Now I Know My ABC's

Here's 1 of many renditions of the ABC song the kids performed for me the other day. Owen is definitely catching on. I'm certain he knows the entire song, but is only able to get out every 4th or 5th letter. He loves to practice his ABC's with our fridge magnet music gizmo, so it shouldn't be long before he's got it down solid.

Remlinger Farms

Scott and I took the kids to Remlinger Farms today in Carnation for a day of family fun. Between Scott's window business and the fire department, he has been putting in some serious long weeks. When the opportunity arises, like today, we try and take advantage of it by doing something fun together. We ended up spending most of the day at the farm and had a fantastic time. I would highly recommend this place to anyone with young children. The farm has a small-town family fair feel to it that definitely caters toward the little ones...it was perfect for us!

Owen's first roller coaster ride...obviously he loved it (and Daddy too)! On his second ride on the coaster he began imitating the other children, throwing both of his arms up in the air.

Fearless Tatum riding in the front car of the coaster.

"All Aboard!"

Baby belly hug...here I am, nearly 36 weeks pregnant. Oh, Baby!

I Love Dirt

The other day after lunch, I had Owen go outside and play to blow off some steam before his nap. Less than ten minutes later he came inside covered in dirt from head to toe...these pictures don't do the dirt disaster justice. Needless to say, Owen required a quick bath before I put him down for his nap. The new t-shirt grandma Cheryl got Owen is quite fitting. It reads "DIRT, It does a body good".

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