Hello all!
My friend from high school, Lisa, is doing her annual adoption fund raiser. The company is Sweet Hope, and the link is to the right. She is selling truffles and caramels (Rich's recipe - all the sticky goodness, none of the cooking!), and half the proceeds will be donated to a family that is currently trying to adopt. Her goal this year is to raise $1200. Wonderful candy for a great cause!
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
H A double L O W double E N
Quin loves that song! Ok, back from 3rd grade sing-alongs - we had a great Halloween! Quin's friend from school, Leila, came over with her brother, Ethan (a week younger than Gretchen), and her mother, Jessica. We had a great time trick-or-treating!
The pre-trick-or-treating playdate went quite well, although it was amusing watching the two-year-olds try to understand that we were waiting until a little later to get the candy! Nana and Papa had a fun time teaching Quin and Leila to knock on the door and say "trick-or-treat!"
And then we had the kids dressed and ready to go! Oh, wait, no, you can't go outside yet, all the parents want PICTURES!! It was hard to convince the little ones to wait just a little bit longer, just one more picture, please!
Ethan changed into Quin's puppy costume from last year due to costume issues. He really is only a week younger than Gretchen! Leila made a beautiful princess, Ethan made a cute puppy, Quin was a ferocious tiger, and Gretchen was a playful dalmatian.
We loaded the babies into the "chariot" (a.k.a. the bike trailer). Ethan fell asleep rather quickly, but E had to move continuously in order to keep Gretchen happy. She was finally taken out and carried for the last portion of the walk so that she wouldn't wake up Ethan.
The chariot was also used by the older kids when they wanted to take a break from walking. E was a sport by biking along with us - his headlights were so bright, we didn't need a flashlight!
We had a successful trip, and Quin continues to ask to go trick-or-treating when we go for a walk around the block! The kids only needed minor prompting for this shot - they were waiting for the door to open.
Candy was enjoyed after the event - after all, E and I were going out while Nana and Papa stayed with kids! (Thanks to Toki for doing the red-eye adjustment magic on this photo!)
(In my defense, I am still waiting for the Halloween photos from Nana and Papa's camera - they were downloaded onto E's computer, and it's been difficult getting them away from E.)
The pre-trick-or-treating playdate went quite well, although it was amusing watching the two-year-olds try to understand that we were waiting until a little later to get the candy! Nana and Papa had a fun time teaching Quin and Leila to knock on the door and say "trick-or-treat!"
And then we had the kids dressed and ready to go! Oh, wait, no, you can't go outside yet, all the parents want PICTURES!! It was hard to convince the little ones to wait just a little bit longer, just one more picture, please!
Ethan changed into Quin's puppy costume from last year due to costume issues. He really is only a week younger than Gretchen! Leila made a beautiful princess, Ethan made a cute puppy, Quin was a ferocious tiger, and Gretchen was a playful dalmatian.
We loaded the babies into the "chariot" (a.k.a. the bike trailer). Ethan fell asleep rather quickly, but E had to move continuously in order to keep Gretchen happy. She was finally taken out and carried for the last portion of the walk so that she wouldn't wake up Ethan.
The chariot was also used by the older kids when they wanted to take a break from walking. E was a sport by biking along with us - his headlights were so bright, we didn't need a flashlight!
We had a successful trip, and Quin continues to ask to go trick-or-treating when we go for a walk around the block! The kids only needed minor prompting for this shot - they were waiting for the door to open.
Candy was enjoyed after the event - after all, E and I were going out while Nana and Papa stayed with kids! (Thanks to Toki for doing the red-eye adjustment magic on this photo!)
(In my defense, I am still waiting for the Halloween photos from Nana and Papa's camera - they were downloaded onto E's computer, and it's been difficult getting them away from E.)
Thursday, November 1, 2007
October
And this post is dedicated to Nana's nagging - she was fully supporting Toki's call this morning....
Again, it was a quiet month. We haven't done much this school year - the cold that wiped us out in September was still hanging around in early October. Gretchen cut her first tooth (lower left) at the end of the month. She seems to be trying to cut a top tooth as well as the other bottom front tooth at the same time. Ouch!
