Build it and He WIll...Play

I got N this super terrific build your own wooden trash truck for Christmas, and decided to put it together last night, with his help of course.  The thing was so much fun to assemble, he loves loading and dumping it over and over.

* I love Melissa and Doug toys, they may not be made in the US, but there is something to be said about 'no-batteries required.'  And I have never been treated so well by their staff in customer service.

Bunk Buds

We've felt for a while now that the kids could handle living in the same room.  They're both great sleepers, and N hangs out in E's room quite a bit anyhow.  So off to IKEA for the $149 special!  This bunk set is awesome, and so so sturdy.  E can practically do somersaults on the top and it doesn't squeak or even shake!  With a little bit of resistance we got through the first night (tho an extra early and giggly wake up call at 4:45am), and ever since it's been smooth sailing!  N's nap is a smidgen tricky.  Today I went in to check on him and found he had removed the entire contents of E dresser on the floor before crawling back into bed and falling asleep like an angel...All in all though, a plus.  We've claimed N's old room back as our office/guest room/school room, and it just feels like we have more space now.  And E loves showing it off to anyone who might be stopping by.

"Flash?"

N heads right for the puddles when we go outside asking "flash?" (splash), usually I'm trying to corral him into the car before he soaks his shoes and clothes up to his knees, but today we didn't have to be anywhere special so I put his boots and raincoat on let him run back and forth splashing along our driveway where the water collects.  He was in heaven and squealing "FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!"

*thanks for the coat and boots Grandma and Grandpa!

Never Give Up!

From the very start of my infatuation with chickens, I knew I wanted Wyandottes. Their plump physical appearance, their feathering and general disposition (good mama's) made the variety a first pick. A few drawbacks are that they are notoriously late layers, and when they finally do lay some are so broody (wanting to raise a brood) they'll sit and sit on unfertilized eggs and in some cases die because those eggs will never hatch.
Both Azalea and Marigold have been layin' eggs like champions, but ol' Petunia hadn't even seemed interested. Until yesterday when I noticed she squatted down when one of the other birds approached...hmmmm. Then this morning she wasn't out in the run with the others, when I peeked in the hen house, there she was; sitting in the nesting box! Hurrah! It's a wonder to me that their instinct is so strong; they just know what to do.  Go Tunes!

Seeds!

I'm starting to see my mail order seed catalogues pile up!  I love this time of year, kind of feel like it's my late Christmas!  I've been scoping out the garden, trying to figure out where I can expand, making up lists of veggies our family will readily eat, and then adding a few exotic ones I wanna try.  I'm really crossing my fingers we have a more consistently warmer summer this year, I plan on spending our weeks outside.  I am also crossing my fingers to at the very least thin out 3 of our gi-normous fir trees (would really love to just get rid of them) to get at some of that heat and light down in the side yard.  I also bought a really mini portable greenhouse to get a jump start on, well, starts and am hoping to try my hand at building a cloche.

What type of gardening are you hoping to do this Spring and Summer?

Build a Little Fort

 

E's fort construction skills are really taking off.  You can see that she used our Christmas tree skirt for an eye catching exterior, yet functional peek hole.

Little Clowns

It's been really interesting to see N's social skills start to emerge.  I'll admit that with E I was way more proactive with getting her playdates and enrolling her in classes for tot's her age.  But with this guy, I find myself justifying hanging out with his sister as enough, for everyone.  Thankfully a lovely little arrangement fell right into my lap this summer; A family just down the street has a kindergartner and a little boy about N's age and they all get on famously.  Sawyer comes over a handful of times during the week while mom and dad work.  At first the boys would just play alone, once in a while checking on what the other was up to, but now their side by side play is melting into full force playing with a friend!  It's hilarious watching them feel out social boundaries, and their two-word sentences don't get too far communication wise.  So funny.  I'm glad he has a buddy, and we couldn't ask for a sweeter first friend.

A Very Molly Christmas

We flew on Christmas Eve to be with D's family down in Arizona.  We knew we'd have a blast, but never expected to come home (well, almost) with the best Christmas gift ever!  We're adopting a dog!  Molly.  She's about 4-years-old and related to the beloved Buster, and grew up with D's cousin and his family.  She's well mannered, and sweet, and a hanfull of other great things too; we cannot wait until she gets here.  Yeah, gets here.  She's still down in Arizona and won't be in Washington until the end of February.  We thought it'd be kinda a lame way to start a relationship by putting her under the belly of a plane and bringing her home to a completely new environment, not to mention an unprepared family.  So here we are, and I in classic fashion am obsessing over books and videos about Labradors Retrievers, and training, etc. until D drives her home to us.  D and I talked round and round about it during our trip, and are completely convinced that she'll be a great fit for our family.