Doodlebug Day!

Finn got to visit Koen's school for a special event...Doodlebug Day!

Some call them:
Pill bugs
Sow bugs
Rolly-pollies
And the name I'm familiar with...potato bugs!

Whatever their name, Finn got to bring one home...with the understanding that he MUST release it to the environment within two days (school rules).

Glass straws!

One step closer to reducing our family's carbon footprint.

I love these!

Ice is COOL!

The boys are totally fascinated with ice right now. They found these big blocks in the water dish outside yesterday, and spent the next hour playing with them.

When their fingers had turned into icicles, they brought some small ice pieces inside and put them on the counter. Later, they went into happy hysterics after returning to find that one piece had transformed into a puddle.

The next half hour was spent staring at the remaining pieces, watching them melt....and trying to guess which one would disappear first.

Science in action!

Play date - Part 2

Seeds for the birds...

...and seeds for us!  ($15 worth of flax will take you a long way with little people.)

Then we wrapped it all up with mac 'n cheese. How fun is that?

Thanks for playing, Layna!

A long awaited play date!

These kids have been two peas in a pod at daycare for a year and a half. But since we switched Finn's daycare three weeks ago, he's been desperately missing his partner in crime....until today!

Random silliness

Decompressing after a long Friday.

"Late Childhood"

Those two words at the bottom of Koen's well child exam record made me take pause and quite honestly catch my breath. How could my sweet baby be in Late Childhood?  Really? This makes me want to quit my job tomorrow and spend every waking minute with these little munchkins....wait, I feel like that all the time.  :|

Koen had an impromptu annual check-up yesterday with the pediatrician.

It was sort of an ambush, since he and I only popped in for copies of records before going to the bank. But when the doctor offers to squeeze you in within the next 30 seconds, how can you refuse. I'm pretty sure I watched all of the blood drain from Koen's face as he listened to our conversation.

But alas, there was no 'pinch' to be had (also known as a shot), so he regained color quickly and was a great sport.

Quick facts:

Age: 6 yrs, 2 months, 1 day

Weight: 51 lbs.  (85%)

Height: 48.5 in.  (95%  Tall kid!)

No joke, when the doc asked Koen a few questions about his favorite foods to eat, he made his mama beam with pride.  :)

Fruit:  Raspberries

Vegetable:  Broccoli

All time favorite food:  Oatmeal

And during our spontaneous appointment, I couldn't help but look around the room at the familiar frog murals, frog clocks, frog books and stuffed frogs and remember. Six years, 2 months, and 2 days ago, I sat, 9 months pregnant, in that very chair, in that same frog room...interviewing Dr. Carol to see if she was 'The One'. Turns out, she was.

It was Halloween, and I went into labor that very night.

First Loose Tooth....and other randomness

Koen has discovered his very first loose tooth! It also happens to be the first tooth he cut as a baby. 


Sniffle, sniffle.   :( 

Baby boy is growing up...make it stop! 


Well, I may be a little sad, but Koen is ecstatic! When he first realized something was different, he was eating dinner. After a few bites, he suddenly stopped and said, "Mom! Is my tooth wrong?" Then he stuck his bottom jaw out for me to inspect. 


His eyes were wide, a look I'm accustomed to just prior to a minor panic attack. He jumped out of his chair, ran to the bathroom to look in the mirror. I continued to clear dishes, calmly waiting for the flood gate of tears to open up. 


But to my surprise, I heard giggles and squeals from the bathroom. He was super excited about his new discovery. Then he started talking a mile-a-minute, giving me the play-by-play of each moment since he first felt something strange in his mouth after soccer practice (apparently he refrained from saying anything to me at that time). When he stopped talking finally to take a breath, he paused and then said quickly, "I wanna call Dad!"  (Clay is currently in Utah for his high school reunion).


Anyway, here we are, the beginning of another new phase. I guess I had better figure out the whole tooth fairy thing. 


 Hmmmm....

 

One, two, three...Look at ME!

Look at this sweet guy....don't you just want to snuggle him?  This was Finn, exactly three years ago.  How fast those three years have gone!

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Now, this is that same sweet guy, upon discovering his brand new...very own...big boy scooter!!  The single most exciting way to begin your birthday celebrations.  We had pre-festivities on the Sunday prior to his real birthday, so that we could all enjoy the day with our big boy. 

Here are two of the best-est brothers EVER!  Koen picked out a cool, blue, recycled Frisbee to give to Finn for his birthday.  Finn loved it.  The moment was very touching.

No birthday is complete without the 'Special Plate' and an age pancake!  He chose a full breakfast of blueberry pancakes, bacon, orange juice and strawberries.

We took off right after breakfast for some exploring at the Seattle Aquarium.  The kids wanted to stop at the nearby fountain and throw in a penny for a wish.  This is their newest discovery, and now we can't pass by a fountain without losing some change along the way.

We had a wonderful time at the aquarium, so many fish to see and touch! 

Clay and I noticed that Koen and Finn were the only two kids sitting patiently and quietly during the tank diver presentation.  I don't know exactly why...this is just what they do.  Of course, they also have a staring problem, so maybe that is part of it.

Baby salmon (fry).  

