Welcome, Baby Archer!

Alexis and Andy welcomed Archer Cortez Byers into the world today at 3:21 in the afternoon. He weighed in at 6 pounds 15 ounces and measured a solid 20 inches. The new family is resting tonight and so we'll have to wait until tomorrow to meet him in person. In the meantime, Eli has a message for him.

Thanksgiving

We had an awesome Thanksgiving. My mom came up and spent the week, so she had some great time with Eliana and was able to help me out during my crazy conferences on Monday and Tuesday.

Andy, Alexis and soon-to-be Baby Byers joined us, too. Dinner was fantastic and it was mellower than what we are used to. I made Turducken which was much easier to cook than a turkey, but I don't think I'll do one again. Duck is just too damn persnickety and when it cooks a little too long, it tastes like rubber. Everything else was fantastic! Alexis made an amazing apple cranberry relish that was Eliana's favorite part of the meal!

Eli's plate

Turducken
Chez Greg
Our table
Getting Eli set-up with the feast
Uncle Andy and Eli...what will we do next Thanksgiving when he has his own kid?
mmmmm...pie and ice cream
No one told me to make a face
Our best shot
Crazy Uncle Andy

In a mud versus snow competition - snow wins

There's no secret that the Stiles family loves the snow. We make ourselves busy during the rest of the year, but snow is our real, true love.

On Saturday, I went and raced my last cyclocross race of the year. It was fun. It was muddy. It was cold.

These are my workout buddies, Eryn and Michelle. They motivate me to work harder at every workout and every race. My dream mobile happens to be in the background, too. It's beige. If you want to buy it for me, you can.

That's me in third. I was there for about 20 seconds until I fell. Super graceful.
WWWWOOOOOOOOO HHHHHOOOOOOOO!!!! Timberline on Sunday. Greg and I took turns taking turns. Thanks to our friend Eryn, we had a complimentary pass. It was just a little taste and we are ready for more!
Family portrait
We were in the car for about 5 seconds and Eli passed out.
Another great weekend to be a part of Team Stiles!

Bikes and Mud (again)

My dad joined us this weekend for cyclocross at Barton Park and was impressed my the mayhem. I had the best and worst race ever. My chain dropped twice and I watched most of the field fly by me as I fumbled with it. Then, the cleat on my shoe broke and I rode most of the 3rd lap with my right foot out. My finish was disappointing, but it was still awesome and I can't wait to get out and do it again this weekend.

No pics of me racing; Eli had totally reached her limit by the time I got out on the course. Greg was super dad and tried to entertain an angry toddler - not an easy feat.

Greg's field

Super Greg
Dirty Greg
Tailgating
It occurs to me after comparing this photo to Greg's post-race photo that either I didn't ride hard enough or that my husband hit every mud puddle on the course.

The Allison Inn and Spa

Girl's weekends should be mandatory on at least a quarterly basis. Yes. That's my new rule.

18 months

Eli celebrated her 1.5 birthday today. Unbelievable. Here are some pics from our amateur photo shoot under the St. John's Bridge.

Blue Overalls

These were my overalls when I was little. I've had them in her dresser drawer for awhile now and couldn't wait until I could put them on her. My mom has a big picture of me in them on our porch in Glide. I love that she saved them for me. Cute little bug.

Weekend in Seattle

I love Seattle. I love hanging out with our friends in Seattle. If I had to move to another city, Seattle would be an easy choice.Our trip to Seattle a few weeks back affirmed the following:

1. We don't go to Seattle enough.

2. Babysitters are the best invention EVER.

3. The macaroni and cheese at Beechers is worth the wait.

4. We don't go to Seattle enough.

Cait and John hosted us and (as always) were the most gracious hosts - ever. We showed up late Friday night, had a great glass of wine, delicious pizza and put Eli to bed in the pack and play that was already set up for us. We drank more great wine and caught up with two of our favorite friends.

And then, well, Eli had a night terror and SCREAMED louder than she has ever screamed before (and many of you know that the girl has a fantastic set of lungs) for about five minutes straight. This was serious. It scared the hell out of me. "Yeli" (as John and Cait coined her) made her body completely rigid and screamed and screamed with her eyes closed. I couldn't wake her. We finally had to yell her name and turn the overhead light on. She slowly calmed down and then fell asleep between us. whoa. By the way, Yeli is a genius nickname and we are owning it now.

She woke up early on Sunday morning and Greg took her downstairs to play so that I could sleep a little more. We were so lazy on Saturday that it was a little embarrassing and totally awesome. There was a lot of sitting around the living room watching the girls play together. Finally, we motivated and walked down to Pike Place for some late lunch. There was also a quick side trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond to buy a sound machine for Eli in an effort to avoid a repeat of the previous night.

That night, the babysitter showed up at 7:00, gave the girls a bath, put them to bed and set off for dinner at Staple and Fancy. yum. The family style supper and was de-licious. It was amazing to have a night out with no babies and there is no doubt that we need to do that on a much more regular basis.

I was nervous on the way home from the restaurant that Eli would wake-up when we went into the room, but alas, no problem. She slept like a rock and woke up around 7:00. phew.

Cait organized a fantastic brunch on Sunday morning complete with bacon, eggs, and of course, mimosas. Greg made some beignet's that were out of this world yummy.

We headed home around 2:00 and Eli was up the entire ride, except for the last five minutes. Nice timing.

The fam with Rachel the Pig

Pike Place
iPad fun with Uncle John and Libby
Bath time!

Happy Halloween!

We had a ton of fun dressing up this year. On Friday, my mom brought Eli to school for the Beach Halloween Parade. Eli had no fear and got in with all the kids during the parade. She loved walking with Miriam, our babysitter's daughter, and her friends.

On Saturday, we cruised down to Michael and Kristin's for an open house. It was super cute and totally hectic with all the munchkins cruising around. I loved it! Darcy's little one, Hazel, was completely intrigued with my costume and spent most of the afternoon following me around. I hope she isn't too let down the next time she sees me and I don't have a green face.

Sunday evening was another chance to get dressed up so that we could greet the trick-or-treaters. I didn't feel like doing the green face thing again, but Greg can't get enough of being a flying monkey. He and Eli had a blast opening the door for kids. Eli would squeal when she heard a knock at the door and would go running through the house yelling, "Niños! Niños!".

We are already planning next year's costumes!

Before Michael and Kristin's party
Halloween night on the porch with Dad-o
Oh no, Dorothy! The flying monkey has you!

Post candy anger. This was after we discovered that she was biting through the candy wrappers trying to get to the chocolate.