Made me laugh...

Today, Koen and I had a conversation that made me laugh out loud. It also reminded me how quick-witted and smart he is.

Me: Koen, I have a special job for you. I need you to take this bag and put all of your stuffed animals inside so that we can take them to the clubhouse (this is what he is calling our new apartment).

Koen: Ok, Mom. (disappears to his room for ten minutes, then shuffles back in with a frown)

Koen: Mom, this is too hard! They won't go in the bag!

Me: Well, at least put some in and then I will come help you with the rest.

Koen: I did! Now you put the rest in.

Me: You already did put some in?

Koen: Yes! I put one in, and ONE is SOME! Now you can do the rest.

I just stared at him in disbelief, processing his logic at the age of three. And he stood there, just looking back at me. After a minute we both busted up laughing. He knew he was being a little smarty pants, but played it very cool. I'm sure this sassy behavior is only amusing when your child is three. And I won't laugh out loud when he's 14 and says this to me. Joy.

Low Tide Beach Tour

Amidst the chaos of our moving activities, we snuck away for a little fun on the beach. It was 'Family Low Tide Beach Walk' day at Discovery Park. Koen was well equipped with his red boots (or so I thought). But by the end of the morning, I was wishing I'd put him in some fly fishing waders...do they make those for 3 year-olds? He was soaked to the bone. So wet that while stomping up the path to the car, he stumbled on a log and water came pour out of the tops of his boots.

I stripped him down at the car. Then he sat eating his PB & J in his underwear, giggling as I poured two quarts of water out of his boots.

It was a smashing fun time, though. We discovered hermit crabs, anemones, starfish, barnacles, water squirting clams and many other creatures whose names I can't recall. And aside from the zoology lesson, there was plenty of running, splashing and pretending that we were 'going on a bear hunt and going to catch a big one!' (darling book, if you've never read it).

We found a 'club house' on the beach!

After tromping around on seaweed all morning, we carried over the theme at lunch time when we ate rice cakes dusted with tamari and seaweed. When I helped Koen make the correlation, he sat very quietly chewing the stuff that looked awfully slimy and dirty back at the beach.

Starfish! Under the rock!

We managed to get proof that Finn and I were present.

Fun. Fun. We're going back soon.

Baby's First Chocolate

Busted! Either I don't feed the baby enough, or he simply takes after his mother. He got into the chocolate chips the other day. Believe it or not, I was standing right next to him when this mischief was made. But, ooooo, he was sneaky quiet...and he didn't even know what sort of gold mine he'd struck.

This was Finn's first ever taste of chocolate. Oh, how sweet it is. I'm pretty sure he liked it, because he was wearing his 'serious' face while he sucked on the velvety morsels. And he was so awestruck by what he'd found, he didn't even bother to crawl quickly away, or hide the evidence. He just sat there staring at me while he ate chip after chip (I was frantically trying to find the camera before he ate too many).

Welcome to the world of CHOCOLATE, my baby!

W...Wa...Wa...WALKING!

That's right! At the tender age of 13.5 months, Finn has accomplished the feat of taking a few unassisted steps. Yahoo! We are all so proud of him. But I think he is the proudest of all. He smiles so big each time he wobbles the distance between Mom and Dad. His tongue helps him balance. Precious.

See for yourself! (For some reason, the video editing software cropped the top of the video and therefore, Finn's head. Grrrr!)

A few more things about Finn:

• He loves to cuddle by pressing his whole body into my chest, arms extended down to his sides, chin or cheek on my shoulder (I can't get enough of this). But he does not like me to hold his hand. Nor, does he care for the whole 'rocking to sleep in the rocking chair' thing. When the storybook is finished and the milk bottle is empty, he squirms and kicks as if to say, "Lay me down, already, Mom!"

• He's starting to attempt animal sounds. So far, he tries to bark like a dog, oink like a pig, and holler like a monkey.

• He has a pretty obvious dairy and wheat intolerance...boo! But the good news is that since we came to this realization, his bum rash is at bay.

• He loves to dance, do whatever Koen is doing, and try to catch Oski's tail (can you believe Oscar actually lets him do this?)

We love you, little dude! You're getting so big!

Schmitz Reserve Park

So I got word of a great, old growth forest park in West Seattle. It was said to have a lovely canopy shrouding plenty of walking trails from the rain...an awesome place to take kids on a rainy day. And when today's forecast called for rain, there was no question about today's outing.

