Watson Family Adventures

Catching up

2012-01-08T21:20:00.001-08:00

Christmas flew by, it was such a great one! The kids both really BELIEVE this year, without question. This year Santa left foot prints and cookie crumbs in our house too!
We were lucky enough to have Nana and Papa come and stay with us and witness the excitement, joy and chaos that is Christmas morning!
It all started at 5:51 am (this is the before picture)
Almost after - about 6:08 a.m. - just the Santa gifts opened
Jakob was on the good list this year and got the skateboard he asked for!
Somehow this one made it on the good list too! She got her (free wheeled scoota) 3 wheeled scooter that she asked for.
Putting the presents to good use - 9 am
Sunset on Christmas day!
The ladies!
Nana and Papa got us Twister, super fun, just not as big as I remember it! Nana and Jakob just starting their Twister challenge!
Santa brought us the Michael Jackson Wii game, also a great game for the family - Mark was roped into playing it, didn't want to be beaten by his daughter!! Good times!
All in all a wonderful holiday!!

Tis the season

2011-12-04T21:47:00.001-08:00

We tried something new this year, we went to cut down our own tree. You would think we would've done this when we lived in the northwest, where all the trees are gorgeous, but we didn't. And I think after this year, we might end up with an artificial as in years past! The tree was a difficult decision and it's kind of a charlie brown tree, kinda bare on one side but needed a trim on another, and is a pain in the rear to get straight - but, it's unique and oh my goodness our house smells amazing - so there is that! We'll just see what the after Christmas sales hold in the way of artificial trees. I think the kids could go either way, I know they enjoyed the hunt (for awhile) but I think we would enjoy putting one together just as much. They love the decorating that's for sure.

Here we are hiking up to find a tree! Funny that there are palms in the background, so southern California.
Sarah had a knack for finding very interesting trees.

Silly kiddos (so done with me trying to get a nice picture of the two of them).
Tired and sitting in the shade. By this time we had walked every square inch of this farm to really pick a good one. They were done and would've been just as happy with a bush by now.

After getting the tree we made one of a few trips that day to Lowe's to pick out Christmas lights for our new house! Mark worked tirelessly getting them up on the house, I didn't work that hard, just threw them around the palm, which we fixed today. I think for our first go at hanging lights, it's pretty ok! Our tree is in the walkway, getting ready to be brought into the house.

Finally decorating, the kids were so excited. They had to wait to decorate until we could get a new bulb on the lights for the tree, a whole strand was out. Thank goodness for nice neighbors!
Sarah got to put the angel on for the first time - very exciting!

We ended the weekend with a surprise trip to the Del Mar race track for their Holiday of Lights show. You get to drive on the horse track and see a TON of light displays. We had the kids in their pj's in the car, guessing the whole time where they were going - we stumped them until we drove in. It was fantastic, and their faces on the kids were priceless. Sarah sat on my lap in the front and Jakob helped Mark drive around the track - very exciting. I know I will hold this as a favorite holiday memory, hopefully they will too.

A great journey with my BFF

2011-11-22T22:39:00.000-08:00

Well really it was 3 days of walking with my "Breast Friend". I have known Aubrey for 30 years, wow that makes me feel really old! But we have known each other since kindergarten! Taking on the 3Day walk with her was wonderful, for so many reasons but really because we are like an old married couple, we can just tell when there doesn't need to be a conversation, when something is wrong, right, etc.

Aubrey was somehow inspired by me, I don't know how I could inspire anything, I feel like I can barely inspire my kids to go to school and not get in trouble and barely inspire myself to get out of bed! But, she was moved to join me and it made all the difference in the world. The last time I did this walk, I did it by myself in honor of a great friend who was at the time battling the disease. This time I did it in honor of 3 more women who were just diagnosed - 2 family members and another great friend. This disease is just becoming more common place and I am afraid of that, I am afraid that I will have to battle it, or that Sarah will have to battle it. I guess I really feel like I need to do something in the fight against breast cancer, even though it's not really fighting or curing the disease, I guess it's my own way of feeling like I am doing something for these very special women in my life.

So, we fundraised for 4 months all the way up until the day of the walk asking for donations to reach our goal of $2300. We achieved that goal and we took on the 60 miles together, named ourselves the "Breast Friends" which was just as goofy as we are. Mark so kindly pointed out that we haven't changed, "Still dorks" he said as we danced on our way - can't remember what song but it was surely some 80's or 90's dance hit. Yep, we are dorks and we are proud of it! We had a blast, we walked sometimes in silence (partly due to the fact that I didn't have a voice for part of the walk), and sometimes in nonstop chatter, we danced, cheered, moaned and groaned, laughed, and cried quite a bit. Aubs put up with my never ending head cold and nose blowing, and even slept in a tent with me and my illness! We even stopped for a couple well deserved pink margaritas around mile 50, such a great idea, our feet felt pretty great after, our bladders not so much! :)
We ended our journey by dancing our way to the finish line to "Push It", yes Salt n Pepa - couldn't have been any more fitting for us! I can not wait to do this again with my BFF!

Here we are ready to take off on Friday morning, 6:30 am, from the Del Mar fairgrounds.
Mile 11, lunch still pretty pumped up!

20 miles down, some seriously tired feet! We were in bed by 9 if not sooner. This is our tent in the background.
A wonderful pick me up, a visit from the family. I don't have all the pics, but Aubrey's kids made her a sweet poster, which of course made her cry and in turn me too. Jakob and Sarah were so cute cheering everyone on. Jakob's poster said "Three Day Walkers Rock", and Sarah's said "Go Free Day Walkers".
Mile 50, basically my wall, I was really feeling the heaviness in the feet and legs here, but with a little rest and motivation by Aubs, I got back up and kept walking. We turned the corner out of this stop and had to walk uphill, oh man that was tuff stuff but at the top were the well earned margaritas!

Finished!! Yay! It was raining and really windy/cold at this time. We are wearing all of our layers under our shirts to stay warm! What a day we had, rain in the morning, sun, wind and then rain again - kinda crazy - just like us I guess!
I can't forget to say that I really appreciate my family for all their support that went into this, the training walk time, the fundraising on my behalf, the helping me find the right socks, the cheering and making of signs, and putting up with my demands - the last minute things I needed to be delivered to camp, and just taking care of the kids during this event. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I had such an amazing time and just feel really special with all the support I was given.

Trick or Treat

2011-11-02T21:46:00.000-07:00

We started our Halloween celebration off a little early, went trick or treating thru Carlsbad Village. It was pretty warm, so Jakob decided not to go as Batman but as a "Zombie Soccer Player", his idea, which turned out quite good I think. We had a lot of people asking what he was, but there was one man who walked up and said, "Yes, great costume, look kids a zombie soccer player!" That made Jakob's day for sure!

Batgirl and the zombie soccer player

The zombie detail up close, including the mark of a soccer ball that probably was the cause of the fatality!

We carved our pumpkins on Sunday, Sarah did her best to scoop out the "guts", but Mommy did most of the dirty work!
Some serious concentration happening on Jakob's design and cutting
Team work on the more complicated parts of Jakob's design
Thru the eye of the jack o lantern to be
Halloween night, getting ready to go trick or treat, Sarah decided not to go as Batgirl, last minute change into a fairy princess on a unicorn - girls will be girls!
The neighborhood superhero gang! We joined our neighbors, Raiden, Ryan and Olivia for trick or treating - the kids made sure not to skip one house! In fact Jakob had to come home to dump out candy so that he could carry his bin! The neighborhood goes all out with decorations, there were tons of kids, super fun!

Sarah got a bit spooked by the scary costumes and houses, so we came home to hand out candy, she wanted to hand it out, until someone came up with a scary costume. Here she is yelling, "Hey guys come and get some candy!"
The loot!

All in all one of the more memorable and enjoyable Halloween's for me. I absolutely loved watching Jakob and his friends get so excited going from house to house, I remember that feeling and loving it! Also watching the boys be brave at super spooky houses was great too, I think they looked brave on the outside with their costumes on, but inside, I know they were pretty scared! Sarah was so afraid to say trick or treat to any stranger, she took to making a weird whining noise at the doorstep, which was pretty hysterical. She eventually got brave at the "not spooky houses" and did actually mutter "trick or treat" and was so proud of herself!
Can't wait until next year!

Ninjago Party!

2011-10-23T21:09:00.000-07:00

We had Jakob's 7th Birthday party this weekend, he chose the theme of Ninjago (Lego Ninjas). This was our first real party at our house, I mean real party, the adults had just as much fun as the kids, it was GREAT!

We had a Ninja cake, ninja head bands to make with their chosen Ninjago character, a bounce house - very exciting for Jakob and well worth the $80 - blow up ninja swords, and potato sack races! It went pretty smooth - had a few snafuus with the blow up swords - boys don't know when to stop with the swords but, with a little guidance things settled down!

Ninja cake, made by Grandma Kathy!
The Birthday ninja boy in the bounce house!
Swords and balloon game in the bounce house - they had to see who could keep the balloon in the air the longest - you can see the Birthday boy in the lower right corner - cheating?!
Potato sack races!
Sarah, poor sweet girl at the almost all boy party (one other girl). She did NOT like losing the races or games, she is pretty competitive this one! I'm thinking she is going to rock those boys later on - at basketball or volleyball maybe? Until then, she'll just look tough!
Dad's against the top boy finishers! Look at Mark - he was doing a full rodeo swing here! I so wish we had the ending of this race on video, he managed to come up right next to Jakob and push him out of the way so that he could win - HYSTERICAL!
Great Grandma Willy's first visit to our new house, we felt so blessed to have her here with us for the festivities!

One of Jakob's favorite gifts (thanks Ted and Loretta!) - a 394 piece Lego Hero Factory set - he did a lot of it on his own, just a couple hours with Daddy!

The weekend

2011-10-16T21:17:00.000-07:00

Kids finished their soccer with the YMCA, and got some very special medals!

Sarah finally played more than a few minutes in a game, that is an accomplishment for her!
Jakob rocked his soccer game, had lots of shots on goal and played some EXCELLENT defense. He has such speed and determination. He had parents on the other team cheering him on for his speed and defense skills!

Today, we went to the pumpkin patch - it is 45 minutes from us but it took us over 2 hours to get there, apparently it is the busiest weekend of the year to go there! Won't make that mistake again. Needless to say, the kids did not want to turn around once we were 1 hour into the drive. So we tried to make the best of it - but it was about 90 degrees and past Sarah's nap time, so it was umm,.....DIFFICULT!

At least the kids had a favorite part of it - for Jakob is was the shaved ice and for Sarah is was the horse/carriage ride. I guess I would have to say my favorite part is the hunt for the pumpkin, it was a short one b/c it was so hot and it was quite picked over but it's still my favorite part. I think for Mark, his favorite part was sitting in the shade with a cold shaved ice, probably would've liked a beer instead, he did work hard hauling our pumpkins around!! I haven't taken a pic of the pumpkins we picked out but we have a "family" pumpkin that is 35lbs, it's our biggest one yet! Jakob and Sarah picked out some other interesting little ones for Nana&Papa, Grandma Kathy and for GG Willy.

Mark hauling the load!
Sarah's found one!
Jakob too
One of the "Big Mac's" as they call them in this field.

Overheard Sarah say...

2011-10-01T20:32:00.000-07:00

"Daddy what kind of human is that over there, a boy or a girl?"

"I don't want this underwear anymore, they're too cute with flowers...I want Batgirl underwear."

"Jakob you are being really annoying" (Hadn't heard her say annoying before)

"Jakob you look like a strong man" (Jakob was in his soccer uniform)

Last week, she had a "night dweam" as she calls a nightmare and said it was about the "Big Bad Wolf". When reminded that he isn't real, she nodded and went into the bathroom. While in the bathroom she says to herself, "If I saw that big bad woof I would poke him in the paw."

I wish I could remember everything she says, seriously out of the mouth of babes!

Wow that flew by...

2011-10-01T14:02:00.000-07:00

September came and went, and it was a busy one!

Long story short this is what happened: Jakob started first grade, doing daily homework, PTO meetings, fundraisers, Sarah and Jakob in YMCA soccer, my 35th Birthday, Ben Harper concert, Wild Animal Park, camping at the beach and now we are on to planning Jakob's 7th Birthday party!

Jakob is showing off his yoga skills, he practices at his after school program,

Sarah and Daddy at the Wild Animal Park
Sarah's first soccer game. She was not too excited about a team sport, but when she gets the ball she goes for it.
The whole family at the wild animal park! So fun!
One HAPPY 35 year old, 10-15 rows back at Ben Harper!!
You know who!!

Our big guy!

2011-08-25T21:46:00.000-07:00

Jakob started first grade today, I feel old just saying it. He's no longer officially little, not a baby, not a toddler, not preschooler or a kindergartener - ugh. My heart hurts, the time literally just flew by and I feel like I can only remember bits and pieces. I was getting teary eyed just trying to remember what he was like at a year and what his little voice sounded like. I know that the next 6 years will go just as fast, I'll be typing about how old I feel having a teenager in a blink of an eye!
Ok enough whining about the things I can do nothing about - time, change etc.

This morning we had a first for first grade, we walked with Jakob to school from our new house! Jakob actually rode his scooter with his buddy Elias, Mom's and siblings in tow and Mark! Jakob managed to fall a few times on the scooter, I managed to yell at him once because he was riding too fast - parent of the year there! Luckily I had band aids with us in our school supply bag!

