Andy finished up at work during the week, so we're finally on holiday! On some days, it feels like this year has just stretched on and on and on ... and at other times, we wonder where the time has gone and how we managed to fit in anything at all.

Andy and I celebrated our tenth anniversary this week ... we splashed out and had dinner with Isobel at the local Red Robin restaurant. Isobel was so well behaved - drinking from her little straw and cup, and chomping down on chicken strips and some chips. We were both amazed at how much she managed to eat - more than a whole chicken strip, and several chippies too. There were a couple of other families nearby with small kiddies running around, and Isobel took great delight in watching their antics from her high chair - so glad she sits quietly when we go out, although I'm sure that only lasts so long!

I also had another checkup with my OBGYN this week - the results from the scan last week weren't back yet, but the blood test from a month ago was all good news. Always good to hear Peanut's heartbeat on the doppler - about 160bpm. These early weeks are tough, before I can feel the baby move myself ... I always worry that something is going to happen and I won't know until my next appointment. I'm a worry-wart like that.

Steve and Di popped around with Chris and Katie for a visit today, dropping off a present under the tree for Isobel and some yummy shortbread for us! Andy's arcade machine was a big hit with everyone ... Chris and Katie loved feeding the tokens into the coin slots and Katie managed to whoop Andy at a couple of games - beaten by an almost-eight-year-old!!

Isobel is almost running everywhere these days - we rugged her up and took her for a walk to the letterbox yesterday before it got too dark, which is around 4.30pm these days. She waves away any attempts to hold her hand, and toddles along quite happily on her own.  dog-leg lane down to our house has a little hill where it joins the rest of the street, and Isobel managed to climb the hill both ways for the first time on her own - the downhill stretch to the letterbox itself is pretty steep, so we had to step in and take her hand as her brakes don't work too well yet. Apart from that, she managed the whole thing herself ... we're so proud! She still has a habit of turning around and heading back up the lane before we get home again, as if to delay going back into the house - and she can move pretty quick when she wants to. We usually have to carry her up the steps to the house, as she gets a bit upset when we spoil her fun and finally bring her inside again. I think she'll be spending a lot of time outside next year when the weather improves again.

Only a couple of days to Christmas now - the decorations are finally up and the storage boxes packed away. The weather reporters are forecasting a chance of snow on Christmas Day - wouldn't that be a lovely touch? Merry Christmas, everyone!

Now we've done the official-parent-notification-thingie, we can break the news publicly ... Isobel's going to be a big sister next year! We had the NT scan on Friday, Andy took the day off work and came along with Isobel - she did really well apart from a bit of a freak-out when the lights were dimmed and the lady started waving a wand around on Mummy's tummy. So she sat with me on the recliner-chair, once she saw there was a little TV screen to watch she perked up considerably ;-) The results won't be back for two weeks, but the sonographer said everything was well within spec - good news indeed. EDD is towards the end of June, so I won't have to endure another summer pregnancy!

I've been very lucky again this time around - no morning sickness, but I've been feeling incredibly tired in the mornings recently. Much more so than I remember last time around, but I was working then and was a wee bit fitter than I am now. I am so looking forward to seeing the days getting longer again next month, the winter light is pretty pitiful and I miss the sun having some actual WARMTH!!

Isobel continues to amaze us - she's been trying out a few new sounds lately, and we think "gooo gurr" is probably "good girl" ... she does hear that a lot from us! She has a few words now, but she understands so much more - we can ask her to get a particular toy from her shelves, and she'll trot over to pick out the right one and bring it back. She's been trying to put her own socks and shoes on when we head out somewhere, although the coordination isn't quite there yet - but she'll stand still and put her arms in the sleeves of her parka. Cutlery is still a bit of a mystery, though - she seems to understand the purpose of a spoon, but hasn't quite figured out the 'spoon' end is going to provide more success than the 'handle' end. I'm sure all little kids are the same like this, but this is our first attempt and it's all still pretty astounding!!

Tonight is my last guild meeting for the year - we're doing a potholder exchange, so I found a pattern for a little 'Nemo' fishie and stitched it up yesterday. Isobel absconded with one of the sides part-way through, so I think I'll make up another one and stuff it with pillow stuffing to make a little toy fishie for her at some stage.

