Andy and I have been on a bit of a health kick for the last few weeks. I've started the "Couch to 5K" plan to try and get back some of the fitness I had before Isobel was born, and Andy's started doing a quick walk in the morning before heading off to work. There's a fair bit of greenery in our neigbourhood, so we usually see some of the local wildlife when we're pounding the pavement ... however usually limited to birds, rabbits, squirrels and that sort of thing.

Isobel is pretty good with her night sleep, which means I can often get a sleep in til about 7am. This morning, however, Andy came back from his walk very excited and dragged me out of bed. He carefully raised the blinds in our bedroom, and there was a rather large deer having breakfast in our backyard! We wondered if it was a female mule deer, as it looked very similar to the deer we saw on our road trip last year. She was having a munch on the new growth on our blackberry bush, and appeared to have a bit of a limp on her front left leg. Andy popped back downstairs to grab his camera, so I just sat and watched the deer happily munch away.

We couldn't crack the window, it hasn't been opened since the nice weather last year and would have made too much noise. Even the passing traffic on the road near our house surprised her a little now and again. After a while she wandered over to the cottonwood hanging over our side fence, but then appeared to stir up some bugs in the back corner of the yard - a couple of startled jumps and she was off! She bolted down the side of the house towards the driveway, and must have disappeared through the broken fence panel in our front yard.

Andy checked the camera, and then had a bit of a grumble about low light, ISO settings, shooting through windows and filters . He still managed to get one decent shot, enough to prove there are benefits to waking up early every now and again!

Isobel's crawling is getting faster and faster, and she's having great fun zipping around and hauling herself up on her feet to peer around. We've had to put a few more cushioned bumpers on some furniture - she was chewing on the veneer on our TV stand, which then started peeling off in sharp splinters, not good for little kids. Apart from that, the rest of our babyproofing efforts appear to be holding ... so far.

It's been amazing to watch Isobel these last couple of weeks, from her first wobbly seconds on two feet - she's now confidently planting her feet several inches apart, and can stand for a couple of minutes while holding onto a couch or the fireplace. We think we'll start to see some 'crusing' very soon. In the last couple of days she's also learned to lower herself back down to the floor again, to much applause from Mum and Dad - hopefully that means fewer bumps on the head now! She's been trying to "clap hands", copying Mum and Dad ... we'll clap our hands together, then she tries to do the same - she tends to grab her own hands rather than 'clap' though. She still has a huge smile on her face, so we know she's enjoying herself.

Isobel also did a lot of chatting this week, far more than usual - perhaps her brain can concentrate on talking again now she's got the crawling thing down pat! Lots of "ba-ba-ba-ba" and "va-va-va-va", usually combined with a grab at anything in reach on the seat of the couch ... time for me to move some more stuff to higher ground! A few more new flavours this week - beans, carrots, peaches and pears. I didn't realise Andy had fed her carrots one night, until finding her bum stained BRIGHT ORANGE a day or so later, and wondering what on earth he'd fed her ...

My birthday this week was a relatively quiet day - I received a few books from my wishlist, while I won't get to try the patterns inside for a little while they're safely tucked away in my craft library for reference. I received beautiful cards from Andy and Isobel (who apologised for not being able to find one that said "Mum"), and had a lovely surprise with a phone call from Granny in Sydney ... that's a lot of numbers to get right for an international call! Unfortunately Isobel was asleep for her afternoon nap at the time, so she didn't get to have a chat with Great Granny this time.

Andy's plotted out a number of local hikes for us to do this summer, so on Saturday we headed down to Cougar Mountain for a "training run" ... just under four miles round trip, and only about 600ft total height gain over the whole trail. A bit more planning required these days - diaper bag, hats, sunscreen for Isobel, sunscreen for us, GPS, maps, water, backpack, camera - just as well we have the Big Red Car to cart everything around. We had a beautiful spring day, and Isobel loved the whole thing - she babbled happily away from her vantage point, about the same height as Dad and with so much to look at on the way around. The track was nice and easy, although I think the jogging I've been doing for the last couple of weeks helped a lot. We managed to find a couple of caches on our way as well, so we dropped off one of the travel bugs we brought back from Australia for its owners to collect. The viewpoint near the carpark had a fantastic view of Lake Sammamish - bright blue water contrasting with the deep green pine trees, a very "Pacific Northwest" scene!

A bit of shopping to do today - we're after a wading pool for the summer so Isobel can have a splash in the backyard. Stock here tends to be very seasonal, so you have to get in pretty quick or risk missing out. Our recent run of nice weather also appears to be finishing up, so we'll probably be back to the traditional Seattle drizzle by mid-week.

We were supposed to be on our way to Washington DC today for a week, and then on to Boston and New York, but unfortunately we're still home and have had to cancel our plans. There's enough of a chance Andy will be required back in Australia at some stage during the next two weeks, so we're a little disappointed about missing a chance to attend the Ball next Friday and catch up with a few other friends here in the US. We may be lucky enough later in the year to get back over to the west coast, but we probably won't get another chance to attend the Ball. Bugger.