It was kind of nuts at school with people trying to figure out where they were going, including us! We found Jakob's classroom, met his teacher Mrs. Murray, very nice and he promptly found his desk. Jakob mentioned to me that he thought that some kids in his class were 2nd graders, I thought maybe they were repeating first! But no, we found out that he is in a 1st - 2nd combo class and was "hand picked" by the principal for this class (along with 8 others) because of their attention span, ability to work independently etc. So, after some shock and fear of hearing that he was in this class, I felt better when she said that. I think he was actually excited to be in class with the older kids, he told me this afternoon that some of the 2nd graders have just turned 7 - and yes he will be 7 in a month!

So, all in all a day of anxiety, tears and joy!

Sarah's obsession with getting married...

2011-08-16T22:04:00.000-07:00

It started probably a year ago, she talks about wearing a wedding dress, getting married to her brother or Daddy, I don't know why she is so obsessed with it, but she is. Well, my parents brought my wedding dress down for me to store now, (guess we have a house and we are adults, so we have to store it) and I made the mistake of showing it to Sarah. She thought that she was going to get to wear it then, and was so upset that she couldn't take it out of the box. So, I told her that when she is old enough to get married she could wear it if she wanted to, that satisfied her and now that's all we hear about, "When I'm a growm (yes GROWM) up, I will wear your dress."

Tonight she was looking at pictures on our wall of our wedding and said, "I wish I could be at your wedding, when you get married, I want to go."

Me: "Oh yeah Sarah, I'm sorry you weren't there, but you weren't born yet, and I'm not getting married again, but you'll get to go to a wedding someday."

Sarah: "Yeah and you'll be in the back seat."

Me:"Oh, what do you mean, you are going to drive me?"

Sarah: "Yeah, I'm going to get married and you'll be in the backseat."

Me: "Who are you going to marry?"

Sarah: "Probably Daddy"

I see now where I stand!

Another day in the life of Jakob and Sarah...

2011-08-15T21:49:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would post a few pics to keep current with happenings here:

Jakob is still loving Blaze the gecko, not as excited about him, but when he remembers him, he is! I don't have a picture of what Jakob is really into right now, paper airplanes, I really need to take a picture of the 50 or so airplanes he's made on his own and likes to leave lying around the house. He really likes to throw them from the top of the stairs and/or at someone!

Sarah, being Sarah, what else can I say. She is so lucky she is cute, she's been quite the handful these days, lots of tantrums, lots of yelling and a lot of stress on the parents. We are going to be learning how to best help her soon. Until then, we breathe, drink wine/beer and try our darndest to be patient.

Sarah's first swim lessons without a parent, she did great.

Sarah's dream of holding and caring for a real baby came true this weekend, the Heidrick family came to visit, and this is Madeleine (8 weeks), a real doll!

Saved the best picture for last, this is what happens when Mom goes on a walk! Look at my boy, what a good big brother! And Sarah, she looks about 5 in this picture - scary how he has grown so fast!

We were walking home from the YMCA last week, Jakob and I were talking about how different dogs are, how some need obedience training and some don't. I said, "Yep, like some kids are more difficult than others." Jakob, "Yeah, like Sarah." Me, "Yeah, but we just have to learn how to work with her." Jakob, "Yeah, but I hope she still stays crazy, it wouldn't be much fun without her crazy!" So true!

A new addition

2011-07-25T22:22:00.000-07:00

We have a new addition to our family, a Red Flame Crested Gecko - called Blaze. I like to call him Blaze, the Big Kahuna Gecko. Sarah thought Echo the Gecko was a good name - I thought so too - but Blaze was Jakob's favorite and it's his pet to care for (we'll see how long that lasts!).
He's super cute, Jakob is over the moon for him. I'm thinking Jakob's week of reptile camp really sealed that love for reptiles. I'm just happy to have a baby in the house! :)
He's very playful with Jakob, he jumps all over him, he hasn't had the desire to explore Sarah - maybe he feels her nuttiness.
I'm sure he'll grow to love her too!
Now, let's just hope we can keep him happy and healthy!

Oh and we know he's a boy because, "The lady checked his private parts Mom!", I have no idea where they are but they must exist!

Jakob is also excited because Blaze can live for 15 years, I told him he will have to take him to college with him, that blew his mind!

Our house, is a very very very fine house...

2011-07-18T23:22:00.001-07:00

We are all so happy to be in our new "forever" home! I didn't video tape the kids when they walked into it, I was too in the moment, I could kick myself for not getting their reactions on video! Sarah's was priceless, "MY room is PINK!!!!" And after a week with the Grandparents, coming home to furniture, Jakob "It has furniture!" and Sarah, (after seeing her room decorated) "Mom did you do this ALL by yourself?!" Sarah is still sleeping with Jakob, she refused to be in her own room, she sleeps on the floor in Jakob's room, he isn't too upset by it! I've seen her climbing into bed with him at night after a "night dream". I'm sure she'll want to sleep in her pink room someday! For now, they are happy and we are happy.

No pics of the house yet, but a few of the two kids enjoying themselves...

Box forts in the backyard
Bubble bath time in our new tub!

Serious belly laughs happening by all here!
More photos to come, just totally enjoying being in a spacious house that is ours!

Summer is here!

2011-06-26T19:35:00.000-07:00

In between packing for our new house (yay), we managed to find some time to enjoy summer - it's finally showing it's face - the fog has cleared!

Saturday afternoon, hiking at Torrey Pines State Park - kids did fantastic. We found a trail that goes down to the beach, so that was exciting!

Kids in a cave!

Sunday at the beach - all day! Lots of body boarding done by Mark, big castles made by the kids and I, and lots of jumping in the waves.

Kids enjoying our new beach tent - best $18 investment we've made this summer!
"Girls only", castle making.
How do my kids come home so filthy and covered with sand - this is how!

Father's Day

2011-06-19T19:54:00.001-07:00

Happy Father's day to one of the greatest Dads we know!!

Beer...it's what's for Father's day!

This is Jakob's card that he gave to Mark - so cute!
What more can a Dad ask for?!
2 crazy kids?!

The STAGE!

2011-06-14T21:47:00.000-07:00

1 hour of waiting, a small snack in the belly, 8 three year olds were being kept in a room with 50 or so other girls (older and more patient), all of them being told "Don't mess up your hair, don't roll on the ground, don't touch her head band, don't scream etc. etc. etc., " all of them on the verge of shear meltdown, until they were finally called to the stage waiting area! This is where the meltdowns did ensue, some screaming, "I want to dance!" "I don't want to go without you Mommy!" "I want to go now", just some of the things that were being said seconds before they got all lined up on stage. These poor little girls have no idea what to expect, have no clue what a stage even is, but all managed to perform their little hearts out - maybe not the exact choreography that they were taught, but they performed!!
Sarah absolutely LOVED being on stage, she did NOT want to get off!
I know she tried her hardest, she kept moving and twirling to the point where we thought she might twirl off stage - she sure gave it her all!

Headed to the recital!

Just lined up on stage!
Getting ready for the Tinkerbell ballet debut!
Jakob did his part in the recital - he was a "walker" for the bridal party dancers - he walked a couple little girls out to the wedding march - you should have heard the crowd sigh! So CUTE!

I know this is a blurry picture, but that kid was moving so fast, I couldn't capture his face!

Just a few more quick videos! Enjoy Mom!

Ballet

2011-06-12T21:30:00.000-07:00

Sarah had a dress rehearsal for her upcoming recital on Tuesday night. It was great to see all the little ones in their fairy costumes, but the pressure of performing in front of all of us, may be a bit much for Sarah! Hoping she doesn't have a meltdown on Tuesday! I know she really enjoys the class, performing on stage is a whole other obstacle, maybe her class clown personality will shine?!

Getting warmed up
Mrs. Laura, gathering up the fairies

The 2 minute attention span is in effect!
And she's done!

And we officially have a BIG boy!

2011-06-08T20:48:00.000-07:00

Today was kindergarten promotion or graduation. I don't remember such an event from my childhood and I kind of think it is a bit overboard, since aren't kids expected to graduate from each grade? Do we need a celebration for things that are expected? I don't know, maybe I'm a bit old fashioned, but deep down I really did enjoy seeing my boy sing (even if it was SO painful for him to sing and be on stage), and just get recognized for his achievements. Like his principal pointed out, "Kids these days have it very different than when we were in kindergarten", they are reading, doing addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, science - seriously at ages 5 and 6! So, I guess that, YES I do want Jakob to feel like he did something special because all I remember doing in kindergarten is playing in the sandbox, chasing boys, playing house and taking a nap - probably didn't need a big celebration for that!

The Graduate
The Pledge of Allegiance
Proud Parents
Proud Grandparents
Proud Gramma
Kindergarten gang!
Oh and miss Sarah, doing her Sarah thing - Hide and Seek and just being goofy!! She said tonight that her favorite part of the day was hearing Jakob sing the "Alligator song" at his "gradumation".

Our Strongest Man

2011-06-05T15:15:00.001-07:00

I know he doesn't think he's the strongest man right now, but he is to us! He ran 17 miles until both his knees locked up and still finished the marathon! Seriously, I think most would have given up. He's a man of his word, if he's going to do it, he will - some how! He's a great example to his kiddos, who were so worried about him when he wasn't at the finish line with his projected time, Jakob was teary eyed, thinking that Mark was taken to the hospital or "got lost", then thru the sea of people, came Mark- Jakob just stood frozen with a grin from ear to ear! Jakob made him a special medal - you can see it in the picture (white cardboard with yellow twisty ties/ribbon).

Not the best picture - Sarah is being Sarah in her stroller, and their are port a potties in the background, but at this point it was survival for all of us!

Congrats Mark, you rock!

Happy Mommies Day!

2011-05-08T19:53:00.000-07:00

Had a nice Mother's day weekend, full of love, torment and more love from the kids!

Friday night, Mark had a great impromtu idea to hike at Torrey Pines to watch the sunset, unfortunately it was foggy, but it was fun to walk on the beach and hike up the hill, the kids thought it was exciting to eat their dinner in the car too (too cold outside).

Spent Saturday afternoon at the Wild Animal Park, the highlight was definitely the butterfly exhibit!
There were the most beautiful butterflies flying all around us, totally amazing!

Took this picture of a baby elephant nursing, too cute!
The kids feeding the deer. I didn't have any quarters for the food and this nice man gave us quarters - the kids were thrilled!

Woke up on Mother's Day to Jakob tiptoeing in the bedroom to Mark, "Daddy can you help me make coffee for Mommy?" How much do I love this kid!

He and Sarah made me the cutest gifts - here is one of my favorites:

P.S. Mark gave me the cutest shoes! He knows the way to my heart! Oh and at the end of the night, the kids and Daddy made chocolate covered strawberries - WOAH, I am seriously spoiled today!

Happy Mother's Day to all those that work so hard raising little ones, caring for big ones and loving us thru it all!
Hope you were all spoiled today too!

Beach weekend

2011-05-01T21:13:00.001-07:00

We had such a nice weekend and took full advantage of it - beach on Friday night, Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday. We have sun burns, sand in the house and lots of dirty towels - it was so worth it!

Jakob did some real body boarding with some REAL crashes and had a great time today in the water - 3 hours or so - jumping and running in the waves - I don't know how kids can stay so warm! Sarah had her try at the body board too, but liked standing on it better, she also enjoyed jumping in the waves and had a couple good crashes herself!

W

Spring!

2011-04-24T22:21:00.001-07:00

Spring is here, and it's finally warm again in Southern California - well kind of - it actually rained today (on Easter) but it was warm!

Mark ran his first 1/2 marathon last weekend - I took the kids to the beach - we cheered him on from afar! Truth is, to get the kids up and out early enough to see him run is impossible!

Anyway here is proof that Mark ran his tail off - great job Daddy O, we are so proud of your hard work! What a great example you are for our kiddos!

Here is what the kids were doing to cheer you on - there own hard work - a little corn doggin' down a sandy hill!

We celebrated Easter with a very fun filled weekend - ballet class, followed by an Easter Egg hunt, egg dying, a kindergarten party at Pump it Up, and dinner/drinks at Stone Brewery - that was just Saturday! I just have to add in, one of my favorite things from Saturday is walking in the door and seeing the kids hanging all over their Uncle Jeff - he had them laughing so hard, we were laughing too - so cute! Thanks Jeff, what a great Uncle!
We spent Easter Sunday having a late breakfast, lazy morning in front of the TV, watching a nature movie with my family, then headed to dinner with Mark's side of the family. We haven't had this much family fun on Easter in I don't know how long! What a great weekend - minus one tiny detail - Sarah threw up on Saturday night (1 a.m.) - I think that cured her of wanting to eat all her candy at one time - not sure if this was the cause of it, but it did teach her this lesson!
So, needless to say we are hurting for some sleep right about now!

Here's Sarah searching for some eggs, she was so funny, running super fast into the field only to realize the eggs were all around her. I thought she was going to fall over face first here after she stopped dead in her tracks to grab an egg!

Dying eggs!
The whole family getting in on the egg dying fun!
Easter morning loot!

And just a little p.s.
I just read that "Easter" was originally a celebration of spring or fertility, where eggs were dedicated to "Eastre" the goddess of fertility - and I would say that our "Easter" was a great celebration of family and our own line of life or fertility - Thanks family!

Daily love

2011-03-31T20:59:00.001-07:00

Love of strawberries
Love building sand castles
Daddy and his girl love
Little family love

So Proud

2011-03-22T21:59:00.000-07:00

Jakob came home with his first report card (he missed his first real one b/c of our move). He is doing great in everything at or above grade level. The best part of the report card was the comments from his teacher, I started tearing up reading them to Jakob, I know it's cheesy, but I am so proud, I just hope he will continue to shine!

