Merry Christmas!

Here's some of pictures from our Christmas festivities this year. We had three action-packed days of celebrating with most of our family and extended family.

Daddy's Toes

Anna not only looks the most like Mike, she shares his toes! Mike has "webbed" toes between his 2nd and 3rd toe. Here is Anna's left foot - notice how her toes are webbed. She doesn't have it on her right foot, but I think it's so sweet that she has toes just like her daddy!

Anna's big debut

Our sweet, angelic Anna did an excellent job at tonight's Christmas Eve service. Pastor Dan carried her out on stage and talked about her representation as baby Jesus. She slept through the entire thing! Here's a glimpse at her big moment on stage:

The service was incredible and I highly encourage you to go sometime tomorrow if you're available. There are four services on December 24: 1, 3, 5, and 7pm. For more information check out www.goldcreek.org.

Baby picture comparison

I've had a lot of fun comparing the kids' baby pictures in the past couple of weeks. Anna looks a lot like Ryan -- not so much like Caitlin -- and I'm still shocked by the amount of hair she has on her head. Here's a comparison of the kids:

Ryan

Caitlin

Anna

Hiccups

Christmas Program

The kids had their school Christmas concert this afternoon. Their individual classes each sang a song and said their name and, "Merry Christmas!" Here's video of each of the kids -- Caitlin was extremely shy and never got her name out. Anna slept through the whole thing -- thank goodness!

Professional pictures

On Sunday morning, I had a photographer come to the house to capture some images of the kids. We had a great time -- and I HIGHLY recommend Erin Coffey. She was wonderful with the kids - even though all three of them were uncooperative. Here's a few shots - I'll post more later.

For Mike

Here's some video of your baby girl!

Dance Party

Last night, Caitlin was dancing and getting really goofy. She said to me, "I have to remember these crazy dance moves so I can show Daddy when he gets home." Of course, after she said that, I had to pull out my camera and capture them so Mike doesn't have to wait until March to witness her moves!

Before long, Ryan came downstairs and brought his own style.

Lil' Dragons

Ryan is participating in a weekly karate class through the YMCA called, Lil Dragons. Yesterday marked the halfway point in the class and all the students demonstrated what they've learned so far. Ryan never wants to go to karate (he complains about going every week, although I can still get him there without too much hassle), but he always seems to have a good time once we're there. It was fun seeing how far he's come in just six weeks. He was thrilled to receive a ribbon for his efforts!

Stretching before class. I wish I could reach my toes!

Practicing his punchesDemonstrating knee drives with Sensei and Shihan.

Receiving his yellow ribbon from Sensei.

Newest obsession

Ryan tends to be a bit obsessive about things...Legos, baseball, puzzles and now: football. Once he discovers a new interest, he is completely consumed by it. This is how I found him yesterday morning when I came downstairs:

Here he is wearing Mike's football helmet and clutching his new UW football from his birthday. Later on in the morning, he headed outside with his new Jake Locker jersey and played football for a good hour.

I'm curious to see what it will be next. Perhaps basketball? I'm planning on signing him up to play through the YMCA beginning in December.

Ryan's 5th birthday party

We continued Ryan's birthday festivities with a party for some of his buddies this morning at our house. The kids played for awhile, then decorated pumpkins, had lunch, played outside, and then cake and gifts. It was really nice - and Ryan had a good time hanging out with his friends. Here's a video of Ryan blowing out the candles on his baseball cake (thanks for taking this, Paul!!).

Birthday in the Jungle Room

Ryan celebrated his birthday at school by bringing treats and show n' tell. He picked out Oreos to share with his classmates. For show n' tell, he brought his Build-a-Bear dog, Jack, that he built with Mike in August. Like Caitlin's panda bear, there is a special recording from Mike in the dog's leg that Ryan can play whenever he wants to hear Mike's voice. Jack is named after Jack Hannahan, the Mariner infielder, and has his own M's uniform, complete with cleats.

Here's Ryan's class singing Happy Birthday to him:

Today he's having a small party at home with some of his buddies. The birthday celebration continues...

Catching pop flies and more crazy Caits

Ryan spent a good hour outside this afternoon catching pop flies. He catches about one out of every ten. He is SO excited when he makes a catch!

And another video for Daddy...

Backyard baseball

Ryan is absolutely positively obsessed with baseball. We went to an Aquasox game in early July with Mike's mom and ever since then, he eats, sleeps, and breathes baseball. He plays outside in the backyard when it's sunny and inside the house when it's rainy (more of an intricate imaginary baseball game including a full line-up of stuffed animals!). The most amusing part of his games is the play-by-play he gives!

