Show Girl

One thing that Pyper loves is performances. She really wants to be in them, so the passion is there. So we are going to as many kid friendly performances so she can see what it is all about. If she's still interested, there's a performing arts class she can start going to next year. It's so great that she is so passionate about being in front of a crowd. 

Us at Storybook Theatre watching  "Elves and the Toymaker" She's still quoting the show...

Then there are the random performances that happen because a band is playing. She assesses the scene then starts dancing.

 

This group is performing Hanukkah songs, she decided she would "perform". This is the first time she faced the audience and not the band. 

She danced until there was a fight between her and another boy. But it ended well with holding hands. For now that seems like a good innocent solution. 

Octopus Fairy

The Merril Lynch Halloween festivities have been an annual tradition. We had fun again visiting offices, and the Star Wars corner was so real, Pyper wouldn't even go near it. Notice the matching red Ruby slippers in the picture. Then there's the Chan Clan that met us at the elevator before heading off to do some "real" work. Cousin Alex is looking good as the team's new associate. 

And for Halloween night the octopus costume gained wings and a tutu and was a huge hit for our wet and windy neighborhood walk around. 

Prepping for Halloween

BAM-o-ween at the Bellevue Arts Museum. Lots and lots of crafts and fun things to do for free, a great afternoon. 

Dancing it up as Princess Anna at the Farmer's Market.

Pumpkin carving at the Country Club  with the whole family. Nice not making a mess at home!

Looking forward to Halloween, though rain is in the forecast. 

UFO's

UnFinished Objects...

Amazingly enough we finished Pyper's Anna dress earlier this month after completing the cape over a month ago. That was a surprising check off the list, but I guess that started our roll and we were able to motivate and finish some more projects. 

Princess Anna dress

Somewhere in the mess of things we also got another batch of Italian plums from the neighbors. We dehyrated the extras from the first batch, but we went after preserves for this one. Ten cups of fruit, two lemons, and a cup of sugar later, we had some tastiness. 

Yummy plum preserves over shortbread 

Finished Neah's quilt today and we tackled tie dying as well. Neah's quilt is the first quilt I've done from start to finish. It's a simple one, but with everything going on it seemed like the biggest project ever.  

Yarn tied quilt I will probably never attempt again. 

I definitely didn't think I'd get to this tie dying project. We had a whole pile of white, slightly milk stained hand-me-down white newborn shirts and socks, that we're going into the Goodwill bag unless we made them into something cool. We just had to buy the tie dye material which we got on super sale with a coupon. 

It was a committing project, considering Pyper made one shirt for herself and about a dozen projects for her sister. She did make one for her dad too. This in itself took a couple hours and she said she was tired by the end of it, but stuck with it till there was no die left. We unravelled our hard work and saw some amazing results! 

Successful Tie Dye, they fit stuffed animals as well. 

So we finished up everything we had on the prebirth list! Yahoo!!! Now it's time to chill and get on with the birth. 

Gymnastics and Ballet

Upon talking, Anna and I discovered that we signed our kids up for gymnastics at the same gym. The more amazing thing is that we signed up our daughters for the same day and time slot as well. So now I get to see Anna every week by default. Pretty cool. 

Hanging with Hope for warm-ups

Pyper really really wanted to sign up for ballet this year. All her favorite book characters participate in ballet like Fancy Nancy, Pinkalious, and Angelina Ballerina. It's very difficult to dissuade such enthusiasm and passion. But of course I see nothing wrong with it since that's what will drive her in life. If she is anything like us, she'll dive right in till she's bored and it's no longer a challenge, or she'll continue a life long pursuit because she has found her calling. I don't know, only time will tell.  

First Ballet class at the new studio. 

Octonaut Fever

Pyper's friend Tomas likes to watch the Octonauts, so we decided to check it out. It's fun and educational. She learns all about sea creatures and their habits and habitats and enjoys going on missions. She likes putting on her octopus costume and discussing octopus "stuff. "

This year Tomas is turning four and the theme is Octonauts. We hate presents of the traditional sorts, so we decided to make him his present, which meant Pyper and I had fun creating finger puppets of the five main characters, and she got a set too. 

Showing off the goods. 

Spider Girl Unleashed

She talked about getting a Spider-Man costume but didn't like the idea of a full mask that covered her mouth. I came across this one on Craigslist and it was just her size. After checking out the goods and paying for it, she wanted it on and got right into character. I think the muscles are the best part. She was in costume half the day. 

