march 30

... and this is what i get when i ask brooke to sit still, look at the camera and smile :)

march 29

i love this picture for so many reasons.
1.  i used the self-timer on my camera to get myself in the picture.  (my goal is to do this more often)
2.  gavin's bed head (which is the reason i got my camera out in the first place)
3.  the fact that gavin sat still, looked at the camera & smiled :)
4.  and he asked to do it "more, more, more!"

march 28

i love it when i find gavin doing this...  he's very into books right now.  for days he's been studying his truck book that lists the name of every kind of truck you can think of.  he quizzes you and sometimes insists that you are wrong :)  he's learned to say words like "backhoe," "logging truck" and "roller."  so funny!  today his book of choice was "how does a dinosaur say goodnight?"

march 27

today was the first time that kevin, brooke and i have been able to ski together.  i lined up anastasia to watch gavin during/after his nap so the 3 of us could go skiing.  i'm still amazed by how accessible and convenient the skiing is near us.  it's a 25 min. drive, we park, walk across the street, and we're at the slopes.  it's such a gift.  we only had time for a couple of runs, but it was so worth it to be out there together.  brooke has come such a long way, and it's great to see her skiing down the mountain all by herself.  this was our last day of skiing for the season.  i hope brooke picks up next year right where she left off!

march 26

day 6 of our cleanse, and we're doing great!  our breakfast each morning looks something like this.  i love that kevin and i do things like this together.  it's great to have the support of your spouse when trying to conquer something as challenging as a 21-day cleanse.

march 25

today was spring cleaning day.  i started in the kitchen and didn't make it much further than that, but at least the kitchen is really clean :)  the kids wanted to help, so they raced upstairs then came down dressed like this with brooke singing "we're the cleaning kids, the cleaning kids..."  what they lacked in ability, they sure made up for in cuteness!

march 24

the nice days have started to out number the not-so-nice days, which means we've been spending as much time outside as possible.  there have been requests for picnics, sidewalk chalk and bubbles.  all have been happily fulfilled.  spring is in the air.

march 23

first of all, when i went to post this picture, a message from google popped up saying i had reached my maximum storage space.  wowzer.  i didn't even know that was possible.  i guess i've been blogging a lot :) so, for 5 bucks i was back in business.

today we went to the university of washington ("u dub").  the kids and i loaded up in my car with anastasia, hanna and hudson and set out on our adventure.  i had great fun telling brooke that we were going to college.  she's been wanting to go to college "for real" ever since seeing toy story 3.  so today was the day.  and it was a beeeeautiful day.  we went hoping the cherry blossom trees would be in bloom, but we were just a bit early.  regardless, the campus was beautiful.  it happened to be spring break so it was very quiet, which was great for the kids.  they had their run of the quad, and we had a nice picnic lunch on the lawn.  before leaving we took them into the library.  it was easily the most gorgeous library i have ever been in.  as a lover of books and as a photographer, i was in heaven.  watching hanna and brooke almost made me cry.  they immediately picked out books from the shelves and sat down next to each other at the study tables.  fast forward 13 years and you could just picture it... the two of them together in college.  you never know.

march 22

gavin was a handful today.  he's still under the weather, and he awakened at the crack of dawn so he wasn't in the best mood.  he tested my patience today and frequently challenged me by not doing as i asked.  after hiding in the back of my car and refusing to get into his car seat, i told him that he would not be allowed to ride his bike once we got home.  that threat was not effective, but he sure was mad at me when i followed through on it.  he has picked up one of brooke's sayings, ("oh, man!") and he says it now whenever something does not go his way.  it cracks me up every time.  he draws out the word "man" just like brooke does, and it is so funny.

march 21

today kevin and i along with ryan and anastasia started a 21-day nutritional cleanse (i.e. "detox").  this was my lunch.  yum!  on our cleanse we get to eat a "clean" meal for lunch, but breakfast and dinner are both liquid meals.  so far, so good.  here's to hoping the 3 weeks go by in a flash!

march 20

gavin had a fever today and fell asleep on kevin's lap early this morning, so brooke and i went for a walk to get a little exercise and fresh air.  all i had to say was "exercise," and brooke's mind was racing.  she went upstairs and got dressed and then told me, "look, mom!  this is my exercise outfit."  never mind that it was cold outside :)  we put on our coats and headed out.  instead of me pushing brooke in a stroller, brooke decided she wanted to take her baby doll for a walk.  she seemed so grown up walking next to me, chatting my ear off and pushing her baby in the stroller.  i was so happy to be spending some quality 1:1 time with my girl.  we had no agenda.  what we did and where we went was up to brooke.  i was just happy to be along for the ride.

