The Preschoolers' Pick Up Joint

Tonight Marilynn and I had a special date night - just the two of us. I told her we could go anywhere she wanted to go. Surprise - she picked McDonald's. So, we get our food, and Marilynn catches the eye of a little boy there - an older boy I must say - probably about 5 years old. So, she wants to sit right across from him.

All through dinner, she's making these flirty faces at him, starts waving and then he totally catches on! He starts showing off for her - acting up in front of his parents, jumping from booth to booth and giggling. We're about to finish up our dinner, and he and his mom stop by our table and present Marilynn with a cookie - his mom said that he insisted on buying her one.

Is this the preschool version of buying a single lady a drink, or what? Let's just say Marilynn was beaming and savored every last bite of that cookie.

More Birthday Fun

My dad come over to give Marilynn her present and celebrate her day with us. She has been on this huge Lego kick lately, so now she has her own Lego grocery store to go with her Lego house and train set. She has a whole village practically.

And, Erika has been enjoying playing with all of the pieces.

Marilynn's Birthday Party

We had such a great birthday party for Marilynn - filled with good friends, games, and of course, cake! We hosted it at the children's museum so the kids had a blast playing with all of the exhibits and activities there and I loved it because I didn't have to clean up after 11 toddlers! It was a blast for the kids (and me :-)).

The party started off with a group activity where the kids got to make their own animal face mask. Marilynn picked a bunny out.



Then, it was time to eat! I was semi-proud of how my fruit kabob display turned out. I wanted to get some substance into the kids before they got a sugar high from the cake and ice cream. We also had "monkey mix," mini PBJ sandwiches for the kids and subs for the adults, and a veggie tray.

Then, it was time for cake and ice cream! We had a Curious George themed party, so I made various colored cupcakes to look like balloons that Curious George was holding. Marilynn blew out her 3 candles like a pro!

After cake, the kids got free reign over the museum, and Marilynn decided to make up her face.

Even Erika got to join in the fun - thank you, Sandra, for taking care of Erika during the party!!

Marilynn had such a great birthday party - I'm thankful for all of her friends who came out to celebrate her special day!

Dinner Conversation With Marilynn

Today was just one of those crazy days at work, and I was given a last minute project at the end of the day so I was a tad bit late coming home. I was frantically driving home with that "working mom guilt syndrome." Then, I made it in the middle of dinner time, and Marilynn asked me matter of factly, "Mommy, where were you all day??."

Me: "I was at work"
Marilynn: "Oh, making money?"
Me: "ummm. yes. I suppose you could say that"
Marilynn: "so we can have food?" (while looking down at her plate full of food)
Me: "Yes, money does buy food."
Marilynn: "Thank you, Mommy for giving us food" (then big kiss and hug)

Okay, maybe I'm not such a bad mom afterall. Thank you Marilynn, for being my grounding force!

Zoo Trip

Uncle Christian got the girls a season pass to the zoo for Christmas, so we decided to go this weekend. Marilynn must have some kind of pull on me, because I have this deathly fear of snakes, but she somehow managed to talk me into going into the snake house with her. She kept telling me "it's not scary. It's okay." I survived, and we had a great day.

Cousins

It's been a while since I've posted, but I finally unpacked from Texas and found the camera. Here's a few photos of the girls hanging out with their cousins. They had a blast and miss them tons!

Jake was pretty much the only one who could feed Erika and still get a smile out of her.

Marilynn and Erika with cousins Jake, Ryan, Trent and Cutter. The boys definitely outnumber the girls in this family.

Marilynn drove Ryan down the road with her new Barbie Jeep (yes, the infamous Jeep :-)).

Erika loved the sunshine - something she doesn't get to see very often in Seattle. . .

Erika at Eight Months

Life is finally back to semi-normalcy again and I have my family back with me. I've decided that God likes to give me tests in life. If I ever wonder what it would be like to be single again and have no kids, I now know - it's completely AWFUL.

Anyways, didn't want today to pass by without celebrating that Erika turns 8 months old today. Unfortunately, I have no idea where our camera is since Ken brought back so many bags from Texas, so words will just have to do. She has changed so much in just the 10 days we were apart. She's:

• Crawling like crazy
• Able to sit up on her own and go from sitting to crawling and vice-versa
• Eating like crazy - she can eat an entire bowl of rice cereal with sweet potatoes like it's nothing
• Got 4 teeth (with one poking through on the way)
• Saying "daddy" (although I wasn't there when it apparently happened, so I'm not counting it as her first word yet)

My little baby is turning into a toddler before my eyes. It's amazing how quickly they grow up!

One Is The Loneliest Number

I'm on Day 5 of being without my girls and Ken. They are still in Texas with Maw Maw and Paw Paw and having a ball and I'm back in rainy, cold Seattle for a few days before heading out to Vegas on a business trip. Note to self - never be apart from your family for more than 3 days ever again. It's killing me. Counting down the days until Saturday . . .