Seashells by the Seashore

Vincent started our day off by saying, "What in the world is this?", referring to two water shooters he saw in a bag in our room.

This morning, the boys and I headed down south to visit Stanley and Halina. Halina had a wonderful idea to take the boys down to Dash Point to play in the sand by the beach.

First, we had a little picnic. It's totally normal for kids to sit and eat a snack, but at one point, it dawned on me how well they were sitting there, enjoying themselves and chatting with me and Halina.

After the snack, they played in the playground a little, and then we walked along the beach looking for seashells. The kids got really into it, and we came home with a nice big handful of shells. On our way out, we even saw a seastar and sand dollar (both dead). Vincent's favorite find of the day was the barnacle shell.

Both boys fell asleep in the car on our way home. I was able to get Tyler into his bed to continue sleeping. Vincent and I went to the backyard to place the shells in the garden. We talked about the clam with a whole in it and the baby moonsnail shell I found. I explained to him how that whole came from a moonsnail, and should him what their shell looked like. It was a really sweet moment we had together.

After dinner, we went in the yard and David took up the canopy of the large tree. The boys took a couple of small branches and had a flower parade. The tree is in full bloom and smells so good.

And, finally, after we got the kids to bed, David and I went out on the deck to have a glass of wine and catch up on our day. Vincent came downstairs and said, "Daddy, I'm farting a lot up there. I think it's because I need to go poop." 

Goodbye Hillard Family

I have been a part of a group of moms who all speak Mandarin since Vincent was about 9 months old. I started the group because I thought we could have playdates in Mandarin so the children can learn to speak. That goal didn't work out exactly as I imagine. Instead, we have created a close community of Chinese friends for our children. There's some Mandarin spoken when we're together, some better than others. The most valuable aspect of this group is the culture and friendships. We have celebrated Chinese New Year together for the past few years. We get together once in a while and cook Chinese food while our kids play in the background. We attend Chinese storytimes and other cultural events together. Some of our children attend Chinese school together. The group has become more than what my intended goal was, and I feel so fortunate to have these families in our life.

This week, one family will be moving out of Seattle, to New York. We had a going away party for the Hillard family: Brooke, Virany, Rowan and Newu. We're really going to miss them. There was delicious ribs that Angela made, zhong zhe that Suji made, an array of snacks, and Old School Frozen Custard. The kids ran around destroying the house. At one point, all the blankets and sheets were off of Sabriya's bed. Then, a few of them were in the bathroom with a bunch of cups, "making paint." Hmmmm. The house we were at has a treehouse in the backyard and a hammock. Those were popular. Of course, we had the only boys in the bunch, but they did great with all the gals. It was a roarin' good time.

Vincent Goes to Work

Okay, I'm not supposed to give any details about this...Shhhhh. This morning, I took Vincent out to Microsoft to do some product testing. We didn't tell him about it until this morning. David said to him that he's going to "go to work at Microsoft." As compensation, he received a gift card, and I got to pick out one software. I chose a Kinect racing game called Joyride. We have the demo at home, so I knew Vincent would be thrilled to have the full version. And, he was.

David stayed home this morning to watch Tyler and for the electrician to come set up the wiring/outlets for our new garage door. Yay! We're gonna get an automatic garage door! It's been ordered and should be here in about 3 weeks. Woohoo!

This afternoon, I took the boys to REI to let them play in the treehouse. David met us there so we could drive down to Southcenter for dinner. While at REI, we ran into two friends. One had her kids with her. Vincent sort of knows her daughter so they started running around like feral children. Tyler kept telling me, "I'm so hungry!" So, I bought an order of 6 potstickers for them to eat during the car ride to dinner.

We were meeting an old college classmate of mine, Jeff, at BJ's Restaurant. He has been up here from the Bay Area for the past month to help the restaurant out. We have been trying to find time to meet up, but it hasn't worked out. Tonight is his last night, so we drove down to have dinner there while he worked. It was great to see Jeff. I really admired him when we were in school. He's one of those people who just goes with the flow. Even when it was busier than expected tonight, he held it together really well, and stopped by to chat with us several times.

