Musings on Mundanity

On the fifteenth of May, in the Jungle of Nool

2010-05-17T09:25:00.000-07:00

In the heat of the day, in the cool of the pool.
He was splashing... enjoying the jungle's great joys...
When Horton the elephant heard a small noise.

Atticus and I were reading "Horton Hears a Who" the last week and I realized that the fifteenth of May was right around the corner! So, naturally, we planned a little party. I ordered the movie from Netflix (we hadn't seen it yet). Some minor decorations (all from our party box), some cupcakes courtesy of the BFF and a quick craft rounded out our night. Seriously, tons of fun!

My baby turns 2.

2010-03-15T01:50:00.000-07:00

Sigh. I suppose it has to happen. The baby is growing up. Hank turned two today. He is one of (two) the sweetest little boys in the world. Here's a snapshot of Hank, avid thumbsucker:

Age: 2, exactly
Diaper size: 4
Clothing size: 2-3T
Favorite toys: Blocks, cars, footballs, baby dolls, anything Atticus likes
New Tricks: ABC song, counting (to almost 15), complete sentences, tantrums, falling asleep like a champ!, sleeping in his own crib.
Quotes: "Nuh, uh. Not yet!" "Mama, where are you?" "Where's Atticus?" "Mama, nuggle!"
Favorite Movie: Finding Nemo and anything Atticus likes

The boy idolizes his brother (and Atticus is a great big brother!!). He always wants to do whatever Atticus does. He's a total snuggle bug. He has curly hair like his mama.

Looking back... musings from last year, and from when he was born. I've said it before, but Hank makes my family complete.

Hank in a bomber jacket

2010-03-08T06:45:00.000-08:00

No words necessary.

2010-03-05T07:34:00.000-08:00

Happiness is a long line of matchbox cars

2010-03-03T20:33:00.000-08:00

During Hank's nap today, Atticus and I played cars. After we crashed them in to each other, raced them into a box and inspected them all for where they were made, Atticus put them in a nice, long line.

Brotherly Love

2010-02-04T20:29:00.000-08:00

I thank my lucky stars that my boys get along 90% of the time. They are best buds. Let's hope this holds! I think that siblings are some of the most special people you will ever know-- I surely don't know where I would be without mine. I hope Atticus and Henry feel the same way some day.

Here's some playing from tonight... (In the bottom ones, Atticus is insisted on wearing the matching pj's that I put on Hank and he is putting together a special lego car for Hank.)

Flight Museum with Grandpa Bob!!

2010-02-04T20:21:00.000-08:00

Last week Grandpa Bob came our way and we went to the Museum of Flight. We didn't last very long and I don't think Grandpa or I got to see much, but a good time was had by all! We got our squished pennies, we smooshed our faces in little glass windows, we laid on the ground and looked up at the planes. If you haven't been, it is a great museum!

Snapshot- the boys right now

2010-01-11T09:22:00.000-08:00

Atticus- Atticus is FOUR and he is very excited about being FOUR (I wish I could put up pics of his party- Sadly, they are on my broken laptop and I need to rescue them.) Since turning FOUR, Atticus has been a very well-behaved sweet boy. He loves playing with Legos (lucky Mom got to put together a very advanced Star Wars Lego set...), loves anything Star Wars, loves playing with Hank and really loves movie night (Saturdays). He's also pretty jazzed that he gets to finally chew gum- I know, I'm a mean mom. I made him wait.

Hank- I'd like to sum up Hank right now by a selection of recent quotes.

"No!"
"No song" (directed to me, singing along to Mary Poppins)
"No song, Poppins!" (pointing to Mary singing the very same song)
"Uh, I dunno" (comes out Iuuuuno, in response to me asking how his day at school was)
"one, two, three, four, five" (when counting his fingers)

Hank is basically a teenager right now. But he's a very 'nuggly' sweet teenager. :)

Christmas!

2010-01-09T21:22:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas! Well, actually, many of them! We opened gifts at home earlyish Christmas morning. The boys had a great time (except when Atticus opened his underpants, quote "That is not a nice surprise!"). Then we headed to Nana's to celebrate with Nana and the Aunties (and Uncle and Colin). Then the boys got to have Christmas with Daddy. Saturday we headed up to Bellingham to celebrate with Grandpa Steve, Grammy Patty and Grandpa Bob.

A couple of days of semi calm- then off to the Great Wolf Lodge! Atticus loved it. Hank... not so sure. He found all the water overwhelming and noisy. (I agree!). We had a really fun time, though.

Here are the monkeys in their pj's, opening gifts

With the ornaments they made a few days earlier.

Playing with toys. Hank LOVED the top!!!

Bellevue Botanical Gardens

2009-12-02T10:24:00.000-08:00

We went to Bellevue Botanical Gardens to start our holiday season off right! It was great- not too cold, not raining. We went right when they opened, but it was still pretty crowded. Boys loved it! Not sure why my ALMOST FOUR YEAR OLD needed the stroller...

Playing (together, nicely!!)

2009-12-01T23:57:00.000-08:00

My boys really play nicely together (most of the time). Here they are playing with our cardboard bricks.

Bedtime with Atticus (part XX)

2009-11-29T22:15:00.000-08:00

The best conversations with Atticus happen just before bedtime... Somehow tonight our convo ended with me telling him he didn't have to go to college. Hope I don't live to regret that one!

A- I'm just having a really hard time going to sleep.
Me- I know. What do you think would help?
A- I need to have you with me.
Me- I can't always lay with you. What else might help?
A- Just you. I will ALWAYS need you to lay with me.
Me- Even when you're 18?
A- Will I be in Kindergarten when I'm 18?
Me- No, you'll be in college.
A- Where is that school?
Me- You can go anywhere you want. Somewere in town here or far, far away.
A- (Starting to cry). But I don't want to go far away.
Me- Well, it will be in a long time, like 20 years.
(Somehow the poor child has gotten the idea that we're sending him to Kindergarten boarding school and is getting increasingly upset. I hold him tight.)
Me- You don't have to go to college.
A- K (sniff, sniff). Thank you.

