tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35624711806350751692024-02-06T19:51:28.497-08:00The Chronic-WHAT-cles of our Family!The Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252134442558870556noreply@blogger.comBlogger133125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3562471180635075169.post-13251006819940167222012-02-29T16:31:00.000-08:002012-02-29T16:31:51.081-08:00Does Not Compute.Breckin has his daddy's movie memory. It's uncanny. He's always had a good memory for details and has remembered every little outing we have or place we go for dinner. <br />
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But, he kills me with Star Wars. I know that Dustin has talked about Star Wars with him since he was in my belly and we have a neighbor who has done nothing but fueled the fire since Breckin was two years old. (That's right, Chully. He was TWO when you started with Boba Fett and the big R2D2). Breckin has only seen each Star Wars movie once. Once. Yes, he has some Star Wars lego sets and it probably helps that he likes to play the video games but his knowledge of the droids and planets and which part of the story is in which episode is killing me. It could rival some adults, for sure. I've never seen all six movies (throw your stones now, please) so I have no idea what he's talking about half the time. <br />
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His good night story is the Star Wars lego encyclopedia. He wants to read each data file and know when the piece came out, which set it came with, and which movie it appeared in. Now there's a chapter for The Clone Wars- an apparent tv show that continues the movie story line and one I've been avoiding as long as possible. It's on Cartoon Network, has serious story lines, and is more graphic than the charming PBS Kids shows he loves. Must. Let. Go. Of. Childhood reins. I finally recorded one for him today while he was at school cause I knew he would freak out. The show starts as soon as he can physically fling his backpack down and not 30 seconds into the opening shot, he gets all excited that it's on such and such planet and there's the blah blah ship and oooo mom, that guy with the blue face is Cad Bane. <br />
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Really? This stuff sinks in so flippin fast. He's seen them ONE TIME. And yet he lives and breathes Star Wars and ninjas and wildlife explorers. If, one day, his high school teachers could make ninja movies that taught about math or sentence structure, there is no doubt he would remember it forever. Is he really going to be one of those guys who remembers quotes from every movie they see and knows who was in which movie with who? Cause I already have one of those guys in my house....The Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252134442558870556noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3562471180635075169.post-26494226777354796792012-02-23T14:47:00.000-08:002012-02-23T14:47:48.973-08:00Ninja- GO!!!Breckin is really into Legos. Of the various lego sets, his favorite are the Ninjago. And, of the Ninjago- the best are the spinjitzu. Got that? <br />
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So, the super genius-now very wealthy creators at Lego came up with a story line of ninjas and skeletons and snakes that battle each other and can turn regular cars and trucks into insane machines that have chopping blades and shoot ice bullets and teach my child words like scythe and katana. And they have special lego sets that come with a skeleton or ninja minifigure, a little disc that it stands on, and three or four little weapons that range from wooden staff (lame!) to The Sword of Fire (supercool). You give your guy a weapon, lock his feet on the disc, and spin it with your thumb and finger. Like I said. Genius. There is an infinite number of combinations of dudes and weapons and discs AND they have cards you can play to give your guy extra powers like standing on one leg or adding a lego to the bottom of the disc to make him taller or using two weapons. Yes, we are creating little D&D kids one at a time. Different ninjas have different powers- fire, ice, lightning, and earth- and they can only use certain cards. So no two kids have the same dude and weapon and card and spinner. <br />
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Now, because they aren't genius enough, the Lego store in our local mall hosted a tournament for kids to battle each other- beating mom is too easy by now- and have the chance to win the giant Ninjago lego set of "Destiny's Bounty". The flying ninja ship that they live on. Ooooohhhh. Aaaahhhh. Of course Drew (refer to the post about Breckin and his grown up friends) entered Breckin in this tournament and basically just let us know which day to show up last time we were there. Of course he did. <br />
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We practiced his spinning skills pretty much every day leading up to the tournament. And so did every other 5-10 year old boy (and one girl!!) so by the time we arrived for our 5:00 show down, the place was manic with kids who were certain they were going to win this ship. Breckin threw in the added touch of wearing his actual Sword Of Fire. (He chose, however, not to go with the ninjago tshirt in favor of his Boba Fett shirt as it was opening day of Star Wars back in the theater. Naturally.)<br />
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Drew was hosting the event. Breckin was up first, as he was one of the youngest, and battled well. He won his first round by knocking off the other guy twice. Go Buddy! Then we had to wait around (oh, look. a Lego store to wait around in) until his next round. There were something like 24 kids so it took a while. He won his second round. More waiting around. He got to the last round before the final face off and lost. Not by getting knocked off the spinner but because the other guy's spinner spun longer. Weak sauce. He handled it extremely well, shook hands, showed Drew that he wore his ninja sword, and - because, really? can you leave the Lego store after being there for an hour without picking something?- chose Jay's Storm Fighter plane. Sweet. <br />
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I was so proud of his patience during rounds and, most importantly, how he lost. Drew came by after the tournament was over and said he was so sad when Breckin lost on a technicality. He was really hoping Breckin would win the day's event. We thanked him for hosting such a cool thing for the kids. Those damn genius Lego people. <br />
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Pictures of Lego time and other February stuff are over there ---->The Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252134442558870556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3562471180635075169.post-54985357933826356482012-02-09T17:12:00.000-08:002012-02-09T17:12:45.428-08:00Loose teeth give me the heebie jeebies.I can handle all night vomiting, explosive diapers, head wounds, rashes, cleaning out ears, scrubbing toilets, dog messes, and all of the other joys that come with motherhood. Lovely, yes? <br />
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What I can't handle is teeth. Loose teeth make my innards crinkle and squirm. I despise them. So, of course, Breckin's wiggly tooth that has been hanging on for dear life decides to fall out- with a little assistance from his floss- when I'm home alone. No Daddy to take the reins. Bleh. Super bleh. <br />
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But, if I show weakness or fear, he may freak out. I have to act like it's super cool and normal (I know, it is) and a fun time. We dabbed the little bit of blood, swished with warm water, and now it's waiting for the fairy to show up and take it back to tooth land. He could have cared less. He was off to find the neighbor kid to play with as soon as I said he was done. No ceremony? No party? No moment to relish in this famous stage of childhood? Guess not. I tried to call Dad to share this moment but it's rush hour and he's driving the van pool. Hmmm. Congratulations, buddy. I think I need a glass of wine.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn63oE-WxnOj7TNZ5bAcF40PdmhNZ-c8x0ZNnxl1jIuyeGytBo65wOT3cvfw8mZG5uReXnjVphPtfu9oHQY2FwPT0VqkKo2HqgV-YOiLOCFQNo59DSos_MxeVMu7WDvApZfhp7u7YPiGCI/s1600/IMG_3308.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn63oE-WxnOj7TNZ5bAcF40PdmhNZ-c8x0ZNnxl1jIuyeGytBo65wOT3cvfw8mZG5uReXnjVphPtfu9oHQY2FwPT0VqkKo2HqgV-YOiLOCFQNo59DSos_MxeVMu7WDvApZfhp7u7YPiGCI/s320/IMG_3308.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252134442558870556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3562471180635075169.post-27664798980368889452012-01-31T14:06:00.000-08:002012-01-31T14:06:32.246-08:00I fully agree.Breckin came home from school yesterday and, as he was opening the door, he turns around and says "Mom. Boys can marry each other." I said, yep, they sure can. Love is love, buddy. He says "I don't want to do that. But, it's fine for the ones that do." <br />