Isobel continues to explore her 'world' which consists of the family room and the dining room adjacent to our kitchen. The fences and gates allow us to limit our babyproofing to a smaller area, but she's still managing to wriggle under coffee tables, push the dining chairs around on the floorboards, and reach up for things we've quarantined on the seat of the couch. Obviously that hiding spot isn't going to last for much longer!  She's spending more time up on her feet, hanging onto anything she can find that will support her weight - the fireplace, couches, chairs, even the gates ... all she needs now is a tin can to rattle back and forth along the bars .

Isobel is also having great fun with a few new flavours this week - squash (pumpkin), peas, banana custard, even a bit of pasta sauce, yoghurt and some chocolate ice cream from Mum and Dad. If she spots one of us eating something, she turns on a folorn puppy-dog-eyes look to make us feel guilty about not sharing . Sometimes it even works . She hasn't shown signs of rejecting anything we've tried to feed her so far, which is amazing ... and she's now scarfing down most of a 3oz container for both lunch and dinner. Granny suggested a couple of weeks ago we give her a spoon of her own, which was a great tip - she's not so keen on grabbing the 'real' spoon now she has one to play with and chew on. Isobel's also pretty good about letting us know what she wants - she'll lean out for the spoon with her tongue out when she wants another mouthful, and ignore us completely when she's had enough!

The Mustang is still with Blue Oval Pony Dave, so Andy's plans to put it back to driving status this weekend fell through. This meant we suddenly had a free weekend, so after my netball game yesterday (we won - yay!) we did a bit of tidying around the house and started on the garden - the front yard is newly mown and looking much more spring-like.

Today we headed down to Tacoma to visit the Port Defiance Zoo - it was a bit of a punt on the weather when we left home, but it fined up by the time we arrived. This was also the test drive for our new jogging stroller for Isobel, which is much nicer to push around than the venerable Graco. We had a bit of juggling to do as some of the exhibits were not stroller-friendly, but Isobel loved it - lots of underwater windows to the exhibits, so she was able to see tropical fish, a beluga whale, walruses, puffins, polar bears and sea otters whizzing around on the other side of the plexiglass. Lots of little kids out visiting for Earth Day today, and a couple of them came up to say hello to the little baby in the cute hat. She managed a bit of sleep in the car on the drive to and from the Zoo, but less than her usual naps, so she was off to sleep a little earlier than usual tonight. With a bit of luck she'll be back to an 8am-8pm schedule this week, after some late-ish nights last week.

The weather is noticeably better this week - Isobel and I have been outside most days for a walk around the neighbourhood, and its so nice to get a bit of sun again. I had to whip up a quick sun-hat for Isobel after realising we didn't have any warm-weather headwear for her ... it seems to fit pretty well, and she looks more grown-up than ever. I've manged to clock up nearly 40mi since the beginning of April, so we've seen a lot of the nearby streets in the last few weeks.

A fairly quiet week on the social side - Isobel had another couple of shots on Friday, so she's caught up to her schedule again. We managed to get her two flu shots done this season, so she'll only need one next year - much less hassle with an infant rather than a toddler.

I had another netball game on Saturday, playing for one of the competition sides after Tubi injured her ankle at Whistler last weekend. Andy brought Isobel along, and she sat and watched the game quietly - I could hear a giggle from her from the court every now and again. Earlier in the day a reporter from the Seattle Times had visited for a story - we made the local section of the Sunday paper (no, that's not me in the photo!).

Isobel has only been crawling for a little over two weeks, and she's already starting to pull herself up on her feet!! We'd hoped we would have a little longer to finish moving everything around in the fmaily room, but apparently not . The fireplace is her favourite place because the bricks are just the right height for her to grab onto and haul herself up - we've padded as much as we can, but she's still grazed her hands on the bricks a couple of times. Naptimes and bedtimes are a hassle again, as her crib has wonderful thick rails which are easy to grab on to and pull herself up - she'll then get stuck and start crying, or lose her grip and fall back onto the mattress with a bit of a thump. Hopefully she'll settle down soon ... or at least figure out how to lower herself back down after standing up!

Isobel is also continuing to try out new foods - after rusks and carrots in Whistler last week, we tried some sweet potato this week, which she loves. She's also getting the hang of using a sippy cup, after spending a few days chewing the spout she suddenly realised there's something on the inside! It's still a bit hit and miss, and sometimes the base or handles are much more interesting to her, but at least the spout has a valve to keep the water in when it's upside down.

Finally, I taught a crochet workshop at my guild meeting last night - my first time! Numbers were a bit down after Easter, but I managed to get most of the guild members through the little sampler pattern in the hour or so we had. It was really nice being able to give something back after learning so much from other members over the last two years, and everyone seemed to really get into the technique - very satisfying!

It must be springtime - baseball is back again! Seattle started their season this week with a couple of wins against their nemesis Oakland, which was a big difference from last year.

Andy arrived back from his latest trip to Australia in style - another upgrade! Never happens when I fly with him . Isobel was a bit hesitant at first, but soon gave him a big smile ... she loves surveying the world from Andy's height!

