exhaustion

 This was Marek late Sunday night after we returned from Washington. He had been in my bed, but apparently rolled out and fell back asleep standing up. I couldn't resist taking a picture!

buddies

best friends

taking the scooters out for a test ride

happy boys

cruising the culdesac

This was the start to a great weekend. Bike riding, play, laughter, pizza, and fun with his best friend. I got to relax and catch up with one of my good friends, too.

an oceanside retreat

I am so grateful for a mini oceanside retreat we had two weeks ago. The view outside our balcony was gorgeous, especially when it was raining at night.

The fireplace kept us cozy and warm.

So did this little guy.

The next morning, the sand was perfect for building sandcastles.

And the weather was just right for trying out our kite with Grandma.

And giving it a shot on his own.

With budget cuts looming at work and the stress of trying to make the right decision for kindergarten next year, this was the perfect chance to stop, relax, feel thankful, and enjoy what really matters the most.

Happy Birthday Makenzie Faith!

My niece turned five yesterday. This is the homemade apron I gave her for her birthday. I wish she lived closer so we could put on our aprons and bake together!

Happy Birthday Makenzie!

outside

I am so ready for summer! We had a nice break from the dismal gray skies and rain recently. So we took advantage of it and played outside, gardened, and found ladybugs.

Searching for ladybugs...

Found one!

She's flying away!

Climbing a tree.

Suzuki

Marek is taking piano lessons, following the Suzuki method. Which translated means we are both taking piano lessons. I took lessons for years a long time ago, but I have lost a lot of it, so it's really nice to reconnect with the ivories. It's a big adjustment for Marek, though. He wants to learn to play and enjoys piano at home. But the concept of lessons and practicing is still new to him. At our lesson this past week, his teacher took this picture of him in his "get ready" position. He did a great job and I was really proud of him!

chores

Marek has always been an enthusiastic helper at home, inside and outside. Whether it's cleaning, planting, cooking, rearranging, creating, building...you name it, he's generally a ready and willing participant. Since he helps everyday so much, I hadn't given him set "chores" he had to do. Mostly, it's done naturally throughout the day. But he got excited about having a chore chart and I thought it might be nice to pin down a couple of things that he could be in charge of each day to help with that could be his own chores. He chose them - making his bed and helping with dinner. We may have to modify this list to include different chores, but here is the chart I made for him. For every day that he completes his chore, he can remove a planet from the pocket and place it in the sky. When all of the planets are in the sky, he gets to choose an extra special activity for the day. I remember going to the house of one of my best friends in 4th grade and seeing a chore chart for her big family. I just fell in love with it and came home begging for a chore chart, too! I'm sure my mom thought it was amusing how excited I was about having a chore chart!

update

Besides Easter, work, and preschool, our lives have been filled with:

Piano - Trying to instill the habit of practicing every day. (And playing our recordings for 2 hours each day!)This can be difficult when we're taking trips or have so many other things scheduled. Or when I work until 9 at night. But I think it will all pay off in the end. I really like our piano teacher.

Gym class - Marek loves, loves, loves gym class. He looks forward to it more than anything else during the week. It's great to see him doing well in it, enjoying himself, and getting some great exercise!

Swimming - Marek's getting private lessons these days. The girl who was in his class hasn't been there in a few weeks, so we're getting private lessons at the group cost! His confidence is building and he loves being in the water.

Birthday parties - We've been to three birthday parties in the past few weeks (two in one day). It's been a lot of fun for Marek and I've had the chance to see some friends I haven't seen in awhile.

Fun in Gig Harbor - We watched a theatre performance of Puss in Boots, got his first PCLS library card, made a butterfly house from the kids workshop at Home Depot, visited with Grandpa Mark and Grandma Judy, visited extended family, and watched Milo and Otis (for the 10th time). Marek sings the Milo and Otis theme song throughout the day.

Planning our Disneyland Vacation - We're so excited to go in May! It will be a whirlwind trip, but so worth it. I'm not sure who is most excited about this one. :)

Easter Wishes

Happy Easter! We had a beautiful (although very stormy) Easter weekend in Washington. Hoping it was a wonderful time for you as well.