... at least, that's what the news reports are calling the onslaught we survived last weekend. Southern Washington was hit very hard - first with snow, then rain, then gale-force winds.  Most of the rivers in the state were close to or well over their flood points, several towns were cut off when bridges were washed away, and a 20mi stretch of the I-5 was under 10ft of water. The I-5 is the main freeway between Seattle and Portland, and it's only opened up again in the last couple of days - a huge headache for freight and commuters.

We weren't really affected where we are here, apart from a torrent of water in the reserve across from our house - the rain pours into the empty block off the main road, and drains into the little fenced-off area between all the houses in our street. It has continued to rain all week, and we even had a little more snow today - more the 'snowglobe' type than the big fluffy flakes we had last weekend, thankfully!

Poor Isobel has spent most of the week fighting off the cold she picked up last weekend. How do people so small produce so much SNOT?! I've spent so much time this week chasing after her with a tissue in hand she now thinks it's a game, and runs away whenever she hears a tissue being pulled out of the box. At least she's still giggling.

We also had her 15mo checkup this week - during which we also discovered she has an ear infection! It doesn't seem to be bothering her too much, but we've got a big bottle of pink medicine for her to be given twice a day. Thankfully she seems to like the stuff, and opens her mouth wide when I bring over the little syringe for her to take. I hate to imagine how we'd manage if she didn't like it.

The best part of this week has been getting our first 'kisses' from Isobel. I've been battling a cold myself this week, and after a particularly slow morning on Thursday we had lunch and I took her up to her room for a couple of stories before her nap. Just before putting her in her cot, she leaned towards me with her mouth wide open - thought she was trying to bite my nose at first, but I got a big wet 'mwah' on my cheek. Was that a kiss for Mummy? Yep - got another one!! I nearly floated down the stairs. Andy got a couple of kisses too, when he arrived home from work that night. The kisses have been few and far between since then, but we know that she knows now... we're looking forward to a few more soon!!

Brrr. What a weekend - the forecasters warned about potential snowfalls on Saturday afternoon, so imagine our surprise to find an inch of snow outside when we woke on Saturday morning!! We managed to get out and about for some grocery essentials during the morning, and then watched as the snow started up again just after lunch - big, fat, fluffy flakes that started accumulating quicker than we thought!!

Saturday was supposed to be our big day of Christmas functions - an afternoon party with Santa for the kids, and then the office party in the evening for the rest of us. Snow always makes the roads a bit dicey in Seattle, because it doesn't snow often so no-one has much practice at driving through it. We bundled Isobel into the car for the kids party, about half an hour away from home at a place with lots of inflatable structures and slides. I was a bit worried about Isobel getting cleaned up by the older kids, so Andy had an excuse to escort her through the different sections. She absolutely loved it - a big grin on her face the whole time, giggling away hysterically. She even went down the big slide like a pro - this thing was about 10m high, Andy sat at the top and kept the slide clear while she was there. She kept her balance the whole way down, until the end when she tried to get up ... and did a big face-plant. No crying though ... I can see lots of roller coasters in her future, at this rate!!

There were no cuddles for Santa this year - Andy brought her over to say hello, but her hands tightened into a death grip on Andy's shirt so we left it at that. Santa still had a balloon for Isobel, which she just loved! There were balls for her to pick up and walk around with - she must have had a good time, she kept wandering back into the play room when we were gathering all our gear at the end of the party!

The snow was still falling heavily as we headed home, and the road up to our house was getting slippery. After looking at the forecast for the evening, we decided to skip the office party and stay home - we weren't confident about being able to get back home from Seattle, and didn't want to risk not being able to get back for the babysitter. The snow continued for most of the night, and the temperatures hovered around freezing ... as disappointing as it was to miss a Christmas party with friends, I think we made the right choice in the end.

Isobel's had a rough week - more teeth coming through, and a snuffly nose today which is making things tough for her. I met up with a couple of friends on Friday for a walk, and Isobel was very quiet for a while, munching on the zip of her parka. She started crying after we'd been out for an hour or so, and we headed home as it was nearly time for her lunch and nap - when I got back to the car, she had a new tooth on her bottom jaw - must have cut through the gum when she was chewing on her zip, so no wonder she started bawling! All the kiddie cold and flu medicines were recalled a little while ago due to some fatal overdoses, so we've been limited to putting a bit of Vicks on her chest to help her breathing. It's helping a little, but not completely - hopefully things clear up soon.

Andy's been up in the attic today, digging out all our Christmas decorations and getting the tree set up. Where on earth has the year gone?!