ABC video

Just some random cuteness in the car this week :)

Once Upon a Time...

A fairy tale as told by Grace Noel:

"I was in a castle with Tater and the dragon came and Tate killed the dragon"
(I interrupted to say we don't use that word, it's not nice)
"Ok Tater got the dragon away and then said "Get away from my sister dragon! She is my favorite friend!" then the dragon got away and me and Tater and Benny and daddy and mama ate ALLLLLLLLL the marshmallows ALLL gone."

The End (Ok, I added that part).

This week we are discovering our toddlers have developed quite the imagination.

Beach Picnic

Another reason we love living in Seattle- even though it takes awhile for summer to get here, once the sun comes out we have beautiful beaches to play at! The other night we had an impromptu picnic on the beach. Such a great time!





(disregard Gracie's weird outfit. She had an accident at daycare before we picked them up, I don't even know whose pants those are!)



Throwing rocks into the sound.




Sean showed Benny and Gracie how to walk across/balance on logs.



They were SO proud of themselves!



In true Seattle style, now it is 50 degrees and cloudy again. I have to hold onto to days like these to stay optimistic.

G Rated Conversation about an R Rated Topic

I think we can all understand that mommy and daddy still have "special time" together even after kids are in the house. The scary thing is when said children become slightly more aware of it.

Last week:

Tate: Mommy, why were you crying in your room with daddy?
Me: (flustered) Oh I was just tired and sad it was morning. I'm happy now!
Tate: Yam! (yeah!)

Whew.

Last night while tucking in:

Me: Remember Grace, if you scream at bed time you won't get a marshmallow tomorrow morning. It wakes up Benny and isn't nice.

Gracie: But YOU scream last night at bed time and wake ME up! It looks like YOU don't get a marshmallow, mama.

Me: Did you hear that daddy?

Sean: Yep, no marshmallows for mama! (ha.)

Me: (after rolling my eyes) You're right. I won't do that anymore, sorry I woke you up.

Gracie: Ok mama, you don't scream at bedtime and I don't scream, ok? Then we get marshmallows.

Me: Good idea. Deal.

Wow. I guess we need to be more...um...discrete... from now on. Just when you think you've got this parenting thing down, an exciting new development every day!

Welcome Sunshine

Just a few shots from this weekend. We celebrated the arrival of the sun and warmth in Seattle (for as long as it lasts).

Miss Grace gussied up for church. Why can't gymboree make coats in my size?


We went to a "Touch a Truck" event at a local park. Such a great idea that thousands of people were there, which led to long lines to get into the trucks and/or get ice cream. So after a quick tour we went to a friend's house for an impromptu BBQ.






I even got a hug from my little(st) guy


Saturday we went to Grammy's house to stick our feet in her (freezing) new pool and have a belated party for daddy.



Then we hit the farmer's market and playground.



(Pardon my mid-chew)

And nothing quite says summer like the sight of our own little strawberries taking shape!

Garden Check

Proof that I don't have a black thumb! Okay, it proves nothing, I haven't done anything to that garden.

But still.

Things are growing! The kids are so excited to check it and see what has changed.
(please ignore the fact that we need to mow the lawn. It's been raining for the last week or so in Seattle!)


Tomatoes and Benny's monkey :)




Spinach/Lettuce and Tate's ant/caterpillar
*Also a plastic piece of lettuce from the play kitchen that someone added.


More tomatoes and Gracie's little Gnome


Potatoes and carrots!

Photos texted to daddy

We had a hectic weekend as expected with Sean being out of town. I took the kids to my moms for 3 of the 5 days and that helped a bit with my sanity/survival. Sadly, I still didn't get much sleep. I've had one full night's sleep since last week. That's so wrong. Last night should have been for catching up, but I woke up with a massive headache and have been awake ever since, but I digress...

Here are a few pictures I took with my phone from this weekend, hence the blurriness and unkempt looking children. They were all texted to daddy to make him miss us and vow never to leave again.


She doesn't even suck her thumb, so I don't know what this was about.


Benny enjoying a snack in his favorite cousin's hat. He adores Caleb. He asks for him constantly (even at 6:45am)



We got to borrow some of cousin Isabelle's new (to us) movies to let mommy go to the bathroom pass the time on a rainy Saturday.



She smuggled in someone's phone to do her business. I fully plan to save this photo for future embarrassment/yearbook photos.



I can't be sure, but I believe this was a cookie monster impersonation.



Awww brothers.


Benny is sporting his new stylin' hat and sunglasses mommy got very cheaply at memorial day sales!


*Not pictured: Tate's "skid mark" left on grammy's new carpet, Benny's vomit in the hall closet, Gracie's black crayon art work on the new hardwood floor.