Top 10 for the Week of Feb 22

* Last Saturday Pops took Evan up to Snoqualmie to go tubing. They had a blast! Sounds like 3 is about the perfect age for this - some of the younger kids went down once, cried, and didn't want to do it again.

* On Sunday we went to Mountlake Terrace to the city pool for our friends', Coren & Anthony, joint birthday party. What a great aquatic center! Ev and El had fun in the water!

* Ellena is now scooching and rolling with a purpose. In a blink of an eye, she can roll about 5 feet! Her face lights up when she comes across something new to explore. Her favorite seems to be the pack of wipes.

* We had Wendy and Isabel and our neighbors, Meg, Nate and Riley, over for Mommy group. Always so fun to get together.

* Yesterday's snow day was a fun, unexpected surprise for Evan.

* Yesterday our order from Big Al's (best aquarium supply site) arrived and Pops and Evan got to set up the fish tank - water and gravel was already in, but they put in decorations, air and filter. Kinda runs loud. Next up, getting fish this weekend!

* This week Pops decided to use up his banked vacation time (company policy will be changing in April), so we have booked a trip to Hawai'i to visit family. We are so excited - it's been about 2 years since we've been back. Can't wait!

* A highlight for me - getting on some antibiotics for my infected sinuses. :) The pills have got to be the biggest, worst tasting pills ever, but hey, it seems to be doing the job.

* Last night we watched ABDC (America's Best Dance Crew) and was so impressed with Quest Crew, we had to watch both of their performances over again. Haven't done this in the three seasons, but I may have to vote. :)

* Just happened to catch Evan on the school's webcam while he was sharing his seeds. He stands up during circle time, gives three clues, and the kids try to guess what it is. He then got to walk around the circle and give everyone a closer look at the seeds. So cool!

Snow Day 2/26

I guess I shouldn't have said that winter was over - hey, we were having such nice sunny days! We woke up to an inch or so on the ground and a steady snowfall. Not knowing how long it would keep up, Pops took the truck and I decided to keep the kids in today. Evan had such a fun time playing outside. He made snow angels, cleared the slide with his broom, and tried out some new tricks. He would slide down the slide and do a tuck and roll off. So daring. Then, he would take a running leap into the swings and ride like Superman. This kid.

Today Ellena is 7 months old! My goodness, the time is flying. She is as sweet as ever and every day she seems to be learning something new. Today she decided that Momma's and Poppa's books are much more interesting than her own. Go figure.

Some New Gems

Courtesy of Evan (his tude was on a roll yesterday.) Mind you, all of this has come out of my mouth once or twice and he's just using it against me now.

* Evan was eating lunch and dropped a chip on the ground. I asked him to pick it up and he said, "My hands are dirty! How do you expect me to do that?"

* Evan looks at my expression and asks me throughout the day, "Are you happy or tired?" (My answer is usually 'both.') One time I answered that I was using the bathroom. He said, "That wasn't my question. I asked if you were happy or tired."

* Pops was leaving for work and saying goodbye. Evan asked if he wanted to take an orange with him. Then he called out to me, "Momma, get Poppa an orange!" Nice guy!

* Evan got a water gun from his friends' birthday party this weekend. He LOVES it! Poppa's rule was to play with it only in the shower - no water outside of the shower. Evan was downstairs pretending to clean with his gun. He then called out, "Momma, where are you?" I told him I was in the kitchen. He snuck into the bathroom and I heard him turn on the water. I walked over to check it out and found him filling his water gun. Exactly what he knew he wasn't supposed to do. So he had a time out, a talk about doing things that he knows is wrong, and no water gun at last night's shower. Later that day, he said, "Momma, I don't like when you punish me." Yup, that's kinda the point, dude.

Side note - a mild cold leading to pressure in my head, leading to severe headache pain behind my eye, leading to severe pain in my teeth equals CT scan and diagnosis that three of my sinuses are infected and I'll be starting antibiotics! Yippee!

Random Evanisms

* Today Evan had this to say after our trip to Costco: "I don't like angry faces, loud noises or shopping carts. I only like food." I asked him, "What about trees? There are some happy trees out there." He replied, "I only like food... and some trees and witches."

* Evan built a train out of his tent tubes. He said the train was going to Hawai'i... And then he whispered to me that the train was going to Barack Obama.

* Evan had his dust pan and brush and was scrubbing at a puddle in the kitchen. I asked him where the water came from. Here's our convo:

Evan: It's not real water. It's pretend water.

Momma: No, it's not pretend water. It's real water. Where did you get it from?

Evan: It's a secret.

(Side note - Poppa always tries to sneak Evan treats behind my back and tells him it's a secret. Err. Well, it looks like the concept is sinking in, in a bad way! No more secrets, Pops!)

Momma: No, it's not a secret. Tell me where you got the water from.

Evan: Huuhhh... (HUGE sigh that said to me, Gawd, Mom, you're so uncool. Just let me have my secrets.)

