Sammy - 1 Day Old

Sammy has been growing by leaps and bounds.... not really, but she really looks much different today than yesterday. She doesn't have the puffy newborn look as much and so far has been really content. 

Samantha Emerson Azure

7 lbs, 15 oz

20" long

Samantha was born a

t 7:53 7/31/2008. She is a very pretty little girl. Dr. Penalver saw her and declared her healthy. 

We can have visitors today, but I'm not sure how Jennifer will be feeling. She is awake and feeding Sam right now. 

Continuing the surgery prep.

Jenn has her IV installed and they have some sort of fluid flowing???

The nurses are introducing themselves - I forgot all of their names already. 

I seem to be doing much better since I found the Starbucks - now its just sit and wait. Only about 50 more minutes and we should be in business. 

They asked me what size for the scrubs...... XL. 

We've Arrived

We arrived for what was told to me would be a quick check in because we had already had a "PRE" check in. It wasn't that fast. 

We are now in the "PRE" surgery room and things seem to be going smoothly. 

Trisha Patterson was found this morning

Everything ended well, she walked up to a search and rescue team at approximately 7:00 am. 

Help Find Trisha Patterson

My cousin's 12 year old daughter Trisha Patterson is missing in the Blue Mountains outside of Dayton, WA.  My uncle Jim has a cabin over there, but it is pretty rough terrain and no cell reception.  They believe she has been missing since at least 5 pm tonight, as i think they were all supposed to meet back at the cabin for dinner by then.  No new news as of 9pm.  The Sheriff's office has been notified, however, there protocol requires 24 hours prior to jumping in.  If anyone has any ideas as to contacts, or people who may be willing to help, hikers and trackers in the area - i am sure the help would be greatly appreciated.  My dad along with some of my younger cousins that hunt and are familiar  with the area have headed up tonight to see if they can be of assistance.

It is July and I haven't updated our blog in a while - so i guess it is time.  We have had quite a bit of excitement over the last few months!  We are getting closer to completing the remodel on our house - so soon we will be excited to have everyone come visit us!

In May I started a new job prosecuting for the City of Auburn - it has been great.  There are four prosecutors and although we are very different, we get along very well, i think it will continue to be a really nice place to work.  The kids and I went down to Kennewick for Mother's Day and my mom's birthday.  It was good to visit with everyone and barbecue with the family!  Torey stayed in Puyallup and continued working on the house.  He also made me a nice planting bed, so i can try to grow my garden.  Unfortunately, the slugs really like my zucchini too.  I think Torey is glad about that - I think he gets nervous about the things that i try to make him eat out of the garden!

June also seemed busy both at work and as usual at home.  Lizzie had her first ballet recital.  It was great - she and her class were autumn leaves and did very well following Miss Audrey.  Michael saw her come on stage and of course yelled to her "hi Lizzie!!!"  She was so cute! She

 stood up even taller - everyone must have been there to watch her!

Grama Vickey and Elicia came to visit for a week and play with the kids.  They had so much fun goofing around and going to the park up the street.  Michael went down the big slide and Lizzie and Elicia played on the monkey bars.  Aunt Stacey came over to play on Thursday and the girls had a long awaited sleepover.  Elicia lost a tooth - causing quite a bit of excitement for everyone.   It has given us more back up for furniture climbing though - "what happened to Elicia??"  

Our friends the Job's moved in next door - which is nice to have neighbors that we know and the kids have friends too.  The kids are older, but play really well with Lizzie and Mike.  

The week after Grama Vickey came to visit, the kids went to the Beach with Grammie and 

Poppie.  They stayed right by the ocean and played in the sand.  Of course the weather was perfect until Torey and I got down there on Thursday!  Friday was the 4th of July and we walked out the door to the local parade.  It was pretty fun and the kids enjoyed diving for candy and hiding from the water being sprayed by the fire trucks!  

Since we got back from the beach, life has been pretty much of a blur!  My mom moved over to Puyallup to be our nanny, which has been really nice!  We are able to spend quite a bit more time with the kids - not commuting.  Torey tries to golf on Wednesdays, so we have been having that be our girls plus Michael night out.  I am addicted to the brown sugar garlic bread at the Rock (and get the kids a salad!) i figure i have another week to enjoy eating whatever i feel like!  

We have been working on the house as much as possible and with the help of my parents, sister and Sarah we tore apart the dining room.  The walls are painted, the cabinets in, wood floors are done.  Torey has been working on the trim and started refinishing the fireplace this weekend.  Lizzie and Mike's room is finished and Michael now has a big boy bed.  Lizzie helped me wash the crib and dad and i got it all put back together for the baby.  I think the realization that there is going to be another little chicken in the house just hit home this week, so now we are in panic mode trying to get everything done!  

We head into the hospital early thursday morning and we will keep everyone posted as we can!!  

Daffodil Parade

After a busy morning (with perfect 75 degree weather!) we headed to Sumner to catch the Daffodil Parade.  Boy was it fun! We saw lots of people, noisy motorcycles and even some clowns - besides the residents of Sumner!  We had a good time and were even able to get a milkshake at mom's new favorite burger joint.  (Torey is pretty sure I was the only one that cared about the milkshake - but oh well - we all had some of it!) 

