our girls

chick magnet

Thomas has a special little friend at school. I first noticed her earlier this week when she and another girl waved excitedly at Thomas when he arrived in the classroom. When he sat next to one of them, she immediately hugged him. Later when I picked him up from school I asked him about the girl. "Her name is Aniya. Yes, she gives me a hug almost every day. She says she loves me best in the whole world." When I dropped him off this morning, again she was happy to see him and gave him a big hug. He said today they sat together during snack and he showed her how he likes to eat his crackers. It's all very, very sweet.

busy week

It has been a busy week at our house. I decided to paint the kitchen and family room early last week. It's become a big project since the rooms in our house flow from one to the next but it has been well worth it, I think. The kids, esp. Meredith, have been very patient in allowing me to get this project done. The kids' extra-curricular activites also started this week. Thomas has karate at school so he's only doing one extra activity (tennis) with a couple of friends. Meredith is playing soccer again and her ballet classes started this afternoon. She and her friend, Rebecca, are the youngest in this class of 3-5 year olds but she did great today! New class, new teacher, new studio and students... and she doesn't skip a beat. This little girl jumps right in, introduced herself to the teacher before class and tried extra hard to do every move correctly. Meredith sure loves to dance!

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the kitty drawing

Both Thomas and Meredith love to draw and write. Lately, their favorite subject has been Mike and this is especially true for Meredith. Every drawing and painting she does is of daddy. So you can probably imagine my surprise when she whipped out this little drawing (below) a few days ago. She said it's a kitty going pee and poop. Don't ask. I don't know where this came from, but we're equally proud anyway and have this drawing hung on the fridge. Seems like a pretty detailed drawing for a three-year-old, esp. since I've seen what other three-year-olds produce...

flying

Dog in the mud.

Yesterday Thomas typed his first sentence on the computer: Dog in the mud. This was followed by...
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Cat in the mud.

Thomas in the mud.

Pig in the mud.

Bird in the mud.

Bee in the mud.

Dad in the mud.

mom in the mud.

dragon in the mud.

golf

Meredith practices "golfing" in the backyard almost every day with her putter. She knows we've all golfed and/or taken lessons in the past but her only experience so far has been in the backyard. She was very excited this evening when we told her the whole family was going to go hit balls at the driving range (her first!). Mike plans to make the driving range and putting green practice a weekly outing with Thomas -- but I have a feeling the whole family will be going out every week given how excited both kids are!

2nd day of Preschool

ready to go! ~ walking to preschool

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putting her backpack away ~ proud family
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Today was Meredith's second day of preschool, but because I didn't stay and school lasted the full 3 hours, it was really like her first day of preschool. She loved it. She's been singing songs all afternoon and giving me bits and pieces of information regarding what she did, what she played with, who got hurt on the playground, what they ate for snack, etc. For the longest time, I couldn't get Thomas to tell me about his day. It's nice that Meredith is able to remember and verbalize so much of her day.

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And what about Thomas? He's loving Kindergarten. Every day is something a little different and special and fun. He's doing karate for p.e., earning rewards, singing new songs, playing new games, enjoying being a Little Brother to his 4th grader Big Brother, and is looking forward to an ice cream party tomorrow that the class earned. I couldn't be happier with how both kids have easily jumped right into these new routines and experiences!

Meredith is a Preschooler!

Meredith has been asking at least once a day since Thomas started Kindergarten when she gets to go to school. She's been anxiously waiting and yesterday was finally the day! The first day of preschool is a "meet and greet" kind of thing. The session is just over an hour long -- enough time for the kids to find their cubbies, meet some new friends, get acquainted with their classroom, use the bathroom if needed, etc. Meredith was excited to go, didn't want to leave when the session ended and is eager to return tomorrow. Little Miss Independent has been ready to go for quite some time and we're thrilled that she's now started!

sk8er girl

She wears a dress and a hairclip in her hair -- all while sporting a tattoo on her arm and riding a skateboard. Loooove this little girl!

Kindergarten: a great first week

"Today we did something really special at Kindergarten. Do you want to know what we did? What day is it today? Okay. So every Thursday the big kids come in. They are much bigger and there are a lot of them. I think it's the whole class. They are FOURTH graders! They come to help us with special projects. Today the boy asked me questions and wrote down my answers. He asked me what my address is and I told him 1584... Yes, I know the name of our street. I told him ******. He also asked what my favorite food is and I told him pizza! I drew a crocodile on the back of the paper and the fourth grader told me he doesn't even draw crocodiles that good. He said I did a really good job. And you know what, mom? When I'm a fourth grader, I'll probably draw like I'm a SIXTH grader!"

the kids at 7pm

Thomas starts Kindergarten!

outside his new school

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giving goodbye hugs

"Can I take my price tag off now?"

At a birthday party this afternoon, the host asked everyone to wear a nametag. The party was held at a gymnastics facility and the nametags enabled the staff leading the exercises to address the party-goers by their first names. Over the course of two hours Meredith asked me several times if she could take her price tag off.

pirates & princesses

Pirate Thomas

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The kids went to their friends' birthday party today. Thomas and Gage became friends last year in preschool and this year their little sisters will be in preschool together. For this particular family, the kids have birthdays just 2 years and 5 days apart. So this year their parents threw a shared party that would have made any pirate-loving boy or princess-loving girl absolutely ecstatic. Lucky for them -- and lucky for us to have been invited to share in the celebration!

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(Princess) Meredith chose Snow White

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pirate training ~ girls and makeup
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cute birthday party tables!

from Frosting Face to Sand Face

Oregon highlights

Mt. St. Helens -- someday they'll climb this together

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w/Rachel at Voodoo Doughnuts

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w/Emily at Portland's Saturday Market

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w/Grandma Lesley at Oregon City's DQ

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doing girl stuff w/Franny

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the W Family cousins

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w/Great Grandma Margie and Grandpa George
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cooling off at Portland's Jamison Square

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...and keeping cool w/Grandma!

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Such a quick and busy visit to Oregon this month! We enjoyed several BBQs with family and friends, park playdates, day trips to Mt. St. Helens and Seattle, and lots of special moments with everyone we were able to see!

his first (loose) tooth!

top center tooth on the right (gumline is a little red)

swim school

The kids have started swim lessons again and just completed their first session. We'll take a break while we are in Oregon but will resume lessons again when we return. They are really enjoying them!

super readers

hard-earned t-shirts

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Every summer we participate in the library's summer reading program. This was Thomas' 5th summer reporting! You would think that with our previous 5 years' experience we'd learn by now that the smaller shirts go quickly and to get on the ball when the program begins. Maybe next year we'll get it figured out.

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reporting on the books they've recently read

ZOO