He LOVES the Mariners and can tell you all of the players, their position, whether they bat right or left, etc. He closely follows the games and can tell you the pitch count, what has happened in each inning, who has hit doubles, homeruns, etc.

Ryan got in a little baseball this afternoon because of the beautiful weather. Here's a little video...plus a special message for Daddy.

4th of July Festivities

I'm trying to catch up on summer blog posts before the kids start school on Wednesday. :)

Here are some pictures from our 4th of July celebrations! We spent half the day in Lacey at Mike's grandparents' house and then went to Fall City to our friends' house for more fun and the kids' first taste of fireworks. They have finally reached the age where they are no longer afraid of the big booms!

Another little fish in the making

Ryan and Caitlin started swimming lessons this evening at the Mountlake Terrace Pool. Swimming lessons are nothing new for Ryan, but this was Caitlin's first session. She has always been a little hesitant in the water when we've been swimming, so I wasn't sure how she would feel about it. She got in the water right away and did a great job! She had so much fun and I was so impressed by how the instructor got her to do things that she would normally never try - like put her face in the water. I'm excited to see the progress she'll make during the next several weeks. I'm thrilled that both kids enjoy the water. Some of my best summer memories revolve around swimming - I want them to have that too!

Rocket ship arms and blowing bubbles with her instructor.
Waiting for her turn doing back floats.

Caitlin's class of three.

I'm so proud of her! She looked like such a big girl and did such a good job of following directions. I know she is 3-year old, but I still think of her as my little baby girl!

I'll post pictures of Ryan another week - he was across the pool from Caitlin and I couldn't get any good shots of him.

Happy Birthday Caitlin!

Caitlin celebrated her 3rd birthday on June 19. Due to Mike's schedule, she got to celebrate for a week with a couple of family parties and one with her buddies. Here are some highlights from the week!

Museum of Flight

We took a trip to the Museum of Flight a couple weeks ago, with our friends, the Axons. The kids loved seeing all of the planes, testing out the flight simulators, and sitting in the cockpit of some very cool planes, and of course, loved hanging out with Gabriel and Adrian.

Ryan and Caitlin piloting a retired Navy plane.

Caitlin riding in the Blue Angels flight simulator.

Ryan liked this Blue Angels plane much better than the real thing - much quieter!!

The highlight of the day - at least for me - was touring a brand-new Southwest jet. When we pulled into the parking lot, the 737 was parked in the parking lot and there was a bunch of people celebrating - complete with the Husky band and cheerleaders. When we got inside, we asked about what was going on and they explained that the plane was just delivered that morning and that it hadn't carried passengers yet. The plane was open for tours and then about an hour later, we watched it take off for Phoenix.

The kids thought it was pretty great because they love Southwest. Our good friend is a Southwest pilot, so whenever they see a Southwest plane (and we saw a ton of them taking off and landing in San Diego), they get very excited. They got to climb on the plane and check out the cockpit.

Ryan and Caitlin standing in front of one of the engines on the new jet.

Fun in the sun!

I can't believe we busted out the kiddie pool in May...but we did!! The weather has been incredible since we've been home. I picked up a pool yesterday for the kids to play in - they spent a good two hours splashing around this afternoon. Love it!!

Memorial Day

Memorial Day was kind of a downer at our house. The day began with an early morning trip to the airport to send Mike back to San Diego. The kids were sooo sad to see him go. This was the first time they've been so upset which makes it so much harder on Mike. Usually, when Mike asks if the kids are going to miss him, they nonchalantly answer, "No, I'm not going to miss you." This time was a different story - probably because we've gotten to see so much of him these past five months.

After getting home from the airport, I realized we needed to get out and do something, so we headed to Mill Creek's 1st Annual Memorial Day Parade. Because of our connection with the military - and the fact that we've lost friends in battle - I really want the kids to know and understand what Memorial Day is and why we celebrate the sacrifice others (including their dad) have made for our freedom. The parade was lots of fun and gave me the opportunity to explain to the kids why we were honoring all of the military personnel that were marching in the parade. I hope to make this parade - or something similar - an annual tradition for our family.

Ryan in his Navy gear, sipping on a Jamba Juice.

Caitlin in her new patriotic t-shirt. What a beautiful day for a parade.

GO NAVY!

Caitlin eagerly anticipating the horses.

The Snohomish High School Marine Corps ROTC program on horseback.

Princess Caitlin

Caitlin is totally into princesses. Here's what she's been wearing around the house lately. Her crown and her Cinderella princess dress.

One more last hurrah!

We had one more day to spend at Legoland, so we went on Mother's Day. I was feeling pretty good (I've been very sick lately), so we went for it! The day was so much fun. I felt good (until I tried to go watch a 4-D movie. ugh!).

