First cold

Poor baby.  Lainey won't let him play with anything, not even his own toys.  And if that wasn't enough, he got his first cold (probably from his adoring sister) and is just miserable.

Handful

As if potty training wasn't enough to keep me busy, this one figured out how to climb up the slide of the climber.  Any bets on when he'll walk? My guess is by Halloween but that is looking pretty conservative.

Why I love neighborhood watch

This morning, my neighbor, upon seeing my open garage door, sent me a text informing me that there was a manhunt going on and asked if I knew my garage door was open.  I was aware the garage door was open but not that there was a fugitive loose in the area.  Without our neighborhood watch call tree, that has all participating residents' contact info, we wouldn't be able to notify a neighbor when they accidentally leave their garage door open, which happens on occasion.  If you don't have a watch set up in your neighborhood, I highly recommend getting one started. I like knowing someone is looking out for me and am happy to keep a lookout for my neighbors. 

Lockdown over at Lynnwood school

11:03 AM PDT on Thursday, September 24, 2009

KING5.com

KING

LYNNWOOD, Wash. -Hilltop Elementary School in Lynnwood was under a precautionary lockdown this morning as authorities searched for a suspect in the area.

The lockdown has since ended.

The Snohomish County Sheriff said the lockdown was a precaution only. The incident started after a collision on I-405. A car was stolen and the suspect took off about a quarter of a mile away from the school, according to authorities.

Washington State patrol canines were aiding the search. Police said they had no reason to believe the suspect was dangerous.

She did it!

Lainey went to school today wearing panties and came home wearing the same pair!!   After I nagged her repeatedly, she told her teacher when she needed to use the potty but had an accident at the very end, when the class was playing outside.  I can't fault her for having an accident outside. The play area is just too fun and too distracting for a 2 1/2 year old to remember to go potty inside.  I fully expect there to be accidents and for her to be wearing pull-ups at night for quite some time.  However, I am declaring victory for my girl!!

Vegas Baby

We just got back from 4 days in Las Vegas. It's the one place we go that I spend less money than Robert. I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was for me to relax. I think it has something to do with my not bringing my dslr. I only brought my P&S and took just 4 photos. FOUR!! That has to be a record low for me! To be honest, I did snap a couple pics with my friends' Nikons but not more than a handful. It was a fun trip. We got massages, hung out with former MN Twin Matt Lawton, parked my butt on a pool chair for a full 8 hours and got completely engrossed in my book, shared some good food and laughs with great friends and Robert acquired the new nickname Rusty, which you'll have to ask him about. I came home relaxed and ready to see my babies.

Never a dull moment

I think potty training is wearing her out as well. She insisted on wearing sunglasses most of the day even though we were in the house the entire time.  

She thinks she's soooo sneaky! 

No idea how he got himself in the toy box.   

Seahawks

This was my view for much of the game. Not good. These guys plopped themselves down in a couple of empty seats in front of us.  The guy on the left proceeded to wave his arms around like drunk monkey, successfully blocking the view of not only me, but the two people sitting next to me.  There should be fan penalties.

Hawks first home game--a shutout of the Rams! It doesn't get much better than that! I'm so excited for the season. I absolutely love going to the games and get goosebumps from the minute they start singing anthem, through the raising of the 12th Man Flag and finally when the team is announced.  LOVE it!!! GO HAWKS!

Christmas in September

Robert called me the other day and said someone offered him a kids slide and wanted to know if we wanted it for the playroom. I said yes, thinking it would be something to keep the kids busy this winter.  He brought it home tonight and it turns out, it's not just a slide but an entire climber!  While Daddy was putting it together Lainey was very impatient and kept asking him if he needed help. Once it was put together, we couldn't keep her off of it.  She was so excited and must have went down the slide every possible way at least 20 times.  In hindsight, this probably wasn't such a good thing to unveil right before bedtime.  She was not at all excited about going to bed.  Oh well....it was worth it.  I'm pretty sure this was one of Lainey's favorite days ever. 

Beau decided he is ready to stand on his own today as well.  He was so proud of himself and was even laughing at me while he did it.  

Notes on Lainey's 2nd day of preschool

Today was my first time taking Lainey to school alone.  It's a whole different ball of wax when I'm the only adult.  Lainey was very excited to go to school, counting fire hydrants along the way.  We were the first ones there this morning. She immediately went to the play kitchen and tried to feed me a sandwich and a pineapple.  I told her I loved her, got a kiss, hug and a promise to be a good listener and left.  She said, "Bye Mama" over her shoulder and didn't miss me a bit.  On the way out, I cried. Shouldn't she miss me just a little?  About an hour later I got a call from her teacher.  THE call. She pooped her pants and needed to be changed.  I got there as fast as I could and discovered the most disgusting diaper I have encountered in 2 1/2 years as a mom.  The potty training is getting kicked into high gear!  After we put on a different shirt, I sent her back to class and when it was all over, she didn't want to leave.  I think she's going to like school.  If she doesn't get kicked out for having stinky pants every day that is.

