New Cedar Playset Built by Daddy

Super Daddy put together the playset in the backyard with help Grandpa, Uncle Brian and our neighbor, Ryan!

Cups with straws

Eva loves cups with straws especially mommys !  Look at her wiggle her feet (she does it when she's happy)!

Sibling love

One of my most favorite pictures in May!  Eva adores Bram!

Rhys' Music concert and art show

Our sweet Rhys at his Spring Concert and art show!

Adorable Kiddos

Bram decided to take his sweet sissy for a ride in the wagon at Grandma and Grandpas house.  Rhys followed along - and made sure Eva stayed in the wagon.  He loves touching her head - and as you can see in the picture, she disagrees and screams!  

They had so much fun together - lots of giggles, screams, and smiles!

I'm a Sports Guy

Bram declared that he's a "sports guy" today.  He loves all sports.  Soccer. Hockey. Baseball. Rugby. Football. Running. Just a few stories about our beloved, passionate, "sports guy".

His big decision for Spring was whether to play soccer or baseball.  Without hesitation, he chose baseball.  A few weeks ago, I decided we should teach Bram a bit about the game.  I taught him how to put on a glove, and practiced throwing, catching, and batting (pitch, he didn't want to do t-ball).  After a few days of practicing together, he told me that he wanted to play "batter".  I laughed at told him that everyone gets to bats to score points.  He thought about it a moment and said then he wanted to play catcher.  Ummm...I told him it was kind of a boring position, so then he decided to play outfield!   So amusing.

If a sports match/game is on the television, he begs to watch it - and sits attentively for the entire game!  Throughout the game, he asks which team we are voting for, and then decides on a player "to be" on the field/court.  Rhys plays the "choose-which-player you-want-to-be game" for a bit but after 15 minutes is usually ready for something else (not bad for a 4 year old).

He watched a clip on Usain Bolt (the fastest man alive) practicing and running races.  He loved it.  On our walk later that day, he practiced "starting position" and then would run as fast as he could to the next mailbox.  He inspired Rhys to race to a few mailboxes too.  It was adorable.

Today, after swimming class, he asked when baseball started.  I told him tomorrow - and he giggled in delight.  As we were leaving the club, he stopped to watch the basketball players on the court.  He ran up to me and asked when he gets to play basketball.  And, without giving me time to answer, he skipped ahead, telling me that he and his friend, Ian, were planning to play football when they turned 7yrs.  Just last week on Spring Break, he joined in for a few days of soccer training, and wanted to know when he could play more soccer!  Choices, choices....he's energy is endless.  His passion is inspiring.  I LOVE it!

Happy Birthday, baby girl!

Our darling, Eva, turned one years old on Friday, April 11th!  We celebrated her birthday with friends and family on Saturday.  She was an angel despite having a bit of a cold/runny nose.  She loved opening presents, eating cake, and "walking" around holding someone's hand.  She chatted away - telling all sorts of stories about the day.

It's hard to believe our darling little lady came into our lives a year ago.  She surprised us by arriving a few weeks early - and continues to with her laughter, charm, and gentle nature.  The boys adore her and are never far from her side when she's playing.  They are quick to help, give kisses, and of course, grab her toys (especially the ones that might not be "safe" for her).  She's a lucky lady to have two big brothers!

Gosh, over the last year, we have had so many beautiful moments with her.  Watching her grow, smile, laugh, cry, and sleep.  She is such a blessing.  Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

Uh-oh

Our sweet little lady's favorite word to say is "Uh-oh".  Also, a sneak peek at her evolved peg-legged crawl which is now a scoot!  She's keeps us laughing!

Eva is crawling

Yes, it's true!  She's started a peg-legged crawl! With all the loving help from her brothers , she hasn't been interested in moving by herself .  Why would she?  A little fussing gets her what she wants!  Oh, doting brothers!  Friends are teasing me she needs to crawl...brain development and reading scores!  I don't need any convincing!  I believe it stimulates brain connections with out knowing research so I am breathing a sigh of relief that Eva's showing a bit of effort in crawling (rather than just going straight to walking)!