Sweet, sweet, sensitive Atticus. I love him so much!

Snapshot: Hank, 20 months

2009-11-19T07:16:00.000-08:00

Wow. Hank has changed a lot in the past few months! He finally got a haircut, so is looking less scraggly, but still wavy/curly (pic below is pre-haircut). He is such a sweetpea. It's very hard to stand firm at bedtime when he's standing up in his crib asking for a "nuggle". Other adorable things he does:

Tells knock-knock jokes. He'll say "knock-knock" (and if you don't answer, he'll keep saying it louder and louder until you do), then he'll say something that's hard to understand and laugh.
Told me he loved me, unsolicited, just yesterday. Talk about melting momma's heart!
Can count to 5
Can do a decent job at singing abc's (lmnop are pretty tough still!)
Idolizes his big brother (who is very kind to him most of the time)
Not adorable, but noteworthy: He's getting his molars!
He LOVES books. Favorites are Goodnight Moon, Goodnight Gorilla, Peekaboo Kisses and anything with a moon in it.
Very free with the hugs and kisses (especially nose kisses!)
Eats cereal all by himself.

I'm so lucky to have Hank in my life! One of the sweetest peas to ever walk the earth.

Halloween Catchup!

2009-11-18T14:16:00.000-08:00

Ok, I was pretty much out of commission for all of October. Then Atti and I have been sick for the past few weeks. NOW I'm ready to update! Here are some pics from the Bella Mente Halloween Party. More pics of the boys in their costumes here. It was a great Halloween. Best one with the boys yet! Atticus was Peter Pan. He insistedon carrying around his shadow (which was a pain to make), but then abandoned it pretty quickly. Hank was a bat. Easy, adorable, warm. Atticus is already planning next year- vampire. That's my boy! 347 days until Halloween!

Space Travel 101

2009-10-08T06:12:00.000-07:00

Atticus has been studying outer space at school. They did a lot of travel to the moon and making spaceships. Well, he didn't want to stop. So last week (or is it week before last, life is a blur), while Hank napped, Atti and I pimped his bee out (did I say that right? I'm so unhip).

Launch button. His idea

I've waited for this moment for 18 months

2009-10-07T07:23:00.000-07:00

The boys finally play together! With minimal intervention! And positive results!

Here's some proof...

Of course, sometimes I look and they are playing 'light sabres' and sometimes Hank is hitting Atticus or Atticus is teasing Hank or... sigh. But I take the good times as they come!

Hank the fireman

2009-10-05T06:15:00.000-07:00

Hank rarely leaves the house without his fireman hat. I'll look to make sure we're all ready to go and Hank will have grabbed it from the dress up clothes. This kid is so stinkin' cool. I love him.

Crafting with kids

2009-10-04T21:16:00.000-07:00

I love my children. I even love crafting with my children. This is what it's like...

Note to parents who think they won't let their children play with guns- everything is a gun. Glue guns (it wasn't on), ear thermometers, string- anything...

Atti made this all by himself. I turned around and he said, 'Look, Mom. A mask!'

Atticus- 3 3/4

2009-09-17T08:30:00.000-07:00

Atticus turned 3 3/4 on 9/14/09. He knows this is older than 3 1/2 and likes to remind me that he's not 3 1/2 anymore.

Some fun stories from Atticus, age 3 3/4:

They are studying outer space at school. When drawing the other day, Atticus explained, "I'm making Pluto because it used to be a planet. Now it's just a dog." RIP Pluto!
The next day when building a spaceship to blast off to the moon, Atticus asked the following questions: "What are we going to use as seatbelts?" "How are we going to blast out of the room with the ceiling in the way?" "How are we going to start the rocket ship?" The boy is easily disappointed and has very strong ideas about how projects should go. Hmmmm, not sure where he got that?! It's really important to explain that it is "pretend" or he'll get frustrated when things aren't just so. How many times have we started to build a robot, but had to stop (sometimes in tears) because we realized we couldn't make it dance, move around, etc. etc.

Biggest smartypants moment: He knows his minuses up to 5 (5-3, 2-1, etc.).
Favorite book: Frog & Toad
Favorite movie: Finding Nemo and Star Wars (which I don't condone, he doesn't watch it with me!)
Interaction with Hank: Generally very tolerant and even sometimes friendly. Very generous with his toys and helping Hank find something "appropriate" to play with.
Haircut: Shorter these days, but not as short as Uncle Rob's!
Personality: Sweetie pie! He is very sensitive to feelings (his and others'). A concrete thinking that loves to have tons of fun (dance parties!). Easily frustrated and very respectful of rules.
Best friend: Juliet (Rowan and Arlo are close seconds!)

I'm glad he: Still loves snuggling with momma (yay for kisses!), is going to sleep well (finally!), doesn't like stupid kids' shows (he's not allowed to stay stupid, but I am- I'm a grown up!).

A sick Atticus laying on the sofa

Hank- 18 months

2009-09-17T07:22:00.000-07:00

Hank turned 18 months on 9/15. He is changing almost every day! Here are some stats:

Number of teeth: still holding at 6, but 1 more is trying to poke through!
Animal sounds: cat, dog, cow, lion, elephant (with trunk!), gorilla/monkey (with arm motions), duck
Words: goodness, too many to name! The boy never stops talking! No is still really popular.
First phrases: "I go" (on 9/9/09). "Bye, bye, XXX (nana, mommy, etc)"
Favorite games: anything with a ball. Today, included palas raquets, tennis ball and a yogurt container
Personality: LARGE! He's usually very happy, but gets pretty upset these days when he doesn't get his way
Favorite book: Goodnight Gorilla! (he LOVES the black and white pages and always read those 2)

He is getting more and more curly. When he turns on the cheesy smile, he looks just like me as a little one.

