Surprise!

Kallie loves Winnie the Pooh and all of his buddies ever since we let her watch a few shows on the iPad when took a road trip to Sunriver, OR. I think it might have been love at first sight! She has had the Piglet stuffed animal since she was born but never really knew that he had so many fun friends.

Of course being the softy that I am I bought a cute Pooh stuffed animal as a surprise. Ever night Kallie goes into her room to pick a few books for us to read on our bed after bath. Well last night we put Pooh in her little rocking chair so when she ran in there to get books it would be a big SURPRISE!

I think it worked . . . check this out.

 

Nigh Night Time

Kallie-
Bedtime is the one time we are both completely in the moment and nothing else matters. It is just you and me doing whatever we want. Sometimes we quietly read books and snuggle but most of the time we end up reading books followed by talking and giggling for much longer than we should. We talk about anything and everything - what sounds animals make (usually you ask about camels and zebras . . . and I make up noises b/c I have no clue), what you did at school that day – the list goes on and on!

The other day you were laying on my chest singing lullaby’s right along with me; you lifted your head, looked me in the eyes smiling and said "I love you mama" followed by the most amazing hug I have ever received. It is moments like that bring me an overwhelming feeling of unconditional love.

After we are done rocking, talking, giggling and singing I cover you with your “special blankie” (lately it is a different blanket each night). I rub your back and let you know that mommy, daddy and coho love you. You then quickly remind me that Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Eore, Roo, Owl and Christopher Robin love you too . . . !



These are the three songs we sing every night . . . a handful of songs come and go but these three are your favorites and requested every night!

Kallie is a pretty girl, happy girl, funny girl . . . Kallie is a pretty girl and I love her. (There are many versus to this song but I just make them up as I go)

Rock-a-bye Kallie on the tree-top When the wind blows the cradle will rock When the bow breaks the cradle will fall and mom will catch Kallie cradle and all! Rock rock rock rock rock a-bye Your names Kallie pumpkin pie Rock rock rock rock rock rock roo Your names Kallie Boo Mama loves you yes she does Daddy loves you just because Your our baby baby girl and we love YOU!

God bless Kallie God bless Kallie God bless Kallie, we'll see you in your dreams. (followed by God Bless Mommy, God Bless Daddy, God Bless Coho and sometimes we God Bless all of the Winney the Pooh characters too!

Salmon Days

This weekend we were excited to take our annual trip to the Salmon Days festival in Issaquah. Kallie was so excited to ride on the school bus and in fact she would probably say the school bus was her favorite “activity” that day (HA).

We met the Minnaar family at the festival and the kids immediately started running from one activity to the next. First the bouncy house followed by the dizzy bus, train ride, bounce house again and then the much anticipated pony rides. Kallie has been afraid to ride a pony so far but on Saturday she decided to go for it. She was a bit hesitant a first but once the horse started moving she was smiling ear to ear yelling “Watch me daddy”!

After running around for quite a while we had your typical fair food and sat down in the grass for a little picnic. Kallie and Coop had so much fun people watching and running around. We didn’t spend much time looking at the booths but we did manage to find a Halloween booth and scooped up Kallie’s Halloween costume (SCORE). We had a great time at Salmon Days and look forward to next year!

Weekend Family Fun

Last weekend we decided to take advantage of the sunny weather and head to Vashon for the day. Kallie loves searching for crabbies under every rock she sees. She is for the most part she is fearless picking up the crabs and adding them to her collection. (Don’t panic, we let them all go when she was napping and told her they went night night).

We also spent time digging in the sand. Kallie loves building sandcastles like Olivia the Pig (a book we read close to every night). I think she mostly likes knocking them down the moment we build them but that’s OK, kids will be kids.

All and all it was a great family day at the cabin and I look forward to spending more time up there watching Kallie explore!

New Backpack

Kallie has been talking about getting a backpack for a few weeks now. I have no idea where she learned about them but of course I had to get her one. I was envisioning a small lady bug or princess backpack. Not the case, Kallie picked out a HUGE stuffed Hello Kitty backpack. Of course I tried to persuade her to choose something else but as you can see she clearly won that battle (you can’t win them all)!

Mommy Daughter Day

I decided to take the day off on Friday to spend the day with Kallie. As a full-time working mom the only time I stay home during the week with her is when she is sick and I definitely don’t consider that bonding. Sadly when she woke up on Friday she had a running nose and a cough. I decided we should still go to the zoo to perk her up and enjoy the sunny weather. All and all the zoo was a bit overwhelming for my girl. For some reason she was afraid of all the animals and just wanted to be held or sit in her stroller (that is how I knew she was really not feeling well). She did however love riding carousal and jumping on the rocks with the other kiddos

Luckily Grammy was with us and was able to cheer her up with a picnic lunch in their backyard. Kallie was so excited to sit on a blanket and eat her lunch. In fact, the moment she woke up from her nap she wanted to have a picnic snack. Although our mommy/daughter day did not turn out as expected with Kallie not feeling well it was nice to spend the day with my baby girl. I got extra snuggles and kisses that night which made it worth every second!

I have made it my goal to slow down and enjoy the time I spend with Kallie. Every day seems to be a bit chaotic after a long day at work and daycare but there is nothing better than sitting down, setting my phone down, turning off the TV and just living in that moment!

AND DONE!

Family Time

As summer comes to an end, we are doing our best to spend quality family time together and enjoy the last of the sunny weather. We spent Labor Day weekend on Vashon enjoying the beach, boat rides, crabbing, playing with cousins and drinking wine on our new deck (adults only of course).

This weekend we took a trip to Remlinger Farms in Carnation. I was skeptical because Kallie can get overwhelmed when there are lots of people but my fears were put to rest the moment we walked in. She loved looking at the animals (lamas, sheep, emus and turkeys) and as usual she was all talk about the ponies but she made it very clear she was NOT going to sit on a pony (maybe next year – HA). To my surprise her favorite part of the farm was riding all of the rides. She kept saying “one more time mommy” every time the ride would stop and was not happy that we had to wait in line to go again. Lucky for us the lines were really short because Kallie is not a fan of waiting (yelling Kallie's turn), just like her daddy.

Since both Eric and I work full time being able to spend quality family time on the weekends is our priority. It is amazing to see how family time can make any day a better day, I truly feel blessed to have such a wonderful family.