Many months, many new changes!

Ken recently nagged me that I haven't been keeping up on the blog and he's been hearing about it. So, to all the fans of Netsanet - I'm sorry it's been so long since my last post, and here's an update!

I was surprised to see that it's been more than 6 months since the last time I posted on here. It's been a busy summer and fall. I can't believe how quickly time goes, and I can't believe we've been together as a family for more than two and a half years! Earlier this year, two friends had babies and they have grown so quickly. Another friend just had a baby, and he changes week to week. Seeing these babies makes me think about when Netsanet was a baby and how much she has changed, even though it feels like she was a baby only yesterday. Everyone says it, but it's true - they grow up so fast!

OK, let's see - this year has been busy although it feels like we do almost nothing. In May, we decided to buy some "vacation property" (insert finger quote marks here). We bought a cheap patch of sagebrush with no utilities or anything, about 3 hours east of Seattle. We all love the sunshine and the dry weather, and the quiet is a nice break from our neighborhood. It's quiet when Netsanet's not shouting at ants, anyway. For now, it's just an acre to wander around on, but we hope to put a tiny primitive cabin/shed on it in the spring. We can haul water to the site, use a porta potty, cook with a camp stove, and eventually put in a solar panel for some power. Basically like camping, but sleeping in a structure instead of a tent. It will give us a place to get away, but a second place that Netsanet's familiar with and we can go for a weekend. She gets stressed out when we stay in hotels since she thinks we're moving. This girl likes her stability! So, this seems like a good option for me to deal with my travel bug, Ken to get his desert fix, and Netsanet to feel comfortable :)

In June, Netsanet became potty trained so there are no more pull ups! She still uses a diaper at night, but it's no big deal and I'm thinking of trying to get her out of it during the christmas break when we're home and racing to get ready for work in the morning. It's very exciting to be at this stage, since it means she can go in... (drumroll)... the IKEA BALL ROOM! I freakin loved this thing when I was a kid in Vancouver. The one here has a huge play room attached, but the kids love to dive into the ball pit too. Understandably, they started restricting it to kids who are three years old and potty trained. Just imagine how it was before - some kid emerges from a two foot deep swimming pool of plastic balls.... and they are missing their poopy diaper. Who gets to go diaper diving? And how would they sanitize all those plastic balls after such an event??? Oh, the horror.

Speaking of horror, in July we attempted to take a weeklong vacation at a 'deluxe beach cabin' on Orcas island. We had been to the San Juans twice before. I camped for a week on Shaw Island as part of a class I took (best 5 credits ever). A couple of years ago, the three of us stayed in a bed and breakfast for the weekend on San Juan island. It rained the entire time, the B&B was stinky with mildew, and Netsanet was so stressed out about the new environment that she threw up constantly (a common theme during her baby-hood). We heard great things about Orcas, so we decided to give the islands one more try this summer. The first few days were freezing cold and raining, and the next few days were warm and sunny. The cabin was part of a line of cabins very close together facing a quiet bay with moorage (not really swim-able water). We had some problems, though. The cabin had mildew so bad that Ken and Netsanet's allergies were through the roof and none of us could breathe well. It was July 4th week, and one of the neighbors decided to set off M-80's every night at 9pm, approximately 20' from our front door while Netsanet was trying to sleep. Most nights there was loud partying all night at about the same distance. After 4 days of this, we decided to call it a loss and head home. We did have some beautiful outings to Moran State Park, and we took a really fun afternoon whale watching trip. We saw a ton of orcas and the day was gorgeous. So, given the cost of staying in the San Juans, the time it takes to get there, and our experiences so far, we might try camping in the future but probably no more staying in structures...

The rest of our summer included some weekend trips to eastern Washington and a couple of outings in the canoe. This summer had a few hot days but overall was pretty cold, so it feels like we didn't do as many outdoor things as normal. Toward the end of summer, we had Netsanet's third birthday party at a park on Lake Washington. It was chilly (especially for the end of August), but a good time was had by all. Bama (grandma Florence) made a Kai Lan cake per Netsanet's request, and all the kids were covered in dirt and filled with chips and frosting by the end of the afternoon. The adults had burgers and hot dogs and we had fun watching the kids be kids.

Soon after her birthday, we had her annual doctor appointment and dental checkup. She is growing at the same rate as before - tall and skinny. She's in the 85th percentile for height (38" tall at last checkup), and she's in the 50th percentile for weight (31 pounds). Her teeth are doing well, and she enjoys going to the dentist and doctor!

In mid-September, Netsanet started preschool. She was sooooo excited to go. Almost half the class are kids from her daycare. A little bus picks them up at daycare four days a week and takes them to school for the morning. Next year she will be in the afternoon class for four-year olds. We went with her to school on the first day, and it was interesting to see her in a new environment. She was very excited to be there, and it took her a little time to get used to everything. Apparently her biggest issue has been leaving preschool when it's time to go, and getting off the bus when she gets back to daycare. She wants to stay at school all the time... she told the teachers she wants to sleep there! It's great to see her adjusting so well. It makes me think that she will do wonderfully in school - she's so social and she loves to learn, so I can't think of a better environment!

For Halloween, Netsanet wanted to be a 'butterfly ballerina princess.' Can you tell that we're in a very girly phase? I think it's cute, but I also can't relate. When I was her age, my favorite toy was a cherry picker truck and I wore jeans with the knees torn out. I didn't wear a dress at all between about the ages of 7 and 13. Our little bear loves all things sparkly and girly, and has insisted on wearing a dress almost every single day for more than six months. And it has to be a twirly dress with no t-shirt underneath, otherwise it's not "ballerina." I have been encouraging her to pick out her clothes, partially to develop her sense of independence, but also because I find it amusing to see what she chooses to put on. This morning, it was a dress, pink leggings, elmo socks, mary jane shoes, a pink headband, and a metal lunchbox to coordinate. Go, fashionista!

She is getting very independent lately, but wants to be doing things with us. For instance, she wants to cook in the kitchen and she wants me there doing it with her - but she wants to do most of it herself. There's a lot of emotional outbursts when she feels like she's not allowed to do something. That part is tough for me, but Ken is good at taking over when she's having a fit and I feel like my brain is going to explode. She really wants me there all the time, though. It feels good to know that she wants to hang out with me all the time (I must be doing SOMETHING right), but it can also be exhausting. I've been sick for almost two months with flu, pneumonia, and cold, so most of the time lately I just want to rest. Not an option with our active daughter, though!

It's been fun to seeing how she's understanding more about holidays this year. She's been seeing the xmas stuff, and she keep saying, "I want to decorate! I want to make a tree!" This weekend we're going on a Santa train, so I've been telling her she can write a letter to Santa to ask for things. Last night we wrote the letter, which included some letters, some drawings, and some mad scribbling. I was so impressed - she can actually write some letters! She drew the letter "T" a couple of times and said what she was writing, so I knew she really understood. She also drew the letter "S" when I spelled out Santa. I was blown away - I remember being 5 years old and trying so hard to read but I didn't understand the letters yet. She's only 3! She will read signs and spell out all the letters when we're going places. I've started encouraging her to understand how the letters go together to make words. It's amazing that she's starting to get it, and that she can write some letters herself.

I know we're biased parents, but we do think she's incredible :)