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Beaming. Pure, graceful children's wisdom at it's best. Breckin for President.The Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252134442558870556noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3562471180635075169.post-51867229064086838472012-01-24T21:32:00.000-08:002012-01-24T21:32:41.950-08:00He's kind of a big deal....I was going to write a funny post about how Breckin walked away from the Pacific Science Center's model train festival on a first name basis with three of the operators. Then I was going to write a nostalgic, sad post about how Breckin was in tears because Steve and Megan are closing Bounce It Up. And I've been working on telling you all how funny it is that Breckin is known by the bakery ladies at Safeway cause he always stops by for the free cookie and shows them each time he gets to pick a donut. <br />
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But the truth is, this is how life is with Breckin. Every day. I LOVE taking him to festivals and the store and museums and parties with grown ups cause he kills me. He chats with everyone about anything and can make witty jokes. And fart noises. And he tells grown ups (and probably kids, too) little details about his day or his new toy or his sister like they are already best friends and he's just updating them on his life. I am torn, as protector of him, by instructing him each time we go into public that people you don't know are strangers. And sometimes bad guy strangers dress as nice guy strangers to trick people. And you shouldn't just talk to every grown up and expect them to be as nice as Grandma. And you don't have to tell people your name or your sister's name or that you live next to Derek. I remind him of these things daily. Most of the time it sticks but sometimes he just can't help himself. The clerk at Walmart looks nice enough to say "I had a spelling test today and I got 100%. And I played with my ninja legos this morning. Kai had to use the sword of fire. My sister Ella farts like a foghorn." <---This was actually said to the poor teenager who got us as customers. She had no idea how to respond.<br />
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Breckin had no idea we were going to the train festival until we got off the Mercer St exit and he saw a billboard for the 38th Annual Model Train Show. He knew. And he remembered almost every detail from the last time we came to this one. When he was two and a half. No joke. But his memory skills are another post. After getting through the ticket line, the dinosaur exhibit for Ella, and the paper conductor hat station- we found the first train table. A cool little siding that the kids could push colored buttons to make the engine drop off and pick up coal cars and box cars. Breckin waited his turn patiently, chatting with the other kids in line about buffers and fireboxes, and when it was his turn, he fell into a natural conversation with the table operator. I have no idea what they were talking about as I was busy making dinosaur noises at Ella. But, when he stepped down from the table and said "Bye, Bill. Thanks for showing me about those magnets" and was answered with "See ya, Breckin. You sure know a lot about trains", I was not surprised. It happens.<br />
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It was fate that the young man at the coloring table was named Cole- that is, after all, the name of one of the Lego Ninjas- and therefore warranted a lengthy discussion between Cole and Breckin about earth dragons and whether or not the guy Cole got a new katana for Christmas. He was impressed that Breckin used the word katana. Mutual goodbyes were exchanged once our train was colored. And Cole said hello again when Breckin ran by to test out the light bulb bike- you know the one. I did smile extra wide when we rounded the corner into the main train room and the first table is one I recognize from the train festival in Ravensdale. An astroturf double loop for kids to test a big Thomas set. I didn't expect the hunched, partially senile gentleman in the brown grandpa sweater to say "Breckin! I knew you would show up here! You're my best customer!" Even Breckin was surprised. He turned to me and said "I remember him from last October. He loves pushing the button for James (as I look over, he's in line for the James button) and he always tells me about his latest train set." Sure enough, Breckin chats with him while he's taking his turn and after learning his name is Victor, he promptly tells him that the bad guy from GeoTrax is also named Victor and animatedly recaps the Geo story line. Victor is, once again, impressed and says he hopes to see Breckin next October. <br />
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Breckin's nerd name is Steve. Just go with it. And watch Despicable Me for reference. Breckin's favorite place on the planet is Bounce It Up. During our very first visit, we were lucky enough to have Steve as the employee in charge of walking around making sure everyone is doing ok. Breckin, sure enough, told him that his nerd name was Steve and was happy as a clam when the real Steve tackled him in the wrestling ring and pelted him with playground balls. We saw the Bounce It Up van in the parking lot at Safeway about two weeks later, Breckin saw Steve get out of the drivers seat, and yelled "Steve!" at the top of his lungs. They slapped each other on the back like they've known each other for years and Steve and Megan have been rock stars in our house ever since. Bounce It Up is closing it's doors this Sunday and Breckin cried when he heard the news. He has since told Steve not to do it. And he's serious. It's out of Steve's hands, of course, but it chokes me up that the bouncy toys are only half the reason why Breckin doesn't want it to close. He is concerned that he won't get to see Steve.<br />
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Breckin is on a first name basis with two Drews. The first works with Dustin and is on the cool list due to his collection of Nerf items and the dart board at his desk. Don't ask. It's a Seattle tech company stemmed from Microsoft and has ping pong in a conference room. Work Drew and Breckin must say hello to each other every time we stop by to see Daddy at work. They are pals. <br />
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The other Drew works at the Lego store. He was the employee who helped Breckin pick the best set his $10 from his piggy bank could buy the very first time we went in that store and Breckin asks for him each time we go. He spent so much time asking Breckin what collections he liked and who his favorite hero from Hero Factory was that I wrote a generous thank you note via their website to his boss because I've been in a lot of toy stores. Most young employees are there to make enough money to take their girlfriend to the movies and don't give a rip about the kids. This guy made me proud. He and Breckin have fantastic conversations and he makes a point to show Breckin the unique piece that each set has and how you can't get this piece in any other set. Ok, we go to the Lego quite a bit. We don't always get to buy stuff but we let Breckin put things on his wish list all year long and that satisfies him. If Drew isn't working that day, it's a short trip. If his is, it's not. Drew knows Breckin by name now and knows him well enough that when the skeleton version of Ninjago was getting discontinued and they only had one Dragon Sword of Fire with the sheath backpack left, he held it in the back room until he happened to see Breckin come in next with enough money to buy it. It had been marked down from $20 to $4 as time passed but Drew held it. He could have sold it, I'm sure, several times. He asked me, before mentioning it to Breckin, if we could spend money that day and once he got clearance, he was excited to show Breckin. Of course we would like it. We love Drew. <br />
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The ladies at the gym know him and greet him warmly when he comes in. He is part of the social circle amongst the grown ups in our neighborhood- even if he's having a rough patch with one kid or another. He used to walk into kindergarten every day, put his hands on the inside of the door frame, and say "Mrs. Blevins, I'm here." For crying out loud, when I go through the drive through at Starbucks, the lady at the window leans out to see if Breckin's in the back and asks for him by name. He has shown her every toy in his hand every time we drive through. I'm sure there are other grown ups who know him, if not by name, by character. His character might be my favorite thing about him. What a kid. The Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252134442558870556noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3562471180635075169.post-47957275655967767632012-01-06T16:32:00.000-08:002012-01-06T16:32:14.241-08:00Little OnesI don't know why but I'm looking at my children differently lately. I'm trying to hard to capture them as small people and remember how they sound and laugh and struggle to climb onto chairs. I think because Ella is the age that Breckin was when we moved into this house and as she does things and says things, I really feel like I've forgotten all that Breckin did and said at that age.... It's a horrible feeling. <br />