He LOVES it outside. I have a feeling that it will either be a really long winter or we will have to bundle up a lot for excursions. Favorite outdoor activity is taking walks. We usually take an after-dinner walk and he loves this wind down to the day.

I looked over today and he had turned this bowl upside down to make a chair, grabbed a book and started reading. Such a cutie pie! (Ignore the sick kid in the background.)

This is what he does when prompted to smile. :) This is how I found him.

Happiness is...

2009-09-16T22:57:00.000-07:00

3 pair of rainboots and puddles to jump in.

Welcome, Fall!

Curls to kill for

2009-08-24T06:23:00.000-07:00

Movie nights with Atticus

2009-08-22T16:04:00.001-07:00

Getting ready to watch Ratatouille.

Atticus and I get to snuggle on the sofa every Saturday night and watch a movie. Rules for movie night:

Questions are ok.
We must eat stove-top-made popcorn.
Movies must be interesting to BOTH parties.
If you can't sit through a movie, you have can't come (sorry, Hank!).
Blankies and pillows on the sofa are required.

Love that my little man can finally watch movies with me!

More closeups of my gorgeous baby

2009-08-22T15:59:00.000-07:00

Successful summer day

2009-08-22T15:54:00.000-07:00

Proof of how hot it got IN MY HOUSE during our heatwave.

Proof of the successful summer we've been having around here.

Messy baby.

Lots of ice cream.

Porch perfectly messy.

After clean up.

Good parenting moment: Sleep Fairy

2009-08-11T21:43:00.000-07:00

My dear sweet boy has a hard time going to sleep. Sometimes it takes TWO HOURS!!!!! for him to settle down. I have an established routine. He watches no TV after dinnertime. The lights are low. His brother is already asleep. I've followed all the advise I can find. The latest ParentMap had a great article about sleep, particularly for the preschool set. So, tonight I told Atticus I heard the Sleep Fairy is in town. She will leave him a treat, but ONLY AFTER he is asleep. He went straight to his bed, laid down, closed his eyes and was asleep in 10 minutes. No kidding.

True to her word, the Sleep Fairy showed up. I'm guessing that she'll be around for as long as she is needed! I hope she has a good stash of treats!

Torchlight Parade

2009-07-27T23:00:00.000-07:00

Another Seattle summer tradition checked off... the Torchlight Parade! It's my favorite parade, but it's a wee bit too long. It took over 2 hours for the pirates to reach us! In order to placate the boys, we had to buy them overpriced light up toys.

Henry really liked the pretty floats. Not sure if he liked all the pink or the pretty girls.

The force is strong with this one.
(Yes, I bought him a sword. It's what he wanted. No guns, though!!)

Face that only a mother could love....

2009-07-27T06:22:00.000-07:00

Cinematic Excursions

2009-07-24T07:22:00.000-07:00

Last week, Atticus wanted to finally make the movie he's been talking about for weeks. After watching 'Up,' Atticus decided he'd like to next see a movie called 'Spiders and Mountains.' Upon hearing that such a movie doesn't (yet) exist, he was devastated. Looking at a long day at home, we set to work. The movie didn't get filmed, but we had so much fun working on the set! The project involved to include airplanes, mechanical spiders, 3 tomato cage mountains and everything else I would let Atti bring in from my Halloween stash. It was definitely a collaborative project. There's a possibility I had more fun than anyone! Due to creative differences, we decided to take the project in different directions after naps. I wouldn't be surprised to see us partner up for another creative endeavor some day, though.

Credits:
Director, Atticus Benitz
Executive Producer, Emily Meredith
Set Design & Creative Director, Henry 'Cash' Benitz

Hank in a polo

2009-07-23T08:22:00.000-07:00

Rock stars!

2009-07-22T08:02:00.000-07:00

Watch out Amanda and Rob! I think that you have some rock band competition...

Atticus with a backpack

2009-07-21T06:23:00.000-07:00

We were having a dance party. Probably 80's music. It's the only type we can agree on. Likely A-Ha. Great to dance to with a backpack.

More beach shots!

2009-07-20T07:23:00.000-07:00

Beach time!

2009-07-19T22:25:00.000-07:00

This post is for Ant Laurie. So sorry it has taken so long to update! We had a great time with you out at Birch Bay on Saturday! The boys and I are enjoying the summer!

Summer parenting shortcomings:

My kids both have tans (that's really bad, no burns though, I promise!)
Sometimes the kids get two popsicles in a row (they are the fruit kind, though)
Atticus is completely hooked on apple juice
Hank sucks his thumb and I'm in no way trying to encourage stopping it
Bedtime is pretty flexible

Adorable.

2009-06-17T23:31:00.001-07:00

I love this kid. And his two adorable front teeth.

Time Flies!

2009-06-17T23:13:00.000-07:00

I didn't realize it had been so long since my last post! I've been busy, as always.

Highlights/Updates:

Atticus is finally potty-trained. Yay! I'm a firm believer in letting kids go at their own pace (terrified that I'll scar them for life- thanks, Freud) and I'm opposed to participating in a food for potty program, so it took awhile. There were some bribes (stickers, small toys, a trip to the space needle), but he hasn't needed them much.
Hank is still almost walking, but not quite there.
Hank's newest word is 'thank you' and he says it anytime you hand him anything. It's adorable.
Atti and Hank are getting along great. For the most part. Hank idolizes his cool older brother.
Hank is sleeping through the night.
Atticus is not (though he's very quiet when he crawls in my bed and I don't notice him until the morning)

My latest shortcomings as a parent include:

I haven't updated Hank's baby book in at least a year.
My laissez-faire attitude to potty training.
I stay up too late blogging and facebooking and sometimes Atticus has to drag me out of bed in the a.m.
We ate at the fry store for lunch today.