From his teacher, Ms. M "What did I ever do without Jakob last trimester? He has fit into our classroom and our routine so easily and smoothly. We absolutely love having Jakob. He is doing very well academically and socially. He's made a core group of friends...he is a great role model for his peers, trying his best and always following our classroom rules. I can always count on Jakob to do the right thing. He is doing so well with his writing...his penmanship is excellent...Thank you for moving here!"

Seriously, it's like a weight has lifted for me, I know that even if I don't feel like Oceanside is really home yet, I know that at least he is doing great.

Family fun time

2011-03-20T18:51:00.000-07:00

Here's Sarah getting ready for a night out on the town with Mommy and Nana!

At the harbor
This weekend we got to spend with my cousin Amy and her daughter, Skylar (5), the kids are like 3 peas in a pod. We went to Stone Brewery, where they have a great grassy area to eat, drink and play. The kids found a rabbit that they had fun trying to catch/feed.
Here they are stalking the poor little bunny.
Went to my Aunt Jennifer's house, Jen has 2 teenage daughters, that are getting rid of their dress up clothes - heaven for Sarah and Skylar! Here is Sarah, ready to get married! We like to call this look, "The Amish Wedding".

Just random daily things

2011-03-11T22:05:00.001-08:00

Sarah's new words: "Mom dogs are so AWESOME!", "Mom sushi is awesome" "Jakob this is going to be so Cool!" Also the sweetest thing, now she has started to say "I love you Daddy or Mommy" just out of the blue - so adorable.

Sarah also has a bit of a crush on a boy at daycare - Dakota - who is also 3 years old, we hear about him daily and how "Dakota is so strong, he has big muscles," he is apparently learning early on how to impress the ladies! Sarah is now showing us her big muscles as well, but she points to her forearms. She is constantly asking what certain foods do, "Will it make me pee...poop....be stronger?" etc. She is already very knowledgeable about the body, "Mommy the food goes into your mouth, down the tube and into your sessles (vessels)", she loves to read any book about the body - hoping this means she is going to be a Doctor or at least a biology teacher?!

Jakob's little things that he has taken a liking too, include playing in the sandbox with his friends at recess and "chasing girls" - nice.

He is really into drawing sea life art pictures, I need to take a photo of one, he is so detailed in his work.

He is really liking tennis, and is quite good at it, kicks my butt most games. We'll be looking into a tennis camp maybe this summer. He's in swim lessons and doing great too, for the first time he had no fear in the pool, "That's because I like it."

The two of them: like to build sand castles but side by side, Sarah is a little overzealous with how hard she pats her sand down. They like to chase each other thru our tiny little apartment and try to scare each other, it's really cute and funny but so LOUD and crazy at times.

They sometimes cuddle each other in the morning in bed, or if Sarah has a nightmare, she crawls in bed with Jakob - seriously so adorable! Sarah is constantly making Jakob laugh with just random things she says.

Both really like "make up" stories before bed, I get the pleasure of telling the story, they each give an idea of what/who they want the story about - Jakob's is usually about an animal and Sarah likes stories about Batman pooping in his bat suit - random, but she thinks it's hilarious, probably b/c if Batman poops in his pants he doesn't have any other clothes to wear, so he has to wear one of his Mom's dresses and God knows how embarrassing that would be, so he learns really quickly how to poop on the potty - just a little hint here for Sarah!

The days go by so quickly, I wish I could remember all the sweet things that happen between these little angels. I really appreciate these small things as I see how fast they are growing, it makes my heart ache.

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-13T19:17:00.001-08:00

We celebrated "Valentimes Day" (per Sarah), w/a family dinner at Joe's Crab Shack - the kids LOVED it, the music, entertainment and the kids food (shrimp for Sarah of course), drinks for parents, made for a nice dinner out. I think that might be a first for us. Sarah was completely occupied with her shrimp and the music - she stood most of the dinner and danced!

Jakob made us some super cute Valentine's cards, didn't take a picture of them yet. He also had a Valentine's Day party at school, got lots of super cute cards and ate "SIX pieces of candy!!"

Today we did errands and got the kids the fish I promised for Valentine's day - since apparently I killed the other one. This one is not looking that hot now, we'll see how long he lasts.

Went to watch the sunset tonight, it was gorgeous as usual! Mark is off to Seattle tonight, will miss my true Valentine, but had a great family weekend to make up for that.

In 10 or so years we'll have time for a lot of romantic evenings out, and I know I'll miss these sweet little family weekends, so grateful for what we have right now.

Ballet

2011-01-25T20:32:00.000-08:00

Three...

2011-01-23T20:09:00.000-08:00

Look who's three, where did the time go!?!
This year we were lucky enough to spend her birthday - for the first time with her Grandparents, Great Grandma, cousins and our close friends. It was a very impromtu party, with a bit of chaos, but I think the kids enjoyed it! Mommy was a bit fried but I guess that is to be expected!

Had to have the princess balloon for the Princess Party!Nana helping Sarah on her new bike
Pin the tail on the donkey
Daddy coaching Sarah on her swing before the main event!
Taking a swing at her tiara pinata
This was the pinata that wouldn't die - a man had to step in!
The princess is ready for her cupcakes!
But not ready to blow out the candles! (Cupcakes were made by Jakob and Daddy and were great!)

Present time...
First dress up shoes! Thanks' s Auntie Ang!

Sarah, my Birthday wish for you is that you keep your desire to be independent, in your style, thoughts, actions etc., it does make your parents job a 100 times harder, but it will serve you well as a woman!!

Fun weekend with old friends!

2011-01-09T20:26:00.000-08:00

The Sula-Goff family came down for a visit this weekend. We figured out that we have known eachother for about 16 years, and our friendship is just as strong now, even after being away for 6 years. Feels so right being back here with them, even better that our kiddos all mesh together as if they've known eachother for that long too.

The whole crazy gang at La Jolla cove, up close and personal with the seals.
Emilie (4) and Sarah, a sweet and silly pair - here they turned away from me and said "Cheese" to the seals!

Our first trip to the SD zoo, and wouldn't you know it, a camel walked right by us! Sarah LOVES camels, she hopped out of her stroller and had a grin from ear to ear, and then yelled, "Hey look at that camel's silly bum!" That's my girl!
Jakob is serious about animal watching! I don't have any pics of his favorite part of the day - watching a Condor eat a rabbit and an eagle eat a rodent - nature at it's best.
Ezra (20 months). Jakob loves Ezra, he told Mark, "I want a little brother, just like this one!" Jakob had Ezra laughing hysterically last night, can't wait to see their friendship grow.
Emilie and Sarah, at the zoo
Had a ton of fun, can't wait until the next time!

Sightseeing in San Diego

2011-01-02T20:49:00.000-08:00

Starting to see the sights around us, and they are fantastic!

Wild Animal Park...
Our own Great Ape, sizes up his competition.

Petting area, Sarah was all over this deer, it was too cute.

The Harbor at Mission Bay

Oh the excitement...

2010-12-27T21:43:00.000-08:00

Christmas finally came and it went by like a whirlwind. We had a great time with family and friends. It was a bit overwhelming compared to our last few Christmas' at home with just a small family, but it was super fun to see everyone! We spent Xmas eve with Mark's side of the family, opened gifts, hung out and tried to get home at a decent hour to watch the Polar Express and drink hot chocolate, that was successful but the kids were so amped up after that! We checked NORAD for Santa's position, found that he was still 2 hours away - expected landing was about 11:30 pm, so the kids headed to bed, with visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads. Jakob was sure he was going to stay awake until Santa got here, and was actually adament that he had stayed awake until 2 am, but what really happened was of course, he fell sound asleep and then woke me up at 2 am with a whispering shriek, "SANTA WAS HERE, c'mon!!" I couldn't send him to bed without opening anything, but didn't want him to wake Sarah so I watched him open 1 gift (a dinosaur egg that he can excavate a fossil from), then I layed with him for about an hour until he fell back to sleep. I'm pretty sure Mark and his evil twin Sarah, were snoring during all of this!!
Jakob wanted to know how many minutes it was until 7 am, when he normally gets up, when I explained that it was HOURS until then, he finally relented!

He and Sarah got up about 6:30 am, Sarah was just as excited about opening presents this year.

They both were excited about their treasures. Jakob didn't get one thing that he really wanted b/c Santa spoke with Nana and Papa about spreading the wealth, so I think he was a bit sad but was so kind about it, "I didn't get the Lego fireboat I asked for, but I got these Legos that I like too." He is the best! You should have heard his gasp when he opened the fireboat at Nana and Papa's house - priceless!!

We spent the day of Xmas driving to my parents, then opening gifts and just enjoying a relaxing day. The next day we spent with 18 other people, it was so nuts but so fun. I wish I had more time to catch up with everyone. I remember going to my Grandma's for Christmas and LOVING it, all the cousins would play, we'd have more gifts to open and just lots of laughter - that's what the kids got this year at Christmas too! So thankful for that, and of course for my Mom and Don for hosting everyone!

At the Dangvu's, the kids all got bubble guns from Grandma Kathy - provided some serious fun!

Here's Sarah trying her hand at it! Oh and Sarah was dressed in a Christmas outfit, until she opened this up from Grandma!
Bubble guns!
The kids table, plus one, "Snoopy", Sarah's newest pal from the Dangvu family!
Hoping to sneak a peek of Santa!
Sleeping with "Snoopy"!
Here is Jakob opening up his 1 gift at 2:15 a.m.!
Christmas morning!
Santa brought Jakob the wetsuit he asked for - we should all be able to see him in the water!
2 happy kiddos at Nana and Papa's house - they are sporting some of their favorite gifts!
Nana and Sarah doing ballet! Sarah has had an outfit change here - it's leotard time!
2 1/2 hours, Lego fire boat done, with a bit of help from the men folk!
2 cutie pie princesses - Sarah and her 2nd cousin Isliana!

Here is the exciting mayhem I was talking about that I remember as a kid, Uncle Paul playing with the kids - he did this when I was a kiddo! Notice Jakob, being caught in the act of doing something, maybe he shouldn't be! Mayhem!

It's starting to feel like Christmas

2010-12-19T20:55:00.000-08:00

The weather is cold, windy and rainy, makes you want to stay inside and drink hot cocoa and munch on all the goodies in sight!
Nana and Papa visited this weekend, which was fantastic but the goodies they left and baked while here - not that fantastic - well not for my waistline!

Here is the family on a cool, Winter evening, walking on the pier

Nana and her girl
The kids made the annual gum drop tree, I helped finish it - they had enough of it about 10 minutes into it, and I think they ate just enough to make them sick! :)
Jakob, getting creative!
Uh huh, caught ya!
The finished product!

Winter?

2010-12-12T21:14:00.001-08:00

I know it's December, but it sure doesn't feel like it. Our bodies are just now defrosting and getting used to this warm thing in the sky, called the sun! I do have to admit that I miss the rain, snow and cold, I like dressing in boots and a rain coat, but the sun is so wonderful.

I know our long lost friends are getting drenched in record rain right now, I am glad we moved when we did. We are thoroughly appreciating this spectacular weather, that I'm pretty sure I didn't appreciate this much, when we lived here without children! We can now just go to the park whenever, pop out to the beach whenever and just go for a walk without gearing up - makes parents lives so much easier! But, it's been ingrained in me to take full advantage of the sun, I guess because we didn't see it too often in Portland, so I feel like we need to do as much as possible in a day. Then I have to step back and remember that it will be sunny and nice here, most of the year - duh - so just slow down and enjoy - but this is hard to do!

Here we are taking full advantage of the warm weather over the last week or so.

La Jolla Coves, looking at the seals (last weekend). The kids loved watching the seals swim, Sarah had to find all the "BAAAABY SEEEALS!"

Shell beach

Birch Aquarium, the kids were able to watch the sharks getting fed, so exciting! Jakob really liked the aquarium, totally into learning all about each fish, if they are tropical or not etc. There is a little tide pool area where the kids could touch things like anemones, sea cucumbers, crabs etc, they both really enjoyed that.

The beach today, Mark and his board.
Just enjoying the view today!

We're back!

2010-12-01T13:29:00.000-08:00

Our move was a long one, 3 days in the car with a 2 1/2 year old, driving thru snow, rain, sleet, high winds, lightening. All while listening to the sweet sounds of "The Wiggles", "Alvin and the Chipmunks" and non stop "Mommy, are we at California yet?" (she literally said this an hour into our drive), oh and a lot of whining, crying, screaming and a bit of dodging clay being thrown at me - oh yeah paradise! And I wasn't the one driving the 26 foot truck, I'm sure that was difficult but I would have traded for that in a heartbeat!! Anyhow, long story short, I was long and we are here in sunny California now!

Papa Don came up and drove a car load down too - what a trooper he was!! We also had a lot of family come and help us unpack into our temporary little apartment - thank goodness for family!! That was a big job, and we couldn't have done it without all the help we got!

The kids are loving the sunshine, they both had a week or so of adjustment - plus we traveled over Thanksgiving to see family - which was great, but I'm sure a bit of a stressor on the kids!

The first week we were here, Sarah would announce loudly "A palm tree!!", she was so excited.

We had some rain when we first moved so the kids didn't get to go to the beach until Thanksgiving - well Jakob had a day with Mark the day before that for just a look.

Jakob started Kindergarten at his new school yesterday, he is doing well. I almost cried I was so nervous for him being the new kid, he was pretty nervous too, but did make a couple friends. His teacher is very sweet, she let Mark and I stay to watch the class, it is really different than his little class in Portland. He is in the pm class - it's only 3 hours and he has 29 kids in class - really different than his all day class with 15 kids. It will be an adjustment, good thing he is super smart!!
We are still working on finding a preschool for Sarah, she had a trial day yesterday at one, and really enjoyed it, I know she will love getting back into that environment, now if she would just get control of her potty habits, we'd be on the right track!! :)

Jakob in the big moving truck - he looks sad here, because we had just picked him up from school and literally got right on the road. He was a bit sad, also tired but had a great time in the truck! He was always the peppiest of the whole bunch of us - wide awake at 9:30pm when me, Mark and Don were all getting coffee!!