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Ella was sitting on one of our tall counter chairs watching Bubble Guppies (Mr. Grouper!) when it struck me how small she was sitting there. The chair was so big and she was perched on the edge with her feet hanging over and I thought some day, she'll be able to sit in that chair without having to climb on the couch first. By the time I grabbed the camera, she was distracted by me moving around and stopped sitting so nicely. These photos are her three reactions when I say "smile, Ella!" Please remind me of these when she is a teenager and I've forgotten just how little she started out. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv6nwhY05WCjp8Xk0Wcg0DpAlAGM8OuyOjclUoOrQglXYmPJUraFbwV4hLBAw-BHY0TL3la6A8qQIfbO2dRKYQ_qpTAcJJ7Zz6R6NOMG2eUnLVWmyRk1Xr-W1xQlP-y3E6JeRVmhLFxZqU/s1600/IMG_3123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv6nwhY05WCjp8Xk0Wcg0DpAlAGM8OuyOjclUoOrQglXYmPJUraFbwV4hLBAw-BHY0TL3la6A8qQIfbO2dRKYQ_qpTAcJJ7Zz6R6NOMG2eUnLVWmyRk1Xr-W1xQlP-y3E6JeRVmhLFxZqU/s320/IMG_3123.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>The Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252134442558870556noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3562471180635075169.post-80842968463005442452011-12-02T15:43:00.000-08:002011-12-02T15:44:15.786-08:00The MagicIf you live in this area and you've never spent an evening at Bellevue Square without the pressure of shopping, you need to do it. Just absorb the beauty of the lights, the immense amount of decor, the detail in Santa's Workshop, and the absolute joy of dancing outside with the drummer boys and falling "snow". We do it every year and I am clinging to the magic in my kids' eyes desperately. I am so not ready for them to grow up. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBTmRMvd6HZM8uW30yx3nLawGSLwgZUZf5OlaqsM4wPhBsZdGql9YuLaIo-tamktMPmkdKOyO0hbumVIWJVkz9-SpyqKbtXfmg8k0JUDC4TCsQKlv8GN8DbYZlswERom6fUp91mKgj4ySr/s1600/IMG_2850.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBTmRMvd6HZM8uW30yx3nLawGSLwgZUZf5OlaqsM4wPhBsZdGql9YuLaIo-tamktMPmkdKOyO0hbumVIWJVkz9-SpyqKbtXfmg8k0JUDC4TCsQKlv8GN8DbYZlswERom6fUp91mKgj4ySr/s400/IMG_2850.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>The Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252134442558870556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3562471180635075169.post-41563946381524042522011-11-29T21:35:00.000-08:002011-11-29T21:35:12.788-08:00Happy Birthday Ella!The princess is now 2!! And, if you don't feel like this on your birthday, find a way to make it happen. All it takes for Ella is Jessie and the rest of the Toy Story gang.<br />
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For a change from our usual birthday fanfare, we had a quiet day at home opening her gifts, eating pink cake, and watching Toy Story 3 (or as she calls it "watch Woody?"). After a crazy Thanksgiving week, apple cup party, and skimming over Dustin's birthday, it was all we could handle. And, she was perfectly happy.<br />
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Happy Birthday, baby girl. You are a complete blessing.The Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252134442558870556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3562471180635075169.post-33052181240952678712011-08-04T17:23:00.000-07:002011-08-04T17:23:17.349-07:00A true friend....We are going to Yakima this weekend for a family reunion on Dustin's side of things. Tomorrow night we are having dinner and swimming in our hotel pool with one of Dustin's best friends, Jay. They have two kids close to our two kids' age so it will (or should, with all intentions) work out well. <br />
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Me: Hey Buddy, you know how we are visiting Yakima this weekend? <br />
Breckin: Yeah<br />
Me: Guess what Daddy's friend's name is? (Fully knowing this will peak his interest as it is the same name as one of his favorite Lego Ninjagos and may boost the coolness of the new people).<br />
Breckin: Peter Pan?<br />
Me: Nope, Jay.<br />
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Breckin: Ooooo, Jay, huh? Does he have a blue dragon?<br />
Me: No, I don't think so but you can always ask him.<br />
Breckin: Is he a ninja?<br />
Me: Not that I know of but if he was he may not be able to tell us. It might be top secret.<br />
Breckin: Does he like ninjas?<br />
Me: I'm not sure.<br />
Breckin: Does Daddy know if he likes ninjas? Does Daddy know if Jay is the real ninja?<br />
Me: (and it's hard to answer, with a straight face, a very serious child when he asks questions like these...) I don't think Daddy would know. He's never mentioned it. But you could ask him?<br />
Breckin: What kind of a friend doesn't know if their best friend likes ninjas?<br />
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Me: Good question, dude. Sounds like you'll have to have a talk with Daddy tonight.<br />
Yikes. Someone's gettin grilled when they get home from work.... The Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252134442558870556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3562471180635075169.post-88166642143821468772011-07-27T15:50:00.000-07:002011-07-27T15:50:53.833-07:00Thank you, Disney.I am folding laundry downstairs, half listening to the boys playing trains upstairs. I enjoy Breckin's playdates because it allows a few extra minutes to fold a load of laundry or empty the dishwasher or prep a meal without having to pretend like I'm Darth Vader or a skeleton or a Great Wolf Lodge employee while I'm doing it. It's exhausting having multiple personalies around here. <br />
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Anyway, I hear a lot of "let's pretend....." "blah, blah, blah" "and then they jump out and scare you" "but my guy is a monster..." and then I hear some crashing and train explosions and Breckin says "Hey, Kellen!! That's not cool! Don't do that to the tracks!! KELLEN!! Stop! Haven't you seen what happened to Sid? You're going to make the toys angry!!"<br />
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And all crashing stops. Thank you, Toy Story, for instilling the fear of God and Living Toys upon my son. He cherishes his toys like no other child and doesn't allow anyone to anger his toys. And then I realize I'm laughing by myself at no one else in the room. The downstairs toys probably think I'm crazy.The Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252134442558870556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3562471180635075169.post-1656828937693518922011-07-15T21:41:00.000-07:002011-07-15T21:41:32.984-07:00Stuff I don't want to forgetOur summer has been horrible. Not because of us, because of the weather. We've had a week of semi-humid, overcast, mostly rainy days that prevent out and abouts because you never know if you're going to get dumped on. The kids and I have been filling our time with trips to malls with quarter rides, nonsense errands to goodwill to clean out more closets, and walks to the grocery store or yarn shop down the street to get a new knitting needle or a few bananas. Anything to get out of the house but never be further than five seconds from a roof in case of random downpour. <br />
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In the car, I told Breckin to sing a song to make the rain stop so we could enjoy a park. He sang Rain, Rain Go Away no less than 35 times. In a row. Loudly. Dustin often wonders if the kids talk all the time everywhere we go but when you have kids that sing or talk or scream or don't have an off button, you find your selective hearing button rather quickly. So, I couldn't really answer him cause if they do, I don't really hear them. Is that bad parenting? Maybe. Sanity saving? You bet. But Ella hears Breckin and hears every word. So when he was done, she busted out with her own version. "Rain, rain. On my shoes. Oh YEAH!" She's been slowly putting together small strings of words but this was her first solo singing and first multiple strings of words. I laughed and Breckin laughed so hard that she kept saying it and followed everything she said for the rest of the day with Oh Yeah. <br />
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I just didn't want to forget. Oh, and we can't find the charger for the camera battery so we've had zero pictures since June 10th. Lame. The Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252134442558870556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3562471180635075169.post-85469292803282393472011-07-07T21:39:00.000-07:002011-07-07T21:39:56.382-07:00Her Brother's ShadowThat little girl follows her brother around like it's her job. She knows where he is at all times. She does what he does and says what he says. She has the little sister shadow like no one's business. Ella has taken to playing under the dinner table, standing on her head, attempting to jump on the couch before I can catch her, slide down the stairs on her bum, tickle, chase, making funny faces, and- the most important little sister job- annoying his friends. She will stand at the bottom of the stairs and holler "OWEN" or "KELLEN" at the top of her little lungs when Breckin runs upstairs to play in his room with his friends. She loves his friends as much as she loves him and will mortify the both of them relentlessly if she sees them on the street. Poor Owen and Kellen don't know what to do with her so they avert their attention and attempt to pass quietly. I'm sorry, quietly is not a word known in our house. <br />