It seems like every morning before school we have a poopy diaper from one of the kids. On this particular morning, I ran upstairs to change Gretchen, and when I came back down, Quin had finished my request to put on shoes and coat. I hadn't specified his shoes.
Quin helped me rake leaves in the back yard. It took a while to get the rake away from Quin, and he consoled himself by climbing the stump and reaching for the sky. He's very into reaching for the sky (and touching the ceiling when ever possible) right now!
Quin put on his own pants. He's still learning that when you lay the pants out, the tag goes on the bottom.
Gretchen is really moving around now. She can roll all over, and she's mastering the army crawl. She still isn't crawling in the traditional sense, but she sure is trying!
Quin has been very into "houses" (aka forts).
Quin has a great friend from school, Leila. Here the kids are practicing for Halloween. The costumes were Forrest's - thanks again, Forrest!
Nana and Papa are currently in town. Poor Papa has been roped into watching Blue's Clues ad nauseum (or so he thinks, he can't sing most of the songs).
Yes, I have purposefully left off pictures of Halloween. Leila's mom has a ton of photos, as does Nana and Papa. My camera was charging when most of the pictures were being taken, so I have to wait. And wait. Oh, and Nana and Papa left their cord on the boat, so we also have to wait for E to be home long enough to use his card reader.
Funny sayings I've heard during this visit:
Nana: "She's jumping! That little turkey!" (Gretchen was in the Jumparoo while Nana wanted to take pictures)
Quin and I were having a talk; one of those talks that occur after a little boy has a meltdown because he wasn't listening.
Me: Will you listen to Papa, and do what he says?
Quin: No, Nana do it.
Again, it was a quiet month. We haven't done much this school year - the cold that wiped us out in September was still hanging around in early October. Gretchen cut her first tooth (lower left) at the end of the month. She seems to be trying to cut a top tooth as well as the other bottom front tooth at the same time. Ouch!
It seems like every morning before school we have a poopy diaper from one of the kids. On this particular morning, I ran upstairs to change Gretchen, and when I came back down, Quin had finished my request to put on shoes and coat. I hadn't specified his shoes.
Quin helped me rake leaves in the back yard. It took a while to get the rake away from Quin, and he consoled himself by climbing the stump and reaching for the sky. He's very into reaching for the sky (and touching the ceiling when ever possible) right now!
Quin put on his own pants. He's still learning that when you lay the pants out, the tag goes on the bottom.
Gretchen is really moving around now. She can roll all over, and she's mastering the army crawl. She still isn't crawling in the traditional sense, but she sure is trying!
Quin has been very into "houses" (aka forts).
Quin has a great friend from school, Leila. Here the kids are practicing for Halloween. The costumes were Forrest's - thanks again, Forrest!
Nana and Papa are currently in town. Poor Papa has been roped into watching Blue's Clues ad nauseum (or so he thinks, he can't sing most of the songs).
Yes, I have purposefully left off pictures of Halloween. Leila's mom has a ton of photos, as does Nana and Papa. My camera was charging when most of the pictures were being taken, so I have to wait. And wait. Oh, and Nana and Papa left their cord on the boat, so we also have to wait for E to be home long enough to use his card reader.
Funny sayings I've heard during this visit:
Nana: "She's jumping! That little turkey!" (Gretchen was in the Jumparoo while Nana wanted to take pictures)
Quin and I were having a talk; one of those talks that occur after a little boy has a meltdown because he wasn't listening.
Me: Will you listen to Papa, and do what he says?
Quin: No, Nana do it.
September
Yes, it's been a while. So long, in fact, that Toki actually called me to nag me about Halloween pictures today. No, you're not getting them today; I'm still waiting for Nana and Papa (my mom and step-dad) to download their photos and for a friend to send me the pictures she got. Ok, enough about Halloween - this is September's post!
