mmm...Ice Cream!

Here's some pics of the kids enjoying some ice cream during a recent outing to the zoo with Scott and I.

Preschool Graduation

Tatum with her teachers Mrs. Teri (left) and Mrs. Montoya (right)

On Tuesday, Tatum officially completed her first year of preschool! The year just flew by. It seems like only a short while ago I was blogging about her first day of school and here I am now writing about her "graduation". The ceremony was great, complete with several song performances by the three and four year olds and an emotional good-bye from her fantastic teacher. I had a smile on my face the entire time and couldn't be more proud of my little graduate. Next year, she will continue to go to the same school and attend the pre-K class 3 days a week. One more year before Tatum begins Kindergarten...it's hard to believe!

Owen insisted on wearing his sister's red shoes

Tatum receiving her Preschool Certificate

Here's a short video of one of the songs the classes sang called "Two Rainbow Fish". Tatum's voice definitely stands out so listen carefully.

Glorious Sunshine!

I love the weather we've been having lately! It sure doesn't seem very typical for May in the Pacific NW, but hey I'll take it no matter what time of year. I've got my fingers crossed that this beautiful weather in an indication of what we can expect this summer.

Yesterday, the kids and I met our friends Cole and Tate along with their mom Lindsey at Speebidah. We spent most of the day in the sun playing in the sand and water...it was awesome! Lindsey and I hope to make this a weekly ritual at Spee!

Tatum and Cole...Tatum really took to Cole and I think vice-versa. She sure likes to be in a nurturing/mothering role.

After taking Owen out of his swim suit and getting him into dry clothes, he got a second wind and decided he wanted to go "swimming" again. Instead of going to the trouble of getting him back into his wet suit, I let him run around in the buff for awhile. However, Owen did insist that he wear his water wings.

Station 15 Visit

As lame as this may sound, this was the kids very first visit to "Daddy's fire station"...at least that they can remember. The last time we went was when Tatum was about 6 or 7 months. After seeing both their reactions, visiting Daddy at work is definitely something we are going to do more often! Owen could hardly contain his excitement and it was really nice for Tatum to get an understanding of where Daddy goes and what he does when he's at work. The highlight of the trip was Scott giving the kids a ride in the fire truck around the block. Tatum was also very interested in seeing where Daddy sleeps when at the fire station. I hope to take the kids again in August so we can show off the newest member of our family!

Proud Daddy

Trying on Daddy's bunker gear

Yard Work with Daddy

A couple of weeks ago when Owen saw Scott outside, he immediately headed out the door, grabbed his lawn mower and began helping him with the yard work.

Portrait of Mom, by Tatum Russell

Yesterday, Tatum presented me with this beautiful drawing of me. According to Tatum, the very large circle in the middle is my belly and the smaller circle within the big one is the baby...the rest of the drawing should make sense from there. Until now, Tatum's family portraits have consisted only of a head with eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and a few hairs. As you can see from this picture, her sketches are becoming a bit more detailed. Obviously, she's been inspired by my continuously growing bump!

Mother's Day Celebration

Happy Mother's Day! Here are a few pictures from our lovely family celebration.

Scott and Owen...do you see any resemblance?

Me with my Papa and Grandma. I thought I'd post this picture to show off my baby belly. I'm 29 weeks now and have been receiving more and more comments about my big belly. The other day one of Scott's co-workers commented that I must be due in like 2 days. Not quite...more like 2 1/2 months! To be honest, I like my belly. I'm feeling great and am loving this phase of my pregnancy!

My Mom and I with Tate and Owen

Last Hurrah

Yesterday we concluded Tatum's birthday week with a small gathering of her friends at our house. As you can see from the picture, the weather was fantastic...a first for shorts and tee's this year! Here's Tate, with her two good friends Flynn and Joely painting flower pots. The girls were very complimentary to one another as they worked on their pots. They continually used words like fabulous, beautiful colors and gorgeous to describe each other's creation...so sweet.

While running a couple errands yesterday afternoon, Tatum was trying to explain to me that she was really 14 not 4. I explained to her the she was only 4 and had 10 more years to go before she'd hit 14. She may be 4 going on 14, but I'm definitely not prepared for the teen years yet...Yikes!

Happy Birthday Tatum!

Here's Tatum, riding on her new bike from Mommy, Daddy and Owen!

Our first born turns 4 today!! We celebrated this weekend with a nice family dinner and today we sent Tatum to preschool with cupcakes to share. She wore a special birthday crown during class and got to choose a prize from the "birthday box". Tonight we asked her what she would like for her special birthday dinner...let's just say we're celebrating with pancakes!

Tatum continues to enjoy preschool and always looks forward to her swimming classes. Her love for life and enthusiastic spirit is a constant source of enjoyment for Scott and I. Tatum remains our spunky, outgoing, competitive, animated, passionate, loving little girl. We are so blessed to be her parents! Happy 4th Tatum!!

Happy Easter!

Following church yesterday, there was an Easter brunch that included pictures with the Easter Bunny, face painting, and egg decorating. The kids both had a great time and especially loved their visit with the Easter Bunny!