Lovely Leavenworth

Springtime in Seattle and Theo's perfectly happy just sitting in the beautiful cherry tree.

Springtime in Seattle
Remember the proverb, "April showers bring May flowers." In Seattle, it's more like, "Winter showers bring spring flowers." Since it drizzles all winter, the plants are waiting to burst out of their dormant states as soon as the days are longer and we get a few hours of sunlight and believe-it-or-not fewer rain showers. Well folks, April is that time of year! The pink and white cherry blossom trees bloom on every other block and it fills the air with a soft floral scent. The large magnolia trees turn the sky into a giant bouquet of flowers while the rhododendron bushes pop open and brighten the neighborhood with their many bright colors: from red to yellow and orange to purple.  The yellow daffodils greet me on our front stoop as well as tall red and yellow tulips. The smell of the purple hyacinths and apple blossom trees are a nightmare for anyone with seasonal allergies but a sign that winter is over and spring has arrived! I love it!

Grandpa Pastorius under the cherry trees on a sunny Seattle spring day.

"The mountains are out", as they say here this time of year. I didn't quite understand at first but now that's it's been nearly two years I get it. Both the Olympic (to the west) and Cascade (to the east) Mountains have been covered in clouds for the past few months and now with the sunshine and bright blue skies their snow-capped peaks glow on the horizons. The mountains call your name as you commute to work and admire their beauty. This is such a tease since you'd would rather be playing hooky and going for a hike or hitting the slopes for some spring skiing but instead you are about to work a 30-hour call shift. "Next time" you say, but then it's 50 degrees and drizzling and you missed your golden opportunity. Stupid residency...

Spring also means that the Major League Soccer season is starting and so Theo got to go to his first game. There were over 40,000 people there and Theo was a champ! He wore his fancy earmuffs ($20 on Amazon) and watched the GIANT TV screen and he didn't seem to even notice the fireworks or loud chants. We bought season ticket and look forward to many date nights this summer!

Theo's first Seattle Sounders soccer game with his new noise-canceling ear-muffs.

Family outing to the Seattle Sounders vs Portland Timbers game!

The beautiful cherry blossoms at the University of Washington.

Checking out the cherry blossoms with Grandma and Grandpa Pastorius.

The fountain at the University of Washington

"Mom, can't you tell I pooped my pants?"

Leavenworth
We rented a two bedroom condo in Leavenworth, WA, for Easter weekend. It's about a 2.5 hour drive over the mountains from Seattle and the weather was perfect - 70s and sunny during the day and 50s at night. The surrounding mountains were all covered in snow and it was beautiful! We did a little shopping, ate German sausages and pretzels, hiked along the river, had a picnic on Blackbird Island, and played a round of mini-golf. It was a very relaxing weekend and we had a great time spending time with Grandma and Grandpa Pastorius. We can't wait to see them again this summer!

The Benziger fam in the Bavarian town of Leavenworth

Wandering down Main Street in Leavenworth, surrounded by snow capped mountains and blue skies!

Taking a break from shopping in Leavenworth.

Family portrait in downtown Leavenworth.

Theo's development.
Theo got his first tooth last week! He's 8 months old now and it was the bottom left tooth (and now the bottom right is peaking through, too). He was a little fussy at night and wasn't sleeping well but we just put his pacifier back in and went back to sleep. Then a few days later we noticed a tooth (whoops)! He takes 30-minute power naps 2-3 times a day. He sits up very well and has excellent dexterity with his hands AND feet! He also stands with minimal assistance and loves jumping up and down. He rolls over a lot (especially in his crib) but has shown no interest in crawling, which is great for us! He gets the biggest smile on his face when he sees his daddy come home from work and when he picks him up he starts to do this frog kick in the air. It's pretty adorable! He has an infectious laugh that warms my heart and he's pretty easy going and fun.
He sits in his booster seat and eats finger food, like pita and hummus, but mostly we give him lots of pureed foods (sweet potato is his favorite but he did eat a chicken and veggie puree that our friends made too) and formula. He loves to play with his "Media Mono", his Sock Monkey, that Great Auntie Rita made. He is very good at knocking over his blocks and pulling off the rings. He just became fascinated with bubbles and loves to play with mylar balloons. He pretty much puts everything in his mouth.

Sleeping in his crib with his bunny blanket and his Media Mono (sock monkey).

"I LOVE MY BALLOON!!!!"

Reading to him is challenging since he likes to have an opinion about what book we read and he wants to eat the book rather than look at the pictures. We did get some great books from Great Auntie Beth and cousins Lauren and David that he can touch but they also end up in his mouth. Maybe in a few months he'll learn to cooperate ;). He loves taking baths and getting us soaked while he plays with his bath toys. He's going to be a great swimmer, I can tell.
He's wearing 18-month old clothes and will go in for his 9-month well-child check next week so we'll get the height and weight update. He's definitely going to be a tall boy and looks more and more like a "little" boy everyday. I can't believe he's almost 9 months!

More photos from the weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Pastorius

Grandma let me try my first Cheetos at our picnic in Skykomish, WA. They were yummy except it make everything turn orange!

Hanging out with Grandpa in the Leavenworth condo.

On a hike in Tumwater Gorge in Leavenworth.

Climbing on some rocks on our hike in Tumwater Gorge along the river.

Getting ready to go for our hike in Tumwater Gorge near Leavenworth, WA.

The flooded bridge/trail that we had to cross.

Snow capped mountains!!

Mini-golfing in Leavenworth. Not a bad view!

"Don't drop me, Daddy!"

Hanging out with mom and Grandma in Leavenworth.

My Easter lamb and my Easter basket

"I just got my first tooth and this Easter egg tastes sooo good!"

"Everyone open up! Airplane!"

 Theo's friends

Going for a ride on Anastasia

Hanging out with Miriam on a nice sunny day in my new outfit "Pinch me I'm cute".

"Oh my gosh I'm sooo happy!!"

Out to dinner with Marit and Haakon. Theo says "Ooooohhh, look at that ceiling fan!"

Playing nanny for the two boys, Elliot and Theo.

The nanny share "twins" - Elliot (6 months) and Theo (8 months) playing together.