We had a great month - all four of us were sick with a cold that hit us twice, so we were sick for about 6 weeks. "Great" is probably an overstatement, but we did survive. Two less bugs for the kids to catch in school (E brought them home from judo). It was quiet, we gorged on birthday cake (well I did), and stayed home, blowing our noses. We should have invested in Kleenex!
Quin and Gretchen playing on the couch.
My Picasso - he loves to paint, and really likes making circles!
Quin loves to puddle stomp!
Gretchen wasn't as impressed with puddle stomping as Quin was - just wait until next year!
Gretchen playing.
We had a great month - all four of us were sick with a cold that hit us twice, so we were sick for about 6 weeks. "Great" is probably an overstatement, but we did survive. Two less bugs for the kids to catch in school (E brought them home from judo). It was quiet, we gorged on birthday cake (well I did), and stayed home, blowing our noses. We should have invested in Kleenex!
Quin and Gretchen playing on the couch.
My Picasso - he loves to paint, and really likes making circles!
Quin loves to puddle stomp!
Gretchen wasn't as impressed with puddle stomping as Quin was - just wait until next year!
Gretchen playing.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Toilet training conversations
J: "Quin, I'm so proud of you for wearing undies!"
Q: "Babies don't wear undies. Gunkin too little to wear undies. Quin wear undies just like Mama does!"
It's going pretty well. This is day two of wearing underwear. I think I'll be doing a LOT of laundry for a while because Quin insists on wearing 2-5 pairs of undies at any given time. The good side is that accidents don't spread as far. The bad side is that we have a limited number of undies (around 10). Just now he told me he needed to go potty, and up the stairs we went. However, he had just gone, but he's now happily sitting on the big potty ("big boys use big potties") reading a book. I'm hoping he's going to get it soon!! He has asked to wear undies to school on Monday, and I told him that he could as long as he continued to let me know when he needed to go potty. I have to remember to pack extra clothes on Monday....
Q: "Babies don't wear undies. Gunkin too little to wear undies. Quin wear undies just like Mama does!"
It's going pretty well. This is day two of wearing underwear. I think I'll be doing a LOT of laundry for a while because Quin insists on wearing 2-5 pairs of undies at any given time. The good side is that accidents don't spread as far. The bad side is that we have a limited number of undies (around 10). Just now he told me he needed to go potty, and up the stairs we went. However, he had just gone, but he's now happily sitting on the big potty ("big boys use big potties") reading a book. I'm hoping he's going to get it soon!! He has asked to wear undies to school on Monday, and I told him that he could as long as he continued to let me know when he needed to go potty. I have to remember to pack extra clothes on Monday....
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Quin's first success!!
We had a successful potty use tonight! The first one without a diaper!! (We one last winter, with a diaper on.) I can only hope he'll be potty trained in a matter of days. Murphy's Law says that will happen: I bought a Costco size box of size 5 diapers yesterday.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Further August activities
The last post was getting long, and children started needing attention! So, after we returned from WA, we introduced Gretchen to rice cereal. She had been watching us eat for a couple of weeks, but I wanted to wait until we were back from vacation before starting her on solids. Like most kids, she had some initial reservations about this strange, white stuff that smelled like milk, but didn't quite taste or feel right. We now make it with water instead, which is much easer for me!! She now eats 1 - 2 tablespoons of rice cereal at a time. We've tried carrots (not interested), and I'm going to introduce a new veggie this weekend. 
The Alaska State Fair is in August, and we took Quin and Gretchen. We met our friend Paul, and his mom, at the fair, and it was great having extra eyes to watch for the running toddler! Quin wasn't that interested in the animals when we looked at them, but as soon as we left the barn, all he could talk about was visiting the animals again. Quin was able to pet a rabbit and see some baby chickens! He really liked the baby chickens!!
My mother-in-law, Carolyn, won Best in Show and Division Champion for her sweater! Great job on such a beautiful sweater!!
We walked by the right spot at the right time: the Toddler Trot was about to begin! We signed Quin up, got him to the start line (with a lot of other parents), and the kids were off! Quin wasn't quite sure what to do, so he turned to me, grabbed both my hands, and I ran the race with him. Until he tripped. By then he knew what to do, and took off running. He almost ran out of the race track!
