We're goin' on a tree hunt...

We went to Farmer Brown's Christmas Tree Farm last weekend to chop down our tree.  We had a great time with TC, Grandma Shorty, and Susan and her girls...and we found the perfect tree!!  Its beginning to feel a lot like Chirstmas...


 

 Anderson stopping to say "cheese"!

 Kylie, Taylor, Anderson, Chelsey, and TC

 Anderson and Dad

 Here it is...our Christmas tree!

My brother, TC, also known as Paul Bunyan

Little Gym

Anderson has been going to Little Gym in Everett for the past couple of months. He has learned how to do a forward roll, how to hang from a bar, the bear walk, and a ton of other things. He really likes the classes and it' a great outlet for all of his energy too! Here are some photos of him at a recent class. I have a great video that I captured with my new camera but can't figure out how to upload it to the blog. Oh well...maybe you'll see the video in a later posting.

Anderson on the balence beam!

He loves reaching for and then hanging from the bar.

All smiles and fun at Little Gym!

Anderson on the iPad

Anderson has developed a new found love for our iPad. We recently downloaded a couple of free games. It's been fun to see what words and skills he has that we've never taught him. So cool!! Some of the games he really likes are Monkey Preschool Lunchbox, eFlash, and Sound Board. The monkey games is his favorite but he can't quite complete all of the activities independently yet, however, he's getting close. After a couple of exposures to a games he seems to know exactly what to do...amazing and brilliant (of course)! Enjoy!

Seattle Marathon...we did it!!

Brad and I completed the Seattle Marathon on November 28th! Yes...all 26.2 miles! It was a fun but difficult marathon...very hilly. We both did great and we're happy it's over! Thanks to all of our friends and family that came out to cheers us along.

Brad and I have a goal to run a marathon in every city/area we've lived in since we've been married. So...we've done Denver, Portland, and now, Seattle marathons. Who's up for meeting us in Chicago in 2012 for the Chicago Marathon? Judy's...maybe we should road trip it out there again and run it together. It would only be fitting!!

Brad and Robin - Seattle Marathon 2010

Ocean Videos

Ok...so I'm posting videos from September and it's now November. Pretty lame but here they are...these are some great shots of Anderson enjoyin the ocean in North Carolina. He loved the ocean and recently learned that word at school a couple of weeks ago. He also remembers that mommy got stung by a jelly fish! When we look at the sea animals page in the animal book he always spots the jelly fish and says "mommy, ouch". I got stung by a jelly fish while sitting on the beach with Anderson in about 6 inches of water. Don't ask me how I didn't see it! I got stung pretty bad up and down both of my legs. Luckily, Anderson only got one little sting. What's crazy is that the stings went a way after about a day and then came back a week later after we got home to Seattle. I got a horrible rash that lasted for another 10 days or so! Ouch!

Anyway, life is good but busy. We are really looking forward to the holiday season with family. Brad took his ABEM (American Board of Emergency Medicine) test last week. He's been studying for the last month or so and we're glad that its done. Now, he just has to pass it. Once he passes the written test then there is an oral test this spring...then, he will finally be a board certifice emergency medicine doctor!! What a long process!

Enjoy the videos...I'll try to get better at posting more frequently and more recent stuff. Love to you all and many blessings during this holiday season!

Trip to North Carolina

In September, we (Robin, Anderson, and Grandma Shorty) took at trip to North Carolina to visit Jen, Josh, and Elle. Upon arrival we witnessed a sighting of the greatest motor vehicle design ever created. Unfortunately, the only pictures I have of this beauty are on my phone and posted on FB...so, check it out if you are intersted. Although...no picture can give the Dragon Wagon justice!!

While we were visiting, we went to the beach for a couple of days, saw Josh jump out of a plane, had a fire with marshmellows, went for a few runs, completed the best obstacle course since conception, and spent lots of time playing with cousin Elle!! Thanks for everything Jen and Josh...looking forward to seeing you all in December!

Kisses from Anderson...probably just after he pushed her to the ground. Anderson didn't quite understand what "be gentle with Baby Elle" meant.

Grandma Shorty and her grandkids!

Anderson and Elle reading...

Baby Elle making faces.

Anderson enjoying the warm ocean water!!

Anderson dancing to the library song!! Special appearance: Josh Borrell as Brad Talley

More videos of the waves and the beach are next!!

Some things never change...

Jen, my oldest sister, got this picture from my Dad. I love it! And, it's crazy how much Anderson looks just like me minus those tiny little eyes (thank goodness he got his daddy's big eyes).

