Reunion

This weekend we had an impromptu reunion with Addy's pals Sabrina and Luella. Add all of the little sisters to the mix and it was 6 girls and Cameron! The kids had a blast together and the parents reminisced about the old days and we were all pretty grateful we've finally hit the stage where the kids can go together to play, without needing us every minute! It was fun to hang out and it still warms my heart to see Addy with her best pals. They've officially hit the "craft stage" and made rubber band bracelets together. It was quite cute to see.

Three's Company

About a week ago, Cameron and Addy got their first cousin on Brian's side. Brian's brother Dennis and his wife Carrie welcomed their first baby, a beautiful girl named Etta. We got to talk with them on the computer the other day and the kids got to see their new cousin. Dennis and Carrie looked great and are now a happy family of three, and there are three grandchildren now for Scott and Wendy. Seeing baby Etta made me remember just how precious (and exhausting) those first few months are. It's hard to believe how long it's been since we've been out of the newborn stage. Pretty glad we aren't joining the club of three as two is enough for me!

The Joys of Children

Our kids are incredible and they never cease to amaze me and surprise me and make me laugh, but there are stages that I could do without. For Cameron it's boogers. The kid loves to pick his nose and eat his boogers and it is so disgusting, but no matter what we do to try and discourage him I seem to catch him doing it every day. He also loves to pick at his lip and then eat the dry skin he picks off. Totally gross. He does both every day and there is nothing you can do to stop him. I cannot wait for this stage to be over. He clearly enjoys it so much I fear it may be a long time before this passes. 

For Addy, it's her obsession with the Rainbow Fairy books. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love that she loves books as much as she does, but I could do without having to read "the same" book 100 different times. The plot of these books is exactly the same, but they have over hundred (fact check: 220 to be exact) "different" versions where the only change is the name of the fairy and her "magical gift" of choice. She discovered them at the library and has been obsessed for the last several months. I'm so proud of her for wanting to read chapter books and for always wanting more chapters each night, but I don't think I can handle one more story about Rachel and Kirsty's adventures with the fairies and their struggle to defeat Jack Frost and his evil goblins. Spoiler alert: they defeat him every time and the fairy always prevails and her magic is restored. Addy gets very defensive when she hears me say that they are all the same because clearly to her they are so distinctly different. How dare I assume that Danielle the Daisy Fairy has the same challenges as Olivia the Orchid Fairy? The good part is that Addy is crossing off each book that we finish, the bad part is that we have about 198 to go! 

Fair Day

On Labor day, we headed to the Evergreen State Fair. It's become a nice tradition for us and we always have a good time. I love to see the animals in the 4H barns, even though once we get their I'm usually walking through them so quickly the kids can't even keep up! We saw all of them though and the kids went through a petting zoo where they got to pet them all. My favorite is always the baby pigs. The kids got to pet a piglet this year too.

Last year Cameron did not like the rides so we weren't sure how it would go this year. At first he was all talk and seemed like he was going to do all of the rides, but once we put him on the first one he screamed and we had to take him off before it started. Brian was only able to get him to go on one ride, the trains. That meant there were a lot of tickets for Addy to use! She loved them all and did a great job. By the end we were all hot, tired and slightly crabby. I think that is the sign of a successful day at the fair!

Summer Catch Up

It's been a busy few weeks and I just discovered some photos that are definitely blog worthy. After we got back from our Wisconsin trip, Brian had planned a daddy-daughter-day to go see the Mariners. This was Addy's 3rd game and she was really excited. Cameron was a little jealous but Brian told him once he's 3 and he only goes potty on the potty then he gets to go too. He seemed ok with that.

Addy was finally willing to wear her Mariner's shirt that she got at the game last year (and has never worn since). Since the stadium is so close to my work they swung by to see me before the game which was a treat. They definitely had a great time. They got to see Felix pitch, they got their picture with Mariner moose, Addy ate ice cream, hot dog & nachos, oh and they won! It was a great day and Addy was instantly asleep on the way home.

