Merry Christmas 2013

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Our Christmas celebration was shared with Grammy and Grampa (a.k.a. Dat Mimi and Mimi Bob). Simon loved every minute of Christmas except for the minute on Santa's lap. Give him another few years and he'll be as nonplussed as Vivi was. If only they realized what that guy goes through every year.

Our Christmas kicked off with a pageant for the first time. Veronica's Giraffe class took center stage at the Concordia Lutheran Christmas Pageant. And she's not just a one-dimensional singing sensation, check out the choreography to go with it. It was a beautiful celebration and really kicked off the Christmas season... that and all the cookies afterward.

Santa's elves were hard at work Christmas Eve... no, I'm sorry, that's Mama and Auntie Julie hard at work decorating cookies.

Veronica once again won't the "Defying Physics with Icing". There might be more clever designs and more elegant execution, but no cookie is iced and sprinkled better than this beauty.

And then there was Christmas morning. Through the generosity of Grammy, Grampa, Mimi, Aunties, and even a few elves, the living room floor was completely covered. It was incredible. Unlike marathons of years past, Veronica set a solid pace for Simon to follow and they got through all of this in just under 2 hours (Last year we needed two breaks for meals).

It took them a while to get their bearings before diving in.

And most adorably, before opening her own presents, Veronica wanted to give the presents she bought at school to Mama, Papa, and Simon.

Lining up the new cars before all of them are even out of the packaging.

How much did he love his toys from Aunt Mary and Uncle Bill? He couldn't wait for them to be put together.

Halloween 2013

Halloween happened and it was a blur. Veronica was Dorothy Gale from Kansas (apparently it was our turn). Simon was the cowardly lion. Turns out the wizard didn't give the lion anything he didn't already have either. Once Simon figured out all the strangers with the spooky decorations handed out candy, he wasn't cowardly anymore. The kids raced around Sammamish collecting more candy than they could ever possibly eat. 

We didn't even have time for a good picture. I should have thought of that before the night ended.

Veronica's 5th Birthday

Five? Already? Turning 5 means a lot of different things. It means you get to decorate your own cake. Grammy and Daddy may have helped with some edge work, but Veronica knew how many sprinkles a birthday cake needs; more.

Turning 5 also means a Shining Star day in Miss Pam's Giraffe class. Veronica shared all about her family, her favorite place to go (the beach), her favorite place to visit (Boston), what she wants to be when she grows up (a haircutter) and her favorite food (after years of 'goat cheese', the answer is now 'spaghetti')

 Veronica also got her first big bike. The training wheels are still one of (the many) accessories on the bike.

The party was at Pump it Up and featured all her friends from Rosita's (perhaps for the last time). It was a great run with a really sweet group of kids. And if anyone thinks her Daddy is the reason Veronica is such a silly-pants, that's because they haven't met Ryan. Those two spent a lot of silly days together.

The all important birthday meal was a fun meal (what else?). Chicken nuggets, chocolate shake, and fries. With two kinds of cupcakes for birthday cake. Who wouldn't want to turn 5? I just need to convince her to do it again next year.

Do the Puyallup!

"The Puyallup" is now known as the Washington State Fair, but there are no restrictions against doing it at a hop or a gallop. We made a late breaking decision on a rather dreary Sunday afternoon to head south to the Washington State Fair for some fair food, some fair rides, and a fairly good chance of seeing the fair food again. It took us a while to find the kids' rides and traumatized Veronica on the Tilt-A-Whirl first. It started out fun and exciting, but by the end was too fast to be fun.

We did eventually find a few rides more Veronica's speed. She drove this sleek green roadster around a track. And just as the weather was about the take a turn for the worse, we spotted the real-live pony ride. Luckily, the ponies strolled around a covered enclosure and Veronica was able to enjoy a nice long and rain free pony ride.

Poor Simon wasn't big enough for any of the rides and had to settle for an excessive amount of carbs. At the end of the day we sneaked Simon onto the carousel so he wouldn't be entirely neglected.

Rattlesnake Ridge

Daddy promised Veronica that she could climb a mountain this summer and the summer almost got away from us. We went to the foothills of the Cascades and Veronica climbed all the way up her first mountain. The two mile hike had a lot of switchbacks to conquer. Veronica needed a lot of Skittles to entice her up the mountain, but she stuck with it and we enjoyed a picnic at the top. Rattlesnake Ridge is a beautiful spot that attracts a lot of visitors every day, but none of them were younger than Veronica.

First Day of School

Veronica graduated from pre-school in June, but she misses the cut-off for kindergarten by 30 days. Enter Concordia Lutheran and their "Fives Program". Veronica joined a small select group of not yet 5 year olds in Miss Pam's class with one foot in pre-school and one foot in kindergarten. Veronica was filled with nervous excitement on her first day, but just excitement by pickup time.