Hank loves dressing up!

What I've been doing without my kids: A little vaca to meet some friends in Vegas. Here I am, desperately trying to cling to my youth. It gets further and further away from me every single day. I felt old. Especially when partying hard meant staying out dancing until 12:30. If Anna had been there, I KNOW I couldn've made it longer. I just know it.

Bicycle!

2009-06-04T07:02:00.000-07:00

When the boys are playing nicely, it's best to drop everything and run to grab the camera.

Hank's first haircut

2009-06-02T06:42:00.000-07:00

Reasons why Hank needed a haircut:

The cut:

The result:

Fixing the car

2009-06-01T07:30:00.000-07:00

One of the favorite activities around here is "fixing" the car. Hank is finally starting to get the hang of it, too. As you can tell, this is very serious business. Not taken lightly at all.

Atti at the Zoo

2009-05-31T22:16:00.000-07:00

We went to the zoo last Saturday. I promise I brought Hank to the zoo, too, but I have no photographic evidence of it...

Snapshot: May 29, 2009

2009-05-29T23:41:00.000-07:00

The kids seem to be thriving despite my inept parenting skills. Here's what they're like right now:

Atticus
Age: 3 years, 5 months, 15 days
Favorites: cars, scooby doo, scary things
Tricks: Counting to 100 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 100), almost spelled pen all by himself (p - a - n, vowels are hard!), cleaning up his toys (seriously, I barely have to ask him)
Still working on: potty training
Awwwww moment: Wanted me to make a sign that said "Dear Momma- I love you!" to post on his bedroom door. I didn't even have to bribe him!

Hank
Age: 1 year, 2 months, 14 days
Words: ba (ball), mama, dada, nana, atticus, woof, doggie, ducky
Tricks: sleeping through the night!
Still working on: walking
Awwwww moment: super duper snuggles whenever he gets tired

The park, a tennis pro

2009-05-26T07:30:00.000-07:00

The sisters were in town and we had a picnic at Cal Anderson park, then tennis and playing around at Nana's. Fun!

Rain, rain

2009-05-25T08:10:00.000-07:00

Gorgeous pics taken by Callie, of course.

Easter

2009-05-23T23:01:00.000-07:00

Catching up a bit... I finally got the camera card thingy. Easter wasn't huge production. Small basket/buckets in the morning. Brunch at Nana's. Callie came up. It was another great, relaxing holiday.

Atticus with his bucket.

Hank got a hold of a rogue jelly bean.

Poor Hank. His only treat was animal crackers.

The closest thing I have to a pic of them together. Matching t-shirts. Adorable. And white. What was I thinking?

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T21:57:00.000-07:00

I totally suck at blogging. Sorry, world!

Part of the reason is that I broke the cable that connects my camera to my computer. Here's the conversation with the camera story guy:

CSG: (as I pull out the broken cable from my giant 'purse'): What kind of camera is that from?
EM: A minolta (I know no other details).
CSG: Well, Minolta was bought by Sony. You'll have to contact Sony. But, no one is using those cables to download pictures anymore.
EM: (Blank stare)
CSG: Yeah, everyone uses a (can't remember the name of the gizmo).
EM: It's hard to keep up with the technology. Ok, can I buy one of those?
CSG: What type of memory card do you have?
EM: (Blank stare)
CSG: Come back with your memory card and we'll set you up.
EM: (Leaves store it took her weeks to be able to get to empty handed.)

So, I TRIED to get my camera workable again, but will have to wait a few more weeks until I can find the time to get back to the camera store.

In the meantime, here are my thoughts about Mother's Day.

First, thank you to my mom. I absolutely love my mom. She is supportive, non-judgmental, is a great nana, makes awesome everything and moved all the way over here to be near my kids (and me, I guess).

Second, thank you to my sisters. You guys are the best surrogate moms my kids will ever have. They both love you guys so much!!

Third, I had the best mothers day ever. Evidence:

Yummy brunch that I barely lifted a finger to make
A long shower all by myself
ice cream
Sis and I got mistaken for lesbian moms at dinner (and scored 2 awesome carnations)
got my lawn mowed
BEST: EASY bedtime!!! Hank went down in 5 minutes at 8 and Atticus was asleep by 9:15. Early for him.

I promise next time I post there will be pictures of the kids. I can't promise when that will be.

My sweet baby

2009-04-07T07:15:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that this is my sweet baby. He is growing up so quickly. I wish I could stop it.

Loungin'

2009-04-06T06:32:00.000-07:00

Finger Painting

2009-04-03T07:21:00.000-07:00

Artists in training...

Today- 4/2/2009

2009-04-02T21:51:00.000-07:00

Here's a look at our day, today.

Our Morning

Atticus takes a break from a.m. cartoons to show me his current car favorite.

Henry in his own little world.

Our Afternoon
We went with Nana to Seattle Center to the Whirligig Festival. Basically a bunch of bouncy houses. My brave friend Jen met us there for lunch.

Atticus and I making faces.

Atticus making faces.

What a good big brother!

Hank watching some big kids play with the baby slide.

Atticus in a bouncy house.

Ditto.

Our Evening
Although there is no pictoral proof- I assure you our evening was full of nutritious food (teriyaki-marinated sirloin, steamed carrots and homemade wheat bread), good company (Nan) and some stories about Frog and Toad (The Hat, Ice Cream, Christmas Eve). Boys asleep by 9.

What a perfect day.

3....2....1.... Blast off!

2009-03-20T21:47:00.001-07:00

Ok, finally some pics of Hank's birthday party. Here you'll find pics of people. Head over to mch to see the party details (shameless self promotion).

The guest list included the usual suspects. Mostly family, a few of my brave friends and 2 other kids- Addisyn (almost 1) and Juliet (3). Throw in some aunts, great aunts, uncles, pseudo uncles and grandparents and you've got yourself a party.

