I love how snuggly the kids are after their baths and in their jammies. Kate is really changing! Look at those little curls starting to form.
June 01, 2010
May 20, 2010
Preschool
It seems like "baby" Cole was just born. Well, he'll be 4 soon and yesterday he started in his new pre-kindergarten preschool class. He has a new teacher, Anna, who has been the head teacher in this class for 18 years! He transitioned from his old class with ease and is really excited to be with the big boys. With his birthday so close to the kindergarten cut-off date, he was the last person to move up and now he will be with these kids until he goes to kindergarten next year...gulp.
His class explores a new theme each month: My Self, Amazing Sea Creatures, Healthy Food, Dinosaurs (you get the idea) and also work on songs, letters, rhyming, and learning to write. Of course, they get to do art projects, have chapel time, do group games, gym and outside time, bizzy bodies and music classes. And as they get closer to the fall, they will start to really work on pre-k curriculum (whatever that is!)
We are so fortunate to have such a wonderful boy. He is still very much into golf, baseball and race cars. These days, he keeps asking me if he can be a cowboy when he grows up. Sure! He wakes up each morning a little bit before Kate and is thrilled when he hears her wake up. They are really starting to have a great time playing together. We love you Cole!
May 17, 2010
Friends
I know there will be ups and downs, but I hope they will always be there for each other. They have so much fun right now! Giggling, wrestling, making car and airplane sounds, Cole teaching her to say new words, and just all around being the sweetest little people.
May 10, 2010
Yay for Dad!
My gorgeous husband bought me (us) a Mother's Day, Birthday, Father's Day and potentially Christmas gift yesterday. I have my dream camera. I still need to figure out how to use it, but let the picture-taking begin! I fear I will indefinitely be behind the lens. A few test shots in the yard yesterday.
Post play and bath. What a beautiful (aka warm) Seattle day!
Aaaaahhhhhhhhh
Relaxed and refreshed is what we feel after a nice week in Palm Desert! It seems like this is first choice for vacation lately. Weather = perfect. Family time = good memories. Kids not sleeping well = overlooked when you are in 85 degree weather. We had the chance to vacation with Nana ReRe and Grampa Roger, and cousins Chris & Theresa and their 3 year old twins. Nana and Grampa hosted us with their Marriott Vacation Club - so fun! I also had the chance to visit with a few friends who graciously drove from Los Angeles to come see us. Thank you Erin & Carrie! Here are a few pictures from our getaway. Grampa Roger took many of these with his new camera.
This was taken right before we headed to the airport, but it was our only family picture!
The perfect traveler. Cole is AWESOME! Movie, then nap. This is his normal routine when we fly.
Kate was still trying to figure out the pool thing. She loves taking a bath, but she sat on the side a lot here.
Post-dip...not so bad!
Cole played golf and baseball on the lawn outside our condo.
Hanging with my cuz's.
Enjoying a little Mexican food.
Wait, there's quacamole? Someone get me a bib and a spoon!
Cole practicing his swim moves. Getting so much closer to swimming.
Silly time with Kate.
Dance party by the pool. He loved the tunes.
GIRL time!
Cool dude!
Celebrating Nana's ?!th Birthday! Cole wanted to put number candles on her cake. She said, No thanks!
Love me some daddy time!
April 16, 2010
Big Girl
Kate went from baby to big girl so fast. She's walking, talking and bottles are gone too!
We had her 1 year check up. 20.8lbs and 30.5 inches. Cruising along well.
She's insistent on feeding herself..learning to use a spoon is quite messy!
Recovering from a little stomach bug. Cole to the rescue to cheer me up.
Effectively, what Cole calls "crazy hair". Just up from her nap and snacking with Cole in a big girl chair at the coffee table!
My best buddy Cole
April 04, 2010
Easter Bunnies
Dying the eggs
Don't eat it Kate!
Easter baskets
The hunt!
After brunch
March 27, 2010
katie lady's 1st birthday
Kate-
Happy 1st Birthday! What a fun year it has been. You are funny, spicy, and love your brother so much! You love to laugh and smile and we are so blessed to have you.
Here are some shots from her birthday.
