I Scream, You Scream...

...we ALL scream for ice cream!

Tonight was 31c night at Baskin-Robbins and we joined Anna, Callie and Ella for some tasty treats! Though it was a little chilly out for this spring time treat, none of us seemed to mind. Quin certainly enjoyed his, right down to the last drip!Here he is eating the cone, sideways.

And Baby Ella enjoyed watching us munch away, she was just a little jealous:
See how happy ice cream makes us?!

PEPpy Mama!

Well, I had an eventful day helping with the 10th Annual PEPS Luncheon at the Fisher Pavilion today. This year marks the 25th Anniversary of PEPS and so today was declared PEPS Day in Seattle by Mayor Nickels and Governor Gregiore. It was exciting to be a part of this successful (yes they made LOTS of money) event again this year. And though there were ups and downs that come with an event of this magnitude (about 500 guests), it was well organized. I for one, had lots of fun serving cake, ok and eating some too, after my tiring job of doing the centerpieces (I arrived at 7 am!). Besides the delicious lunch and desserts, it was also a treat to meet King 5's anchor Jean Enersen the emcee, and famous Arthur creator Marc Brown, chat with him a few times and get a book signed for Quin.

Miss Squirmy was excited by it all as well, she was SO active while the speakers were talking it was a little distracting! ;) I swear she's either still hopped up on all those treats I sampled or is turned sideways, cause she's still doing some funny kicking on my left side tonight. This is a sure sign I should be off to bed!

Worker Boys

My boys were hard workers this weekend! Well, actually Theo didn't exactly work his tail off...but Quin (healing himself) and especially Papa worked hard! We took advantage of the incredible weather on Saturday and all spent pretty much the whole day outside. Papa hauled over a cord of wood over to his neighbor buddies house, and then we moved our remaining wood pile, what joy, to a much better spot not so backyard central.

That cleared up a perfect spot for a future vegetable garden, which Papa then worked on starting with some "help" from Quin on Sunday. This involved lots of strenuous digging, as it's also where our former falling over alder trees used to be.

We also worked on decreasing the huge yard waste pile of holly and sumac branches (which had party died this winter). In any case, I thought it was quite a productive weekend!

What a Difference a Day Makes

Well Papa said it best today, "What a difference a day makes!" Quin was finally his old self today, running in circles, eating well, and napping less. After a few days of being on and off again, it was nice to have the "real" Quin back today. With all the heartache of caring for a sick little one when you tend to feel so helpless, there were some funny moments and sweet sayings of Quin's,
such as:
* "I need more nigh night!" (Such an unlikely phrase for Q to say. But, wow, he took some amazingly long naps and even slept 12+ hours a few times at night! He was certainly working hard to heal himself while sleeping.)

* "I need a hug." and "I need a snuggle." Awwww

* And though not funny or sweet, "No wipes, no wipes, no loshun, no loshun!" since he got quite the diaper rash this week. :(
So, on that note, here is the Quinster doing some bare buns baking!

Earth Day, Sick Day

Happy Earth Day!

Quin is apparently SICK of the way we treat our earth, and so he let us all know by being quite sick indeed. Poor little guy lost everything in his digestive system today, repeatedly, sorry to paint that picture. Right now he and Papa are resting together and he's battling a fever. I'm hoping it's just something he ate and that he'll kick it soon. So, we'll have to save the earth saving and honoring ideas I had for today for another day.

Here is what we did do today:
1. use numerous cloth and 7th generation diapers (ok so the number we used was not so good, that they were cloth diapers or chlorine free was good ;))
2. Bought some Earth's Best organic snacks and juice for Q at the store (+used my own bags as always)
3. Sure didn't drive much
4. Got our tasty New Roots organic produce delivery, and used it for lunch and dinner. Composted fruit and veggie scraps from said delivery.
5. Planted a cute little Western Hemlock in the backyard in the 10 minutes Q and I were outside today, he was kinda sad at the moment I took the pic, sorry.

6. Tried to follow all of Anna's great suggestions. And nodded my head along with Anna's too! Girls we should start a club or something!
7. Papa read to Quin from National Geo all about our Earth's animals and wonders such as volcanoes.

8. Made plans for transplanting our little pea, chard, and bean starts to the backyard.

9. Thought back on our fun, though chilly, last Saturday morn spent at an Earth day event out at site Todd works at in Marysville. Here is Quin getting a close look at a little salmon, and having a shoulder ride on Papa out to the Qwuloolt Marsh Restoration site.

10. Reflected on the things our family can continue to do to help our earth.

Here's a happy picture of Quin enjoying the crazy gift of snow our earth gave us last weekend:

25 weeks

Wow, 25 weeks, this means I have 15 to go (or less, given Quin was early)! Just in the last few days I've been feeling much bigger, guess the snow hasn't helped since I don't often want to go for walks when it's so chilly out. I'm just beginning to feel a little uncomfortable in some positions, though mostly I feel great and really enjoy little Miss. Squirmy's activity which is more noticeable on the outside all the time. Gosh, I think I'll post this and go take a quick nap since Quin is down for his and was up early this morn!