march 19

i had a different picture in mind for today, but then i shot this - the "super" moon.  pretty cool.  thank heavens for clear skies and a beautiful day.

march 18

i rarely get to take photos of gavin sleeping because he usually puts himself to sleep after i leave the room, and i'm always too afraid that i'll wake him by going back into his room.  gavin sleeps with a lot of stuffed animals in his crib.  he usually has big george, scout, big bird and hippo in his crib with him, and he uses his monkey pillow pet as a pillow.  today after i finished reading books, gavin hopped off my lap, scooped up a different george, his horse and his wocket and then cuddled up on my chest and went right to sleep.  when i put him down, i just left all the animals as they were.  he should have a good nap today :)

march 17

my two little leprechauns did not cooperate for the camera today :)  it was a gorgeous day here in seattle, and we soaked up as much sun as we could.  we celebrated st. patrick's day with the bakers and enjoyed a traditional irish meal of corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots and irish soda bread.  it was a first for us, and we really enjoyed it.  we kept the kids out late, and they really enjoyed that :)

march 16

we had our fair share of fun today.  it started off with gavin's 1st dentist appointment and a check-up for brooke, which they both seemed to enjoy.  then we came home and played at the park with hanna and hudson.  i was feeling brave today and invited the kids over for lunch in order to give anastasia a bit of a break.  we played for about an hour and then had lunch together.  it was so cute to see the 4 of them sitting around our table.  we always have hanna over for meals, but this was a first for hudson.  gavin and hudson's friendship has really blossomed over the past couple of months.  i think it has a lot to do with anastasia watching gavin on wednesdays during brooke's ski lessons.  now they're little buds :)  i love the fact that we have friends 2 doors down.  they feel like an extension of our family, and we are so fortunate to have them in our lives.

march 15

i tried to avoid this for as long as possible, but brooke and gavin have now taken over our bathtub.  they're both getting so big, and they have so much more room in our big tub.  brooke says the tub in their bathroom is for "babies."  they have no idea how good they have it!

march 14

when i count my blessings, my husband is at the top of the list.  i know 2 other little ones who would have him at the top of their list, too, if they grasped the concept of blessings :)  happy birthday, my love!

march 13

oh, giraffey.  you are such a good little lovey.  you have been with brooke through every day of her 4+ years, and she loves you like no other.  she used to drag you all over the place, never leaving home without her giraffey.  now that brooke is getting older, you occasionally get a break, but brooke still sleeps with you every single night and takes you on outings to school, the mall, restaurants, etc. every now and then.  when brooke was less than a year old, i bought 6 replacements for you so that we always had a clean one and heaven forbid we lost you...  but all those other giraffes sit in her dresser drawer.  there is only one giraffey for my little girl.  the original.  the first giraffey she ever loved.  she has sucked on and rubbed your little ear to pieces.  today kevin did surgery on your ear.  right now you are in post-op.  i'm not sure if it looks better or worse, but the hole is gone.  and you're still loved every bit as much.

march 12

vrrroooom!  see that big smile on gavin's face?  just about anything with wheels excites gavin beyond belief, but getting to sit on a vespa and pretend you're a race car driver... heaven.

march 11

today was a very good day.  i took so many pictures that i had trouble choosing just one.  i couldn't pass this one up though.  brooke gave a half-hearted attempt at cleaning her room this morning and became much more excited about creating what she called her "work studio."  i walked in and saw her just like this. "just like daddy's," she said.  she was working away on her computer with her little telephone right beside her.  she had pulled her chairs together and created a make-shift desk to hold the essential office supplies :)  i don't think it gets any cuter than this.

march 10

we had a few good hours of sunshine and 50 degree weather this morning so gavin and i made the most of it.  gavin loves his trikes.  we're lucky to have several of them that have been passed down from brooke to gavin.  he especially loves the lightning mcqueen trike.  he can't quite reach both of the pedals so he pushes his feet along the ground to get where he wants to go.  he's not a bit afraid of flying down the hill either.  he's very good at stopping at the end of the sidewalk and says "ways" and "cars" because he knows we need to look both ways for cars.  today i was crouching down in the street to take a picture of him, and he kept yelling "cars, cars!" with a worried look on his face.  he did not like me being in the street :)

march 9

today is a very rainy day, so we've been having fun inside - relaxing in our pjs, dancing to music, playing duck-duck-goose and tickle monster and pretending all sorts of things.  gavin and brooke decided all on their own to have a picnic in the hallway.  i love how brooke set up a chair for each of them, perfectly arranged a blanket on the ground and brought out baskets of pretend food.  somehow the picnic morphed into camping on the beach, so blankets, pillow pets and loveys were arranged on both sides of the picnic area.  brooke put gavin "night night" on his blanket, and it was very cute to see him lying there pretending to go to sleep.  i love to see their imaginations at work.

