New favorite song

I often leave my "mix tape" cd in the van, and sometimes Marylyn will play it for the kids. Well, after listening to this cd a few times, it turns out the kids now have a new favorite song!

Gavin's Walking Video

As promised here is the video of the little guy walking!

Gavin's Walking!

This evening we got back from Annika's dance lessons and all of a sudden Gavin started walking.  WHAT?!  I may need to ask Michelle who watched him while I was at the lessons if he was doing this with her.  Of course he is still getting accustomed to walking and is very unsure of himself.  He will stand there, walk to you, and collapse on purpose.  We cheer him on and he has the biggest grin on his face.  I love it!  We recorded his milestone on video and will post soon.  

3 vs. 2 in the family

The girls will outnumber the boys in our family.  Yes, we are having a girl!  There is no denying it after the ultrasound I had today.  Annika and I were right and as Annika said, "Daddy changed his mind after seeing her." ; )  This means I won the bet!  I get to sleep in both Saturday and Sunday AND have a massage!!  We added the massage while waiting in the doctor's office.  I mentioned an additional foot massage for a week, but Andy's response was, "Don't push it."  I stopped there.  I am very happy with a massage.   I just hope I can sleep in.  I may just leave a book by the bed and relax a couple hours when I wake up. 

The ultrasound was amazing.  I love technology.  Annika was just as fascinated as Andy and I seeing the face, heart, legs, feet, hands, etc.  Everything looked great and we couldn't be happier to have another princess in the family.  

Annika's field trip to the Zoo and Aquarium

In front of the zoo sitting on the polar bear.

Annika with her two teachers.  They are fabulous!

Gavin loving the goats.  Can you tell?!

Annika with her friends looking at the elephants.

We love the carousel!!  If Annika had her way, she would ride all day on each animal.  However, the zebra and bench were the only two this time.

Well, it wouldn't be a school field trip to the zoo without rain. Luckily, the rain lasted just for part of the day, and was very light. Being a Washingtonian, you can't let the rain stop the fun. So, I packed the kids, had the rain gear, and we had a wonderful time. The good news about the rain, is that the zoo was practically empty. The main groups of people we saw were from Annika's preschool. Annika's favorite part was the tiger and touching the starfish. You should have heard her reaction though when there was one fish tank lit up in purple to make the shrimp look more pink. She was elated! However, the group of boys she was with just didn't quite understand why the excitement. Gavin loved everything from touching the goats to seeing the fish and making elephant sounds at the two elephants. We ended the trip riding the carousel a couple of times ... and then the whining for more.
Of course today is beautiful with blue skies and warm weather. Oh, what to do ... I know! Doctor's appointment for the ultrasound! YAHOO!!!

Boy or Girl?

The past few days all I can think of is our appointment on Friday to find out if our little baby is going to be a boy or girl. I am very, very anxious and of course Andy is too. We are terrible with the waiting game. Annika and I think it's a girl. Andy has changed his mind and says he and Gavin now believe it is a boy. Our family is divided. This is where a little wager comes in. Andy's first idea was the one who wins gets to pick the baby's name. NO WAY!! I love my husband, but he can be influenced by others and I would be scared what he would come up with. A safer bet and the only thing I could come up with late at night was the one who wins gets to sleep in both Saturday and Sunday. I am thinking we need to add to it. Any suggestions? Any ideas of what the baby is going to be?

Thanks, Lisa, for the nomination!

http://news.cnnbcvideo.com/?nid=OkQIJJsRNVkZyfGSrqm.rjEyOTkwNDg4&referred_by=16247472-XkwNgRx

(Sorry, I can't figure out how to make this a link. If you are interested in watching, you will have to copy/paste.)

Mother's Day Weekend

We were able to take advantage of a friend's condo at Crescent Bar this weekend.  Friday morning we left the cold, rainy Seattle weather and headed to warm, sunny Central Washington.  It was fabulous!  The first picture posted is the scenery from the condo balcony.  On the left side you see nothing but cliffs and water as well.  Beautiful!  We spent time at the lake where Gavin enjoyed eating the sand.  We spent time at the park where Annika swung like a monkey on the bars and jungle gym.  We spent LOTS of time at one of the condo's pools where the kids splashed and loved jumping off the "island".  We spent time eating our meals on the balcony soaking up the sun.  And we spent time at the putt-putt golf where Andy actually got Annika to complete 18 holes in the hot afternoon sun.  It was wonderful to have no phone, computer, or TV distractions.  Just us and we loved every minute of it ... well, except the last night where there were several loud alarms and noises outside to keep us up most of the time, and who can't forget the air-raid alarm at 5:10 a.m.  WHY?  Don't they realize every mother living in the area is trying to enjoy peaceful sleep?

We left Sunday morning to make it back in time for church so Annika could sing on the stage for Mother's Day.  She was so excited and practiced the songs all week and I have to say I was a little sad because all I saw was the top of her head on stage.  There were tall kids standing right in front of her.  But, I did get a personal concert all week so I shouldn't complain too much.  Mother's Day, or should I say weekend, was absolutely wonderful.  I loved getting away and being together as a family.  I think this should be a tradition for every Mother's Day.

The condo where we stayed was right up close to those cliffs you see in the background.

Annika kept saying, "Look at me!" and was excited to have climbed just 1 foot off the ground.  I guess to a 3 year old that is pretty high.  It's all about perspective.  She did eventually get to the top.

Don't you love that Buddha Belly?  And those cheeks?  I love it!  I think I need to buy him a new swim shirt.

I am a lucky Mommy.  What a blessing these kids are.

T-H-E Independent Reader

Annika is 3 years old and has been sounding out the alphabet letters for a long time now.  So as a mother, I have anxiously tried to get her to read.  HOWEVER, if you know Annika, you know that she is a girl who is very independent.  She has her own time-table and schedule for things.  (Hmmm.... I have no idea where she gets this from.  Do you, Mom?)  I promise not to go on a long tangent about this, but I swear my Mom is laughing right now and saying, "Just you wait when she is a teenager".  Maybe it is payback for all the attitude I gave my parents when growing up.  

Anyway, back to my story ... The past few days Annika has been very self-motivated to read.  It's been awesome.  She is sounding out the words of books, cereal boxes, outdoor signs, etc.  It's exciting to hear her try and I love that she gets excited about it.  "I-K-E-A.  Mom, that says, IKEA!"  Today she was sounding out "The Mother of all Atlases" (our Atlas book subtitle).  I was trying to explain to her the sound that T-H make when together (for the millionth time in the past few days).  Annika was refusing to listen.  I was getting annoyed as she repeated the sounds T-H separately.  And you can tell she was getting annoyed with me as I was lecturing her.  Andy just stayed silent, which is what I should have done in the first place.  "Annika, I am trying to teach you ... ," I finally say. She stood up facing me, clearly upset, "No!  You don't know what you are talking about! In school my teachers taught me this way!"  All I could do at this point was laugh inside.  Annika is more like me than I realize.  I immediately came to the conclusion that she will learn this rule better from someone else, like her teachers, not her mother.  So for now, she sounds out each letter, no exceptions.  I am not worried.  I know she will learn it when she is ready.  Do you have a child like this?  If you have any advice, let me know.  I am willing to listen.