Necklaces and Face Painting

Haydn pulled out the bead bin this morning asking to do some projects. Necklaces were decided to be the goal, so Haydn set to work with stringing beads of every shape and size. Naomi loved trying on the finished products and was very serious about sorting all of the items in the bin.

As I was tidying up the mess, Naomi got a hold of a blue highlighter, and Haydn a yellow. Before I knew it, they were decorating their faces and limbs. Highlighters do give a lovely glow, don't you think?

Happy Little Feet

We had the chance to visit the new penguin exhibit at Woodland Park Zoo on Friday. The kids are big penguin fans (remember the penguin birthday cake for Haydn?), so this was very exciting. Naomi is fascinated with the animals at the zoo and Haydn loves learning new things about the creatures each time we visit. It was a beautiful spring day and the penguins put on a great show in their new home. We had a chance to visit the friendly orangutans while they had a celery snack, watch the tiger pace and pant in the sun, and the lion take a stroll. When the lion stood up to walk around, Naomi said from the comfort of her blanket-laden stroller "Don't eat Omi!".

Here are a few pics I managed to squeeze out of our ailing camera:

Fighting the flu

I was able to catch these sweet moments of my kids with my parents the other night when we met them for dinner at our neighborhood cafe. The kids ended up with a nasty flu the next day, which explains the tired red eyes (and explains why Haydn was laying down on the bench saying he was too tired to eat his mnm pancakes!). They have such wonderful relationships with their grandparents, who keep right up their in depth imaginations, and I am so thankful that they have such special people in their lives.

Haydn turns 4!

Ok, so I'm sad to say that my camera has fizzled out and I haven't been able to keep up on photos this month. I'm currently shopping around for a snazzy new one as my 30th birthday gift to self, but until then my photo blogs will be few...

I do happen to have a few pics via my mother's camera phone of Haydn with his birthday cake. We had a wonderful party on Sunday at Kelsey Creek Farm where we were well entertained with the farm animals, toys, fields, creek, and most of all, wonderful company. We celebrated Haydn turning 4 with a penguin-themed cake that Haydn has been asking for all year. I had a lot of fun making the penguins out of fondant, but ran short on time doing the finishing touches. What's important is that Haydn loved it and came away with some great memories!

Pretty day for pretty pictures

Ok, so I haven't been able to take many pictures lately because our camera is on it's last leg. So, naturally I was delighted on Friday when we got a chance to spend the afternoon with a dear long-time friend Lisette who just so happens to also be a wonderful photographer! We headed out to Lincoln Park in West Seattle where we were met by a beautiful day - what a delightful surprise! The kids weren't much in the mood for saying 'cheese', but Lisette worked her magic with the camera and moody kids and managed to still pull off lovely shots in her seemingly effortless way. Here is the link to her blog post with pictures from our day: http://lisetteandcameron.blogspot.com/2009/04/friday-i-had-opportunity-to-spend-day.html

We finished off the outing with a stop at a yummy bakery for pizza and bread before diving into tasty treats at Cupcake Royale. The kids left West Seattle with happy little tummies and promptly passed out in the car as soon as we hit the road. Definitely a good ending to Spring break! The fun beach at Lincoln park is begging a revisit this spring...

Hissss...

Just had to share this snakey smile!

Grandpa and Buddy

Here's a sweet photo of Haydn sharing a drink with grandpa Brad on Sunday. Don't they look like buddies?
Looks like they're up to something here, and I'm probably right!

Alligators, Snakes, and Turtles, OH MY!

Haydn had a huge adventure this Sunday with his grandma Bobbi, grandpa Brad, and cousin Logan. They went to the reptile museum. Haydn LOVES turtles, so he was pumped about this and could hardly make it through the morning waiting for his ride to come. They saw turtles of every shape and size, even a two-headed turtle! They got to see alligators up close, and he even held a boa constrictor over his shoulders! I was amazed at his bravery, especially since he went to the museum a little nervous about the snakes that would be there. He didn't understand why I thought he was brave - 'It wasn't a poisonous one, mommy'. Here's a fun photo Bobbi took of Haydn and Logan getting a close look at an aquatic turtle. A great picture of Haydn grinning ear to ear while holding the snake will be coming soon...
They met up with some more cousins for dinner. See his buddies Lacey and Ethan join Haydn and Logan in the pictures below. They're all growing up so quickly!

Haydn gives a tour

Haydn enjoys looking at pictures of himself as much as any kid, but he thinks we need a little more balance in the blog. He took me around the house pointing out a few things to take pictures of so I could show you (pardon the lighting and focus...our camera is on its last leg, and I'm no Dani or Lisette!). I threw a couple of cute kid photos in there too because I happen to believe that they're the best items in our house.
Here is the living room (when all of the toys are cleaned up, a state that the kids have proven can be completely reversed in 2 minutes flat).

Haydn's world lamp. We often look at the globe with Haydn and talk about what kinds of animals live where, places we've been or would like to visit, and point out where loved ones live.

Stool that rolls. Source of much entertainment.

Haydn's kitchen and stool. The stool was mine as a child, and is appropriately in his room now.

"This little stool is mine.

I use it all the time.

To reach the things I couldn't.

And lots of things I shouldn't."

His stars and alphabet that we painted and hung when he was still in my belly. I was crazy in my last trimester when I thought that it would be a good idea to stand on a little ladder and hang those stars. Surprisingly, I still managed to pull off an arrangement that resembled Orion (or at least Jimmy wouldn't have dared to admit it if I had not).

This is a funny one. Haydn adopted our old bread maker as his 'washing machine' when he was one year old and obsessed with washing clothes. His favorite activity then was to help Grandma Karen do laundry on his Fridays with her :)

The piano and picture wall...looking a bit crooked.
I go through phases when I have time, trying to learn piano again. Thank you, John - you're an amazing teacher!

The kid table lovingly painted with blueberries, Naomi's favorite snack.

Nothing better than naked baby skin.

Tired sweet eyes.

I'm like a pretty alligator, mommy

This is the quote of the day by Naomi. At the top of the step on the play toy at the park today, Naomi turned around to tell me out of the blue 'I'm like a pretty alligator, mommy'. She cracks me up by copying her brother's every word and move, but then also choosing times to do totally her own thing. Naomi had mastered making us laugh by the time she learned her first word and enjoys cracking us up every day. The best part is that when she's napping or not around, Haydn starts saying sweet things like 'Naomi would say...', 'she says things so cute', and 'I want to play with Naomi'. They amaze me with the way they love each other.