Last weekend our little family took an afternoon drive to Hatcher Pass, about an hour north of Anchorage. It was a blue-bird day, not a cloud in the sky. After an entire winter of being cooped up in the garage, our snowshoes finally got some fresh air.
Beautiful Hatcher Pass
Kenley's first snowshoeing adventure
Skagit the wonder dog
The pups got a good workout trudging through the deep snow. All they wanted to do was run, run, run, but they weren't able to go as fast as they would have liked.
Alaska girl
We're having a great time showing Kenley Alaska, and we're excited for all of the adventures that lie ahead.
Kenley is five months old! Unbelievable how time flies. At five months, Kenley weighs in at 13 lbs. 2.5 oz. We like to call her "tumbleweed," because she's rolling around all over the place. We'll put her down in one spot and before we know it, she's on the other side of the room. It won't be long now until she's crawling! Her favorite thing right now is her feet, and all she wants to do is put them in her mouth. Yum!
Late February/Early March is Fur Rondy and Iditarod season in Alaska. We were able to get out and enjoy some of the festivities this year. Mark and his buddies participated in the first-ever Yukigassen snowball fight in the U.S.--they had a blast! "Bert the Conquerer," the host of a Travel Channel show, came and played on the Northern Trailblazers team with Mark and his friends. They'll all be featured on an upcoming episode of the show sometime in April. How cool is that? We also enjoyed the Native Arts Market, which features dozens of Alaska Native vendors from across Alaska--mukluks, parkas, ulus, baleen, furs and ivory carvings galore. Many of these folks come to Anchorage from far away rural villages just to show off their beautiful ware.
The Northern Trailblazers Yukigassen Team
Luke, Rob and Mark ready for battle
We took Kenley to her first Iditarod on March 5, 2011. Each year, there's a ceremonial start to the Iditarod race held in downtown Anchorage; the actual race begins the next day in Willow, about two hours north of town. We met up with Steve, Stephanie and Katelin Walker at a great spot that allowed us to be within hand-slapping distance from the dog teams and mushers. It's such a cool experience and it never gets old.
Here's Kenley and I with four-time Iditarod champ Lance Mackey in the background. Can you imagine what these guys (and gals) go through on the 1,000-mile race from Anchorage to Nome?
Lance Mackey's dog team. Like the pink booties?
The Hamlin Family, Iditarod 2011
We also went downtown to peruse the Fur Rondy snow sculptures. Most of them were pretty melted by the time we made our visit, but they were still neat to see.
Four months. Kenley continues to astound us with her cuteness and fun personality. It sounds so cliche, but she's the center of our universe, and we're loving every minute.
She's starting to roll over now, and has a hard time sitting still when we're trying to change her britches. We think she's in the early stages of teething, too, because she's constantly drooling over everything and she puts everything, especially her hands, in her mouth. And the smiles? Ohhh, the smiles. They get us every time.
I returned to work full-time on Jan. 31 after a nice, long, blissful maternity leave, which was very, very, very, very (did I mention very?) hard. I'm still not completely adjusted, and I'm not sure I ever will be. BUT, during the week we take Kenley to a great woman named Betsy who runs a small at-home daycare. So even though I'm not with Kenley every minute of every day, I know that she's in good hands while I'm on the clock. And once we establish a routine, things will get easier and easier... Right?!?
Kenley caught her first cold last week, which led to her first ear infection. Talk about an inconsolable crying fit! She took a "sick day" and went to see Dr. McArthur, who prescribed her some Amoxicillin to help rid the infection. It's hard to see your baby in pain, not knowing what's wrong, and especially not being able to comfort her.
Kenley's Nannie and Pappy Dobson (Jess's parents) left Alaska on Jan. 21 to travel down the Alcan Highway to their "snowbird" destination, Grand Junction, CO. With a dog and a cat in tow (yes, a cat), they made it safely to the red rocks in record time -- only five days.
SO. Here's to four months, and continuing to enjoy watching Kenley grow into a lovely young lady. Cheers!
Kenley's Grandma and Grandpa Hamlin came to Alaska last weekend, Jan. 21-24, for a quick visit. We had a great time with them, and they got to spend some quality time with their new granddaughter. She definitely charmed them! Here are a few pictures from their visit.
We thought it'd be fun to share a few photos of Jess when she was a baby. A lot of people think Kenley looks like Mark, and we agree, but we can definitely see the resemblance between Baby Jess and Kenley. We are working on gathering some photos of Mark as a baby. Stay tuned for more comparisons.
It's time again for Kenley's monthly photo! It's strange to think that Miss K is a quarter of a year old already. Her personality is starting to shine through, and we're having so much fun getting to know her. She's a very sweet, determined little lady. Her most recent discovery is her hands. She's learning how to control them more and more each day, but they usually end up in her mouth. Her Dad is on a mission to stop the hand-in-mouth habit, but I consider it a losing battle! She's starting to reach out and grab toys, too. Of course, her smiles and coos continue to amuse us to no end. We hear that she'll be able to roll over here pretty soon, so watch out, world!
Mark and I couldn't agree on one photo this month, so here are our two favorites...
Over the last month, our family has enjoyed Kenley's first Christmas and New Year, and many little moments in between that have given us some good laughs. Take this crazy hairdo, for example. This photo makes us smile every time we see it. It's sure to be a classic.
A couple days before Christmas, we got together with our good friends Stephanie and Katelin Walker to make pierogies, a traditional Polish dish. Pierogies are, "... boiled, baked or fried dumplings of unleavened dough traditionally stuffed with potato filling, sauerkraut, ground meat, or fruit. Of central and eastern European provenance, they are usually semicircular, but are rectangular or triangular in some cuisines." My Dad's family has Polish roots, so we thought it'd be nice to start an annual Christmastime tradition of making these tasty, potatoey morsels. We stuff ours with potatoes and sauerkraut, then fry 'em up in lots 'o butta! Healthy? Not so much. Delicious? YES.
Oh, and did you know that October 8 is National Pierogy Day? There's even a mascot!
We celebrated Christmas and the New Year in my hometown of Eagle River, Alaska with my parents, Nancy and Warren Dobson. Strangely enough, we had power outages on both Christmas Day and New Years Day!
Helping Nannie and Pappy open gifts on Christmas morning
Telling Dad a story
Kenley and Mom on Christmas Day
Kenley also made her Internet debut on Christmas Day, showing off her best impersonation of Santa Claus...
On New Years Day, my Mom and I made her Grandma Ella Hibner's homemade noodles. They, like the pierogies, were also delicious. Pierogies for Christmas, homemade noodles for New Years? I'm liking these new traditions... It'll be fun to show Kenley how to make these dishes when she's older.
All in all, 2010 was a very good year for us. I spent the majority of it pregnant with the little tyke, and welcoming Kenley into the world has been the highlight of our lives. We are very blessed to have wonderful family and friends to share our lives with and we're excited to watch Kenley grow up and spread her wings!