Preparing the eggs...shirt off, as I quickly learned that it stains!

It had been storming all weekend, so the Easter Bunny had to hide the eggs around the house.

Checking out the Easter basket

Posing for an Easter photo.

This is my handsome boy. Love him so much! Love that he loves wearing a tie!

After our morning Easter breakfast, egg hunt at home, and church, we headed to the Anderson's for a family Easter event. Marek had such a good time and begged to stay longer. Here he is, with all of the kids at the Anderson's house, preparing for the big Easter egg hunt.

Finding eggs.

Post egg hunt. Happy and relaxing!

The Andersons have a beautiful house and farm with chickens and horses. Nik is taking Marek to check out the farm life.

Taking a seat in church. Happy Easter!

swimming

We head to family swim at least once a week - and my boy has weekly swim lessons too. He loves it!

Big Race Day

We had a sort of impromptu party the other evening. Marek was excited to see Handy Manny's Big Race, so we turned it into a transportation-themed evening with food, cupcakes, art & activities. He had a blast!

the ivory tower

I was raised in the world of academia. The photo above is of the "Sample Gates", the entrance to my alma mater for grad school. My two years spent here while working on my master's degree were two of the best years of my life. I love this university and this college town. In fact, I just have a big soft spot in my heart for college towns. A college town is my ideal place to live. I probably think this because I was raised in a college town. But I also think there is a beautiful harmony in small college towns - with the university providing diversity, intellectualism, arts/music/culture, and a vibrancy to a town, while the non-university portion of the town provides a great balance of authentic small town life experience and culture. 

My childhood memories contain a backdrop of the world of the university. Some of my earliest memories are of my parents lugging our travel crib up old, broad flights of stairs at the university my father taught at, so that I could take a nap while he worked. I remember sitting in his small, cramped office stacked with papers and books, pretending that I was a professor. I'd make makeshift typewriters out of yellow legal pad paper and pretend to type up important papers. I climbed trees outside his building, played catch and practiced batting a ball behind the parking lot. As I grew older, I played "teacher" in the empty classrooms on the weekends, evenings, and between classes. I made my parents sit and listen in a classroom as I "taught" them everything from math to AP biology to french as I prepared for the next day's exam at school. When no babysitter was available, I'd sit quietly in the back of his lectures and write or doodle. I grew up among the whispers of the politics of academia. I spent my summers riding my bike through the campus, hanging out in the union building, roaming the stacks of the library. I grew up with one parent heading off to teach summer school in other states, heading to conferences and lectures in other areas of the country. I missed him terribly during his summers away, but I was also so proud of him. Road trips almost always included stops to the nearby colleges and universities. My father was the only professor in the family, but my mother, when she went back to work, worked at the university, too. While I don't work at a university, I do hope that I'm instilling a love of learning in my son. 

Marek's childhood experience will be unique, of course, but full of love. And that, above all else, is the most important thing I can give him.

update

I haven't updated my blog in awhile. Not nearly as regularly as I had planned this year. Days just whirl into other days and I barely have time to breathe sometimes. Everything has been so good, but there are piles upon piles of unfinished (or yet to be started) projects I'm hoping to get to this year.

Who has been keeping me busy: a 5-year-old going through a super-attached-to-mommy phase (how can I complain with hundreds of kisses each day?). A boy who currently loves his new gym class, playing "safety town", riding his brand new bike with wobbly training wheels, who brings me flowers "because I love you so much, Mommy", who loves Polo, who loves to create "happy houses" as an art project, is reading up a storm on his own, is taking swim classes, and who sings lovely.

What has been on my mind: planning this year's vacation, my relatives, friends, loving the people in my life, needing to take more photos, deciding on kindergarten plans, religion, books, springtime.

silly & sweet

Those two words completely describe Marek. He's been missing me a lot lately while I'm at work, so when I return home in the evening he is hyper and looking for attention. I get a million kisses every evening and I just love it.

Showing off at dinner with Grandma. He is obsessed with these French import Polo books by Regis Faller.

