Snapshot of Preschool

Last year we were lucky enough to find a fantactic preschool for Haydn to attend 3 days a week while I work. I just finally looked at the Blog that one of his teachers set up this fall tesseraarts.blogspot.com and was delighted to see a lot of great pictures. A few of the fun ones of Haydn are posted here for you to enjoy too.

Haydn's teacher even caught Naomi literally red-handed devouring the bowl of watermelon at the Valentine's day party. I can't say how many slices disappeared into her belly; she was focused.

They end the school week with a fun dance class where they can learn fun new ways to get those wiggles out. Haydn loves the obstacle courses she sets up at the end of class.

The highlight of Haydn's week is the Quiet Heart Wilderness class where a naturalist comes and talks with them about wildlife, habitats, and nature. They investigate real bones, fur, horns, and often enjoy a walk in the 'Magical Forest' in the park behind the school to look at nature first-hand. You can see him standing up to get as close to the teacher as possible.

Halloween was a day full of spooky flashlight activities. You can see Haydn letting out his inner-'Wild Thing' in honor of the special day.

A puddle is all it takes to make his imagination run wild. Toy trucks, a puddle, and friends to share it with is heaven.

Hot glue! Haydn's favorite way to create these days is with the low temperature hot glue guns they have at school. He goes to town glueing all kinds of things together - see one of his favorite creations at the top of this post. These are affectionately called 'proj-dacks'.

A joint hot glue creation. I think it was a space ship.

Thirsty kids

Just came across this cute video of the kids after they brushed their teeth at grandma's a couple of weeks ago. They're obviously thirsty, but it's also a good example of what a little echo Naomi is these days (you'll also see some lively hair on the back of her head).

Getting Bubbly

In an attempt to purge our household of winter germs in the aftermath of the flu, the kids got nice and bubbly. Kids + water = happy (+ bubbles = extra happy)

Let them eat cake!

So, I have a baking hobby. I love to decorate cakes, and my kids like to help (yummy benefits to helping!). I've had a few requests to share pictures, so I'll post a few from my archive.
Enjoy!

This first cake was a lively cake I made for Naomi's 1st Birthday last July. I tried out a lot of new things while making this cake, so it's a little over the top with decorations, but I loved it anyway. Naomi had a blast munching on the home-made butterfly candies.

This was Haydn's sand castle bundt cake last April for his 3rd birthday. It was easy and fun to make with Haydn, and was delicious with the berry sauce James made to drizzle on top.

This cake was really fun to make for Aunt Cori's birthday in August. After I made the marshmallow fondant, Haydn helped me cut out the shapes and place them 'strategically' on the cake. Most of all, it was tasty treat with a berry buttercream filling!

This was a fun little cake to work on, but I made it on a hot summer day, so the fondant felt like it was going to melt in my hands. Cori took it to her sister-in-law for her birthday in August. I hope it brightened her day!

Ah, and the finale! The crab cake I made for Haydn's 2nd birthday! Good thing Cori was there to help with this because it took a lot of time to put together. The cherries were a fun combination with the rich chocolate cake. Most importantly, the crab made a splash with Haydn!

Mmm...I'm hungry now.

Mittens and Polka Dots

It was tough getting a good shot of this outfit the other night because our camera has been having flash problems, but you get the idea - Naomi was dancing around the house in her polka dot party dress and striped 'glubs' (perfect for paddy-cake she decided).

We have a bit to catch up on...

Ok, so it's been a while since I've posted on this blog. We've really been wanting to share some pictures of our fun trip to Newport Oregon the last week of December. Enjoy this for now, and then I'll catch you up on the little contents' doings in the upcoming weeks.
Happy belated new year, new president, and here's to a hopeful future!


Here we are at the Tillamuck cheese and ice cream factory. We had to taste test the ice cream, of course! Haydn could've watched the cheese factory workers all day. He was fascinated with the process and desperately wanted to go down and help out.

A fun little spot to catch fish 'n chips in Newport. Great view - we enjoyed watching the fishing boats come in and out, and even had a seal stop by.

Newport Aquarium fun - we spent a great day exploring the aquarium and learning about the creatures there.

Haydn kind of wishes he could ride on his pet turtle like this!

Getting our wiggles out at the cold, but fun play area outside.

Haydn insisted that mommy sit on the turtle too, but the statue was Freezing! This was as close as I got-

Naomi flashing us a pretty smile while babbling on about turtles and fishies.

Haydn meets giant crab. Sure to be lifelong friends.

The beach was gorgeous and a fascinating new experience for Naomi especially. She didn't care that her bitty fingers, nose, and toes were freezing.

Running, running, running. Naomi chased a lot of waves with daddy.

Couldn't leave without drawing our names in the sand. Had to leave our mark, no matter how temporary.

What a fun trip - we were wiped out, but have a lot of fun memories!

Wheee!

With 8 inches of snow resting on our rooftop, the kids and I have had no choice but to hole up in our warm house and enjoy the view. Naomi is fascinated by this wonderful new substance called snow and thinks we should always have icicles hanging around - from the moment her frosty mitten wrapped around one, there was no letting go - they make great little natural teethers. She climbed in the sled with Haydn and the two were taken for quite a ride by dad. Haydn thought the ride would be even more exciting if Cassy was pulling them, so it looks like we have a future musher on our hands! This week has been a big week of art projects, baking goodies, cozy fires, festive music, decorations, snow tromping, and yes, a couples of holiday movies in there (mom needs a few minutes to clean up those project messes!). A fun time of year to be stuck at home surrounded by snow.
Happy Holidays!

Melting daddy's heart

Naomi flashes these gorgeous eyes and darling smile at daddy - sure to melt his heart! She really is daddy's girl. When he's at work, she talks about him all day long...'Daddy says ...', 'Daddy likes it.', and 'Want daddy!' If he walks in the door and doesn't pick her up for a snuggle immediately, she let's us all know how she feels about it!

Big Day

This was a day I had been dreading. I took Haydn to the dentist to get two shallow fillings. I am so relieved (as is he)! He was so amazing! We were out of there in 20 minutes flat and ready to go on a celebration outing together. We had so much fun - it has been a long time since I've taken Haydn on an outing by myself - I have a renewed understanding of his current perspective and just how much fun he is to hang out with. We went to Redmond Town Center and gave a wave to Santa, made a few trips up and down the escalator, stopped by a pizza joint for lunch (and a treat - yes, we brushed good after that!), and cuddled up at the bookstore to read books together.

Naomi was hanging out at Grandma Bobbi's house all this time - when we arrived there, Haydn was delighted to show off his pearly whites and brag about his bravery. The kids had some good cousin play and quiet (or not so quiet) time before heading home. Naomi can't get enough of that baby Kyle's soft bald head! She doesn't understand why she can't carry him around with her like she does with her baby doll (who she has named baby Kyle, fyi). All in all, a very successful day. Exhausting, but great. What a relief!

Meet the kids

.Haydn being serious.

Naomi hanging out with her baby cousin Kyle.