Smiles

Our little man is just full of smiles and giggles.

My Soap Box Part One

In my previous post I commented how some friends and I have been chatting about raising children, their behavior at certain ages of life, and parenting. So here is my first topic toddlers who pull hair. I chose this one because it's one I have been dealing with and although all educated parents understand there are still some that aren't. So here is a little information for you.

This was taken from BabyCenter.com

"Yanking on hair, like kicking, biting, pinching, and hitting, is one of the ways toddlers express themselves and try to exert control over their immediate environment. Mark W. Roberts, professor of clinical psychology at Idaho State University, says there are three main reasons for this behavior. For young toddlers (12 to 18 months), the most likely explanation is the simplest one: They've discovered how to get a reaction, and they want to get it again. "It's like turning on a light switch, or hitting one of those toys where something pops up," Roberts says. "They pull, big brother squeals. This is fun." Another reason toddlers pull hair, Roberts says, is "to make bad things go away. Someone's crawling over them or taking their toys; they reach out and pull hair, and the bad thing stops." Finally, Roberts says, older toddlers (2 to 3) are developing the cognitive skills to reason things out, and may pull hair to try to control the direction of a situation. Roberts gives this example: Your toddler's older brother takes the last cookie, so she pulls his hair to make him squeal. "This has possibilities on two levels," Roberts says. "First, you might step in and make her big brother share the cookie. More important is the likelihood that big brother will think twice before taking the last cookie next time around."

So the next time you see this realize it's not "bad parenting" and your child isn't in "danger" or that you need to worry about the "safety" of your child. If you can't see this maybe you should take time to get your nose out of text books and spend some actual time with toddlers other than your own. If you still can't understand than I feel really sorry for you because remember your child is not perfect and there will come a day when he/she will do something and you know what they say about karma, it's a BITCH!

This and That

We have been busy as usual with numerous activities and mainly trying to have fun. I haven't wanted to say anything but for the last few nights Knox has slept through the night. I have been so excited and with saying that last night he slept a whole twelve hours straight! We have never felt to sleep deprived with him and I was mainly only getting up once a night but I can't be more thrilled and hope this continues!
I have finally decided on a toddler class for Alyssa in the fall. I was going back and forth between two in our area and decided to do the co-op one in Lake Stevens. Hopefully it's not too overwhelming with the stuff I need to participate in along with everything else I have going on! Needless to say it will be great experience
for her and I can't wait for her to start preschool. I think it's so important for children to be in preschool but I wont get on that soap box just yet.
Which brings me to another subject that some of my friends and I were talking about the other day, and that is behavior of children at different ages. I'll just leave it at that because that is a whole other post in itself ; )
Anyhow...we have another busy week coming up and really looking forward to it. Next weekend is our kickoff to summer with our camping trip and then the beach in two weeks!

An Afternoon Celebrating at Paine Field Fire Station

Today we got to go celebrate my friend Becky's sons' birthdays at the fire station at Paine Field. Her son Travis turned three and it was Jake's first birthday! They are within days of each other so she had a joint party.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect. For I had never heard of a fire station letting you have a party there but was really excited to see what it would entail!
The fire station tour was pretty amazing. It took about an hour and is a fairly new station so everything was pretty modern or I should say up to date. We got to see their bedrooms, which were pretty roomy, the night watch area, kitchen with the huge 50' (I think) screen television with the recliners in a semi circle around it. After this we went outside and got to see the Engine Truck and the Foam Truck. Not sure if that is the appropriate name "foam" but I can't remember. Anyhow they showed us everything about the trucks and their bunker gear. They than brought the "foam" truck out and sprayed water for all of us. We than headed back inside for a little more information and than it was cake time!
Becky did a great job for the cake and Jake even got his own. Everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. I couldn't help but laugh as I was getting the tour because after working for the SPD and the Harbor Unit with the huge riff between them and the fire department some of the stuff was just funny and brought back memories of another life. Got me thinking that I should have our next playdate at the Harbor Unit!