Kids in boxes!
Sarah enjoying her bathing suit time - she talked a lot about wearing her swimsuit right when she "Got at California!" It was cool this day, but she was adamant on wearing it! And those that know Sarah, know that she does not get cold easily!
Beach fun
Jakob's first day of school
Ivey Ranch Elementary

Everyday adventures

2010-11-14T19:10:00.000-08:00

We've been so busy packing, organizing, managing a crazy 2 1/2 year old and a 6 year old, fixing the Passat (which Mark totally rocked and saved us $1000 by doing it himself - took a whole day but he did it!!). It's been raining all weekend, so having the kids in the house while all of this is going on, has been more than a challenge. Luckily Jakob was able to have a play date yesterday, meanwhile I managed Sarah at home and tried to pack - which didn't work as Sarah thought it was really fun to pull the tape off the boxes and/or take the contents out!

Instead we played "pop the bubbles" on the bubble wrap and tea party, babies, dance party, and then put her to work on little jobs, like collecting all the stuffed animals to pack. This all worked for about an hour - and had about 5 melt downs in between there! How do we stay sane?!!

Anyhow, today we had a pretty lazy day, slept in, chocolate chip pancakes, a walk to the park in the late morning, packing etc. All while wearing our jammies - well the kids anyways - me in sweats - Sunday has turned into jammie day or wear whatever you want day, at our house.

This evening when the rain let up, we took a late walk before dinner, hoping to spot bats or owls, Jakob made binoculars (or "noculars" as Sarah calls them) for both of them, they each put on their head lamps and were off, with a pit stop at Amber and Josh's house to play with the kitties.

Here they are ready for an adventure.

Jakob is wearing his cozy sweats and sweater, with camo shoes "so that the bats won't see me". (Never mind his bright white socks!!)

Sarah is sporting her ballet jammies with her princess dress and to top it off, her sparkle shoes - on the wrong feet - oh and we don't go anywhere without the baby!

You can see their head lamps all lit up (it's about 4:30pm, but the needed them lit up).

Sarah found a friendly traveler, a lady bug.

Trick or Treat!

2010-10-31T20:41:00.000-07:00

Jakob was a black widow spider, his idea and a lot of his own creation. Sarah was of course, a princess - her own creation as well.

Jakob at his school costume parade.

Sarah at preschool, trick or treating in the building.
Carving pumpkins, notice the difference between the two - Sarah mostly used her hands, Jakob used only the spoon.
Jakob made a picture of what he wanted on his pumpkin, and followed that almost exactly.
Silly Sarah and her "happy princess smile pumpkin"

Halloween night, so excited to go trick or treating!

At home, checking out their loot!
Sarah came in and was so excited, "I was so brave Mommy, I went up to the house and I got CANDY!!"

Mark took them out while I handed out a ton of candy! Apparently there was a spooky house that Jakob got pretty scared at, he was trying to be brave for Sarah but ended up freaking out in the smoke and strobe light, the owners came out and were super nice, gave the kids extra candy!

Mark also took the kids to a house that had a person that didn't look real, in a chair with a monster mask, Mark was trying to convince the kids that he wasn't real, when he poked the fake leg, the person groaned - needless to say they were spooked! I died laughing when he told me this story because he started off with, "I had an embarrassing moment...I think the guy was an amputee!" Too funny!

All in all a nice Halloween - no rain, excited kids and lots of candy!

Spilling the news

2010-10-25T22:36:00.000-07:00

Well, we told Jakob and Sarah last night at dinner that we are going to make the move to California. Actually, Mark said "What would you think about moving to California?"

Jakob's face just lit up with a coy grin, "That would be ok" and Sarah said with her hand being raised in the air several times "Oh me, me, me!" I think this meant she wanted to go too?!

Jakob's second thing he said was "I guess we can just come back on a plane to visit Ian and stuff, right?"

"Exactly Jakob", I thought he was so mature to say that and not start to get upset or cry over leaving his good buds.

Mark showed him the school he will attend - pictures on the website, I talked about wearing uniforms and going to the after care - none of it phased him. He was sure that he would still have "play time and school time at the after care too," which is correct.

Of course the idea of riding in the moving truck really got him excited.

At bedtime, Mark went into snuggle him and he said that Jakob was "giddy" about the move, talking about seeing Nana and Papa, hiking in the sunshine, going to the beach etc.

This is all I needed to make me feel secure in this decision.

Thanks Jakob, you are the best!

Another amazing creation...

2010-10-25T22:32:00.000-07:00

Jakob is really becoming quite the artist/designer/craftsman. He is building/constructing or drawing something new everyday. I really think his after school Art program has really allowed him to flourish in this area - not to mention the extra boxes and tape we have around!

This is what he created tonight, with only a bit of help from Mark with the cutting of the cardboard.

Jakob made sure to put the spinnerets on the end of the body - for those of you who may not have the pleasure of reading all about spiders - this is where the web comes from!

Jakob LOVES anything about bugs, but seriously is fascinated with spiders, so he created his own and will be one for Halloween as well - assuming the costume I made him actually stays together!

Pumpkin picking!!!

2010-10-16T15:17:00.000-07:00

We went to our favorite pumpkin patch, Lakeview Farms, where we've been going every year since we moved to Portland. The kids love it because you get to ride a train out to the patch, there are hay mazes, ponies and a boat ride - seriously what could be better! It was fantastic weather for it too - you might remember last year we went but couldn't even ride the train out b/c of the downpour of rain! So, today made up for that for sure!

Sarah picked the first pumpkin she could find - oh and of course she wore a tutu, she doesn't go many places without something seriously girly on!

Jakob's pick of the season!
Riding on the ponies, Sarah was REALLY excited about riding on one by herself! She even said "Thank you pony for the ride."

Big Changes!

2010-10-15T17:58:00.000-07:00

Since my last post, lots has happened, in a nut shell: Nana and Papa visited for almost 2 weeks (heaven), Jakob turned 6 (where did the time go!) and I flew to CA for an interview and we have decided to make the move back down south (to Oceanside, in about a month!!!) - so yes, a lot has gone on!

Sarah has finally found someone she can wrap around her finger!
Sarah and Papa

Cutie pies in the rain, actually while Nana and Papa were here we only had a couple days in the rain! I am happy to be moving to the sun, but I will certainly miss wearing rain boots and stomping in puddles!

Jakob's 6th Birthday - he wanted a "BUG" party! We went to Out of This World Pizza, the kids played like crazy and enjoyed pizza and ice cream cake (chocolate ice cream and chocolate cake - Jakob would have nothing else!)

This year Jakob was really into anything Lego's, he got gift cards and money that he even spent on Lego sets. Nana and Papa took him to the Lego store to pick out whatever he wanted - he now has at least 5 Lego helicopters that he has built on his own!

We got him the game "Battleship" which he likes to kick Daddy's butt at!

The whole crazy Kindergarten age gang! Seriously goofy kiddos!

Can't wait to spend more time with these guys in CA!!
Another of Sarah and her spoiler!

Back to School Night

2010-09-23T21:00:00.000-07:00

I remember being so excited for this as a kid, I couldn't wait for my Mom to see my classroom and to play with my friends outside of school time, so I was probably just as excited as Jakob was for this. He showed us all the cool "big kid" things he can do now on the playground, pointed out some kids in his class and some 1st graders that he has been playing with and the "work" he's been doing, he is moving right along with his letters and reading - so amazing!

Sarah was convinced there was a party going on, so it was difficult to distract her from the fact that there weren't cupcakes, but we made it out pretty unscathed - minus 1 tantrum.

Here's Jakob showing us his art - this is a picture of a bird, clouds, a sun and on the bottom "the whole Scooby and Shaggy gang"!

His first school journal
Looking at a book with his buddies

I just had to add this in, Jakob has been quite busy every day making things from cardboard, paper, tape and scissors - things like an airport, a camera, binoculars, a jet (from toilet paper tubes) a robot, masks, some of which are pretty abstract to me but soooo creative - he has a vision and really sets his mind to it. He collects all our recycling and cuts up the boxes to use.

He's got Sarah cutting and taping too, she usually creates some kind of "robot", a bunch of paper taped together with her drawings on it.

Today he was home with Mark after school and he made this...

His own computer - he was so proud, "Look, I even put the up and down arrows (on the left side)".

It's true that all a kid needs is a box, not what's inside! I'm so proud of him and his creativity, I can only hope he doesn't lose it!

Sugar and Spice...

2010-09-14T20:59:00.000-07:00

Sarah digging in the dirt to find, "worms and ants Mama", in her tutu! Lovely little lady!

"I'm not dirty Mama!"

Guess what he'll be wishing for this Christmas...

2010-09-11T16:43:00.000-07:00

The boy just gets bigger by the second!
Here he is yesterday, jack o lantern mouth, and proud of the tooth that is just hanging there!!

One bump from Sarah and there it fell! Sarah came yelling "I knocked out Jakob's tooth and I don't have blood in my mouth!" Good thing I guess.

The big goodbye

2010-09-10T21:44:00.000-07:00

Well it started yesterday with our first meeting with Ms. Hawes, Jakob's Kinder teacher, we had about 45 minutes with her to meet one on one with Jakob to evaluate his skills and chat with us - that was fabulous - but Jakob was visibly anxious and nervous, he was making really odd noises when he spoke ( a really high pitched sing song kind of noise would come out along with a word - totally weird, I had to chalk it up to being nervous). So, that didn't help my anxiety at all, but I still felt good about the environment he will be in, the school is very welcoming, the Principal is so gracious and kind and the teacher seemed excited.

Having said that, I didn't sleep a wink last night, I started off with a cry session about my baby going off to kindergarten, my worries of what if he is scared, what if he gets picked on, what if he hurts himself etc. etc. etc. I woke up around 5 am, tossed and turned until Sarah woke up randomly. I got out of the shower around 6:15 and Jakob was up asking me, "How many more minutes until Kindergarten?"

The drop off was nuts, tons of parents and kids, nowhere to park, we walked from where our new little house is (about 1 block away), and we were greeted by the Principal, Mr. Blanck, who remembered Jakob by name - that was really nice.

Jakob walked down the hall to his class and in the bustling classroom he navigated himself to get his name tag, put his bag away and found a desk, at what was the boys table - somehow the sexes were separated already - too funny. He started right in on a coloring project, no direction needed. He recognized about 4 kids from soccer, which really helped. We (Mark, Sarah and I) stood around with the other parents chatting about how early it was, how emotional this day is and took part in what might have seemed like a celebrity sighting - with how many cameras were in the room! Sarah managed to throw a little fit, "I don't want to leave brother and kindergarten", mostly I think because she saw the baby dolls in the playhouse. The Principal came in and spoke to the kids about his job as the "Boss of the school and the guy to talk to for problems" and welcomed the kids and then excused the parents. Jakob was the first to raise his hand and wave goodbye, with a kiss blown to him by me and a hug given by Sarah we were off, and my baby was left in a room of strangers to learn to fly on his own! OH it breaks my heart, even though I know he was so ready, it's just hard to let him go, this is the first step of letting go and it came in the snap of a finger.

I held it together pretty well, until I dropped Sarah off at preschool and started talking about taking Jakob to kindergarten and missing his little preschool environment - I totally lost it, full crocodile tears, hugs needed and everything. I felt much better after and listening to friends' experiences and their similar feelings really helped in my recovery!

The big guy

Walking down the hall to Ms. Hawes' classroom

Getting busy with coloring
A Mommy and her big guy, not wanting to let go, but also helping him to recognize some friends and asking him to help the kiddos that might be scared (you can't see here but there was a boy across the table crying, that didn't help my emotions what so ever!)
A goodbye hug from Sarah (notice she also needed to wear her "packpack" like brother)

I have yet to hear much about Jakob's day, I just know that they practiced the letter "A", he had a super fun time at the after care program "Art 4 Life", got to try vegimite that was "gross" (they get to have snacks from countries they are studying), he also got to have cookies from Australia and his favorite part of the day was playing outside. I know he was upset about lunch, he hardly ate anything, "they don't give us enough time", well this is true but he also eats at a snails pace, so he'll have to practice chewing quicker. I know he met a friend, Robert, who is also on his soccer team, they seem to really get along well already. And I know he is going to be exhausted for awhile after school, he was seriously cranky and tired tonight, but rallied after eating bit and managed to play in his first soccer game, where he ROCKED! He scored a goal and had 1 assist, and is a fierce defender, don't mess with his goal!

See that serious defender look!
Going in for the shot

Goodbye little guy, I am so proud of you and what a smart, sensitive young boy you are, and I can't wait to see the young man you will grow into over the next years. Your hunger to learn is amazing and I hope it never dies, you really are going to LOVE school, and I can't wait to hear about all the amazing things you learn!

A quick end to summer...

2010-09-08T20:48:00.001-07:00

Mark took Jakob on an end of summer camping trip - after Labor Day when everyone is back to school and the campsites are open, well the only problem was that Fall decided to come quick and hard - it poured here in the city with record rainfall, and rained quite a bit up at Lost Lake where they camped. Jakob knew that it was going to rain and wanted to go anyway, Mark said he would take him, so they went and toughed it out, and it sounds like it was quite the Macgyver experience - with trench digging, shelter making, fire building in the rain, fishing in the rain, hiking and boating - with a bit of sun here and there!

A boy on an adventure, hiking in the woods, following animal tracks, and finding all sorts of fun things.

