Potty Training?!?!

I strarted doing this several weeks ago and then it was left in drafts . . . so now it's the October-December update...

OK - so Natalie had her little friend Arden over last weekend and she was wearing big girl undies so of course Natalie decided she was ready again. So I busted out the little potty and remembered what a pain it is to potty-train! (Later note - who potty trains between Thanksgiving and Christmas - DUH)

I'm a bit behind on blogging. Against my better judgement, Natalie was a cheerleader for Halloween - how stinkin' cute. Maybe if I put her in it now, she won't be one when she's older (no offense to all my cheerleader friends, it's just i don't get it). Zach has gotten a ton of mileage out of his Seahawks Uniform he wore.


Christmas was good - crazy, but good. Happy to be in 2010. Zach is now 5. We took him ice skating for his birthday - trying to make a decent thing out of him having a Christmas Eve birthday because truly, he does get a little short-changed. Natalie went to daycare and we had a Daddy, Mommy & Zach day. I think this is a tradition I could get behind as it's so fun to have either one of them one-on-one. He was so very proud of himself which of course makes us proud.

Christmas Eve, Daddy was working so we went for a visit to the Fire Station and then headed up to Auntie Shannon's for presents and hanging out with cousins and grandparents. Zach had a great time, Natalie was a little wacky without a nap, but held up pretty well. I have a great cousin picture but my computer doesn't want to bring it up, so I'll have to try later.

After Christmas with my family we went to Alderbrook Lodge - it was great except that Natalie didn't nap and wouldn't go to sleep in the hotel room, so Ryan had to take her home.

Zach loved playing with his cousins, getting to stay up late, swimming at the pool and hot tub. It was definitely fun.

Nat's First Haircut!

Natalie had a mullett so it was time. I finally made her appointment. She did great and it's really cute, but there is something about cutting a girls hair that makes me nervous.











We are still trying to keep her bangs long but I was sad because I knew her sweet curls were going to be going away. She did great, the gal who cut her hair was pretty amazed how much hair she had for a two year old.













Zach also had his haircut, but he's been doing it every couple months for almost 4 years :).













She was pretty excited about the lollipop, not so much about the "pretties" she got at the hair cutting place!

My Little Bruiser

Poor Natalie had a rough Sunday. First she slammed her finger in the door. Her finger is all bruised and I'm sure her nail will get all black and gross. Then she was flopping on the bed and bonked her head on the wall. Then she was outside after throwing balls for dogs and climbed up the play set ladder (which she has done a zillion times before) but lost her footing and bonked all the way down.
She looks horrible but it's getting better quickly. She's tough :).

Zach was outside playing and I heard the water running (which usually alerts me that something is amiss. And I went out to find this cuteness. "Mommy, I'm fighting a fire." As luck would have it, it was 9/11/09 when he did this.




The other cuteness in our house is the Saturday soccer Zach is doing. It's so cute it makes me want to cry. A team of mostly blonde little boys running up and back on the field trying to kick the ball into the goal (hopefully the correct one). Zach told me after the first week - in which he scored 2 goals, "Mommy, we beat the yellow team, the referee told me so." Mind you, they don't keep score. :) Competitive already!!! They improved markedly from the first to second halves. Ryan is coaching with our friend Elizabeth.

In true 4 year old fashion, Zach had a break away and went all the way down the field. He was so proud of himself - he was just beaming! He was sick last week so didn't make it. He is eager about this weeks game and especially his shin guards and jersey!

I want a wife . . .

First let me preface that I don't claim to be any hugely fantastic wife but I can hold my own... and Ryan is a really involved husband and dad and certainly pulls his weight around here. But I must say, I'm often reminded that there is a TON to do to manage a household. We had Septic inspection the other day and the guy left his tool. Needed to go out, find tool, put back where kids wouldn't get it, call Septic guy. Then a week later, the alarm starts going off with more regularity - after a toilet was left running which is no big deal. During Ryan's 4:30 a.m. shower before work, WAY bigger deal. So it's another call to him to take a peek and figure out what he messed up. Fortunately he's a self-sufficient guy and I don't need to be here when he shows up - timer has been replaced, hopefully problem solved.

But then there are the doctor's appointments, Ryan's appointments, kids birthday party scheduling, camp transport (thanks to neighbor Jen, I don't even have to pull my weight on that one), scheduling play times for socialization (again thanks to neighbor Jen for moving in and providing a nearly 24 hour
playdate opportunity for both kiddos), signing up for activities like soccer, swimming. Oh and not to mention the constant laundry, feeding kids, (mac & cheese again). I made 4 appointments today alone! It's crazy - I don't know how parents of more kids do it - except to hire things out or to keep the wife or husband from working! Oh and the bill paying, scheduling my own physical therapy, getting my 30+ hours of work done a week, scheduling house cleaner twice a month (and picking up before they arrive), working in the yard, scheduling family gatherings & time with friends, arranging babysitters for our Soccer Date Nights, getting Family Photos from brother-in-law from LAST August, creating my own photo album, editing video of kids . . . it just goes on and on. Oh - and let's not forget clothes and toy organizing which could possibly be the worst job as a parent. To get rid of things you have to do it on the down-low or you could face a full on TANTRUM!

