Washington

We recently spent a long weekend in Washington to visit friends. Marek had a chance to try out the new scooter he got for Christmas, along with his first few rides on the skateboard with Jake. He had the time of his life! We went to a skatepark near my old work and Jake took him on the halfpipe. Marek was just grinning from ear to ear and laughing the whole time. It was so cute to watch him. Afterwards he exclaimed, "When I grow up I want to live in the park!" Of course, I'm hoping this means he only wants to visit the park to skate. LOL. Other highlights of the visit included his temporary obsession with electric blankets. We had just read "Click, Clack, Moo, Cows That Type" by Doreen Cronin. The cows in the book are asking the farmer for an electric blanket. Marek had never heard of one or seen one before, so he immediately thought it was very important for us to get one. After what seemed like a long time spent convincing him that he didn't need one (and I'm pretty convinced they're both uncomfortable and unsafe!), he settled for taking a look at Daddy's heating pad.

Here is the video of him on the halfpipe:

I also, finally, had the chance to visit one of my best friends, Kari, and meet her new baby girl! She is so darling and Kari is just the sweetest mom. I really wish we lived closer to each other.

Nice day for a hike

We went on a hike last weekend when the weather was so gorgeous. Marek was so excited for the hike. He wanted to keep on going and going. Of course, he hasn't figured out the concept yet that at some point you have to turn around and come back - no matter how tired you are! We had a great time. However, on our way back down the hill we came across a family with a very excited big puppy that jumped on top of Marek and knocked him down. This has happened twice to Marek, where an excited big dog has trampled him and left him pinned down and muddy. Luckily no damage was done, but it scared me! The owners were very sweet (and responsible enough) to come up to Marek after disciplining their puppy to discuss what happened, make sure he was okay and talk to him about what the puppy had done. When a dog is in an off-leash area, the owners still need to make sure their dog can handle it. No wonder people grow up afraid of dogs! I'm glad he has good experiences with dogs, including Lily, because otherwise that would be enough to build a fear of dogs in him! He was a little upset, but quickly recovered. Enough excitement for one day!

sunshine in the cold

The weather was phenomenal the past few days (although cold!), so we took advantage of it and spent some time outside.

My canine companion and my adorable boy, taking a rest in the sand.

Heading to the park to run, slide, climb, swing and dig for treasure in the sand.

This fireman is ready for some muddy action - goofy hat and all.

My girl, Lily, enjoying the mud and creek. Next stop - bath....

All smiles!

mama musing

even the days where i feel exhausted to my core, there is:

happiness:: tiny feet, toothy grins, giggling until you make no sound
peace:: unconditional love, soft breaths of a sleeping boy, a hand held, a comforting hug given, cuddles
reflection:: those tiny feet becoming strong and fast and ticklish, wispy blonde curls thickening into wavy brown hair, the first coos errupting into laughter and song and long-winded sentences, the love that grows deeper each moment and how can that be when right now there is already no end to the depths of my love for my precious boy?

our evening

After a really long day at work, this was the perfect way to end the day!

pretty little birdie

I recently opted to buy a new bag from a great local (NW) company Queen Bee Creations. I was eyeing all different designs, but kept coming back to the chirp design.

And then I came home, walked in to my bathroom and noticed that I seem to have a recent love of birds.
It was my birthday this week and Marek gave me the most precious birthday. When I came home from work, the lights were out, the candles were lit on the cake and his smiling face was beaming up at me. He sang "Happy Birthday" to me and gave me a present (a playground ball he thought I'd just love!).

“Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” - Elizabeth Stone

officer marek in training

Marek and Officer Jason
Testing out the patrol car.

Marek was pretty excited to hang out in Jason's patrol car. They tried out the radio, lights and sirens. Well...the sirens were probably not Marek's favorite part, because he ended up clinging a little to me after that point. But he was quite impressed with the computer on board. Now he's regularly talking about his new computer in his police car - Marek often pretends he is an officer at a police department. It was really nice of Jason to share this with Marek!

singing

Holidays 2008

Despite multiple changes in holiday visitors and travel plans, we had a really good Christmas this year! Last week a good portion of Oregon was hit with an unusual amount of snow and ice...except where we live. We had a week of snow prior to that, so I definitely had my fix of snow fun. But it made for an interesting time trying to figure out Christmas plans! First my sister was going to drive with her five children and husband for the week from California. Weather changed that plan. Then we were going to head to Washington state to visit friends and relatives. Weather changed that. Then we finally got reservations on the train to spend Christmas in Washington state...but weather changed that. Our train was canceled and we were rebooked on a late Christmas-day train. So we had a beautiful, quiet Christmas at home with Grandma, then headed north for a few days with more friends and relatives. Here are some highlights:

my new favorite blog

I recently discovered the Greater Good Science Center's Half Full parenting blog and just loved this recent video blog post:

I'm sending it out to all of my friends with children because they are so important!

Merry Christmas!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Ginger-tastic

I'm not sure what we'll do with ourselves once the Christmas season is over. Our days have been packed with decorating, Christmas crafts, baking, shopping, singing carols and driving to see holiday lights. Tonight we were in the construction business - that of building a gingerbread house. It was really fun - and in Marek's words, "gingertastic!"

hurray for snow

We had a mixture of snow, ice & plain cold weather all week. Marek's school was closed 3 of 5 days due to weather and he had a blast!

Friday morning was absolutely beautiful. We woke up to a new blanket of snow and the sun shining down upon us. The downside of the cycle of winter storms, however, is that my sister, brother-in-law and their family will be stuck down south for the holiday. We were so excited to have them up here and will miss them during Christmas. But their safety is, of course, more important! Sending along thoughts of warm, safe, and pleasant travel to everyone this coming week!

my little man

Marek insisted on wearing a tie to school today. As you can see, he was still proud of it when I picked him up. It could use straightening, but he was so happy to wear his grownup shirt. That's my cutie. He told me the other day, "Today I fell down 4 times because I'm 4 years old!"

The Tree

This year we headed to a local Boy Scout tree lot to pick out our Christmas tree. After spending one year with an artificial tree, we're never going that route again if we can help it! Nothing beats the wonderful smell of a fresh Christmas tree. Marek was very excited for the tree this year! I let him pick it out and he did a fantastic job.

Walking with Grandma to help her choose her tree.

4th Birthday Party

It was my little boy's fourth birthday a few weeks ago. He celebrated with eight of his little friends from play group and preschool with a snowman birthday party. I made a snowman cake (see below), chocolate snowflake cupcakes, we did a snowman craft and everyone played a lot. Marek had such a good time. It was a really great day!

Snowman Cake - yum!Three of Marek's buddies explore the fire truck play structure."I can't believe it!" he says. It's his own copy of The Cat in the Hat.

Another friend busy building in the workshop. She is so adorable.

Constructing snowmen.

Singing "Happy Birthday" and anticipating blowing out four candles!
A happy ending for everyone. One of Marek's preschool friends with his blue balloon.

Sunny Smile

Marek at Titlow Beach in Tacoma.

adorable questions

I haven't been as good at posting regularly due to colds hitting our household, Thanksgiving and preparing for Marek's birthday celebration this weekend. I only have time for a quick post right now, but I wanted to share a cute moment between Marek and his Grandma. He's been very interested in the fact that he's turning 4 soon and the other day he asked Grandma, "Before I was a number, was I a letter?" I love it!