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Today, she took her Breckin parroting to an extreme. I always know where she is cause one and a half year olds aren't as quiet as they think they are. I can hear some sort of toy pounding or sing songing or little feet stepping wherever she is. Or I can at least catch a glimpse of that hair swooshing around the corner as she pushes her little shopping cart filled with towels. (Her fave!) But today, while I was making lunch, after checking in her usual hang outs, I couldn't find her. Not under the table, not by the toy drawer in the kitchen, not at her little white table doing puzzles. I called "Ella?" and heard a giggle. Not too far away from the kitchen counter but nothing I could see. "Ella?" Something smacked a wall and more giggling. And pattering of feet. "Miss Ella Bee? I'm gonna getchu." The surefire way to make her run down the hall. Giggles but no running baby. Then I see a small pair of jeans sticking out from under the dining room window curtain panel. That girl has watched Breckin play hide and seek enough times to understand how to find a hiding place and STAY THERE! What the heck? She was standing perfectly still- except for her little head wiggling back and forth with the excitement of being found. I tickled that curtain panel's baby belly and out she came. Holy cow am I in for it. She can manage, at one and a half, to hide behind a curtain and stay put even with the threat of I'm gonna getchu... I'm fascinated and scared and proud. And in big trouble as she finds better places to hide.The Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252134442558870556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3562471180635075169.post-87156493413630060462011-06-29T16:05:00.000-07:002011-06-29T16:05:05.056-07:00Ella Meets HospitalYou know hindsight and how it's always so smartassey? Like duh, mom, you should have known that. How dare you be overly confident in your children and think that safety measures are not cool. Or necessary. How many times has Ella gone up and down stairs in all situations- my house, grandma's house, sidewalks- and never had a problem? A bazillion. We put our safety gate up at the bottom so that I know when she motors to the play room cause I know I can't watch everything all at once. 99% of the time she'd be fine but it's safety first. So why, when my mom asked, do we need to put the safety gate up, did I shrug and confidently say "nah, she'll be fine"? Because it was my hindsight's turn to be smart, not mine.<br />
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It was 8:15 at grandma and bapa's dinner party and I was literally tensing the muscles in my legs to announce it was time to pack the kids up and head home when I 1) wondered where Ella was 2) heard a couple thump thumps and 3) heard Breckin shout "Ella just fell down the stairs". Perfect. Lightening struck and I don't know how I got from my chair on the deck to the bottom of the wooden staircase and I thought she was actually alright until I picked her up and realized the drool was not from the oreo she just ate, it was from her lip. Damn head wounds bleed a lot. A LOT. <br />
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Grandma was smart enough to get a wet washcloth and we dabbed as best we could with a shreiking baby girl. Enough to notice three tooth sized holes in the top of her lower lip and one small hole in the outside of the same lip. I didn't see her fall, THANK GOD, so I had no idea what she hit or how. I am not an urgent care specialist so we decided it was best to take her to one to find out if she bit through the whole lip. Ick. We left Breckin in the responsible hands of Bapa, Unca G, Auntie Heidi, and Uncle Jim and I never thought, before this day, that crew was the responsible one. Just kidding, family. ;) <br />
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My mother drove while I sat in the back and dabbed her lip carefully. She was not a happy camper. My shirt was covered in blood as was hers and sometimes that's just what you need to get first in line at urgent care. For her first visit to the real deal emergency peeps, it was a good one. We had plenty of hands on deck, she got a Curious George picture, a new teddy bear, and a Maisy sticker. The doctor was super cool and informed us she did not needs stitches, her cut wasn't all the way through- just on both sides, and she also cut that skin connecting your upper lip to your gums. OUCH. Leave it to my mom to say "well, that's one way to get botox lips." Seriously. <br />
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What is it, three days later? Ella acts like nothing happened. She is back to her binkies, eats like a champ, hasn't lost a minute of sleep, and was only clingy and fussy the day after. No doubt her body hurt from however she fell but I can't find a bruise on her. You better believe we are putting that baby gate up until she's twelve. The Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252134442558870556noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3562471180635075169.post-60858411303506377302011-05-28T23:23:00.000-07:002011-05-28T23:23:29.600-07:00My Husband Loves MoviesHe loves them so much that once in a while he cooks up a plan to watch all of a series of movies in one day. Like all six of the Star Wars (done it) or all three of the Lord of the Rings extended versions (not yet). It seems like a marvelous idea but when it's over, the<strike> idiots</strike> <strike>dummies</strike> fellas who participate with him are cross-eyed and swear to never watch movies again. They are sore and cranky and sick from too much movie snacks because we all know you can't watch a movie without enough red vines and chips and Goobers to last a Himalayan expedition. Today- actually last night and today- they schemed to survive the ultimate Harry Potter viewing. They watched all seven movies over the span of Friday evening and from 9:30 am until 11:15 pm today. They work themselves illegally doing this only allowing a ten minute break between movies, one half hour for lunch and one half hour for dinner and Dustin is a relentless coordinator of film times keeping to a strict schedule and posting it well in advance just in case one more person wants to sneak in between shows. They will know to show up at exactly 3:52 pm to catch whatever movie starts next in case they've seen the prior episodes. It's insanity at its finest. I don't attempt to stick around and partake. I don't love movies THAT much and I love my lower extremities more than their determination of finishing what they said they would. I don't think I can sit that long. Most of the time they are bleary eyed and sick of it half way in but damn it if they aren't going to complete the task. <br />
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So where does that leave me? Well, we haven't done one of these feats in a while so when I said yes to this chore, I forgot that small children are a) not quiet in a house 2) not able to watch these movies and f) not likely to leave Aaron alone especially if he brings Brutus. I started planning a day long excursion with both kiddos but didn't decide on our destination until midnight on Friday. Where could we go with questionable weather and stay out for twelve hours? It had to be a combo of things so we did the errands business in the morning- hair cut, Starbucks run, gas up the car and hit up Northwest Trek AND IKEA for the rest of the day.<br />
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Usually any two items from that list is enough to run Breckin and Ella ragged but the whole list? It was the antithesis of movie day. I didn't sit down for twelve hours. Ella sort of did but she was more interested in getting out at each animal habitat and playing in the kids furniture at Ikea so not only did I not sit down, I was lifting her in or out of the stroller five hundred times. Breckin walked the whole way at Trek and played in the ball pit at Ikea. Hello exhuasted feet. Both kids were phenomenally good. Beyond my expectations. I think it helped that it was a yes day. Wanna go back to the wolves? Sure. Wanna eat hot dogs for lunch? Sure. Wanna visit the scientist research cabin fourteen times? Ok. Slow down? Fine. Run? You bet. Whatever caught their fancy, we did. Cause we didn't have to be home at any certain time. We spent six hours at the Trek going back to visit Ella's favorite river otters no less than ten times. We checked on Breckin's wolves at every opportunity. We played scientist and lost camper and forest adventurers in the research cabin. We had ice cream. Twice. We had the luckiest tram ride of the day seeing newborn bison, black tailed deer, their babies, trumpeter swans, mountain goats, elk, caribou, moose and their babies, a hummingbird flew through our window, a raccoon, blue heron, and bullfrogs. Breckin saw a wolverine go poo in it's den. He listened to the park ranger talk about a Spotted owl and asked intelligent questions like "how old is that owl when is his birthday mine is May 11th?" and "did you know I've been very good at not touching the stinging nettles?" and "I think I'm kinda done with this owl which way is it to the wolves?" He's scientific like that. I took some pictures but it wasn't worth my arm skills to try to juggle the camera and chase Ella and pull Breckin back from habitat fences. So the pictures lost the battle. There are some over there. They ended about lunch time as did my arm tolerance. <br />