Fishing in the rain, didn't catch anything but was so excited about fishing.
A boy, a stick, and fire, what more can I say here! In the background, Mark's Macgyver contraption to keep the tent dry - it worked!
Fishing on a boat today, they were the only ones out on the lake, nothing caught, but Jakob was determined to fish! Mark said he even wanted to eat the fish for breakfast if they caught one today!
Lost Lake, this is where you would see Mt. Hood, if it was clear. Still quite gorgeous though.

After Jakob's camping adventure, he returned to start in his new soccer league - Foothills Soccer. He went to his first practice and is a true Oregonian now, he played soccer in the pouring rain and didn't complain for a second!

Fun Times in Sequim

2010-08-29T21:42:00.000-07:00

We did a quick end of the summer trip up to Sequim and of course had a fantastic time with the Schroeder family! Thanks again guys, it was great!

The kids both woke up with the rooster, and were set on going outside at the crack of dawn, luckily we were able to get them to say inside until 7, then it was "Can we go see the animals, PAAAALEASE!".

This morning, they slept thru most of the rooster crowing, Sarah did yell from her bed, "That cockledoodledoing is toooooo loud for me in my crib, ROOSTER!" Then fell back to sleep for about 1/2 hour.

Daddy and Sarah, early morning visit with the horse, which she was set on seeing but wouldn't touch, until today, she was totally loving on her, Willow is such a sweet horse, I wish we had a photo of how gentle she was with Sarah.
Some potty training on the spot, it is way more exciting to pee in the dirt with the potential of goats, chickens and a horse watching you!
Feeding the goats, a serious favorite of Sarah's, she tried to feed them everything. She also talked to them about her baby doll, the moon she saw, the cows she saw, the chickens, her coat and how it was dirty etc. Really cute.
At Oyster Beach, a sunny evening with friends and kids entertaining themselves - fantastic!

Wendy and I are laughing at our picture taking skills or lack there of!
Sarah, the shell collector
Abby and Jakob, serious shell collectors, went out into the water for their treasures! Even found Dungeness crab shells, pinchers etc, very exciting for Jakob.
An attempt at a group shot - each kid is displaying their age quite appropriately -

lets start with Sarah: age 2 1/2 no clothes on, refusing to sit where everyone else is and won't look at the camera

Wes: age 1, not sure what is going on

Abby: age 7, posing so sweetly with her brother

Jakob: age 5, total goofy face
Moon over the bay, just outside of Wen and Joe's dining room! The picture doesn't do it one bit of justice, it was gorgeous.
Of course we had to make a trip to the farm, this was Jakob's favorite - climbing the hay with Abby!
Cutie pies!
Rope swing in the loft of the barn!

While Jakob was having fun in the hay, Sarah was quite busy greeting all the baby cows, I heard her tell one that was born a couple days ago, "You were just borned cow, from your Mommy, when you are bigger you can get borned again." I'm thinking she meant that when they get bigger they can have a baby too? It was so cute. She also greeted all the BIG cows with her baby doll, "Hi cows," and then a bunch of babble, I couldn't hear but saw a bunch of arm movements, so she was having quite the talk with them!

All in all a great trip, as usual, I live for these trips, just wish they were longer. Reconnecting, laughing and kids exploring, playing and learning together - really fantastic!

Big girl hair...

2010-08-22T20:08:00.000-07:00

Sarah got her first real haircut today, about 2 inches off the back, pretty painless, even got to keep some of her curls on! She threw a fit in the car, didn't want to go, so I pulled a white lie and told her we were going to a place called "Kid Central", and when she walked in the door, it really was, she was in heaven with all the toys, dolls etc. She played for about 5 minutes, then ran to the seat she wanted to sit in, a pink jeep - Jakob said "Of course she wants the pink one!"
She sat so still with her "princess gown" on, and held her baby close by. She watched an episode of Clifford and didn't want anything to do with me and the camera!

I didn't take a picture of the back of her hair before, but you can kind of see how long it was here.

All done, again not enthused as I was blocking the TV!
She got to pick a new hair clip and get "sparkles" sprayed in her hair (a little glitter spray).
Happy girl with her lollipop, new do, new hair clip and sparkles - although you can't see them here.

Weekend happenings

2010-08-21T21:38:00.000-07:00

Our neighborhood had a parade/festival this weekend - Multnomah Days. We enjoyed the parade and kid activities. They had a dog parade which the kids really enjoyed, lots of local businesses marched thru and gave out candy to the kids, along with a couple bands. Sarah was overwhelmed by it all, not that happy, until she saw our friend Josh driving a car and of course when she got to have some candy!

Here are the bag pipers, Jakob and I really like them, Sarah had her hands over her ears but her foot was tapping to the beat! She also pointed out that they "put that horn thingy in their mouthes to make the music" (Mouths pronounced Mouth-es)
Jakob, looking a bit unsure about this whole parade thing, and maybe not sure of the candy that was being given to him by strangers!

Sarah in her gymnastics class - of course being a "Monkey Man"!

More hot days...

2010-08-16T22:18:00.000-07:00

Mark took Jakob on a work trip to Seattle on Saturday, they spent all day there. Jakob was really excited about it, mostly about the part where he could help Daddy take pictures of properties, which he did with his play camera. They had a special lunch and dinner together and made a few fun stops. When Jakob got home he told me the best part was that "I didn't even get bored." What a trooper (at least a 12 hour day), I know he really enjoyed the Daddy - Son time too.

This is how city folk cool off when it's 100 degrees and you can't get to the beach! Sunday morning we went to Jamison square to cool off. Mark said, "Oh, this is what summer is about...sun, water..." We haven't had much of a summer here this year, so it was an awakening for many people!

Look out for the water squirter!
Sarah is giving her baby a bath in the waterfall, with her water gun as well! She's a modern woman.

Jakob and I had our last Mommy - Son day for the summer (I return to work next week and Jakob will start Zoo camp, which he is quite excited about).

We did one last hike at Tryon Creek together, and the arachnids were out in droves!!

We've been watching "Charlottes Web" quite a bit, so this was great for Jakob, not to mention that he loves insects and bugs. We sat and watched a few spiders spin their webs and saw a couple wrap up their dinners! Pretty cool.
Behold, Jakob has found a birds nest! He is pointing at it with his spider web "whacker stick" that he used to clear the path for us, didn't work though, we both walked thru a handful of webs.
Jakob wanted to take his own pictures today, this is his prized spider "whacker stick".

And here is my attempt at a photo with my big guy at Tryon Creek. He is the best little nature guide, so inquisitive and so creative with his reasoning for things and stories for all the animals and insects that live in our little world.

Summer days...

2010-08-13T21:22:00.000-07:00

Last weekend's visit to Slappy Cakes restaurant

A day at the beach at Sauvie island, unfortunately we've not had the best weather, so it was a bit cold this day, but enjoyed the time out anyways!

A barge going by on the river
Conquering the logs
My best attempt at a group shot
Stopped at a farm on the way home, to cut our own flowers, the kids made some great choices!
Sarah doing her best at "gentle sniffing"
Sarah picking blackberries at the park, she ate them all there, and had the tummy ache later to prove it! They weren't very ripe, but that didn't stop her.

"Pink Beauty"

2010-08-07T20:26:00.000-07:00

Sarah found this "treasure" at a neighbor's garage sale - it's a unicorn costume that you step into, she wears it on top of her princess dress or in this photo her princess nightgown after bath time!

Toothless big boy

2010-08-07T19:31:00.000-07:00

broke our camera, therefore we haven't had pictures in a couple weeks, I'm so glad to have it back! Here is my big guy without his front tooth!

Just a couple funny things I heard....

2010-08-05T14:42:00.000-07:00

Jakob, "So Mama, what does pizza grow on, I mean like how does it grow to be a pizza?" - seriously, we have made pizza at home together!! I almost said, "it grows on the pizza tree in the backyard," but I kept it together and explained all the ingredients and where they come from, that seemed to be what he wanted to know.

Sarah at the dinner table last night (Mark is home now), "Isn't it nice to eat dinner with your parents?"

Sarah, walking thru a gift shop with me today, holding my hand and repeating the directions I gave her before we walked in, "I am holding your hand Mama, I am not touching anything that isn't mine, are you so proud Mama!" Then she saw some jewelry that she wanted to see up close and said, "Mama, can you touch those for me?"

A weekend...

2010-08-01T20:55:00.001-07:00

Not sure how single parents do this! I have only been at it for 2 days, since we dropped Mark off at the airport yesterday at 6 am!! My theory is just keep busy and drink a lot of coffee, so we've been doing a lot and the kids are sleeping like champs, I on the other hand don't sleep well when Mark is gone and when I've had coffee in the afternoon!

We started our weekend by eating breakfast at "Slappy Cakes" restaurant, where you get to make your own pancakes at the table (batter is provided in a squeeze bottle), the kids wanted blueberries and chocolate chips in the pancakes. They had a great time making different shapes - Jakob made a long neck dinosaur, unfortunately he got decapitated as we flipped him, but tasted good! Sarah was told about 100 times not to touch the hot surface, she repeated that "No touch this, it's hot" about 100 times and just before we were done, she brushed her knuckles on it, well she learned, no real burn just felt "HOT Mama!!", a little ice water on it, she was good to go.

We went from there to Laurelhurst park for a walk around the pond, that is randomly growing a toxic level of blue/green algae, so we were bummed that we couldn't find tadpoles, but were privy to a crow eating a dead rat - Jakob loved that! It was disgusting, but he wanted to stay and see how the bird ate it, I could only stomach about 1 minute and then ran away - promptly running into a little wire fence, which ripped my skirt - oh yeah, looking good now! Another parent saw the whole thing and said "I can't believe you even stayed to watch it", so I felt like a brave Mom. We were promptly treated to watching a blue heron hunting tiny fish, that was really neat.

Came home, and we all napped for 2 hours. Then off to the park for the evening, dinner at New Season's - with Sarah yelling "Mac n cheese, Mac n cheese, Mac n cheese, Thanks Mama!!", nibbles of the cherry tomatoes we bought and followed by a scoop of chocolate gelato (which of course Sarah ate mostly with her hands).

This morning we took a hike thru our forest, did a little geocaching, played in the park and then ate lunch at Grand Central, one of my favorite bakeries.

Jakob rode his scooter there and then he and Sarah ran thru the grass on the way home, actually they rolled, it was so cute. Sarah was saying, "Roll wiff me Jabub, I love you Jabub!"

When we got home, the kids were tired, but not quite nap time, Jakob was whining and talking back, I asked him a few times to stop and then without looking popped him in the mouth with my hand, and heard a small sound of something hitting the floor - yep his front tooth came out! For the record the tooth was literally hanging by a thread, and it fell out without any blood or pain. I said, "Oh my gosh was that your tooth?" in complete horror of what I had done and he just started laughing, knowing I felt guilty. ARRGH! No lesson learned there, just one for me I guess. He forgot about it quickly when he remembered that the tooth fairy will visit him tonight. He looks so goofy without his tooth, but all of a sudden he looks like such a big kid now! It makes me so sad and him so happy - he was beaming when I said, "You look so big, I can't believe it."

The day ended with a 2 hour visit to the Washington Park, upon returning I asked Jakob to check on his worms in his 3 worm hotels, he did so and 1 had died - oh my gosh you've never seen a kid cry so fast and hard, poor guy. He is so sensitive with anything about animals, he walked into the kitchen with it and asked with tears in his eyes, "Is this a worm?", in fact it was and I had to tell him it was dead, that was it, he was in full tears and couldn't get control of himself. I reminded him that that worm did his job in the hotel, ate the leaves, made the soil rich for us and would have died in the ground or in a bird or a mole's mouth someday - which helped a bit but he still wanted to eat his dinner alone. When he said that, I had almost a dejavu moment, but into the future, where I saw a broken hearted teenager in the future wanting to "be alone" - ugh! He has such a big heart, I managed to think of something else to say hoping it would make him feel a bit better, "Jakob you know what I like about you the most, you care so much for animals, insects and people, that you would cry over a worm, you are such a good person." Finally a smile!

Ok, Mark, I need you home now, I can't do all of this by myself, you are the calm, cool, collected parent, that I needed for the constant Sarah redirection, the stomach to watch the bird eat the rat, the worm death, and the talking back (me knocking the tooth out), can't wait until you are home!!

Sweet siblings, if only for a moment...

2010-07-22T23:06:00.000-07:00

It isn't like our kids get along all the time, I'd say about 40% of the day they work and play together, the other times they are at each other.

Today, Jakob had soccer, then his wood shop class, Sarah and I had some time to spend together, and in that time I think she asked about Jakob or "Jabub" at least 5 times. We sat and watched him play soccer, "When he be done?", "Go Jakob, Go Jakob, HAHAHAHA!" She really thought yelling at him was funny. Then when we dropped him off at his wood shop class she asked a few more times about when we could get him, I annoyingly told her "We'll get him in 1 hour, remember he's just inside that building.", "Ok Mama".

While Jakob was at his class, I walked with Sarah to the resale shop to see what kind of treasures we could find, of course we found lots of great dress up stuff (don't have any pics yet), a pretty purple princess dress, bright pink ballet/princess shoes, a new princess nightgown and some bedazzled shoes that her Daddy won't touch.

Anyhow, Sarah was quick to tell Jakob about her new things, he was a bit jealous but remembered that he just got a huge bin of dinosaurs from the same shop on Monday (like we needed more dinosaurs - "Mom these ones are small and have some trees with them").

We hadn't even made it to the front door when Sarah begged for her new dress, she wanted it on and apparently didn't want to get out of it for the rest of her life! Well, after her nap (yep she slept in the dress), she threw a fit when I told her she couldn't wear it to the park - she would ruin it - serious screaming and crying going on. Big brother to the rescue - Jakob stepped in and gave her a big hug, held her tight and said, "Sarah it's ok, I know you want to wear that dress, but you don't want to ruin it, right?"

