Pre-K Graduation & Pre-Chelan Swim Lessons

Here's Audrey making sure her pre-K graduation pose is caught on camera.

To quote every parent, everywhere . . . "it feels like the school year just started!". I spared the photo of Lisa with tears streaming down her cheeks. I thought it was cute how proud she was. Lisa did a good job of not hinting that the tears were really a result of the fact that Audrey would no longer be going to school three days a week. As parents, we now realize the irony of what schools call summer "vacation".

For father's day I received a pillow-case with the above photo scanned on. It finds its way into my suitcase when I travel. I absolutely love it. You can't tell in the picture above, but Sam's forehead is absolutely huge when blown-up to pillow-case size. I'm hoping it's due to a large brain vs. a blockhead. Jury is definitely still out.

When we moved to suburbia we got rid of all of our yard tools. We figured our yard would be so small that we wouldn't need anything of substance. Oops. We are now slowly adding back said tools. Good news that we now have a male in the house that might actually have some mechanical ability. Lisa was getting tired of assembling everything.

Prior to heading to Chelan (pictures next month) we sent Audrey back to swim lessons. Suzy, the instructor, has been doing this for like 50 years. As you can see, the kids do not have a say in IF they are going to dive. It's amazing how quickly kids get over their fears when they are forced to face them. Oh, and having someone other than their parents do the dirty work helps too!

Like I said, they go from not wanting to jump in off the side of the pool to having no problem diving off the diving board. We just got back from Chelan and Audrey was an absolute fish. While having your kid take swim lessons from a hard nosed teacher at her private pool in Medina comes at a price (yes, I'm cheap), it made our vacation exponentially more enjoyable. Once again, Lisa knew what was best for the family. Thanks Honey.

Salon Audrey & Alki

Who doesn't love themed dress-up days at school?! Here Audrey is ready to head out for Hawaiian Day.

Sam went along to the party store to pick out Audrey's outfit and saw a straw fedora that he couldn't live without. Lisa tried to explain that the hat was for "big boys like daddy", but alas, the 2 year old won out and got his hat.

"Watch mommy, I'll put it on and you'll see how cute I am in my big boy hat . . . "

"Whose calling it a big boy hat now mommy, I can see my cuteness reflecting back in your eyes . . . "

"Whoa, mommy . . . who turned out the lights?!" Knucklehead.

On the knucklehead front, let's see if you can tell the difference between this picture and the next (hint: it's not the monkey).

If you guessed bangs you are correct. However, if you guessed a very sad little girl whose getting her picture taken right before she's sent to her room for cutting her own hair you get extra credit.

On a sunny day last month (yes, there was one), we headed out to Alki. We didn't realize it at the time, but it was the afternoon with the lowest tide of the month. The low tide created a bunch of small sand islands and you could actually see crab waddling in the little waterways.

Audrey wore her Hawaiian day lei. I'm pretty sure when you tell a 4 year old that you're going to the beach they imagine something a little more tropical than Alki. I believe the quote was "Dad, is this mud or sand?". Honey, I'm not really sure.

Sam had an absolute blast though. "Daddy, whose this boy following me?! He won't stop copying me! Is this what Audrey feels like when I follow her around?". Knucklehead nickname is safe for at least another month!

The Happiest Place on Earth

Our friends Randy and Tia, who have 3 boys, let us in on their tradition of surprising each of their boys with a solo trip to Disneyland when they turned 5. While Audrey wont be 5 until August, my practical mind thought "let's do it in April . . post Spring Break, but before the summer . . you know, to beat the crowds . . ". Lisa said sure, whatever, just take us to DISNEYLAND!

We put Audrey in the car under the guise of going to Starbucks for chocolate milk. Once in the car we asked her if she could go anywhere, where would it be. She promptly yelled "Applebees!". I knew moving to Suburbia would have its pitfalls.

She quickly followed up with "DISNEYLAND!" so off we went to the airport. Randy and Tia had picked up the Minnie ears on their last trip so Audrey was immediately in costume.

Nothing could slow us down . . . except for brake problems on the Alaska direct to John Wayne. Oh well, the 90 minute delay allowed all the anxious kids to visit the pilots in the cockpit. Kids are much more resilient than adults.

Quick note on Sam . . Lisa and I were picturing (and selfishly hoping) that he would miss us terribly. Perhaps he would pull out his "It's not fair" face like the above picture.

Fortunately for us he has a wonderful Grammy who came to visit for 4 days armed with a SuperSammy cape. Can you tell how much he misses us.

I'm sure he missed us a little . . deep down . . somewhere?!

Fine Sam, back to Disneyland. Here is Audrey's grand entrance. I'm fairly certain that all employees are trained to acknowledge anyone dressed in Princess garb by the Princess's name. From the gate at the entrance to every ride we went on, having people acknowledge Audrey as Snow White is part of why this place is so special for little kids. It's a small jesture to us, but to a 4 year old it's magical.

On to the Princess breakfast! We lucked out and got the big 5. I'm pretty sure in 3 years when we take Sam we won't be blogging similar pictures.

Each Princess was so good with the little girls, making sure to spend a few moments talking to each one. While meeting Mickey and Minnie was great, they don't actually talk. I understand why, but being able to have a short converstation seemed to make the Princesses "real" for Audrey.

