Punkins at the Punkin Patch!

These were taken at a birthday party for Wilson's good friend, Madelyn.

Pics here.

Wylet's Vocabumtary.

Wylet is talking all the time now! Her newest words include:

Stinky!
Railway
Lunchbox
Shoe
Nose
Zucchini
Grape
Toothbrush
Eyebrow
Book

:) Yay!

More Pics of Childrens.

Water Play!

Stinky's New Vocabumtary.

Some new words being spoken by the Stinklet:

Bye bye (complete with a wave)
Mommy!
Daddy!
Bapu! (we think this means cup, but we aren't sure...)
Paddy (a friend at school)
Car
Doggie
Diaper

and, of course,

Right There.

Grampa.

Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of my father's untimely death. We are indebted to East Pierce Fire & Rescue, who organized a very touching day in remembrance. They built a lovely pond in his honor, and named a memorial brick walk after him. They also designed coins with his picture and the phrase "A Quiet Leader Who Got it Done" inscribed.

It was really great for me to spend the day among people who love, mourn and miss Dad as much as I do. I was so glad to see his memory alive and openly cherished by so many. It was well-timed, as I sometimes feel that he's being forgotten. But I don't feel that way anymore, and for that I am deeply relieved.

We also marked the day in our own ways. Katrina toasted him at his grave with a bottle of lovely wine. Wilson wore a Hawaiian shirt, khaki shorts and sandals. I tried (and failed) to get Happy Donuts, so resigned myself to Albertson's donuts instead. In hindsight, I should have had two large bowls of ice cream.

Here's a moving tribute written by someone at EPFR: http://ow.ly/ikw9

Fallen But Never Forgotten

No, not there...

Kids say the darnedest things, indeed. We aren't exactly sure where she picked it up, but Violet is saying a new phrase:

"right there".

The cuteness is painful. Especially when she walks right up to you and points to your face when she says it. It's like her own, unique way of saying "I like you".

Lavender Festival.

I took the childrens to Sequim's Lavender Festival all by myself yesterday!

So, to begin: we all slept in. Until, like, 7:45. That may not sound late to some of you, but to me, it was absolute heaven! I am proud to say that once we woke up, I was able to quickly get my act together and get out the door by 8:05 (helped a lot by packing the car the night before).

I didn't stop for Starbucks on the way to the ferry, much to my temporary discomfort, but it was all made worth it when we made it for the 9:20 boat. We only had to wait in the line for 15 minutes, which we spent reading classics like "Where's the Green Sheep" and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?"

Wilson LOVED the ferry! We went up on the deck and he stood in the wind and giggled and squealed and hopped around like an extremely happy little man. I tucked Wylet into my sweater so she could enjoy the wind too, but in some comfort. That 30 minute boat ride went extremely quickly.

Then the real adventures began. First of all, did you know that the bridge out of Kingston is a drawbridge? Yah, me neither. So when traffic backed up into Port Gamble, I panicked. But being firmly committed to seeing some damned lavender, I opted to spend an hour in Port Gamble ambling about. Which turned out to be great -- we walked down to the water, where Wilson found an enormous purple starfish on the pilings. We stood on the rocks and enjoyed the salty breeze. Both of my children were mesmerized by the water all day long in all of its incarnations. And after making a stop at PG's sunday market, we successfully made it across the bridge and back on track to our purple-plant-hunting adventure.

Once we reached Sequim, Tiny Man awoke from his nap. He then decided it would be funny to wake up Wylet from hers. (It wasn't.) After a brief stop for some rejuvenating bok-bok and fries (with diet coke for me), we parked in front of a sweet lady's yellow house, crammed into the umbrella stroller and baby backpack, and hit the Fair!

We only made it about 10 feet inside the gate. We entered next to the live music, and a band named "Bowi" was performing. They're an Irish Music band, and boy, Wilson lit right up. After three songs I managed to lure him away by purchasing their album and promising he could listen to them the entire drive home (which he did. I know many, many Irish songs now). We spent an hour cruising through market stalls, eventually taking home some lavender stalks, an iron quail for the front yard and a memento purple starfish to commemorate Wilson's waterfront friend in Port Gamble.

My primary goal in attending the festival was to purchase some plants for my yard. So I packed my two now-sunburned, cranky kids back into the car to make one more stop -- a farm! We hit Sunshine farm east of town, and found 5 nice plants to bring home. We also got some lavender lemonade, some marionberry-lavender ice cream and a yummy candle for my office. The best part was when I turned around inside of the store to leave and the bottom of the backpack swung into something expensive and porcelain. While the owner wouldn't let me pay for the piece, it was certainly a moment I would like to forget.