I wasn't sure if their boys would eat much dinner, since they had the potstickers in the car, but they ate. The both ordered the mini corn dogs. Vincent wanted french fries and Tyler applesauce. They both gave David one corn dog each, but then finished the rest. David and I split two mini pizzas: bbq chicken, and an alfredo chicken called "Great White." For dessert, we all split a half red velvet, half chocolate chunk Pazookie; a pizza cookie with ice cream on top.

 Tyler almost finished this whole cup of diluted chocolate milk. Look at his little puffy belly.

Vincent is amused by the Star Wars story David is telling him. I believe David is gesturing the Milenium Falcon lifting off.



Goodbye Licorous

Oh, just another typical Monday. I did a harder-than-usual workout at the gym, which isn't major, but for me, it is. I think I'll be sore tomorrow.

This evening, David and I met up for dinner at Skillet Diner in Capitol Hill. What a fun menu! I wanted so much from the menu, but also wanted dessert, so I settled on a house salad and poutine. That's a whole lot of poutine. Not my favorite in town, but it was still tasty. David had their fried chicken sammy. Wow. For dessert, we shared a banana bread pudding. It really was huge, but tasty. The caramel sauce tasted like those little Kraft caramel squares that used to come in the bulk bin at the grocery store. As gross as they may seem now, they were tasty. It's fun to get the taste of something from the past every once in a while. And, they served their drinks my favorite way: in jars!

After dinner, we drove up to Greenwood for our last dance class. I was pretty confused for most of the class, but I think David got it better than I did. We won't have time to retake the class, but we're both excited to try out classes here and there at different places around town.

We then drove back to Capitol Hill to have one last drink at Licorous. After 5 years, tonight, they will be closing, forever. It's bitter sweet, as I gather from the owners. Kelly, Michelle, John and JM put in so much love and work into that place. It's a gorgeous space. They served unique, stylish cocktails and tasty treats. In this past year, Wiley and PK joined them in the kitchen, cooking up delicious, authentic Thai food on Monday nights. And, Tuesday nights were our favorite, taco night. Just one kind, carnitas, at $1 a taco. They absolutely were the best tacos in town. Hmmmm. I have a birthday coming up. Maybe I need to find a way for John to come over and cook me some.



Mostly Hung Out

There was a lot of action for us today, even though it wasn't really busy. We mostly just hung out around the house.

The morning started with Pilsbury cinnamon rolls and scrambled eggs. Vincent ate 3 rolls, the most out of the family. After breakfast, it was already warm out, so we played in the yard. And, soon, the clothes started coming off.

Before long, it was time for me to take Vincent to a birthday party at Little Gym.

 Vincent running toward this mat to knock it down.

 Parallel bars.

 Having fun with Natasha. 

Giant cupcake he never got to eat. He was still eating his healthy snack when they started passing out the cupcakes. He had me cut his in half, and just before he was going to eat it, he went to the drinking fountain for water. When he got back, his half had been tossed out, since the party was over. Luckily, I had the other half in my hand. He wanted to wait to eat it at home, but it's still sitting, untouched, in the refrigerator, 6 hours later.

After nap/quiet time, we tried to get the boys out to a playground, but they didn't want to leave the house. Instead, they played with chalk on the sidewalk out front. Our neighbors came by with their boys to chat, and eventually, we ended up in the backyard with one of their boys. It was nice for Vincent, since Flynn is a few years older. David played a mini game of baseball with them while I finished up making dinner.

This was dinner. Pot roast, with carrots, yellow potatoes, mushrooms, and sauteed kale with garlic.

After dinner, we played in the backyard some more, then forced the kids out of the house. We tried out Red Box yesterday and had to return our movie tonight. So, to U Village we went. The (unintentional) reward for the boys was playing in the froggy fountain. When we left, Vincent said, "That was so fun! Thanks Mommy and Daddy."

Carkeek Park, Biking, and Swinging...And, The Big Seat

This morning, David took the boys out to Carkeek Park, a little north of us, and gave me a little break. That was nice. I had several small but important tasks to take care of. That included booking tickets for my dad to come out at the end of summer!

At the park, they got to see a train come by, right under their feet (they were on a bridge)! David said, "At one point, Tyler was giddy." They also ran into our friends, Molly and Suresh and their 3 boys, again. They saw them on the street a couple weeks ago. David and the boys had a picnic lunch. Vincent played with Sean and his friends. Tyler fell asleep in the car on the way home.