Little Miss Eva

An update on our little Miss Eva.  The bean bag in the living room is the perfect "edge" for Eva to hold on to...it's forgiving when she lets go!  Our little Eva is so proud of herself when she stands up!   Eva loves to take our hands and take steps around the house.  She prefers to stand rather than crawl but I'm determined to encourage her to practice her crawling positions rather than just walking!  I think it's important for her development to have at least a few weeks of crawling before she walks (it's good practice for Matt and I too)!

If I had a $100....

My darling little Kindergartener, Bram.

Kisses to my Baby Doll

Eva started giving kisses to her baby today!  We were so surprised - it was so darn cute!  She repeated her spontaneous kiss upon request again!  Wow....are all babies this smart?  Proud Parents are we!

I'm a big girl!

It was Eva's first time riding in the grocery cart today!  She loved it!  She's also too big for her infant car seat - which is a bummer as it's still so cold and wintery outside!

Preschool Olympics

Rhys' preschool hosted Winter Olympics on Wednesday!  It was so fun to watch!  Rhys loved it - and has been showing off his medal every day!

The class started with the opening ceremony and the children came in waving their homemade American flags (Rhys' had plenty of stars)!  Next, each child ran the torch to the next person.  After that, the games started!  There was the luge, speed skating, figure skating, skiing, hockey and bobsledding!  Adorable. Go Team USA!  *We did talk about how Rhys is half-kiwi from New Zealand which made him laugh.  He liked that he was a kiwi!

Preschool Olympics Videos

The Torch Run - Rhys runs the torch to the next person!

Speed Skating

Bobsledding (a must see)

Best Friends

Bram and Rhys are best friends.  They love playing together especially imaginative games.  Although, there are disagreements, many times they can resolve them on their own....and for the other times there are mommy and daddy!

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!  I volunteered in Bram's Kindergarten class for his party today.  Matt and I made butterfly lollipops for his class as a treat (similar to below but that was the prototype).  It was so fun to be creative for the party.  Bram picked out IronMan valentines and spent a few hours addressing them for all of his friends.  We split it over two days - but he finished every one with his own handwriting!  Mommy had a glass of wine...as I wasn't sure we would ever finish with 25 kids in his class!  Whew....we did it!

Rhys picked out Scooby valentines and wrote his name on 3 out of 16.  Not bad, I "helped" him complete the rest for his class! 

Valentine's Day Video

Rhys singing songs for Valentine's Day (he is wearing an orange and blue striped rugby shirt)

Seattle Visit

Matt and I went back to Seattle for a visit!  It was so great to be back in Seattle.  We stayed at the Fairmont Hotel downtown (Matt's work paid for it) - and Eva and I toured around during the day visiting with friends.  On Thursday, friends met us at the Fairmont Bar and Lounge for drinks which was so fun to see so many people!  We were lucky enough to have our nanny, Jennifer, watch Eva!  We really miss her so it was great to catch up!  

We also spent the night at Charles and Amy's to celebrate her birthday!  Adele and Calvin entertained Eva!  

Funny enough, Eva and I flew into Seattle on the day of the Seahawks welcome home parade from the Superbowl!  It was crazy to be in the midst of it all.  And, on Saturday night, we were there during a rare snowfall!  Perfect timing.

All Done, More - and Bye Bye!

Oh my gosh...9 months is so much fun!  Eva is full of new surprises!  We started to teach her the sign for "all done" and "more" during feedings.  Of course, the more obvious clues are her wide open mouth for spoonfuls of food - and at the end of a feeding she starts to fuss or turn her head away.

A week or so ago, she started signing "all done" and has started to say something that sounds very close to "all done" too.  So, being proud parents we think she's brilliant!

More recently, she started using the sign for "more" especially with deliciously new foods!  She's so cute to watch!

Today, she waved to me for the first time with our sitter, Lauren.  She was really proud of herself - and continued to wave long after I walked away!