We packed a lunch and headed out. And wouldn't you know, by the time we arrived the sun was shining and the air was pleasantly warm. The park was beautiful and simply perfect. Koen ran and ran, discovered slugs, picked up big sticks, climbed over logs, stomped in mud, floated 'leaf boats' down the stream, and peed on a bush. :) This is what being a kid is all about!

Cute Finn.

He didn't get to run around and play,

but he had fun, nonetheless!

We had jumping contests over a tiny creek that crossed our path.

The weirdest thing!

There was a fallen tree that looked exactly like an alligator!

Koen was all over it.

We saw slugs as big as Koen's palm. They blended in with their environment so well that we almost stepped on a few. I don't even want to imagine the feeling, nor the conversation with Koen after squashing a slug that huge.

Koen's prize pine cone...in his nature necklace.

Great day! Koen was covered in dirt when we returned to the car. Exactly as I'd hoped!

Rain, Messy Brothers, and Pirouettes

Rain

This morning, I got up with the kids around 6 am (as usual), opening the curtains and taking note of the weather. And, as usual, when there's a drizzle out Koen's window I begin to sing "Rain, rain...go away. Come again some other day!"

But today, Koen didn't like this song. With furled brow, he stopped me mid-verse. "Mommy, don't sing that song! Because, if you make the rain go away, then our plants won't get a drink!"

His genuine concern for our little vegetable garden makes me so happy. :)

Messy Brother

Finn, in his ever increasing curiosity and need for independence, is becoming more destructive every day. I keep threatening to get a safety gate for the kitchen...but that's about all it ever amounts to...threats. Why don't I go get one already? At least once a day, he dumps out Oscar's water dish, pulls all the kids' dishes out of the lower cupboards, shakes the open couscous boxes

(yeah, super fun), and tries to suck on the dish soap (luckily the non-toxic variety). Aye!

Yesterday, he moved his activities into his big brother's room where he pulled all of Koen's pants and shirts out of his dresser and dumped out the puzzle pieces and memory game cards. It looked something like '200 card pick-up'. In an effort to encourage helpfulness in Koen (and to give myself a break), I asked him to pick up the mess and put it all away. He did it without any hesitation.

Roughly two hours later, Finn was at it again, and the huge pile of pieces and clothing was right back on the floor. A completely perturbed Koen came running in to me. "Mommy! Finn dumped out all the puzzles and 'remembery' game pieces again, after I picked them all up!"

"Ohhh! I'm sorry, bud. That must be so frustrating for you!" (I'm practicing empathy.) "Why don't you go in and pick them back up. And this time, we'll move them to a higher place where Finn can't reach them. Ok?"

Koen hunched his shoulders forward in defeat and slowly shuffled back into his bedroom. When he got there, he shouted out to me, "But MOM, I feel like I do this all day long!"

Funny. Part of me felt a little gratification in hearing this. I know exactly how he feels.

Pirouette

Koen loves to dance. No secret there. Lately, he's exploring new moves. His new favorite is spinning around on one foot with his arms outstretched. I told him it was like a pirouette. We watched some clips on YouTube of dancers doing pirouettes. Total inspiration. He twirled and whirled all over the place, until he was dizzy. Then out of the blue, a giant smile spread across his face and he said, "I want to see Daddy do a pirouette!........At work!"

:) So would I, Koen. So would I.

What do you think, Clay?

A little movie of Koen's pirouettes...

Tidbits...

Today:

Koen was giving Oscar rubs, inspecting his fur and the scratch Oscar got from our neighbor's mean dog. He began to make believe he was a doctor caring for Oscar's wound and gave him a pretend shot and band-aid. Then he looked up at me and asked why Oscar had fur. I gave him a quick reply (I was preoccupied at the moment).

Next, he asked what was under his fur. "Skin, just like yours!" I said. "Most animals have skin just like we do."

A few more moments passed, then a puzzled look came across his face. "So...is his fur stuck on to his skin with tape?" he asked. ;) So cute the way his little brain works. I then stopped what I was doing to have a more educational conversation with him. I could tell he was really trying to think this through.

Yesterday:

Koen and Finn had a little snack together in the kitchen. They tend to babble at each other and make one another laugh while they eat. Sometimes they even strike up a game of peek-a-boo. I sat down to join them. And I asked Koen (for sake of simple conversation) what his favorite part of his snack was; the almonds, the yogurt, or the blueberries. He caught me by sweet surprise and warmed by heart with his reply.

He thought for a moment, chewing an almond. Then he smiled and said in a soft voice, "My favorite part of my snack is Finn."