Hairy Lip

Clay spent the entire month of November growing, grooming and admiring the hair on his upper lip. I can't tell you how many times he asked me, "Does it look thick and full?" (Yes, Clay) "No, but can you tell it's a moustache?" (Yes, Clay....it's a moustache) "Should I shave it yet?" (Whatever you want to do, Clay). My responses grew increasingly monotone after two weeks of this.

But he was very proud, and loved to tell me how his coworkers enjoyed seeing his face each morning. Smiles in the elevator, giggles in the hallway...one guy even asked him if he was dying it black! He loved the attention.

But, alas, all things must come to an end, right? Especially when Koen told him one night, "Daddy, when you kiss me hair goes in my mouth." Spoken with genuine concern.

Here are the boys right before the final shaving ceremony. Now we are back to clean shaven.

Goodbye furry friend!

Random Updates

I just wanted to share a few funny stories and tidbits about the kids lately, mostly for the purpose of documentation. I forget so much lately, but I don't want to forget the most important things...the little things.

• Koen has been waking up and playing quietly in his room before we get up in the morning. Sometimes he plays with Finn in his crib and reads him books. We can hear their conversations on the baby monitor near our bed. When Finn starts to get antsy and whiny, Koen says in a very nurturing voice, "I'll get your mom. Do you want me to get your mom, Finn? Yes? Ok." This makes me smile.

• Our new favorite quiet time activity (during Finn's nap) is to write stories. Koen sits at the table and draws a picture. When he's done, I come in and listen as he describes the picture and corresponding story to me. I do my best to transcribe everything he says onto the back. He loves to listen as I read the entire story back to him. I can see the pride on his face, knowing that he made all of it up...all by himself. Then on the front, I write out one or two of the key words from his story so he can practice writing the words himself. He's completely tickled with his new writing skills. Practice makes perfect!

• Koen takes pretty good pictures lately (including the following self portrait). I'm often surprised when I upload photos from my camera and find some interesting shots (and video) that I had nothing to do with.

Koen, photographer

This is one of his recent videos. I have to give him credit. He's very careful with the camera and knows how to turn it on and off, point, shoot, and put it away like it never happened.

Finn's hair is taking on a life of its own. He often has a large rat's nest in back, tangled and fluffy. His bangs are long and well on their way to reaching the tip of his nose now. They often have mysterious bits of food plastered in them. Finn is the king of smearing his messy hands all over his face and hair just as I'm about to clean him up. I need faster reflexes.

Finnie, fresh out of the bath.

Cheeseball poser.

Yep, Finn still loves hats and non-hats alike.

This time it's an opened envelope from a bill. Why not, right?

• Finn loves to say 'Hahh!' (hot) and blow on his food. It doesn't matter what it is, he just enjoys doing something that the rest of us do. The other day he tried to tell me that his peanut butter and jelly sandwich was hot. And last night, I caught him blowing on the ice cream cone that I was 'sharing' with him. Finnie, the ice cream is not hot.

• He has a thing for the springy door stoppers in our home. He manages to unscrew one and carry it around the house for a while. I find them everywhere and I've gotten to the point where I don't bother to replace them for a few days.

• He still loves to remove his socks, but the bonus part is that he sucks on the sock for a while. Later, I find it, sad and soaked on the floor.

• He waves and says 'bye' when we lay him down to sleep in his crib. It is hard not to giggle when you see his tiny, waving hand, through the darkness.

• Each time I come around the side of the car to get Finn out of his car seat, he waits...quiet and still...hidden by the tinted window. Then as soon as I open the door he JUMPS (in his car seat) and yells to scare me. He then cracks up laughing at his own sneakiness. It is pretty cute.

• And lastly, Finn is obsessed with the Christmas lights decorating the houses and yards around town. He whimpers and cries out from the back seat, "Yie! Yie!" (lights) and if I don't immediately acknowledge the colorful lights we just passed by, he gets louder and more frantic. Then he wildly signs 'more' with his hands and says "Moe...yie!" (meaning lets find more). But quite honestly, it has revived my Christmas spirit this season to hear his utter thrill and see the wondrous wide eyes and beautiful smile on his face as he sees each colorful display. It's enough to choke you up. I find myself driving around for a few more minutes each night, or taking a new route home from wherever we've been so that we can see 'moe...yie'. Thank you, Finnie, for bringing the childlike excitement back.

Devin from Doha

Uncle Devin came to visit the week before Thanksgiving. We were so excited to see him because it's been nearly a year since his last visit. He came, as usual, bearing gifts from afar. Two adorable new hats from Kathmandu, and matching tiger shirts for all three of them...we simply had to do a quick photo shoot! Koen knew right then and there that he was in for a great time!

After the past two weeks or so, I'm convinced that there is a homing beacon inside Finn's body. Its target location is Collin's lap, and once he touches down on the landing pad, he never leaves again. He doesn't make a sound, either...just sits there quietly....for an hour or more. Seriously...there is no other way to describe it. This kid loves his uncle Collin, and I'm quite certain he would happily skip all future meals and naps, just so he could stay in that little, cozy spot. Way...too...cute.

One night we shared a giant pot of vegetarian chili with all kinds of fixin's, sour cream cornbread and honey butter. We followed it up with chocolate ice cream cones, and movie night. Everyone snuggled up on the floor to watch Koen's new favorite movie, How to Train Your Dragon! Koen reassured Aunt Shandy (during all of the scary parts) that everything would be o.k. in the end. He's very thoughtful.

Finn found a pretty great spot to cuddle on Devin's lap, too.