The kids were running back to the car and one of the clowns was walking straight towards us.  The kids stopped immediately and grabbed my legs, like "oh boy, who the heck is this guy?"  It was hilarious!  They warmed up and gave him "High-5" and then kept on running to catch up with Daddy!  What fun!  

Torey and I got to go out on a "date" last night to Fircrest for a crabfeed with our friends.  It was fun to see everyone  as we have been busy with the remodel and trying to keep sane with no sleep and lots of work to do!  The kids got to go play with their friends Madi and Nate and babysitter Emily (Krista's daughter)  Michael LOVES Emily.  

Easter weekend!

Lizzie (in pink) and Michael (in brown & orange) had a great time hunting for Easter eggs with the Haight kids.  Dave and Tara invited us to their neighborhood festivities.

She looks pretty excited - i am sure it was probably the biggest and most amazing piece of chocolate she had ever seen!

Michael really liked the hunt and the fact that Lizzie was so busy she didn't have time to grab the eggs from him!

Claire isn't too sure about this whole egg hunting thing - i mean what is the point here?

Owen and Claire were amazed at the dexterity and quickness Lizzie exhibited in getting to her Easter candy. It was great to play with their family and Auntie Carmel and Sarah joined to witness the mayhem!  The kids were (of course) well behaved until the exorbitant amounts of sugar kicked in for the weekend! 

We then traveled down to Kennewick for "vacation" and more family Easter activities.  

On Saturday we dyed eggs (Michael thought the dye tablets were candy - so he had a fairly green mouth) and then had several egg hunts and lots of food on Sunday!

Let the Remodel Begin!

So we have now started on the remodel.  Torey has been working a ton as he is swamped at work and then coming home to work on the new kitchen and dining room on weekends. Thepicture above is a "before" the cabinets had not been taken out yet.  Right now it is basically a shell - with great lighting!  Carmel has been helping Torey when she has been over here.  We think it might be therapeutic for her OCD!  

The kids and i have left a few weekends so that he can actually keep working and not worry about nails and hammering.  We go on Vacation to Kennewick to visit family and friends (if we can fit it all in!).  Here are some pictures to show what has been done to date.  So far we are living in the upstairs.  The goal is to have it all complete before the new little chicken gets here in August!  The picture below is a view from the living room into the kitchen.  The wall is now gone along with the ceiling and a bunch of great new can lights.  It is going to be so much more open - we can't wait!  Plus we wont' be making all meals out of the microwave!  

Daddy and the Chickens

Aren't they great!!  I don't know who their mom is, but they are pretty darn cute and they love to snuggle with their Daddy!  Torey will have Mikey "relax" and he will stretch out with his leg crossed over and his arms behind his head - it is hilarious!  Lizzie is just cute as a bug with her wild and crazy personality.  She is quite a performer!

Springtime!!

It sure seemed like Spring!  We had great weather in late February and the beginning of March.  As soon as the sun comes out we try to get the kids outside to run and play.   Michael mostly likes the rocks and to see if he can find the biggest rock.  Unfortunately they are more difficult to putt when he "goes back and forward"  (not his first sentence - but somehow??? a close second!)

They both really like to find mud to make different soups and tasty treats! The wonderful winter/spring weather here in Puyallup has made that an easy task!  Sometimes you can even find worms and other neat creatures if you keep looking. Lizzie has turned both of their wheelbarrows and Michael's rocket into stew pots for their delicious dishes of mud, twigs leaves and of course Daffodils for some spring color.  

Art Project gone Awry!

Lizzie and I attempted to start an art project while Michael was still sleeping.  Unfortunately, Michael woke up and while looking for a more suitable project for all three of us, Michael decided to do some stamping of his own.  Usually we just do handprints, but he really got into this one!

Two chickens in the tub!

MiniVan Concerns

 Well, the flu had been going around, but evidently that wasn't the only thing that the Azure Family got this winter!  We are expecting baby #3 in mid-July.  (I vaguely remember being pregnant with Lizzie and saying that I would never be pregnant during the summer again....so much for family planning!)  I am positive that I can fit all three kids in my Honda, but Carmel has offered up her minivan if necessary.  

Lizzie's a Maniac!!

So... Lizzie LOVES to dance and wiggle and sing and shake it.  So we decided it was time to sign her up for some dance lessons.  While we drove to sign up for dance she was very concerned about how it would work.  I asked her what she was concerned about and she told me that she was pretty sure that she needed a new microphone.  I giggled and explained to her that it was only dancing lessons.  She was very clear that she would be singing too and needed a new microphone - preferably with glitter on it.  She, of course was very advanced at her first lesson last saturday.  It has provided an additional bonus, in that i can talk her into wearing her hair up like her teacher Miss Audrey.  Lizzie was so good and got to be the line leader last week for her class.  She learned different positions and practiced hopping on both feet - as you can see from the photos she really is a prodigy!

Happy New Year!!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday Season.  We were lucky enough to spend the holidays with both of our families, which was a lot of fun!  We have started off January with both Torey and I being very busy with work, but with existing work and attempting to bring in new clients!  Carmel watched the chickens for us and we went to Seattle with our friends Alex and Anna and Jeff and MaryLynn to watch the Zags play in the Battle in Seattle.  It was really nice to see everyone and play for the day!