It's a crazy, beautiful life - most of the time :). As I was sitting in yoga studio with a precious extra 20 minutes in my life this morning I was thumbing through a spring magazine (I'm a little behind as usual) and came across this lovely quote: "We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy, even if it is only picking grapes or sorting the laundry." - E.B. White

And dang it if that means I eat chips and salsa with my beer for dinner, and watch the kids play in the kiddy pool, then so be it! Because not cooking brings me happiness.

Also - so do 2 year old girls doing yoga on the mat!

Natalie is 2

Sweet Natalie is 2 today. Hard to believe. After waking this morning, Zach went up to her room and sang Happy Birthday to her - it was pretty cute. She and I went shopping this morning, got oil changed in the car, went to Costco so she could pick out a birthday cake. She is a happy girl - except when it comes time to have her teeth brushed, hair brushed, or hair in a pony tail. Then we see her "Leo"ness.

It's a HEAT wave here! On Tuesday the kids played with Jobe & Mia - in buckets of really cold well water put into their sand pit. They had a great time and it was a good way to beat the heat. We've been holding steady - i make my rounds in the morning opening ALL the windows and then once it warms a little outside, I close everything off. Then once it starts to cool down at night again, i open the downstairs back up to air out a little. We've been lucky that it's been staying in the low 80s in the house when it's been upper 90's low 100's outside. But the best thing ever happened yesterday and a neighbor passed along an unused window AC unit and so now the office is quite pleasurable!

Seeing the pictures of the sand pit reminded me of where we were 2 years ago . . .


8/3/07 Zach, Natalie, Mia & Jobe

At the time the girls were born, the boys seemed so old (Jobe was 2 years 4 months, Zach was 2 years, 7 months). But when I look back now, Zach looked really little.




7/28/09 Mia, Natalie, Zach & Jobe

So Happy Birthday Natty! We're so glad you've completed our family!

Booty Shake

Natalie has some rhythm. It's so darn cute and I finally got video downloaded last night - so i'll try and post more video. Enjoy


The birthday banner went up today, 5 more days till i have a 2 year old.

Credit Cards & Shoes & Golden Retriever Puppy Pictures

So Zach received his first credit card offer the other day. I was SHOCKED to say the least. Thanks Alaska Airlines for releasing his frequent flier information so that he can start racking up debt at age 4! Unbelievable. We did just tear it up and throw it out.

Both kids are growing like crazy and my sweet little Natalie is getting opinionated about her clothes. Whoa. So we'll see what she thinks about these - first time I've ordered shoes for her online. It's a darn good things we get so many hand-me-downs - because there are just so darn many choices for girls when you are buying . . . but she is missing size 8 dressier shoes/sandals. And we love "flipper-floppers" as she calls them.



And then I also saw these sweet little ballerina slippers that are so cute, I had to order a pair for her little friend Arden who is quite fashionable and always thanks me for the dress up shoes I got her for her birthday. And the fact that these were only $2.99 made a pretty good deal. I love Pumpkin Patch clothes - my absolute fave for the kids.

On an unrelated note . . . Mitch has been with our family for 1 year now. We got him July 8 last year. He is already calming a bit. And if anyone is wondering what I was thinking last year - just look at this cuteness.

These pups were just so darn sweet. Mitchell had a problem with his ear which is why Ryan wanted him so badly. For the life of me I can't tell which one is Mitch (he had a brown string).

He's a good boy. Loves to play ball with Ryan and Zach. He doesn't knock Natalie over very often. He is still healthily scared of Steve the cat which is truly hilarious given their size differences. I'm so glad we got him, he really is a nice addition to the family. He loves Maggie, who is not doing great - her blood sugar is all over the place again, and she's really skinny. We don't want to put her through much so we are tweaking her insulin to see if that helps her at all. She's really blind, getting so deaf that the fireworks didn't bother her as much this year, but she still loves playing on the back deck with Ryan.

How are we all related??

So Zach was laying in bed tonight and wanted to know why the cat was black. I said "Because cats come in all kinds of colors. So do people. Uncle Anthony is black." Zach replies, "no he's not, he's brown, that's his choice if he wants to call him black, but he's brown." :)

Then he wanted to know who my uncles are - which made me think for a moment - because i have 3 but don't have much contact (especially with the deceased one). Then he was trying to figure out why his uncles are not my uncles but they may be brothers or brothers-in-law. I'm sure having a lot of siblings in my family doesn't help matters. When he went to cousin Koltin's graduation, I was explaining that Koltin's other mom was going to be there. A lot to digest since he he assumes Shannon (Ryan's sister) is his mom (she's been step-mom for 15+ years) so he was very confused on why Koltin would have 2 moms . . . I tried to explain the marriage-divorce-remarriage thing, but it went right over his head! I just love seeing the wheels turn, comparing his life to everyone else. There really is an amazing amount to learn about the world works!


Zach playing baseball with Uncle Travis



Zach & Natty going for a spin on the motorcycle.

