Sweet November

Happy Crazy Season! We made it through Thanksgiving with flying colors. But let's back up and pause for a moment to acknowledge Wendy's big 40th birthday! It came and went on November 16th with lots of laughter, food, fun, friends and tears. The best part was having college friend Susan from Spokane for the weekend. More on that in another entry.

Here's a small gathering of friends and family at Salty's seafood restaurant. Susan, Chris and Shawna, and Grammy and Grandpa joined us for a nice dinner. Sydney probably ate about 10 packets of oyster crackers. The most exciting part of the evening was witnessing a man going into seizures and collapsing at a table near us. Luckily a nurse was there and the ambulance came within minutes.



The birthday bash continued the next day with some friends over for a Wii bit of Fun!

Here's Karla and Denise slugging it out in Wii Boxing.



Sydney loves to play with the Wii remotes!



And here she is playing Guitar Hero.



Now on to Thanksgiving, part One. We spent a nice evening at our friends Chris and Shawna's on Thursday.



Sydney liked just about everything on her plate - especially the turkey and the mashed potatoes.



Sydney liked Chris's son Corey.



Shawna's grandma Edna has a walker that Sydney discovered. Can you see it now - future Olympic gymnast?



Part Two of Thanksgiving was a full turkey dinner prepared by Brian for a small gathering of family and friends.

Sydney enjoyed her first sparking grape juice, her own bowl of ice cream, and piggyback rides on Barbaros and BJ.





All in all, a lot of food, fun, friends and family. What more could one want during the holidays?
Sydney says "Gobble, gobble!"

Fu Sisters Reunite

Last week we got together with two of the families that went to China with us. We met at a Chinese restaurant where the girls and parents had a great time catching up and comparing little girl stories.

Sydney spotted her Fu Sisters instantly and ran to the table. It was quite touching.



Here Sydney is trying to help Zanna with her high chair safety clips while Maya hams it up for the camera.



We attempted a photo op of the three girls against the wall outside...



And even got Sydney and Zanna to hold hands briefly.



Fu Babas...



And Fu Mamas.



It was heartwarming to see how the girls have grown both physically and emotionally. They are three of the happiest girls you could ever hope to see. We are all blessed!

Sydney Livin' Large

I just couldn't resist posting these pictures. While random, they still convey the happiness, humor, wonder and love that Sydney has brought to our lives.

This was on our way home from the pumpkin patch.



I found her like this one morning! She loves giving her animals a squeeze.



The afghan was a gift from Arlene, a friend in Payson, AZ. Sydney likes wrapping herself up in it and looking through the holes.



Sydney loves playing with Grandpa Jim.



Here's an old hat and mittens she found and still loves.



Our big girl putting on her own shoes.



Sydney getting into the kitchen drawer.



Playing with Baba and the Wii.



Sydney and her Bullseye from Disneyland. Love is all that matters, after all.

Tricks and Treats

Here's how Halloween went at Sydney's house!

Sydney helped Brian carve up a pumpkin. She didn't hesitate to dig right in and get pumpkin guts in her hands.






Although we didn't dress her up, Sydney enjoyed running to the door to greet the trick-or-treaters and say hi to people.



Ellie has several years of experience answering the door on Halloween.




She also helped tally the number of kids that visited, which we do every year. This year we had over 260!



And here's Sydney passing the time with Grandpa while waiting for the next group of kids!

Boo Goes Bowling

The annual Pederson-Gagliardi family Bowling Day took place this past weekend, and if any of you out there have seen this event, you know how kooky it can get. The theme for costumes this year was "favorite TV or movie character" and although Sydney really doesn't have one yet, we took a simple route and made her up as Boo from Monsters Inc.

Here she is with Baba, dressed as Chief from Battlestar Galactica, for the first time on the alley.



Sydney didn't recognize Aunt Marlys at first, but knew the voice!



Cousin Barb "Wilma Flintstone" had some great ball jewelry to play with.



Sydney made a new friend in cousin Grayson.



Just had to put this on here - Sydney was afraid of cousin Gary "Jack Sparrow", and can you blame her?

It's the Great Pumpkin, Sydney Quan

This past weekend we took advantage of the beautiful fall weather here in the Northwest, taking Sydney to her first pumpkin patch. Mind you, this is no ordinary "patch". Bi-Zi Farms in Brush Prairie is a mecca for pumpkin searchers and offers all kinds of activities in addition to one of the biggest patches of pumpkins I've ever seen.

Sydney had a great time mingling with farm animals...




drinking freshly pressed apple cider...



and picking out pumpkins.




We missed out on the pumpkin launching, the hay pyramid, and the huge corn maze. Maybe next year...

Looks like we got the best ones!

She's Got the Look

Sydney is now a whopping 20-month-old who is starting to develop some sass! She has now somehow acquired "The Look." All you parents out there must know what I'm talking about. Luckily, most of the time when she's giving "The Look" she really isn't too terribly mad and will get back to her cheerful, laughing self in no time. She is heavy into imitation these days, and Grammy reports that Sydney sits and puts on "makeup" while watching Grammy do it. Her vocabulary is about the same, although she tries to repeat words constantly. She is getting better at using her fork and spoon in combination with her other hand, and is gradually drinking from a cup without the lid. Ooohhh....

For your viewing pleasure - The Look.



Here's our normally happy girl pretending she's in the Middle East.



Grandma and Grandpa Joe came for a visit and got to spend lots of quality time bonding with Sydney. They even got to babysit for two full days while Wendy worked. Sydney thoroughly enjoyed new faces to play with and places to go. She's been to IKEA four times already, and spent a good amount of time at Costco sampling the foods.


Here's her first taste of a popsicle. She ended up liking whatever flavor Grandpa happened to have in his hand.



Here's her first ride on a carousel! She liked it so much, she rode it twice. Then she got back in line again even though it was time to go. Note the one-handed grip, leaving one hand free to whip the horse or wave to the crowd.



We took a drive to Crown Point in the Columbia Gorge. Sydney liked the view.



Grandma Joe and Sydney are color-coordinated!



Squatting with the grandparents.



Sydney loved pushing Grandma's buttons - literally. Camera buttons, to be exact.



Here's Sydney playing with Grandpa.



Finally, here's Sydney drawing with crayons. We are beginning to think she may be right-handed. Note the technique!