passing days in hibernation

Sarah’s Thoughts:

I’ve traded in my broom and dish pan hands for yarn and a crocheting needle. A friend of mine gave me this cute little hat for Annabell and at the time, I thought, “I bet I could make that.” Well, this week, I tried and turns out that I can! One hat turned to two and then three. I’ve been putting animal ears on the hats, which automatically cranks the cute factor up like 3 notches. I have grand dreams of making a whole line and striking it rich by selling my hats to the tourist shops, but will probably end-up giving them away as baby gifts instead. Owen, who has been into “The Lion King” lately, wants me to make him a “Simba” hat, but I’m not sure how the whole mane thing would work out...

Luke Update:

As a part of his apprenticeship, Luke has to spend two months each year at a school in Anchorage. We were told that he’d be heading out in mid-April, so he wouldn’t be back until mid-June. Spring is where it’s at here in Juneau, with the nicest weather of the year, bear hunting, steelhead fishing, and Luke’s birthday. We were feeling kind of sad that he was going to miss all that, but accepted it as part of the deal. Anyway, we just heard that the spring school is full, so Luke will be here through the summer and head out in October instead. I immediately jumped on the state website to see if I could book any cabins for this spring, but every single weekend from May through August is already taken! Guess we’ll have to settle for wall tent camping!

Owen Update:

I’ve been working two days a week, so Owen and Annabell spend those two days with some friends of ours who have kids. He is absolutely loving the days that I’m at work. He says things like, “Mom, can you let me stay forever and never come to get me?” I walked into the living room to pick them up last week and they were watching a movie. Three kids were sitting on the floor, each curled inside a clear plastic bin (the kind you might store toys in) mesmerized by “Charlie Brown” while the wood stove blazed. Something about the whole scene looked so cozy, it made me want to stay forever too. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the plastic bins... but maybe the wood stove?

Annabell Update:

We have a four month old girl! Can you believe it? She’s been grabbing at everything- toys, shirts, hair. Its pretty crazy to watch her reach out her hands and patiently try to figure out which muscles to activate to manipulate those little fingers. Her stomach muscles are getting stronger and she’s pushing up with her legs to stand when we hold her on our laps. The second time around, I feel like I’m paying more attention to all these little milestones. The amount of growing that babies do in such a short period of time is amazing. Despite all these changes, she is still so sweet. At least once a day, Luke and I look at eachother and say, “How did we end up with such a sweet, smiley, cute girl?” Thank you God!

Look out! There' s a T-rex in the grass!

pretty kitty

pile of Woodruffs

Dino invasion!

Tribute to Andy Worhol

Buddies at the beach (and Dolly)

Annie and Daddy

baby blue eyes

all clean!

...another week at the Woodruffs

Sarah’s Thoughts:

I’m fast approaching the saddest time of day, taking that last sip of morning coffee. We make extremely strong coffee, which is delicious, but I can’t really have more then one cup without spending the rest of the day with my stomach in knots. So once the cup is empty, I have to move onto boring water. Also, I feel like the day doesn’t officially start while there's coffee in my cup. Before that, its O.K. to take things slower and ease into the day. After its gone, I have to step up and start being productive. Maybe if I warm up the last few drops, I won’t drink it so fast and can let the morning linger a bit longer...

Luke Update:

When he wasn’t working this week, Luke was falling in love with logarithims all over again. Not so much. Despite the fact that math was Luke’s least favorite subject in school, he is faithfully plowing through his Union mandated math class, one practice problem at a time. To add to his joyful weekend, I had to take a class for work on Saturday, so Luke spent the day with the kids. When I got home, the kids were napping and Luke was working on lovely math, so I actually think everything went just fine. Might have to do that a little more often!

Owen Update:

Our boy keeps us on our toes. He’s forever suggesting “great ideas” that mostly have to do with playing some sort of pretend game with his stuffed animals. Grow Annabell, grow! In an attempt to make nap-time more fun, I built a tent with a long bungie cord, ski poles and a large blanket over his bed. He’s been sleeping in it for the past week and a half. Now, at bedtime, he insists on a headlamp in addition to his regular regime of “snuggly stuff," since he’s sleeping in a tent... duh! I keep waiting for him to asked me to take the tent down, but so far he hasn't. I think its all about an excuse to have free access to the headlamp.

