An Interview with MJ

So, sometimes I get a little bored when I am home with the kids. Not that there is a lack of things to get done around the house, but most of those things are either too hard to get done or finished with the kids around or so redundant (dishes, laundry, vaccuuming) that I am just not ready to do them again. Anyway, I have taken to recording my kids. Either with my camera, my phone or my flip camera. The videos on the two former options don't come out with the best quality. I wish I would carry my flip video with me more often.

I love how much language MJ has now and how easy it is to understand her. Although sometimes I understand her more than other people. I have started repeating practically everything she says so others can understand ther as well. I am impressed that Josh has understood her words better than myself at times. Lately, I've been doing some interviews with her. She doesn't talk all that much when we are out and about so people don't see how much language she has. I want to get it recorded more so that I can see her different stages when I look back. This isn't the best example of her language, but I think it is a cute video. In this video she is sitting on a antique scale which has become her new favorite seat in the house.

Little Buddy in the tub

EJ loves his bathtime. He hardly needs much for entertainment. His splashes cover the floor, but what can you do when his smile is so big and bright. I wanted to post this mainly to get his curls on record. When EJ's hair is wet, it gets curly... I have no idea where that came from, kind of like his hair color. I can't believe how quick he is growing up.

Leavenworth!

Well, we decided we needed to get out of town for a little family retreat. Josh took a week off and we were going to do a "staycation" and started off with a day trip to the Children's museum in Seattle. That was fun and MJ really loved the Clifford exhibit. We only have one Clifford book and she has never seen the show, but she knew who he was. I was disappointed to see that a lot of the permanent exhibits were not working, but the kids didn't care, so I decided that I wouldn't care too much. I really liked the part where you could visit different countries. I couldn't find my camera before we left, so no pics, sorry. It was a fun trip.

We wanted to take another trip up to play in the snow in the mountains one day, but I was having a hard time getting excited about driving up to a place with snow knowing that the kids would only last about 40 mins then we would turn around and come back. It would be more fun to be able to go outside and play in the snow, come in, get warm, maybe take a nap and then go out and do it all over again. So that night we looked up places to stay in Leavenworth. We found one, not the greatest deal as it was during the Ice Festival, but we would splurge a little. We got a two bedroom condo and booked it for two nights. It was nice because we didn't have to worry about our kids disrupting others in a hotel and we had room to give them a nap and put them to bed earlier than ourselves and we could still hang out in the living room.

   



Making a snowman with her cousin, Cody.



 Here's video of EJ's sled ride. He would start sitting up, but when the sled moved he would fall backwards. He liked it more than MJ did.

MJ was very excited about playing in the snow, compacting it and throwing it. She was not to fond of the sledding. She is a little young I think, especially for the sledding hill at the park. I am not sure I even want to try that one. Josh walked her halfway down and did half the hill. They still got going very fast and even went over a rather large jump that came up by surprise. No tears from the munchkin and she did it a couple times. However, she wasn't smiling either and Josh had to carry her and the sled back up each time, not worth it if she is not enjoying the experience. It rained a lot and the Ice Festival wasn't all that we thought it would be, but Saturday morning was clear and we made the most of it. We even suited up and walked around town in the rain on Saturday night. They still had the lights on and MJ loved them. She didn't seem to mind the wet walk, but I felt bad for EJ sitting in the stroller all bundled up, but getting rain on his face. He wasn't complaining, but I felt bad for him anyway. We went out to dinner to get warm, then headed to the condo. MJ's favorite part of our "new house," as we called it, was the 2 person jacuzzi tub. She pretty much thought of it as a swimming pool and took at least 4 "baths" while we were there.

 Being that we live about 90 seconds from Josh's work, sometimes we get "cabin fever" even going through our daily lives. Sometimes just getting into Gig Harbor does the trick, but it was nice to go a little farther and leave it all behind for a couple days.  

I am sorry that the pictures were a little out of "order." I am having a heck of a time moving them around in Blogger. Does any one have any tips for this???

Riding "bikes" in the Barn

MJ and EJ got new "vehicles" for Christmas. We got MJ a trike. A low riding, Schwinn with crome and a nifty wooden plate in the back that looks pretty sharp. I knew the pedals wouldn't be used for awhile, although she can almost reach them, but I wanted her to start practicing with the handlebars for awhile and we will work on the pedals gradually and hit it hard this spring/summer. We don't really have a driveway or sidewalks right next to our house, so Josh took both "vehicles" to the barn at camp. The rain has challenged me to find out of the house activities that are free/inexpensive and close. Riding our "bikes" at the barn is a perfect option as it is free and only a three minute car ride and as a bonus, we sometimes get to see Daddy at work. After three practices, MJ is amazingly fast and adept at steering...way ahead of the schedule that I thought we were on. I think we might try the pedals sooner than I anticipated. I will bring the video camera next time.

EJ got this push along car. He LOVES it! Mommy loves it, too, as it give my arms a break. MJ likes to push him, too. She is getting to be such a good and caring big sister.

After riding our "bikes," MJ helped Daddy sort lead ropes in the barn. My little girl is getting so independent!She always wants to help.

A Cheesy smile...

When she was a baby, MJ was easy to get to smile for pictures. Starting at about 11 months, when she started to walk, she was imposible to keep still for a picture. About 4 months ago she started to say "smile" whether or not she was looking at the camera, which made for some interesting pictures. Now comes the "cheesy" smile stage. She doesn't say cheese, just "smiles." Ugh... I am glad that she will now hold still, but the pictures are still interesting. Sweet girl, she's trying.

Christmas Morning

This year was way more fun being a parent at Christmas. MJ gets excited about presents and wants to play with them. She can open them for herself, too. Last year was a little weird wrapping presents and then opening them for her. It was fun putting the big presents in front of the tree when the kids were asleep and filling the stockings. We planned to be home on Christmas morning so we could take our time opening the presents and playing with them in the morning before having to get ready to head over to my parents' house for the celebration there.

The tree and presents all ready to go.

 MJ got at trike!
 

 EJ got a push along car.

EJ opening his puzzle.

 MJ loves her new stick horse. It sings and talks.

And here is a cute pic from a couple nights before. It was too cute not to include it. Had to get the pajamas in front of the tree shot.

Christmas Eve!

We spent Christmas Eve with Daddy's side of the family at Aunt Heather and Uncle Ben's. It was a fun night filled with family(some that we haven't seen in awhile) appetizer-dinner, presents, and even a visit from SANTA! 

 EJ with his stocking

 MJ and her cousin ready to open presents. MJ is starting the fake smile stage. It's actually better than before when she would say "smile" and not even look at the camera.

 Getting horsey rides from Uncle Rodney.

 Surprisingly EJ was okay sitting with Santa (uncle Ben). He usually freaks out with anyone except me.

 That's about as close as MJ would get. Even after Uncle Ben showed her his face.

 MJ and her cousin got very cute Tutus, then gave us a show of twirling! They loved them.

 MJ and her cousin in matching Jammies. Wish this was in front of the tree...oh well.