Happy Birthday Grandpa Ken!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Ken!  We love you and can't wait to see you in a few weeks.  Have a great day and have fun at the football game tomorrow!

Kendall @ 15 months

Kendall turned 15 months this week.  She's a busy, curious little toddler.  She is constantly on to go, exploring the world around her.  She finds everything she's not supposed to and has the house looking like a tornado hit in 15 minutes.  We've given up picking up until she's either napping, or in bed.  Loading and unloading the dishwasher must wait until she's in her highchair (or sleeping), otherwise she's there in an instant "helping".  Bathroom doors must stay closed.  Ornaments on the Christmas tree are not safe.

One of her favorite things to do is play with Ryan's markers.  She likes to take them out of the package, then put them back in.  She also loves doing this with my travel toiletry bag.  She will sit for an hour and take the small bottles out, and put them back in over and over again. 

It's fascinating to watch her.  She's so silly and quirky...and dramatic.  The other day David had her talk to Grandma Karen for a second (basically put the phone up to her ear).  When he took the phone away she proceeded to through the longest tantrum on record.  She screamed for 15 minutes, flopped on the floor in dramatic Kendall fashion and screamed.  She was so mad.  She refused to have anything to do with her dad for a long time.  We all got a good laugh out of it.  And daddy and daughter eventually made up.  

Her relationship with Ryan is constantly evolving.  One minute she loves him, the other she is scared of him.  And for good reason.  He really hasn't been the nicest big brother to her as of late.  He just loves to pick on her.  I didn't realize this would start so soon.  He just torments the poor girl.  We're working on it, but it's a slow process.  The threat of Santa not stopping at our house has helped a little.  Not as much as I'd like, but I'll take what I can get.

David took Kendall to her 15 month check up on Tuesday.  She weighed in at a measly 20 pounds, 12 ounces (25th percentile).  She's still a little peanut!  She grew an inch, though, and is now 31 inches tall (75th percentile)!  She's not saying as many words as she "should", so David called her the perfect model - tall, skinny and dumb.

It was Kendall and Daddy day at the house yesterday so he took it upon himself to work on "words".  When I go home she was saying "up" (which she was already saying), "woof" (again...nothing new), "meow" (which is the same whiny "meow" our cat cries and has most likely been saying it for awhile but I didn't recognize it as a "meow"), and he had her signing "please" (which I have yet to see).  I love that he works so hard, though!  She does say Mama, Dada and she has special word for Ryan.  I'm still trying to learn that.  And once in a great moon I'll catch "more" come out of her.  She's starting to sign that, which makes it a little easier for me to pick up on.

To sum it up, she's a happy, healthy little girl that we adore watching learn and grow!

Photos courtesy of Jen McNamee

The Santa Truck

My sister Jenny knows some people at the North Pole, and arranged for Santa to visit the cabin when we were there a few weeks ago.  It was the coolest thing.  We were all waiting outside (in the freezer cold) when around the corner in the pitch black, Santa appeared on a 18-wheeler lighting up the dark sky.  The kids were so excited!  Some of them didn't know what to think.  Ryan was first in line to visit Santa and asked him to bring him a snowman.  Kendall slept through the entire thing, until I decided she should have a visit with Santa, too.  She woke up instantly when I placed her on his lap.  The look on her face was priceless!

It was the perfect ending to a fun-filled day!  Thanks, Jen!!

Kendall sound asleep as everyone else was getting ready to greet Santa.

Spotting Santa in the distance.

The Santa Truck coming around the bend.

Ryan and Santa.

Ryan and Jack waiting while everyone has their turn with Santa.

Kendall and Santa.

Minne-Snow-Ta

Mr. Sledder.  He could have lived outside.

Auntie Jenny, Kendall, Gracie (in purple) and Emma 

We flew to Minnesota last week to have an early holiday celebration with my family at the cabin.  I do have to say that Ryan had the best time of all of us.  He was in his glory playing with his cousins.  It was so much fun to see him have so much fun!  The boys had a blast sledding down the great sliding hill out from of the cabin.

Kendall just meandered around the entire time doing her thing.  We hardly knew she was there.

As for David and I, we ended up with the flu.  I started off the celebration, then passed it on to David, then to my Mom, and then to my cousin Andrew.  Yuck.  We still had a good time watching all the kids, and are so thankful none of them ended up with it.

It is really crazy when we are all together.  The noise level with 10 little ones is deafening, but so much fun!

Grandma and Grandpa with the 10 grandkids.

The whole gang!  With a bad reflection on the mirror...and Uncle Steve standing in for Grant.

The Day After Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving with David's family - the day after Thanksgiving.  David typically has to work Thanksgiving Day.  Whatever the day, the turkey still tastes good!

