Interview with Koen

We celebrated Earth Day by hiking around Discovery Park.  I took a moment to interview Koen. What an adorable age. I always want to remember the way he looks and the way he talks right now, at the tender age of four and a half.  So endearing to me. :)

Pre-WWF Career

"Ahhh, shoot!"

That is my new favorite quote by Finn.  You'll hear it at the end of this video, which I am posting mostly for our dear family members who are starving for any media of their precious babies.  :)  It is four minutes of ball wrestling...you'll get the point in the first few seconds.  

More things endearing to me are: 

• Whenever he touches anything that is not room temperature....even if it's cold...he quickly shouts, "Ow!"  He also does this every time he cruises by the oven.  Even when it's off and cold, he touches the front of the door and then jerks his hand back, saying, "Ow!  Hoh!" At least he gets the point, right?
• Lately, he loves to 'dip' his food in everything.  It doesn't matter the disgusting combination.  This all started with grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup (yummy).  But soon he was dipping apples in yogurt (yummy, too, I guess).  And now he insists on dipping carrots in applesauce (yummy?) and peanut butter sandwiches in yogurt (yucky!).  Oh well, at least he's eating.
• Yesterday, he woke up from his nap and the first thing he said to me (in a whiny voice) was "Da Vaya" (Darth Vader).  He must have been dreaming about the man in black?
• His favorite song is "Sing" by The Carpenters (created for Sesame Street).  He calls it "Happy" because of one of the lines in the song.  But I think it's a fitting title, especially given the way it makes him smile when I sing it.  :)

Nothin' but a Finn Fix

Just a little video of a babbling baby for you to enjoy. He's new at this whole 'standing up in the crib' thing. You might notice that he gets a little grumpy toward the end. This is because he's ready to sit down now, but hasn't yet figured out how. Oh the challenges of being new at EVERYTHING!! Gotta love him.

(Notice the increasing tufts of blond hair, and two new top teeth!)

Alfdrina Family Dolls

Meet the Alfdrina Greenleaf family. They are from Koen's imaginary world, 'Alfdrina' (pronounced alf-dree-nah). Nana made these adorable little people for Koen this past Christmas. They look strikingly familiar, but we just can't seem to place their faces? Hmmm. Oh well.

Koen and Daddy have had fun this week stacking them just so...and then annihilating them with bean bags. You can imagine how my heart jumps while I'm making dinner in the kitchen and I hear Koen cheer, "YES! I just hit Oscar in the head!" and "Wow! That one knocked Baby Finn over!" I keep having to check myself...they're referring to the dolls!

Me & the Kids

Clay, Koen, Devin, Finn & Collin

Collin, Shandy & Devin

On a separate note, Finn has just learned a new trick. He's so darn proud of himself. And I simply love watching his chubby hands try to find each other with such concentrated effort. It reminds me of the fact that EVERYTHING in his new world is challenging and exciting. Very refreshing.

Playin' with Papa

The airfare was low...

The ticket was purchased...

Papa hopped on a plane...

We had a quick visit from Papa this weekend. It was super fun to have him all to ourselves for a couple of days. November has officially become rainy and cold. So we spent most of our time indoors, playing, relaxing, and eating. We went out for Chinese food, Thai food, ice cream....why is it always about food for us Greenleafs? Hmmmm....

Koen started requesting the 'roll game' with Papa from the minute he walked through our door...literally. They put together puzzles and Legos, played with the race track, snuggled on the couch....ect. Koen had a fabulous time and was so happy Papa came!



Collin and Shandy spent some time with us as well. Koen played hard with his uncle this weekend. He started referring to him as 'The Big Guy'. Now, there is some debate as to whether Koen realizes that 'The Big Guy' with the thick black beard is also his uncle Collin. We joked that Koen would become best buds with this new dude, and then Collin will shave off his beard and Koen will start avoiding him again. Doesn't this seem counter intuitive? Especially when you look at this image below?

Love ya, Boy! :)

Shandy got in some cuddle time with Finnegan. He's a little cuddle bug...we love it!

Collin & Koen chased each other around in the blue tube while we waited for the cookies to come out of the oven. Pretty funny, Uncle Collin.

And, of course, there was the long awaited battle of Greenleafs vs. Pistachios. I could hardly convince the three of them to look up for a picture. They were serious about those nuts!

Thanks for making the trip up to see us, Papa! We're so glad you came! And thanks for playin' everybody! We can't wait to do it again at Christmas!!

Uno, dos, tres

Yet another high chair performance from Koen. He's showing off his Spanish skills with pride.

You'll have to copy/paste again...still haven't figured out my link problem:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGXKOAi3_0M