We left shortly thereafter. We were all tired, and some of us in the car (hint: not me) were poopy. To make things even more interesting, the wait time for the ferry was 2 hours and traffic was backed up into Sequim (!!). It took me nearly an hour to make it 5 miles. After some discussions with the cruise director at home (Josh) I decided it was better to drive home through Tacoma than to risk trying the wait for the boat. So, on we drove.

End-of-the-weekend traffic and one smucky trip to Jack in the Box later, we arrived home around 7:00pm. My kids were filthy. I was cranky. The car smelled of lavender, bok-bok and poop. But you know what? I totally had a blast. And I think the kids did too. Wilson told Josh when we got home that we saw "mommy's purple plants" and "I ran around!" It'll be great fun tomorrow after work when we all get home, settle ourselves, have some supper and then spend a few minutes planting the lavender in the yard. There are enough plants to go around -- one for every one of us!

Blame Facebook.

If I wasn't on Facebook so much, providing little snippets of Tiny Man's conversations etc., we'd be better about blogging. Please forgive us. You can blame Facebook's increasing ubiquitousness and general awesomeness. (Not that I am biased or anything...)

So. Some stories?

Pics of Childrens.

Happy pictures of happy childrens.

Pics here.

Keepers.

Today we went to a birthday party, and I must say I am so pleased that my children were well-behaved. In many ways it was miraculous; the three hours preceding the party were heavy with wailing, whining and buckets of tears (from both buttheads, sadly). But once they got settled into the party groove, they were personality-filled little angels.

Good babies!

BOK-BOK!!!

Yesterday when preparing Wylet her dinner, Josh and I were stunned to hear a tiny voice call to us from the dining room -- "BOK BOK!"

It turns out the tiny person demanding nuggets of fried chicken was not, in fact, Wilson.

Wretched baby.

The R-Word.

I've probably offended some of you in the past by getting on your case about pejoratively using the word "retard". Since working with special needs children last year, I've come to take this issue seriously and more than a little personally.

Here's why:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/03/20/obama.special.olympics/index.html

Violet, Wilson, Josh and I challenge you to take the pledge!
http://www.r-word.org/

Violet's Vocabumtary

Wylet can say many words! Well, "words", I should say. Here's the list:

Hi!
Mama
Dada
Ber-ber ("diaper")
Stinky (seriously, I swear)
Uh-oh!
Ba ("bottle")
Ba ("ball")

She also waves goodbye, and responds immediately to "no!" Interestingly, she doesn't appear to call Wilson anything yet, although she definitely knows who he is. She likes to climb on him and steal his toys. She herself responds to "Violet", "Wylet", "Stinky" and "baby buttmunch".

(We know we're bad parents; at least we amuse ourselves in the meantime.)

Doctor Report

Violet had her 1-year doctor's appointment on Friday. Here's the breakdown:

Weight: 48th percentile
Height: 19th percentile
Head size: 97th (!) percentile

I'm consoling myself with the thought that for people this small, a couple of inches either direction probably has a huge effect in the percentile department.

Birthday news and other stuff coming soon!

Handy Daddy.

So our toilet had been leaking, and this past weekend decided it would take the plunge and evacuate itself all over our bathroom floor. Josh, being the uber-handy boy he is, removed the old toilet, installed a new one and will put the finishing touches on the project tonight.

This is good because we no longer have to descend a mountain (our staircase) to take a pee, and my children can bathe again.

As Wilson would say, "Good job, Daddy!"

Out of the mouths of babes.

I swear to God that Violet looked at me this morning and said, "Stinky".

...Then you're too old

Wilson's favorite volume level for music is "too loud." If something is playing and he says, "too loud, Daddy", that's his way of telling you to turn the volume not down but up. Which I guess came from one of us at one point turning music down and telling him it was too loud.

See, we're making a little rocker man here (well, except for all the Eagles, I guess).

Gimme Five Steps

I'm happy to report that Violet Baby Miss is now an official walker! We had a report that she took five steps last Tuesday at daycare; hoping to avoid the whole "Violet can now talk" debacle, I decided to wait for confirmation before announcing it. Yesterday morning I saw her take seven halting and shuffly but real steps. That's some baby!

Jelly legs.