The Farm at Swan's Trail

Today Alyssa, Knox, and I went to the Farm at Swan's Trail. I was excited to go there from everything I had heard about it and that it was pretty much in my backyard.
We arrived shortly after ten and met up with our group of friends from MOSS. The first thing that we got to do was go on a wagon ride out into the fields to plant pumpkins. After that we headed on back and the kids got to plant some flowers that they were able to take home. We planted Alyssa's in one of the pots out front that she can take care of. Ms. Farmer than took us into the barn for the Hay Maze. It was very cool and at the top there is a slide that all the kids can slide down which was a huge hit if not the favorite of some. Ten minutes or so later we headed into the petting zoo, which was Alyssa's favorite. She got to hold a kitten, pet bunny's, goats, see chickens and pet the dog that seemed to be following us around. He was a giant basset hound, I think, and so good with all the kids. Before we left all the kids got an ice cream bar.
Alyssa is so funny when she eats ice cream. The coldness still startles her with every bite. She was fantastic on this outing and it felt good to get the kids out and doing something since we have been sick and held up inside for awhile. Later that day I took the kids clothes shopping because Alyssa needed some summer clothes and Knox has pretty much grown out of his.

A Morning at Jennings Park

Monday morning after gymnastics it was a beautiful day and was supposed to be the last of the week, so I thought I would head to Jennings Park in Marysville and check it out. I had heard great stuff about it but had never been there myself. To my surprise it was an amazing park just minutes from my house. It's beautiful, with trails, lots of picnic spots, two parks and a fishing pond for kids! I guess in the summer they have concerts and movies there as well.
We first headed over to the Dinosaur Park. It's pretty small and for younger kids but I thought it was cute and Alyssa got a kick out of the dinosaurs. Of course she enjoyed the swings as usual. She calls them "we's." After playing there for awhile we headed over to the fishing pond and took a stroll. We saw some fish jumping out of the water and Alyssa actually did stop and smell some of the flowers. I tell you though the place has some hills and when Alyssa wanted in the stroller I didn't
realize that I would be pushing approx. 50lbs up the paths! YIKES! After that we headed over to the big park where we played for awhile longer and met some nice moms and their kids. Alyssa is so brave. Forget the small slides she always heads on over to the big ones and goes down just loving it. Some might disagree but I'm so glad she is fearless to a point!

Knox had his two month check up on Tuesday. I didn't go because I was home sick in bed so he got to spend some quality time with his dad. Well, Knox has gained two more pounds and grown two more inches! Averaging two a month, which puts him at 23 inches and 11.7lbs. He is only around the 40th percentile but considering how small he was when he was born I think that is a lot!

Alyssa and him are getting along better. She asks to hold him on her lap more and the other night she was reading him one of her books and he smiled at her. It's so cute to watch them together. I know though there will be many times they will "hate" each other these ones are precious. It was funny because Alyssa hasn't showed many obvious signs of jealousy but the other night I was holding him and she said baby and pointed to the swing. So I put Knox into his swing and let her sit in my lap and he started crying and I asked her if Mommy could hold baby. She promptly said "NO" and when asked if I should hold her, she said "Yeah"

I'm pretty excited because I think I have found the preschool where Alyssa will be attending. I'm in two mom's groups and one of them put the info on our message board about a co-op preschool here in Lake Stevens. I'm not sure how I feel about the co-op setting but we will see. The one thing that I like is they have a toddler program that she can start in the fall. It's one day a week for 1 1/2 hrs and I can bring Knox! That obviously is a huge bonus! So hopefully I will be able to meet up with the instructor and take a tour. I was supposed to go the other day but was sick. Tomorrow I'm gonna try and stop by after our Farm Tour.

Alyssa and Knox have a birthday party that they are invited to this weekend which should be a lot of fun. It's at the fire department at Paine Field. It will be interesting to see what they do or how it's set up, but whatever it is I'm sure all the kids will have a great time!
This last picture is of Alyssa wearing Cory's work boots. Yes, I know it's obvious and probably not the most sanitized thing for her to be wearing, but I thought it was cute! Let me just say too that it was early in the morning and I don't think she was too happy with me taking her picture!