During nap/quiet time, David went out for a run. He's training for this Warrior Dash race that he and Tom will do in mid-July.

Before dinner, we took the boys to the schoolyard with V's bike and T's scooter. David took the training wheels of Vincent's bike, and he is starting to teach him to ride.

 

Vincent did pretty well, and was able to peddle a few times after David let go, but he also fell a couple of times. No bumps, bruises or scratches, though. Once he had enough, he got to work on the rings. He was really swinging back and forth trying to get from one ring to the next. He got about 3 rings into it, but it took a lot of effort. A couple times, he would get so close and run out of momentum and drop down.

Tyler rode over to the school on his scooter...sort of. I had to do lots of pushing.

At dinner, Tyler decided he didn't want to sit in his high chair. So, this is how he sat (he looks so little!).









Bouldering & Cars 2

Check out Tyler's breakfast this morning. It's just Eggo's, but doesn't it look yummy & pretty?

Last week, we checked out the Seattle Bouldering Project to see if it would be an activity that Vincent is interested in. It seemed like he would be, so this week, I set up a time for him to go and climb with an instructor. I wasn't really sure what that all entailed, but it was more like supervised climbing/playing. Nonetheless, Vincent enjoyed it, and showed improvement as the hour went on. Last week, he made it to the top of the castle, but couldn't get down. This week, he made it to the top of the taller wall and his reward was to go down the slide. He also made it to the top of the castle today, but needed help on the way down.

After the climbing, we headed to Factoria to Cars 2! Yeay, it is opening day, and we were catching the first showing of the day! Vincent was super excited, and loved the movie. I thought it was pretty clever and had awesome animation, but disappointed at the complex plot (for Vincent, of course!), and that they talked a lot about killing and wanting Lightning McQueen dead. That's a lot to have to explain to a 4.5 year old.

At the last minute this evening, we had friends over for dinner. It was great! Vincent had been asking to play with his friend, Serenna for a while now, so I was happy that she and her mom were able to come join us.



Twirl Cafe

I recently purchased a Living Social deal for a punch card to Twirl Cafe in Queen Anne. It's basically sort of like a business I've thought would be neat for us (me) to open up and run. It would allow me to have the kids around while I worked...in a perfect world, of course. The place was alright. Not as big as I had hoped it would be, but the boys enjoyed it. I was worried they wouldn't because there were several babies inside, and they'd be the big kids. And, many of the toys were for younger kids and babies. But, like I said, they enjoyed it. After a while, a few older kids showed up, including one boy who's bigger than Vincent. They hit it off. They also enjoyed playing in the tree house.

Tonight, we had dinner guests, friends from Seattle Central. They have two little girls, one Tyler's age (Sylvie) and a 4 month old. Sylvie actually mostly played with Vincent. Poor Tyler. He didn't seem to mind, though. Vincent and Sylvie played upstairs. I gave them a specific rule about not going into the bathroom unless it was to use the potty. Of course, that's what they did. Sylvie's not yet potty trained, but at one point, Christine went upstairs to check on them and found them in the bathroom. Sylvie's pants and diaper were off and she was sitting on the toilet. Vincent seemed to be coaching her. It was quite funny.

At the dinner table, Vincent said, "Sylvie, I love you." Then, he asked her, "Do you love me a little bit?" "Yeah," she said.

Ooh and dinner tonight was homemade pizza. I think this was my best batch, yet!

4 1/2 Years Old

Vincent's 4.5 years old today! Let's see, at this age, what's Vincent up to? Well, he's still quite the chatterbox, so let's start with some of the things he says.

"...for sure."
"Okay, here's the deal..."
"Everybody!..."
In referring to yesterday or a day in the past, he says, "last day."
In referring to tomorrow or a day in the future, he says, "next day."
When Tyler is crowding him, he'll say, "Give me some space. I need some space!"
"I smell something weally stinkly."