So in celebration of Violet's impending first birthday, I decided I should finally try to shed these baby pounds. While I'm back to where I was before getting pregnant with her, I am nowhere near where I was before Wilson. So what am I doing? I joined a gym and am going to see a personal trainer.

I had a mini-session today. He pretty much laughed in my face. Not good.

And I can barely walk now. Also not good.

But hey, if it means I'm in bikini shape by September, it'll be totally worth it! Then me and Wylet can be cute in our suits together. ;D

Sleeping with a younger man.

Daddy's in Vegas for the weekend celebrating his 39th in high style -- chuggin' a 12-pack with his buddy Al and rolling in the dirt or something.

Anyway, in his absence, I've replaced him with a man much younger, but equally snorey and warm. I shall sleep soundly and happily, provided I can make room among the pile of toy cars he brought with him.

I'm Fast!

Here are some more pictures of us (and especially Little Man) playing in the snow, mostly because I can't get enough of them.

The title: After one of his ski runs behind the house, Wilson looked up at me and said, "I'm fast!".

For Posterity.

On April 4th at 3:16pm, Josh texted me this:

"Violet just stood up!"

Recording here for posterity.

Tdukka Man & Wylet.

Yay, more pics!

It just makes her beg

We just stopped Wilson from throwing food on the floor from the table to Violet, who was eating it. >sigh<

This One's For Granddude

In the Duckboy style (home of the Montana Double Date and other stories), of course.

Snowbird Pics

Finally!

Pics...I'm trying. Really.

See I know I promised y'all some pictures soon. And I mean it. I've just had a totally insane week! Tonight is Study Night with the little sis, and if we get finished at a decent hour and I manage to maybe shower (for the first time in three days) then I'll put some pics up for your perusal and enjoyment. Kay? Kay!

Stinky's Other Nickname.

Once upon a time I made up a song about Violet that went something like this (this may look familiar to some of you):

Stinky, Stinky, Stinky-butt-pee-yew,
I think you're stinky
Yes I really do
I'm gunna punch you in the belly
Because you are so smelly
I think you're cute
Even when you poot
You Stinky-butt-pee-yew!

I sing her this song several times a day, and often refer to her as Stinky. Sometimes I call her Stinky-Butt-Pee-Yew. Wilson has taken to calling her that too, except when he says it, it comes out "Stinky-Bee-Bop-Beeyew".

Obviously that's a much more charming nickname, and so now we all call her Stinky-Bee-Bop-Beeyew. Even in public.

Poor baby.

Yes, now where's my sticker?

The voice tonight from outside the bathroom door: "Good job Daddy! You peed in the toilet!"

A Tiny Man on Tiny Skis

Home on the Range.

Yes, there were deer and antelope playing as we drove over the rivers and through the woods to Gigi's house in Helena, MT. There we stayed for a whole week, playing in the 20 inches of snow, learning to ski and generally making a nuisance of ourselves. It was a long week with such a big crowd, and the childrens didn't really know what to make of the whole not-having-routines thing, but it was definitely a happy time spent with people we love.

At the tail end of the trip, we drove over some other rivers and through different woods to great-Grama's house in Billings. There the childrens frolicked with their 93-year-old matriarch and Katie Pickle and I packed up much of her family treasures. It was a special time for all.

Pictures to follow shortly. Promise!

5 Mississippi

Wylet's new nickname: "5 Mississippi". Why? Cuz that's how long she can stand up on her own!

Good baby!

Bad Bad Doctor.

Me, baby Wilson and Dr. Chris Shuhart (11/2006)


Me, newborn Wylet and the doctorly Dr. Shuhart (5/28/08)

Ah-hem.

"Bad Doctor" is very bad. He has decided to leave the Magnolia clinic where we've seen him these many years, and move on to bigger and better things.

As Josh eloquently put it, "Sucks for us. Great for him."

Y'all have heard us gush about how much we like Chris Shuhart. I think it's rare to find a doctor like him. He's competent and nice and funny and he goes the extra mile to make you feel like he cares. He delivered both of my children, and has taken wonderful care of me since a fateful sinus infection when I was 20. *sigh* We've been so spoiled! I actually *like* going to the doctor. What now!?

Well, for his part, he's going to start a new specialty clinic and fulfill life ambitions. You know, little stuff like that. And us, well, we'll pray we don't get sick. And when the time comes for us to find a new doctor, we'll try really hard not to make comparisons.

Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Milk

Wilson's latest dietary fad is "raisins and snack". "Snack" is vegetable-flavored Pirate's Booty, available in the hippy section of most grocery stores ("raisins" is raisins). Wash enough of it down with a cup of milk and there is really no need for lunch or dinner.

Midnight Oil.

I didn't like my children very much this morning. Violet woke up at 3:30 demanding (loudly) for a "ba ba". And then Wilson decided to creep into our bedroom at 5:15am to "snuggle". All the while he whispered in my ear, "All dee bed" and "Let's go usstairs". After about twenty minutes of his niggling nagging, I gave in and spent the remainder of the "night" on the couch trying to catch a few more zzz's in-between renditions of The Wiggles' greatest hits.

Rough morning. But I suppose I like my kids now that I've had my coffee.

Oh, to be the Age...

When 3 M&M's are an awesome treat.

Coupla New Pics.

The sun came out today. Between daylight savings and the snow, it was very welcome!

We took advantage of the nice light to snap a few pics of the childrens. Mostly Wilson, as he was the only one we could convince to sit still.

New Look, No Talk

So, I'm not really convinced anymore that That Baby really said, "Da da," mostly because she hasn't said it again for a week or so. But, to make up for the excitable-parent-false-alarm, here's a new blog template to amuse and mystify...

Milestone

Yesterday at daycare, Wilson peed in the toilet not once, but twice! We had to go out last night and get him new potty-training diapers. We're very proud of him. I can't believe we're at this point already... what a little man!

I also let him know that is merely step two of a man's development:
1. Peeing in the diaper;
2. Peeing in the toilet;
3. Peeing in the general vicinity of the toilet.

Wilson and Violet (2/24/09)

Here are your pictures. So quit whinin' already.

We hear you.

Some of you still-faithful readers (thank you, we're deeply grateful) have been groaning lately about the sparseness of our photo collection. We get it! Okay! We'll take some pictures already!

Perhaps pleasant weather this weekend will contribute to some impromptu family portraits. Stay tuned.

Mommy's Lament.

One thing I don't especially like about being a working parent is that I feel like I hardly get to see Stinky at all during the week. She goes to bed super early -- sometimes 6pm -- which is about twenty minutes after we get home from daycare. She's a pretty good sleeper and a wonderful morning person, so there's some brief time in the morning before we go racing out the door. But it would be nice if I could spend a little more time with my nose buried in her sweaty neck, or chewing on her fat cheek, instead of standing over her tiny, snoring form wishing she would play with me.

Having said that, our weekends are rich with neck-nuzzling and cheek-chewing, so I can't really complain too much.

Love Stinky!

Ba ba.

Not to be outdone, I would like to take this opportunity to share with y'all that little Stinky referred to me yesterday as "ba ba". This was after I pointed to daddy, said "Da da", and then she said "da da." So when I pointed to myself and said "ma ma,", and she said "ba ba," well, yes, I think that counts.

Between Wilson's relentless singing and now Violet's burgeoning chatter, we're going to have a very loud house indeed! Awesome.

"Da da"

She said it! And keeps saying it: About 85% in context, which is good enough for me. Good baby! And don't worry about Mommy, there is not too much doubt about who this baby prefers...

Good Lord, More Baby Songs

A few more of mine, then we're done, I promise.

Contents: Bananas
For Violet on the occasion of her first solid food
Some people think bananas are yellow and long,
I'm sorry to say that they're terribly wrong.
But I'm here to tell you what it is they are,
Bananas are grey and they come in a jar!

Bananas! Bananas! Bananas, bananas! Bananas, bananas, bananas!


First Prize
Of all the little sweet small guys,
From the biggest one to the smallest size
Baby man, he wins first prize:
Bok bok and some fries!


The Fairview Song
This is the song that I (believe it or not) sang to Wilson and now Violet every time I took them to daycare at Fairview over the last 2 years. Wilson now sings along in parts.
We're taking this baby to Fairview,
We're taking this baby to Fairview,
We're taking her to Fairview,
'Cause it's what we always do,
We're taking this baby to Fairview.

Lines 3 and 4 change in subsequent verses, but not enough to make it interesting:

Verse 2: 'Cause that's where she spends her days, or so this baby says... (which doesn't actually rhyme)
Verse 3: To see Katie and the ladies, and all the other babies...
Verse 4: 'Cause this Baby is On Board, to get right with the Lord... (my personal favorite)
Verse 5: We go speeding down the block, 'cause it's almost 8 o'clock...
Verse 6: Where she'll eat and sleep and play, and at the end of the day...