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The kids went to bed at 10:30- parent award of the year, I know- but we don't do days like this very often and I'll consider it a vacation day. Would they have gone to bed much earlier if we were in a hotel or cabin? Nope. And I'm really hopin they sleep past 8:00 and don't mind playing some board games or coloring or watching a movie tomorrow. My feet could use the break. Sorry, hon. Looks like it's more movies.The Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252134442558870556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3562471180635075169.post-73313314884407455032011-05-15T20:42:00.000-07:002011-05-15T20:42:10.547-07:00My Not-so-little HelperMy brother-in-law, best known as Uncle Jim, is a home inspector. He came over today to practice some new tricks on our house and do home inspection stuff- I don't pretend to know what he does. It's not that we needed a home inspection but our place is available for trying his new stuff on.... it's cool. So, the very insta-second he walks in the door, he gets greeted in his usualy fashion.<br />
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"Uncle Jim, did you bring any tools?" Not hi, or hey there, or what's new? Just a small six year old wondering if the Uncle who knows how to make rockets out of tin pie plates and fruit cans and jumping jacks happens to have any tools or tool boxes on him. Everyone needs an uncle like that. And, today, he did have some tools. Done. Breckin was hot glued to Uncle Jim's side pocket for the rest of the day. <br />
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Breckin was "helping" me get the front closet cleaned out and moved around so Uncle Jim could have access to the crawl space and "helped" me move Daddy's lumber out of the way so Uncle Jim would be able to get to the electrical panel in the garage. He knew the fun that was coming. After a quick badgering of trying in vain to get Uncle Jim to come see his new dragon castle or play legos or watch this neat trick or check out that ninja move- none of which worked- Breckin was content to follow Uncle Jim asking no less than 5,472 times if it was time to go under the house. Uncle Jim is solid. He did not waiver once and always answered "no, it wasn't time to go under the house" until Breckin gave up and stopped asking. Only then would it be time. <br />
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I went to put Ella down for a nap about fifteen minutes into the home inspection when Breckin comes tearing upstairs like a man on a mission. He informs me that he is getting dressed for the day- a Batman Lego tshirt and backwards black tear-away pants- and runs back downstairs in time for me to see him put on his shoes and jacket and head outside to follow Uncle Jim around looking for working outlets, stuff under the roof, and whatever else a home inspector does. I never did hear Breckin stop talking to Jim but uncles are very good at nodding, responding with an occasional uh-huh, and going about their business as usual. He followed Uncle Jim all the way around the house in the pouring rain- who knows what went on out there- and they both came in to finish the job. <br />
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Daddy came home then, and it was just in time. It was time to go under the house. Uncle Jim let Breckin use his extra special, small, super bright flashlight since our lantern needed eight D batteries and we were fresh out. We lifted the hatch- a small square of carpeted floor that all but disappears in the front closet. It's only small enough to barely fit one person at a time and Uncle Jim went first. Daddy lowered Breckin down with strict orders to stay with Jim. I don't know how it went. I had to run some errands. But Breckin has been waiting for the day to go under the house since we moved in. I hope Uncle Jim found everything he needed and got some good inspection practice. One thing I do know is he is fully prepared for any home inspection where children are home. No one can compare to this guy when it comes to concentrating under pressure.....<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjradXgNu_gpoLfha62M-1vQMVj_WT6XzWsfWQ54NKT2Vm-lseFOo_wWBuDKbLNnA9RlDx-9APi4lXECE3SdId8Lrjdn8BOcb5R9hzeUeRhxyUWlelaXDF1YgT7CLmBAxPZOdSRF1i7plQZ/s1600/IMG_2223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjradXgNu_gpoLfha62M-1vQMVj_WT6XzWsfWQ54NKT2Vm-lseFOo_wWBuDKbLNnA9RlDx-9APi4lXECE3SdId8Lrjdn8BOcb5R9hzeUeRhxyUWlelaXDF1YgT7CLmBAxPZOdSRF1i7plQZ/s320/IMG_2223.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>The Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252134442558870556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3562471180635075169.post-91477996946098329192011-05-10T09:15:00.000-07:002011-05-10T09:15:56.448-07:00Would you rather?Would you rather go bananas for one day or spread birthday celebrations out over several days? Would you rather damn near kill your child with excitement in one 24 hour period or string it out and lengthen the anticipation over several weekends? Is it time to just give up all nutso parties and invite three friends from school over for dinner and a slumber party? I think so. I keep going through this debate and it's hard because 1) he has friends from school and friends from the hood and family from everywhere and we want to include them all and B) Dustin and I enjoy having people over for dinner and games and we will take any excuse to do so. But I think I slayed my son. He is so pooped from Saturday's nonsense of bouncy house party, TBall picture day, TBall game, and evening BBQ and hanging out session that I need someone to remind me of this next May. So I don't do it again. I had a great time and took a lot of easy roads so I don't feel stressed out but he is worn the heck out. <br />
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It doesn't help that we went to Great Wolf Lodge for four days in the same week as this insanity. What? It was super cheap cause it was mid-week and a good time to go schedule-wise. We had a ball. There were no rules and if someone wanted to go to the water slides, we went. If we wanted to eat, we ate. If we wanted to walk up and down five flights of stairs millions of times to complete quests and slay the dragon, we did. We slept in. 7:30. We stayed up late. 8:30. I spent four hours in the kiddie pool and bought a real deal film waterproof camera spontaneously cause my kids are too damn cute in the water. Ella is not actually a small child, she is a fish. I could not get her out of the water. She woke up three times in the middle of the night wanting to check on her slides and new best friend- snakey- a ten foot, red, floating snake in the middle of the big pool. <br />
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Are we done? Hell no. Tomorrow is the actual birthday and Saturday both kids are in their cousin's wedding. Maybe we can breath on Sunday. Or maybe we will be in padded rooms. Eating cupcakes.<br />
The Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252134442558870556noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3562471180635075169.post-10505711363268840972011-04-26T09:55:00.000-07:002011-04-26T09:55:11.330-07:00Only in SeattleSaturday: beautiful, sunny, warm enough to wear a tank top and not get chilled by arctic winds. Breckin and I got some sun on our shoulders and cheeks from being outside ALL day for Easter egg hunts, T-Ball games, and cleaning the garage. <br />
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Sunday: cloudy, rainy, and down right cold. And, honestly, great weather for Easter day because it keeps my kiddos slightly calmer and more in the mood for hanging out with their family indoors while finding plastic eggs under the couch and eating a classic Sunday night dinner of ham, tri tip (cause D doesn't like ham), asparagus, roasted red potatoes, watermelon, and raspberry batter cake. <br />
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Only in Seattle do you get one weekend day in your tank tops and flip flops and the other weekend day in your sweaters and pajamas and cold enough that roasted food sounds good. I'll take our crazy weather every time if it's going to be like that. Saturday was so flippin gorgeous and just what we needed for our outdoor events. TBall was fun and it's so awesome to see Breckin getting more and more into it. And who knew that all kids needed to sit down and listen and pay attention was orange buckets. Seriously. A line of orange buckets was all it took to make our team of rascally five and six year olds act like normal children instead of complete spazoids. Look.<br />