Veronica will attend a half day on Monday and go all day on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. She'll be learning German and attending church weekly and still getting plenty of play and art time in. It's a sweet little school and a loving class. We think it's going to be a really good year.

Summer's long, but I guess it ain't very sweet around here anymore

So we headed east one more time, but not quite so far east this time. We joined the Heaters for a final weekend of summer heat in Roslyn, WA. Roslyn is a 19th century mining town that played the setting of rural Alaska in Northern Exposure and... well, that's about all there is too say about Roslyn. Perfect.

Roslyn is the kind of town that has a lumberjack festival. As is the case with any unfamiliar sport, they seemed to be doing the same thing over and over. And frankly, the chainsaw seemed to be doing most of the work. The series of inflatable slides, bouncy houses, and inflatable obstacle course were more familiar terrain for our set.

The neighboring town or Cle Elum is the kind of place that has a butcher that cuts your meat to order. And after securing your meats, you have to walk across the street to the bakery. And while you don't have to, it's worth the 3 block walk to pick up some sausage and smoked meats. Food and Wine might not be stopping by to do a profile anytime soon, but it is an awfully nice way to do your shopping.

The kids did some creature adventuring and hours of swimming. Veronica tried her hand at ping pong for the first time. And there was even some late night beer pong. We got our final fill of summer cookouts and star gazing. I think we're ready for school...

Vashon Island

After a difficult post-vacation re-entry into the real world, we decided a day trip was in order. We piled into the car and piled the car onto a ferry to sleepy Vashon Island. It's the kind of Northwest community that has more galleries than stop lights. There's even a beach, but it's a standard Northwest beach and ease our re-entry any. It was a quick day of beach stroll, hike back to the car, a well-worth-the-wait brunch, and finally a front row seat on the ferry ride back.

 

Camp 2013! #vacationbacon

 

Camp hit all the high notes it always hits. Unfortunately, on day one those notes were cries of agony. After decades of swimming in Maine lakes, we had our first encounter with cercarial dermatitis, a.k.a. duck itch. After a morning of agony, heavy doses of Benadryl, and every home remedy our iPhones could find order was restored and vacation was able to continue... with a thick layer of suntan lotion on every child.

 

Veronica learned to swim at Camp this year. She had steadily been making progress and swim lessons with Josie in Seattle, but something clicked for her in the endless hours in the water. And Carmen, that's far enough.

 



Simon (here sporting an aforementioned think layer of suntan lotion) approached the lake with reckless abandon and did not learn how to swim. The gentle slope of the shore thankfully gave us enough time to grab him before the water reached above his neck. At least he managed to stay awake.

The Leary & Sebos joined us this year. Our family gathering undoubtedly required more travel than any other family in Maine. Grayson alone surely traveled further than anyone else to get to Vacationland. For the first time in Camp history, there were more kids than adults present. This seismic shift in social structure led to dramatic changes is camp behavior. There was junk food around the clock, days on end in the water, and games until bedtime. And there was an inflatable trampoline in the water. 

Cape May 2013

We enjoyed an especially long vacation in Cape May this year. After more than a decade of rushing into and out of town, we decided to stay a while. The usual suspects made the trip. Tyler's love of baseball was a refreshing addition to Brendan Tour. But the real story is Evan's swing. The city of Charlotte Little League is going to have the record books rewritten. Veronica loved all the one-on-one time with her favorite big girl Lindsay.

Veronica could not have been happier hitting the beach everyday. Poor Simon proved the power of classical conditioning. After learning to sleep to a sound machine set to "ocean", Simon fell asleep upon arriving at the beach and slept the entire time.

Simon learned how to 'cheers' his sippy-cup from, who else, Uncle Simon. It's important that he's taken the role of namesake so seriously.

Spring... wait it's over?

Spring can be a funny season in Seattle. It can start with 80F and sunny weather and turn around and plunge into Juneuary while you're not looking. Also, your children can grow up while you're not looking. Daddy had a busy sequence of business trips this Spring, even one all the way across the pond to merry old England (and that's a long trip when you have to cross a continent just to get to the pond). I swear the kids looked different upon each return. The other trip was to a land of air conditioning. It was so non-descript it's not even worth mentioning. Their smoked meat was good though.

The entire family travelled to LA to celebrate Uncle Brian getting old. We had a great visit with Grammy, Uncle Brian, and Auntie Sarah. Veronica and Simon enjoyed being so close to the beach. Almost as much as they enjoyed being so close to Grammy.

Veronica graduated from Children's Corner Montessori. She is not 4 3/4. I would ask where all the time has gone, but it's all cataloged right here. So that answers that. Veronica continues to get bigger and stronger despite our pleas. And keeps getting smarter from eating so many blueberries. She has taken an interest in writing words, but that mainly seems to be an attempt to influence the grocery list. Her passion right now is dancing. A parent with aspirations would sign her up immediately, but I like her version far too much to ruin it with actual dance. And there is always creature adventuring. Thanks for that Wild Kratts. Your episode on the life of earth worms has had a profound effect on our home.

