So long Bellingham! - Day #3

The only bad thing about visiting Bellingham is having to leave.

Guess who insisted on sleeping in her new Rocket Donuts tshirt? Cousin lovin' Good morning Wyatt! Oh how I miss giving baths in the sink Clean little guy
Stuffed like sardines in the car on our way home from Portland (Natty sure enjoyed reaching over and shaking Wyatt's car seat)
Midget and I squeezed in the back seat of the Expedidi
Tired baby girl

Bellingham Day #2 - part 2

After church, Shaun's boat and donuts, we headed back to Shaun and Lindsay's for an afternoon of outdoor fun.

Ashley Louise taking a cruise around Lake Louise
Katie and Baby Wyatt
Swinging with Grandpa
Wyatt's first ride on the swings - wonder if he'll be as addicted as Ash?
Cheese!
Smile Lindsay!
The official Uncle Stance
Loving the swings
I love to get my body traced with chalk
Hopscotch!

Bellingham - Day #2 part 1

During our second day in Bellingham, we attended the Palm Sunday church service, visited Rocket Donuts, Shaun's boat, took a walk around the lake and the playground.
I had never attended a Palm Sunday service at a Lutheran Church before and boy was I in for a treat! The congregation gathered outside where we were handed palm branches to wave while we sang songs of celebration. Ashley was really into the palms at first, but it wasn't long (about 5 minutes) before she was poking me in the leg saying "Mommy, I'm done outside now. I go play with my friends, please." Ha! After the quick children's sermon (which takes place at the front of the church, in front of the entire congregation), I took Ashley to Sunday School. She's absolutely adores church and the chance to play with her 'friends' (even though she'd never met anyone at this church before). This particular church takes communion every Sunday, so when Ashley heard the other children in her class talking about it, she was anxious to see what it was all about. After the service Ashley was full of questions, but was mostly concerned with receiving her piece of bread. A member of the church broke off a large piece of bread for her, where she gladly named it her "Jesus Bread", and happily munched away.
After church we headed to Shaun's boat where Ashley had her every-time-we-visit-Bellingham-picture taken. She told us over and over "Please, I don't want to get in the water with the icky crabs". Ha ha! It's crazy that all she can seem to remember from her first-ever visit to Shaun's boat (back in November) was of him checking crab pots from the dock.
After Shaun's boat it was off to Rocket Donuts, a must when you travel to Bellingham with Ashley. Not only is she a huge fan of their donuts (who isn't?!), but she's also, well, over the moon for the moon. She loves the giant rocket outside the diner and is all smiles every time she sees it.
Our day continued with more fun, but I will have to wait and share those stories and pictures for another post. Stay tuned!

Checking out Uncle Shaun's boat with Aunt Katie
Captain Ashley and First Mate Katie (I'm not sure those are the proper nautical terms, but it sounds cute so I'll go with it)
LOVE me some Uncle Shaun!
Aboard the USCG Sea Lion (next time you see Ashley ask her what the name of Uncle Shaun's boat is, and the name of the other USCGC boat that they share a doc with - she's a genius!)
Hi!!
Thanks again for the tour Uncle Shaun
No trip to Bellingham is complete without Ashley getting this picture taken
Love my Mommy
Kiss! Kiss!
Three cheers for Rocket Donuts
Hip! Hip! HOORAY!

Wordless Wednesday

What happens...

...when Daddy's in charge for the weekend

Tuesday Tidbits

Ashley was looking through the pictures on my phone and stopped when she came to an ultrasound pic of Baby Fork. Here's now the conversation went:
Ashley: Who's this, Mommy?
Me: That's a picture of Baby Fork.
Ashley: Oh Mommy, is Baby Fork a black baby??!

Ha ha ha!