Ryan absolutely loves Legos. He spends at least two hours a day building things. Right now, he's getting into Star Wars and enjoys building space ships and robots. His favorite part of the day was when he was able to build his own race car and race it on a track. I think he could have spent the whole day there and bypassed most of the rides!

We feel so blessed that we were able to share all of these fun theme parks with the kids while we were in San Diego! Now, the fun is coming to an end and we really need to start packing!

Farewell Disneyland!

Over the course of our time in San Diego, we spent four days at Disneyland. The kids are at such a fun age to enjoy all that the park has to offer. They rode on their first roller coaster, met princesses, fairies, and all the Disney favorites, and thoroughly enjoyed the magic of Disney. We're so sad that we're moving away from the park. We promised the kids we'd take them back in a few years. Here are some pictures from our most recent trip:

Caitlin's new pastime

I think she takes after her daddy!

Offroading with Ryan

About six weeks ago, Mike took the training wheels off of Ryan's bike. He has slowly made progress and about a week ago, it finally clicked and now he's a bike riding machine. He can start all by himself, break, turn, etc. It's so fun to watch him ride.

Behind our house, there is a bike path - complete with some dirt "jumps." Ryan has been spending time there most afternoons going over the jumps. Hopefully he doesn't enjoy it too much...I don't really want to have future BMX-er on my hands!

And always one to keep up with her big brother, here's Caitlin riding her new scooter. One of our neighbors was taking it out to the trash and offered it to Mike. Caitlin LOVES it and insists on doing it, "all by myself."

Blogging burnout

Wow! Has it really been over two months since I posted?! I've been in vacation mode and have let lots of things go...I'm going to try and get back in the swing of things, especially since we're moving away from Mike in a week and a half. I'll try and do some "retrospective" posts of some of the fun things we've done in San Diego. Stay tuned!

Little fish

Ryan started swimming lessons at the YMCA a month ago and I can't believe how much he's improved in just four lessons. His teacher, Nicole, is so great and has instilled so much confidence in him. It's really nice today, so I took the kids down to the complex pool to do some swimming. Here is Ryan showing off his skills (with the water wings on). Without the water wings, he's able to do a bit of dog paddling with his face in the water.

Caitlin tried out her new life jacket. She's not too fond of the water yet, so we wanted to get her something a little more substantial than the water wings. She had fun kicking around the pool.

And here are some more pictures of our little fish! I'm really looking forward to lots of swimming this summer!!

Ryan and the big boy bike

Mike took the training wheels off of Ryan's bike this past Sunday. Ryan wanted to do it too, but as soon as they were off, he was very upset that he couldn't easily ride around. Sunday night we had a sad little guy on our hands.

On Monday afternoon, Mike met us at Mission Bay Park and started practicing with Ryan on the grass. They have several medium-sized slopes that were helpful for Ryan to practice his balance. After day one, Mike would push Ryan down the hill and he would pedal for five seconds or so before stopping. He had a blast and didn't want to come home.

We went out yesterday afternoon and he did a little better. He's gone from five seconds of riding to about ten. His biggest problem is that he stops pedaling and loses his balance. Here's some video of yesterday's attempt:

I'm sure he'll be riding alone in no time! And Caitlin, she's into bike riding now and helping push Ryan. It's really cute...and she keeps asking for a bike -- in pink, of course!

For the grandparents

Admittedly, this aren't the most exciting videos of the kids, but I thought I'd put them on here for those people who think everything our kids do is cute! These videos were taken this morning while the kids were playing.

The first video is Caitlin reading Go Dogs Go (with a little help from Mommy and Ryan).

And here is Ryan building with his Legos.

The girl's got talent

I don't know how I'm ever going to get these things out of her mouth. It's going to be a sad, sad day!

Now I know my ABCs

Quote of the week

Earlier this week, we were driving by Chuck E. Cheese's and Ryan hollered, "Hey, there is Chuck E. Cheese's!" I'm not sure how he even knew what it was because we've never been there, but that's beside the fact!

Caitlin quickly jumped into the conversation and said, "No Ryan, it's not Chuck E. Cheese's; it's Chuck E. Jesus."

Nice.

Lego engineer

Ryan is happiest when he building with Legos. We're continually impressed by what he comes up with each day. Ryan told us the other day that he was going to build "Bisneyland" (AKA Disneyland) with his Legos and it appears that he's got a good start.

When we went back to Disney over the weekend, Ryan rode the rocket ride in Tomorrowland three or four times. He loved it! It's the ride that is similar to Dumbo - you get in rockets, go up in the air and go around in circles. Here's his re-creation of the Disney rocket ride:

Who knows what he'll come up with next??

