Microphone fun....

We've been playing with Kate's microphone set-up all day....honestly, I'm pretty sure Ryan likes it as much as the kids.  While I write this, the kids are taking turns doing tricks while Ryan talks into the microphone like a WWF wrestling announcer--he's dubbed Will "Will the Thrill" which sounds quite good when said in his fake deep announcer voice.  Here's some videos of the kids.  They get super serious when trying to sing with songs because they're concentrating so hard on finding the words they know.  And Kate is going to need a wireless mic, apparently, because she feels limited "since I can't dance enough with it attached."  

Early Christmas!

We've finally had enough snow to build a snowman (Ryan gets all the credit for this effort!)

Since Grandma Connie and Grandpa Bill are leaving for Christmas, we had an early Christmas this morning.  The kids have been enjoying their new gifts all day--thanks Grandma and Grandpa!!

Kate's first dance recital

In my opinion, spending a Saturday night watching Kate and a whole bunch of other kids do hip hop (and ballet and jazz and....) is time well spent.  Kate did great--no stage fright or anything.  Her class got some big cheers since they are such tiny people attempting to do hip hop.  Their teacher is an amazing woman--luckily, she danced on stage with them but how she gets kids this age to perform is pretty much a miracle in my opinion.  After Kate performed, we watched the rest of the kids (LOTS of them!) and I think Kate loved that she recognized so many of them.  It was a pretty packed house and it was really nice to be around so many friends supporting something in our community.  Well done, Kate!

Kate striking a hip hop pose pre-performance

Oh yes, they're looking tough!

It's really hard to see since it was hard to get video in the dark but, as you look at it, Kate's on the far left.  You can tell from the laughs and cheers that they were doing a great job (although they probably would have got the same love just standing there since they were all so cute!)

It snowed before and during the performance and, when Ryan left with Will at intermission, Will apparently got very excited about the snow.  When they got home, Will refused to come inside and was still outside "shoveling snow" when Kate, Grandma Connie and I got home after 8 o'clock!  They both woke up this morning asking to "ski and sled right now!!"

Add it to the list....

....of things that will one day embarrass Will (AKA "the perils of having an older sister").  Will is walking around, putting around chapstick and just came up to me to ask, "Mommy, how do I look?  Like a princess?"  Oh, buddy.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Happy birthday to the best daddy (and husband) around!!  The kids and I are now eagerly waiting for him to arrive home from work so we can have the "cake" this kids chose (doughnuts, which, honestly, he'll probably like way better than cake!)  And, thanks to Grandma Connie, Ryan and I get to go celebrate on Saturday night and stay the night in Bend.  Can't wait!!

Our rock chick!

Any guesses what the teenage years hold for us?  Yesterday, Kate got temporary tattoos all the up both arms (something she asks for frequently).  And, this morning, she wanted her "rock" shirt because "it looks so good with tattoos."  I wouldn't be at all surprised if she joins a band someday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our wonderful, amazing friends and family!  We're just back from a great time (and great food, of course) at Grandma Connie and Grandpa Bill's.  Apparently, our kids are still young and cute enough that all we are asked to bring is "the kids" so thanks to everyone else for doing ALL the work!! We all have many and much to be thankful for--too much to mention, in fact.  I did ask Will what he was thankful for and, although he has no idea what that means, he answered, "my tiger costume, Tucker (his best friend) and dreams about riding my bike."  A pretty good answer, I thought!!  Kate is now thankful for "all girls and maybe Cooper and Charlie" which is, maybe, a step up from last year's answer of "Metallica."  Cheers to another great year!

Firsts!

A couple of "firsts" this past weekend--the first snow of the season and our first family bike ride!  We only got about an inch of snow, but it was enough to drag the sled out and we could already tell that this winter will be much more fun than last.  Will's old enough now to enjoy the snow, rather than just waddle around like the Michelin man having now idea why he's supposed to having fun.  And Kate, despite being unwilling to look at the camera in these photos, is even more excited about sledding and skiing this year, and is already telling Ryan which lifts she wants to go on first when the mountain opens (based on name/color of the lift rather than any actual ability....)  The snow mostly melted in a day, so on Monday we took our first family bike ride!  It was not long, mind you, but it was the first time that we were all on bikes at the same time and didn't have to worry too much about any of us falling, lagging behind, etc.  It's shades of things to come and makes me excited that our kids are growing up!

My favorite Kate moment. EVER.

