First day of school

Sam started preschool a few weeks ago. I forgot to take pictures before we left for his first day, so these were taken just as we got home his first day.

i think he had a great time

All day he was shouting "First day of school! First day of school!" and jumping around just like Nemo (as Nemo tries to wake up his dad at the beginning of the Finding Nemo - it is probably Sam's favorite part of the movie)
Admittedly, I was probably as nervous as Marlin sending off my little guy to school. Luckily his preschool is only twice a week for 1 1/2 hours. He is just getting so big so fast!

She loves bugs

Seriously. Just look at that face.

MJ has been talking about this encounter all week. "Big bug in my hand. I pet big bug!"

She loves bees, fruit flies, potato bugs, spiders, slugs, crabs and all sorts of creepy crawlies. She wants to feed them, pet them, lay them down for "night night" and even give them hugs. She spends time outside digging in the dirt with her rake looking for bugs. She loves petting slugs especially. I go back and forth between thinking this is cute and ewwww. (as I scrub the slug slime off her hands)

Moo!

Molly Jane is 2!

So both kids birthdays were almost a month ago and this is shameless backblogging. But I wanted to post anyway before I forget how much fun we had.
We had MJ's 2nd birthday at my mom's house and invited all the grandparents and Keenan's sister and her family.

MJ enjoyed feeding her birthday dinner to her animal friends. It was a barnyard animals theme. I put Keenan in charge of the dinner menu and asked him to BBQ. He decided he wanted to go with the theme so he cooked up a little of the three main barnyard animals - beef, pork and chicken. I had a boca burger.

We made balloon animals from a kit I found at Target. Super fun. MJ made a pig and a cow.

Sam made a fish, Pearl made a dog and Eleanor made a lion and a cat.

MJ loves cake.

She decided it was more fun to eat using her animal toppers as utensils. Don't worry it didn't slow her down any.

This little cutie enjoyed her cake too.

We played outside on the swingset, played a few party games - ring around the rosie, duck duck goose- and then opened presents!

sporting her new "pretties" and new cowgirl hat

Among other things MJ got a My Little Pony from her brother, a bumble bee pillow pal from her cousins, a baby bed from her parents, a Mickey Mouse pillow from Aunt Kara, a makeup kit from grandparents and jammies and dress up cowgirl outfit from her other grandparents. Quite the haul for such a little lady!

ROAR!

Look who turned 4!

Sam had a dinosaur birthday this year. It was his first birthday to have a friend party. He invited three friends of his from his Sunbeam class. They came over at lunch time and we had dino sandwiches, string cheese, apple bites, and juice boxes - all foods chosen by Sam.

After lunch we went to Sam's clubhouse in the back yard and played Duck Duck Dinosaur. Then we came back to the kitchen and went fishing. The lake in our kitchen was stocked with squishy dinosaurs. This was a big hit with all the boys. (I'm not sure how he came up with this but Sam has spent much of the summer in the backyard with his fishing pole. He casts it as far down the yard as he can and then reels it back in and tells us what he caught. It is usually a baby dinosaur of on kind or another and then he catches the dinosaur some food to eat. I guess its more exciting than imaginary trout or salmon.)

Next on the agenda was a VOLCANO! Sam's dad constructed a volcano and with a little help from our friends baking soda and vinegar it erupted and lava spewed, bubbled and flowed down the sides.
Then we had a dinosaur treasure hunt. Followed by the finale - cake and ice cream!

Later that night Grandma Susan and Great Grandpa T came over and we repeated all of the days festivites with them.

Duck Duck Dinosaur

Repeat treasure hunt - this time armed with new birthday presents - flashlight and binoculars

experimenting with new birthday presents - telescope and magnifying glass from MJ

blowing out candles

We're halfway there!

I've been growing this little guy in my belly for 140 days now. Only 140 more days to go.



And yes, that's right, I said little guy. We're having a BOY!

18

MJ is 18 months old! So here are 18 fun facts about our feisty little sweetheart.
1. Obsessed with dogs and all other cute furry creatures.
2. Is amazingly talented at emptying drawers, bags, suitcases, baskets. She is effective and efficient and usually takes things out one at a time and transfers them to a much improved new location.
3. Is beginning to sing. Her current favorites are the ABC song and Itsy Bitsy Spider
4. Loves to taunt her brother by saying “no no no.” He always answers with a frantic “yes yes yes yes”
5. Enjoys pretending to put her brother to bed. Whenever he is on his bed, she will blow him a kiss, say “night night” and walk out the room and shut the door… and then repeat 5 or 6 times.
6. Is still nursing 5-8 times a day
7. Favorite foods: ice cream, pasta and frosted mini wheats
8. Enjoys sharing Dr. Pepper with her Great Grandpa T
9. Has 6.5 teeth
10. Loves socks. She is really good at taking them off and tries diligently to put them on again, but hasn’t gotten that part down yet. Same with shoes. She loves trying on everyone else’s shoes as well
11. Loves stickers
12. Loves pretty things – bows, sparkles, colors, tutus, clothes, etc
13. Loves to remove the cushions from the couch and throw herself off the couch on top of said removed cushions
14. Has had a runny nose since October
15. Is learning new words every day and is up to about 75 words now.
16. Likes to wave and say “hi” to everything and everyone
17. Loves the mice – namely Mickey and Minnie.
18. Says “to infinity and beyond” whenever she sees Buzz Lightyear on anything (which is a lot at our house). It sounds more like “to ee an bee- yah, but we know what she means.

So, I wrote this post a few weeks ago, but I'm just getting around to posting it. Now MJ is 19 months. Hmmm, guess I should start another list.

Spring in February

We have had the most amazing weather this month. Balmy! One Saturday we caught spring fever and so we piled in the car and headed up to Deception Pass. It was a beautiful day at the beach full of exploring, hiking, climbing, tidepooling, jumping on waves, stomping in puddles,throwing rocks, getting wet and sandy, and having a wonderful time.

It was the first time I have really gone tidepooling with Sam. When I heard Sam exclaim, "anemones lots of anemones! and "look I found a hermit crab"and see him discover snails, limpets, barnacles, sea stars, chitons and crabs with the enthusiasm usually reserved for seeing Buzz Lightyear at Disneyland - It sure made this mom proud :)