blessed

On Sunday the 26th we had G.'s blessing.

She wore a dress made by my mother that I wore 26 years ago.

  When J. saw her in her dress he said "She's so pretty, mom!" Yes, she is.

 I'm glad we didn't wait longer (we thought about it) because the dress barely fit over her succulent arms. Yes, succulent. They are squishy goodness that just beg to be chewed (without teeth of course).

 The only family that could make it were Adam's darling aunt Cheri and uncle Dale. While the rest of our family members were greatly missed it felt good to have her blessed in front of our ward family.

She was blessed by her father, surrounded by Nate Williams, Nate Grow, Rob Egbert, Steve Watson, Geoff Bean,  Russell Johnson, & Chris Layton.

 It was a sweet blessing for our sweet little jewel.

 

I really am so very blessed.

J. Quotes

This boy is making up new definitions, and similes.

apparently opening your mouth really wide is the new smile for pictures.

Earlier today-

J: "If someone picks up the spoon, they will beef me."
K & A: "What?!"
K: "What does beef mean?"
J: "beef means to poke and hit."
J: "I like beefaroni so..."
A: "You like the word beefaroni?"
J: "Yeah, it's good."

Earlier this month-

K: "I'm going to sunbathe. It's like taking a bath in the sun."
J: "Oh! you're going to go take a shower in the grass?"

3 years + 3 months

 3 years

 J. had a birthday on the 11th. It was a quiet birthday but very fun. He requested balloons and chocolate cupcakes. His birthday dinner request was "Mickey-Mac" and broccoli.  (He also eats butter, not with toast, just plain butter, sound familiar? Mickey-mac, broccoli, and butter...yes, he loves the same foods his uncle Michael did at the same age).

adding some purple- 8.11.12 

riding a unicorn

We went to a park to take some birthday pictures and to play. It was lovely. When he was playing on the playground a little half-asian girl came and they ended up playing together. There are little plastic hammock type things at said playground and J. likes to pretend to sleep on them. At one point the little girl was standing near her parents and J. asks her "do you want to sleep with me?" Her parents thought it was pretty funny and said something along the lines of how forward boys are these days and how it starts younger and younger.

twins (J. loves to be twins with his dad, and has requested I get him pajamas that match G.'s)

When we went home we had cupcakes, sang the song, and opened presents. We then all played together with them until J's bedtime. It was a good day.

3 months

We can't believe little G. is already three months. She is growing so fast and is so determined to continue doing just that.

I don't know if we're remembering incorrectly or if it's true, but it seems like she is reaching her benchmarks a lot faster than J. did at the same age.

She loves tummy time. She is interested in toys and bats at them (and at our faces) with her little hands. She seems to love being naked and is always ready to smile. She's very patient and is becoming a tough little lady. I imagine that she'll be able to run circles around J. in a year or so.

Here comes trouble.

This little boy... He has split personalities right now. One is sweet, sensitive, and funny. The other is aggressive, crazy, and stubborn. Parenting is no joke. 

 He loves legos (already) and will play with them for 30 minutes at a time or more, which is quite long in the toddler world. We keep his crayons and coloring books in a drawer he can reach and at least once a day I find him coloring at the table.

He loves to pretend to be characters (and people) he likes, such as Puss in Boots, Nausicaa, Darth Vader, Tron, Captain America, Jasper, Gideon, and my favorite Adam. When he pretends to be Adam he has to gel his hair, wear undies, and call me "sweetie."

 He enjoys going to parks around Seattle, and loves Nature School. His favorite color is blue. His favorite food is vegetables (yep, I'm lucky I know), "Mickey-mac," pizza, and kimchi + bop. He still hates peanut butter and can't understand why anyone would eat it. 

He calls me Kate and Katie about half the time. He hums and sings all through-out the day (with a very eclectic mix of Gotye, Children's Hymns, and movie soundtracks.)  He enjoys "helping" me cook. He is generally a good big-brother but certainly likes to keep us guessing on that subject. I'm grateful for him and his antics that keep me on my toes and add variety to my days.

tick-tock-tick-tock

Time is such a strange thing. Time can fly, and drag, and cease to exist. And yet it passes predictably, second by second, minute to minute, hours, days, weeks, months, and years.

day 1

Just two and half months ago every day felt longer than the Great Wall. Now, time is a silky scarf that brushes quickly against my skin as it flutters by. It is elusive to my grasping hands that want to hold said scarf, keep it still, bunched up, and hidden in my hands.

day 28

I hold my baby girl and she smiles, charming her way into a place in my heart that will only be for her. I look at my little boy, who not long ago was a baby himself, he's humming the Star Wars theme as he plays. Oh, how I love them. I wish that time would take a nap, stop running around all the time, and just hide in my hands until I felt it was time to move again

day 59

A Shower

I have the most wonderful friends. I never thought I would have such amazing and giving women for friends when I moved to Seattle. Four of these said friends threw me a baby shower that could have been featured in a magazine. Take a look.

My lovely friends pre-party getting ready.

My one regret is that I forgot to have any pictures taken during the party so there aren't any pictures of 1: the delicious food (which included a white bean stew, spinach salad with poppy seed dressing, lemon mousse with fresh berries, and dark chocolate covered strawberries), and 2: all of the wonderful women that came to celebrate with me. I think everyone had a good time we ate, talked up a storm, and oohed and awed at the adorable little gifts. I couldn't keep from smiling on my way home alone in my car, feeling grateful for all of the wonderful people I've met and made friends with here in Seattle.

It's a...

 Girl!