Sweet baby turns One

2009-03-16T22:29:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my sweet baby is one. It seems like just yesterday he was born, yet it feels like he's been here forever. It's been a crazy year, but Hank rolls with the punches. Some stats:

Words: Atticus (his first real word), Mama, dada, nana
Skills: mad-fast crawler, puller upper, plays cars on his knees with big brother
Teeth: 2, lower
Favorite food: anything!
Clothing size: 24 mo to 2t
Nicknames: Hank, Hankers, Cash, Ducky ducky boy boy

Happy Birthday to one of the great loves of my life.

Smartest 3 year old in the world

2009-03-06T07:21:00.000-08:00

If you are a regular musings reader, you know that I have the smartest 3 year old in the whole wide world. Here is my evidence:

At high school last week, the kids were looking at a stop sign. The teacher asked the kids what shape it was and someone answered "a circle". So they all counted all the sides. When they got to 8 Atticus piped in "So, it's an octagon!"
I asked Atticus to grab me some diapers for the diaper bag. He grabbed 2. I asked him to get 2 more and he said, "That makes four!" Then he found one more on the floor of his room and said "and one more makes five!"
He put together this puzzle lickety split with only minimal mommy help.

Hank is on the move!

2009-03-05T06:45:00.000-08:00

Although he's not quite walking, Hank is on the move! He takes breaks to suck his thumb and grab the tag, though. This little man is totally addicted to tags! And he's not totally fooled by taggies books and toys. He always finds the "real" tag and grabs that one.

More boring snow pictures

2009-03-04T07:12:00.000-08:00

I don't know why I feel obligated to snap snow pics when it is such a commonplace occurrence around here. But, here goes. Snow. Again. Thursday, February 26.

Pay it forward

2009-03-03T09:55:00.000-08:00

Got this from Mandy...

Pay it Forward...the first three people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, some goodies from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well. Before you leave your comment, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going. Then sit back and anticipate the arrival of your goodies! Please submit in an e-mail or on the comment, your address, if I don't have it already. Remember that only the first three comments will receive a gift from me, so be quick! Have fun!

Since I'm not sure I have tons of blog followers, I'm willing to believe you if you just SAY you will pay it forward to three random people. :)

Zoo!

2009-03-03T08:09:00.000-08:00

Weekend before last we went to the zoo with Juliet, Kat and Ben. Atticus and Juliet held hands most of the time and talked about the animals as they walked along. It was adorable! They both were so good. Until we had to go.

I didn't get a chance to snap many photos. The kids were on the go the whole time!

Hank not having a great time

The tapir! A fan favorite.

Atticus and Mommy time

2009-03-02T22:22:00.001-08:00

Atticus has been needing a lot more mommy time lately. And he'll get it any way he can. So, I'm proactively trying to build in more Atticus solo time so that he doesn't try to get it at bedtime, naptime, while we're getting ready for school... Sunday Jeff hung out with Hank while Atticus and I did whatever he wanted. This included building forts in the living room and going to the grocery store to get gummies (fruit snacks).

I was told that I didn't build forts as good as auntie Callie did earlier in the day...

In between each construction move Atticus put on his "thinking face" and said "hmmmmmmmmm"

I had a blast, but he totally wore me out!

Duck, duck goose

2009-02-20T07:32:00.000-08:00

A few nights ago we had couscous for dinner. Atticus loved it and insisted on calling it Duck Duck Goose. (It's weird, this is the first time he's called it that, but not the first time we've eaten it.) Hank thoroughly enjoyed it!

Spontaneous Party

2009-02-19T21:44:00.000-08:00

This afternoon Atticus suggested we have a party when I asked what he wanted to do. It would've been easier to say "another time," but we didn't have much going on and I said "why the heck not!" Atticus beamed the entire time. He LOVED it. We got some old decorations out and hung them from the ceiling. We put on 80's music. We danced around while we cleaned up. We threw around serpentine confetti. We cooked and ate a yummy dinner. We had molten lava cakes for dessert. (Thank you Trader Joe's for having delicious frozen dessert options!) I had some wine. It was a really great idea. I was sure to thank Atticus for coming up with it.

Funny Hair

2009-02-10T07:12:00.000-08:00

My kids- as they usually are

2009-02-09T06:34:00.000-08:00

I post a lot of lovely, smiley photos. It takes MANY shots to get those. These pics are closer to what my beautiful children normally look like.

Atticus!

2009-02-07T09:23:00.000-08:00

Calendar Project

2009-02-06T11:03:00.000-08:00

I saw this really cool project on ohdeedoh and fell in love! I really wanted to do it as Hank was a tiny baby, but the calendars for 2008 were sold out. As soon as I saw the Stendig calendar at Crate and Barrel this fall, I bought it! It's still not on my wall, but I've started taking pics.

Here's a couple of January shots!

Teeth!

2009-02-05T22:18:00.001-08:00

Hank has teeth! Two little ones on the bottom. Not the best pic, but it shows the choppers!

I sure must love these kids...

2009-02-05T16:58:00.000-08:00

...cause they really cramp my style. Today I looked down and I had baby poo on my vintage dolce & gabbana butterfly pocket jeans. Sigh. And look what they do to my living room! Atticus was "cleaning up" while I did the dishes yesterday morning. The result...

Then he moved all the toys...

Then while he slept I cleaned everything up and sorted it out and threw away random pieces.

By this a.m., we'd struck this nice balance.

