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.

.
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!

Sounders FC Excitement

Natalie (20 months) and Ryan, throwing the ball for Mitchell (Natalie's favorite thing in the world right now). "Throw, ball, Mitchell" is heard when she wakes up, when she talks to Ryan on the phone, when Ryan walks in the door.

Ryan bought season tickets to the Sounders FC. I didn't play soccer and have probably have had Offsides explained to me a dozen times by Ryan, but i have had so much fun at the 2 games we have been to so far. Their season is perfect because there is only 1-2 games/month. We have great seats by the North Goal so we get to see a lot of action. While I was in the bathroom, the guy behind Ryan caught a ball that was kicked in disgust by the goalie into the stands. Of course, I was curious what happened and why Ryan didn't have it . . . oh well. Maybe next time.

Seattle is seriously on board - thanks to losing the Soncis to Oklahoma, and a not-so decent football and baseball team.


And I have to say, I love the gear - I love the green of the jerseys, it's so vibrant in an otherwise cold and dreary "spring." And it was awfully cute watching dad and daughter out there in their 'matching shirts.'

No More Training Wheels

Zach has been riding a bike with training wheels since Natalie was born. Today he took the "big boy leap" and we took off the training wheels. Our almost 5 year old neighbor has a bigger bike with no training wheels and his buddy Jobe also just started to ride without training wheels. My $150 oil change at WalMart yielded a Balance Buddy to help us out. He was so eager to take off the training wheels, but then was really nervous so didn't want to ride. So I went back to working in the yard and then after about an hour, he decided he was ready to try. After 15 minutes of instruction from Ryan, he really was doing it by himself. The starting and stopping is the harder part but it was so exciting.



Meanwhile, Natalie, who is on her second round of antibiotics after developing 2 ear infections while on the first antibiotic, was out there having a blast.


Runny nose and all, she was stomping through the puddles like a pure toddler.

We are so happy to see March arrive. We have not been a healthy house for the ENTIRE month of February. UGH! HAPPY MARCH EVERYONE!

My $150 Oil Change

As promised, here is Natalie's picture from this morning. Mind you this is MUCH better than it looked yesterday. My poor baby girl. She is gagging on the antibiotics to the point that I can't hide them any longer in the yogurt. She's not biting. So after a call to the doctor's office, we have a new antibiotic and eyedrops. Unfortunately, I also have to take Natalie back in tomorrow to have her eye checked again. Cautious is good, I appreciate that. Doctor's office 3 times in 5 days, not good.

So, I needed to run a few errands today. I was all prepped to take Natalie and leave Zach home with Ryan but when Ii told her to say goodbye to Dad, she got the saddest look either one of us have seen and started crying. We tried a second time and same response. So Ryan asked if she wanted to stay home, which she was super excited about. I left before she could change her mind. You know it's bad when going to Walmart by myself sounds good. So I needed an oil change and thought it would be perfect timing because I had no kids and could get in and out and get a few things. When I asked how long I expected to wait, I had no clue that each car takes 20 minutes and I was #3. UGH. So I marched in not wanting to spend much money, but pleased to have time to shop without anyone asking me anything or asking to buy something or throwing something on the ground.


I came away with many things I needed: new shaving cream for the kids when we are in the shower, new black socks to replace some of the ones I have with holes in them, a Valentine's Day card for Ryan, Mini-muffin paper liners, Wheat Germ and Flaxseed Germ to put in "yet-to-be-made" mini-muffins, frosting, an orange peeler, a new yoga mat that is hopefully a bit thicker than the one i have now, new sippy cups for Natalie because the sock monster is stealing them, a Seahawks hat for Zach, new toothbrush for Zach. But the best one of all was the Batman pajamas I got him. He thanked me probably like 10 times. They also have a cape, which was so exciting that he was thrilled to have his picture taken. Too bad my $30 oil change wound up costing me $120.

"Mommy, can you take a picture of my cape too!"