One Little Monkey Jumping on the Bed

Blowing Kisses!

Volunteer Work

I am happy to report that I started volunteering at the public library. Yesterday was my first day on the job and it went really well. I can only volunteer a couple of hours because of the kids' schedules, but I'm thrilled to be able to get those two hours in! It's a nice change of pace and it's where I want to be ultimately when I go back to work one of these days. I'll be getting to know people (hopefully) and impressing them with my anal retentiveness organizational skills and enthusiasm for public library services.

For my first project, I'm indexing their storytime resource collection that doesn't get circulated. It's something they've wanted to get done for a long time but haven't been able to get to it. It's easy to do and I get to read/browse some great picture books. I also get to sit in a quiet office while working on this project. Quiet is something I haven't had much of in the last, oh, seven years or so. I relish it. It is so relaxing.

Toddler Gym

It's hard to believe that he's already a toddler. Brian and I still call him "the baby" about 90% of the time. I realized the other day that he's old enough (and has been for the last 5 months) to go to Toddler Gym at the Y. I don't have the enthusiasm for it I did when the Os were this age so once a week is all I can stomach. Elliott seems to enjoy it though so I'll take him. Funny how your parenting style changes with additional kids. I was always so diligent with not letting the Os walk up the slide. With Elliott, I think "eh, whatever."

This is his favorite thing to do at Toddler Gym. This is a little trampoline with a handle. In this photo, he's flirting with another mom.

Flight Museum

The Scouts had their first "Go See It" last Sunday. That means field trip to us civilians. They went to the Olympic Flight Museum here in Olympia and had a wonderful tour guide who taught the kids all about pitch, roll and yaw. Owen even came home doing a little dance and chant that the guide used as a memory tool. They made awesome paper airplanes and Alka-Seltzer rockets. They had a great time and learned a lot.

Elliott at the Japanese Gardens

I took Elliott to the Japanese Gardens today along with my new 50mm prime lens attached to my camera. I was scouting the location as a possible place to do our family portraits tomorrow and took the opportunity to try out the new lens as it wasn't raining. I was having a really nice time although keeping Elliott out of the water and mud was quite the challenge.

As it turned out, it was too much of a challenge. Elliott ended up ankle-deep and covered in thick, black mud. He cried, I was angry and I thought, I better have gotten at least one good shot after all this! I think I did. And I love my new lens!

Elliott had so much fun exploring the place. Here he is combing his way through some bamboo.

I had to make monkey noises to finally get him to look up and smile. He was totally into the rocks and leaves.

The Boy Plays Hard!

You can see the determination on his face here. He will pull this thing over!

Can someone tell me how to break him of his addiction to this pacifier? The Os were not half as attached as Elliott is. He seeks it out every waking moment and whines, grouses and moans when he doesn't have it.

I always think babies who fall asleep while eating are just pitiful. This is the first time it's happened with Elliott. He got really quiet and I looked over and felt so sorry for him. He had a busy morning.

Two New Additions to the Blog

If you'll scroll down a little and look on the right side of the screen, you'll see two new slideshows: "Brian & Britt Before Kids" and "Oliver and Owen as Babies." If you're interested in where or when the photos were taken, you can click on the slideshow and be re-directed to my Picasa Web Alubms where you'll be able to see the captions.

Genetics

I saw some photos of my nephew, Logan, recently and thought, "Wow, he has gotten SO cute." And then I realized something. He's so cute because he looks like his Auntie Britt!

You think I'm joking? Get a load of this:



Genetics are so weird and so cool. I swear Logan looks more like me than my own boys do.

And while we're checking out my baby photos...

Halloween

Oliver and Owen had to "make-do" with costumes this year. Oliver wore last year's and Owen changed his up slightly by swapping out the hood for the creepy Skeletor mask. Funny that Elliott wasn't afraid of his brothers.

Elliott loved his chicken costume. I think it must feel similar to his blankie. He walked into the office at school wearing it with the biggest grin on his face. He knew he was cute and he knew he was going to get attention for it. And boy did he! The ladies in the office did not disappoint.




Our jack-o-lantern is Jack the Pumpkin King but Brian refused to let us chop off his "hair" so he didn't look quite right. Our house wasn't as spooky as we would have liked, but I guess it was spooky enough. One of Oliver's 1st grade buddies wouldn't come to our door because he was afraid. Poor guy!