Fun in the Sun

This last week the family has been doing nothing but beating these colds and enjoying some much needed vitamin D, the natural way! Most people probably believe it's a rarity here in the Pacific Northwest, which is fine with me, but Spring has arrived and I couldn't be happier! We have so many fun things coming up in the next couple weeks. As normal I try to keep the kids and I very busy.
As I previously said we have been enjoying this nice weather and doing a lot of playing outside. Alyssa love it. It was so fun watching her run around in our backyard barefoot with no worries in the world. The clothes dirty, face with food on it and screaming in joy, the innocence of a child nothing is better!
I have taken to LOVING the gym. Two words that I never thought I would see in the
same sentence coming from me in a positive matter. I have been going almost every day and trying to eat a lot healthier. At times is a battle but for the most part I have been doing a great job and hopefully will soon see more pounds shedding. I can already tell a difference in some areas and hopefully will see more to come. It's weigh in day so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and trying not to get too discouraged if I don't like what I see.
As for the kids they are doing great. Alyssa is turning into such a precious little girl with a great spirit about her. She loves her gymnastics class and the balance beam is her favorite. Since staring there in January she is now walking across by herself, of course using her hands but it's still great to watch her accomplish this and the expressions on her face of "look what I just did."
Knox is growing like crazy and has his two month appointment next week. Of course I will update you all with that info. Until then, enjoy the wonderful weather this weekend here in the PNW!

An Unexpected but Exceptional Mother's Day

The last few days my mother-in-law was in town and staying with us. She was supposed to be helping out with the kids while Cory was gone working Mariner's. Instead she ended up getting a cold and was down and out. Alyssa was sick as well with a cold. I ended up not getting everything done that I had wanted to accomplish in those days but it wasn't all at a loss. I was keeping my fingers crossed that Knox wouldn't get sick as well but he did along with Cory. I couldn't believe Cory got sick, he was literally only home for a few hours!
Anyways, so I pretty much tried to take care of everyone and make sure there were plenty of fluids around for them. For mother's day I was going to be just hanging out with the kids while Cory worked. Since Gail was sick she didn't want to get her mother sick so I ended up replacing her and spending mother's day with Grammy.
We had a great time. Her and I went out to lunch at Wolf Gang Pucks restaurant "Pucks" inside Benaroya Hall before we went and saw the Seattle Symphony. At first I wasn't sure if I was going to like it or not but thought a few hours of no kids pulling on me for something, no whining, and a chance to wear my heals, it couldn't be all that bad and I was right.
The lunch was good and we had some great conversation and some laughs with the jokester who sat down with us, and than off to the symphony. It was an amazing time. The whole orchestra wasn't there, just the strings but it was still a great performance and honestly wouldn't mind to go again.
So that was my mother's day. As always being with Grammy was a whole lot of fun and is a great memory for me to have. The kids got to spend a lot of time with their grandma, even though they were all sick. My heels still like me, no blisters or stumbles. Cory, the kids and I will celebrate on Wednesday with some hopefully nice weather and a barbecue.

The Lake Tahoe of Washington

For our anniversary this year we were lucky to have my mom come and watch the kids and let us get away for a few nights to celebrate and relax a little.
We left early Friday morning and stopped off in Leavenworth for a little lunch at one of our favorite spots and got a bratwurst and a German beer. Let me tell you my brat was so delicious. I got a jalapeno and cheddar and I put a little honey mustard and jalapenos with some sauerkraut on it. It was the perfect dog if there is such a thing.
Once we arrived in Chelan, Cory and I went and hit a bucket of balls at the driving range and were going to decide if we were going to play 9 holes afterwards. It was very windy and I felt like I was at Bandon Dunes or St. Andrews. Not that I have either played at either one of those courses. Afterwards, I was still a little nervous about playing so we went in and got a beer and enjoyed the patio a little before deciding. We ended up playing nine holes and I'm so glad we did. It was so much fun. I had some good shots but also had some lousy ones. I will have to say though at least I didn't have any that were ob and I did beat Cory. Right Cory!?!?!
After that we stopped off at some of the winery's and than headed back to the hotel to check in and get some dinner.
The next day we headed across the street and got some Bloody Mary's and talked with the owners of the bar. We found out that they used to be residents of Lake Stevens and owned a couple bars here. Above the bar they turned it into a hotel and they gave us a tour of it. It was beautiful! I was almost bummed we weren't staying there except for the fact that we had got such an awesome deal plus $100 food voucher at their restaurant. Later we went and had breakfast at our favorite place to eat there, which is Blueberry Hill Farm. They have the most wonderful food! When we were finished we started our wine tour of the area and had a great time with lots of great stories. I wont go into any of them but it was fun filled day and I even signed up for a wine club.