It's nice she doesn't want to be a princess all the time. We got wings yesterday, and also ruby red slippers...I'm weak I know. She calls herself "The Princess Fairy of Newcastle." No pictures because she changed attire over a dozen times. 

No we aren't going as Spider-Man for Halloween, it's just fun to dress up. 

May Happenings in the Backyard

With all of last month's good weather and everything warming up, we are busy outside all the time now. 

We put in three raised bed last month and are slowly adding too it everyday. The beds are completely planted except where Pyper's construction site is, though it does spread throughout the garden. We have a little flower garden where we hope sunflowers will take too. The first "real" sowing of radishes is harvestable, and trellises are ready for the big verticle growth when we get it. Plants that look similar are starting to grow their third leaf that is characteristic of its self and it is just super fun to soak up the sun in our own space! It's also fun to share it with friends. 

Putting in some black gold!

Our truck takes about a yard of dirt, so three loads later we had three piles and some extra to give to the neighbors. After a successful/unsuccessful first attempt at a trellis, Pyper and I did the old school way and hiked into to the woods for some saplings, which we hiked back with and made super pinkalicious. First attempt was with some made in China powder painted bamboo that coated your hands. Since we couldn't get any good info on the product ingredients, we decided we didn't want it on our skin or in our food. 

Trellising Pyper-style. Daddy has good taste in colors, they match her shoes. 

Fun in the back yard. I didn't tell her she didn't have to water the plants when it rains. 

Tomas and Me

Hanging out with friends all over town we are keeping busy. 

Art class is fun with friends 

Penguin watching at the zoo and storytime. 

Getting cultured at a performance of the Ugly Duckling. Pyper with "Beauty", the ugly duckling. 

Out in Seattle Again

Benaroya Hall Debut 

We had tickets to see the Preservation Hall Jazz Band at Benaroya Hall in Seattle, but we also had a some time to kill between dim sum and the 2pm show. We took the the bus and the monorail to Seattle Center and watched kid dancers perform at Whirligig. Then we hit up the Children's Museum before taking the Monorail back downtown to see our show. 

"I'm so excited!" She exclaimed to the patron next to us, who was more than happy to have the youngest guest next to her. She fell asleep about one minute into the first song while tapping her foot to the beat. She woke up during intermission and hung on till the end. We then fueled up on chocolate gelato and had no problem walking a mile back to the car to stretch our legs. 

Pyper's view of Dim Sum

She did say she wanted to be an astronaut...

Getting out of the House

With warmer weather, longer days, and a new four person tent, there was no reason not to get out in the woods for a couple of days. We headed to the little town of Belfair on the West side of Hood Canal for the occasion. It was nice to dust off the gear since it hadn't been touched since packing it up in Greenville. 

Luckily we had everything we needed except a text, which took a turn for grave right before we left the South. 

The main reason to head to this part of the world was to get Andy out on some dirt bike trails. He has a big trip planned in July, so she had to test out his gear and systems. On the part he was successful. Pyper and I hung out at the State Park and the surrounding wetlands. 

Camp life is always good. Check out our new 4-man dome in the back. 

In the morning, both kids were ready to ride!

Checking out the wetlands, Pyper trying to catch swallows without success. 

At camp with a busted lip. 

Happy as a Clam

Every year, or two, or three, we manage to get out to the family clam digging spot. Now that there are so many grand kids there is even more reason to go. Usually it is very hard work looking for the clam pockets and then digging out the clams, but we had help this year. They have always seeded oysters here, but now Taylor Shellfish is also seeding clams.  This means that they are making the beach soft, and the harvest shallow and plentiful. Today at low tide the Taylor folks were out harvesting and they let us fall right in line. Pyper and I actually fell in right behind grabbing the tailings of their work, which meant lots of clams and little work. It was a super fun time. We got our fill and headed in for lunch without feeling completely drained by work or weather. Perfect day for digging with the family.

Out in the salty mud and sun.

We proceeded to feast upon the harvest at Aunt Lora's while also celebrating Eddie's birthday in the coming week. Eat'em while they are fresh.

Can't complain with good food and cake.

