My Prima Ballerina!

What a fun morning we had! Taylor and her best bud Ava had their first day of Dance Theatre! I don't know if I will ever witness a sweeter moment, those little girls melted my heart. Sara, their teacher, was so patient and friendly that the girls walked right in and starting moving. Jack came along for the first day and was captivated by all of the little gals. He was smiling and laughing and almost looked like he wanted out of his stroller to participate. He is our 'tiny dancer.'

First stop Mt. Si Dance Theatre, next stop Juilliard??

Here are some pictures highlighting the hour of fun...

Both Taylor and Ava listened and followed all the instructions beautifully. Their movements were fairly choppy but they tried each move nonetheless. These girls are very dedicated and will have no problem excelling in the class.

A few of the girls were so tiny. They looked so much smaller than three, but held their own in the class.

So sweet. Little ballet slippers, tiny leotards, and itty bitty tutus...budding ballerinas.

Whistle while you work!

Well, Jack is officially feeling WAY better! He is up to his normal routine, even aside from yesterday. Thank GOD!

Not sure what it is, but ever since Hawaii our little man has been having a love affair with cleaning tools. While he loves the vacuum and duster, his favorite remains the broom. It goes everywhere with him! Heaven forbid you take it away to put it back into the closet-the crocodile tears start flowing! Who knows, maybe he will be a cleaner guy than his dad!

The funnies thing is that as he walks with it, he does this little dance. I will try and capture it on video to post here. He makes me laugh, that is for sure.

Then of course is Taylor, who as most of you know, is a ham. The minute I starting taking pictures of Jack, Taylor wanted to be a part of the action. I found this sweet dress at Gymboree a couple of weeks ago and thought it was perfect for this gorgeous fall day.

She is so fresh! It would have been nice if she smiled!

By the way, that clip in her hair is from my girlfriend's company: http://www.littlemissclippies.com/

LOVE THEM! And yes, it matched perfectly!

Holiday Cards From Sweet Pea Photography Now Available!

It is officially starting to feel like fall...with the holidays just around the corner. I am working on my email campaign for the 2008 Holiday card release, but since it is being uncooperative, I decided to post them here as well. Fingers crossed, should have the email campaign up and running and off to read by early next week! To view the image on a larger scale and see the details, click on the picture below. It will *should* open in a separate web browser window. Thanks!

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Blast Off!

So, I wanted to get these pictures together beforing sharing Sunday's birthday bash for Taylor. It was the perfect ending to our busy birthday weekend for our little 3 year old. Of course, everything was decorated in Disney Little Einsteins. Everything! From the banners, to the favors, we were officially on Einstein overload. Even the cake had its very own Rocket!

I guess that is what happens when the kids start to get opinions of their own. Just as long as they don't ask for Barney or Winnie the Pooh! I would cry!

We decided to have the party in the morning-wow-so glad we did! The timing worked out well for the little ones and it allowed the adults to still plan a full day thereafter. I would definitely recommend it! The weather turned out to be so nice that the kids were even able to play outside! I was so grateful it wasn't rainy or cold as the prior parties. What a fantastic day!

Thank you to everyone for making the day so special!

Taylor's 3rd Birthday

Last Friday (September 26th) was Taylor's 3rd Birthday. I still can't believe that my little girl is 3! It is remarkable how the time has flown by these last three years, so bittersweet. We continued our tradition of Chad staying home from work to help celebrate the big day and of course it started at breakfast. Taylor decided she wanted pancakes for her birthday breakfast, and while not a big fan, I chose to have some as well.

Next stop: the "round-n-round slide." AKA Cascade View Elementary's Kindergarten play area. We spend a lot of time here. Instead of the bark at all of the other playgrounds, this has a great rubber pad so no slivers! Plus, is completely fenced off. There is a corkscrew style slide there (which is Tay's favorite) hence the nickname. She loves this park. She asks to go every day and has yet to understand that we can't always go because school is in session.

Where to next? Chuck-E-Cheese's! Chad and I had a ton of errands to run to get ready for the party on Sunday, so once in Lynnwood, we headed to CEC. I have only been once, and I was a kid, but this was Chad's first trip. Both Taylor and Jack were hysterical! I don't know who had more fun. Jack loved to hop on the rides, but had a blast playing the arcade games. I think his favorite was the water gun race (where he beat Taylor by a landslide). Sadly, we hadn't plan to go there and didn't bring the camera. Bummer. I would imagine we will hit the Bellevue location soon for a bad weather outing.

Nothing exciting on Saturday, just more prepping for the party. The kids were so pooped out from the day prior we figured we should let them rest.

Watermelon, watermelon!

So, I have recently learned Taylor LOVES watermelon. While she used to just like it earlier in life, she now can plow through several large slices. This was her 3rd slice of melon before school today.

Sweet Dreams...