We ate a lot, had a great time, and the kids were great! We were at the fair for 6 hours, and E learned how useful a stroller can be! Quin was fasinated with the rides, but we decided he was too young this year. We stopped off to look at the animals on our way home, but all Quin wanted to see was the baby chickens. He is still talking about them, and knows that "baby chickens say peep, peep!"
It was a long, hard day at the fair.
August also saw the start of school. Quin has been looking forward to school all summer, and we were counting down "one month to school," "two weeks to school," and finally "school starts today!" Quin picked out his clothes, got dressed, and was ready to leave 15 minutes early! It was hard explaining why we couldn't leave immediately! When it was time to go, I loaded Gretchen, loaded Quin, smelled something suspicious, unloaded Gretchen, unloaded Quin, changed an extremely nasty diaper, then back into the car. Quin was so excited about school, it was hard keeping him focused on getting his slippers (indoor school shoes) on, hanging up his backpack and rain gear, and getting a kiss good-bye. He wanted me to stay for all of 1 minute, then he was off doing his own thing. *sniff* My baby is growing so quickly!
Gretchen wants to go to school also, and wasn't happy about staying home.
The Alaska State Fair is in August, and we took Quin and Gretchen. We met our friend Paul, and his mom, at the fair, and it was great having extra eyes to watch for the running toddler! Quin wasn't that interested in the animals when we looked at them, but as soon as we left the barn, all he could talk about was visiting the animals again. Quin was able to pet a rabbit and see some baby chickens! He really liked the baby chickens!!
My mother-in-law, Carolyn, won Best in Show and Division Champion for her sweater! Great job on such a beautiful sweater!!
We walked by the right spot at the right time: the Toddler Trot was about to begin! We signed Quin up, got him to the start line (with a lot of other parents), and the kids were off! Quin wasn't quite sure what to do, so he turned to me, grabbed both my hands, and I ran the race with him. Until he tripped. By then he knew what to do, and took off running. He almost ran out of the race track!
We ate a lot, had a great time, and the kids were great! We were at the fair for 6 hours, and E learned how useful a stroller can be! Quin was fasinated with the rides, but we decided he was too young this year. We stopped off to look at the animals on our way home, but all Quin wanted to see was the baby chickens. He is still talking about them, and knows that "baby chickens say peep, peep!"
It was a long, hard day at the fair.
August also saw the start of school. Quin has been looking forward to school all summer, and we were counting down "one month to school," "two weeks to school," and finally "school starts today!" Quin picked out his clothes, got dressed, and was ready to leave 15 minutes early! It was hard explaining why we couldn't leave immediately! When it was time to go, I loaded Gretchen, loaded Quin, smelled something suspicious, unloaded Gretchen, unloaded Quin, changed an extremely nasty diaper, then back into the car. Quin was so excited about school, it was hard keeping him focused on getting his slippers (indoor school shoes) on, hanging up his backpack and rain gear, and getting a kiss good-bye. He wanted me to stay for all of 1 minute, then he was off doing his own thing. *sniff* My baby is growing so quickly!
Gretchen wants to go to school also, and wasn't happy about staying home.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
August activities
I'm still a little behind on pics and news, but hopefully this post will catch us up to September!
Our friends from Portland, Westen, Avi, Scott, and Kate, came up for a visit. Kate, who is 4, taught Quin about wearing costumes; he hadn't been interested before this.
Quin and Gretchen snuggling.
Look at those eyes! Look at those bubbles!
We took a trip to Washington so that E could try a Wind Cheetah recumbent trike and go on a diving trip while all of us visited family. We went to the Seattle Aquarium one afternoon.
Happiness is being with grandparents! (Although it's hard to get this girl to smile on camera!)
Quin loved learning how to water the plants! One of the few times I've heard him tell others to go away - listen for the "No Grandpa do it!" at the end of the video!
Great-Grandmas are great for naps!
