++When in Rome++

So if you are living in the Pacific Northwest and can see the mountains from your house (ok, not really...too many trees...but they are that close), you have to take advantage of it and ski.  Larson does it, so Wyatt started asking to do it too.  So off to the mountains he went.  Mark took him, I wasn't there, but we are so proud of the little guy.  Not only for the skiing, but for wearing that red vest.  If you have been following the Wyatt clothing saga, you understand that this is HUGE.

See how serious he is?  He means business.

Did we mention that it was raining.  Yes, rain.  The whole time.

He gave it his best and tried it all.

He was the first one up the magic carpet!  Where was this when I was learning?  So much better than a tow rope!

In the end, the elements won and our little wet puppy was tuckered out.  He didn't make it all the way through the two hour lesson (and isn't quite sure if he wants to do it again) but we are so proud of him for trying!  

p.s. look at that--I'm on time.  This happened on Saturday.  Yea me! 

++This is it!++

The last of the monthly updates.  Really?  She's twenty-three months now and not changing all that fast.  I stopped with Wyatt at two and so will I for Claire.  By that time I was updating you on monthly belly shots.  No new news like that here.  Our family seems perfectly complete just the way it is.
So here goes...at 23 months:
++Claire loves to sing songs.  She can sing word-for-word the ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, You Are My Sunshine, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Ring Around the Rosie, Hot Cross Buns, "Clap Hello" (her version of the opening song from music class), Jingle Bells, The Wheels on The Bus (but she prefers the silly made up verses that mom sings)---and I'm sure there are more.  The girl pretty much sings her days away.
++She is getting better at reading books.  She much prefers just to carry around on them.  The smaller the better.  For weeks it was this tiny white Bible that they gave us in the hospital when she was born. 
++She is still totally obsessed with her loveys and pink blanket.  She likes her loveys clean.  This is good because they start to smell like garbage after a day or two of her chewing on them.  I'm happy to wash them, anyime.
++She'll ask us for something and we'll tell her where it is.  The she'll look at us with her token deadpan face and say: "get it".  The other day she asked for Daddy when she woke up.  I told her he was already at work.  She told me: "get it". 
++She is grasping when we joke with her.  She'll respond "Noooo mommy" with a chuckle.
++She is really blossoming in her communication skills.  She still hasn't stopped telling us about her trip to the zoo.  She recounts how the elephant was eating (complete with actions), she imitates the face of the big monkey (orangutan), she remembers that the giraffe was pottying, and that Larson was chasing the peacock who was marching.  It's hilarious what those little minds hang on to.
++There are certain parts of her that are so much easier than her brother.  Her attention span is longer, she plays by herself better, and she participates in class.  On the other hand, she can be quite the handful.  She insists on taking her shoes off wherever we are.  She doesn't like to sit in shopping carts.  She won't hold our hands in parking lots.  It can be lots of fun! 

Onto planning a birthday party for our little one.  Big surprise: we're having the music teacher come.  The theme is purple lollipops.  A combo of her two favorite things.  Oh--that reminds me.  She can sing that song too--we hear it over and over:  "Happy Birthday to Larson".  There is no convincing her that we can put other names in the song.  Love that girl.

++Spotted++

Spotted at the Woodland Park Zoo.  A rare breed.  Nothing like them.
Often seen climbing on hippos. 

 Or hooting with with monkeys.

 Some of their behavior just cannot be explained.

 But they are a tender, harmless species. 

Perhaps I'll take one home with me. 

++Obsessed++

For at least an hour every day you will see my boy doing this:

 He reads, re-reads, analyzes and comments on every aspect of the Playmobil catalog.  It is safe to say he is obsessed.  He has about six things already but since the light went on when it comes to imaginative storyline type play, he suddenly wants so much more.
I am pretty fortunate that he is a kid who I can take into any type of store, he can look at the stuff and even talk about what he would like to have SOMEDAY, but he always seems to leave willingly not expecting me to buy something.  I think I can attribute it to early and often exposure to shopping :).  If I ever get requests, my party line has always been that he has money in his piggy bank and if that his what he wants to spend it on, we can come back to get it.  We never do.  He forgets about it as soon as we leave the store.  But he clearly remembered my piggy bank promise because he decided it was time to tap Miss Piggy in order to get some of the things he had been studying day after day in the catalog.
It's a good thing we had never emptied the bank before and Grandpa usually comes with full pockets because that stuff is a little spendy.  He spent the entire afternoon one Sunday counting his money with his dad. 

They got a little side-tracked when Wyatt discovered the state quarters.  Those are now in a separate bag in his treasure drawer.  He still has about $75 to spend.  He just can't seem to make up his mind on what he wants most.  So back to studying the catalog it is...

++Life these days++

 Some seemingly random pictures do a great job of capturing what life is like in our house these days. 
++This picture was taken when I was trying to clean up the kitchen one night when Mark was out of town.  Claire wouldn't stop hanging on my leg so I made her sit in a chair so she could be with me but out of my way.
++If Claire was in a chair, Wyatt needed to be in one too.  But he needed pillows.  And a wrapping paper tube.
++So Claire needed pillows too.  This is beginning to sound like "If you give a mouse a cookie."
++Notice that Claire has her Loveys.  Not one, not two, THREE.  I am not proud.
++No shoes, or socks on that girl either, but she does have a necklace!
++And if you look under the table you will see Wyatt's snow boots.  I'm sure he was rescuing someone or something and it required snow boots.  Then dinner time came.  That is where they ended up.  Until I put them away  Sigh.
++If the photos had sound you would be able to hear what Wyatt is shouting through the tube.  Chances are it includes some sort of potty talk or the word "stupid".  And chances are his sister is repeating it. 

And there you have it.  Welcome to our house!

++Cooks in the kitchen++

We actually had a sunny day.  I honestly don't think those of you who don't live here understand what a winter rarity it is.  It's the kind of thing that when the sun shines you can't check out at a store without the clerk commenting on it.  Wyatt is slowly grasping that sun doesn't necessarily equal summer.  Slowly. 

I had to take advantage of the sun streaming in the windows and lighting our house well enough to take pictures without a flash.  Here are my busy cooks in their kitchen:

See how happy then sun makes us?? 

++Bear with me++

I'm doing exactly what I swore I wouldn't do: playing catch-up.  Well, better late than never.  Lots and Lots on deck.  Stop back often.  December did happen.  Promise.

++Resolve++

What's a new year without a few resolutions?  I figure if I put it them out here for everyone to read it may keep me honest.  Then again, I'm not really encouraging you to harp on me about what is said here.  That's mainly because my mother and mother-and-law are my main readers, and harping from them isn't necessarily appreciated. 

So, in 2011 I resolve to

++Actually post about things on the blog as they happen, rather than try to trick everyone by dating them in the past.

++Print a picture.  Lots of them actually.  Maybe even take a crack at Claire's baby book.

++Lose my last ten pounds of baby weight.  Does it still count as baby weight if your child is almost two?  Actually a few of them may be lingering from the four-year-old. 

++Drink more water.

++Eat more of the good stuff and less of the bad stuff. 

++Stay put (no moving trucks allowed).

++Waste less time looking up stupid things on the internet.

++Worry less.

++Laugh more (I read somewhere that laughing peaks at 4-years-old--for your lifetime--I'm going to try to ride that wave with Wyatt).

++Go on more dates with my husband. 

++Go on more dates with my son.

++Become a diaper-free household, forever. 

++Have a shorter list of resolutions for 2012.  Will this be the year I follow-through on one??  I'll never know if I don't try. 

Happy New Year!