Spring is starting! (2014)

With such a large part of the country experiencing such a long, hard Fall and Winter this year, I feel as though I should contain my excitement and relief at the coming of Spring to the Pacific Northwest.  I know that our Winter was mild comparatively, but still it feels great to be emerging from the cooler temperatures. It has hit the upper 60s a couple of times and boy, it is amazing how hot it feels. The trees are blooming, flowers popping and greenery sprouting up everywhere. A pastel palette everywhere you look. It is very beautiful. I am blessed to live here.

Lucy and Jake are growing by leaps and bounds. Everyday they surprise me with the things they are learning, doing and thinking about. Lucy is moving out of her preschool years and becoming more and more independent. She has a couple of close friends, and loves to play. She still loves doing artwork and has begun to cut up things she made when she was younger and make collages. I love seeing what she puts together. She is very feisty at times and occasionally throws down epic fits. Fortunately they are becoming rare. I just hope she never throws another one in public! She recently got glasses and they are so sweet on her. She picked out Hello Kitty frames. She mostly wears them without complaint. She loves to do her hair and will put in rows of clips, or ask me to do French braids. It is pretty cute! She is my special girl and I love her so very much. It is fun to watch her mature, even if I struggle to remember her babyhood. She said recently to Marc when he was putting her to bed..."I love my life! I love my life!"

Jake is 21 months and seems older every day. I still very much think of him as a baby but the evidence is clear that he is a toddler now. He runs with confidence, has tons and tons of words, has an opinion about things and can tell you that opinion. He is really listening and able to follow a few ideas in a row. It is amazing to me. I really love watching and paying attention to the child development aspect of being a parent. Jake loves to do artwork, especially drawing little circles and saying "eye" "eyes". Stickers and painting are also something he likes. Favorite toys are cars, balls and books. Jake LOVES to read. So does Lucy! I can't wait until we can all read long books together. Jake still likes a snuggle before bed, but will point to his crib when he is really tired and he falls asleep on his own. Lucy, on the other hand still will not consider falling to sleep on her own. That's ok! He has had a few mild tantrums, but I am curious as to how watching all of Lucy's fits will affect him. I wonder...is he taking notes? Realizing how silly it is? Only time will tell!!!  He is my little guy and I love him sooooo much. He loves his Dad and realizes now that Marc has a pattern and is figuring out what weekends are.

We are all busy and somewhat overwhelmed but trying hard to find the spaces in life to enjoy the good things and let go of the stress of daily life.  We are lucky to still get out to see concerts now and then and always fill our weekends with activity as a family when I am not working. We are blessed to have a wonderful circle of friends and family around us. Like Lucy said..."I love my life!"

End of Summer 2014

We are here at the end of the summer and I started feeling sentimental as soon as we got home from our last trip of the summer, to East Lake. My stomach started hurting and I wasn't sure what was wrong, but I soon figured out that I was anticipating Lucy starting Kindergarten later this week. I didn't think I would feel this way, but I sure do. Lucy is such a special girl. She is thoughtful and kind, and a fabulous big sister. She surprises me every day with her thoughts and insights. She is growing and maturing so quickly! It has been a long road (sometimes challenging...) to get to this point, but at the same time it just seems so quick. This summer Lucy has really enjoyed playing with her baby dolls, dressing them and taking care of them. She also just loves workbooks, sticker play and trying to read. Listening her "read" to Jake is so much fun. "Dinosaurs might have been mean, or nice or fun, no one really knows. But, everyone agrees that dinosaurs were SCARY!!!" (A recent book narration she gave.) She liked all of our traveling for the most part, especially our trip to Malibu.

Jake is rapidly coming into his own. He is a toddler through and through. He talk, talk, talks.  love hearing how much he is understanding and putting together about the world around him.  His first full sentence (at the beginning of summer) was "Jake like Spidey-man." Both kids have been totally obsessed with Spiderman and Star Wars. Jake gets to ride on the coat-tails of his big sister, and experience certain things at a younger age then her. Usually, his favorite Star-Wars character is Darth Maul (you know, the ugliest, scariest one!) Both kids will play detailed imaginary games involving super-heroes. It is so fun to watch Jake doing pretend play, and hear him make sound effects and the like. A couple of weeks ago we woke up to the sounds of Jake playing in the living room (he has a big boy bed now!) and he was saying "Star Wars" and then attempting to sing the theme music at the top of his lungs. He still wakes up very early most mornings. He absolutely loves to "help" me in the kitchen. He really likes it. It often drives me crazy, but I have been working on accepting my feelings of frustration with keeping up with my two kids and all of my household responsibilities, and my job, and my physical therapy...and appreciating all of the little, special moments. In some ways I feel more patient with Jake then I was with Lucy. In part it is a personality thing (he is pretty mellow), but I also think that I see how quickly things are growing easier with him, and how things have become easier with Lucy. I love these kids to the bottom of my heart. So cliché, but so true!

Christmas time!

Lucy hanging with Elizabeth

Jake was so cute sitting in his chair with his blanket and binky. He got all cozy to watch a cartoon.

Jake loves to paint!

Decorating ornaments

I love painting!

Sweet girl at her preschool Christmas performance.

Best friends!

Jake meets Santa

Lucy and Santa

Presents on Christmas morning!

Yea for stockings!

There's no crying on Christmas morning!

Opening presents

Dragon bouncer

Yea for tractors!

Having fun with a new art kit from Auntie Katie

Lucy and Auntie Katie

Happy Christmas Family!

Me and my sister

This past year we had a very nice Christmas season. Our friend Elizabeth and her brother Darryl came to visit a few days before Christmas, and we had a nice time visiting with them. Both kids really had fun with them. Lucy's preschool put on a little performance where the kids sang. Lucy was so sweet up on stage. Like a little angel. Her little girl days are slipping by, and it was so fun to see her up there singing. So cute. On Christmas Eve we went to Jordan's and had a fantastic meal with lots of friends and family. The evening ended, as always, with Christmas carols. Jake's favorite carol was Deck the Halls. He would sing "falalalala". It was so cute. Just precious. I was supposed to work at the hospital on Christmas Day, but in a Christmas Miracle I was put on call and never had to go in. We just hung around home and cooked and spent time together. My sister Katie spent the day with us and we had fun exchanging gifts, playing games and relaxing.  GrandPappy Bobbby came over too! Jake and Lucy had fun opening their gifts, and I was so grateful to get to be there to be a part of it all.

Thanksgiving Road Trip...Heading Home

Mexico fun before and after the wedding