WOW! Time For An Update!

Damn Facebook. It's my new blog. Downloading photos from my phone is so easy on Facebook! Can't do that here. I have to download something. Facebook is great for all the big and some little things, but the thing about Facebook is, I can't post milestones my kids meet without sounding like a complete brag whore or annoying mom. And I can't find my baby book since the move.

I decided to log onto the blog tonight to see pictures of Emily at Nathan's current age of 2.5. He
is already 2.5????

So I'm logging this information for my future entertainment:

Tonight, Nathan named most letters of the alphabet. We are still working on colors. So far he has blue down. And maybe red. Sometimes. Green and yellow and all the rest are complete guesses.

We have not started potty training yet. Whereas with Emily, she was already in underwear at this point. Second kid? Having a boy? Jury is out. I'm claiming sheer laziness on mom's part.

He loves to sing and dance.  The kid can sing all lyrics to any pop song on the radio. Kid you not. His mother's child. Not much of an attention getter. The moment someone gives him a compliment, he hides in my shoulder. His father's child.

He LOVES books. He can count to 10. He loves trains, cars, airplanes. Anything with wheels.

Still takes 2 hour naps, and sleeps 12 hours at night. Love my sleep trained kids!!!

He is STILL BREASTFEEDING. Yep. I said it. We do it for 5 minutes before nap and bedtime. 10 minutes total all day. Don't care. He's my last kid. I'll chalk it up to that. Spoiled rotten. Me? Sucker. No wait, that would be him.

He's a sweet, gentle kiddo with a little bit of boy spice. But not too much when compared to other boys. He doesn't get the art of rough housing or wrestling. Could be because he has a very sensitive and loving big sister:

Emily. She lost her first tooth this year! She rode her bike briefly without training wheels a month ago. She is excelling in 1st grade. Still a perfectionist. Still gets easily frustrated, but still an amazing human being who thinks on such a deep level. She still has issues with watching movies. She bawled at Frozen. I mean tears, snot and the ugly cry. The whole shebang. She just gets things. She is so caring and loving of friends, and always tries to be the clown making them laugh. She is sooooo incredibly smart. A ginormous lover of math and her reading skills top the charts! She has wonderful writing and her spelling is getting better every day. She is so focused and loves to build and create things with paper. She loves her baby brother and they play nicely together most days. Some days she gets frustrated and a little jealous of the time he takes away, so I remember to do date days with her a couple times a month. Just me and my girl. Love her. Did I mention she's funny, so beautiful and so smart? She really enjoys softball and plays soccer in the fall. She's been a rockstar swimmer since 4 years old. We'll keep that one in our back pocket for now. She can join swim team later. Like waaaay later. We will start her in tennis this summer as she has a mean swing!! She is the most amazing big sister. She loves Nathan with all her heart and she thinks of the best imaginary games for them to play. They will complement eachother as life goes on.

We moved!!! Oh, this house is beautiful. Edmonds, WA is an amazing town. You know everyone here. Ferries, trains, restaurants, everything. We will never leave.

That is all. I hope I got it all. I probably didn't. For all other updates, join Facebook. But for bragging updates, check here. It's my continued baby and kid book for Nathan and Em.

Happy Mother's Day, Mama!

 New Grandma with Emily in 2008

With Nathan in 2012

Happy Mother's Day to my mom. 

You are so important to us and so loved!! 

Thank you for all your support and love the last 36 years of my life.

WE LOVE YOU!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We hope all of our friends had a wonderful holiday. 

Many wishes of health and happiness in 2014.

Emily was a doll with Santa. Nathan? Yeah, he wasn't a big fan.

We had a lovely time this year. Despite the tears, Santa brought Nathan a basketball hoop and Emily a Doc McStuffins medical kit. We were surrounded by family for one whole week, which is the best gift of all. Good food, great wine and family. Isn't that what it's all about? 

Matt and I made an offer on a home in Edmonds a couple weeks ago. 

We hope 2014 has a kind start and the deal goes through. 

It's a short sale, so many complications can potentially be involved financially. 

However, they more than likely will accept our offer, and hopefully the bank will do the same. 