Natalie is trying so hard to mimic everything we say. Right now she can really only make the sounds d, m, uh, ah, da and oh so even when she's saying 'dog', it sounds almost exactly like 'that'. But she's a master at pointing, so that helps. Natty Kat is rarely discouraged; she's determined that we figure out what she's saying. :)

Choo choo express

As promised I am sharing pictures from my recent trip with Ashley to Bellingham.
Even though she's only ridden the train twice, she's completely sold! She loves to sit and watch the scenery go zipping by. She's thoroughly convinced the buttons on the armrest that control the volume for headphones (for the in-car TVs) are her personal speed controls. I lost track of the number of times she'd press a button and say "See, Mommy, this one makes the train go real fast!". I am so in love with her mind and the way it works!
She was caught off guard the first time we went through a tunnel, and wasn't much of a fan. But a little while later she asked if we could go through one again. When a second tunnel finally came (about an hour later) she giggled with delight! She ate more on that 4.5 hour trip than she does in an entire day; PB&J sandwich, grapes, Spider Man fruit snacks (she had LOTS of options at the store, but insisted on Spider Man???), Alvin & The Chipmunks fruit snacks, juice box, bottle of water, 1.5 apples with peanut butter for dipping, 1/4 bag of peanut butter M&Ms, 1 large baggie of carrots and pretzels. I'm not sure where she was putting it all, but the lunch bag was never out of reach.
Perhaps the 1 valuable lesson I learned on the train was how to convince a 3 year old to go potty in a tiny little bathroom while the train rolls and thumps down the tracks. It wasn't easy, but I eventually convinced her going to the potty on the train was a super cool thing to do. Not sure my coaxing was what had her going or the promise to control the funny little sink when it came time to wash her hands. Either way, the deed was done and that's all that mattered! :)

So excited to be back at the train station
First of many snack breaks
Mommy n' Me
Welcome to Seattle! Waiting for Grandma and Uncle Shaun to pick us up
Getting some cuddle time in with Wyatt - so different to cuddle with such a little guy after I spent so many hours cuddling with Ash on the train

Hippity Hoppity...

...Easter's on it's way!
Happy Easter! Hope you're able to enjoy it with your loved ones.

Naturally I don't have any pictures of us dressed up in our best today (YET!!), so enjoy this shot from last year...
...and the year before. Natty's there, she's just tucked away in my belly! :) And the reason Ash looks dazed and confused is because she was experiencing an allergic reaction to the amoxicillin she was on for her ear infection, so she was strung out on Benadryl.
The difference a few years can make, huh?

Happy Paper Anniversary!

Congrats on your first wedding anniversary Angie and Chris!

Me and my baby

I can hardly believe she's nearly 17 months old
So in love with those baby blues and wild curls

Stolen goods

I admit, I stole these pictures off of Lindsay's computer during a recent trip to Bellingham. She got some pretty adorable shots during our visit last month (click here if you forgot) that I just had to have.
I've never been good at resisting temptation.

Daddy and Natty Kat in the tree house
Whatcha doing down there, Ash?
Lovin' the look on Natalie's face...
...and this face is just as entertaining!
Of course Ash took her turn in the swing
Lucky enough to hitch a ride from Uncle Shaun - you can't see it but he's about to take on a grueling hill

Cousin lovin'

When I think of 3, 3 years and under, I instantly think CHAOS. While that's completely true, it's also wonderful and exciting and pretty entertaining. Well for the most part. It's also loud and confusing and involved, but totally worth it.
Ashley is quite possibly the proudest (and loudest!) oldest cousin. She's been known to yell in protest "BUT HE'S MY COUSIN!!!" when Katie needs to take Wyatt away for a nap, diaper change, etc. She feels absolute ownership over him, much like she does with her Big Sister role. When Natty was born and Midget was so 'into' her, I wondered when the 'newness' would wear off and Natalie would become like so many other toys; tossed into the box and for the most part, forgotten. Now that Natalie is approaching 17 months old, I feel confident in saying Ashley is just as into Natty Kat as she was the moment they first met and held hands. And now that Wyatt is 2 months old, I can say the same holds true for her love and excitement for him.
It's obvious, even at 3 years old, that family means so much to Ashley. And I couldn't be more proud that she's learned this important fact so early.

The 3 Amigos --- a few more months and it'll be The Fearsome Foursome when Baby Fork joins the party
Spunky's still not sure what to think
Wish I could read her mind in this picture
Nothing but love for my little cousin
Cheeseball
I'll probably get in trouble for posting this picture, but I think it's cute!