Evan: I got it from the bathroom sink.

* Evan told Poppa, "Ellena doesn't look like Ellena anymore. (I agree; her looks are changing.) She look like Asian girl!"

Our Seattle 'Avenger'

(Evan pronounces 'adventure' as 'avenger.') Like I mentioned in the previous post, we had quite an adventure on Saturday. Although I used to commute to Seattle every day, pre-Evan, going in to Seattle now with the family in tow is a huge outing! It was so great to be back in my 'old stomping grounds.' I've really missed some of the wonderful places they have there:

Simply the Best dried fruit stand in the Pike Place Market (across from where they throw the fish) - They have the best apple chips. Whenever we go to Fred Meyer (every week), Evan asks for apple chips. But the one they carry in the store is fried and greasy. Kinda grosses me out. So we went to this stand and got a big bag of apple chips - so good! And healthy too!

Mexican grocery store - Next door to the original Starbucks. Ok, this makes me think back to the 30 Rock episode where they weren't sure if it was PC to say 'Puerto Rican'. Is it PC to say 'Mexican'? Or is it Hispanic now? Anyways, the shop next to the original Starbucks has fresh pico de gallo and refried beans, so we picked up tubs of those for our enchilada dinner the following night.

Le Panier, French bakery. Unfortunately, we didn't have a chance to go in here, because they had a line going out the door. But the best pastry around is their chocolatine. Chocolate croissant with almond creme. Oh my!

City Fish - If we're buying seafood, we usually go here. We got two pounds of clams for that night's dinner and as I was placing my order, I overheard the woman in front of me ask for kumomoto oysters. Pops is a big fan of them, so when I heard they had some fresh ones, I asked for a dozen as well. Turns out, these were the freshest, best tasting kumomotos Pops has ever had! (Even better than Seastar in Bellevue!) Too bad they're such a pain to open.

Produce stand - Got all the fixings for that night's dinner for under $5. Wow!

And last but not least, my favorite restaurant, Wild Ginger. Oh, how I've missed you. I don't think I've been there since I left my job for mommyhood. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. So... the review:

Mango daquiri - first alcoholic drink I've had in maybe a year and a half at least. Very tasty, not too much alcohol, though. I wasn't jabbering like usual.

Crab Cake appetizer - Eh. Nothing impressive there. Tasty dipping sauce. Very small portion.

Evan had 2 things off the kids meal. Chicken Satay skewer. Good sized portion. Very tasty.

Chinese noodles with vegetables (kid's meal). Really big portion, lots of veggies, super tasty noodles. Was able to take half home for Ev's lunch the next day.

Cambodian Pork - What I usually order when I eat here - just as good as I remember it. All the different spices on the pork - so yummy. Tasty cabbage salad and nothing beats the brown rice with broth scooped on it.

Five Spice Beef - Pops had this and wasn't too impressed. He said peanut sauce makes anything yummy, but there was a huge mound of mushy flat noodles, that aren't his favorite. Oh well.

Again, can't wait for them to open in Bellevue this fall!

Oh, and can Ev and Pops look any more alike in the picture above?? Geez.

Top 10 for the Week of Feb 15

I didn't mean to post only on a weekly basis, but this week was: busy, El hasn't been sleeping well, and I've had a headache (from lack of sleep?), so blogging has taken a backseat to some quiet time. I'll try and post more frequently during the week.

* We had a lovely Valentine's day. A trip to Seattle! Ooh, big adventure! We walked through Pike Place Market (more about this later) and had lunch at my favorite restaurant, Wild Ginger - can't wait for them to open in Bellevue later this year! Yay!

* Evan has asked to have a fish tank in his room, taking inspiration from Emily and her goldfish. We went to the fish store on Monday to pick out the fish he will get.

* We had our friends, Wendy and Isabel, over for a play date and dinner. Very fun times and some of Wendy's famous yummy dip! mmm!

* I finally got around to taking Ellena in to have her 6 month portraits done. And didn't spend an arm and a leg! Score!

* Have started working on some sewing projects that have been fun, productive and rewarding. Next up, hemming some pants for a friend and then starting on the family's outfits for El's first bday luau this summer.

* Ellena has really started exploring her surroundings. She will roll over and over and over until she bumps into something. And then she thinks it's so cool! She has been amazed to feel the difference of hardwood floors compared to carpet. Genius in the making!

* El's top two teeth poked through yesterday! She now has 4 teeth and hopefully will be sleeping better... until the next teeth come out!

* Evan and I started a mini greenhouse to grow our own basil, parsley and chives. We'll see how that goes...

* Evan has discovered the joys of Nintendo DS (Pops's new toy). His favorite game - Bob the Builder.

* El is loving her Cheerios! She devours the Gerber puffs, but it's nice to offer her something different.