Kate regularly makes me laugh but today was the topper in her first four years.  Unfortunately, I have no video of it but I'll try to give you the visual....I doubt I will ever forget it.  So, Kate is in a class called "hip hop for tots" mainly because the thought of watching a bunch of under-5 white kids learn hip hop was too good to pass up.  Plus, the dance studio is in Sisters and run by a fantastic lady and, in my book, if someone is willing to attempt teaching toddlers to get down, you support it wholeheartedly.  It is generally hysterical but today it was downright amazing.  Lonnie, the teacher, had them all in a circle and was calling them in one by one to "freestyle" in the middle.  I thought there was NO WAY Kate would want to do that but, when called in, she got down on her hands and knees and started kicking her legs up in some handstand/cartwheel combo.  She followed this up by lying on her back and trying to spin around.  For a "finale," she got up and put her hands on her hips and shook her tush while dipping all the way to the ground.  This whole scene made me oddly proud and definitely made every bit of the $45/month tuition worth it.  If you're in need of a laugh, visit us on a Wednesday afternoon!

Better late than never...

Yet again, the norm now, it seems, the past week flew by with little time to breathe, let alone update life here.   I continue to be amazed that two small people can make life soooo busy, but they do and I'm working on living in the moment with them rather than worrying about documenting it (I'll probably wish I documented more later but I'm hoping that I'll remember all the extra hugs I gave when I wasn't behind the camera!) Anyway, the kids LOVED Halloween and Kate did indeed change costumes for the parade after school (and she changed costumes AGAIN after the parade to go trick or treating so she got full value out of this holiday).  The parade was the most fun one yet since both kids were old enough to participate.  The parade is all the things I love about living in a small town--every shop decorates for the kids and all the shop owners come out to pass candy to the kids.  Every little kid in town is there and it's all about them having fun--highway traffic even happily stops to watch them parade.  We've never gone trick or treating in the evening before, but we decided to go with some friends this year and it was worth it.  The kids ran to every house (we only went to about 5) and were amazed every time that saying "trick or treat" worked.  It was a full, fun day and, luckily, the kids have totally forgotten about the mounds of candy they received!  As for the past week, we've spent nearly all of it outside because it's been so warm and un-November like.  Yesterday, we all wore shorts and flip flops and it was in the 70s!  We've got one more day to enjoy it, though, because it's supposed to cool down and snow on Friday.  That's Central Oregon for you!

Happy Halloween!

The great thing about Halloween being on a school day is that Kate gets to wear TWO costumes (one for school & one for the Halloween parade this afternoon).  So, costume #1 is SuperGirl....more to come....

More bikes!

Look at Kate go!

Ryan put pedals on Kate's bike today and she took off!  Quite a milestone!

Port Angeles!

Kate had no school Wednesday or Friday last week, so I took the opportunity to take the kids for a visit to Port Angeles.  We've been out of town a lot this month, so I was NOT, not looking forward to the drive but it went much better than expected (saved only by staying at Grandpa Mac's either way so as to avoid the full 8-9 hours in one day....)  I'm really, really glad we went because it was a great adventure for the kids (a hotel!) and it was incredibly nice to see friends that I miss quite a lot.  The kids did love visiting everyone even though they can't remember them (except for Kate's friend Kevin whom she always refers to as "my first friend"), but I think they loved staying in the hotel the most.  They spent a good half hour just opening and closing the mini-refrigerator, shrieking "it's a KIDS refridgerator!!"  Thankfully, it's definitely not tourist season on the Peninsula so I don't think anyone occupied the rooms next to us.  They also got to take their first trip to McDonald's, primarily because it was one with a playground and they needed to run after such a long car ride (it was raining outside...)  They loved the playground, of course, and Kate, who never wants to eat anything, claimed she "was going to only eat chicken nuggets from now on."  Oh boy.  Luckily, she seems to have forgotten about this and neither kid seemed to notice that there was a McDonald's about every 20 feet on the drive back.  As for Port Angeles, it was pretty much as we left it, which was kind of comforting.  On Sunday morning, we woke up to sunshine and the first snow on the Olympics, so we took a nice walk on the Discovery Trail where Ryan and I spent many hours running with Kate in the stroller.  It brought back great memories--I'd forgotten that, when it's nice on the Peninsula, there isn't much prettier.  I'm sure we'll be back!

Kate's best quote of the day...

Kate: "Mommy, I'm pretty much at the point that I know I should eat carrots."

Me: "That's great!"

Kate: "That's not enough to make me do it though.  I still hate them."

Ready or not, here comes autumn!

The first major rain of the season came today--not so exciting for me, but good for the kids who've been waiting to try out their umbrellas!

Will, not so sure about the rain, remarked, "but, mommy, everything is wet!"  I honestly don't think he remembers ever seeing rain before.  Get ready!

Mommy & daddy go to Napa....

