"I Two"

This last week on the 17th Jane turned two, in her words "I two" (said while holding up four fingers). We did a little family birthday party for her. Two year olds like to keep it simple, more accurately they don't know the difference yet.
Below is a picture of the kids with the books that Gabrielle, our surrogate grandma, brought over for Jane's present. Jane loves books, she can't get enough of them. She often will retrieve my attention by whirling a book at me and saying oh so sweetly "Book please." It is difficult to stay upset about being hit by a book after her sweet request to read the offending book. Jane is also great at her letters she knows most if not all of her letters and likes to point them out where ever we go.
We don't own many stuffed animals, they seem a bit useless to me. However Nelson loves his teddy bear and lately Jane has been loving on his teddy bear so I figured it was time for her to have her own stuffed animal. A little stuffed kitty pillow pet. She now sleeps with this cat along with her blankie and beloved binkie. (it is time to omit the binkie from that line up)
Jane is a joy. She has these beautiful blue eyes and long eye lashes. She is often content to just cuddle. She loves being sung too. She will often stop in the middle of a full blown cry session to a song being sung. She loves animals, as long as they are not too close. She looks out the windows through out the day to find squirrels and dogs. She is typically a good eater. She loves new people and loves to climb. Oh boy does she love to climb. No seatbelt is too tight for her to wiggle out of. Keeping her in the grocery cart is near impossible.
Here is a true shot of Jane in action. She loves to dress like her older siblings like she is going to school, she is so cute and I enjoy her a great deal. It is a good thing I enjoy her so much because she is my constant shaddow, following me from room to room. Never a dull moment. Love this girl! HAPPY 2 year old JANE!!!!

Summer Installment No. 2

I made an effort this summer to get the kids out and about alot. One place we went to often was the beach. We checked out a few of the different beaches here in the Seattle area. The hard part of this is hauling the kids to and from the car with all that we need while we are there. Also Jane is Miss Friendly and had no problem wandering to other peoples areas and going through their things and taking what she wanted. It was a task all of itself to keep her out of trouble. But the reward to all this work is seen in the pics below....especially the first one!

btw- Nelson is now fully potty trained, much to my relief!


For my birthday my mother got me a campfire pit. As per my request. We had alot of fun roasting hot dogs and marshmellows.

At the beginning of the summer Nelson took swim lessons with his cousin Travis. They were so cute together.

This is doing fire crackers on the Forth of July! I vow in the future to plan ahead and order my fire crackers online in advance. Vendors make a mint on these sort of things, I was surprised at the price.

Nelson's First Day of Pre-School

How could any teacher not love to have this little boy in their class? None I am sure! I love this little guy! Nelson is now in pre-school. He loves it! No tears, no worries, he was a pro. The school bus ride he is especially happy about. He finally gets to get on the bus like his big sister.

New Family Pictures

Thanks to the skills of our Sister in law Jenny we have new family Pics!

Summer in Retrospect (Installment I)

The streak of sun and warm weather is gone here in Seattle. It has been replaced by familiar overcast skies and sixty degree weather. I can no longer even pretend it is summer. Growing up summer was filled with dirty bare feet, long sunny days of playing in the fields, forests and bike riding from one place to another- all while eating endless supplies of pop sicles. Great memories! I hope for my kids that they have equally great memories.

I make a conscious effort to do activities that will create memories for years to come. This summer was a great memory making summer. In June we went to Southern Idaho for a family reunion. Below are a few pictures of this.

Kevin's parents with almost all their grandkids.
I like how Jane is like the cherry on top in this picture.
In June we also welcome Uncle Blake home from his mission. He had a layover in Seattle so we ambushed him in the airport. We love Blake and love that he is home. The kids really enjoy Blake, he is a fun uncle. Maycie surprised me with all that she remembered about Blake before he left. She remembered how he used to chase her and tease her. He picked up right where he left off, Maycie was quite pleased!

Cousins

A year ago Kevin's brother Eric moved to Seattle with his wive Jenny and kids. They live about five minutes from us. We have enjoyed having them so close. It has especially made two little girls very happy!

Aubree and Maycie are about two weeks apart. You wouldn't guess it by looking at them. Aubree has a whole head of height on May. Maycie's goal is to 'grow big like Aubree' ironic considering May is the older of the two.




They slept all night in this bed together and woke with big smiles on their faces. Such great memories for these little girls!

The Art of Shining Shoes

Kevin flew down to the University of Florida for an interview at the end of August. He was interviewing for a residency to specialize in Endodontics after dental school. In preperation for this interview Kevin meticulously picked out what he was going to wear. Then he focused his energy on shining his shoes. One would think that this is a relatively simple process. I have recieved an education and I can now testify that that is not the case. A 'high quality' shoe shine is quite involved, as shown below.

It began very familiar to me, applying polish and then buffing with the brush. That was not the end. Kevin repeated that process three times, yes three.
It was then followed by heating the leather with a blow dryer to warm the leather and polish. After warmed he then shined with nylon. Kev meticulously surveyed his work in the sunlight. I couldn't resist taking these pictures once it escalated to this level. The kids joined in and it became a sunday afternoon family activity. After finishing his three coat process on one shoe and only one coat on the other, Kevin put both shoes in front of me to show me the 'significant' difference. I couldn't tell a difference. But in his defense I am not detail oriented, however I am very gratiful for a wonderful husband who is. He is going to be a great Endodontist.
Right after his interview Kevin recieved a call from Florida and he was offered a spot. We accepted! FLORIDA HERE WE COME! In about 9 months.