Some likes:
-doing art
-Angry Birds
-salad
-Legos
-soccer
-Tball
-playdates
-television
-playing in the sandbox
-and most recently, he's into climbing
-listening to music & singing
-books
-writing his name
-stuffed animals
-telling people what to do
-playing games, especially pretend play

Some dislikes:
-getting dirty
-avocados
-listening to his parents
-going to sleep

Today, we went to the gym. Afterwards, we had lunch at Tutta Bella for pizza with our friends, Andrea and Eva. At home, Vincent had some quiet time, but before that, I read him a new book, "The Monkey King." Although I regret buying this book, he does seem to find it entertaining. It triggers MANY questions. After quiet time was T-ball practice. Before practice began, Vincent climbed on a tree at the playground. After t-ball, he yelled at me because he was hungry and wanted to eat right then and there. I had no food for him and said we were going home for dinner, but he continued to be angry with me. By the time we were halfway home, he calmed down and was nice again. Dinner was made by Daddy: quinoa with kale, corn and black beans. Yum! And, the boys did pretty well eating it. We all had a cookie for dessert. The boys got a treat and watched some television before bedtime. Vincent was kind of all over the place at bedtime, but eventually settled down. He then needed to poop, which took forever (sorry!).

And, that was how we spent Vincent's half birthday this year.

Summer Solstice

Today, is the first day of summer. And, what a nice summer day it turned out to be! I knew it was going to be in the 70s, so I planned to take the boys to the gym and then to the park water fountain. Unfortunately, the fountain wasn't on when we arrived. So, we sat on the grass and had a little picnic lunch that I packed, and soon, the water came on! The boys were thrilled, even though they were both pretty hesitant to get in. I left my camera and phone in the car, so no pictures, sorry!

It was a fun morning. Tyler crashed when we got home.

Ooh, and speaking of Tyler, he went the full day wearing his underwear! He put on a diaper for his nap, but woke up dry, and he's in a diaper now for bedtime.

Since the weather was still warm after dinner, we took the kids down to Madison Park for a little playground action. Vincent was climbing the rope structure there, and I was really impressed with how well he did. He would try something out, not get it quite right, but kept trying. No whining. I loved that he didn't give up and he was really proud of himself when he reached a goal. Mind you, you didn't climb super high, but usually he gets frustrated and I have to convince him not to quit. Not today. Barely needed my help, too.

Tyler loved swinging, of course. He kept making a bee-line for the swings. 

Twede's and Back In Seattle

After we got packed up, we headed back to Seattle. On the way, we stopped in North Bend for lunch at Twede's, the famous place for cherry pies from the show Twin Peaks. It wasn't very good, although I'm told the cherry pies really are. Nobody wanted to try one. Vincent's comment was, "Pie? Oh, those are too messy."

When we got back, we had to take Tyler to the pediatrician to have his face checked. He's had a bad rash on his cheek for the past week that hasn't been getting better. Turns out, it's some kind of skin infection. The pediatrician he saw was actually a woman we ran into at the park a couple of weeks ago. She didn't say who she was at the time, but she was commenting on Tyler's limp. It was soon after he got his cast off. She told us how it'll definitely get better, so when we saw her today, she took a look at his leg, again, as well. She felt he'll be fine, even though he still has a slight limp.

Waiting for Dr. Rissi

PopPop and Nana left after dinner tonight. The boys had a sitter so that David and I could go to our dance class. Audrey said it was the easiest bedtime she's had with them yet. Tuckered out, those boys.



Father's Day & Suncadia

We had brunch this morning at Roslyn Cafe. It was good. Vincent ate very well, but Tyler not so much. Afterwards, we went to the farmers' market down the street. Ooh, and we looked at the train cars, again.

The original plan for Roslyn was actually to go to Suncadia Resort. But, that didn't work out for us this time, and we found the cabin. No biggie. I kind of like it better this way, as it's more relaxing. I think if we stayed at Suncadia, it would have been fun, and there's more to do, but then I would feel like I have to everything!

Nonetheless, we went to check out Suncadia and see what we missed. I think I would enjoy staying there at some point in my life, but I don't feel like we missed out this weekend. There is an indoor water slide that looks like a lot of fun, but the kids are still too small for it. Maybe in a few years we can come back and try it out.

Tyler took an afternoon nap while Vincent and PopPop watched baseball on T.V. During Ty's nap, David, Nana and I went for a walk around the area. We discovered a little pond with tad poles, which PopPop and Nana later took the kids to see.