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Crazy, right? Last week they were falling down and all over the place and this week, with the addition of the orange buckets, they had a place to be and stayed there marginally well. <br />
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And then there's Ella. I think Ella's favorite holiday is Easter. That girl loves bunnies more than anything. Well, almost anything, cause no one loves anything more than Ella loves Curious George. That's a whole nother photo essay. But Ella and bunnies and chocolate come a close second. Look again.<br />
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Yeah, that was breakfast. There are no rules on Easter morning. We met my family for a wonderful Easter brunch at one of my favorite restaurants- The Crab Cracker- and Breckin thought it was so cool that you didn't have to wait to order or wait for the cooks to make your food. You could just walk over to the middle of the restaurant and fill your plate with whatever you wanted. He chose cheese, fruit, cheese, fruit, marshmallows (from the chocolate fondue fountain), bacon, bacon, and bacon. I said no rules, right. Ella mostly just ate strawberries and grapes and helped herself to a belgian waffle. See. What idiot mom puts their daughter in a white sweater and feeds them strawberries? Hmm.<br />
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Happy beautiful, sunny, warm, rainy, cold Easter weekend!The Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252134442558870556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3562471180635075169.post-91664047490683368592011-04-21T14:24:00.000-07:002011-04-21T14:24:42.962-07:00Is This Thing On?Tap, tap, tap. Anyone out there? Did I lose all of you? Was our month hiatus mysterious and suspenseful and too long to go without your random updates of what Breckin says or Ella's new tricks? I'm sorry. It's not really my fault. Actually, it kinda is my fault in a roundabout, don't think about it too long way. Oh so long ago I ok'd it for Dustin to get an iPhone. Was it inevitable? Sure. But I gave in cause it had a contraction calculator that would help us figure out when to eat more pie and when we should go to the hospital to deliver Baby Ella. Ever since then, he has joined the rest of the data junkie world while I sat with my phone that barely texted, usually lost texts in mid-flight, had no battery charging capability, and irritated the living daylights out of me but I didn't really feel the need to have apps or surf the web on my phone. Until I got lost looking for a park. Three different times. And needed something to entertain Breckin while waiting in line. And needed to check an email but wasn't going to be home til 10 pm. Ah-ha! An iPhone would solve all of those problems and we were due for an upgrade a few days after my last post. Do you know how hard it is to type a blog entry on an iPhone? I tried once and got so frustrated with re-typing everything it tried to auto-correct that I gave up. It is, however, super handy for checking that email and playing mindless games and texting and getting directions. It's so handy that I had to get directions on how to get to our own office cause I am NEVER on the home computer. Never. Thus, no blog updates. <br />
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I'm sorry. We've been kinda boring the last month, anyway, and things will pick up as the weather picks up. By boring, here's what I mean:<br />
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Breckin did 3 months of swimming to end up in the same level he started in. Don't get me wrong, he had a blast and is really good at back floats, kicking his legs, doing alligator arms, and pushing off from the wall. He just doesn't want to get his head or face wet. So, we are taking a break and coming back to it circa later.<br />
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Ella. Ella is a full blown toddler. She LOVES to say NO to anything and everyone for no apparent reason. She wants what she doesn't have and is good at having fits. She can play by herself extremely well for long periods of time but once she hits her wall, you better be ready. She wants up and a binkie and to go to bed. Her newest words (sorry, the absolute newest, you missed the older newest) are wowler (flower), weet weet (birdies), Neece (Denise), BINAN (Mr Brian), botty (potty), mou (mouth), and ai-bane (airplane). She is a chatter box and reads stories by herself and sings to her Curious George.<br />
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TBall has started. Dustin coached his first game and has checked that off of his bucket list. Done. Handing that one back to the head coach for now. Let's just say sometimes the kids aren't the hardest part of coaching. <br />
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Ella likes going to the gym's kids play area better than her house. She screams PLAY whenever we drive past the gym and cries when we don't stop. The gym is right outside of our neighborhood and we have to pass it to go anywhere. It's super fun.<br />
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Breckin is reading. He reads pretty much all Dr Seuss books, everything on commercials, menus, the mail, things on the computer, and thinks we need each and everything he sees a commercial for. He tells me frequently that if I'm good for the rest of the year, he'll tell Santa that I can have a roomba, sham-wow, lifelock, ziploc containers, dryer sheets, shampoo, and a swiffer. Marketing works. On 5 year olds.<br />
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I'll add some pictures but I only have a few minutes as Breckin is on his way home from playing at a friend's house- the story of my life these days- and Ella is napping but who knows how long. I LOVE that the weather is getting nicer- even if we have arctic winds- cause Breckin is really loving playing outside and bounces from house to house with the rest of the neighborhood gang. It's my childhood all over again.... Love. The Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252134442558870556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3562471180635075169.post-63812365524854358952011-03-17T15:30:00.000-07:002011-03-17T15:30:25.393-07:00Make It DoMy new little yellow button over there on the right makes me swoon. I long to be a mommy like her and in my head I'm working on it. I'll tell ya what, seeing other mommies who have it all together makes me want to wear and apron and clean this frickin house out and have a useable office and fully dusted corners and spotless base moulding and tidy drawers so that I can quilt and bake and dance and entertain and play outside in my free time. Dustin challenged me to get rid of 60% of our stuff this year. Oooo baby, I'm gettin spring cleaning fever now!The Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252134442558870556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3562471180635075169.post-84682778522845630862011-03-09T14:15:00.000-08:002011-03-09T14:15:46.678-08:00A Typical Friday NightSo, every Friday night we get together with one of our favorite neighborhood families. They have two kiddos that play well with Breckin and Dustin and I enjoy their company. We have a constant battle going with canasta..... that's another story. <br />
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Last Friday, as usual, they came over around dinner time. We enjoy a simple, kid friendly dinner together and the kids play together while the food is cooking and again after we eat until it's movie time. They mostly monkey around in the playroom upstairs while we chat and relax downstairs. The dynamic between the kids is very liquid as it contains two boys the same age with one girl who's older. It's anyone's guess if the brother and sister are going to get along OR if the boys are going to get along. This is that time in their lives where they learn to handle stuff and compromise and be kids- we've all been there, in a room with other kids and parents who marginally care what you're doing and as long as no one's bleeding, carry on and sort it out. We have the added element of Ella who goes to bed about the time the movie starts and creates a nice break in the canasta game.<br />
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I was taking Ella up to bed and crossing through the playroom when I see:<br />
Kellen on one corner of the playroom couch crying. Seriously crying with his hands at his face and not looking at anyone.<br />
Mikah on the other corner of the couch reading a book and looking seriously annoyed and like she'd like to be anywhere but stuck in this playroom with two juvenille boys.<br />
Breckin playing in the middle of the floor aimlessly saying "Don't cry. Come on, Bells. Don't cry." But not really showing brotherly love to the one who is crying.<br />
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I ask Kellen if he's hurt. He shakes his head.<br />
I ask him what happened. He quietly says Breckin sat on his head to which I immediately look at Breckin with the mom stare of doom. He says his head doesn't hurt but Breckin farted and it stinks really bad. He says he's crying because of the fart and his head doesn't hurt but it just really stinks.<br />