On Saturday we packed up the Durango and headed north to Whistler for a last-ditch ski trip. Isobel travelled really well, playing happily in the back seat with her toys and dozing off now and again. The drive was surprisingly quick for a weekend, and we soon found the hotel and unloaded all our gear into the room. Isobel didn't appreciate having her cot upstairs away from us, so we brought her back downstairs to the main part of the room - not before we heard our neighbours commenting about 'the crying baby'. Yep, we're now that family! We eventually managed to get her to sleep, but she was up a few times during the night.

I grabbed my skis and headed to the lift on Sunday morning, only to find that I couldn't get my ski boots to lock into the bindings ... I thought I'd used them last season, but Andy told me afterwards he'd forgotten to adjust the bindings before we left home. After spending 20mins trying to snap my boots into the skis, I gave up and trudged back down to the village - the ski shop in the hotel was able to adjust them, but by that stage (and after a long night) I was pooped! Caught up with Andy and we met Tubi and Claire for mornos at the french bakery nearby ...

We had a great dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory that night - after waiting about 90mins for a table! Luckily Isobel had managed a nap beforehand, so she was reasonably fresh. She sat in a high chair on her own for a little while, but the chair didn't have a waist strap so she was able to wriggle around a lot - so we took turns sitting her in our laps and holding her rusk until dinner arrived. Isobel then managed to zap a hand out right into my spaghetti as the waitress was setting it down on the table - she's very quick!! She also seemed to like the grated carrot from my salad, ranch dressing and all - but it ran out pretty quick.

Sunday night was worse than Saturday night, there was something about the portacot or the hotel room that just didn't work and Isobel spent most of the night up crying. Rather shocking to be up most of the night when you've got a kid who has been sleeping well for months! On Monday we decided to pack up and head home, as the weather was pretty average and another night like that would not be fun. We did stop into the outlets stores on the way home for a bit of retail therapy, so it wasn't a complete loss - we got away from home for a couple of days and caught up with some friends, which was the main aim anyway.

With our unexpected spare day on Tuesday, we finally picked up some babyproofing stuff. We've now fenced off the kitchen and the hallway, put foam padding on the bricks around the fireplace, and rearranged everything to try and keep the non-baby-stuff away from inquisitive fingers. Isobel's crawling is much more confident now, and she's getting quicker ... she's hearing a lot more "NO!"s, too!

We're halfway through Andy's trip back to Australia, and were lucky enough to have a few events to attend during the week.

On Sunday we were invited to Denise's "Kiddie Shower" in Seattle, a proper High Tea at a nice little English-style tea house. We had the whole room booked out, and Isobel and I sat with Sandra, Alison & Ashleigh, and Kir. Ashleigh was very pleased to have the baby on her table! I had a really nice black tea with a bit of caramel in it, but probably destroyed it by adding milk and sugar .

First course was three little scoops of sorbet - and at this point I realised I would not survive having a baby on my lap if I didn't share. Isobel seemed to like the pina colada/pineapple flavour, but was more interested in chewing on the silver teaspoon! Next was little sandwiches and sweets on tiered plates. There was also some sliced fruit, so I found a bit of apple and gave it to Isobel, and she loved it! Grabbed it out of my hands and seemed much more pleased and started munching away - not actually eating, just a bit of gnawing andslobbering until it started to disintegrate . The slices were pretty thin, so I had to keep an eye on her to make sure the slice was still relatively intact - or swap the pieces out for a new slice. Must be that control factor again ... she was quite happy once she could hold her own food!

Latte was at Tina's house this time, I had thought about getting some hot cross buns from the bakery but ran out of time. Not to worry - seemed like everyone else had popped in as well, so we had lots of yummy bread and nibblies to go with some fantastic coffee. I had to leave a little early to make it home for the six-monthly house inspection, only had a four-hour window to work with  so it was difficult to predict when the agent would arrive. Murphy's Law struck again - halfway through Isobel's feed before putting her down for a nap, the doorbell rang . At least the inspections here are pretty cursory - he noted the fence panel was still damaged from last December's storms, but said they had to get permission to cut down the offending tree as the land on the other side was owned by the City. Somehow I don't think the City would notice if suddenly one of the trees wasn't there ... but we've done our bit by notifying the agents - now it's their turn.

The Durango had some repair work done on Wednesday - we were able to get a shuttle home so I didn't have to spend a day in the waiting room. We thought it was in pretty good nick for it's age, until I got a call that we needed a new radiator, and three freeze plugs needed to be replaced. Oh, and one of the freeze plugs was in such a position that the engine had to be pulled out completed to gain access . Sigh. At least we only have two black holes masquerading as vehicles now . Oh for our old Renault service centre that offered courtesy cars rather than having to rely on a shuttle van ...

Finally, the big news this week - Isobel has finally figured out how to crawl. A little unsteady to start with - eyes wide open, lots of huffing and puffing, and then flumping down on her belly once she's in reach of her toy. She's not darting all over the room just yet, and she still manages to back herself under the coffee table and get stuck. Even more concerning, she's now starting to pull her torso up on the couch  ... good grief, can we have a couple of weeks before walking, please?!