Christmas in WA - 2011

We went up to Washington for Christmas this year. It was great! I didn't take very many pictures though, so I'm stealing all of these from Michael and Steph, who took some great pics. Thanks, guys! Here is just a glimpse into the awesomeness. Enjoy!

(So, because I'm lazy I didn't resize any of the pictures, so that is why you can't see all of them. Click on them and you will see the whole thing. Sorry, but it's taken me this long, if I wait to fix it it'll never happen.)



Ben and Sam watching Uncle Michael play on his computer



Charlotte on our Winter Walk. She wasn't nearly bundled up enough and she got pretty cold by the end. But, isn't she a cutie?



Aunt Steph and Charlotte playing on the playground.



Sam running on the playground.



Sweet Charlotte



Charlotte looking cute and festive





Ben and Sam opening up their stockings! Hurray!



Ben playing with one of his new toys (I think it's a Ninjago?)



Zach and the boys putting together their new lego cars. This is Zach's favorite part of Christmas, by the way.



Sam got so excited every time he opened up a Ninjago.



Every time he said, "This is what I've always wanted!" Here he is saying that.



The Cousins. These photos are really hard to get. But there wasn't nearly as much complaining as when we took...



...this one. On a side note, the boys took to wearing their pajamas as shirts while we were in Washington. I'm not sure why. They've stopped now.



The day after Christmas/Steph's b-day we went up to see Granpa Great a.k.a. Zach's Grandpa. Zach and the boys shot guns. Charlotte and I stayed inside where it was warm.



Ben showing a leaf with a hole shot in it.

Summer 2011: Maine

We got to go and visit my family up in Maine this September. It was a great time! We played around in the woods and wild, played in the ocean, roasted s'mores and had boatloads of fun!



The Fam and the Atlantic



Zach and Charlotte at beautiful Popham Beach



Ben wading into Knickerbocker Lake



Charlotte at Knickerbocker She really didn't like sitting in the sand. At all. And didn't like the cold water. At all. But she did manage smiles under these specific conditions.



The boys and I on Mom and Dad's sailboat. My, she is yar. It was loads of fun. Even when the boat keeled and the boys almost slid right into the water. Good times. We also all slept out on the boat one night. Slightly less good, but still good times. It was so beautiful out there on the water. We kept seeing all these monarch butterflies flying over the water. It was lovely.

We also got to go to the Common Ground Fair. It's brilliant. I was a little overwhelmed by the whole thing though. There was so much to see and so much information, I couldn't take it all in.



The boys spent all kinds of time watching the blacksmith work. They really enjoyed it. Then they all went to learn how to make fire. They used string and sticks. Zach was the first one to actually make fire and everyone clapped. The boys thought it was great.



Ben eating organic pizza and listening to a performer



Jen and Chris at Popham Beach. It was great to see them!



Charlotte taking a bath in my parent's sink. And being off the charts cute.

It was so much fun visiting. Thanks, guys! We loved it.

Oh, and here are some quotes from our time up there:

Before a game of chess:
Sam: Let's have a fair game, Ben.

Ben: Lobsterman almost always wear shoes!

While playing at Grimes Cove:
Ben: Mom, come in the water with me!
Katie: Oh no, Ben. It's too cold.
Ben: It's not cold! It's refreshing!

Summer 2011: Washington

We got to go up and see Zach's family in Washington this summer! It was great fun. We got to have fun with Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and cousins.


Cousins: Lydia and Charlotte


Aunt Emma in Leavenworth

We had a fun time up in Leavenworth. The boys loved playing in the river with their cousins.








Aunt Vanessa and Lydia in the Icicle River


The Boys watching some telly


Aunt Emma and a sleepy Charlotte


All the grandkids.

It was so much fun. We also went up to Quincy and played on the farm. The boys became one with the dirt and the gravel and grass. And the dirt. Did I mention the dirt? I also got the feed the cows corn husks, which I found unbelievably enjoyable. Sadly, I don't have any pictures of this because our camera was still mad at me about dropping it at the beach during Zach's marathon and wouldn't work at the time. Super sad. But, all the same, it was great fun.

Thanks guys! It was wonderful!

Summer 2011: Marathoner

Zach ran his first marathon in July. He's been training for it for a long time and he did great! It was run along the coast at Rodeo Beach.



Yet again, we were completely unprepared for California coastal weather. It is always the opposite of what we are expecting. I should start bringing supplies for all weather conditions. Oh, well. At least it wasn't as bad as it has been in the past. And either way, we still had a great time.