Uncle Collin couldn't resist playing around with Koen's hair for a while. Koen was very cooperative, letting him brush and tease, then finishing up with a little pony tail.

The finished product.

Of course, Koen took his turn afterward.

Collin ended up with a beard-tail.

The tiniest Greenleaf of them all.

Yet, despite his small size,

he proved to be quite a workout for his strong uncle.

Up, down, up down. Come on, Collin. Only 10 more to go!

The stare-off.

Followed by more snuggles.

What a lovely weekend with family. Thanks for coming to play, Dev. We'll miss you for another year!

The Not-Its

Koen and I enjoyed a Mother-Son date a little while ago. We took the bus to the downtown public library to watch a kid's rock concert. We had soooo much fun together! Music was loud, space was limited, Top Pot donuts were free, and kids were singing, dancing and screaming. Complete blast.

The line-up was:

Caspar Babypants

The Board of Education

The Not-Its

Harmonica Pocket

Recess Monkey

If you have kids and you haven't checked out these bands...what are you waiting for? They are super fun. Koen said that his favorite band was 'the loud one'. I'm pretty sure he was talking about The Not-Its in the following picture. They are pretty cool, I have to admit. And the funniest thing to me was seeing droves of little pint-sized groupie girls, peppered throughout the crowd, dressed in black with hot pink tutus. Let's just say there were some serious fans there. :)

The venue was pretty rad, too. If you haven't visited the Seattle Public Library (Downtown), you should. One of my computer drafting projects at school was drafting a 3D replica of this modern building's architecture before it was ever constructed. So to be there and see it in the flesh (or steel and concrete, I guess) is always a fantastic treat for me. I especially love the sunlit 'living room' where the show was held under the expansive glass ceiling. Awesome!

The moment was even better shared with my little buddy. And yes, I gave him the royal treatment which included a sticky-icky blue sucker.

Oatmeal

I just thought I'd share this sweet moment with everyone. Koen loves to feed Finn lately. If get up from my chair for more than 30 seconds, I return only to find him sitting in my spot, feeding his brother. It's precious and he does a wonderful job. I can tell that Finn enjoys this new sort of interaction with his big brother as well. Do take note of his excessive cheesiness. He's becoming a camera poser.

So keep up the good work, Koen! Next we'll learn garbage take-out, toilet cleaning and laundry! You think I'm kidding. The other day as I was mopping the floor, Koen watched me with utter curiosity (yes, I don't do it that often....totally busted). After a few minutes, he asked, "Mommy? Maybe when I'm bigger I get to do that too?" Yep! Don't you worry...I'll teach you how to mop!

Anyway, enjoy the sweetness (and don't forget that you can pause the music if you want)....

4 is a lotta BIG!

It has happened. Koen has officially turned four! A major event at our house. We somehow ended up celebrating his birthday for an entire week. As a result, Koen is somewhat confused about when his actual birthday was. But that's o.k. An entire 'birth week' sounds better anyway.

His actual birthday started with a few presents and some very nice phone calls from family. When he talked to Nana that morning, he told her (with gusto) that "four is a lotta big!" You got that right buddy. He is rather obsessed with getting 'bigger' and asks us each night at the dinner table if we can see him grow with each bite.

I didn't realize how serious he was with this question until one day I jokingly told him (after he refused to eat his lunch) that I thought I saw him shrink a little bit. You've never seen a smile drop from a face so drastically. He sat staring at me, and then the wall for what seemed to be ages while I cleared our dishes from the table. Soon he began to wail, telling me to bring his lunch plate back so he could eat and grow.

Don't worry, I sat down and told him that what I had said wasn't true and that he wasn't going to shrink. Yikes! I need to be more careful with my jokes! He is a 'Literal Lou'.

After breakfast, we headed over to the gymnastics academy for some indoor romping with our friends. Wouldn't you know, the day before and the day after were terribly gorgeous and summer-like, but the day of his birthday was pouring rain...all day!

The boys in the foam pit.

Finn has gone kamikaze lately on the little slide that drops into the pit. I can hardly keep up with him...up, down, up, down. He goes so fast, that he sometimes starts sliding before both of his feet are in front of him. Needless to say, he's done a few trips down the slide with his legs in the splits.

Koen is getting more agile and daring with each visit.

It's been wonderful for his coordination.

But then again, he is a big four-year-old now!

He spent some time in front of the gym mirror,

checking himself out to see if he looked older that day. :)

Fearless Finn.

If I turned my head for a split second, he'd be at the top of a ladder.

We definitely have a climber on our hands.

After the gym, Koen spent an hour out in the rain trying out his new alligator umbrella that his friend gave him. He felt very special...and big, of course.

And, naturally, it wouldn't be a celebration at our house without an ice cream outing. We have a new place we like to go for frozen custard. Koen only gets chocolate anymore. That's my boy!

Midweek, we invited Collin and Shandy over for pizzas, cake and ice cream. It was low key and perfect. Finn and Collin logged some serious cuddle time. It has now become their little ritual, I'd have to say. Once Collin gets Finn into position, Finn doesn't move for at least an hour (or as long as Collin can stay put). He also doesn't make a peep. It's like Finn disappears into his uncle's lap. Very tender.

Mmmm...chocolate cake!

And to wrap up the 'Week of Koen', we threw a little birthday party at a local community center for a few friends. We ate, we sang, Koen opened gifts, and then we chased the kids all over the play gym. Koen loved every minute of it. And he was thrilled to be able to hand out balloons and handmade bookmarks (made by Koen himself) to each of his guests as they said goodbye.

Our beautiful, BIG, birthday boy!

You may be getting bigger, but you'll always be my 'baby boy'.

Love, Mom