Puddles

I can't keep this kid out of them.  Good thing we have two pairs of rain boots because she often finds herself with a good inch of water in them and they need time to dry out!

"What did Maya pick?"

Although Laurel has always admired her big sister, we have officially reached the point where she won't make a decision without knowing what Maya is doing.

Me: Laurel, go pick your shoes for today.  Do you want your sandals?
L: Is Maya wearing her sandals today?

Me: Girls, what do you want for lunch?  PB sandwich or cheese and crackers?
L: What is Maya having?

And so on.  Luckily, Maya is not yet annoyed by this habit.  Although, based on stories about Amy and I as kids I am waiting for that moment to come.

I have also learned that I can use this to my advantage.  The only time Maya has freaked out about going to swimming lessons was the first time she had a male instructor (she was about 3).  Panic and tears the whole lesson.  We eventually talked our way through it and she was fine the next week, but it was a little traumatic for us both.  Laurel moved up a level this session and knowing there was a good chance she would have a male instructor I started to prepare her the week before.  Each time we talked about it Laurel would get upset and say she only wants girl swimming teachers.  I wasn't making any progress and started to stress.  The morning of the lesson we talked some more and Laurel still wasn't having it.  Maya came into the room and I asked her if she minded having boy teachers.  She easily said no and turned to Laurel to tell her that even the boy teachers made the swimming class a lot of fun.

In the car on the way to the lesson I asked one last time if it would be a no tears day, even if it was a boy.  Laurel put on her brave face and said she would have no tears.  I asked what changed and she said that Maya told her the boy teachers were a lot of fun!  And she did it.  Her instructor was in fact a boy, she had one moment of hesitation and jumped right in for her class.  Phew!

Kindergarten!

It is really hard to believe that we have reached kindergarten.  Time is flying by WAY too fast and Maya is growing up WAY too quickly.  She has been pretty excited about starting, although a bit nervous.  And sad to leave behind the school and friends she has been with since she was 18 months old.  Luckily she will go back for school breaks and next summer, which has made the transition a little easier for her.  And I know that we will keep in touch with a few of the kids whose families we have become close with so she knows she will see them again.

We dropped her off this morning without a tear.  She was a little hesitant while waiting in line to enter the building, but I think that was mainly because of the number of older kids around.  As soon as we were in her class and she picked a seat, she relaxed and was ready to learn!  I left work early and picked her up and she said the day was "awesome".  Her favorite part was the games, coloring pictures and gym... I think it was a success!

Her teacher is Ms. Helmick and so far it seems like she will be a great fit.  Hoping it stays that way throughout the year!

Ready to walk in!

Lining up after the bell rang.

Sitting in her seat (too bad it is blurry, none of the inside ones turned out). 

Ready for mom to stop taking pictures!

This has been a bit of an adjustment for Laurel as well.  She is used to Maya being at school with her and they would often see each other throughout the day.  Plus, they would spend the ride home talking together about their days.  Laurel started her sports class yesterday and when I asked how it went the first thing she said was that Maya wasn't there.  For now though, she is pretty excited that she gets to ride in Maya's car seat to and from school - it has cup holders! :-)

A trip to the zoo

Since we returned from camping a day early and got all of our chores done that afternoon, we decided to spend Labor Day at the zoo.  Instead of the usual Woodland Park we ventured to Point Defiance.  It was a great time, although Laurel was pretty upset that they didn't have any giraffes.

Sharks!

Spiders!

Hermit Crabs!

And Sea Anemones!  Since the visit, Laurel has been obsessed with why Nemo (and other clown fish) do not get stung by the anemones.  She asks this question multiple times a day and never seems quite satisfied with our answer!

Me and my girls.

An attempt at camping

We thought it would be great fun to spend Labor Day weekend camping with the family.  Unfortunately, mother nature had other ideas and we were rained out.  We put in a good effort and stuck it out all day Saturday through the heavy showers and even through that night, but after waking to more rain Sunday morning we quickly packed it up and headed home a day early.  Camping in the rain is not my idea of fun :-)  Luckily the kids still had a great time and in the two hours of sun we had that afternoon they even swam in the lake!

Art at the campsite.

The positive thing about the rain - the burn ban was lifted.  Thankfully as the fire was much needed to keep us warm and dry our soaked clothing.

Lunch in the mud and rain.

Thank goodness for popup tents and tarps!

Grandpa snuggles.

Swimming in the FREEZING cold.  They all had blue lips by the time they were done, and even then it took some convincing that it was time to head back.

And sandcastles.

This is how they slept - all snuggled up together.

Cousins.

Laurel's Mind

Her mind is never stops these days and you can tell by the questions she asks while she is trying to settle down for sleep.  Most of them start with, what about....  she also ask many of them waiting for a laugh, knowing that the question she is asking is funny.

- What about... we had no bones?
- What about... you were me and Maya was Daddy and Daddy was Mommy and I was Daddy?
- What about... we had a pet unicorn that was purple, pink and blue and it cleaned our beds for us?

She also love to tell stories.  Her latest favorite is a story of a mean bear, a mean puppy and a mean kitty.  They have all sorts of adventures then they fall asleep.  But when they wake up they are nice!  Between her stories and Maya's songs our drive home is always entertaining.

I also love the way she asks questions. Every question she asks ends with, "or not" which I find to be very cute.

- Is it hot or not?
- Are we going to school or not?
- Do you want a bracelet or not?
- Is your favorite color blue or not?

Her sense of humor is absolutely amazing.  She has different voices she does for different animals.  And changes the tone if she is being a baby, mommy or daddy animal.  She likes to make a silly face, sound or position and ask - what do I look like now?  My favorite Laurel laugh is the one she does when she cracks herself up.  It is the best belly laugh ever.

The other day I asked her if she would stay 3 forever.  She told me no :-(

A trip to the Farm

There is a local farm near us and we decided to spend the day exploring and hanging out with the animals. We have been once before, but our visit was cut short by terrible news so it was somewhat cathartic to return and finish it out.  It is such a fun farm.  We got to pet the baby animals, have conversations with the parrots and ride horses.  There are chickens running all over the place - Laurel would yell cock-a-doodle-do to them as we walked by.  We took a train ride, played in the playhouses, had a picnic lunch and slid down the GIGANTIC slide.  It was one of those great quality family days that seem so rare with our busy schedules.

Beautiful gardens everywhere.

 They both say this was their favorite part - it better be considering the amount of time we (or should I say Rey) waited in line!

Baby goats.

Bunnies.

 And piglets.

The coolest playhouses ever made!  I think they could have played in these all day. 

My big 5 year old.