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!

*************************************************************

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.

Happy 1st Birthday, Nathan!

 Nathan, or 'Goo' as his big sister affectionately calls him, turned 1 on September 9.

Oh, sweet boy. How we love him! He's such an easy-going, happy dude.
He's about 25th percentile for weight and height, so he's on the smaller side. But he's cruising around this place like a champ - crawling, opening cabinets, cruising furniture, crawling up stairs. Basically, he's preparing us for his big walking debut. Emily didn't walk until 14 months, and I bet he'll do the same.

He has TWO bottom teeth! If you'll remember, Emily didn't get one tooth until the age of 2.

He's a great eater, eats everything! He especially loves meat and veggies. Not a huge fruit fan, but he does like bananas, strawberries, cantaloupe and blueberries. He definitely loves sweet treats more than Emily did at this age. He dug into his birthday cupcake without much hesitation.

He's a pretty good sleeper without much protest: 2 naps during the day and about 10-11 hours at night. He has been waking up around 4:30 a.m. the last week, so I hope this phase passes. He hasn't done this since 6 months old, so I think it's some kind of growth spurt or milestone sleep disruption.

Now that Emily is in full day Kindergarten, I have lots of alone time with Nathan. I am so lucky I get to have this time like I did when Emily was a baby. It's so very important to me (thank you, Matthew!). So we are back to stroller walks, library time, baby playdates and music classes during the week. Brings back many memories.

Nathan isn't much of a chatter like Emily was. He makes a few animal noises here and there and says 'uh-oh' and that's about it. He definitely understands what we say though and follows pretty good direction. So far, if we tell him 'no thank you' when touching something he's not supposed to be, he's pretty good at listening. That will change!!

We kept our celebrating low-key for Nathan's 1st. We had grandparents over one night for dinner, and a few baby friends over in the morning of his birthday for cupcakes.  He was very happy to see everyone.

Emily is a great playmate and a wonderful babysitter for me! She is very aware of what he should and shouldn't be doing, and she is quick to tell me if he needs a diaper change. They are little buddies.

Happy birthday, Nathan! We love you!!!!

11 Months Old, Summertime and Kindergarten!

 Oh my word! What a summer we've had here in Seattle. It's the best I can remember temp-wise. 

75-80 degrees every day from June until September. Little rain, lots of fun. 

We didn't travel anywhere, but we sure kept busy.

Nathan is 11 months old, going on 1 YEAR! Oy vey. He's such a little cutie with the sweetest demeanor. We took the kiddos camping with friends a couple weeks ago, and it was the best camping trip yet. Both kids played hard, slept hard and loved it. We took Emily for her first time when she was 2.5, so having a baby was definitely different. Lots o' stuff to pack! We could barely fit Jonas in the car, but a miracle repack job by Matt made it happen. 

Nathan did fantastic. He loved playing in the sand and looking at all the tall trees, birds and dogs around the campsite. He didn't put any dirt or rocks in his mouth, which was totally unexpected and shocking. His fave spot was in the pack with Papa. Unforgettable.

At 11 months, he's attempting to stand up solo and signing 'more' at the dinner table. He's getting his first tooth now, too. No true words other than 'uh-oh' and babbles spoken yet, but he does know what a sheep says: 'Baaa-aaa-aaaa!' He's sleeping well, eating well. I'll start taking him to library story times and music class next month. He dances to everything! This kid is a maniac when it comes to music. Enjoy some pics of our camping adventure:

Emily was a flower girl this summer for our cousins Adam and Christina. She was edible. Purely edible.

Took Emily to the Fair this year again - just her and me. We had a great time. She was big enough to ride on the BIG rollercoaster this year. Woot! She loved the thrill.

 Emily is starting Kindergarten September 4th! I'm really having different feelings than expected at this point. It's all so exciting, but at the same time, this has been the longest I've ever been away from her in a weekday. Think about it...the teacher will see her more in waking hours than I will! It's a lot to wrap my brain around. We went school shopping the other day and, clearly, Emily will be one of the the stylish ones in class! She's such a sassy pants. She's ready to start. Her teacher's name is Mrs.Verrall and she will be attending a k-8 Co-op in Edmonds, the best school academically in the district. It was a lottery drawing to get in, so we are feeling incredibly fortunate. We believe in the public school system, but parent participation being required is what makes this school stand out. She'll do great, and I will be there every step of the way to see her succeed! Oh, the places she will go!