April Snow Showers Bring May Flowers?

Seriously? Snow again, in the spring? Todd says it's La Nina, but jeez!
Quin of course loved it! He stomped around, threw it, laughed hysterically at Theo while he romped in it, and later watched it with excitement as he had his first real cup of hot cocoa.
Papa loved it too, and decided that to keep us cozy in the backyard he may as well start a little fire. If only we'd had marshmallows...

Spring Snow

Creativity

Before 8 o'clock this morning we had already:
1. added oats to our cereal cause, "horses like oats"
2. made apple, cinnamon, carrot pancakes
3. made brownies to take to Beverly Park Elem.
4. cracked nuts with a nut cracker and then the garlic press
Oh, and today is my day off, can you tell?
We had a fun creative day yesterday also. Quin did some lovely paintings. Here is what he said while creating the one below:
"An elephant. A jackel. What does a jackel eat? A jackel eats leaves. A zebra. A monkey. A lion. A giraffe havin' a cough [like the one we saw at the zoo last week!]. That's a big dino. I'm makin' a shark. A space shuttle. A snake right there, my snake, yellow."
Hmm...you might say the boy is a little ADD or something, I just say he's creative! ;)

Here was my attempt at creativity yesterday:
Wonder what we'll create tomorrow....

"I can do it myself!"

We've entered it, the phase of life where Quin is fully a 2 year old, one with powerful screams, definite opinions, and the independence to want to do everything himself. Thus the phrase, "I do it myself!" has been emphatically spoken by Quin already on a number of occasions. For example, recently Quin HAD to do the following himself:

* pour his own bowl of cereal (overflowing it all over the floor)

* spread peanut butter on crackers, oooo yum* zip up his own jammies, take off his own diaper etc. (I'm hopeful that he might want to pee in his own potty soon ;))

* create his own game of unloading new nighttime diapers, first piling them up like a mountain, then laying them out on the floor so he could play jumping on bags of diapers

* create another adorable game of being the "easter bunny" by walking around in papa's shoes and giving mama and papa treats (that bunny this past weekend did have big feet)
* kick the soccer ball on the sidelines of Danpa's soccer game, then roughly yell at the soccer guys that it was his turn to play on the big field even though halftime had ended, and of course somehow they didn't give Quin a turn so he was resigned to "make castles" in the long jump pit

* brush his own teeth

So, how do I have patience for all this you may ask, being pregnant, taking care of a 6 month old, attempting to do enriching activities and adventures with Quin, and trying to manage chores at home etc.? Well, at the time I began to write this both boys were napping, and I was taking a quick breather eating ice cream. Wait, nope, then one was up...

Bouncer

Quin had ample opportunities this past weekend to do his new favorite sport: jumping in bouncy houses!

First on the glorious, shall we call it "summer day" we had on Saturday, we went to the YMCA Healthy Kids Day at a local elementary school, where we first got to unleash the boy. In fact, he had to be escorted out of the bouncy houses numerous times by older kids as he refused to stop jumping. Plus we loaded up on all sorts of healthy snacks (even won a backpack full of prizes too), played with our buddy Alex and his fam, and as Quin is been repeating, "saw a big bunny with a basket" (large blue one from the Science Center). But I'd have to say the bouncy house was the biggest hit.

Well lucky for Quin, it didn't end there...

We made a trek down to the Seattle Center on Sunday mostly so I could spend the day attending the many great Seeds workshops there. Quin wasn't as thrilled as I was about the story time session we first went to (perhaps cause he was tired from rising so early in the morn after a late night, arrgg). So, he and Papa had some fountain/equestrian police/jump rope performance watching fun and then went into the center house where low and behold is was Whirlagig (bouncy houses FILLING the center house) time, and Quin got a special toddler bouncy house pass to use to his hearts content!

So, on top of the heaps of fun watching Quin bounce this past weekend, we also enjoyed his first Kids Luv Soccer class, a lovely "summers eve" BBQ with Nami and Danpa, and a renewed commitment to seek compassion in our lives. Ahhh, heartwarming, eh?* Notice the t shirt and shorts Q is donning in this tickle attack from Danpa picture. ;)*

Man's Best Friend

Yep, Theo though we may groan at your gluttony, and grimace at your grimy paws, we love the tolerance and love you show for Quinnie. When Quin laughs himself silly until he falls right onto his cushy diapered rear all because of you Theo, we can't help but love you all the more.

And now, though it is certainly hard to believe, you are 5! So, in celebration of you we remember all the fun time we've had already with you, the puppydom in Greenlake, the mountain hikes and beach romps, the new home and added bonus of nearby Hamlin Park, the introduction of the new Baby Quin, and not so long from now, the future 2nd mini tormentor. So, though we may groan and grimace at times over the hair, the vacuuming, the stolen meals, and barking, we really do love and appreciate you Theo!

