Happy St. Patty's Day!

A few pictures while Charles is away

Charles is down in Houston this week so it's just me and the kiddo's. And of course, we are all coughing, sneezing and blowing our noses!

I'm tired for sure but we get into our groove as three and have a good time.

Max is all about the puppet shows these days. Seeing them and putting them on. He has created puppets with Popsicle sticks, tape and crayons. Tonight he went in his tent with a flashlight and it was a shadow puppet performance. I can't really say what it was about????

He is practicing singing his song for his Easter performance with the Angel Choir. He loves practicing his song It's a wonderful world, Hawaiian style.

Here are a couple recent pictures. Max is starting to learn a little guitar with his dad and Vivian has music in her soul. Watching her dance is so cute!!

She has so many words! Charles is the record keeper and he needs to get the list on here but a few that come to mind are:

milk, backpack, (gock for sock), milk, I go, apple, hat, up, ball and so many more....

Instant classics

Joi took the kids down to a local studio and got some great shots:

Whistler and Kubota Gardens

I'm home this morning on a usual work day because Sindy our nanny called in sick. Guess that means update the blog.....

Yesterday we celebrated 8 years of marriage:) Though we both acknowledge it hasn't been easy and we've had some rough patches we have so much to be thankful for! We've been through 3 houses and 2 kids....jeeze....as I look at the pretty flowers on the kitchen table and listen to the sound of the kids running around I know there is nowhere else I'd rather be! Here are some recent pictures of a trip to Kubota Gardens in south Seattle and Whistler north of Vancouver BC.

Max tried snowboarding for the first time up there. It wasn't easy but I think he'll pick it up in the future. He is a great skier already! We also had some fun pool time up there with both kidos. We will definitely be back.

Nature School

That last post from daddy was so sweet!

Here a few pictures from our hike through the arboretum today. We have been very fortunate to learn about this free school from one of Max's coop mates mom. Today was all about smells. We smelled moss....yucky....witch hazel.....lovely and daphne....also lovely. We learned that plants boost there fragrance in the winter to attract beneficial insects. We were also fortunate to see the Heron on our little hike! Max made this flower in the picture and also got to smell and play with cinnamon, rosemary and mint home made play dough! So fun!!!!

Viv at 14 months

Daddy here ... 14 month check in on some of Vivian's new words:

• Backpack
• Book
• Dow (for door)
• I go (when we're leaving, as she starts grabbing her shoes and jacket)
• Wawa (for water, she points to the fridge and says 'wawa' when she's thirsty)
• Nigh-nigh (what she says when she's going to bed)

Ever since that epiphany we had with Max when he was about 15 months, we've been waiting to see when Vivian would start showing us her awareness of things even if she couldn't say the word yet. And sure enough, if you ask her where the door, couch, fridge, chair, shoes and other things are, she goes right over to them and taps on them. When you say "Bathtime, Vivian!" she immediately makes a bee-line to the bath and starts pulling off her clothes. Today, I asked her in the kitchen to bring me one of Max's "men" (action figures), and she ran off to his room and came back with SpiderMan and Falcon. One of here favorite things to do is say "book", grab one, hand it to me and plop down in my lap. Ahhhh. Of course, she usually doesn't stay past the first 2-3 pages... she's on a perpetual hunt to find something to climb on. She is certainly not a "sit still" little girl. And she can already throw a ball pretty well.

I can honestly say that there is nothing that has given me any greater pleasure in this life than to see the development of my children's minds, and to see their personalities take shape. It is nothing short of miraculous to watch it unfold.

Snowpacalypse 2012

We have been in the house all week while Charles is in sunny California for work. It sure would have been nice to have him around but we did manage to have some fun! I really enjoyed not running around all week. Max had his first sleepover at his friend Sylvan's house. We got there by sled and foot! Viv and I stayed home for some nice bonding time. She is getting better at communicating with words and gestures. She lets me know when she is done eating. She shakes her head and says no no.

She has been walking around tapping her feet like she's dancing. It's really cute.

I remember back to a snowstorm when Max was about this age. It is so much nicer to have the two of them now. Charles always tells him he is the man of the house when he goes away.