Two awesome outings in April! We are loving this beautiful spring, breaking our usual weekend routines to enjoy the great outdoors and new adventures.
It’s been a busy year for us. Both of our jobs continue to increase in intensity during the week, making our weekends that much more precious. For the first time in my career, I’ve had to really try to put work behind me when I leave – I’ve always been good about separating work from home. But whatever stress I feel during the workday is nothing compared to the happiness of coming home to this awesome little crew.
The kids are funny little people these days. Elliott continues to blow us away with funny, smart little observations. He is a sensitive guy, getting offended very easily and threatening to “never play with us ever again!” when he gets mad at us. He says he wants to be a teacher when he grows up, and he loves school and his new buddies Gus and Cruz. Nora is my fiery girl. Her laugh is absolutely contagious, and she still loves to be cuddled and smooched. Elliott is starting to resist my big hugs with “too much, Mommy.” 🙁 She wants her way all the time, though, and isn’t afraid to let us know when she’s not happy! She often runs after kids twice her age who won’t let her play the way she wants, shaking her finger at them and yelling “that’s not OK!!!!” She bites less frequently, thank goodness! She only wants to be held by Mommy – this was hard when we were in Portland last weekend and walking everywhere! But she is such a darling, and so stinking cute. “I wuv you Mommy!” all the time, and telling people that she missed them and she loves them and waving hi to strangers and singing songs on the top of her lungs anytime she feels like it. Her current hits include Jingle Bells, (yes I know it’s April) Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, (ditto) The Lion Sleeps Tonight, The Wheels on the Bus, and Happy Birthday. I love those kids so much.
It’s been really warm, and all the flowers are coming out super early, so the first weekend after Easter, we went to Skagit Valley to see our beloved tulip fields. It’s our Seattle tradition, started many years ago when our parents came to visit. We’ve only skipped 1 year since because it’s so beautiful and so amazing.
Road trip! Nora LOVES to play in the car, as Elliott did at this age. In this picture, a bathroom break provided us with a much needed wiggle break.
Car dancing! They are learning from the best car dancing performer in the west (their mother.)
Tractor ride to get a lay of the land
I didn’t have much luck getting them to pose. Nora sat still for one picture, and then made a run for it as soon as she could. All she wanted to do was find a huge pile of dirt and dig with her hands, much to the admiration of everyone who walked by her. International visitors particularly were getting a kick out of her antics. Big brother was happy to help catch her when she ran off. Unfortunately, as you will see in the last picture, he’s still working on being gentle, and not putting her in a head-lock the second he gets to her!
And then this last weekend, we decided to take a short spring break to Portland with Abbey’s family. We had an absolute ball! We visited with Jeremy’s family, explored beautiful Portland, ate so much yummy food, and just spent time together. It was wonderful, and so fun to watch these kids grow together.
And finally, our Tony-award winning production of The Nightmare Before Christmas.
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