Last night we had dinner with our friends the Merritts. After a fantastic evening with their family, it was time to put our munchkins to bed (circa 11pm). Jack fell asleep on the car ride home (which is only a five minute drive) while Taylor talked about the fun she had with her friends Charlie, Avery and 'baby Sadie' (and no, it isn't Sadie, it is 'baby' Sadie).

Jack transfers seamlessly, and Taylor gets into her pjs without a question. As Chad and I are changing in our bathroom, Taylor starts blowing kisses to us. In her case, blowing kisses means she kisses *pwah* her hand than says "AH" as she throws it our way, instead of the traditional blow. It has always made us laugh, this time was no different. We "ah'd" our kisses back and then off to bed.

Considering how tired she was (maybe delirious) we thought she would crash right out. Door shut and all tucked in and a kiss goodnight. Not the case, she decided to start a rendition of ..."I love my daddy, I love my mommy-I love them SOOO much and they love me." We nearly died standing at the door. It made the two of us want to jump right in bed with her. We listened for more, but alas she fell asleep.

Love her.

First Day of School

It is official! Taylor started preschool today! I still can't believe how quickly the last three years have gone by. Chad came home to join the first day of school fun as well. The teacher warned us that some children have anxiety or cry when the first day rolls around, and to anticipate it. Well, sadly for Chad and I, Taylor couldn't WAIT to get in and play with her friends. She is so fortunate to have class with her two good buddies, Ava and Delaney.

As we were getting ready to leave, we asked for kisses...which Ava kindly shared, but our daughter, well, she had better things to do! Definitely a harder day for mom and dad!

Summer 2008

So, as you can see I got REALLY far with my blog this summer. ;-) Between work, the kids, and travel, this summer has yielded little to no free time. I have even neglected the laundry, which I am forced to do since we are going to run out of clean things to wear!

With that being said, lets go back to July. We spent 4th of July this year in NY. It has been a long time since we have done that. Actually, Taylor has never been there for that particular holiday, so it was nice to share it with her. As a tradition, my dad buys a few hundred dollars of fireworks from his 'guy' and they are lit off at the lake we live on. These aren't any old fireworks-not bottle rockets, roman candles-they are like what you see on tv. Each year the cops come and decide that they will stay for desert and coffee, and of course the show. Most of them comment how our little production is way better than the local city's. It is pretty comical.

We took the kids to their first 'fair.' A lot like the Puyallup, but smaller, and without the live animals. It was something we would do every year, sometimes a few times during the time it was in town. We never bought enough tickets for the rides-that was always frustrating! Chad, however bought plenty-to the point where we had to GIVE them away because the kids were pooped! Since we went on opening day we were able to watch the parade.

We stood at the fire department and watched all of the engines and ladders come into town. The kids were in awe! Funny how something like a firetruck becomes so magical to a child.

Sadly for Jack, we noticed he was coming down with a fever...so the night was cut short.

We made a special trip to the Bronx Zoo, which was fantastic. The weather was perfect and the kids behaved. Apparently, on Wednesdays it is free so the 'element' head there. We opted for a busy Friday, but didn't care. The only regret we had of the day is that the camera battery was DEAD. So after all the talk of the zoo my only picture is the one from the Bug Merry-Go-Round-and was not my finest moment!

We headed back home two days before July 20th-a very special day to us-Jack turned 1! I still can't believe it. It feels like only yesterday we were heading to Overlake for my c-section. The time with him has gone SO fast, way faster than with Taylor. I feel like he has been shortchanged since he went from newborn to toddler, but I guess that happens with the 2nd, 3rd, 4th...ok, are you crazy???

Anyway, we had his birthday at the house. It was a tropical beach theme. Blues, greens, browns, and yellows.

Yes, I am neurotic like that! It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm. The bounce house was up for the kids to enjoy and keep cool. Sadly, I think we had a few adults that wanted to join the fun! His favorite gift: The Little People Garage (although he has had to pry it from his sister's hands).

Oh yes, and as if the day wasn't eventful enough, Jack decided it was a great day to start walking!

Blogger Newbie!

Well, since half of the family lives on the east coast, half on the west, I thought it was the appropriate time to start blogging. We are always asked about new developments the kids are learning, and updated pictures. Since life can be hectic, this makes the most sense.

A girlfriend of mine (that's right Sarah!) is sharing the remainder of her hospital bedrest via the internet. It has become an addiction of mine to hop online and read up on the latest and greatest news...even if I just spoke to her ten minutes earlier! To her it has been invaluable since she doesn't have to retell updates a million times. It seemed like such a great idea, that I have finanlly decided to start one myself!

In addition to blogging about our little family, I have been meaning to start a blog for my business, Sweet Pea Photography, to share the trials and tribulations of starting, owning and operating a photography company. Since the website is finally operational (without the querks we were originally experiencing) I can now shift my focus and dedicate some time to the blogging world.

So, grab some coffee and sit with me for a while. ..