Easter Egging Season

It's here again, and Pyper was quick to ask if she would be able to look for eggs this year. We hit up three egg hunts, yup I do spoil her. The first one, was the city's biggest the weekend before Easter. Anticipating the traffic, we tried to come early and still barely made it to the count down. Pyper is in the three and under category, which is nice because she actually understands the general idea behind the egg hunts. I'm not exactly sure why it's part of the Easter tradition, but the kids love it and there are always creepily large bunnies around.

For the first hunt we were arrived to heavy sideline, already six adults deep, so I told Pyper to sneak her little self up to the front. After a minute I realized that that was going to be a trampling disaster.  I called her back to me and we made a game plan. I told her to pick a spot in the outfield to run to before she started to pick up eggs. There was a camera guy out there she picked about 150 feet away, perfect. She wiggled herself back up to the front and we waited. Next thing I know there is almost chaos as I see Pyper running towards the cameraman, and no one really knowing what to do with her since she is not picking up any eggs. They are looking for the adult responsible, unfortunately I'm six adults deep. I  manage to get by and claim my renegade. Everyone has a good laugh, and a couple other kids attempt a Pyper run with little success. During our game plan we forgot to discuss the minor detail of waiting for the folks in charge to say "go." Oops on my part, though it got us to the front of the pack and we were able to get into the outfield to collect our share before we were overtaken by the masses. 

Upon exiting the field we noticed a little boy who made it in time to see all the eggs disappear. Pyper had no problem parting with a third of her stash so he could particiapte. It was really cool. That actually happened to us last year, someone sharing their eggs because Pyper didn't quite get the idea of what she was doing. 

Then comes the tricky part, doing to content swap. I wouldn't eat the candy, so I'm not going to let her. She knows that the candy will have chemicals and colors I don't approve of, but she also knows she'll get good fair trade dark chocolate, and yogurt pretzels. It's a win for all.  

Waiting patiently, getting her fill, and enjoying mama's version of treats. 

A little Home Depot building in between hunting sessions today. She was actually able to hammer the nails in herself, which was a first. She's presenting her Spring planter project.

The next one we did was a little neighborhood hunt the day before Easter Sunday, small, no pressure and fun. 

After perfecting her egg hunting skills all week, Pyper was ready for hunt #2 and very excited.  

The last one we did was the Snoqualmie Falls Forest Theatre Easter Egg Hunt. It poured rain all morning and when it was time to hunt, a blue hole opened up over the fields of eggs, it was really cool timing.

This was the first no parents allowed hunt she did. I'm glad the area was small.

Next year Pyper will move up to the 4-6 year olds. She'll be at the bottom of her age group, where parents are definitely not allowed. It will be fun times, can't wait!

Literary Adventures

We have had quite the week of literary adventure. It started off when our favorite children's librarian invited us to meet our favorite local children's musician, Nancy Stewart.

We picked up a copy of "Plant a Little Seed" at our local library a month or two ago. The songs are simple, fun, and easy to sing, basically the perfect kid songs.  We've since obtained a handful more of her CD's, one which has played over a dozen times in the truck already. She loves popping the CDs into her singing machine and performing. 

While checking out the story time schedule, I noticed that Nancy Stewart was singing at Sharon's library. Unfortunately we were already busy with other fun activities. The next week Sharon invited us to a "flash mob" library event hosted by Nancy, so we were able to partake and meet the famed voice we've been singing along to. 

Us with Nancy. As you can see Pyper captured some crazied librarians at the event too. 

Not sure where I came across a blurb about a kid ballet, but the ballet would be based on the book Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet with the set and costumes taken right out of the book. Upon further research, the show was only one weekend and all the performances were sold out. But they added a dress rehearsal show, so we jumped on it. It was so fun seeing all the kiddos in the audience dressed up as their favorite character. During intermission, the dancer "Nancy" came out to meet all her adoring fans, Pyper being one of them. She just really wanted to give her a hug. Then she did and she was beaming the rest of the night. In her seat Pyper was seat dancing with all the performers. 

A hug for Nancy! 

So after this performance, it hit me, why was Nancy a weeping willow? The whole dance was based on sea creatures living underwater, so what's up with the tree? Why wasn't she seaweed or bull kelp? The bird in the nest on her head would not have been able to survive for sure. We put a hold on the book at the library in hopes that further analyzation will help me with this matter.   

Adrenaline Junkie

We got out the kid harness we had bought on sale in Greenville. Pyper had no issue with it other than it riding in her crouch a little, uncomfortably normal for a full body harness intended to keep one safe. 