Annabell Update:

I can’t be sure, but I think that Annabell may have moved into her own room at night! We’ve been laying her down for naps on the bed in the guest room. Then one night, what we thought was going to be an evening cat nap turned into “down for the night.” I’m hoping to eventually move her into Owen’s room, but I think I’ll wait until she’s sleeping through the night so that she doesn’t wake her brother up. Yet another marker that my newborn is growing up! Still no teeth, though her poor little chin is constantly covered in drool. She’s been doing some squeeling and lots of smiling. We are still in love.

hanging out in her swing while mama makes dinner

my rasta boy with a wee mustach

polka-dot baby

Owen giving lessons to his younger friend Hunter

in the art of playing in the sink

Thanks for the tractors, Uncle Ross

helping daddy with math

dressed in red and drool

the art of adapting to new

Sarah’s Thoughts:

I think I’ve written about my love of lists on this blog before. In honor of the new year, I decided to finally get on top of my chores. I made a list of all the things I need to do to keep up the house and then how often each task needs to happen. I printed off a calendar and made a schedule. I’ve been doing this for a week, and so far its been going good, although I think I might be losing steam. I cleaned the refrigerator yesterday and have been staying on top of dishes and laundry. I’ve even been reading my bible and exercising a little bit, which I’m quite excited about. If I can keep this up for a month, I might be able to make this routine stick... I’ll report back in February. Wish me luck!

Luke Update:

Luke is fully immersed in his apprenticeship. He’s been mastering the art of pipe bending and stud welding and pulling wire. He comes home from work and looks up YouTube videos of the skills he’s working on so that he can review before the next day. In addition to learning all these new skills, he taking an on-line math class that, that has to be completed before he heads to school in Anchorage this spring. Luke has been hopping around between different journeymen and projects, which has been interesting, but also challenging. Adapting to the groove and personality of the different coworkers is a big part of the job, not to mention learning and performing the ever changing job-specific requirements. It’s been a lot for Luke to juggle and its just going to continue for the next few years, but we can rest in the knowledge that God has provided this opportunity and He is in control. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Owen Update:

Owen is a full on three year old boy. He is all about constant entertainment and activity. He is very busy, but is also learning how to take responsibility for his actions. He’s getting better and better at cleaning up after himself and controlling himself, which is pretty huge. He and Annabell have been staying with our friends, the Andersons, when I’m at work (two days a week). They have a four year old, Gabie, who Owen is good friends with. Needless to say, he’s been thoroughly enjoying the days that I go to work and gets a little sad when he has to stay home with mom. I feel like I’m constantly giggling at the words that come out of his mouth. Awhile back he was sitting in the car and said, “Mom, God is my favorite. I like him the best.... and snakes.”

Annabell Update:

This week, I realized that for a brief period in time, Owen and Annabell are the same age - 3 1/2 (years and months, respectively). So my 3 1/2 month old is doing typical 3 1/2 month things like smiling and drooling and nursing and napping. This week, she’s been taking some really amazing afternoon naps, in the neighborhood of 2-3 hours. Once she gets into a little more of a groove, I think she’ll be ready to move out of the cradle and into a crib. Tired of cramming her chubby legs and long torso into her clothes, I moved her into 9 month clothes this week too. All signs that my baby is getting bigger!

triceratops playing with some tinkertoys

every girl needs a pair of big purple shoes

self portrait at the glacier

ice skating, anyone?

family work out

showing off the christmas jammies

Kicking off 2011

Sarah & Luke’s Thoughts:

Luke and I celebrated 6 years of marriage last Friday. On our way to dinner with the Padens (their anniversary is the day after ours, 11 years before us). We were reflecting on the past year of marriage and concluded that it was a great year. We definitely had our ups and downs, but in retrospect, realized that the downs turned out to be blessings in disguise. It was a slow year for fishing charters, but that meant we got to spend more family time enjoying the summer together. In the spring, Luke had a potential job opportunity that didn’t ever materialize, but now he has a much better job. Its awesome to see God’s hand at work through the downs, especially as we begin another year. Its a good reminder that we can rest in God’s plan and whatever happens, we know that God is in control.

Owen Update:

Our blue-eyed boy has let us in on some little known information regarding the relationship between plastic dinosaurs and water. We didn’t know this, but it turns out that if you ever see some sort of container (plastic bag, recycled sourcream bowl, bucket, what have you) it really should be filled with water and some plastic dinosaurs. Its best if you can carry your container of water and dinosaurs around the house and optimal if you can swing some way to sleep with it. If the container starts to leak fluid or the plastic bag filled with water comes undone, sound the alarms, threat level red! Let EVERYONE know that there is an EMERGENCY and do whatever is humanly possible to PLUG THAT LEAK! If you have any questions about the whole process, just give us a call.

Annabell Update:

This week, I picked up the sleep book that I read with Owen to refresh on sleep patterns in babies and how to deal with that whole aspect of baby life. I’m happy to report that as of last week, she’s started napping on her own. Yipee! She hasn’t really settled into any kind of a schedule yet, but having some Annabell-free time makes life so much more do-able. I think she’s a happier baby too when she’s getting some good rest and I can catch up on things like blogging and laundry and dishes...

Owen and some of his ground-breaking research

Annabell and her birthday buddy and twin, baby Brooks

bathing beauty

soaking Woodruffs

snuggling in the stroller