Hank

2009-01-28T22:11:00.001-08:00

Playing together

2009-01-23T09:00:00.000-08:00

Today

2009-01-21T21:11:00.000-08:00

So, I've gotten a few complaints that recent posts haven't included pictures. I'm the first to try and keep my public happy, so here you go! This is exactly what my kids look like. Today. Ignore the messy house. At least the kids are happy! Here was our day today:

8:00 roll out of bed (with prodding from Atticus)
8:00-10:00 grazing breakfast and cartoons (I know, I should limit it to one hour...)
10:00-11:00 waiting for Callie and dumping ALL OF OUR TINY TOYS on the living room floor Hank naps.
11:00-11:40 get out the door for lunch with Nana. includes dressing and prodding.
11:40-1:30 lunch with Nana at Pyramid Alehouse
1:30-2:30 "quiet time" kinda- and protecting the tiny toys from Hank. Hank might've had a catnap, I can't remember.
2:30-5 Hanging out, curious george, hank took a nap somewhere in there (in his crib, not my arms!)
5-8:30 Jeff watched the kids and I came home to two sleeping boys!
9:30 Hank woke up

Oh, and cool new Hank tidbits-
Hank FINALLY at 10 months has a tooth. Just one, it's barely there, but it counts. It's adorable, but I know I'm going to miss that gummy smile.
Hank is crawling! All over the place. Can't run away from this little monkey!

Don't mess with the man in black

2009-01-21T07:34:00.000-08:00

Driving in the car the other day, we were listening to a mix tape (thanks, Dave!). Here is the exchange between Atticus and me:

Atticus: I don't like this song.
Emily: It's Johnny Cash.
Atticus: I don't like Johnny Cash.
Emily: You have to like Johnny Cash, don't say "I don't like Johnny Cash."
Atticus: I already did.

Who taught this kid to be such a smart alec? Oh. Probably me. Oops. I guess I'm getting what I deserve.

Doctor Visits

2009-01-19T09:02:00.000-08:00

I braved the pediatrician with both boys by myself. They were both really good and no shots were involved. I felt like such a seasoned mommy!

Here are the stats:

Atticus Hugh
3 years
Height- 36 3/4 inches (40th %ile)
Weight- 35.5 lb (80th %ile)
First time on the big boy scale!

Henry Cash
9 1/2 mo
Height- 29 1/4 inches (75th %ile)
Weight- 24 lb 8.5 oz (92nd %ile)
Head- 47 1/4 cm (90th %ile)
Chunky monkey!

Bedtime, revisited

2009-01-17T21:37:00.000-08:00

So, bedtime is always an adventure here. Here are the latest bedtime stories:

There are the usual stalling tactics- extreme hunger (but my tummy's not full!), extreme thirst (this one is indulged by a sippy of water), extreme need to have all toys in a cardboard box by bed (then the need to have the box dragged out into the living room each morning), trying to convince me that it's not dark outside, it's actually wake up time... sigh.
I've talked with Atticus about how we need to sleep so that we have energy the next day to play. A couple of nights ago, I was helping him settle down when he said, "I don't need to sleep, I already have energy!" He popped up out of bed, started jumping around and yelling, "I'm a bogo (pogo) stick!" Double sigh.
Tonight I was in with Hank and I heard Atticus making some noises. He comes into find me. He's in a diaper. And a pilgrim hat. That's it. Triple sigh.
Hank has his own challenges, but he can't talk yet, so they aren't quite as cute in print!

The world according to Atticus

2009-01-05T09:21:00.000-08:00

I let Atti take pics with our camera. I love his perspective! I should get him his own camera.

Hank the party animal

2009-01-03T10:21:00.000-08:00

Christmas

2009-01-02T08:02:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas up in Bellingham. Amanda and Rob hosted a very chill holiday. We got to see most of the Hendrix clan on Thursday night and then headed back to Seattle Friday. Friday afternoon we headed for Tri-Cities (for a 7 hour trip!) and got to celebrate with Dad and Patty. The snow there melted quickly and our trip back home Sunday was much easier. Although I didn't get as much prep in as I would like, it was a much better Christmas than last year (when we were all very sick and in the ER on Christmas Eve).

We woke up to a fresh new dusting of snow

Santa made it through the snow and put some fancy gifts under the tree for Hank and Atticus

Watching Amanda and Rob open the Wii (and American Idol- Thank God there are no pictures of us playing that!!!)

The boy got his yo-yo. And continues to sleep with it.

Sledding: The smarties who stayed inside

Snow

2009-01-01T07:35:00.000-08:00

Ok, if you know me, you know that I HATE snow!!!! But, here are some pictures of it anyway. We were stuck for several days (first at home, then at Nana's which was much more fun until we ran out of milk to go with our cookies). At our house in RB we had about 12 inches of snow. Unheard of for Seattle! I'm seriously so happy for rain now!

This is what happens if you don't put away your Halloween decorations!

Ouchie!

2008-12-31T09:15:00.000-08:00

Atticus took a swipe at Hank a couple of weeks ago. Poor little guy!

A much needed update

2008-12-30T22:39:00.000-08:00

It has been quite awhile since I updated the blog and a lot has happened! I'll spread the love a little- look for updates all week long!

I'll start with Atticus's birthday. Can you believe my baby turned 3?? We had a fun Green Eggs and Ham party. Atticus totally dug all the attention! His little friends Juliet and Mia had a great time- the perfect number of kids! Loo

Atticus with his new car wash

Sorry I can't photoshop me out! Here is Atti's cute surprised face, all ready to open presents.

Hank.

The kids playing at the kitchen in the kitchen.

The cool kids hanging out in the (messy) kitchen

Learning how to use noisemakers. I'm glad we brought them out at the END of the party.

Easy to please

2008-12-11T11:15:00.000-08:00

I came with some great gift ideas over at midcentury housewife, but, really, all you need is a cardboard box. This pic doesn't exactly capture how delighted he was with it! Thanks Auntie Barb! Oh, and ignore the partly naked toddler in the background. And all the stuff on the floor!

A day at our house

2008-12-10T22:36:00.001-08:00

This is what it is like at my house on a mommy day... photos taken one day last week.

Hank is getting his first tooth!