Zach at 4 1/2 is a pretty happy dude - very confidant on the bike without training wheels, still asks a million questions, loves to do anything physical, is getting a little more expressive and comfortable shaking his booty or singing. He finished up at preschool for the summer but fortunately their 2-day a week daycare stays open all summer. He loves to help with projects. He and his buddy Kai (next door neighbor) are having a great time running back and forth, shooting dart bullets, riding bikes looking for bad guys.

Natalie 4-11-09 (20+ months) Zach 10-31-06 (22 months)


Natalie will be 2 in a month. She has learned lots of great potty talk and spitting from you-know-who (ugh!) and No is one of her favorite words. But she is sure sweet when she wants something :). She is talking a ton - "Where did Zachy go?" "No, that's Natty's ball" "I want more licorice please" She has thrown a couple tantrums that are quite funny as she will be sprawled out all over the floor but is really easily distracted. She is giant - moving in to 3T clothes with her crazy long torso. I used to think her girl energy was so different from Zach's (which it is) but now that I'm seeing some other little girls, I am thinking her brother is rubbing off on her! She's quite the go-getter. She loves that brother!

Hawaii

We managed to escape to Hawaii for 2 weeks in late April. It was super relaxing and actually a vacation, thanks to bringing our dear friend and old babysitter Samantha for the 2nd week. We ate out, played hard, enjoyed the sun and the water.

Zach really liked the USS Missouri at Pearl Harbor. Probably the most mind-boggling thing that happened was after visiting the USS Missouri, we were getting lunch and some yahoo comes barging into Ryan while he's getting mustard for his burger so he spills it all over. Ryan was shocked and was like "What the heck?" and turned around and it was a coworker from the Fire Department. It was hilarious - they were also headed to Maui so we wound up having dinner with them one night. Ryan worked with Fernando his first year in the department. What are the chances?!

I managed to read 3 books which felt like a pretty big accomplishment! We were on Oahu for 5 nights at the Marriott Ko'Olina which was really nice. Then we went to Wailea (Maui) for 2 nights and then 7 nights at the Westin Villas. Fortunately this trip we saved the best place for last - they resort was AMAZING. It is why people buy timeshares - although we didn't . . . I'll have more pictures from the Pirate Pool which Zach adored. He also was able to do the waterslide with a little help from mom or dad.

Waiting at the airport to head home . . . we watched one mom and probably 6 year old daughter actually MISS their flight to Los Angeles and then to Boston. They ran up to the gate after the doors were closed and after they had been paged several times. It blew me away because I felt sorry for the daughter that they missed it but thought regarding the Mom, "How the heck do you not get to your gate way ahead of time when you are going home???" (They had already checked in too...)

Hanging at the beach at the Westin . . . some friends from Bainbridge were staying there also, so we got to hang out for a couple days - their 5 year old was a hit for Zach. I asked him what he was going to miss about Hawaii once and he said "Justin" but I reminded him Justin lives here.

Zach hanging out with Sam - a teeny tiny sunburn, but it looks worse than it was. The kids both did great with sunscreen. He ate so much food on our trip . . . it was hard work playing in the pool and the beach. It was nice to have Natalie nap every day because it forced us to have a little down time for Zach.


Kids sitting on our windowsill in Ka'anapali. Natalie really turned blonde on this trip!


Kids at the beach at Wailea - in front of the Grand Wailea. The sand was so fine, it wouldn't come out of Natalie's bathing suit . . . it still is in there.


Wailea - just had to show the bathing suit.

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Natalie - curly hair . . . she LOVES the beach and the sand!


Hotel in Wailea - a quieter place (Diamond Resort) but clearly a nice view. We were only there 2 nights. Kids liked the Turtle mosaic in the pool.


Natalie in her bikini - holy moly mom just couldn't quite get enough of the girl bathing suits!


Zach getting ready to go swimming in Oahu


Jumping on the bed in my Turtle swimsuit.


In front of the waterfall at our Oahu hotel. Clearly this was our one bad weather day - as per Zach's sweatshirt. It was our second day there but after that it was pretty nice the rest of the trip.

We were ready to come home but truly not until that last day. So next time maybe 12 days, but seriously, when the kids take 3 days to the time change, the thought of only going for a week makes me crazy. So we won't go as often, but we'll go for longer. Thank goodness for my parents taking our dogs for the entire time . . . but it is better than leaving the kids with them i think!

Close to finished product

These guys are crazy hard workers . . . they are so close to being done it's amazing. I didn't have the ability to conceptualize what we planned to do when we originally talked about what it could look like, but it really came together great! I just knew that whatever we did was going to look better than it did previously.

It has completely transformed our yard. And I love that it has only been 3 days worth of work. We still need to finish the rock wall around the 3rd planter area and we'll re-grade the driveway, but truly amazing.


The view from my kitchen window (well standing in the yard in front of it).


The view from our driveway looking upon our house.

Landscaping Mania

We cleared in October . . . let it sit and Thursday got an estimate for work to be done. They started Friday morning at 6:45 a.m.


Zach has been enthralled, Natalie signing "tractor"



Progress is swift - especially with the big tractor. For someone who doesn't like to make decisions, I've been forced to just figure it out because the guys are here.


More to come . . . just wanted to post some pics!