Yes, you read that right: Ryan and I went to Napa.  By ourselves!  As much as we love Kate & Will, it was the first time we've been away without them since Ryan's birthday last December.  Maybe because it was an overdue trip (and maybe just because it was a trip at all....), we enjoyed every single second of our time without kids.  Especially because we knew they were having such fun in Yreka--I don't think they missed us at all.  While Ryan and I were enjoying the warm, sunny Calistoga weather (mostly by bike, cycling lazily from vineyard to vineyard), Kate and Will were enjoying Grandma Star and Grandpa Bobby's house.  We are so thankful for the vacation--we appreciate it, Bob & Star!  Do you mind if we do it again next month?? :)

Learning how to duck call....not sure they got it down but Will remarked, "it's so funny!  It sounds like a toot!"  He is a boy, after all.

Different town, same round the clock bike riding!

What happens when your kids get hold of the camera....

Balance bikes=AMAZING

We got Will a balance bike for his birthday and, of course, as soon as Kate saw it she wanted to try it, too.  So, even though she will be riding her princess bike for many years to come, we ended up borrowing a small bike with the pedals removed so both kids can now work on balancing.  I must say all the hype about these bikes seems to be true--every kid I know who's used one has gone right to a two-wheel bike without ever needing training wheels.  Whatever the end result, for now, riding these bikes is what Kate and Will do whenever they're not eating or sleeping (this is an exaggeration but only very slightly--they ride ALL THE TIME).  It's so fun because Will can keep up now, so we can go on longer rides that are actually fun (rather than the agonizing rides we're used to where Kate is way ahead and will is way, way behind!)  Here's to more months of sunshine, or at least no snow, so these kids can keep riding along!

Look at the intensity in his face!

Evidence that lady bugs can indeed ride bikes!

Punky Kate

The day's selection: tutu/leotard, polka dot tights, leg warmers warn as arm warmers and pink Converse.  I am sometimes quite sure that Kate is an 80s child at heart!

Kate, in a nutshell

Kate has her first go at "show and tell" at school this Friday.  She has been debating what to bring, and has narrowed it down to two things: a unicorn and her Metallica CD.  I just have to laugh because those two choices pretty much sum up her personality--girly with a little extra spice. :)

Conversations you only have with four-year-olds....

...of these, there are many.  Here is today's best (which occurred while I was pedaling the kids around in the bike trailer):

Kate: "Mommy, when Will and I were in your belly, how did we come out?"
Me: "Well, I had to have an operation and the doctor got you out."
Kate: "Hmmm"
Kate: (a minute later) "When I have a baby, I'm not going to do it that way.  The way I'm going to do it is there's going to be a straw sticking out of belly button and it's just going to suck that baby right out."

Thanks, Maryl!

Your gift has provided lots of entertainment for them....and relative quiet for me (THANK YOU!!)

Will's buzzed!

I tried to get a good smiley photo, but any time Will sees a camera now, he says, "mommy, I make a silly face!"  Thus, the photo below...

Maybe it's a boy thing, but Will's hair grows SOOO fast.  People always ask me if he's had a a haircut yet, and he's already had more haircuts than I can count.  I originally tried to cut it myself with scissors but that was a giant fail on my part--totally crooked so I was actually glad that grew out quick.  I've been taking him to get it cut by a professional, which he likes and she does a great job but it grows out so fast, I'd have to take him every couple of weeks to really stay on top of it.  After yet another morning of insane, uncontrollable bedhead, I broke down this week and asked Ryan to pick up some clippers on his way home.  A friend of mine who is clipper-savvy came over yesterday and helped me buzz him.  Now, he looks a couple years older but I took these photos right after he woke up this morning and NO BEDHEAD!  Hooray!  Grandpa Bobby, do you remember having a cut like this?  :)

Truck extravaganza!

It's been well documented here that both Kate and Will spend a lot of time pretending to be/dressing as princesses.  Kate loves herself some sparkles, for sure, but, this weekend, she got to bring out her inner truck driver.  I know it's still in her--after all, this is the same girl that wanted a customized Bobcat.  And while Will definitely follows Kate's lead when it comes to princess-y stuff, he does sleep on truck sheets and knows exactly where the "truck book" section of the library is.  All this means that both kids were in truck and dirt heaven this weekend when we went to a fundraiser that is all trucks and dirt.  Literally.  That is all--just a bunch of trucks with open door, inviting curious kids to climb in and honk horns and a big ol' pile of dirt, inviting kids (well, if they're mine) to dig, roll and COVER themselves.  I have to admit that, as a fundraiser, this was brilliance.  I mean, how much easier could it be set up and how much more fool-proof?  Advertise trucks and dirt and kids will come.  A lot of kids.  It doesn't show up in the photos, but Kate and Will were completely covered in dirt.  I'm not exactly sure what Kate was doing to achieve it, but her scalp was even coated in dirt.  Will was nearly speechless when he saw that he could actually get in all the trucks and machines.  We did them all, again and again.  Overall, it was good, dirty fun--and good to see that my "girly" girl (and, sometimes, boy) are not always so sparkly!