We had a great weekend at Karen and Bill's enjoying each others company, watching the kids (especially crazy Kendall), eating and playing games.

Too bad it can't happen more often!

The crew!  In back:  Mick (Jenn's Dad), Uncle George, Bill, Melanie, Ryan, Michael, Kendall, David; Front Row: Chris (Jenn's Mom), Aunt Jackie, Aunt Dyane, Karen, Jenn, Katy

Crazy Kendall in her pretty dress

Snow Day

The kids loved the snow we had last week in Seattle.  Our driveway made a perfect sledding hill, and Ryan had way too much fun sledding!

Kendall also enjoyed her first frolic in the snow.  She wasn't so sure of it at first, but was giggling as she walked through it!  It was so much fun to watch them enjoy Mother Nature at her best!  There is nothing more beautiful than snow.

Seattle Snow

We were warned about it being a cold, snowy winter.  And it has arrived...before Thanksgiving!

Snuggle Time

My Mom has been visiting since last Sunday while David was on a hunting adventure.  And there is no way I would have survived the week without her. 

The kids have been awful sleepers the entire week.  Only one night in the last six have I had a good night's sleep.  Needless to say, I'm exhausted but so thankful I've had the extra help during the day when I'm a zombie.

A typical night for Kendall has been this:  Bedtime at 7:30.  Up screaming at 8:15.  Make her cry herself back to sleep.  Up again about 45 minutes later.  Make her cry again.  She doesn't stop, so snuggle with her (or Grandma snuggles with her).  Put her back to bed.  Up again 2 hours later.  Drag her into bed with me when I realize she's not going to stop crying.  Up every 1 to 2 hours until 7:30am when she wakes up happy.  Go figure.  I don't wake up so happy. 

On a good night, Ryan sleeps through all of this.  On a bad night, he wakes up and is up for 2 hours minimum tossing and turning.  In order to get back to sleep he needs to snuggle with me as well.  So most nights I'm the peanut butter in their little mommy sandwich.

Believe me, this Mama has had her quota of snuggle time over the past week.  I'm sure I'll be ready for more next week, but definitely need a break this one. 

Party, Party, Party

We had a whirlwind three days of birthday fun last week.  Auntie Jenny and Grace flew in from Minnesota to celebrate with us!  We spent Thursday doing fun birthday things with Ryan, since it was his actual birthday.

Our first stop was an amazing breakfast at Portage Bay Cafe.  Next, it was a ride on the Trolley...Ryan's favorite thing to do in Seattle.

On the trolley.

We were fortunate to get to check out an awesome fire engine after hopping off the trolley.

It was such a gorgeous day for a birthday!  Ryan and Grace just ran and ran and ran in the sunshine.

After a pizza dinner, chosen by Ryan, we had amazing cupcakes!

And then we opened gifts!

And more gifts...

And still more gifts! This one was opened on Friday when the Boehm's came to visit.  Grandma Karen, Grandpa Bill, Uncle Michael, Aunt Jenn and Aunt Melanie joined us for the afternoon and dinner.  What a lucky boy!

Ryan had a cool Blue Angel Jet cake!  Thanks, Auntie Jenny!!

Our Very Special Boy!

And on Saturday another fun party with friends.  We spent the morning at Cowen Park playing with friends and enjoying more cake!  Three days of cake was enough!!

Special Cousins.

And still more gifts!  Ryan's favorite gift was a bag of marbles!  He and Grace played and played with those marbles all night.  It was so much fun to watch the games they invented.

What a fun, busy weekend....and what a lucky little boy to have 3 days full of fun!  We were exhausted Saturday afternoon, but wouldn't have changed a thing.

Happy Birthday, Ryan!

Happy 4th Birthday, Ryan!

Dear Ryan,

Today you are 4 years old!  The big day has finally arrived.  You have been talking about it for weeks, and now it is here!!  It's fun to see that anticipation for your birthday.

You are such a fun little boy.  You are so full of life.  You live everyday to the fullest.  Your imagination has come to life over the last year, and I love to sit and listen to you invent fun games with your toys.  You don't like when I watch you though.

You are a great big brother, most of the time.  You love when Kendall cooperates with you, and you can boss her around!  Sometimes, she doesn't follow your rules and then you get mad.  You're learning, though!

You still go to sleep every night with your beloved Honu.  And you still love your cars.  You play for hours parking your cars.  You've now taken it to another level with your imagination, which is so fun to see.  Another thing you've really fallen in love with are Blue Angel Jets!  You love to fly your planes and helicopters around the house and land them.  

Daddy continues to be your Best Buddy.  Whenever I tell you I love you, you say, "Daddy loves me too".  And yes he does!  You two have the best time together whether it's playing baseball in the yard, doing yard work together (you love being Daddy's helper) or playing "Hike".