march 8

i find that there are some things i let my children get away with that i know i should not.  like this for example... for the past month or so gavin has been darting into the front driver seat of my car as soon as i unbuckle his car seat.  i've tried to grab him and pull him back.  i've given him lectures that a car is not a toy.  but in the end i relent and give him 2 minutes of pleasure.  today i threw my bags inside the door as i let him pretend to drive.  that's when i heard the garage door.  !%&@!!  i couldn't believe it.  he closed the garage door (from inside the car) with my rear hatch open.  seriously, i know better.  luckily, my car escaped with just a very tiny scratch.  lesson learned.

march 7

i had a feeling brooke had just gone through a growth spurt so i measured her.  she grew an inch and a half in a month and a half!

this evening brooke begged to go out to eat.  we haven't been out to eat in over a week, and that's pretty unusual for us.  so, i made her happy by pretending that our house was tara's mexican kitchen :)  i put a tablecloth on the table, lit a candle and had paper place mats with crayons for the kids.  i had itunes running with adele on the playlist.  i brought chips and salsa to the table and served everyone beef and bean burritos with rice and a side of veggies.  it was just like being out to dinner :)

march 6

happy birthday to my sister, and happy early birthday to kevin!  here he is showing off his birthday present - brand new skis and ski boots.  he got to try them out today.  we all went up to the mountain this morning, and it was absolutely beautiful out.  brooke took another ski lesson, and kevin tagged along to make sure she got up the chair lift and down the mountain okay.  brooke did awesome, and kevin loved his new gear :)  gavin and i played in the snow, watched kevin and brooke and had a few snacks.  fun for all.

march 5

we are now the proud owners of a juicer :)  we gave it a whirl this morning and had great success!  we started with orange juice and then graduated to apple-carrot-celery juice.  both were delicious!  the kids were very intrigued by this new machine of ours, and they loved drinking their juice.  hopefully this will be a healthy new habit for all of us.

march 4

this morning brooke and gavin were playing together in the family room while i was cleaning up the kitchen.  when it got very quiet, i looked up and saw this.  they were both sitting on ride-on toys in the middle of the family room watching curious george.  they had been racing around the house on them, but curious george stopped them in their tracks, and they sat quietly for quite some time watching tv together.  i love these sweet moments between brother and sister.

march 3

brooke's school is going all out this week in celebration of dr. seuss.  they've had fun themes for every day of the week, and today was wacky hair and clothes day.  brooke decided she didn't want a bunch of ponytails in her hair (my idea), so we went with a bunch of barrettes which brooke put in all by herself.  her wacky outfit included: hoodie on backwards, tutu that's actually part of a pj set, wacky halloween socks that heather & danny sent 2 halloweens ago and cowgirl boots.  even though we were going for "wacky," i thought it she looked pretty cute.  i think it must be those boots :)

march 2

this day is one i will remember for the rest of my life.  today i skied with brooke for the first time.  it was brooke's last lesson, and she was brave enough to be willing to go up the chair lift and ski down the mountain.  in order for that to happen, i had to rent boots & skis at the spur of the moment.  no worries.  i would have done anything to make sure brooke got up the mountain.  this was a quiet goal i had for brooke's 6-week ski lessons.  i hoped that at the end of it she was ready and willing to go up the chair lift and ski down.  it would have been ok if she didn't, but i was so, so happy that she did.  and the fact that we did it together made it that much sweeter.  brooke earned a "most daring" ribbon today as well as a "certified skier" pin.  it's hard to put into words how much i've enjoyed watching brooke learn to ski.  it's been so special, and i feel so fortunate that we had this wonderful opportunity.  now i'm going to go put my aching knees up :)

march 1

the first day of march.  it feels like spring is just around the corner, although i know it may still be a while for us here in the pac nw.  the snow has melted, and the weather has warmed up and brought wind and rain.  the tulips on my counter bring a burst of spring and make me eager for the months to come.  we will celebrate (in person or in spirit) a lot of birthdays this month - anastasia's, lexi & kenzie's, heather's, kevin's.  it's going to be a good month.