Back from a weekend trip in Washington with Grammie and Grandpa from South Dakota. Reuniting with his puppets for an impromptu evening puppet show. Love you!!

sunny days

The weather has been gorgeous here for the past few days! It's amazing what a little sunshine can do! Marek was out from preschool sick with a cough and fever this week, but he was feeling a bit better this morning and begged to go back. We cut daffodils out of our yard this morning to give to his teacher; he was so proud of his bundle of sunshine.

love

Today is Valentine's Day, the day we traditionally reserve for celebrating those we love. But every day I celebrate how much I love my little boy. I have loved him since before he was born and each day I find new ways, reasons, and depths to how much I love my son. I just never knew how much love my heart could give until Marek came into my life.

Today I celebrate:

*sweet feet that once moved and kicked inside my pregnant belly that now move a 5-year-old to run, skip, hop, and dance around in life. Wherever those toes take him, I know he will go far.

*smiles that light up the room, that make me laugh, and can turn any bad day around for the better

*the gentle, sweet way he sees the world

*the endless number of kisses, hugs, and "I love you"s that I receive daily

*his insatiable curiousity & great sense of humor

*the snuggles

*the beauty and song he brings wherever he is

Happy Valentine's Day Marek!

update

I haven't posted here in awhile! I'd rather be sharing a thoughtful post, but I'm limited in time tonight and wanted at least to share an update of what we've been up to lately.

We spent a great weekend up in Portland for the Disney Rockin' Roadshow at the end of January. We stayed in one of our favorite hotels, road the MAX, saw a fun show at the Rose Garden, had delicious food, and did a little shopping.

We saw a fabulous children's music show: Gustafer Yellowgold's Show. LOVED it! This is an absurd, fun, cosmic, quirky music and animation show put on by a talented Morgan Taylor. So lucky the show could come to our town and give a fantastic performance.

Here we are at the show. This isn't exactly the best photo of either of us. He looks so grumpy or sleepy here, but actually the camera just caught him at the wrong moment. He had a great time!

We also went to a live quartet performance of music around the world. I am still in awe of how music just speaks to Marek. Speaking of music, I've met with a piano teacher and we've observed a lesson...the next step is parent education and lessons for me. Then Marek will start his lessons. We're trying the Suzuki method and I'm really looking forward to it, although it will be a lot of work for me too!

He's signed up for swim classes and gym class this winter/spring too. I really hope I'm not overdoing it. I don't want him to feel overscheduled, so we'll see how it goes. Work has been keeping me super busy, along with a big home project, and I am already ready for spring - or a vacation!

Marek told me last night that when he grows up he wants to be my daddy, since I lost my dad several years ago. I thought that was so sweet of him. I know someday he will make a wonderful father.

laughter

Dear Marek,

I love how happy and funny you are. Recently, you've been asking to have "laughing parties" every night before you fall asleep. You want to look around the room, find something funny to talk about and laugh hysterically with me. I love how you bounce, flop, and play with a pile of pillows while singing at the top of your lungs, like we are doing here. I love how we can dance together and sing together and be crazy together. I love your smile, your silliness, and how our friends and family always comment on what a funny little guy you are. You've got one heck of a sense of humor for someone so small and I hope that no matter what life throws at you, you'll always be able to laugh. I love you so much!

Love, Mommy

preschool is a serious affair

Marek loves shirts with ties. I think he's the only boy in his preschool that wears them, but he is so excited and proud to wear his "tie shirts" each week. He's not always dressed in formal or "nice clothes" for preschool, but those days he definitely feels special. I know the feeling. I love being comfy, but there's something energizing and empowering about wearing more formal clothes. I wore a suit to work a few weeks ago and everyone kept asking what the occassion was - a job interview, important meeting, something special? Not just that, I always feel like I take myself more seriously when I'm dressed up. I love putting on a nice dress and going out for dinner or to a party, although most days I am casual.

If you are a mother, you probably know how happy it makes you feel when even the smallest thing can make your child feel proud of himself. If he's glowing, I'm glowing.

Bowling Day

At the bowling alley with his best friend and their family. He was pretty excited to be able to show off his bowling shirt too. And neon shoes - awesomeness.