You love to go to Co-op Preschool Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays.  Every morning when you wake up you ask if you get to go to school today.  You have so many fun friends you get to go to school with.  You love learning and exploring with them! 

Your vocabulary is a little out of control.  You soak up everything we say,  Last night you told me to worry about myself, and not worry about you.  You are something else!  It is so amazing to watch you learn and grow!  I can't wait to see what the next year brings!

I love you, Ryan!

-Mommy

Happy Halloween!

We had a fun day carving pumpkins and getting ready to Trick or Treat!  We went to our friend's house to enjoy the bonfire, roasting marshmallows, hot apple cider and trick or treating of course! 

Ryan decided he was going to be "that Chicken again", and was just as reluctant to put on his costume as last year.  He did put it on, and had a blast trick or treating!

The rest of us completed Old MacDonald's Farm.  David was Old MacDonald, Kendall was the cutest Cow ever, and I was the Pig...E-I-E-I-O! Kendall didn't like her Mama being a pig, but decided I wasn't so bad after awhile! 

Hope you had a fun Halloween, too!!

Mesmerized

I took the kids to the zoo last week and Kendall was mesmerized by the cow in the Family Farm.  She couldn't stop staring at it, until it Moo-ed.  I thought she was going to jump out of her stroller!  Ryan and I got a good laugh out of that.

Self Portraits

Ryan continues to be obsessed with taking pictures.  Every time I pull out the camera he insists on taking a picture as well.  And if I leave the camera within reach, this is what happens....

I love to see the random shots that show up on the camera!

Fun on the Swings

The kids and I went to Cowen Park today for a little adventure.  They have the best swings in Seattle.  Both Ryan and Kendall had a blast!

The Pumpkins

The evidence from our pumpkin patch adventure on Thursday.

Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere

We ventured to the pumpkin patch today.  We were all so excited to get out of the city for awhile.  It's one of our favorite traditions.  Since we didn't have as much time as we usually do, we found a place a little closer to the city to visit this year.  Carleton Farms in Everett was great.  The fact that it was a Thursday afternoon was a huge advantage to us.  Even though the rain caught up with us, it was much more pleasant wandering the pumpkin patch by ourselves than with the 5,000 + people they are expecting over the weekend! 

They had farm animals that Kendall was mesmerized by, huge slides for all of us to zip down and a great little Farmer's Store.  And I can't forget to mention the creepiest looking goat I've ever seen.  I'm not sure what was going on with that goat.  It really was a much needed getaway, and so much fun.  We may even go back next week if we can fit it into our crazy schedules.

I bet you're wondering where all the adorable pictures of Kendall waddling through the patch with her cute little pumpkin hat are.  And those of her riding on her Dad's shoulders while he and Ryan searched for the perfect pumpkin.  Well, they will only be photos in my head since I FORGOT. MY. CAMERA! 

I-CHI-RO, I-CHI-RO

Not only is Ryan obsessed with baseball, he's obsessed with Ichiro.

Since the beginning of the season, he has become the biggest fan of Ichiro - #51 for the Mariners.  He really has taken it to a whole different level.  When the clock strikes Any Hour: 51, he breaks into his I-CHI-RO, I-CHI-RO chant until it is Any Hour: 52.  Whenever he spots the number 51 on a street sign, a mailbox, a house or a license plate we hear, "I-CHI-RO, I-CHI-RO".  And believe me, he spots them all.  David and I are amazed at what his eyes spot.

Last week was the last series for the Mariners this season.  No, they didn't make the play-offs.  In fact, I think they might have the worst record in Major League Baseball.  But, that doesn't matter to Ryan.  He just loves to watch Ichiro!  David decided he better take him to a game one last time, before the Ichiro fascination wears off.  You never know what next season will bring.  I definitely hope it brings the same obsession, because I'll miss it if it doesn't.  It really has brought us a lot of laughs!
 
Grandpa Bill joined the boys for the last outing of the season.  They got tickets in right field right by Ichiro!  Ryan got some good shots.

Here's hoping next season is a little more exciting for the Mariners! 

Seahawk Surprise!

David surprised me with an awesome date at the Seahawk game today.  He received tickets from guests from his work, got the day off of work, and arranged babysitting so we could go.

We had THE BEST TIME!  The tickets were awesome - 4 rows back on the 20 yard line!  The season-ticket holders in our section were great!  They really got into the game, and had us on our feet almost the entire time.  It was awesome!  I know I won't have a voice tomorrow.  

The view from our seats!

The game was beyond exciting...maybe a little frustrating, too, but it went right down to the wire.  We also saw two kickoffs run back for touchdowns.

I couldn't have asked for a better date!  Thanks, David!!  And thank you Grandma Karen and Grandpa Bill for helping make it happen!!  I know the kids had much more fun with you than they would have with us.