Simon grows into more of a boy and less of a baby everyday. He seems to be fostering a devilish sense of humor, climbs fearlessly, and loves cars. I mean he loves cars. He can't get enough of cars. His favorite car game is to line them all up. He learned to say "car" before he learned to say "dada". Although, I should probably stop answering to "Mama" if I want him to learn by name.

Father's Day happened. Doughnuts at Top Pot. Playing at the Sculpture Garden.

Mama had a birthday. Although Vivi may have been more excited. She played a heavy hand in decorating the cupcakes.

Easter Bunny laid a lot of eggs this year

Easter came early this year, but not as early as summer weather in Seattle. It was sunny and 70 all weekend. Apparently that kind of weather puts the Easter Bunny in a generous mood. Veronica charged her way though two Easter egg hunts and even found the coveted golden money egg (with a two dollars in it!). Simon even go into the action. The there were all the dyed eggs. It was a, dare I say, egg-stravaganza. Veronica and Mama dyed and painted nearly two dozen eggs every color available. But wait there's more... the Pennsylvania Easter Bunny sent so much chocolate that Veronica should be set until the Christmas shipment arrives.

In other news... Veronica's writing is coming along nicely. With some help from Mama she wrote the grocery list for Friday Night Movies. Veronica also picked the menu... Simon's vocabulary is starting to emerge. The "Mama's" and "Dada's" are more accurately said and directed. "No" is definitely his first word, which flowed nicely into "uh oh" and the occasional "whoa". He continues to toddle everywhere he goes, but if he had it his way he would ride Veronica's scooter. It's going to be a challenge to keep him off of it for the next two years until he's big enough to ride it... When Veronica wants to emphasize something is true, she says "for real life". It's adorable... Veronica disappeared in the backyard for 20 minutes today. She swept months of leaves and pine needles off the patio and then put everything away when she was done. I still can't believe that happened... Inspired by her favorite tv show, Wild Kratts, Veronica likes to be a "creature adventurer" and find animals living free in the wild. The recent episode about worms inspired her to dig up and find worms. Birds get less excited than Vivi about finding worms. This phase could last a while... Simon tried bacon for the first time. It went well. And after months of eschewing every fruit or vegetable we put in front of him, he also seems to like roasted broccoli. It's the only vitamin he gets outside of bagged baby food. Simon also tried McNuggets for the first time this week. That also went very well... And in completely unrelated news, Simon is finally growing into 12 month clothes.

I left my hat in San Francisco

Daddy had a work trip to San Francisco and invited the entire family along. The family spent the work days at the hotel pool and at a nearby children's museum. Veronica even met a travelling companion, Athena, the daughter of Daddy's co-worker. They had fun swimming, drawing, playing instruments, and of course carouseling.

We stayed the weekend and did the normal tourist attractions. Fisherman's wharf and the sea lions were checked off the tourist attraction list quickly. We lingered a bit more at the Palace of Fine Arts and Ghiradelli Square. Veronica mastered the skill of spotting chocolate across the city. She took full advantage of vacation rules at every turn.

In local news, Simon made the full commitment to walking this week. The world champion crawler needed to walk pretty well to make it worth his while. His first word is also coming into focus. Despite generally saying yes to life, Simon's first word is "No" and is paired with a vigorous head shake. And on a not entirely unrelated note, Dr. Ferber made a visit this weekend and Simon is spending night two in the crib through the whole night. 

Daddy Daughter Dude Day



Daddy Daughter Days have always been about greasy lunches and excursions (typically to the zoo). The closure of daycare and some half-way decent weather on President's Day set us up nicely for a fun day. Simon joined the tradition and served as the transition to Daddy Daughter Dude Days. Simon is going to have to work on his timing if he is going to enjoy the full gamut of Daddy Daughter Dude Day. He slept through strawberry milkshakes and cheeseburgers at Dick's and didn't wake up until the carousel was already spinning round and round.

Veronica was in a giving mood at the zoo. She fed the penguins for the first time and fed the budgies for the gazillionith time. The budgies took a while, but we did finally find a hungry one.

Simon's walking has been increasing as rapidly as his weight. Simon just crawls far too well to bother learning how to walk. He is starting to rise up from a seated position and walk instead of depending on his parents to prop him up. He still crawls too well. So fast that he has to lower his head to pick up even more speed. He has run into a few cabinet doors as a result.

Simon's first birthday

Simon may not like walking all that much. He may not like eating all that much. But chocolate, that he could get used to. Simon celebrated his birthday surrounded by family, friends, and frankly... a lot of football. Simon just may have picked the perfect birthday. He's nearly always guaranteed a three-day weekend and conference championship games.