Here is the link to the home.

http://www.redfin.com/WA/Edmonds/16012-74th-Pl-W-98026/home/2718656

It definitely needs some TLC and needs to be expanded into a 4th bedroom for our needs, but the home already has so much of the charm we desire. 1930s cape cod styling, wood framed ceilings, multi-panel windows with a view to the sound. And it's on a half acre of land, so we won't be a whisper away from the neighbors.

Wish us luck!! 

If we get the home, our summer camping trip just might move into our backyard!

Snow Day!

Snow days in our neighborhood are so much fun! This was the last day of school before Christmas break. I'm pretty sure the kids weren't disappointed. 

In fact, Emily excitedly said to Nathan, 'Sissy gets to stay home with you, baby!'

All the kids come out to play first thing in the morning. 

We had a massive snowball fight and the kiddos sled down the hill. 

This was Nathan's first introduction to snow. He was excited at first, then over it 10 minutes after that. So I snuggled him up in the stroller and he happily watched the big kids and adults have fun.

Emily, Tyson and Kayla (or as Nathan says, La La)

Hot cocoa and a playdate at Kayla's house followed.

What a great day!

Holiday Season 2013

Here are the kiddos! Emily, 5 1/2 and Nathan 15 months. Hard to believe, really. We had a lovely Thanksgiving this year at Mark and Sabath's house. And now, blink! It's almost Christmas! Emily will be getting a bunch of random small gifts and Nathan will receive a little basketball hoop from Santa. He loves balls! Go figure. :)

Emily is really enjoying Kindergarten. She reads basic books quite fluently now, she really likes math. She says her favorite subject is Science. It's amazing how fast they learn once they are in school every day, 5 days a week. She gave soccer a go this fall and now she'll be moving on to gymnastics for the winter. She continues to do swimming lessons here and there. She's a natural at that! She is growing up so fast. I sometimes catch myself just staring at her in awe, until she says 'why are are you staring at me mama?' Now I understand why I asked such a question to my mother.

Nathan is walking, saying about 7 words and definitely understanding the world around him more.  He's such a sweetheart boy, very sensitive to those around him. He's gentle and gives Emily so many kisses, especially when she is hurt or starts to cry. We love him and Emily so much. They really do love eachother...it's great to see that sibling bond happening so quickly.

Happy Halloween!

13 Months & Kindergarten Update.

Nathan with 90-year-old Great Grandma Bessie. They were buds at the last Mullet gathering.

 

Our kiddos, cutest EVAH!

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Nathan is now officially over 1 year old. I seriously can't believe it. He's crawling up and down stairs on his own, so now we are to the point where he'll disappear and play downstairs happily by himself.  Or he'll crawl upstairs to play in his room or sissy's room. What a relief to know he knows how to get down stairs without tumbling now. This makes my life so much easier. Emily and Nathan are playing a lot more together, and now Emily is realizing Nathan always wants to be with her, so it is adding a tiny bit of frustration. But she really does love him so much.

Nathan is a sweetie, so mellow in nature. He's social with others: waves hi to everyone and LOVES giving other babies kisses.  His sleep habits are not as wonderful as Emily's were, but that would be pretty hard to top. Emily was a rockstar sleeper. Nathan is cutting a few more teeth, so I think that's a reason why he has been waking at night. Ergh. Not much of a talker this one, but he certainly understands what we say. Oh - he's a super big fan of Papa. :)

His new tricks? Standing solo for long stretches and taking a few steps here and there. He's super close to walking. He is also voicing his opinion more these days during diaper and clothing changes. He's learning if he pokes Emily in the face, she doesn't like it, so he does it more to get the reaction. So anyway, here we go into the 2nd year. Hooray! ;)

Emily is really enjoying Kindergarten. Her teacher is fantastic, and I'm having a wonderful time helping out in class my one morning a week. I'm getting to know the kids very well, and I'm becoming more comfortable working with them. The class had their first math test yesterday with partitions up and all. I felt really proud about how all of them performed. It was a 4 page test that took 25 minutes, and they all finished! I'm really proud of how well Emily has adjusted to full day kindergarten. We haven't had any more than maybe one really tired, meltdown kind of day since she started. She definitely feels at home at her new school.