The Os made quite a haul and weren't even gone that long. Then they sat down to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas. On VHS! We really need to get it on DVD. There was a preview on the tape that said in the big loud voice, "COMING IN 1995." How retro. Embarrassingly so.

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And here's a bonus photo. I took the boys to Priest Point Park after school last week when the weather was so fabulous. Elliott is getting so big! He's such a fun baby. Er, toddler.

A Picture Says a Thousand Words

I got an e-mail forward from one of my fellow PrObama neighbors today and I really enjoyed it. So I'm posting it here in case it doesn't get around to you.

Fall Foliage

Our friend, Allison, sent us some lovely photos of the fall foliage in Finland where she is living with her hubby and two kids. I thought I would share some of ours! I've been too busy lately to get out and get the big trees so for now the ones on my street will have to do. They're little (about 9 years old) but still pretty.

Hey, Look! It's Me!!

Brian actually took a photo without being asked!!! I'm so lucky.

Into Everything

Parents talk about their toddlers "getting into everything." In my case, the phrase can be taken literally.

Getting into the closet. He learned to slide the doors, Owen put some stuffed animals in there and it's now his favorite place to be.


Getting into the kitchen cabinets. He usually just withdraws a pan lid and deposits a toy.


Getting into the bookshelf. He practiced this move over and over again and only fell on his head once. And even then he laughed about it. Nutty kid.

And sometimes, he's ON TOP of things. And yelling at me while he's doing it!



And then there are the times he plays and does the normal cute baby/toddler things and I think, "Whew. What a relief!"


He throws the ball and kicks it too. He's watched more than his fair share of soccer practices and games from the sidelines.

Oliver at 7 Years

Wow. Seven years old. I can't really say it doesn't seem like it's been seven years. I guess I just never imagined myself with a 7 year-old. That's a full-on wild and crazy, dirty, little boy! Gone are the days of cute doings and sayings. Instead I get to go to school conferences and hear all about what a wonderful student Oliver is. His teacher told me, "Oliver is very patient with me." Which means she knows he's bored with what she's teaching.

I appreciate that she is doing her best to challenge him given that there are around 24 other kids in his 1st grade class. He tests at nearly a 5th grade reading level already. His teacher says he tests highly because his vocabulary is so large. I guess all the reading we do to the boys has paid off! I fully expect Owen to be a great reader as well. He's already able to get through early readers with little help. It's amazing how quickly a child progresses once it clicks for them.

So Oliver is in a separate reading group with other advanced kids (although none of the others are quite as advanced as he *puff puff*) and he sits at a separate table during math with one other boy to work on 2nd grade math problems. Now that Oliver has reading under his belt he has become a math fiend! He's great with addition, working hard on subtraction and oddly enough has a pretty good grasp of fractions for his age. He can tell time pretty well and count money. He does some multiplication and is trying to figure out division as well. Total sponge.

Okay, enough bragging about his brains. Now I'm going to show off how handsome he is. ;o)

Scout Uniforms!

Oliver got his Cub Scout uniform last weekend. The boys are required to be dressed in uniform when selling popcorn (fundraiser). Doesn't he look cute?


As Den Leader, Brian has to wear a uniform too. It's not as bad as I imagined. You can't read it in the picture, but Owen's cap reads "Little Scout Buddy." He can attend everything but den meetings.

The Scouts led the Pledge of Allegiance at a re-dedication ceremony for this monument in front of the capital. It's called Winged Victory and it honors WWI veterans. It was a really boring half hour and I was proud of Oliver for remaining still the entire time. Many older boys were not so still and well behaved. Tsk tsk.

An Amazing Photo of the Milky Way

My friend, Genny, sent this photo to me. At first glace, I thought "Whoa." Then I thought, "Wait a minute, this can't be real!" So I did some digging online and to my surprise it is indeed a genuine photograph. The photographer is also an amateur astronomer. His name is Wally Pacholka and he had to make 5 separate 1200 mile round-trip journeys to this cave in Utah before getting the shot right. According to Pacholka, the cave is so wide he had to take 4 single 25 second shots and then stitch them together. That's Jupiter you see to the left. It's beautiful and I am awestruck. This photo takes me back to being twelve years old and wanting desperately to grow up and explore space. Thank you, Mr. Pacholka. And thank you, Genny, for sending it to me!