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.