All of this activity wore the big boy out, so we headed home for a nap afterward.  When Finn woke up from his nap, he emerged from his bedroom and saw the front room still bright and full with decorations.  He looked at me and said with pure joy, "Mom!  It's still my birthday!"  You've got that right, little man.




Later that day, we headed to the playground for some serious scooter try-outs.  Finn was in total bliss.  He knew this was HIS day.

Here he was demonstrating his new 'big boy' skills on the climbing structure.  STRETCH!

  

A slide.  This is by far, Finn's favorite piece of playground equipment.

And now, on to his REAL birthday.  That morning I snuck into the kids bedroom at the crack of dawn before leaving for work.  Finn was sleeping peacefully.  I knelt down next to his bed, held his tiny hand, and caressed his hair.  I leaned in for a kiss, and whispered, 'Happy Birthday, sweet boy!"  To my surprise, he smiled in his sleep and said, 'Yeah, it's my birthday!'  How precious is that?


Later, I baked some lovely 'spider web' cupcakes (per the birthday boy's request).

We took them to Ms. Leah's daycare to have a little party with his friends there.  We shared snacks, handed out balloons, and opened a cool present from the kids and teachers...a shark truck!

This day is huge for Finn, because he finally graduated from the baby and toddler room at daycare and now gets to join the big kids in the Star room where they have an official preschool curriculum.  He was beside himself with joy!  He LOVES the big kids in the Star room (especially his brother).

That night we had Shandy join us for homemade macaroni and cheese, and roasted vegetables (another one of Finn's favorite meals).  Trust me, Shandy was there....she took this picture!  :)

And of course, we wrapped up the day with a trip to Molly Moons!  Everybody say 'Ice Cream'!  Finn's chocolate cone only dropped on the floor once.

Happy Birthday, precious boy.  We love you to the moon and back!

Some quick facts about our 3 year old:

*Finn says:  'real kick' for real quick, and when he wants to pull out his sugary sweet persuasion card, he bats his eyelashes at me and asks, 'Just for minute, mom?  Yeah?' when he wants to do a certain activity a little bit longer.

*His favorite thing at night, is to have his tummy rubbed while he settles down to sleep.  Not his back, his tummy.  And if your hand stops moving even for an instant, he grabs it and pushes it around on his tummy for you to give a not-so-subtle hint to keep going!

*And when it comes to the Velcro straps on his light-up shoes?  They must be criss-crossed.  It's only the cool thing to do. 

Adieu, Goldie Locks!

This day has come...those luscious long locks are now long gone.  But hair or no hair, he's still our beautiful Finnie with the best faces in town!  And now that the deed is done, we're all quite surprised at how much his new 'do' has already grown on us!  Hard to believe we waited so long, really.

Behold the many faces of Finnie, and the transformation process...

His rockstar days are over (or at least on hold).
I spared you the full length of this photo...the shirt was the only article of clothing he had on.
Like I said...ROCKSTAR!  :)

See that rat's nest?  Yep, a comb's worst enemy.

Uh-oh, is this a bad sign?  Will there be tears?

Nope!  Instant 'Big-Boy' with smiles.  He loves it!
 

And we're happy to report...the curls remain!  

  

Cinco!

Where the heck did five years go!  I'm really not kidding.  How did this beautiful face.....

...turn into this beautiful face seemingly over night?

And I knew that turning five would be a momentous event, but Koen really took his excitement to the next level.  For the past week, everything that he's done has somehow been tied to his new age.  He truly believes that he grew noticeably bigger overnight, and that his abilities to do things like jumping higher, and running faster also improved overnight.

I also love what Finn has been telling him all week, "Koen....you're OLD!"  Koen will usually respond with, "No Finn, I'm five.  Next year I'll be six."  Then Finn says, "No, Koen...you're OLD!"  It's this whole back-and-forth routine that they've started.  Pretty funny.

We gave Koen a scooter for his birthday and he instantly took to it as if it were another limb.  The kid is a natural on that thing.  I was quite surprised given his tentative approach to riding a bike.  Koen has zero fear about the scooter, and can hardly hide his giant smile as he rides it around.  Perfect gift!


This is Koen first thing in the morning as he discovers his new scooter sitting on the table.  :)  Pure joy!

 No birthday is complete without the 'Special Plate'

A candle in a blueberry sourdough pancake shaped like a five.  Yummy!!

The Darth lunch box doubles as a mask and went with him to school that very day....

and every day since Nov. 1st

I took the kids to the park to play and ride bikes and scooters.  The nice weather inspired me to also take a few 'birthday photos'.

Cute Finnie and his pink, flowered helmet.  He loves that thing.

Shhh....don't tell Oski that his birthday was two days later.  

He turned 8... but he didn't get a scooter.  :(

We celebrated with his class at school, taking cupcakes to share.  All the kids got to make birthday wishes for Koen.  Every last wish had a Star Wars theme.  Hmmmm....I think they know Koen pretty well there.

For his birthday dinner that night, Koen chose to go out for Pho.  I was happy with his decision...so was he!

Then we wrapped up a perfect day with Theo Chocolate from Molly Moons.  Heavenly!

Happy Birthday, kiddo!  We love you more than you'll ever know!  

11.1.11