I about died! So darling. Of course she understood then and off we went.

This is what big brothers are for, now I understand why we have 2 kids!

I think!

Summer of bugs...

2010-07-19T22:18:00.000-07:00

The summer is flying by, and we are keeping busy. Jakob is loving the nature hikes at Tryon Creek State Park, the last one was on insects of the night, we learned all about different insects, how to catch them, how they are necessary to us, what their bodies are like, what they do to plants/trees etc. Jakob can of course repeat all the facts verbatim.
Unfortunately, during the insect hike, Jakob got eaten up by the mosquitoes, we were all covered with long pants and long sleeves but Jakob got the worst of it on his forehead, and hands - poor kiddo! He's a trooper though. The mosquitoes this year are terrible here, really unusually bad, I'm thinking we need to invest in bug spray!
We've also been digging for bugs in the forest across the street and anywhere we can. I'm getting braver with my insect catching technique, using little tupperware containers to catch them in to look at up close. Jakob had me chasing a spider (a big one that was most likely a black widow, I put aside my fears and went for it, but it didn't happen). I still have yet to pick up a worm, Jakob will do it for me and for Sarah, although, Sarah is getting braver now and picked one up by herself the other day, she was REALLY proud of herself and yelled, "I did it by MYSELF!!" During our hikes, Sarah usually is running around like a nutball, pretending to be a butterfly, trying to got the opposite direction of the group, picking leaves and/or just singing to herself. Jakob is quite serious and looks at all the details of the trees, moss, insects, slugs etc. Needless to say, hiking with both is challenging!
I took Jakob today to Tryon Creek for our Mom/Son day, he always wants to go hiking, even after playing soccer for 45 minutes he was up for the hour long hike!
We also made blueberry bread today, with the berries we picked, happy to report it turned out fantastic!

Here is Jakob digging for bugs in a decomposing tree at Gabriel Park.

Jakob's new favorite words are decomposing and stagnant (which he usually pronounces as "tagnant"), he knows where the mosquitos are hanging out now!

Sarah going in for the worm
Looking at it with awe, she really was so proud, I wish I had recorded her reaction.
Had to add this one in, just because - Sarah's newest fashion craze - the tool belt, baby carrier - very multifunctional!

Sarah funnies..

2010-07-13T21:24:00.000-07:00

Here is Sarah in her dress up today...
"You can be a fairy princess and ride a horse Mom?"
"Yep, get your chaps on, you can be a princess cowgirl."
"OK!"

"YEEHAW!"

Sarah started gymnastics today for 2 1/2 year olds, she loved it, especially the swinging on the bar part, of course, she could do her monkey man tricks. But, she seemed to be the only 2 1/2 year old having a hard time following directions - yeah we are in for it with this girl! She is on her own track, I tell you!

Keeping in cool in the heat...

2010-07-13T21:18:00.000-07:00

We are just coming out of a bit of a heat wave - a 30 degree jump in temp in 3 days - yikes!

This is what we've been doing to keep cool....

Sleeping in whatever we want, sometimes just the skivvies!

Playing in the fountains at Jamison Square

Taking walks in the river
Umm, cooling off in the river!

And taking relaxing naps by the fan or window!

Parents Day out, wine tasting

2010-07-10T20:50:00.000-07:00

Had a fantastic day with great friends, wine tasting (4 wineries, in a limo, no kids). I think we were all so giddy to be out without children, it wouldn't have mattered what we did. Needless to say, the fantastic wine, conversation and tons of laughter made it so memorable!

Our first winery, feeling great after all the "tasting" we did! I am speaking only for myself of course, but I did more drinking than tasting! It was fabulous wine though!

Mark at the second winery, Domaine Serene, really was a serene setting. Mark is trying to be so fancy with his wine tasting skills - what a dork!

The three amigos, seriously they spell trouble! They didn't go to one wine tasting spot, they chose the local pub and food over that - yep trouble I tell you!! Too funny!
The ladies weren't any trouble at all!
!

Sarah funnies..

2010-07-05T15:59:00.000-07:00

I forget to write the things she says down, so here are a few gems:
"I peed in the potty, so the kitty could see me, I a big girl." (Visited Amber and Josh's new kittens and indeed the kitten was interested and was quite the motivator for her to pee in the potty).
"I pee in the grass like Dillon too?", and that she did, she is ready for camping now. How is it that she is so hard to potty train, so darn hard headed about not sitting on the potty, but she will pee in the grass on command - unbelievable!
"You don't poop on the curtains, or your shirt or in your eyes..." random poop observations.
"I am a monkey man!", she is still declaring this when she hangs upside down or twists wildly on any bar she can get her hands on, today she made 2 boys crack up when she yelled that.
"My tummy hurts, I ate too much fruit...(2 seconds later) can I have mo' watomelon?"

I don't have a picture of this yet, but I took Sarah to Target for a few things, we stopped in the clothing section and they are having some great deals on dresses etc. right now, she of course didn't like any of the ones I showed her, but was adamant on taking her shoes and skirt off in the store - which she did do as I foolishly turned my back on her - then she proceeded to beg me for a Run DMC shirt that has a fake gold necklace iron on, on it - can't wait to take a pic of her in it!! Side note, Sarah never has her shoes on, she takes them off at first chance.

The sun hasn't been out much this year here, Sarah has apparently taken notice to that, she yells every morning "The sun is out, it's sunny today!" Poor girl, she is a California girl at heart.

She is really into playing make up, she has a pretend make up set we just found for her at the resale shop - Jakob picked it out for her, now she stands at the mirror with me doing her make up, but every time asks, "Can I put this make up brush in my nose?"

Have to stop typing now, she is waking up from her nap, that she refuses to take daily then sleeps for more than 2 hours, and is now yelling, "Mama Mama Mama, I woked up!"

Happy 4th!

2010-07-05T15:56:00.000-07:00

We had a pretty low key 4th, park in the morning (no sun, summer in Portland isn't going to start until the 6th of July apparently). Mark had a great idea of making paper airplanes and throwing them off the hill, Jakob loved it! Sarah enjoyed the big bottle of bubbles I found, until she dumped it, but it was fun while it lasted.
Went to our traditional place for the 4th - the Brinks house for swimming and fireworks, super fun! Then on our way home we drove up the hill to watch the fireworks on the river, pretty cool. Kids didn't get in bed until 11pm, so we are having quite the lazy day today!

Visit with Nana

2010-06-27T20:16:00.000-07:00

Nana came up last week for a 10 day visit, which was kicked off by a visit to the urgent care with Sarah, for a severe kidney/bladder infection - thank God she was here, not her ideal vacation but really ideal for me to have her be able to help with the family/house as this was all happening, it really was perfect timing!! Thank God for Moms!
We've been doing a lot since then, berry picking, trips to the park, hiking at Tryon Creek State Park with a worm class added in for Jakob, concert in the park, swimming lessons, fondue dinner and the Lion King on stage (with Jakob - super fun!!), trip to the zoo, the 4T trail (trail, tram, trolley and train) and a trip to the beach - and we still have her here for a few more days! Mark and I got out last night for some dinner and drinks - in the sunshine! Tomorrow, is happy hour night for Mom and I as well! Can't wait!

Berry picking at Kruger Farms, on Sauvie Island
Fondue at the Melting Pot!

We all really enjoyed this! Jakob had no idea what he was in for here!!

Cannon Beach, first beach trip of the year!

Jakob showing Sarah the sand crabs he dug up.
Sarah doing what she does best, rolling in the sand and getting it everywhere!!
Nana and Sarah sharing some quiet time.

Jakob in the hole that Daddy dug, all the way down to the water!
Nana and her babies!

Time Flies

2010-06-10T22:48:00.000-07:00

Well, Mark and I celebrated our 7 year wedding anniversary (June 7th), which was really our 18 year anniversary of being together - amazing! Anyhow we took our first trip without children (for more than 1 night, Grandma Kathy was kind enough to fly up here to watch our little rascals), to California to see Auntie Amber marry her beloved, Josh! We drove 16 hours there and back and it was fantastic, no whining, no crying, music blaring, us singing, laughing, dreaming, eating In n Out and talking - I felt like we were dating again, things were new and fun again! And then we got to enjoy a beautiful wedding (all be it super hot and the bugs were a bitin', but so beautiful), and reconnect and remember how amazing our relationship can be and is when we aren't super stressed, over worked and tired. So, thank you Amber and Josh for getting married and helping us to remember why we got married!!
Our camera batteries died at the wedding so we don't have many pics but I will post what I have....
The cute couple, dressed up for the wedding - and no food residue on our clothes, from little, sticky fingers pawing at us as we left!
We arrived at the wedding a bit early, it goes without saying that a bride is stressed out before the big event, Amber was shall we say a bit frazzled but most importantly looked amazing, said the sweetest things in her vows as did Josh, and enjoyed the rest of the evening! Did I mention that I haven't cried that much at a wedding before, honestly they really are meant to be together and I would have never made it thru the ceremony had I had to read my own vows!!

Oh and I didn't mention how great it was to sit back and watch a wedding, not have to really do anything but just enjoy and partake in the festivities, amazing!!!

Here is the dress that I was so honored in being a part of Amber choosing/designing, it is so gorgeous! I should mention that Josh wore a kilt that had complimentary blues/greens in it, he looked fantastic as well, just don't have photos of him!

Here is the bride having some liquid relaxation before the ceremony! (Sorry Ambie, I know you don't like this photo, but it is so great!)
Besides socializing with a ton of people in Ventura, celebrating my Grandma's 81'st bday, staying up late, going to a wedding (all in a few days time), we also enjoyed a bit of the sights in S.F. (thanks to my Aunt Stina who let us crash at her place on our way up north).

Happy 81st G.G. Willy! I hope I have her genes, isn't she gorgeous!!

Rain rain go away...

2010-06-01T22:34:00.000-07:00

It is supposed to be the start of summer and the rain just hasn't quit here, really we've had a record month!

Here are the kids playing last week after dinner, we had a crazy downpour, so I took them out for some puddle stomping!

Just as quick as the storm came, it left us this...

A nice Saturday

2010-05-17T21:21:00.001-07:00

Nice weather in May, a visit to the Sellwood park and a picnic in the backyard of good friends!

Jakob leading the way on his scooter, Sarah saying "WAIT brada fo me!"

Sarah showing her newest skill, hanging upside down on anything, with feet above her head, while the merry go round is moving! Seriously nauseating to watch!

My best Mom moment, Sarah yelling to get her unstuck from the slide, I told her to wait so that I could get the camera! Maybe I shouldn't have had that 2nd margarita (we were at a friends house now, not in a public park)! I'm pretty sure you can see how she felt about that!
Little kids table!

Jakob (super cheeser face) and his girlie, Kaedyn, hanging in the hammock!

"Happy Mother's Day Mama, Happy Birfday too"

2010-05-09T22:24:00.000-07:00

This is what Sarah so sweetly said to me as she helped herself to my breakfast in bed!! Jakob said, "Mommy isn't this the best Mother's Day for you, I didn't wake you up, you get a yummy breakfast in bed, I'm cleaning up your dishes and we are going to eat donuts and go to the park!!" Sounds like it was pretty exciting for him too!
We did just that, we ate donuts from my favorite little Gelato shop in our old neighborhood, they also make the best homemade donuts, I love the chocolate ginger! Jakob had the "Prince of Darkness" (chocolate donut/chocolate sprinkles/frosting), Sarah had the "Fairy Princess" or to her "the pink one".

We headed to the Sellwood park, it seriously was too hot to go to the park the kids wanted too, no shade and my body is not ready for this weather yet!!
The constant challenging/fighting between these kids (as you can see below), didn't stop even in honor of Mother's Day! AAH!

An attempt a nice pic with both kids...

Thanks to my wild kids for letting me be their Mom, it's seriously endless work, but it is so worth it to see their sweet, caring, goofy, smiling faces everyday!
And thanks to their Daddy for the wonderful present (letting me sleep in, breakfast, dishes done, house straightened up and a gift cert. for a manicure!), you are SO wonderful!
Oh and thanks for letting me have a break, on Mother's Day no less, away from the kids and out shopping with Amber, it was a fantastic break!
A special thanks to my Mom and My Grandma for always giving me an amazing example of how to be a loving, strong, kind and a caring Mother.

Overheard the kids saying....

2010-05-07T21:16:00.001-07:00

Sarah crying in bed, "The clock is clocking Mommy...does that scare you?"
I think we know who was scared there.

Jakob this morning, "Mommy is Mother's Day about Moms loving their kids or only about the Moms?"
I think he was trying to get at that he wants a gift to. I informed him that Moms always love their kids but Mother's day is a day to celebrate Mothers, by giving us presents and things!

Sequim 2010

2010-05-02T20:48:00.000-07:00

Once again we had an amazing trip to Sequim to see the Schroeder family! Lots of fun on the farm, lots of firsts for both kids including holding a chicken, getting to find a fresh egg, holding a garter snake, finding crabs, oh and shooting a BB gun!
Parents had fun talking, drinking and relaxing! Wishing we could have stayed a lot longer, Jakob was really sad to leave, as was I. To have that connection with friends where you can just be, is so special. Thank you Wen, Joe, Abs and Wes!

Sarah getting up close and personal with the cows, she was given quite the lick by the cow in the background!
The whole gang!
Abby helping Jakob pick up a hen!
Shooting a BB gun, in pj's no less! Can't get any better than that when you're a boy and 5 years old!
The gang watching Jakob ride Willow.
Wes's first ride!!
Sarah feeding the goats - only to get head butted a few minutes later, "Ouch GOOOATT".
Bald Eagle flying overhead!
Jakob and Abs, finding TONS of little crabs!
Abby found this little guy!