A well placed plank entertained the boys for a long time. It was brilliant.



We walked up and down the beach several times, playing in the waves and picking up pretty stones. Sadly, I tripped backwards over a rock and dropped our camera full into wet sand. It's been mad at me ever since, but it still mostly takes pictures, so not all bad.



Zach ended up getting 7th overall and 2nd in his age group! We were very impressed. And the boys were so happy that he got two medals! (one for finishing and one for placing). And it was such a fun beach that I didn't mind being with the kids for a couple hours by myself (but don't tell Zach, because I think he still owes me. :)



Our gallant marathoner, boldly facing into the wind. And looking forward to a great post-race burger!

Summer 2011: Ben and Sam's Birthday

My little baby boys turned five this year! It is mind boggling. We had a lot of fun celebrating this year. We played in our (very) little pool, because it was a scorcher and went to McDonald's in classic birthday celebration fashion. Then came home for some cake and presents.



I'm pretty terrible at decorating cakes, but Ben liked the icing robot so much that he cut him out all for himself.



The party really got started when we went on our camping trip. The boys picked camping over a friend party. We went to a little state park in the middle of farming country. We woke up to a cow mooing quite loudly across the river.



We swam, splashed and played in the river. We had s'mores and burgers for dinner. The boys loved it. And Charlotte did well, too.



When we woke up and got packed up we went on a completely annoying hike. The "lake" we were heading to was more of an algae covered puddle, it was extremely hot, and the boys got worn out pretty quickly. The highlight was finding a dead possum on the trail.



But at least Charlotte looked cute.



Afterwards we went to the river's beach and let the boys fish for a while. They did great, but sadly didn't catch anything. They did completely drench their pants though, so not a total loss.



It was a most splendid birthday.

Brotherly Love

Sam and Charlotte (March)

Benjamin and Samuel love their little sister. Charlotte is like the new center of their universe and they are rapidly orbiting planets that often need to come in really, really close to kiss her toes. It is excessively sweet to see my big babies love this new baby so, so much. The first thing they ask in the morning is if "beautiful face" is awake yet. And whenever she wakes up from her naps it's like she's been sleeping for an hundred years! Once one has seen her eyes bat open for a moment they come running to her, often loudly proclaiming the goods news to the other. If I'm going out and taking Charlotte with me, there is almost always a little battle because they don't want her to leave. They sit and read her stories, get her pacifiers, explain the convoluted plots of their pretend games, and always, always give her kisses. Hundreds and hundreds of kisses. They have declared that they will love Charlotte and I "infinity." It is magnificent.

Yet, it can be difficult to deal with such unbridled love from two such passionate little creatures when you are trying to care for an even littler creature. They run around and play their little games, stop suddenly and need to give Charlotte kisses and love RIGHT NOW! No matter if she is sleeping, nursing, crying, or having a diaper changed. And if they want to give a kiss on, say her tummy, and she is wearing a onesie or a jumper they'll try and unbutton her to have access to the intended location. If I intervene they protest that it must be done. We had to implement a no kisses during nap time rule because Charlotte was hardly sleeping during the day because she kept being woken up by this brotherly love. Sam is pretty good about it, but Ben is just perfecting his "silent kisses."

It's a crazy, stupendous adventure this motherhood gig.


Benjamin and Charlotte (March)

3 Months

- Charlotte likes to sleep with both her arms raised above her head
- She is still a big spitter-upper
- She has found her cry and uses it when she deems it necessary. Which is pretty often
- She is really alert whenever she is awake
- She has started to babble a lot and blow raspberries
- She is starting to laugh
- She has lost her startle reflex, much to Zach's chagrin (he liked to scare her, but he says that he's just checking reflexes)
- She has started to arch her back when she gets upset
- Charlotte is a great sleeper. She'll sometimes sleep for 5+ hours at night! Not always, but it is awesome when she does
- She is not the best napper. She doesn't seem to sleep in long stretches unless we are in the car, stroller, or carrier. She's more of a cat napper
- Her eye are slowly starting to change. Zach thinks they are going to be green. We'll see
- She'll beginning to discover her hands and she'll often try and grab at things, with mixed success
- She is an absolute charmer. Everywhere she goes people love her. But, she is especially loved at home









P.S. For some reason, while Blogger was down yesterday this post got erased with the comments that were on it. So, sorry to whoever commented!