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.

Birthday Season- Erin is 4!!!

Birthday season for us begins in April and goes all the way through May. During that time, in the immediate family we celebrate birthdays for Matt, Gramma Beth, Eleanor, Erin, Dean, me, Nora, Caroline and Benjamin.... I hope I'm not leaving anyone out. This does not count the scores of friends who also have spring birthdays. 

We had the great fortune to be in Portland for both of Gramma Beth's birthday celebrations this year. The day of the family party was warm and bright and we basked outside in the sun. 

Matt was lucky enough to have a whole day off (yes, sense the sarcasm, I'm so sorry) and spent several hours on the train so he could be there celebrate with us. Love this guy.

Erin is fascinated by tree climbing lately. Our walks in the neighborhood are frequently interrupted by Erin asking "is that a good tree for me to climb?"Unfortunately there aren't that many trees around that meet our tree climbing needs, but Gramma has this geriatric Japanese Maple in her front yard that has been climbed at some time by everyone in the family. Erin loved it.

Nora showing off one of her classic faces. This kid is a total ham.

Muggy was in town for the party with Oscar. Oscar's been having some health problems lately with a lame back leg. Muggy is taking great care of him and he seems happy and not too bothered by being gimpy. His favorite part about being injured is the introduction of pill pockets to his daily routine. Gotta love that dog.

It was funny to watch Nora interact with Oscar. Erin grew up with both dogs constantly in her face, but given her lack of exposure, Nora is a little more wary. Oscar on the other hand, loved the little lady who drops lots of food on the floor. Apparently, Muggy is too neat an eater.

Today is Erin's 4th birthday (oh and Dean's birthday too). It's been a great day for Erin so far. Matt was able to make her pancakes this morning before he left for work. She got to take cupcakes to school for her friends. Grandma Jan made her macaroni and cheese for lunch and she's got a whole bunch of presents waiting for her. She got to choose the birthday meal (poor Dean's wishes are now a distant second). She asked for plain couscous. Hmm.. a little dull for a meal. So we ended up agreeing on chicken with olives and dates served over couscous. For dessert, she asked for a strawberry cake. Again, a little compromise ensued and we agreed on a chocolate cake with strawberries on top. I made the cake, but Erin helped with the frosting. Her favorite part, of course, was licking the beater. 

The finished product. Below is Erin enjoying singing to herself this afternoon. 

Nora is finally taking this walking thing a little more seriously. She'll take up to 6-8 steps, but still uses crawling as her speedy and preferred mode of mobility. 

Nora is getting better and better at communicating what she wants. She says "book" and "that" and sometimes "up." She also signs "more" and "all done." She also love to point and grunt or yell. She loves to pretend to make phone calls with my cell and pretends to dress herself with clothes from the laundry basket. She's finally attached to her blankie and likes to "love her blankie." She is also getting a little friendlier with people other than me and Matt and happier to spend time with folks other than me, even when I'm around. This is all good news.

Erin and Jan talked to Auntie Laura this afternoon on the computer. Laura and Tom gave Erin a bunch of birds, a skunk and a fox. Erin loves to play forest animals with whoever will join in. Watch out, Grampa just got sprayed by skunk Erin in the other room...

We sang Happy Birthday to Dean and Erin, but then Erin blew out all of the candles before Grandpa could even get a chance. 

Erin enjoyed opening the presents and got wonderful gifts. Her favorites included the ladybug that shines stars on the ceiling, a new board game we'll get to try out tonight and some magnetic ballerinas.

And then the birthday fairy visited. I meant it as a joke, but Erin now believes that there is a birthday fairy and that the fairy brought her a new big girl bike. Hard to argue to demand credit for the gift when she's so thrilled with the idea of a magical fairy bringing her a bike. 

In any case, the bike was a hit.

Now onto the next slug of birthdays...