyone's life easier!). I couldn't decide on one picture this time, so the two above are my favorites :)

Karina's new (used) sand and water table. A better word for it is a mud table :) She loves it! Also notice the new fence and dirt area. The dirt area is where all the concrete used to be. Soon we will have grass!

The pigtails never get old. She still looks very cute! If you say the word cute in front of Karina now, she will put her finger in her cheek and make a dimple...

Mamma and Karina having fun with the camera.

Karina having fun with a balloon all dressed up for a birthday party.

Kind of enjoying her ice cream cone.

Enjoying dinner sitting in a big girl booster seat :) She's eating flank steak, israeli couscous and peas.

Trying to figure out how to play t-ball.

Running through the water fountain.

Alice and Karina on the slip and slide! Neither was too interested in slipping or sliding but the sprinklers on the side and pool at the end were a big hit.

We've also been doing a fair amount of grilling at our house and with friends. Karina definitely loves ribs!

19 months and a visit from Ya Ya and Far Far

Karina is 19 months old now. Soon we are going to have to stop counting in months :) Ya Ya and Far Far Ericson came to visit and actually had sunshine! I think they believe us now that we are surrounded by mountains :) The weather was beautiful and we had fun going to the Zoo, the Syttende Mai (aka Norwegian constitution day) Parade in Ballard and the Kubota Gardens among other things.

Karina loves the new penguin habitat at the Zoo. She also showed Ya Ya and Far Far the elephants, giraffes, gorillas and how much fun she has at the Zoomazium (an indoor playspace for kids at the Zoo).

Karina loves it when her Ya Ya and Far Far read her books.

Karina showing her love for Big Papi and the Red Sox! We went to the game on Friday night, unfortunately Ichiro had other plans for the Red Sox, but we shouldn't be surprised. The Sox never win when we are there in person.

Showing her Ballard pride at the parade on Sunday!

Entering the Kubota gardens. A beautiful public park in Seattle that has Japanese gardens.

Ya Ya and Far Far in the trees :)

The gardens were so beautiful. There were ponds, wooden bridges, stone bridges and gorgeous flowers and trees scattered through the 20 acre park.

Karina walking with Far Far and Ya Ya after a quick trip through Pike's Market before heading to the airport.

Egg hunts, tulips and daffodils, oh my...

Family photo in front of the tulips near La Conner, WA. Karina had about hit her limit. There weren't many smiles until she got her turkey sandwich and tangerine after this picture.

The tulips were beautiful. I can't believe we've lived in Seattle for 6 years and had never been to the Tulip festival before!

Sitting pretty in front of the tulips.

Fields and fields of tulips. I couldn't believe how beautiful it was.

Family photo in a daffodil field.

Daddy and Karina in the daffodils.

"I'm in playground jail" :)

PEPS canoe. We are all playing independently, but always have fun together. Well, at least the parents do :)

Karina's first easter egg hunt. Daddy had to help her bend over so she could pick up the eggs, but she made out like a bandit. So many goodies...

Berry with all the kids. Karina doing her own thing.

Dads and the kids. Aww....

18 Months Old

Time certainly seems to have flown by now that Karina is 18 months old.  She is still a giant; she hasn’t had her 18 month appointment, but she’s somewhere around 34+ inches tall.  Her walking skills improve daily and loves to run into her bedroom to look at herself in her mirror.  Her favorite activities include drawing, swinging, digging in the sand, throwing balls, swinging, playing with Legos, dancing, swinging, watching busses, and swinging.  Speaking of watching busses, each time one drives by, she says “bye-bye buts” or “bye-bye Dada”.  Even if Dada is sitting right next to her.  She loves giving hugs and kisses and even offers up long-distance hugs to friends that are out of reach.

Marie and Karina pose in front of the cherry blossoms at the University of Washington.

Karina and Tim in a similar pose.

Karina parades down the hall in her Easter outfit from Ya Ya and Far Far.

Karina loves to cook in her kitchen.  Here she is making tea on Easter Sunday.

Karina is becoming an artist.  Sometimes it’s hard to pick out the right crayon.

Eating dinner at Daddy’s office.

Posing for a photo with a cookoo face.

Karina vs. oatmeal.  Karina wins!

Bucket-head!

It’s Official… She’s Walking!

We’ve decided that Karina takes a bit after her mom and dad in that she waits to try something new until she’s sure she can do it right.  As you can tell by our cheering and Tim’s voice reaching unprecedented octaves, we are a bit excited.

17 months old...almost walking

Karina is finally getting motivated to walk. She is very excited when she is able to stand on her own and waits for our applause :) She is very happy to have Mamma home with her and Mamma is adjusting to the hardest job in the world (but the most fulfilling). Karina continues to be a great eater and is now eating more regularly with a fork and spoon. She will now allow us to feed her yogurt or applesauce anymore. We had some crazy weather today, first snow, then rain, then sun and wind, more snow and more and more rain.















Happy little girl.















Karina loves to color.














She loves to eat Applesauce.















Eating snack at her corner table with a view :)




















Karina loves to talk on the phone, her fake phone that is. We are not able to get her to do this on the real phone.


Karina loves her yogurt.