Last Days of Summer Fun

The other weekend it was still warm and the kids insisted on being outside in their underwear. I can't explain the attraction they have to being outside in their underwear, but they love it! Throw in some watermelon and you have a full on party. I wish there was video to go with these pictures because the kids were being so hilarious and I think they ate almost an entire watermelon. They were watermelon super heroes shaking their booties. Makes me miss summer already!

First Day of Kindergarten

The day has finally arrived! Addy's first day of kindergarten! Last night Addy laid out her outfits (she had it narrowed down to two) on the floor, complete all the way to the tights and shoes. To say she was excited is an understatement. This morning we had a pancake breakfast to celebrate and she was all smiles in anticipation of her first day. She posed perfectly for her 1st day pictures and then of course since Cameron was being so patient we had to get some with him too.
Brian and I dropped her off together and it was for more emotional for me than for her. I'm so happy to say she had a first great day and was so excited to tell us all about it when it was done. There is no question in our mind that she is going to love Kindergarten and we are so proud and excited for her.

Cold Hearted Snake

This weekend Brian and the kids convinced me to go with them to the reptile zoo. I will admit I was not super excited about going to see snakes, lizards, turtles and crocodiles but I couldn't say no. Before we went the kids were saying how they would protect me from the reptiles, especially Cameron who said he would give me big hugs to keep me safe. Of course right when we got there Addy was so scared she would hardly even go in and Cameron kept yelling "uppy, uppy, hold me." Over time they got more comfortable and we did see a lot of cool things. Huge pythons, tortoises, an albino alligator and my favorite the two-headed turtle.
While we were there they had a time when you could hold a snake. I was not at all interested (neither was Addy) but both Cameron and Brian did it and it seemed pretty cool. If you're in to touching slithery creepy things.

Major Milestones

I've been so busy documenting our vacation that I haven't mentioned two major milestones that happened in the last couple weeks. Right after we got back from our trip, Addy had her first week of "Kindergarten Jump Start." It was a week when she got to go to her school for a few hours a day to get familiar with the school building, the teachers and her friends. On the last day she got to find out who her teacher is and what room number she's in. Brian said she started out very shy at the beginning of the week, but by the last day she was off and playing without even saying goodbye to him. She is very excited about starting kindergarten and we are just as excited as she is.

The other major milestone is that Cameron finally starting pooping on the potty on a regular basis! For the longest time he would be in his underwear until he had to go #2 and then he would make us put him in a diaper. It was quite annoying. About a week ago we got him to try going on the potty and he's been without diapers ever since! I think we are so close to being done with diapers completely. I felt like that stage was never going to end for us but now I can see it coming to an end soon. It's very exciting! I'm very proud of both of my kids and how quickly they are growing up.

Say Cheese, Look Here, No...Look Here!

After spending an entire day outside we decided what better way to torture the kids then to make them take 10 million pictures in coordinating outfits. My sister was amazing as usual and purchased matching clothes for all of the kids, but as always the reality of trying to take pictures of kids is never as easy it seems. It didn't help that Cameron was especially crabby and insisted on wearing his sunglasses in most of the pictures. All things considered I think we were lucky to get as many good ones as we did, but considering that probably 200 pictures were taken we didn't get that many good ones. Thank god for digital cameras and bribes. I must have told the kids at least 10 times that they would get a treat if they just let us take 1 more picture. Of course it wasn't enough to just get the kids so we ended up taking family, sibling, cousin, and every-other-pair-we-could-think-of picture.

Summer Olympics

On Thursday we had a Family Summer Olympics at the cabin. There were about 20 of us competing in events like kayak race, paddle board race, balloon launch and balloon toss. It was quite competitive and super fun. It was a close race but the team with our family and my dad and Kathy won. Afterwards we all went out to eat for what was supposed to be an all you can eat ribs dinner, but apparently there was some confusion and the supper club didn't realize that our 5:30 reservation for 25 people was because we wanted to eat the ribs! Oh well, it turned out great and then we all went to my sister's for a trio of desserts afterwards.