After Tyler's nap, we tried out the pool at the recreation center. It cost $5/person to get in...even me, who wasn't even swimming! But, I was needed in assisting David with the kids in the pool. The water was warm, but it was cold (though sunny) outside. Tyler didn't last long, so I took him back to the house first.

For dinner, we cooked steak and corn on the grill. We brought this Korean taco kit with us from home, so we had that, too. And, I made a salad. It was a yummy meal. Not too much food, which was perfect because we needed to save room for s'mores!

The boys took a bath after the campfire. Bedtime went a little smoother. At one point, we thought they were asleep, but then heard the door open. Expecting to see Vincent, we were all quite surprised when Tyler came struttin' out. He was so cute because he looked so proud of himself for getting out. Mind you, he still sleeps in a crib at home, so he's confined.

 Ty napping.

 The pool. Vincent tried out a kick board.

 Our fire.

 Chillin' with some milk.

 Tyler's dirty face after s'mores.



Grandparents and Rosyln, WA

PopPop and Nana made it to Seattle! They were stuck at the airport in San Francisco last night due to United Airlines' computers all going down. ALL of them. Nation-wide. Yike! But, this morning, first thing after we woke up, they called and said they were just 10 minutes from our house. Unfortunately, their luggage didn't make it.

The plan was that we would all head out to Roslyn and stay in a cabin for the weekend. Without knowing when their luggage would arrive, we weren't sure if we should still make the trip. After some consideration and a phone call to our neighbors, we decided not to wait for the luggage and head out. PopPop and Nana borrowed some of our clothes, Tasha said she'd pull the bags in when they arrive, and so we were set.

Techinically, we're staying in Ronald, WA, but it's right next to Roslyn. The cabin is great! It's pretty new and spacious. The boys are going to share a big bed. We brought Vincent's old bed rail to keep Tyler from falling off one side, and he'll have Vincent on the other side. The community we're staying in has a playground and a recreation center. We didn't use the rec center, but had a fun time in the playground. Vincent loves to play a game he calls "Police Chase." He and Nana were the police and David and PopPop were the robbers. The police chase the robbers, catch them and put them in jail. Then, the robbers have a jail break. Tyler and I did our own things, but once in a while Tyler would join in. Since he's still limping a bit, and the slides were super fast, my job was to make sure he was safe. No police chase for me.

We had dinner at the pizza place in Roslyn, which was quite yummy. Ooh, and there's an old mining train parked in Roslyn! That was a special treat for the boys, especially Tyler.

Putting the kids to bed was a little challenging, as we expected. They were so excited to share a bed. And, just when we thought they'd finally sleep, someone outside started rockin' out with a guitar and singing.

The homestead.

 Trying out the big bed.

 Police Chase

The mining train.

Fun Friday

It feels good to have a nice day. I mean, it's not like we don't have good days. It's just that today was smooth, and we did some fun things, which is a bonus.

The day started with dropping Tyler off at daycare. Okay, that wasn't so fun. But, the fun started soon after.

I finally took Vincent to the Seattle Bouldering Project, to check out their kids' area. He had such a fun time. I'm going to look into getting him a climbing lesson soon.

Yay! He made it to the top of the castle, but couldn't get down! I had to literally pull him down! Nonetheless, he had a great time.

After the climbing gym, we headed to Trader Joe's for a little bit of provisions. Then, we met up with friends at the playground. It's funny, Vincent and Julian greeted each other like they just saw each other a minute ago, but had a blast playing together. They made up this story about finding zombie dragons, and buried treasures.

When we got home, I made Vincent lunch, and he ate all of it. He even asked for  seconds. And, after lunch, I urged him to take a nap. He did. Thank goodness, too, because we had big evening plans!

Montlake Carnival.

Tyler in the toddler pit. And, a post-dinner treat!

Vincent really wanted to find his friend, Scarlett, so we did!

There are all these games the kids get to play, and tickets they get to win, and prizes they get to pick with the tickets. They get a ticket just for trying the games, so it's not hard. The hard part is picking the prizes!

Vincent took a bath tonight. Boy, did he need it! The bathwater was so dirty, I made his rinse off in the shower after his bath. Afterwards, we messed around with his his hair. Check out our very own Astro Boy!