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I take Breckin in Ella's room with me- while biting the insides of my cheeks to keep from laughing cause dang it I have to be serious and clearly seperate these two and at least discipline the head sitting. There's not a whole lot I can do about the farting. He is, after all, a boy and related to his father. Breckin sits quietly with me to give Kellen time to recover and all goes well thereafter. <br />
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But, really? Do I really have to have another male in the house who can bring tears to the room? Honestly. The Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252134442558870556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3562471180635075169.post-53456832891002358012011-03-02T12:31:00.000-08:002011-03-02T12:31:02.132-08:00A Treasure MapMy imaginative and scatterbrained son came home with this Treasure Map from school today. He made it during his free time in the Make-It Take-It center. He grabbed it out of his backpack excitedly and walked me through it with plenty of hand gestures and pausing to run across the room and jump on the couch no less than 12 times. Here's how it goes:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvWvqfn-CzrdbO4HWT4P7Tmw7_BIOuUXpjIRJhXT2Si4Q5JQ_-8RuDnSZa3fzATxnlGdjB8bqGSvCegqN8mrgi0ulF_Ysz30tJ8k8sCsHBG7dtX9xkElo-OjEb9OdtAlqrqDwvH1GCDXjg/s1600/IMG_1561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvWvqfn-CzrdbO4HWT4P7Tmw7_BIOuUXpjIRJhXT2Si4Q5JQ_-8RuDnSZa3fzATxnlGdjB8bqGSvCegqN8mrgi0ulF_Ysz30tJ8k8sCsHBG7dtX9xkElo-OjEb9OdtAlqrqDwvH1GCDXjg/s320/IMG_1561.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>You start by going through Swistymooth Mountain.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJXwLvj3oAEThEJKlBGVOhhJkHV40-Id3YkMqiOwA1eBrK8wRirnhCzWnPHNAE7ICXWM6LZOKUQd1Pegec3C4GM5TfBrvofDhO7Yn-g5tWf3SQUyPm9-u5h2D9R4Fu8_ksO_9vd22uL_Zj/s1600/IMG_1562.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJXwLvj3oAEThEJKlBGVOhhJkHV40-Id3YkMqiOwA1eBrK8wRirnhCzWnPHNAE7ICXWM6LZOKUQd1Pegec3C4GM5TfBrvofDhO7Yn-g5tWf3SQUyPm9-u5h2D9R4Fu8_ksO_9vd22uL_Zj/s320/IMG_1562.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Then you go around the twisty tree.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj83D1yrhKcWWEHBGNrYohLeKqGxXnVvEhQDgLFjw56rFhMMvftBCvl5FHQlBaNTMv0rS9I52cMZrTWx2ASRabBNIT28iID6MPqqBPEzbYOjAwEim0U4ssjykf0NoCAADgZ6kzODBpmoPJw/s1600/IMG_1563.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj83D1yrhKcWWEHBGNrYohLeKqGxXnVvEhQDgLFjw56rFhMMvftBCvl5FHQlBaNTMv0rS9I52cMZrTWx2ASRabBNIT28iID6MPqqBPEzbYOjAwEim0U4ssjykf0NoCAADgZ6kzODBpmoPJw/s320/IMG_1563.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>"You have to go 18 Thousand Hundred times around the spinning circle of doom." (No, contrary to popular belief, that is not just an orange circle. Foolish pirates!)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3xuLxix5ElxxUCOikBTaZYSduztoVr5VfsVhAaPstJXPBYAkgADX1ohyphenhyphen6tktFcMKJk2KUqTc8Vf4QAv_UxUJwPKpT6_QjlGWfKcPsP2n8FxJXKsULj8iEHIhkifa7WiMcU7j2mdZCO_OH/s1600/IMG_1564.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3xuLxix5ElxxUCOikBTaZYSduztoVr5VfsVhAaPstJXPBYAkgADX1ohyphenhyphen6tktFcMKJk2KUqTc8Vf4QAv_UxUJwPKpT6_QjlGWfKcPsP2n8FxJXKsULj8iEHIhkifa7WiMcU7j2mdZCO_OH/s320/IMG_1564.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>"Then you climb up and down the circle ghost man. Which is hard cause he's a ghost and you can't see him."<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjczZjp_qgdgImRPX2AIOD62EZ5Gx0kYO6IMp1Q8Og5jKXh1yoyFv1GSqSGkPoAZavQxIxjvSZMNX8tJvewKezqrURjEHcr5eACFdix2bFOejUTQJ588YUeLkzKzfXXFMmnYYcKZKeK9-Gv/s1600/IMG_1566.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjczZjp_qgdgImRPX2AIOD62EZ5Gx0kYO6IMp1Q8Og5jKXh1yoyFv1GSqSGkPoAZavQxIxjvSZMNX8tJvewKezqrURjEHcr5eACFdix2bFOejUTQJ588YUeLkzKzfXXFMmnYYcKZKeK9-Gv/s320/IMG_1566.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>"Finally you get to the whatever colors you want treasure map. The brown spot lines are sand. The orange and red (didn't show up very well) and purple are lava. Don't walk there. Then you get the treasure at the brown X, cross the yellow skull, and go to the Rock and Roll house hut. Party in there with your treasure of guitars." <br />
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Sorry about the writing on the last one. I was furiously trying to follow along. It's one of the first times he's brought home pictures with a story. I'm in Kindergarten mom heaven! The Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252134442558870556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3562471180635075169.post-12022181908272806692011-03-01T16:19:00.000-08:002011-03-01T16:19:14.843-08:00She's a Maaaniac, maaaniac on the floor.And she's dancin like she's never.... well you know. Ella is so interested in, motivated by, obsessed with music. She stops everything when she hears the slightest cheesy commercial jingle and looks up at anyone near by with her crooked grin as if to say "it's dancing time!" It's a guaranteed lock to calm her down on the changing table if I sing Itsy Bitsy Spider or Old McDonald. She drops toys and whips her head around when she hears the first few notes of the Handy Manny theme song or Elmo's World. She grins with all eight of her teeth, sticks her head forward, throws her arms back or up in the air, and stomps her feet. She has no idea what she's doing but music makes her move. It soothes her and makes her wiggle and excites her when nothing else will. <br />
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Her latest musical interest is a giant magnetic Elmo that holds her pots and pans in our kitchen. His hat is the button and he says a few things about eggs and oatmeal. She has learned to push it as fast as toddlerly possible to skip the sayings and get to the songs. Once she hits a song, she waddles off down the hall wiggling her little butt and throwing her hands in the air and moving her head. It's a six second song, mind you, so she has to come running back and start another one quickly. It's pretty funny but it keeps her entertained. And, it's a good thing she likes music as much as she does cause we play it or sing it or create it with our hands frequently.<br />
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Except not today cause she has an icky fever and rattly cough. Poor little pumpkin. Anyone know any sick songs? <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQOkdO3jtGoveetSiGdq6CToTJAnUFhN3G7GHL5XcrimcyyyJI2i7l0QGtPWdW2QLlvdGbybv59XR63ArL30dKtiXXjg5JiDgMrJeXQOGMQPRjZ71cFxSJJej4lHGRyoNqfhK3YkfHsSl_/s1600/IMG_1558.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQOkdO3jtGoveetSiGdq6CToTJAnUFhN3G7GHL5XcrimcyyyJI2i7l0QGtPWdW2QLlvdGbybv59XR63ArL30dKtiXXjg5JiDgMrJeXQOGMQPRjZ71cFxSJJej4lHGRyoNqfhK3YkfHsSl_/s320/IMG_1558.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>The Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252134442558870556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3562471180635075169.post-20183685809005480782011-02-24T19:38:00.000-08:002011-02-24T19:38:14.119-08:00I got robbed. A1-5 might have won this time.First of all, HOLY COW. I was thinking I hadn't blogged anything in a while and I haven't kept up on reading the blogs that inspire me and interest me and let me read something other than Hop on Pop. And to see that I haven't told you anything since February 4th! Really? What the heck? It's not like we haven't done anything. In fact, we've done quite a bit. Breckin has had plenty of antics and Ella says a new word every day. Today, it was "small". Yesterday it was "down". She adds something new every day, I swear.<br />
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Well, let's get caught up. I'd love to walk down memory lane of February but there is one glaring event that blurs out the rest. It threw me for quite a loop, made me drowsy and spacey for an entire day, and kinda smooshed every other thing that happened before it together behind this veil of holy-crap-ness. Let's just say- the frickin Groundhog lied. And, he lied big. Spring did not come early, rather, winter had one last HA HA HA YOU'RE AND IDIOT FOR CROSSING THE PASS IN FEBRUARY moment before March starts. <br />
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We did some stuff in February, blah, blah, blah. And then, on February 19th I hosted a beautiful baby shower for a dear neighbor and was so excited to have some long overdue girls time that I left for Spokane- a 300 mile trip- at 5 pm on Saturday night. Pass was clear and dry and it was actually a perfect time to leave cause the kids ate dinner in Ellensburg and crashed in the car for the rest of the trip. I got to zone out to some Twilight soundtracks and mentally vacate the child-focused portion of my life to reminisce in my head about all of the fun we had in college and beyond. I love driving alone- or mentally alone- for the pure sake of thinking about whatever without conversation interruption. It was a nice and much needed mental break. <br />