Robin: "Whaaat??? I didn't do anything!" Jen: Pissed that I'm talking my way out of something again.

Lots of Babies!!

We got together with a bunch of our closest friends on Labor Day. It's quite a different group than it was 4 years ago when we left Seattle to move to Denver. Everyone has kids now and some of us have two. We were only missing Whit Vaughn!! Great fun!

From left to right...Ben Judy, Anderson Talley, Cannon McClure, Wesley Roach, Sam Judy, Carson McClure, Klara Willis, Eleanna Horner, and Magnolia Horner.

Cutie Pie - Cousin Rylan!!

On our way from Colorado to Washington we stopped and spent a night with Bryon (Brad's oldest brother) and Sara and their two kids (Rylan and Ayla). It was great to see the two boys playing together and fun to envision what friends they'll be over the years! Anderson wasn't in the smiling mood but these pictures were so cute of Rylan that I couldn't resist posting them.

Kissess from Anderson...smooch!

Check out those curls!!

Gotta love the undies!

Sand Dunes Camping

In July, we went to the Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado and spent a few nights camping, hiking, and relaxing. Anderson LOVED it! Lots of bugs, dirt, and deer for him to see.

Our campsite and new tent!!

Getting started...it was a tough hike!

The sand felt so good on our feet.

Peek-a-boo!!

What do you do when it starts pouring while camping?!?

We moved...

I've been a little behind on things lately!! We finally moved to Washington...here's our new address:

7526 89th Ave SE, Unit B
Snohomish, WA 98290

We are renting a place in Snohomish for the next few months while we get settled. I'll update our address when we buy something (hopefully in Seattle) this spring. Life is good and we are really loving being closer to family. More to come...I'll try to get caught up on what's been happening.

A lot more happened in June...

I haven't been posting much lately but it's not for lack of content...we've been busy lately wrapping up things in Colorado. Here's a snapshot of what else happened in June:

• Robin's last day of work at The Joshua School on June 10th;
• Brad's last shift of EM residency on June 26th;
• lots of going away parties for the Talley family;
• Anderson broke his elbow;
• Brad graduated from Denver Health EM Residency Program;
• trip to Mt. Princeton Hot Springs with friends;
• and Anderson had surgery on his elbow.

Running...

I've been trying to get back into running like I was before Anderson...I've done a pretty good job but I don't get to run as much as I used to and somehow the extra 30 minutes of sleep sound much better in the morning than hitting pavement. I did run in the huge 10K BoulderBoulder race last month and finished with a PR! I was pretty excited.

Anderson is getting the running bug too...he found my shoes in the closet and put them on all by himself...then, came stumbling out of our room. I grabbed the video camera as quick as possible...sorry for the wobbly nature of the video.

Body Parts

You must think Anderson spends all of his time in the bathtub based on all of the bath time videos I post. However, its really one of the only times I can capture his full attention so it turns out to be a great place to capture videos as well. Anderson has known quite a few body parts for awhile now but he's been adding to the ones he know almost weekly. He's currently working on butt!!

Tiny bubbles...

Brad taught Anderson to blow bubbles in the bath tub last night. He picked up on it really quickly and thought it was pretty funny too! This video is hillarious...hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

First Haircut

Anderson got his first haircut!! He had been sporting a mullet for a couple of week and I just couldn't bare it any longer. He did great!! Our good friend, Julie, cut his hair at her salon...Hair People. She is GREAT with kids!!

Playing, singing, talking, and eating...

Playing: Above all else, Anderson LOVES to be outside!! This morning he sat for an hour while Brad was weeding...just diggin in the dirt and pulling on the weeds. He has also been loving a bunch of toys that he got for his birthday in February. Here is a video of him riding on the bee Brad and I got him. Before we left for South Africa he couldn't figure out how to get on it by himself. Now...he's a pro.

Talking: Anderson started talking a lot more when we were in South Africa. He can say all kinds of things but his favorite word is still "Bella"!! He loves Bella!! It's usually the first thing he says when he wakes up. Other words he's been hooked on...turtle, pee pee, no, duck, mama, dada, ball, balloon, bird, baba, etc. He will point to his nose, mouth, ears, eyes, and, of course, his pee pee. He loves music and his mama's voice (yes...believe it or not...he loves it when I sing to him). His favorite song is itsy bitsy spider. He also started signing and saying "more". Here's a couple of videos to enjoy!

Eating: He is getting to be so good with his fork. He just needs a little help piercing the foods. He's eating quite a wide variety of foods now and today he even got an apple out of the fridge and starting chowin down. I was pretting impressed with how much of it he actually ate. We have a harder time with meat...so he's still eating a little bit of baby food so that he gets enough protein each day. He love mandarin oranges!! Which is kind of funny because I couldn't get enough of them when I was pregnant. Here's a video of him using his fork to eat the oranges.