Whirlwind weekend

We spent last weekend in Las Vegas and Disneyland. I carefully packed for every situation (wedding, hot and cold weather, unforeseen accidents, etc.) and thought I had it all together until halfway to Vegas I realized I forgot the camera! Bummer.

So, I'll just make a quick list of notable events:

* Watching Dave (Mike's brother) and Jessica (our new sister-in-law/aunt) get married.
* Shielding the kids' eyes from the scantily-clad dancers in the Excalibur casino.
* Picking out M&Ms at the M&M store. Caitlin chose hot pink, light pink, and purple. Ryan chose black, grey, and navy blue.
* Seeing the Bellagio fountain/light show. I could watch it all night!
* Meeting Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella, and a host of other characters.
* Riding with Ryan on the Toon Town roller coaster - and watching him finally start to enjoy himself at Disneyland.
* Partaking in lots of yummy food and drink!

All in all, it was a fun weekend. I'm still so disappointed that I forgot my camera. We'll just have to go back to Disneyland again before heading north!!

Only in San Diego...

...can you spend a January afternoon at the beach...in shorts and a tank top! We're enjoying some exceptionally warm weather and we're lovin' it!

Our precious beach babes!

Dreams come true

As temporary Southern California residents, we resolved to enjoy everything that the area has to enjoy: the SD Zoo and Wild Animal Park, Seaworld, Legoland, and of course, Disneyland. Mike took the day off yesterday and we headed up to Anaheim. We weren't sure what the kids would think - or how they would behave - they've had a really hard time adjusting to life away from home and they are very overtired and grouchy.

The first place we headed was the Autopia. We told Ryan about how he could drive his own car, so he'd been asking to check that one out first. He loved it, as expected!

Our kids aren't the most adventurous of souls, so we next headed to Mickey Mouse's Toontown for some kid-friendly rides. Mike and I were laughing because we've always skipped Toontown on previous visits - I guess the ride line-up changes when you're with a 4-year old and 2-year old! The kids enjoyed visiting their favorite characters' houses: Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey. We decided to meet Mickey Mouse. Ryan didn't want to have anything to do with him and Caitlin loved looking at him from a distance, but was afraid to get near him.

Next up, we headed to meet the Disney Princesses. Seeing Caitlin meet the princesses was definitely the highlight of the trip! We waited in quite a long line, not sure what we were waiting for, but when we got to the front and realized that Caitlin would have one on one time with each princess, it was all worth it! When Caitlin came around the corner and saw Ariel, she was so excited that she couldn't stop jumping up and down. At first she didn't want to get close to her, but then she went in for a hug.

We saw Belle next. Belle was especially sweet to Caitlin. Here is Caitlin telling Belle that she is two years old.
Belle asked Caitlin who her favorite princess is and Caitlin quietly answered, "Cinderella." Belle took Caitlin by the hand and walked her over to see Cinderella. It was very sweet!

All in all, the day was a success. The park was busier than we anticipated, but we still got to do a lot. I had to include this picture of Ryan on the carousel because it captures his facial expression of the day. He looked like he was having an awful time and barely cracked a smile, but when you asked him if he was having fun, he always answered "yes." We actually weren't surprised that he reacted this way - he's our serious, cautious child. I think he was a little overwhelmed and trying to process everything he was seeing and doing!


Thanks to an awesome military deal, we have two more days at Disneyland and California Adventure that we have to use within the next two weeks. We're heading back on Saturday to check out California Adventure and hit some of our favorites. Ryan is already asking when he can drive the cars again!

The year of dolls and Legos

When we awoke to snow on Christmas morning, I had to take pictures. I can remember one other snowy Christmas in Washington, but we rarely have White Christmases, so I had to record the event! Thankfully, the snow didn't interfere with our Christmas plans!

We started out Christmas morning at home with Santa presents and stockings. Santa brought Ryan the "big boy fireman Legos" he'd been asking for (since before Thanksgiving!). Caitlin got a brand-new baby doll and stroller (easy to pack for San Diego). We had a relaxing morning -- until the power went out! We got ready to head to Grandma Kay's house in Kirkland for more festivities.

The Lego and doll/princess theme continued through the day as we celebrated with both sides of our family. One of the best things about being back in Washington is being able to spend time with all of our family -- and not having to travel over the holidays! We had a really nice day (and a nice Christmas Eve with Mike's dad and stepmom).


Christmas came to an abrupt end about 6pm. Mike and I headed home to take down Christmas and get ready to leave the next morning! We left Ryan at my parents' house, but brought Caitlin home with us because she was sick (quite sick as we learned the next morning).

I'm looking forward to a more relaxed holiday season next year, although Mike won't be celebrating with us. :(