Growing and changing

The kids are growing and time is flying.  Fall has arrived and by the time I know it it'll be Christmas and then Zoë's fifth birthday. 

Oliver's current favorite phrases include "me self", "my turn", and "me first" and he is usually pretty adamant about getting his way when he screams them.  His tantrums are intense and usually quick to brew and explode.  He does not like being told what to do or that he cannot do something.  His favorite things are anything Disney Cars (he has a collection of Die Cast vehicles growing) and we took him to his first movie at the movie theater in July and had a great time!  He was hilarious during the movie cheering for the characters.  We are attempting round 2 of potty training and trying not to push him as much.  So far it seems like it's going better (he's self-initiating much better than he was last time) but I don't want to speak too soon.  He is scared of the car wash, Maui from Moana, and bears (?!).  It has been increasingly difficult to watch movies with him because he is getting scared at the scary parts!  His no-fear attitude has melted away.  He is chattering away speaking in full sentences now and it's hilarious to hear him tell stories with a tilt of his head as he looks towards the ceiling and holds his hands out.  He's still running from place to place without a thought for his personal safety and enjoying his time at gymnastics class. 

Zoë has really been enjoying preschool and loves her teachers.  She's slowly warming up to some new friends but she is still super stand-off-ish with new people.  It drives me nuts.  Also.  She has suddenly become a real teenager overnight.  Folding her arms, stomping her feet, huffing and puffing when we tell her no or she doesn't get her way.  It's crazy and really really really really bugs me.  Her sour puss face sticks until she is completely distracted by something or gets her way.  ARGH.  Vicki gave me the best piece of advice the other day and said "you don't have to see everything".  So.  I need to just not look in the rearview mirror when I know she's being huffy (although I CAN still hear her).  Zoë is still mispronouncing blanket (bwanqwet), Oliver (Ohver), and something else I can't remember right now.  I love it and want her to pronounce them like that forever.  She has been working on her letters and phonics sounds and I'm impressed with how fast she's memorized letters and how to write them.  She LOVES to work in her 'tivity book during nap times. 

Watching her and Oliver play together is both wonderful and super frustrating.  They can play for an hour perfectly well together and then fight over who gets to hold more handfuls of pony beads.  Or who gets to let Fiona out in the morning. I am lured into a false sense of security and then WHAM.  They bicker.  BUT, when they ARE playing together nicely it is amazing!  They love to pretend together and everything Zoë does Oliver wants to do (feed baby, tuck in baby, do a show, make a fort, etc). 

Chris is demo-ing the pool and deck this weekend so we (he) can build an in-ground pool next summer.  He is a champ (with the help of Drew and big Chris) and excited for a new (BIG) project!

Celebrating the End of Summer

The kids spent a fun three days at the first annual Camp BabaDedo with their camp counselors Baba and Dedo.  They had an amazing time, slept very little, and were exhausted by the time they came back home.

Our summer was rounded out by a fun week at Sunriver with my family.  Parents, sister and family and us.  It was great!  Zoë REALLY improved on her bike since our first trip to Sunriver in June and she could actually ride it on a 10 minute trip to the Lodge or to the Village on her own bike!  She spend a couple of nap times with Dedo at the golf course working on her putting (or kick putting).  We went to the SHARC one day when the smoke from the nearby wildfires was incredibly thick and only had to share the entire place with three other families.  It looked like a ghost town.  Cousins Mason and Russell also rode in bike trailers and did great.





























Zoë started preschool last week at the Tacoma Nature Center through their Nurture in Nature preschool program.  She is in the all outdoor section and she'll be outside all year long; rain, wind, snow it doesn't matter.  She's pumped, and so am I!  Her teachers, Ms. Jess and Mr. Brandon, are amazing and there are 12 kids in her class in all.  Their "schoolyard" is where they meet every day and includes a circle time area made of stumps, a sand pit with various logs to build and teeter on

, and tons of stuff to explore and climb.  It is incredible.  They walk up every day to "Coyote Flats" where there is a porta-potty and a large glass field where they eat their snack.  Around the corner from there is a full garden complete with 15 (!) chickens, a super cool stump circle around a campfire pit, and various other natural play spaces.

Her best buddy Bailey is also in the class and I am fortunate to have a carpool friend in Marci so that I can drive the girls one day a week and have a day off on the other.  Last Thursday Z told me that she made a new friend and held her hand and that she got to be the Trailblazer job, which meant she got to be at the front of the hiking pack the entire day and she loved that!  She saw a frog and many turtles.  It KILLS me that it's like pulling teeth to get her to tell me details about her day, but the teachers are great at posting pics each day of the kids and writing captions about what they were doing or learning.  I think it's going to be a great fit.  She had her first rainy day this week and wore her Oakiwear rainsuit so she looked like a total PNW kid in outdoor school.  It was adorable!

While Z is at school Oliver and I will have two mornings just the two of us each week which will be fun!  We went to the zoo on Tuesday and Thursday went to The Little Gym and had a great time.  It's great to be able to spoil him a little bit without having to think about being "fair" the entire time.

We went to the fair as a family on Friday and had a wonderful time!  The kids were THRILLED to ride the rides and eat yummy food.  We strolled through the animals and called it a day.  But it was great!  It's so nice that they are both able to spend several hours walking around to do things without toting around the stroller.  They were definitely done at the end but they were champs.







































Fall has come with a vengeance this year and it has already been pouring rain all week and been COLD.  The kids' Halloween costumes are well underway and I'm excited for baking yummy fall treats and drinking lots of extra warm coffee while snuggled up at home.