South Africa - Day 26 - ???

April 16 - ???, 2010:

As most of you know, we are currently stuck in Cape Town. Our flight leaving Cape Town to Europe was cancelled on Thursday night due to the volcanic ash cloud. We now have confirmed flights to return home on April 26th but are hoping that something may open up before that...keep you fingers crossed! So far we have been delayed 6 nights!

South Africa - Day 23 - 25

April 13 -15, 2010:

A little more wine country; a few more jogs; some more babysitting; saying goodbye to South Africa. Here are some pictures that capture our last few days...or so we thought!

Wine estate in Stellenbosch...we got to meet the farm owner!

Brad enjoying a cappuccino right outside out apartment.

Judy...Anderson's babysitter!


Bodega...one of our luch spots in the winelands.

South Africa - Day 22

April 12, 2010:

On Monday, we traveled to another area of the wine country...Franschhoek is tucked between mountain ranges. We took a spectacular drive to get to there over 4 different passes. We stopped at a couple of wine estates for some tasting and picked up a couple more bottles of wine. Anderson also got to play on a couple of playground and frolick in the green grass. He is getting more independent at the playgrounds. For lunch we stopped at a cafe that had some swings, a slide and a sand box...he sat and played while Brad and I enjoyed a drink. Here are a couple of pictures from the drive and our various stops.

Driving into Franschhoek

View from the top of one of the mountain passes.




Anderson is crazy about his wine!!

Anderson climing up the ladder to the slide.

Mom and Anderson at Dieu Donne Wine Estate

South Africa - Day 21

April 11, 2010:

Brad and I got a babysitter again and headed out to do some hiking in the Table Mountain National Park. We were very ambitious and thought we could bag two of the well known hikes just outside of Cape Town in one day. However, about 2 1/2 hours into the first hike we decided that wasn't going to happen. We hiked up to the top of Table Mountain. It was very pretty and great to have some time together while surrounded by nature. The route was pretty crazy too. Lots of rock scrambling and some free climbing with permenant protection in the rock that made the climbing more like going up a ladder than climbing.

On top of Table Mountain

Yep...we headed right up these boulders.

On the way up...

On top of Table Mountain

View of Cape Town

Indian Ocean (left) and Atlantic Ocean (right)

South Africa - Day 20

April 10, 2010:

Big surprise...we headed out for some more wine tours and tastings. There's just so many!! We've really been enjoying the sun, relaxation, picnic lunches, and wine! It's been a long time since we've been able to spend this much time together and it's wonderful. We stopped at about 4 different wineries before eating a late picnic lunch on one of the winery lawns.

Mom and Anderson enjoying lunch at Spier Wine Estate

Dad and Anderson at Le Bonheur Wine Estate

Mom and Anderson at Morgenhof Wine Estate.

Dad and Anderson enjoying some wine with chocolate pairings...yum!!

Zevenwacht Wine Estate

South Africa - Day 19

April 9, 2010:

It was the first day of rain and cloudy skies. We had planned to head to a restraurant called The Barnyard with our friend, Lisa. It's too bad that it was raining because this place was awesome. There were chickens roaming around and all sorts of other animals in other various locations on the farm. The eggs were definitely fresh!! After breakfast, we headed to some more wineries in an area that is very close to the city, called Constantia. We tasted some great wine at Groot Constantia and Klien Constantia Wine Estates.

We forgot the camera, so no photos...sorry.

South Africa - Day 17 - 18

April 7-8, 2010:


Here are some pictures from GF Jooste Hospital here Brad has been working. The hospital is located just outside of Cape Town - City Bowl, in one of the townships. Most of the population from Cape Town lives in the townships. They are small communities where most of the houses are made from sheet metal and tarps, etc and most just got electricity in the 1990's. The unemployment rate is around 30%. During the day, its quite safe...however, at night, it can be very dangerous. It's quite a drastic difference from the fancy houses and restraurants in the city.

Townships of South Africa

Brad's lunch spot

GJ Jooste Hospital

The weather has been amazing! In the 70's and 80's so we've been hitting the beach to run or lounge while the sun sets. Anderson loves the water even though it is freezing cold. He would giggle and laugh when the waves rolled in. I could barely stand it and it was only coming up to my ankles...I can't imagine how cold it was for him. I love this picture below because of our footprints that trail behind us.

Mom and Anderson at Camps Bay