2008-12-08T22:18:00.001-08:00

Stay Tuned!

Christmas Ships

2008-12-05T22:08:00.000-08:00

image from seattletours.us

Last night we went to see the Christmas Ships at Pritchard Beach. A bonfire on the beach, free hot dogs, cocoa and candy canes. A beautiful choir. Lake Washington. What could be better? We will probably try to catch them on Mercer Island, too.

That makes THREE holiday celebrations we've done so far this season. Number four is slated for tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Sleepy Boy

2008-12-04T09:17:00.000-08:00

Atticus loves to go to sleep with all of his stuff. It changes daily. Right now it is a watch my mom is letting him "borrow," his prized green yo-yo, an eraser, a toy from McDonald's (I know, I'm a bad mom), a few other random things and a pickle ornament. The ornament is glass, but very durable. It was given by Nana for our annual Thanksgiving ornament. He has been sleeping with it every night. So cute! Oh, and I DO move them when I look in on him so that nothing gets lost/broken in the night.

Snow in Seattle, kinda

2008-12-02T08:02:00.000-08:00

Sunday we went to Pacific Place to see it snow inside. I thought Atticus would find it magical. Not my son. When it started snowing, he asked where's the snow? I pointed up and said, 'There, you see?' 'Mom, that's not snow, it's just bubbles.' He still had a great time, but he was not fooled.

Taking his shoes off in anticipation of the snow. He wanted to ski in it. And you don't ski in shoes, mom!

Dress Up.

2008-12-01T07:13:00.000-08:00

Atticus has just really started liking to dress up. It is my favorite thing to do with him. Some of his recent creations:

Macy's Holiday Parade in Seattle

2008-11-29T08:10:00.000-08:00

Nana called at 6:55 a.m. on Friday. It was early for us (my lovely children will sleep in until at least 8:00 if I will let them- Hank until 9 or later!!!!- I LOVE THEM FOR THIS!!). She helped us keep our plans to go to the Seattle Macy's Parade today. I'm glad we got up, it was fun! Atticus's favorite part was when Santa made his grand entrance and went into Macy's. One of the great things about living in "the city" is the all the really neat (free!) things that happen during the holiday season. Also on our calendar include the snow at Pacific Place (every day at 5:00 it snows to holiday music), the soldier parade at Bellevue Square (more fake snow, soldiers that come to life and free candy canes and popcorn!) and the Bellevue Botanical Gardens light show. These are all really neat and completely free, minus the outrageous parking fees. Also really cool are the Santa houses. Macy's Santa line was too long for us to stop today, but there's a little window that you can see Santa and the kids through from ladies' shoes and a really neat line with moving reindeer and other displays. At Nordstrom Santa has his own house that looks like a gingerbread house and while you stand in line, they hand out cookies. It will be tough to choose where we'll go!

Thanksgiving Happiness

2008-11-28T19:10:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at Nana's house. Since my last few posts haven't included pictures of my adorable children... here goes!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-26T23:07:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I hope you are all enjoying good company, good food and good wine.

It's been a tough year, but I am thankful for my very supportive family (who would do anything for me. I appreciate you all more than you will ever know and if I could afford it I would send you all on month-long trips to Hawaii- so you could get a break from me and my kids!!), my two beautiful sons and friends who never get tired of hearing me complain. I'm thankful I have a roof over my head (even if it's tiny), food to eat, a flexible and stable (fingers-crossed) job, loving and generous caregivers for my kids while I'm working and very caring neighbors. I'm also thankful that 2008 is almost over.

To all those who hang out with me on Wednesday nights, who read my blog, who provide desk-side therapy, who offer to bake me cookies, who hug me at just the right time, who feed me, who come up/down for the weekend to hang out with us, who chat with me on facebook, who humor my Martha Stewart-like mania, who call just because, who love me- I owe you a drink. Make it a double.

Christmas wish list

2008-11-25T15:00:00.000-08:00

I keep asking Atticus what he wants from Santa this year. Bless his little heart, all he wants is a yo yo. He got one as a present for being good (just the good old-fashioned kind- green). Then he lost it at high school, so, naturally, a replacement is all he longed for. I was thrilled as I'm sure that Santa has one of those in his bag. Well, today Atti found his yo yo. I was a little worried about what Santa might have to pull out of his sleeve... So, I asked him what he wanted from Santa now.

Answer: A yo-yo. An orange one.

Well said. I wish that we all had such easy wants and that life could always be made well by a yo-yo.

Miscellaneous Milestones

2008-11-24T22:26:00.001-08:00

We've been hitting (or coming REALLY CLOSE) to some fun milestones around here.

Hank has learned to give baby kisses. They are slobbery, they sometimes hurt a little bit, but they are wonderful. I can't get enough of them.

Hank is also clapping and so, so, so close to crawling. Watch out world!

Atticus just this very evening just learned to wink. He's been trying this for a really long time. Tonight, as he's supposed to be falling asleep, he says "Look Mom, I'm winking." Expecting to see him tightly closing both eyes, I looked and he was actually winking! He did it several more times tonight. Watch out girls!!

Atticus also likes to put his finger on my upper lip and yell "mustache!" It's cuter in the middle of the day than at night...

I want to remember how they are today. Every single day they seem to change. I wish I could freeze time for just a little bit. They are both so sweet right now.

I voted!

2008-11-04T06:34:00.000-08:00

Ok, it was really yesterday and it was by mail, but I voted! I hope you did too!

GOBAMA!!

Tagged!

2008-11-03T21:28:00.000-08:00

I was tagged by msb to write seven random things about me that you may not know. I hate chain letters, but I like Mandy, so I will play along.

Things you might not know about me:

1. One of my pet peeves is people who carry lots of bags. You see them on the bus, headed to work. They carry 2 or 3 (or more!) bags. I always ask myself, "why can't s/he just carry a bigger bag?" Well, Karma has got me on this one. Nowadays, I usually have my pump bag, purse and at least one other bag (lunch or something). I am a total bag lady!