Big brother helps to blow out the candle
The kid who likes no frosting!
Thank you Aunt Julie! What girl doesn't need a tutu!
She's walking and getting better every day.
Family picture
Bigger family picture - thank you for driving from Oregon & California to celebrate!
March 19, 2010
March 08, 2010
Lucky Number Seven
It's hard to believe it's been 7 years already since we got married. For those who were there, you'll remember it was a picture-perfect day in Santa Monica, Calif. In the 70 degree'ish temp and blue skies. Just my kind of day. I've never been so excited in my life. Who knew where life would take us!? I look back at the pictures and I still love my wedding dress, but must apologize for the bridesmaid dresses. It was right before all the cool ones came out (at least that's what I'm telling myself). I LOVED the flowers. All reds and dark oranges. Worth every penny even though they all died. WORTH IT! We even planned the timing so that it was sunset during the cocktail reception - such a beautiful night. During the planning, I was deciding between March 8th and March 15th. March 15th is my brother-in-law's birthday, so I opted for March 8th. March 15th in 2003 in Santa Monica was practically a typhoon. My sister lived in southern Calif at the time and called me in Cancun to let me know that the world was flooding there. We were so thankful for the beautiful day on 3/8/03. Other than the DJ (too many painful memories to re-hash here - such as saying I made a special request for a Shania Twain song, tossing some baby powder on the dance floor, and oh singing a Neil Diamond song - the older folks loved this guy) - it was perfect for us. Well, we are still in Seattle, but what's happened in the last 7 years?
We've moved a lot - two houses and one condominium, and short-term housing in between the house and condo. It's hard to count, but between move-ins and move-outs, we might be somewhere in the 8 range. Not as many as my sister, but a lot! And here I go again - talking about moving to a different house at some point. We'll see :-). And every single house/condo involved many a remodel. Though Craig was true to his word that he would never "tile again" after tiling three rooms in our first house.
Craig became a business owner. He left his property management company to become a real estate agent for John L Scott, and started his own property Mgmt company - Sound PM. All worthwhile, but there have been highs and lows! Can anyone say industry financial crisis?! But, it's only made us stronger and more creative.
We lost our pup - the Chuck man. Charlie was the BEST! It still warms my heart when every single time we see a golden retriever Cole says that it looks like "his" dog. No more here about Charlie or else I will start crying.
Two children! Cole - who has this amazing spirit. Definitely a first born. Keeps Kate out of trouble no matter what. Bright, energetic, positive, cautious, hilarious, the pickiest eater you ever met, loves his "milky", obsessed with race cars, and loves sports. Kate - who is observant, oh-so-giggly, will eat anything you feed her, loves her tea set, totally over the baby stuff - wants to do everything big brother does, loves: her baths, going night-night, saying hi to everyone, and making race car sounds when Cole says "Gentlemen, start your engines." She is spicy though - tells us off when she needs something. And for those who don't know, Kate is being spoken to in English & Spanish and quite frankly, I think most of the time she is telling me off in Spanish. Thankfully, they are both fantastic sleepers. Honestly, I'm not sure how we lucked out on that one (other than my favorite book the Baby Whisperer), but I'm not sure how much credit I can take!
I try not to take our health for granted, so I'm so thankful to God that we are healthy and have healthy children. I hear so many stories that break my heart. As most of you know, Craig had very serious back surgery a year and a half ago and it was a 100% success. We couldn't be more thrilled. I also lost my grandmother in October. We miss her dearly - what a beautiful woman. Don't get me crying again!
I think it's safe to say we have been to Palm Springs about 10 times in the last 7 years and we're headed back next month. We love the sunshine - probably because we don't get a lot of those hot days here.
We have met so many amazing people since we moved here! Thank goodness we have each other to walk this world. I probably don't publicly say it enough, but Craig is the most supportive husband. He allows me to be me and definitely brings out my best. I drive him crazy trying to keep our house organic, by not being as organized as he is (yes ladies - you did just read that - he is more meticulous than I am), and talking non-stop about all sorts of things and not listening enough. But he loves me.
Here's to many, many, many, many more years.