I don't mean to diminish the "Minnie Factor". She was the one character who Audrey kept wanting to go back to see. I believe the quote was "I'm going to live with Minnie in her house".

Princess work out.

My girls.

It's a Small World . . . round 3. In fairness to the ride, they have updated since my last tour in 1997. Audrey was a trooper on some of the more daring rides like Soaring Over California, but she would always say "Daddy, I like this ride, but I LOVE It's a Small World", and then she would start singing the song. Yes, it's still stuck in my head.

The hotel we stayed at had a wonderful pool. One risk to a good pool is it's tough to get the kids out to go back to the park. We spent an hour and a half each day in the pool which was a good break and gave Lisa some SoCal sun time.

Audrey was a trooper and powered through 3 days of Disneyland without any major breakdowns. We made sure she had plenty of carbo-loading meals to keep the tank full.

And if the pasta failed her, we quickly supplemented with ice cream.

Alas, empty calories can only take you so far. She thought if she stacked the pillows she would be able to stay awake. Of course, the second the head hit the pillow it was lights out.

Here she is waving goodbye to the Happiest Place on Earth before we headed to the airport. It was a truly wonderful 4 days and we cannot wait to take Sam in a few years.

Back in the car in Seattle. Once she hit "familiar ground" and knew she wouldn't be seeing anything knew she was out like a light. She deserved it.

Look Who's Two

As sad as this "achievment" sounds, Lisa and I were pretty happy that we had dialed Sam's pacifier addiction back to the crib and car only. However, in an attempt to overcome his nickname of "knucklehead", the little guy figured out that a wine stopper has an oddly familiar feel.

And here is what happened when we tried to break him of his newly acquired wine-stopper-addiction. Lisa and I used the opportunity to create new ring tones for our phone. It's safe to say that we now have ring tones that are impossible to miss.

In an attempt to earn back the Knucklehead nickname, Sam rolled around the house in his detached coat hood.

Not to be outdone, Audrey realized she could get a little more stylish than Sam. It was cute until they wouldn't take them off. Then it got a little weird and I had one of those worried parent moments. I mean where do they get this . . .

. . . Oh yeah. Nuff said.

Our little guy turned 2 this month. Lisa parlayed Sam's name with his and Audrey's (and ours) fondness for Dr. Suess. Actually, they refer to all of the books as Cat in the Hat. Anyway, I love Lisa's creativity and seeing the enjoyment she gets out of making things special for the kids.

Sam got to do a little pre-party advertising.

The beauty of having an older sibbling is that you actually have "friends" to invite to your 2nd birthday. It really doesn't matter that they are all 4 and 5 year olds. It actually works out better than having a room full of 2 year olds as the older kids vaguely understand whose day it is.

I'm continually reminded that Lisa has a better feel for creating memories than I do (shocker). She thought it would be a good idea to have one of her friends who dabbles in photography to come take photos during Sam's party.

I thought it sounded hectic to try and have a birthday along with trying to get some memorable shots of Sam. Of course, as you can tell by the photo above and the several below, Lisa was perfectly right (as usual). They're just a small sample of the wonderful photos we now have to remind us of Sam's special day.

On with the show . . .

For Audrey's 4th birthday grandma Sharon got our little drama queen season tickets to the children's theater with her idol . . . I mean her cousin Kyla. It has been a blast going to the plays with her and they really put on a wonderful show. After the plays the actors come out and mingle with the kids which makes it bigger than life for Audrey.

We usually couple the plays with a mommy or daddy date to a restaurant of her choosing . . . which unfortunately always ends up being Applebees or Red Robin. Pretty sure there's a free balloon hook here. Oh, and a chocolate shake topped with whipped cream.

Speaking of chocolate shakes . . . it's a little embarrassing to admit, but our 4 year old had never been to the dentist before this visit. The dental hygenist did a perfect job of introducing the kids to the process. They were both angels and the best news . . . no cavities . . . yahtzee! Audrey actually pulled off the following conversation:

Hygenist: Okay honey, now we're going to floss.

Audrey: Yay, I love flossing!

Hygenist: Honey, is this how you brush your teeth?

Audrey: Yes, and I also brush in circles .

Hygenist: Wow, you are a perfect little patient.

Daddy: (to himself) and a liar!

Here's our little (almost) truth telling daughter enjoying a little Audrey time. I blame My Little Ponies for her foray into giving misleading information to the medical world. They've always seemed a little shady to me. I mean, her little smirk above isn't even trustworthy.

In the ever challenging game of "what craft can I entertain my kids with for 15 minutes today" Lisa came up with shaving cream on a cookie sheet. Pretty sure Sam is going to have vision trouble and our chocolate cookies are going to taste like a middle aged man's face from now on.

Audrey actually had a lot of fun. She's facinated with my facial hair so this was right up her alley and she had a blast.

Sam's first (early) 2 year old birthday present. Grandma Sharon and Granpa Fred will be in Egypt for his big event so they came by for a little early celebrating. Sam loves all things boy and is finally building a critical mass of primary colored toys. His toy selection during his 1st 18 months was definitely dominated by a pink and purple palette.

And, oh yeah, he loves all things mommy as well. He's definitely her little cuddle guy.