2. I like to take lots of long, warm showers. Sometimes more than one a day. It's an addiction!

3. I'm very sensitive and my heart breaks easily.

4. Another pet peeve: Movies that start with an alarm clocks ringing. I hate them in real life, but I REALLY hate them in movies. (One of my least favorite movies is Groundhog's Day.)

5. I don't really like dogs and I know that makes me a horrible person.

6. It took me a year to pick out a sofa. And it's off white, with no pillows and nice, clean lines.

7. My favorite place in the whole world is Disneyland.

I don't know many bloggers, so I'm not going to tag anyone, BUT I didn't want to leave Mandy hanging!

Carving Pumpkins

2008-10-31T09:00:00.000-07:00

Atticus looking scared

Last Saturday we carved pumpkins with Auntie Callie, Nana and Aunt Manders. Well, I should say that those three carved while Atticus bossed around Nana and I was comatose on the sofa. It was a long day between the morning at Grandpa Bob's, Trick or Treating in West Seattle and then carving pumpkins. I was pooped!

Nana was instructed to carve a SCARY pumpkin for Atticus. He supervised the entire process and gave creative direction. He was THRILLED with the result. We'll admit, it's pretty scary.

Trick or treating Practice

2008-10-30T08:02:00.000-07:00

We're not really sure why, but the Junction had trick-or-treating on Saturday this year. Atticus got to practice with his best friend, Juliet. He got the hang of it quickly! Atticus is a witch, but wouldn't wear his hat or carry his broom, so he's just wearing his cape (he picked out the fabric!). Hank is a shark. Emily and Jeff went as over-worked, under-paid parents of wee ones. Juliet was a doctor and Kat and Ben were her patients.

Homegrown Pumpkins

2008-10-29T06:10:00.000-07:00

We didn't grow quite as many pumpkins this year, but we grew some beauties! Here is Hank to model them. Atticus was busy riding his tricycle. He can go forwards and backwards all by himself!

An afternoon at Molbak's

2008-10-28T07:13:00.000-07:00

Weekend before last we spent a lovely afternoon hanging out at Molbak's, enjoying the plants, eating some pizza and watching a weird version of Hansel and Gretel (who doesn't love a play with a drag queen, though!). Hank ate some hay, Atti enjoyed some Christmas lights, a good time was had by all!

Ok, I finally found my camera

2008-10-26T23:40:00.000-07:00

and downloaded 96 photos! It's going to be a great week here at Musings! Since I'm focusing on Halloween (my favorite holiday!!) over at midcentury housewife, I thought this week should be about Halloween, too.

How 'bout a look back to last year to get things started...

Look at that toddler pudge! It is gone now. He has changed so much in a year. I added that second photo so that there would be a picture of Hank from last year, too. He has grown A LOT!!

Peace has its price

2008-10-23T14:54:00.000-07:00

Both my boys are asleep. So momma gets some time to herself in the daylight.

But Hank is only willing to sleep in my arms, so it is a limited, one-arm sort of free time.

I am embracing the clutter around me and enjoying holding a sweet baby who will only be this small for a short time.

If I had two arms, ya'll would get some pictures. Maybe next time!

Stalling at bedtime

2008-10-07T21:43:00.000-07:00

I know that most of you come to hear tidbits of info about my little sweeties, so I'll cut out the political talk and give up the good stuff!

Atticus continues to have a hard time going to bed. We think that he's scared of the dark when he closes his eyes (how the heck do you deal with THAT one??). Employing one of his favorite stalling tactics tonight, he asked the following questions:

How was the ballet? (I went almost 2 weeks ago with Grandpa...)
Where's Hawaii?
Does Maitri (a little girl from school) live in the ocean?
Follow up question when I answered that Maitri doesn't live in the ocean: But does she live in the sea?

I have a really hard time not indulging this stalling tactic. He's ADORABLE and I love seeing his mind work. I love having an almost-three-year-old. I agree with my mom that my favorite stage for each of my kids is the one they are in now.

Oh, and what was Hank doing while all this stalling was going on? Sleeping. In his crib. Like he had been for AN HOUR! I deserve that.

I said I wasn't going to do it, but I....just....couldn't....help it!

2008-10-07T21:25:00.000-07:00

Ok. I'm kind of jumping the blog shark here.

The election.

It's really important.

PLEASE do your homework and VOTE.

Especially if you're voting for Obama.

Inspired by this really thoughtful post (and not just 'cause of her conclusion), I had to come out of the closet. If you know me, you know that I don't share many of the views that the mentioned blogger has, but I absolutely respect her for 1) putting herself out there 2) thinking about who she's going to vote for and 3) staying true to her beliefs.

I think that McCain is dangerous for this country if for his foreign policy alone.

Other issues that are important to me:
Upholding and protecting a woman's right to choose
Healthcare for everyone (I don't think McCain's $5000 plan would work)
Gay MARRIAGE rights (not just separate-but-equal "civil unions")- Obama doesn't support gay marriage, but I'll take what I can get
Environmental protection (although McCain does oppose drilling in ANWR)

My choice is pretty clear.

I wonder what the election would be like if Republicans still believed in small government, fiscal conservatism and state's rights instead of out-of-control military spending and the social agenda pushed by the religious right? I'll probably never vote for a Republican, but if they went back to their core values, I'd be much more tempted. But probably not. But you never know, I DO drive a minivan!

;)

Atti funny

2008-09-17T23:03:00.000-07:00

Last week a little boy from Atticus's class at school turned 3. His mom brought in some yummy carrot cake cupcakes. Atti's teacher, Mister Matt, said that, upon taking the first bite of the cupcake, Atticus declared, "Mr. Matt, there's no cake in this cupcake!" Yikes, I must watch his baked goods intake!