Happy Birthday Nora!

A little delayed, but here are the photos from Nora's first birthday. 

Happy birthday silly girl!

Just another Tuesday

It was a beautiful day yesterday in Seattle. It was warm and sunny which was quite a treat after the gray, rainy, cool June we've had. We spent as much time outside as possible and even got a trip to the fountains outside the library. One of Nora's favorite things about the good weather is the ubiquitous presence of water bottles.

I'm still having trouble getting good pictures of either kid because as soon as they notice me with the camera they move at top speed towards the camera. Anyone have tips to keep them in place?

Erin decided today that she wanted to play dress up. Our dress up bin is a little sad, but she did find this  penguin costume (thanks Laura) that is about size 2T that she insisted on wearing. Yes, those orange things are her knees are really the feet. 

Then she decided it was time to get married. She put on a much too small fairy costume (backwards) and a sheer skirt and a straw hat.  

  But really, what fun is it being a beautiful bride without someone to marry. Today, Erin declared that she was going to marry Natalia. They had some wonderful wedding dances. Aren't they a happy couple?

This is a big week for Erin. She had her last day of Spanish class yesterday and finishes up her preschool classes on Thursday and Friday. Then we're on our own! We're starting to get ready for our trip to Minneapolis next week. We can't wait to go to the Cabino! Here are a few of our favorites from last year (and yes, Erin wore the same outfit the whole trip).

Looking forward to Minnesota!

Happy Mother's Day

I asked for two things for Mother's Day: a hike and a nap. 

So far we can call it a success even though I don't have any pictures of the nap.

We drove to Twin Falls hiking trail about 45 minutes east of Seattle. Luckily we put off our Mother's Day waffles and got in the car early. The place was just starting to get busy when we got on the trail. We used the outhouse at the trailhead and Erin decided that she doesn't really like them. "too stinky!"

 I think that we were a little too ambitious (3 miles with some hills) and both Erin and Nora were pooped by the end, but we had fun and we made it.

Happy Mother's Day. I hope everyone has a great day.

Back to regular life...

 Nora loves her toothbrush. She loves it so much, that I don't brush her teeth much because of the meltdown that ensues after I take the toothbrush away. She also believes that toothpaste is for suckers and that real kids just use the gooey stuff that is dripping down from their nose. Eww... At some point I realized that my kids really are snotty-nosed and that most of the time I no longer care. 

Nora still believes that the only way to really enjoy a toy is with the mouth. Poor Buzz got slimed.

Erin likes to curl up in the chair after nap (she is a total Lee girl who has trouble waking up) and listen to stories on CD. Her current favorites are "Henry and Ribsy" and "Judy Moody." We also started reading "All of a Kind Family," yesterday that is a hit. 

Nora is really taking off on walking. She is still much less motivated and much more cautious than Erin was, but she will now walk across a room on occasion. I guess she heard me bemoan the possibilty that she wouldn't be walking by 12 months and she squeeked in just under the wire. I think that we can now call her a walker. 

We were talking to Auntie Laura on the computer this week and she mentioned that she had done the baking soda and vinegar experiment with her 6th graders. We pulled out our supplies and set our little scientist at the task. She loved it. We made a big mess. We used a whole box of baking soda and 3/4 of a bottle of vinegar.

 

At preschool today, the class had a Mad Hatter Mother's Day Tea Party. They had tea and snacks and the kids had made felt flowers for all the Moms. They had also designed funny hats for all of the Moms. It was lots of fun and the kids had a great time. 

 

My girls. Notice my cool purple hat.

Nora just had to try out my hat. She actually preferred to eat it, but wearing it was ok too. 

We finally found a good tree in the neighborhood for climbing. It's got sturdy, low branches and no pokey sticks to catch Erin's dress. I think that we'll be visiting this one a lot this summer.

Jan and Dean left this week to head back to Minneapolis. The house feels very quiet and the kids keep wandering aimlessly looking for other adults. Too bad they're just stuck with me. We miss them very much. On the flip side, I'm off for about 10 days and it's such a nice break after my last stretch of work. The weather is also a nice treat this week and we're just trying to soak up all the sunshine.