Top 10 for the Week of Feb 8

Our buddies, Wendy and Isabel, emailed us their Top 10 list last week and I thought that was such a cool idea, that I would incorporate it into the blog. However, last week, sad to say, was a pretty crummy week for us. We were ALL sick and not in the best of spirits. So nothing fun and exciting to report last week. So I have compiled our top 10 for this week. But I can't really prioritize one being better than another, so unlike Letterman, they are all of equal importance. :) Hope to stick with it!

* On Tuesday I went to school with Evan. His teacher asked for help for their Valentine project. I helped some of the kids make valentine cards for their parents. Out of a bunch of hearts, they put together a fish! Evan's class is currently learning about fish, so what a creative way to tie it all together. I love going to school with Evan to see him interacting with his friends. What a treat!

* After naptime on Tuesday, we went to our friends' house, Rebecca and Emily, to meet with the Mommy group. It was so nice to see them and just hang out. The kids go off and do their own thing. Isabel dressed up as Cinderella, Emily was Ariel and Evan was Belle. Yup, my son dressed up as a princess. And, the worst part - he didn't want to take it off! :)

* Tuesday was extra busy, I guess! After play group, Emily came over to have dinner, play and take a bath while Rebecca had a last minute work appointment. The kids had a blast! Luckily, we had lots of help with my brother and in laws over. Can't imagine having three kids. Wow! The funniest part was when Rebecca picked Emily up. She knocked on the door and Emily dashed to the door. I followed her, yelling, "Ask who it is first! Don't just open the door!" Instead, Emily faced me and blocked the door. When I went to open the door, she dashed upstairs and jumped into Evan's bed. She insisted that she was sleeping and couldn't go home. It was priceless. I guess she really enjoyed herself! Evan has been asking to have Emily come back again.

* As I mentioned earlier, we all had a cold. This is Ellena's first cold and she's being a trooper, but you can tell she wasn't feeling well. She was not very interested in eating and she was very congested. Poor thing. But we are all getting over it - yay! Evan brought this home from school - he said Olivia made him sick. Err, Olivia!

* Because El has been feeling crummy, she has been pretty serious. Just this past Wednesday, I finally heard her laugh again, after a week of seriousness/grumpiness/whining. So that was a definite highlight!

* We received a box filled with valentine treats from Aunty Kay and Uncle Bob. The kids are so lucky!

* Ellena has started really interacting with others and it has been so fun to watch. She will reach out and touch Evan and start squealing in delight. She did the same thing to Poki yesterday. She uses a different voice than her usual babble - too cute.

* Evan continues to do well with his BVDs at night - yay! After talking with our pediatrician, I no longer wake Evan up to take him to the bathroom before I go to bed. She said I'm messing with his brain that triggers him to wake up to go to the potty by himself. But I think Evan liked my coming in to see him at night, so our new thing is that I give him a kiss before I go to bed. Good compromise. We're so proud of the big boy!

* We got two special deliveries yesterday! The first was "a hundred blooms" from Pops - awww! Evan asked if he could take one to school for sharing. And he took that one and another one to soccer to give to his coaches. They were quite tickled. So I now have 98 roses, a happy Evan and 2 happy soccer coaches. Thanks, Pops! As always, too much! The second package was our side steps for the truck, which will get installed next week or so. After missing FedEx yesterday, he came back that afternoon and tried again! Nice! Thanks, FedEx!

* Right now, the kids are napping, I'm attempting a new recipe - mango custard pie, we're having an easy dinner, and THE SUN IS OUT! All is right with the world.

The Girl's Got Flair

Here's Ellena rocking some sassy sunglasses on our recent outing to the Outlets, taken on Pops's iPhone.

Watch Out For Those Earthworms...

They're a doozy!

Today I asked Evan what they talked about at Circle Time at school. Yesterday it sounds like they had an interesting talk about babies. So today, Evan said that they talked about earthworms. He said that they make a loud sound. Hmm... I'm not sure about that. But he was convinced that they make a really loud sound like BRUMMM BRUMMM BRUMMMM. Okaayyyy. And he said that you have to protect your head from earthworms. And then, the ground shakes and you have to hide under a desk.

Ohhh! An earthquake! Not an earthworm! Ha ha! This kid is too funny!

Bunch of Clowns

These two are just too much some times.

Here's Evan when I told him to make a silly face for the camera.

This is Ellena's new funny face. She likes to squinch up her nose and laugh by sucking air in and out of her nostrils.

For the Birds

Evan has become obsessed with vultures. Of all the animals, vultures. He got a book about desert animals when Grandpa Joe went to AZ and Evan was fascinated to learn all about vultures. He talks about how they eat carrion - dead animals - but I don't think he gets what that really means. And he was especially interested in how they pee on their legs to cool down. Thankfully, he hasn't tried that out, but he does pretend to be a vulture with Pops and they eat pretend carrion. Too cute. We looked up vultures at the local zoo website and they may have turkey vultures at Woodland. So he is looking forward to visiting the turkey vultures when it warms up a little. Til then, I've requested a couple vulture books from the library. :)