**Beautiful photos taken by Anna Olive, and funky one of Quin taking Theo for a "walk" taken by mio. Happy Birthday Theo video below:

Snuggle Bug

Quin has become quite the snuggle bug, that is when he first wakes up and when he's going to bed at least. He says, "snnuuuggle" in this sweet drawn out way with Papa while they do their "rocking in the rocking chair" at bedtime. He then has to flop around until he's in the just right position on Papa's chest.He is also a bit obsessed with "giving the baby a snuggle" and likes to do so periodically through the day, along with asking, "What is Squirmy doing?" and/or saying post scream or poke to Mama, "Makes baby girl saddddd."
But, my favorite snuggle time of all is in the morning when he wants to "snuggle in the big bed" and takes my finger and walks me back to our bedroom, and we all have a snuggle fest with Theo, and Squirmy, and all. He likes to climb in the tunnel made by pillows and elevated blankets and "snuggle baby".So, even with the newfound screaming tantrum abilities of Quin's, I can't complain ALL day, "snuggle time!" heartily makes up for the rough patches.

Cougars, and Tigers, and Lemurs Oh My!

We were lucky enough to be invited to celebrate Quin's little buddy Donovan's 2nd birthday this past Sunday at the Cougar Mt. Zoo. Though it rained, then even hailed on us, it was an amazing party. I hereby call dibs on getting to have a future birthday party for Quin at this zoo cause you certainly get all the perks being the special birthday child (unless getting your head stuck in the bars is a "perk" and I guess that's not such a bonus). Quin had a fabulous time though, and got a big kick out of the Macaws bathing, the cranes screeching and feeding all sorts of zoo creatures. Thanks to Loving Families for introducing us to Donovan's family!

Richard Scarry Books Don't Make for Good Bedtime Books...

Ok, so it shouldn't be hard to figure this out, Richard Scarry Books such as "What People Do All Day" http://www.amazon.com/Richard-Scarrys-What-People-All/dp/0394818237 and a childhood favorite "The Best Word Book Ever" (the very addition Auntie Barbara gave me as a Christmas gift when I was 2) really DO NOT make for good bedtime books. Not to say they aren't absolutely wonderful DAYTIME books to spend hours perusing through etc. But let me tell you since Quin is obsessed with asking, "What's the cat doing?" "What's that dog doing?" "What's that pig doing?" etc. etc. incessantly, without so much as pausing to hear in fact what these hardworking storybook characters are doing, it can take far too long to get through these books.

So, I'm writing this as a reminder to myself to please pluck all such long and treasured books out of his room before the 8 o'clock hour tomorrow night. I think we ought to stick to "Goodnight Moon", "As Quick as a Cricket" or "Go Dog, Go" tomorrow night. ;)

Bed Graduation

Well Quin has taken one step closer to boyhood, not that I was particularly ready for it...it's hard to see your baby grow up in any way, even when you have a new baby on the way.

But here's the tale...Quin was getting more and more adept at climbing in his crib when the rail was down and then proceeding to sit on the rail and call it his "tractor" also, his "motorcycle", "digger", "backhoe", "drill" etc. He would keep one foot balanced on the mattress while "driving" his vehicle making excellent vehicle appropriate sound effects. According to his reenactments he even wore the correct safety equipment as he'd mime putting on helmets, gloves, glasses etc. He would then use a" key", or "push a button" to turn the vehicle on. This game could last a good 15 or 20 minutes, rotating between both sides of the crib. Well, not to stifle our little guy's creativity, but this seemed like a good time to bring up the little toddler bed I'd been thinking of introducing soon.

So, yesterday I cleared out the changing table (was mostly serving as a dresser type space), and enlisted Papa with help from Quin to put together the bed. Of course, this would have been even more simple had we had the directions for assembly, but as it was so generously passed onto us by my Uncle Mark and fam, Todd used his creative insight to figure it out. And then, viola Quin was jumping, reading books, and then SLEEPING in this cute new little bed last night. And he's there again tonight! I'm kinda thinking, "Wait a sec little guy, you're still my baby, don't you want to be back in your crib?" But apparently the crib is just a "tractor" after all, what was I thinking...

Indecision

Ok, as any of you (yes all two of you I mean) have noticed I have a complete lack of decision making skill about which template to use for my blog. I'm sorry if this is incredibly irritating to you, but let me tell you it's absolutely not on par with the indecision that has been happening around here regarding our home remodel/addition plans. As we speak, my very talented hubby is at work creating yet another proposal for how we should recreate our abode. In some ways this is thrilling, in some ways no so much. Though I still get excited about the whole idea of working with what we have, in an area I have really fallen for, I still question whether or not what we talking about doing is AT ALL REASONABLE? Should we just move like many suggest? And if we do want to stay (which we really do) darn blast it, why can't someone just come over here and tell us WHAT TO DO? Anyway, now Todd is showing me a new drawing, ooh it's so nice, maybe I'll post it later...

Foolish Quin

In honor of April Fool's Day today, Quin was a real fool all day! First thing this morning he played, "naked lacrosse!", then at the zoo he was as wild as the animals we visited (like the baby gorilla), and finally tonight he was "being a diver" with his goggles on in the bath. What a goof!