There are a couple of great shots of Toki, Fizzie, and Gretchen, but unless we get a lot of requests, I doubt Toki will let me put them on the blog! (Toki and Fizzie are some friends from Portland.)
We met Jennifer and Amelia at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. It rained that morning, but cleared up by the early afternoon. Quin had a great time teaching Amelia what to do with puddles! We did discover, however, that he is afraid of walruses. I had to carry him past the walrus enclosure!
No more videos due to Blogger issues - I'll try again later!
Our friends from Portland, Westen, Avi, Scott, and Kate, came up for a visit. Kate, who is 4, taught Quin about wearing costumes; he hadn't been interested before this.
Quin and Gretchen snuggling.
Look at those eyes! Look at those bubbles!
We took a trip to Washington so that E could try a Wind Cheetah recumbent trike and go on a diving trip while all of us visited family. We went to the Seattle Aquarium one afternoon.
Happiness is being with grandparents! (Although it's hard to get this girl to smile on camera!)
Quin loved learning how to water the plants! One of the few times I've heard him tell others to go away - listen for the "No Grandpa do it!" at the end of the video!
Great-Grandmas are great for naps!
There are a couple of great shots of Toki, Fizzie, and Gretchen, but unless we get a lot of requests, I doubt Toki will let me put them on the blog! (Toki and Fizzie are some friends from Portland.)
We met Jennifer and Amelia at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. It rained that morning, but cleared up by the early afternoon. Quin had a great time teaching Amelia what to do with puddles! We did discover, however, that he is afraid of walruses. I had to carry him past the walrus enclosure!
No more videos due to Blogger issues - I'll try again later!
Monday, September 3, 2007
Quin-isms
2-year olds are funny, and sometimes what they say is hilarious! Here's a short list of the funniest and cutest:
1. "Kin likes Gung-kin." This was heard on July 2, 2007. I left his pronunciation on for amusement and prosperity (Kin = Quin, Gung-kin = Gretchen).
2. "Kin wants more Gung-kins." We both told him that no, he isn't getting any more sisters. Or brothers.
3. "Mama no hold nipples." Quin is rapidly learning body parts, but occasionally gets some mixed up; what he's trying to say is "Mama no hold ankles" when I change his diaper.
4. "Mama be a cow." At first I thought I should be offended, but then it occurred to me that at 2, he doesn't understand that asking someone to be a cow is potentially offensive. So instead I mooed. Then the animal requests came fast and furious. I can say that the poor farm animals are probably terrified by the number of bears in their vicinity. Oh, and for the record, we Googled the sound a giraffe makes, and discovered that they make a high-pitched bleating sound.
5. "Kin eat Kashi in a bowl, not from floor." E accidentally poured some Kashi cereal onto the floor during breakfast.
1. "Kin likes Gung-kin." This was heard on July 2, 2007. I left his pronunciation on for amusement and prosperity (Kin = Quin, Gung-kin = Gretchen).
2. "Kin wants more Gung-kins." We both told him that no, he isn't getting any more sisters. Or brothers.
3. "Mama no hold nipples." Quin is rapidly learning body parts, but occasionally gets some mixed up; what he's trying to say is "Mama no hold ankles" when I change his diaper.
4. "Mama be a cow." At first I thought I should be offended, but then it occurred to me that at 2, he doesn't understand that asking someone to be a cow is potentially offensive. So instead I mooed. Then the animal requests came fast and furious. I can say that the poor farm animals are probably terrified by the number of bears in their vicinity. Oh, and for the record, we Googled the sound a giraffe makes, and discovered that they make a high-pitched bleating sound.
5. "Kin eat Kashi in a bowl, not from floor." E accidentally poured some Kashi cereal onto the floor during breakfast.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Family vacation
No pics again this time - sorry! I re-made the family vacation blog (new address, link to right), so check it out and let me know your answers! (Blog/websites I know of: Rich and Alayne, Alyssa and Brian, and Amy.)
Amy - any chance of putting up pictures on your blog so I can link it?
Amy - any chance of putting up pictures on your blog so I can link it?
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