1 Zoo + 3 million light bulbs + $6 = fun.
It may not be obvious, but Summer evidences symptoms of cabin fever if she doesn't get out on a very regular basis. Thus, following a hot tip from Matt KA Brown, we took the infant phenomenon to see the Zoo Lights at Point Defiance.
Heretofore, I've always felt those vendors hawking junk at various public venues were merely capitalizing on widespread parental inability to say no. Imagine my horror when Emily went and purchased a retina damaging fiber optic light stick without Summer even asking.
For Summer, however, the light stick quickly became the attraction. Her fascination with the light stick was so strong that she instantly ripped off her gloves so she could stroke the fiber optic strands. Imagine the joy when I ultimately had to pry her new found love from her cold fingers later that night.
Summer, still not interested in the other lights.
[James Earl Jones voice] Summer, I am your father.
here they are in action. 
cindy and peter pose in front of the very first starbucks.
emily loves the local art.
summer loves to plan her escape from another one of mom's carriers.
and who could resist a ferry ride?
seattle skyline: where grey skies meet grey waters.
summer. enjoying her first family bowl.
peter. obviously distressed by his spare.
emily. bowls like a flamingo.
mike. hates bowling.
bryan. well on his way to a strike.
With company in town, Emily really hoped to raise the bar for the traditional Thanksgiving repast. Armed with all the best recipes from all the greatest Food Network superstars, she went to work Wednesday night and didn't let up until Thursday at 4PM.
Over our roughly 5 years of matrimony, I've discovered that once Emily has convinced herself of a course of action, she'll pursue it with all fury until she's just barely made it past the point of no return. At that point, she'll become momentarily overwhelmed by the gravity of the situation and wish it had never happened. Fortunately, passing the point of no return means that you have to finish the job, no matter how large.
actually, not really, electricity and intravenous drugs save lives. BUT CPR does immeasurably increase the rate of success of said shocks and drips. and the Heimlich fo’ sho’ saves lives.
birthday roses from dad.
birthday favors.
birthday bounty! 
birthday song. 
birthday mess. 
birthday love. a year ago today, i was going for walks and making plans for baby announcements. a year ago today, the world was quiet. time was mine. a year ago today, i had no idea what tomorrow would bring.
baby summer.
her birth was remarkable. unusual. she would do things her own way even then.
to describe our relationship, summer’s and mine, my husband would say, “an immovable object meets an unstoppable force.” summer is strong. she’s smart; she’s willful. she’s bold and audacious. and so she has been from the moment we met.
summer loves to laugh and is an easy smile. she hates to sleep. she loves the sound of her own voice, and her screams have unparalleled volume and stamina. her favorite foods are sugar and cheese. summer doesn't snuggle much. she is constantly on the move. she loves people and wants to be where the action is. summer cannot play by herself, and she does not care for stuffed animals.
on the age-old nature versus nurture debate, i find myself comfortably on the nature side. summer’s temperament and personality are very much the same as they were on november 6, 2007 – and i sense, even before then. nothing makes my skin prickle quite like someone, usually a generation or two older than me, saying that summer is “x” because i “y.” heavens no. summer is “x” because she dug her claws in and firmly decided to be so.
as for the nurture, my piece of the puzzle is to help her reach her fullest, most excellent potential and to teach her to use her God-given faculties for good. (and my more specific role, as summer’s mother, is to r.e.m.a.i.n...c.a.l.m.) if i do my job right, then summer, true to form, will be a powerful and immovable force for good.
a year ago today, i had no idea what tomorrow would bring:
a fiery burst of joy.
Get out and vote!
Election day is an exciting event at MSNBC.com. Lots of people have been putting in crazy amounts of overtime. In my opinion the results are fantastic. In the interest of full disclosure, my immediate team is one of the few in the company that's had essentially nothing to do with elections. Nevertheless, I'll be in the office late tonight, monitoring election results (let's just say it'd be a disaster if our automated systems screwed things up and reported the wrong numbers).
Interesting fact: Despite what you may think, MSNBC.com tries to keep coverage unbiased (it may help to bear in mind that we're a separate entity from MSNBC TV). In fact, our editorial team is under the strictest orders to neither celebrate nor mourn as the results come in this evening. Anybody who feels they can't contain their emotions must leave the newsroom and vent outside.
bryan masterfully maneuvers the rickety wagon.
he picks a few apples, but is soon replaced by emily's more discerning eye.
"she took of the fruit and did eat."
weeee! 
for halloween this year, i used my rather crude sewing skillz to fully outfit the family as fred, wilma and pebbles (of the flintstones variety). we then took summer to downtown duvall for her first trick-or-treating experience. the costumes were a big hit, but summer seemed more than a bit confused by the whole ordeal. that is, until we got her home with the candy. then it somehow all made perfect sense.