We've got our first homework assignment, a family art project and I'm so excited to do it with her and Robert.

End of an era

Today I traded in the infant car seat for a convertible car seat for Beau.  Babies R Us is having a trade in event where you bring in your old one and get 20% off a new one.  Even though I've gotten rid of other things they have outgrown, it made me a little sad to see it go.  The cashier asked if I was turning in a "clunker" and I replied, a touch offended, "Oh it's not a clunker, it has served my family well."  That little red car seat brought my babies home.  After doing what seemed like endless research, it was one of the first purchases we made, along with the red stroller.  I believe we bought it even before we knew Lainey was a girl.  It sat on the living room floor just waiting for its first occupant.  Cooper frequently sniffed at it and even climbed in it once, thinking it was his.  The excitement I felt carrying it into the hospital and putting Lainey and Beau in it for the walk out of the hospital is indescribable.  I'll never forget looking in the backseat on March 5th 2007, and saying to Robert, "There's a PERSON in the backseat!"  Then on January 26, 2009, on the mad dash to eastern Washington thinking to myself, "My son will be sitting back there very soon. I'm going to be a mother of TWO. Holy cow!"  Most importantly, that car seat kept my babies safe and warm for the first 6 or 7 months of their lives and it will always have a special place in my heart.

I'm really not sure why this particular thing has gotten under my skin.  As an adoptive mother I didn't get the "nesting" urge in the traditional sense.  Every purchase or plan I made always had a sense of "if all goes well..." feeling to it. There was always uncertainty and we were (and are) extremely fortunate that everything went well with both of our adoptions. However, the feeling that it might all fall apart and we could come home with an empty car seat was like a dark cloud hanging over me.  So to purchase something like a car seat was a huge leap of faith for me.  Unbeknownst to me, I apparently became quite attached to that car seat.  I guess I learned something about myself today--always a good thing in my book.  I am excited for Beau to try out his new car seat and for everything the future holds for us.  I don't have an urge to have another baby but I will miss being able to just lift that car seat out and put it in the stroller when he's asleep in the backseat.  

1st day of preschool

Lainey's first day of preschool was yesterday.  It went pretty well. She cried and kept trying to leave for the first 20 minutes but eventually settled herself onto the teacher's lap and did well the rest of the day.  She is a total Daddy's girl these days and kept asking for him.  Their relationship is so sweet and fun to watch. 

My sweet baby girl. Growing up way too fast.  She said she wanted to go to school this morning so it must have been fun!

. 

This was the view when I peeked in the window shortly before we left to get coffee and run some errands. 

We celebrated a successful first day with lunch at Claim Jumper.  This was moments before she poked me in the eye with a straw. I spent the rest of the day at the walk in clinic and was told I had a scratched cornea. 

El Nino

Rumor has it this is an El Nino year and that Seattle is in for a very wet winter. So what does a girl do when faced with such a prediction? Why go shopping for rain boots and try them out on the first puddle she finds of course!

I love that I can see her reflection in the water.

Sunglasses AND rain boots? That doesn't happen very often!

And lastly, a shot of the blue skies from today.

In Seattle one never knows when you'll see it again.

For the first time since I've lived here, I'm not dreading winter.

We had one heckuva summer!

The rain has begun

Today is supposed to be the wettest day Seattle has had since May. Looks like we'll be having fun indoors this holiday weekend. Beau won't mind--he crawled up ALL the stairs in the house last night and hit them again first thing this morning. Lainey and Daddy always have fun whether it's outside or inside so no worries there either. Now, what will Mommy do?

2.5

Our little girl is exactly 2 1/2 today!

Dear Laineybug,

You are growing up so fast. Next week you will start preschool and although I think you're going to love it, it feels like it's too soon to be letting you go. I used to see the baby when I looked at you but those days are fewer now but once in awhile I see it. You will always be my baby no matter how old you get. You constantly surprise us with your ever expanding vocabulary, sweetness and joy. Every morning you wake up with a smile and have hugs and kisses to pass out to anyone within reach. You are sunshine on a cloudy day baby girl and I love getting my share of "Lainey Love." You astound us with your eating habits. You are a very good eater and at the moment love steak, applesauce, hamburgers, cheese sticks, spaghetti, chicken, corn on the cob, watermelon, strawberries, edamame, peaches (including singing the song by Presidents of the United States), peas, blueberries, raspberries and have even asked and eaten SUSHI!!! Your absolute favorite thing to eat however is "birthday cake" which to you, is a cupcake.

Other favorites these days: all things Sesame Street, Silly Songs and any other music you can sing along to, almost daily viewings of Milo & Otis and Homeward Bound, calling Daddy at work, playing with your friends, going outside, finding and holding worms, looking for spider webs and spiders, harvesting the tomatoes and strawberries from the plants in the backyard, playing with Aunt Nan and memorizing and singing songs such as: You Are My Sunshine, Jesus Loves, ABCs, Peaches, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Itsy Bitsy Spider and the entire Sesame Street and Silly Song cds.

I love you always always always Bug! Happy Smurf Day!

Love, Momma