Artquake 2010

2010-04-28T20:18:00.000-07:00

The kids had their spring performance at preschool, this year the dance was of the hip hop genre - a routine to one of Mark's favorites - RUN DMC - in fact Mark performed his 6th grade talent show to one of their songs or should I say "beats".

The show started with each kid having a turn with Karaoke, Jakob sang the ABC's in Espanol. Other songs that were sung included, "Take me out to the ball game", "A spoon full of sugar", "Peter Cotton tail", an "ABC rap", "Twinkle Twinkle" and many other favorites!! Nicholas also did a ukulele performance and an alumni of Alder Street, Noah (7) came and played the piano.
All the kids were fantastic (minus Sarah's nutball behavior), we are so lucky to have found Alder Street Learning Center, they are like family to us and they really are wonderful with the kids.

I didn't get many pics that aren't blurry, the kids were moving so fast!
Here's Jakob and his much more confident version of the ABC's in Espanol - he also sang this in the fall and was a bit quieter and faster.

Here is Jakob in his "dance battle" with Nicholas!

Sarah didn't want to sing or dance, she was being ummmm, very TWO!

Keeping me on my toes...

2010-04-27T22:40:00.000-07:00

After putting Jakob to bed tonight, I found him a few minutes later crying in bed, because "I miss Roxy." Oh my gosh my heart breaks for my sensitive little guy, he really does feel her loss still, it's almost been a year since she died. This came out of nowhere, well he did say that he missed his cousins Sam and Ben at bedtime, maybe that is connected somehow.

Anyhow, he said, "I miss Roxy so much, do you think she is sad without us?"

I explained how it's ok to be sad when you miss someone or when someone dies, and he said that it "hurts so bad to miss them", I explained heart break and how it hurts. These are conversations I thought I'd be having in the teenage years, not at age 5, he is wise beyond his years.

I told him how when I was driving thru our old neighborhood last week, I teared up thinking about Roxy (didn't tell him that I cried over the memory of Mark and I driving her to the Vet for the last time, while she was whimpering in pain, us pulling over so that I could sit near her in the backseat of the Volvo, her looking at me like she knew exactly what was going on - this all ran thru my mind on my drive last week and I was weeping on the way to my nursing conference - yeah maybe he gets that sensitivity from me?).

We talked about Roxy and the things we don't miss, her stinky breath, her constant whining, her skunk smelling head! Laughed a bit and then remembered all the great things about her and what a great protector of nightmares she was for Jakob and how sweet she was with Sarah, even when Sarah poked her in the eyeball before she passed away!

We talked about how she is keeping GiGi Dode, GG Rachel and my little student that passed away a couple months ago (Lesly) company up in heaven and that maybe the rainbow that I saw today was Roxy's way of making me happy today.

Jakob asked why doctors and vets can't fix everyone, I didn't really have an answer, just that nobody is perfect and sometimes God needs you in heaven and if we all lived forever there wouldn't be enough room on earth for us - that, I think made sense to him.

I know Jakob is always going to keep me on my toes with questions about life, death, science and whatever else comes along. I just wish I knew all the answers, or had something prepared or even an inkling of when he might ask these giant questions!!!

Sarah, Sarah, Sarah, can't live with her and you can't live without her!

2010-04-19T22:43:00.000-07:00

So, we were woken up by Sarah screaming last night, around 2 am, after I tried to calm her down a few times, I finally kicked Mark out of bed to check on her. Well, he turned on the lights (umm, I never turn on the lights, that's a no no, but this time it worked in our favor), because Ms. Sarah had her hair stuck to her blanket with silly putty!! I don't know how she smuggled it into her bed, but she did. After a bit of yelling between Mark and I, on who let her into the crib with silly putty (neither of us would let her in with that of course, but I put her to bed, so I'm the culprit of not checking her sneaky little hands), a quick decision with foggy minds was made to cut her hair. Luckily it was a chunk from the backside of her head and underneath! Not really noticeable.

Here is the chunk attached to the silly putty, it looks gross, I know, but I'm so somehow going to use this as bribery in the future!

Upon waking up, what are Sarah's first words, "I WANT my silly putty", umm, I don't think so!!!
Mark took this picture after I left for work - Sarah in all her glory - seriously how can we live without her!!

Hello Spring!

2010-04-18T21:01:00.000-07:00

We had such nice weather this weekend - sunny and we even hit 70 degrees, unbelievable! My poor body doesn't know what to think of it, how can I be sweating at 70 degrees!
We did quite a few things, went to the zoo on Saturday morning, where we celebrated Packy's birthday - the eldest male elephant turned 48!
We took lots of trips to the park, I even got a couple walks in by myself! Mark had "guys night" on Saturday, so the kids and I walked up to the Lucky Lab for pizza and a hard cider - much enjoyed by me!! We sat outside in the sun, it was fantastic.
Kids hit the sack when we got back and I caught up on all my girl TV!
Sunday, Mark had a soccer game, we tagged along, the kids played with another little girl (Emma 18 months), Jakob was the best helper for her. I swear that kid could start babysitting already, he is so responsible and so caring.
This afternoon we spent outside at the park, Sarah doing her monkey man business, and building "castles" in the wood chips. Jakob played frisbee and baseball with Mark.
I really noticed tonight how strikingly different Sarah is than Jakob, she was on the tire swing with 2 other girls that she didn't know and was the life of the party, not shy, totally the clown, she was making crazy animal noises and they were laughing hysterically at her - they all got off the swing and played together (and these girls were 3 and 4 years old). I can see a future "class clown" on our hands.

Jakob is so reserved when it comes to finding new friends, he is definitely getting better at it and actually played with the neighbor kids quite a bit this weekend for hours at a time - which is new and wonderful for us! But, they are just so different, I don't know if it's a girl thing to be more social or if it's their personalities, Jakob is really a watch and see and put all the pieces together kind of guy, where as Sarah just jumps right in and tells you all about it - hmm, wonder where she gets that from?!
So, Sarah played awhile with her little buddies, until her attention span ran out, then she proceeded to take her socks leggings, and her shoes off, and played in the wood chips - with bare feet! If anyone has been around Jakob and wood chips, Oh man, you know this is totally the opposite of him!
They are such amazing kids, their quirks make me nuts, but I so LOVE them and enjoy every little moment with them!

Oh, I should mention Sarah's newest thing to do is to ask you if you are ok, like if you are sitting on the couch:
"You ok Mama, your tummy hurting?", "You cold Mama?", "You sad Jabub?", "You need a hug", "You tired Dadda?"
It's the cutes thing!!

And Jakob is really getting into pretend play, he brought his sword to the park today and wore his pirate eye patch to Trader Joe's, had to take it off to see to push his cart around though!

Jakob and Sarah are both loving an old Jack Johnson song, one of my favorites, "Bubble Toes", we've been playing it in the car daily on our ride home, they both totally groove to the part where he says "Move like a jellyfish, rhythm is nothing", they are moving their arms and legs, it is so cute! Jakob says, "Yeah Daddy, I like the part in that song where Jack says - this little girl came and she sat next to me...move like a jellyfish..." He can almost get that whole part! I love it!!

Here they are, celebrating Packy's birthday with their elephant ears!

Oh and there was cake, of course enjoyed by all!

"I'm a real monkey man!"
"Look Mama, I'm so big!"

Overheard the kids saying....

2010-04-14T20:09:00.000-07:00

"What did you do at preschool today?"
Sarah: "Ummm, I played Norma. Style and Class, that's Norma says"
Jakob: "I played Scooby Doo with my friends, I was Scooby...we figured out mystery stuff and who was the monster."

Walking to the park last night,
Jakob:" How are seeds made?"
Me: "From the plants that drop them"
Jakob:" No, I mean how did a seed get made, like the first seed?"
Mark: "That's like asking which came first the chicken or the egg."
Me: "Jakob, nobody really knows how the first seed was made...when you become a scientist you can figure that out."
Jakob: "Like a paleontologist, I could find the first seed?"
Me: "Yep"
Jakob: "Oh, ok."

Tonight, Jakob was outside in front playing with the older little girl that lives across from us, I heard him talking to her about music,"Yeah I like rock n roll music, because you can really rock to it, right?"

Sarah helping me make dinner, "I need my apron on, I make dinna for Dada, he like nookles (noodles)"
"I want more spicket (biscuit)"
"No more fruit, make a tummy ache"

"I dub you Mama" - so cute!!

Visit with the cousins!!

2010-04-13T21:41:00.000-07:00

Sam and Ben (and their awesome parents) came to visit us for their spring break - which included Easter and Ben's 5th Birthday! It was quite the week! I had to work so Auntie Ang was on duty for most of the week - and she kept those kids busy! Hiking, roller skating, trips to the library, treasure hunting (geocaching - which Jakob LOVES), swimming, OMSI, the Children's museum (she did this by herself with all 4 kids - she's a miracle worker!) and many other activities! I know that Jakob and Sarah had a blast with Sam and Ben, Jakob was crying when they left, and Sarah still asks where they are everytime she gets out of bed! We are so lucky to have such a fun family who is willing to fly up to Portland in spring - talk about rainy weather!!

Not sure when this was taken, but I had to put it in, Sarah is a hot mess here, not sure where she is coming from or where she is going, but she's ready with dress shoes and her cell phone!
Dying Easter eggs! Sarah managed to crush a few and get her hands dyed some horrific looking pink color that stayed for days, but a good time was had by all!
Ben working hard on his blue egg! He was very patient.
Serious work with Auntie Ang!
Hiking boys!
Sarah, crazy girl, dancing with her 3 D glasses on! Why wouldn't you do this?!
Ben's 5th birthday!
Look at those cutie pie lips!
3 musketeers!
An attempt at a group photo!! Of course the 2 year old is on the move!
A visit to the park, Sarah is showing off her, "I'm a real monkey man ," move, where she hangs on anything she can!
The whole gang!!!

Fun times

2010-03-27T20:28:00.000-07:00

Enjoying brownie mix!

A quick (long awaited) visit with the Schroeder family! A longer visit to come in May, can't wait!

Baby Wes - 8 months, he is a LADY KILLER!!
Sweet girls!
The whole gang!

Spring Break 2010

2010-03-26T14:05:00.001-07:00

Our 1 week of spring break just flew by! Things we did, not in any particular order:
played in the park, lots of hide and seek
went swimming
rode bikes

played in the dirt

made peanut butter cookies - cooked them a bit long but the kids enjoyed making them!
went skiing
visited the zoo
splashed in puddles - quite a few today without our boots - oops!
stayed up past our bedtimes
slept in - well until 7 am
listened to some live music in a coffee shop (kids music - Mr. Ben - highly recommend him at Posies cafe).
traded in some of the kids' treasures for some different treasures - at the resale shop
and that's about it, I think!

Jakob and Sarah at the Mr. Ben show - Sarah is trying to get Jakob to dance with her!
Sarah in a puddle at the park by the Hillsboro library
Sarah having fun in the walking tunnel - loved the echo!

Jakob, riding around the pond, he's a real pro on his 2 wheels now!
"It's too sunny to look at you!" I wish he would understand how lucky we are to have this sun during our break!! It snowed 3 years ago during spring break!
I should mention - Sarah dressed herself today!

2nd ski trip, this time with Mommy!

2010-03-24T19:35:00.000-07:00

It's spring break and we actually are having spring weather, sunny and 70 today in Portland, about 60 at Mt. Hood today!

Jakob and I took a trip to Mt. Hood Meadows with his buddy Ian and his Mom, Julie.

Jakob worked on his turning and stopping skills, he is really sure of himself, I was quite the proud Mama!!
Julie and Ian (snowboard) and Jakob up ahead.

The Mt. Hood Meadows bunny hill conquerers!

Sugar and Spice...

2010-03-16T22:29:00.000-07:00

Here she is, new Hello Kitty toothbrush and, in her "piggy tails PEEEAASSSSSEEEE, like dorfy, wifard oth, MOMMMEEEE!" (Dorothy from Wizard of Oz). Yes we watched The Wizard of Oz, and both the kids loved it- fast forwarded thru scarier scenes. Sarah loves Dorothy, the Lion and Toto. Of course she loves her little red dress up shoes even more now!

Yes, sugar and spice, attacking her brother. I actually had to tell her to get off of him and she said, "NO I wrestle!" What are we going to do with this girl!

Here she is taking a "break" aka a time out, at a restaurant on Sunday night. Doesn't she seem like an angel! If only I had captured her entire outfit, she had her dress shoes on and her purse with her, it was hysterical. Her dress shoes are too big so she shuffles like an old lady, people in the restaurant were giggling, it was great! She is a character!

Weekend - again with the early spring weather - loving it!

2010-03-07T22:45:00.000-08:00

Just for the California folk, who don't get to enjoy these amazing blossoms like we do in the Northwest - seriously they are GORGEOUS right now!Saturday morning at April Hill park...

Warming up in the "Shunshine", a tired little girl, "Nappytime for Sarah!"

Saturday afternoon, hiking at Tryon Creek with the Brink crew!
Can you guess what she might be saying?
Uh huh, Mr. MISCHIEF!!

Sunday we hung around the house in the morning, both kids have a pretty good cold going on, we did get out a little bit to play tennis and ride bikes and for an early evening park visit(after their cold medicine induced 3 hour naps).

Sarah, attempting to ride the tricycle, mostly she likes the fashionable accessory - the Elmo helmet - and to be pushed around on the "TRIKE!!!"

Visit with the Procks...