We'll go and get this baby from Fairview!

Many, Many Baby Songs

The good news: A ton of new posts, in one day! The bad news: They're all the idiotic songs that we sing to the childrens, jotted down here for us to remember them later as much as anything. Please, enjoy.

Violet, Violet (to the tune of Daisy Bell, by Josh)

Violet, Violet, sweet small baby girl,
She's the sweetest... baby in the world.
I know there are lots of babies,
And that's something to say;
But she is sweet,
From her head to her feet,
She's sweet little Violet May.

Who's that Baby in the Mirror?

Sung to the tune of "Who's that Doggy in the Window":

Who's that baby in the mirror? *blurp blurp*
The one with the curly brown hair?
Who's that baby in the mirror?
The cutest! You all should be 'ware.

- by Auntie Katie

No bonking!

No no no no bonking!
No no no no bonking!
No no no no bonking!
Please don't bonk my head.
(*a-singin'*...repeat)

- by Daddy

We're Driving!

To the tune of "Keep Walking" from the Veggie Tales' "Josh and the Big Wall":

We're driving
Cuz we have a lot to do
We're driving
And I'm having fun with you!
We'll do some things
And sing a song or two
Cuz we're driving
And I'm having fun with you!

- by Mommy

You're a Baby.

To the tune of "Found a peanut":

You're a baby
You're a baby
You're a baby, just now,
Just now, you're a baby,
You're a baby
Just now.

- by Auntie Katie

Ode to Wilson.

Tiny little sweet, small man
Does the very best he can
With the tools he has at hand
I must be his biggest fan
(*let's review*)

Tiny little sweet, small guy
Always gives the college try
Even when he's not sure why
He's the apple of my eye

- by Daddy

*"let's review" essentially means "repeat at will"

Violet's Song.

Sung to the tune of the chorus of "Daisy Bell":

Stinky, Stinky
Stinky-Butt-Pee-yew...
I think you're Stinky
Yes I really do
I'm gunna punch you in the belly
Be-cause you are so smelly
I think you're cute
Even when you poot
You Stinky-Butt-Pee-yew!

- by Mommy

My Peeps.

Here are two of my three favorite people. I like them more and more!

Put simply, we are overcome with love for our little people. For whatever reason, these past days and weeks, Josh and I have marveled over our deepening affection for the two little stinky parasites who share our home. Weekends are particular joys, especially when they are like this past one. What did we do that was so special? Nuthin. We spent nearly all day at home, and when we did go out it was to run errands. It was a fabulous day.

Aren't they cute? We sure like them.

Take it to the Lemon... One More Time

Lately Wilson has a new favorite band--in addition to Buddy Holly, of course: The Eagles. He dances around the house, demanding "Eagles! Eagles! Eagles!" I don't think the Eagles even like the Eagles as much as he does. His favorite song right now is "Take it to the Limit", which, although some lines can be misinterpreted in the ears of a two-year-old (see post title), has a fun repetitive chorus. He also likes the Stray Cats well enough (mostly for dancing).

Violet is more of a Waterboys fan; I'm hoping this will translate someday into her being more into the Dropkicks than Baby Man is.

In any case, I'm looking forward to 20 years from now when Wilson is in some hipster Seattle band and I can remind him often of his early and deep love of the not-quite-so-hipster Eagles.

Marching For (and With) Babies.

Out of sheer enthusiasm, I've started a team to do the March for Babies walk in early May. I originally named the team "TdukkaMan & Wylet," them being a) the resident babies (um, Wilson and Violet) and b) funny names.

But then I talked with Josh, who had much better ideas on good team names. Here are his:

1) A Fistful of Babies
2) For a Few Babies More
and, the winner,
3) The Good, the Bad and the Babies.

Join my team or contribute here: http://www.marchforbabies.org/teams/thegoodthebadandthebabies

Goooooo babies!

Hi, Dada!

I am happy to report that Violet is speaking. Yes, she's under 8 months old, but yesterday she clearly said "Hi, Dada". Well, actually, she said, "HahahahihihihihiHIDADAdadadadadadababababa", but given that she's a tiny baby, I don't think the context is really that important.

In any case, baby babbling is totally cute and fun to listen to. Sometimes Nicole and I lay in bed and listen to her have these conversations with herself over the baby monitor.

Christmas Childrens

For everyone who hasn't quite gotten their fill of Christmas, here are a few pictures of Violet and Wilson and some family (we kind of dropped the ball on present-opening pictures this year; you can thank me later).