Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Epic Hiatus!


It has been quite a while since I posted to the blog. Life got a little busy. Who knew having 2 children could dramatically effect your life so much?!? I'm not even sure how long it has been. Clearly by all the red, underlined text I am typing, I have forgotten how to type and gotten to lazy with auto-correct! 
So for this post, I thought I would just catch up a little. At least the last couple of months, anyway.
Lots of changes, lots of growth, two amazing kids!

 I try to do an annual picture to show just how much they have grown. This is their most recent picture. 
Isabel is now 4 and growing like a weed! She is in Pre-K and loves to write everything down. She knows all her letters, upper and lower case and she has started working on reading at home! She loves to work in her workbooks while Maxwell is doing his homework. She is into all things Elsa, My Little Pony and Barbie. She regularly has growing pains, mostly in her hips and knees. I can totally relate! That sums up my wicked growth spurts as a kid also. 
Maxwell is now 7 and in 1st grade! He loves all things Lego and mindcraft. He really loves hanging out with his friends and has a couple really tight buddies. He is a whiz at math and doing really well with reading and writing. He has worked really hard during OT to get his southpaw to do what he wants it to. I am so proud of his progress!

 I have to bribe them for this level of cuteness! I don't really ask very much of them, but sometimes, when mommy wants a picture, I start the day saying, "I just need you to wear this and smile and do what I want for only an hour," just to get the darn pictures!!

 I try to remember to take selfies of all three of us. I want them to be able to look back and remember the fun we had, even if there was a bribe involved!

She was ready to go that first day! Everyday since then has been a bit of a struggle. She says she misses me when I'm not there. It makes me feel loved! 

We adopted a cat! This is actually the second cat we adopted, Isabel's cat, Satsuma. I can't find a picture of Maxwell's cat, Whiskers. He came first, an early Christmas present, 2 years ago. I'll post one of him, when I find it. As you can tell, Satsuma loves the kids!


 What is it about face painting? The kids love it! This was during railroad days this summer in town.

This was Maxwell's first day at school. He was pretty happy to have some kids from his kindergarten class with him again.


 Blueberry picking, in the rain! I love Washington weather!

 Some nights it is just easier not putting up a fight. Batman and Robin, caped crusading in their dreams. The black and white puff between Isabel's legs is Maxwell's cat, Whiskers. Don't tell Maxwell but he regularly sleeps with her. He LOVES her fuzzy blanket!

 This would be Isabel baking her own birthday cake, from scratch! She loves all things kitchen! She got an easy bake oven for Christmas and loves it but would rather have the real thing!

 What's a birthday cake without frosting? She did the whole thing, I swear! Wouldn't let me touch it!

 Decorated and everything. That is one proud baker!

 Oh, yeah, Maxwell lost a few teeth this year! The tooth fairy was very, very busy!

 My dad came to visit! The highlight of my year, maybe even the last 5 years! I can't tell you how much I have missed him!

He stayed for 5 days and the kids loved every minute of it! Trains, with grandpas old train set, Legos, the mystery reader at Maxwell's school, reading books with Isabel, Snoqualmie Falls. It wasn't long enough!

 And my life came full circle. The boy I used to watch when he was Maxwells age, is now Captain Lowe! In charge of his own tank brigade!! Maxwell got an army set with tanks for Christmas and has become obsessed with them.  For Maxwell's birthday Captain Lowe sent Maxwell the sabot petals from his M1A2 Abrams tank gun! Can you tell Maxwell is a little excited? He also sent two great books, Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" and "The Illustrated History of Weaponry."  It might be a year or two before we hit that reading level.

 We had another joint birthday this year, co-themed Star Wars and My Little Pony! The cake was AWESOME!! My friend Deanna made it and totally decked it out! 

Sorry for the video image. I botched the picture! You get the idea.

 Maxwell putting together one of his birthday presents. The kid loves Legos! This set was pretty advanced, age wise. He did it all by himself!!

Isabel won a spot in the Evergreen City Ballet dance camp. Frozen themed, of course! She had a ball!

My girl, Rainbow Dash. If it's not Elsa, Rainbow Dash or Barbie, forget it!!

Well, that's it for tonight. I really will try to post again soon. Maybe even from my iPhone?!? Look at me attempting the tech possible! 

Found it! Photographic evidence of a Whiskers cat that loves a fuzzy blanket! And a girl!