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Anyway, we got to Spokane about 10:30 at night, waited for the girls to get back from the hot dog store, and settled in. The kids fell asleep relatively well and on we go. I don't remember if it was late at night on Saturday or it waited until Sunday morning but A1-5 made an appearance. A1-5 is Breckin's imaginary nemesis and he shows up now and then- mostly in the comfort of our own home. This time, he drove across the state and invaded Joslyn's house. Fortunately, Joslyn was ready with a secret hideout (the back covered porch), a bad guy gun (a caulking gun), and a team of spies on the good side (Mo, Maggie, Jos, and me). Breckin made us look out for him constantly. <br />
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What's the best place for a bored little boy with no Saturday morning cartoons, not many toys, no computer games, and an imaginary bad guy to chase? A mostly empty pizza shop. He jumped right up on the bar stool and chatted with the hostess. He was fascinated by the pizza maker throwing the dough and asked if he could watch. He checked the fire now and then for OUR pizzas. He turned everything in the store into something related to A1-5 hunting. He did anything he could to not sit in his chair. <br />
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We spent most of Sunday just hanging out at Jos's house, walking around Riverfront Square Park Mall- or whatever it's called- and letting Breckin get some wiggles out at the children's museum. Miss Hands Tenneson joined us and we headed back to her place cause most of us had never seen it. The kids were losing their very last ounce of patience when we went to dinner at Red Robin and back home to crash. <br />
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Monday was spent in Coeur d'Alene or as Breckin says "I didn't know we were going on a vacation while on our vacation!" He loves that town from the last insane road trip and we did our now-ritual stops at the ice cream shop, Figpickles Toy Store, CdA Olive Oil Company, the giant metal moose, and the big rocks in the park. Of course, A1-5 was there and Breckin had to hide in Jos's little storage closet in the oil shop. Just after the fire truck made an appearance, I was notified that A1-5 had to go potty and we hightailed it out of there to hit the road back home. Except the road hit us.<br />
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We left Coeur d'Alene around 2 pm thinking even if we got to the pass around 6 pm, it'd just be getting dark and we'd make it over the pass with no problems. Three potty stops, a dinner stop, and some slow traffic later got us to the pass later than expected. We knew there'd be a bit of snow but hot damn. I was more nervous than I'd ever been. I turned Looney Tunes on for the now awake kids in the back seat and white knuckled it. We swerved. We spun in a circle and somehow straightened out. I was absolutely sure we'd lose all traction trying to get on Highway 18 and called Dustin to get ready to come and get us. I can't convey in words what a scary drive it was. We locked up and spun our tires and- by the grace of God- made it over the pass, through Issaquah, and home by 10 pm. Eight hours after we started. I think A1-5 was responsible for the snow. <br />
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All the next day I was drowsy, couldn't stop yawning, could not focus on anything, and felt a little nauseated. It was a horrible feeling but the kids slept in and just wanted to play quietly. I think they were worn out, too. It was worth every moment to see my girls and spend some much needed time just being together. It's a good thing we planned that trip at the beginning of a week off of school cause we have needed every day to recover. The Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252134442558870556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3562471180635075169.post-84518116519270935052011-02-04T12:01:00.000-08:002011-02-04T12:01:59.564-08:00My Little Budding PhotographerBreckin got a Lego camera for Christmas and he LOVES to take pictures of things he's made, people who happen to be nearby, and his favorite things around the house. Like toilets. Or his sister's butt. He's classy like that. Here's a few and via The Photos link, there's his own little album. Fair warning- the flash is ridiculously bright so everything is overexposed but it's his perspective and he likes them.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE2kn9kMn1aUJdE11zF6me_YyKkUxehU83vXsDk1LzKiVIjRUDvObmjAgZJzYXjdvd9qblhRZOdCk56VYOeO1s9FN86IeSdXMP9ueY6XX47jbNLfg-jyRA2KQs5tTk7UNCtbVdmvo9UPcJ/s1600/PICT0051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE2kn9kMn1aUJdE11zF6me_YyKkUxehU83vXsDk1LzKiVIjRUDvObmjAgZJzYXjdvd9qblhRZOdCk56VYOeO1s9FN86IeSdXMP9ueY6XX47jbNLfg-jyRA2KQs5tTk7UNCtbVdmvo9UPcJ/s320/PICT0051.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252134442558870556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3562471180635075169.post-53111202144831644412011-01-31T20:53:00.000-08:002011-01-31T20:53:31.750-08:00Turns out, I was the only one who was nervous.Breckin doesn't like new things. He gets nervous and doesn't want to try and doesn't like it when he's not good at something. I've learned over the years how to approach Breckin to get him to do new stuff. We used to tell him about it weeks in advnace in hopes of preparing him for a new activity like soccer or Tball. He'd build up anxiety the whole time and freak out in the car on the way. Not good. Then, we'd try just going to something and he'd figure out that it's a new thing and freak out in front of everyone. Also not good. We'd do a combination of those and warn him a few days in advance then not really bring it up again til it was time and he'd panic in the car all the way and freak out while trying to participate. Not good.<br />
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Needless to say, I was a little nervous about how swim lessons would go. He's been in pools but always with an inner tube or one of us holding him or in such shallow water that he could touch and walk easily. He likes that kind of swimming. We've mentioned swim lessons before and he was adamant that he did not need them and he was not interested in doing them. Ever.<br />
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So, I signed him up about a month ago for our local high school pool's swim classes cause Mommy and Daddy really want to go to Great Wolf Lodge and ride the water slides and dang it, he's going to like it, too. I didn't tell him about it. In fact, I didn't mention anything about it until Saturday when I casually said "Hey, Breck. I think there's a pool close by. Should we go swimming on Monday after school?" "You bet!" he says. And that was it.<br />
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Until the car ride. On the way I said "Oh, buddy. Sometimes at these pools they have a special swim time where the mommies don't get in and you get in with a teacher or something and play some games." He didn't buy it. "I do not want to go during those times." I said "well, let's just see what the scoop is and we'll do whatever the rules at the pool are." I lightened the mood by suggesting weird things like some of the characters from his tv shows might be there or wouldn't it be weird if his pool teacher was his school teacher or what if he saw kids from his class there. He liked those ideas and dropped it for a few minutes. His tone was getting a little frantic each time he spoke, though, and said he did not want to swim like that- he just wanted to play in a floatie. I said he sounded nervous and it was ok to be nervous because maybe there are other kids there who are nervous, too, and needed a boy to be brave and show them how to have fun in a pool. <br />
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Then, blink. He was a different kid. The showers in the locker room were hilarious. The pool water was the best thing he'd smelled. He couldn't wait to get in the water and when his teacher called his name, he marched right down the kids' stairs and followed along like a pro. I have no idea what happened but he played simon says, dipped his face in the water, practiced holding on to the edge and pushing off with his feet, tried to float on his back, and made great alligator arms. I was blown away. For the last thirty days, I've been sweating swim lessons and thinking of things to say when he's breaking down on the side of the pool and fighting me to get outta there. He was laughing and didn't mind getting splashed and jumped off the side into the water when it was his turn. He said it was the most fun thing he'd done in forever and can not wait til Wednesday. We still can't call it swim lessons cause he does not want to take swim lessons. But, "swim time" is just fine with him. And, Mommy can't wait til it's Great Wolf Lodge time.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid1za63FmwgHWoTKw6czUR63En__qBbdnIva3AODigX1tz2vAko_jjCrZn5YaIsUOEVhVdUUG0NmH3mQTaZ3T1Ggy7J3dw5xVzOMH0Q8c68DtZHXYKUokcrb-cRg40nTUWrS7Dxqj9kOQq/s1600/IMG_1403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid1za63FmwgHWoTKw6czUR63En__qBbdnIva3AODigX1tz2vAko_jjCrZn5YaIsUOEVhVdUUG0NmH3mQTaZ3T1Ggy7J3dw5xVzOMH0Q8c68DtZHXYKUokcrb-cRg40nTUWrS7Dxqj9kOQq/s320/IMG_1403.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252134442558870556noreply@blogger.com0