2010-03-01T20:53:00.000-08:00

Josh, Carla, Boone (6 years) and Brody (almost 4 years) came to visit us this weekend, we haven't been together in over a year, it was fantastic! I know Jakob doesn't remember Boone and Brody, but has seen pics of them as little guys playing and knows they are like family to us, so there wasn't a moment of shyness amongst any of the kids - gotta love that! The boys all played together so nicely, they are all really into dinosaurs and castles w/Boone being the most mature and steady leader, keeping the play on track! The boys went to see "Walking With The Dinosaurs" on Saturday night, and LOVED it, they were little chatter boxes when they came home - and were awake until 10:30!! Jakob recounted every little detail of the show and how big/small/loud etc each dinosaur really was. I highly recommend the show for any kid that likes dinosaurs (I didn't even get to see it, Mark too him, but Mark really enjoyed it too).

Sunday morning we hiked quite aways to the bakery and back, hung out at the house, the boys played by themselves (sooooo great) and the parents hung out, watched the Olympics and relaxed. Really a great weekend!! Thanks to the Procks for coming out here, we owe you a visit out there!!

Of course, Sarah LOVES Josh, who doesn't, but seriously Sarah was all over him - he's a pretty great guy and Sarah usually gets super crazy around the good ones!! Look out Carla!
Boys, pj's and toys!
Boys and their sticks
Can you say "Mischief"!!

Brody is wearing his "King's crown" that his brother made him.

Sarah thinking, "I need that toy in the window!"

J

Hurray for a super early spring!

2010-02-21T21:06:00.000-08:00

Hiking today at Washington Park...

Oh, and just a princess picture!

Future Olympian?!

2010-02-20T20:37:00.001-08:00

We've been inspired by the 2010 Olympics to get our kids on a head start, you know maybe we'll get college paid for at least or a Wheaties box picture - whatever will pay the bills right!!
Jakob has been asking to go skiing since we went sledding at Mt. Hood, and now with the Olympics on TV, he's really been interested in it. So, Mark took him to Mt. Hood Meadows today - gorgeous day for it - and Jakob LOVED it, he did fall a couple times but he said his favorite part was "going fast down the hill" - which he refuses to call the bunny slope, "it was pretty steep Mommy!". He got his own ID badge to wear and to go back with, so he has proudly announced that he can "go skiing anytime he wants, as many times as I want". My thoughts - GET A JOB! :)

Here he is patiently waiting in the car, with his Whistler hat on - paying homage to the 2010 Olympics!
Riding the "treadmill" up the hill.

Calmly assessing the "steep" mountain!

Valentine's Weekend

2010-02-15T20:33:00.000-08:00

Nana flew in for a surprise visit with the kids and to help us parents out - LOVE HER FOR IT!!
The kids were so excited to see her when she showed up at their preschool, Jakob said "Hi Mommy, Hey Nana? HI NANA!!!"
It was so sweet!
Of course Nana spoiled the kids with tons of candy and treats, clothes etc. for Valentine's Day and spoiled the parents with cleaning, baking chocolate chip cookies and babysitting, oh and a bit of sleeping in for us too!! Nothing better!
Weather here was great, sunny and cool, just perfect for walks and park visits, as well as a visit to the zoo today.

Jakob's Valentine's day hat - can't see it but it really was so cute! He was quite excited to open up his cards from his friends, including his girlfriend Kaedyn, for whom he drew a picture of a "rainbow unicorn", because she "likes rainbows and unicorns". So adorable!
Nana and the kids at the zoo, looking cool in their shades!
Riding the hippo
Sarah, a hot mess! (Wearing her new pink cowboy boots that our neighbor handed down to us!)

Just because

2010-02-11T22:18:00.000-08:00

I am sitting here with "The Wiggles Lullaby" cd playing in the background, catching up on emails, facebook, etc., and just had to post these pics of Sarah in bed. She has been up a lot at night - sick with a cold, so looking at these, makes me remember how sweet she can be!!

Sarah's real party

2010-02-01T20:33:00.000-08:00

We finally officially celebrated Sarah's 2nd Birthday with a last minute trip to the mall and Build a Bear, mall food and ice cream too - classy I know! Sarah is finally over her cold and Mark was in town, so we went on a Friday night after work, which worked for the other families we wanted there as well!
Build a Bear was a bit overwhelming for the parents and for Sarah, well the whole trip was crazy, we ate pizza in the mall with pop music blaring, the kids rode the kiddie rides and were totally wound up by the time we got to Build a Bear. Sarah had a tantrum over having to give the worker an unstuffed toy and didn't want anything to do with the machine that stuffs the bears. Luckily her big brother took over for her! I should have taken a pic of her having a tantrum on the floor at her party - she is SO 2 years old!

Sarah being coaxed by Daddy to walk over to the noisy machine and give a stranger her chosen doggie to get stuffed - yeah not happening!
Her finished doggie, or as she has named it, "BINGO".
Giving Bingo his first bath.
The crazy crew!! I did not get 1 picture of all 6 of them looking at the camera - at least this one Sarah is looking in my direction!
Danica and Sarah shopping for accessories for their doggies!
Ice cream (EYESSHHHH CEEEEEEM)and her precious Wiggles balloon, which she has had to have in her hand everywhere she goes until it came off the ribbon and flew up onto the ceiling, totally traumatic for her - she's over it now, thank GOD!

One happy girl, a Wiggles balloon and a new doggie!

This I Know...

2010-01-27T20:58:00.000-08:00

My last post was a bit of a downer, I am feeling a bit better after going to my first Kindergarten round up for Jakob. We will be going to 4 different Kinder round ups in our area, to see where we might like to have him attend, should we stay in Portland. It was great to be around other parents that are excited about education, nervous, anxious etc. I felt a bit of normalcy, like I'm not the only neurotic parent out there. I know Jakob is going to love Kindergarten and will be more than ready to go in September, this I know! The rest of where we will be, where he will go to school, is up to the universe!

My never ending dilemma

2010-01-26T22:29:00.000-08:00

Why does life have to be so hard, obviously it's not that hard, I'm not living in a 3rd world country, and struggling to survive or provide for my children etc., I mean it's just hard to know if we are doing the right thing. On a daily basis I wonder if I've made the right parenting choice, discipline, preschool, food choices etc.
But on a grander scale, I am struggling with really wanting to move back to California for many reasons, the main one being with family and close friends - just having the available support and comfort of close friends. This feeling comes up about this time every year - Winter in Portland, sick kids, stuck in the house, cranky husband, work being busy - I just want to escape to an easier life. A life where I can call my Mom to come watch the kids so that we can escape for a date or for the weekend or just to spend time with the grandkids that are always asking "Where's Nana...Where's Papa, when are they coming back...why don't we live in California?" So, I am always convincing the kids and myself of all the reasons we live in Portland: the trees, the activities, the kid friendly environment, hiking, awesome summers, the coast, the mountainm the lower cost of living - although it doesn't seem that much lower - daycare being the same price, housing is quickly catching CA's lowering prices) etc. I explain constantly to Jakob that Portland is better but it doesn't always seem convincing to him nor to me. I know that Mark would love to be in California, for surfing, but his biggest concern is job security, understandable. But, I am fighting for quality of life, granted I would have to work full time, every day, but we would have family and close friends, that we've known most of our adult lives, that would just be so comforting. We moved here for some reason, either to be hear and raise our kids here or to learn from it, become stronger as parents, as a couple, who knows. I do believe things happen for a reason, I'm just not sure what the reason is right now!
So there it is out in the open for my kids to read somehow later in their lives, the never ending saga of "Did we make the right choice, are we raising our kids in the right place etc etc etc!!" I can't wait until they feel this same pain - hahahahaha!!

The Saga of Sarah's 2 year old bday!

2010-01-25T20:39:00.000-08:00

As you may remember, Mark was gone in Omaha on Sarah's actual birthday, so we planned a party for this Saturday. Well, Ms. Sarah had a 102 temp and was coughing and sneezing, so that got cancelled. I think Jakob was more upset because he didn't get to go to "Build a Bear" and build the dog he wants, and he didn't get to have cake and ice cream - poor brother. Instead he got to go to his friend Ian's house and help build a slide for their backyard, and play a bunch, while I was home with the sickky!
Mark went out on Saturday to get a couple cupcakes for the kids to celebrate with. As, there was no way I was going to be able to make cupcakes with a cranky 2 year old on my hip, coughing and sneezing all over! Even though she was sick, she wasn't too sick to turn down "cupcapes and fosting!!"
We are going to have a Build a Bear adventure at the end of the week, with Sarah's buddies. This is the never ending birthday, Sarah doesn't know how good she's got it right now!

Presents

2010-01-18T22:34:00.000-08:00

Sarah has received some wonderful presents but her favorites aren't what you might think:
Chap stick - yes, it's her own, so that is very special. Also, I would say the ice pack my Mom sent, really is the winner, she is obsessed with ice packs and having her own is very special (it's pink with a girl character on it). Tonight she went to bed with the ice pack and said "Mine own ice pack...Nana bought it." I don't have picture of her with it, of course!

A little bit of coaching on how to actually apply chap stick helped!
Sarah in her new dress from Amber, it's big but Sarah loves it, she had to wear it as soon as we got home from dinner, and slept in it, and wore it today! Here she is taking care of her babies in her new dress.
Went to the pool tonight, one of Sarah's favorite things to do! Gramma sent her the cutest robe, and she absolutely loved wearing it! Here she is striking a pose in it!
Cutie pie in the pool!

My baby is 2 - really?

2010-01-17T22:26:00.000-08:00

Who would have ever guessed she was 2, not by the screaming, the multiple tantrums, her favorite word being "NO" or "NO FANK YOU", her whole world that revolves around her bowels, the ME TRY IT" or "MINE" that is constantly coming out of her mouth - seriously how would anyone ever know she was 2!!?
Well she is, and besides all the obvious signs, she is quite the funny girl, she has an infectious laugh and seriously laughs at anything or says "I happy...he's a funny guy...silly Papa, Mama, Brada, Daddy etc." She has a very slight way of making you do things for her, something about a head tilt and a sweet smile that puts you in a trance. She loves her babies, and now has them labeled as "Teeny Baby, Big Baby, and Make a Noise Baby (she cries)", they go everywhere with her, including the public pool(even down the waterslide - today a woman at the pool said to me, "She is going to be a very protective or adventurous mother, taking that babydoll down the slide!" - yep I'm sure of that). She loves her "Brada or Jeebub" (Brother or Jakob), he helps her with everything and or makes her life a living hell, somehow she still needs him around, asks for him constantly and does whatever he does (which is helpful when broccoli needs to be eaten, but not so helpful when there is say, screaming or throwing involved). She loves dresses and pretty much refuses to wear anything that isn't a dress, she especially loves fleece, so the fleece dresses Nana bought her are a very popular item right now (Tozy aka Cozy dresses), she wants to dress herself and would rather not wear shoes or socks, even in the pouring rain in Portland, in fact she went to preschool on Thursday wearing one sock, because she refused to put the other on, a battle I wasn't willing to fight. She hates her hair combed, so it's usually in her face, the right side in a matted clump (with snot or food or both). The girl LOVES her food, she eats until she explodes, literally she did vomit the other night at the table (I think she choked on pear). Oh and she is a water baby, loves to swim, but on her own terms, do not try to carry her in the water, she needs to walk everywhere by herself, even if it means walking into the deep end and going under, she might want you to rescue her, but only for a second.
She adores anything musical, or anything with a tutu, she calls some of her dresses "Baaaalareeena dress". She is obsessed with the Wiggles and loves "Samalam" or Sam from the Wiggles. She knows most of their moves and beams when she gets to "Watch Wikkles"!
She still needs to be wrapped in her "nuggie new" or her snuggie blanket at night, it's getting so small for her body, it just fits on her if she sleeps with her bum in the air, which is how she normally falls asleep! She is a cuddle bug and loves to be held "Mama hold you" is what I hear all the time. She is viscious though about sharing Mommy, look out kids, including her brother, because Sarah will fight you for her Mommy, "NOOOOO my Mommy!".
I think that's the basics of my sweet, and very determined baby girl! Happy Birthday Sarah or "Happy Bifday tooo you" as she sang to herself!

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl, You are amazing!

Oh and just a side note for posterity and my memory:

Mark was in Omaha (for Emily's wedding)over the weekend, so no pic of her today on her bday (as Mark took the camera), but we will celebrate next weekend and will have plenty then! We did go to the pool today- her favorite place - and out to dinner with Amby and Josh (who so kindly, helped welcome her into this world)! Oh, and they gave her a super cute dress, which of course Sarah had to put on when we got home, and she is now sleeping in!

Kids and love...

2010-01-11T20:34:00.000-08:00

I was putting a wedding picture in a Valentine's Day frame, and Jakob said

"That's from when you guys got married, you were kissing." Sarah chimed in with "Silly Daddy!"

I said "What do you mean silly Daddy? He's kissing Mommy." Sarah, "Why?"

A few weeks ago (when Nana and Papa were here), Jakob was playing outside with the neighbor kids, having a snow ball fight with them (brother and sister). During he dinner he said "Dimitri said I am going to be in the love," while rolling his eyes and grinning. We assume he meant with Dimitri's sister, Brianna - we all did our best not to laugh!

Today in the car I asked Jakob if he had fun at school today, "Yeah and Kaedyn was wearing a really pretty butterfly dress, it had lots of butterflies that were all different colors." Me,"Oh did you tell her how pretty she looked?"

Jakob, "I think so, I'm not sure, Oh yes I did (smile on his face)".

He is definetly "in the love" with Kaedyn! Kaedyn has professed to her parents that Jakob is her boyfriend and told their preschool teacher, Linda, that she loves him!!

So cute!!