MADNESS!
I think the beauty and the nightmare of have kids, ages 2 and 4, is that they can drive you into a state of sheer insanity in a matter of minutes and then, right as you are about to snap, as you head to the car to drive to the airport to go "anywhere but here", they suddenly turn into the sweetest littles angels anyone could imagine. Its madness. Its chaos. Its pleasure and pain almost simultaneously. But always, in those very, very seldom moments, when all in still and quiet, we can't help but think how precious and perfect they are.
Skyler's First Day of Montessori
She loves her new school. She and Liam walked in holding hands and walked out holding hands. I think Liam finds more comfort in having her their than the other way around, but regardless, they are very comfortable and happy having each other close. Apparently, there has been a small issue of Liam feeling as though this is HIS school and wanting to show and do everything for Skyler. Skyler wont have any of this and, of course, wants to experience anddo everything on her own. It feels so good to have them in a place that Leif and I feel so positive about. They come home in the afternoons worn out and happy!
Fall asleep my love...
I think watching my children fall asleep is the most beautiful thing I've ever witnessed. Their little eyes flutter as they try desperately to stay awake. Then slowly...one blink at a time...their eyes shut. And then peace...at last. So quiet...so beautiful...so perfect. And all my frustrations with raising a two and four year old are forgotten as I think to myself...how lucky am I!
Liam Turns 4!
He specifically wanted a Super Hero birthday so that is what he got. His buddies Beckam, Christian, Wyatt, Evan, Joel, Isaac, and Andrew all showed up as did Grandpa Teddy, Stephie, Grandma and Uncle Mike. We had the house decorated with Batman, Ironman and Spider man. The kids played mostly down in the yard - Leif was the "super dad" he is and coordinated games like green light, red light, duck duck goose, a water balloon toss, and simon says. We had PBJ's and watermelon for lunch and I made about 30 cake pops for dessert (the kids each got 2!). Grandma got a Transformer piñata which the kids loved! Liam had a great time and now won't let us take down any of the decorations.
Scary monsters
On our way to the gym this afternoon, Skyler told Leif and I that "if a monster comes, she will shoot it with her big gun." Are you kidding me? She needs a sister or some serious play dates with some girls!!! She also pretended to shoot me with a laser from her hands the other day when I told her she needed a time out. She pointed both her hands at me and said "Tcheeew!" How are you supposed to discipline when your child is cracking you up!?
Asserting his independence while cracking me up
I have to give it to Liam for the stunt he pulled today. He is definitely asserting his independence these days and Leif and I are constantly having to reming ourselves that if he doesn't go through this, he will never leave home when he is 18! But today's move should have been on a sitcom. We were at the Columbia Fitness pool for swimming lessons (he is getting very close and is convinced that he already knows how to swim). After his lesson, I let him free swim with his life jacket on. I gave him a 10 minute warning that we had to go and then once the 10 minutes was up told him to get out of the pool. He yelled "no" and swam right into the middle of the pool. Ok moms - what would you do? I am dressed and there are no adults in the pool and he is yelling "not yet" at me from the middle of the deep end. I put on my best "angry mom" face and told him to "get over here right now!" He yelled "no" and it when on like this for a little bit. At first I wanted to jump into the pool fully clothed but then I actually started laughing at how absolutely helpless and powerless I was! Finally the lifeguard got one of the older kids to drag him to the side kicking and screaming. Liam and I had a talk and we left the gym happy.
Speaking of swimming - like I said, Liam is totally overconfident in the water. He really does believe he knows how to swim. With a life jacket on, he maneuvers all over the place. However, when we were in Lake Chelan last week, he ran full speed ahead with no life jacket on and jumped right into the deep end. I had to go jumping in after him and once we got to the surface, he told me he thought his life jacket was on! It is so scary how vulnerable the kids are around water - you really have to watch there every move!
Boys only - Girls only
On Saturday, Leif planned on working on the yard and Liam was thrilled to have "boys only" time with his daddy. He frantically looked around for his tools and lawn mower and when Leif came down in his jeans and no shirt, Liam quickly followed suit. Skyler and I, on the other hand, decided that we would go shopping at Bel Square - girls only! As we were walking out the door, Skyler turned around and said "bye boys!" and Liam responds "bye girls!"
Lake Chelan
My boss, Jennifer, graciously allowed us to use her gorgeous lake house for the week in Lake Chelan. The kids were wide eyed (as were we), walking into the house. They ran around to the rooms and chose which ones were theirs. It immediately became referred to as "our lake house"! Both kids had their own bedroom with a king size bed. They slept downstairs and Leif and I were upstairs in the master which was enormous and looked straight out to the lake. The deck flaunted a 180 degree view of the lake and mountains and was the perfect place to be in the late afternoon and evening as the sun went down. We had about 20 friends who were also in town that stayed at various places in town. Most of our time was spent hanging out at the waterfront, swimming in the pool with the kids, drinking wine at wineries, and experiencing the life of the rich and famous back at our lake house. Highlights of the trip were stopping in Leavenworth for brats and beers, swimming with the kids, doing WOD's with our friends on the lake front, visiting the Tsillian Winery, having a family dinner at Karma, reading on the deck, having friends over for dinner, and girls afternoon at Mellisoni winery. So fun!
He's all grown up!
Grandpa Ted called this morning saying he was stopping through and wanted to know if he could take Liam out to Herron Island for the rest of the week (4 days away from home). I asked Liam if he wanted to go making it clear that it would be 4 days and mommy and daddy were not going and he said "yes yes yes I can go, I want to go, I will be fine, I will listen to Stephie and Grandpa." Then he ran upstairs and packed his own bag forgetting only his underwear and socks. He packed his tooth brush and asked "can you make sure Stephie brushes my teeth every night?"
And so he went - for 3 nights without us - and didn't ask about us once! The pictures that Stephanie sent showed what a good time he was having - busy busy busy! According to Ted and Steph, he spent nearly all his time down on the beach pulling in and pushing out the boat, riding in the kayak, taking boat rides, having pajama parties, eating ice cream at neighboring islands, and basking in the attention of his grandparents! (I will add pictures as soon as I can get on Stephie's computer to add them)
Back in Kirkland we had 3 days of peace and quiet as we recognized the ease of one child (and a girl at that). Skyler got to be the princess of the house!