We first tested it in our neighborhood park where she got the hang of it in no time. Since the weather hasn't been great for climbing we opted for flying lessons in the backyard. She's been having a blast.

I'm sure she'll just take to doing whatever we are doing, so I guess we'd better get her geared up for everything. Maybe she'll get a job at REI to help out with all the expenses down the road, but I guess that's not such a stretch since I worked there when I was younger.

So many things to do...

Typical Seattle

Well, it was raining all day last Sunday. We made it an indoor day by heading to the local children's museum. We had fun and had quite the adventure heading home by public transit. 

It all started at dim sum, then Andy dropped us off at Seattle Center to avoid doing the bus both ways. It worked out great. Not only was it a rainy weekend day that drew the crowds indoors, but it was also Irish Fest in the same building. We were busy with leprechaun songs, tribal dancing, origami in the Kobe House, Irish dancing on the main stage, just a lot of good fun all around. 

I have very specific memories of Seattle Center growing up, I feel like I came here often. There were the stickers we would buy to add to our collections. This is were Garbage Pail Kids began for me too. Then there was the chocolate frozen bananas with nuts. They use to have an amusement park too. I'm sure if I think more about this place, more memories will pop into my mind. But it was always good memories with friends. We also came here for field trips, which was an added bonus.

Pyper has now been here a handful of times and I think she will definitely remember this last time. Though upon coming home and telling Daddy her favorite part of the day she replies, "the bus ride." Go figure.

Trail Running 2.0

So apparently we have created a little trail running demon. She won't slow down unless the trail is unpassable or she's face down in the dirt. If a runner passes, she attempts to catch them too. She'll go go go for about a mile, but will trip at the sight of a cool tree, butterfly, or just to see if Daddy is keeping up. At this pace, I think she will pass me in about a month before I'm gonna have to tell her to wait for me. And unfortunately hills do not slow her down. 

Warming up on the gravel road before hitting the trail. 

Big Girl Class

This little, or should I say big, one has been ready for a big girl gymnastics class for a while. This week she had her first class without me in it, which after completion said, "I want to be in this class forever." She listened well and tried new stuff. You can't ask much more than that.

Pretty stoked on her first class. In the last picture they are making pizza, and Pyper picked pineapple as her topping.  

Spring is in the Air

Well, it seems that winter has come and gone with a blink, maybe even half a blink, of an eye. February was warm and gorgeous, and we are already into March. It's been cold lemonade and shirts off in the yard for a good month, loving it. We even planted a little row of lettuce, which seems to be doing its thing quite nicely.  Little rain this week, but we've been missing it. 

Our best sideways eyes on this sunny day. 

Sprouted lettuce, naked kid, and organic homemade honey lemonade. 

Balancing away and happy being a kid as always. 

Pyper has been riding up a storm on her balance bike. Everyday she requests to ride. Notice her sporting her new big girl helmet in the above picture. We went to a small kid park the other day with a paved loop around it, she did 8 laps straight before requesting to do one on her own. Then she did another. She rode for 45 minutes straight complaining that her butt hurt afterward, no kidding Miss Ridinghood. 

Well we are loving our sunny almost spring days as well as the cloudy ones.

Nutty Squirrel

Like squirrels and nuts, I suppose Pyper is the same with fresh gelato made with locally sourced ingredients. We were introduced to Nutty Squirrel Gelato in Maple Valley by Auntie Sharon. The first time there, Auntie Sharon was presenting story time, and as an added bonus we partook in the gelato. What a great combination. Today, was not story time at the store, but we did do story time at the library, which was excuse enough to have some more yummy goodness. Lucky for us gelato story time is happening next week, can't wait.

Nutty Squirrel is on the loose, watch out!

I feel like I've been slacking on the fun facts in my blog posts. So today's fact will be that squirrels cannot digest cellulose, so they rely on foods rich in protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Thus the reason they go for nuts. I know Wiki shouldn't be my go to reference, but I don't see an encyclopedia laying around anywhere near me. What's more interesting is that depending on where in the world squirrels live, and what food sources are available, they will eat insects, reptiles, and even birds. And in some Yosemite squirrel cases, pizza. That last statement is first hand witnessing by two of the three gypsies in the household and cannot be found in any textbook, so it is, in fact, verifiably true.