Why I love age 5

 Among the chaos of our days, this girl gives me some real gems. I love age 5 for all it's goofiness, wit and totally unexpected surprises.
Here are some of her latest:
"Mama, I love you bigger than Target." (Not sure if she's talking about my ranking in order of me vs. Target or the actual volume of the store.)

 Twice in the last week, we have been stuck in situations where couples are making out. While at the grocery store last week, I let Clem sit in the front seat with me while I nursed Dutch. In front of us was an incredibly passionate couple (ahem). "BOY! They are REALLY in love with each other! Do you think their lips are tired?"

 One day she was taking my picture and she said "Smile pretty mama!" and I gave her  my best grin. She put the camera down and said "I think you could try a little harder, mom."

Recently she has discovered my stache of classroom books out in the garage. (Yes, they've been out there for 5 years, so what??? *wink*) She found a book on Frida Kahlo and has read it several times in the last few days. I also showed her some of Frida's art online. Clementine has decided that instead of being an animal doctor, she'd like to be a "hairy artist." True story.

Family Portrait: A Series by Clementine

 Clementine has been working on a series of portraits. Each is  unique yet each consists of those she loves so dearly.
Above,  she and I encased in our own hearts. I am the one, not with antlers mind you, but with DOUBLE queen crowns. That's how I roll.  (She copied "I Mommy" from a book, forgetting the heart between them.) She has one crown as she is princess.

 Here we are again. This time we are holding hands in the heart. Or possibly at McDonald's, standing  underneath the golden arches.

 And here's the whole clan; avante garde style. Cam's rocking the turquoise facial and spiky hair while I have gone with a green bob for the day Clem's hair is orange while Dutch is completely bald.

 Here' s the whole clan again, as robots. Cam and I are holding robot Dutchy in the carrier between us.

And one more time, the whole family standing under a rainbow. This time, Cam is doing an impression of a giraffe while Clementine holds the carrier with Dutch inside.

I hope our little family continues to be captured in Clementine's own unique artistic style. It's her way of telling us how much family means to her; and I hope it always does.

Painting Date

 Clem and I had a little much needed girl time this weekend. No fussy babies to draw my attention away. No sleepy daddy to tell us to hurry up, let's head back home. Just me and my imaginative, extremely talkative little bug. It was perfect.

 OF COURSE she decided to paint a puppy as these days, everything is puppy related somehow. "I found coins mama! I can save it for a puppy!"
As she painted, she created an entire backstory for this pup. The details got more and more creative.

 We decided to take a little paint break and chatted some more over berry tea and a shared scone with cream.

And then, right back to work. Her puppy ended up rainbow colored with turquoise polka-dots. Before bed tonight, she told me she missed her puppy (as it is still at the pottery store, waiting to be fired) and that our date was the best part of her whole weekend. XO

Around Here

I wish I could say these never ending holed up Winter afternoons looked more like this:

smiley, happy baby.

Smiley, happy preschooler.

 Folded hands

and (CHUBBY!) still little baby feet.

 

 

But in reality, the noise is deafening. There's a lot less quiet time and way more "Crawl under me! I'm a bridge!"

A LOT more Dutch shaped blurs whizzing past.

And this. Always this face. By 4:00, this is the face staring back at me. "What can I do mama??" all pent up energy and few places to spend it. 

Sewing with my girl

 With Cam's help this weekend, I was FINALLY able to get out my sewing machine for the first time! He  helped me set it up and then baby wrangled as I got to test out my new machine.

 Naturally, Clem wanted in on the action almost immediately and I was happy to have an assistant. At first she was a bit wary and didn't want to get to close to the needle bobbing up and down, but she warmed up pretty quickly and got right in there with me.

 Then a second assistant wanted to know what kinds of fun we girls were having. In this picture I am helping guide Clem's "purse" through the sewing machine while trying to keep the cord out of Dutch's reach. That boy LOVES to chew on electrical cords.

 And here's one of our finished projects! We made a purse for Clem and two Barbie sleeping bags! It was a blast and we are both itchin' to get back to more sewing!

Happy Birthday Nolan!

 Little Nolan turned 4 this weekend! Boy, how time flies! His birthday party, on the ACTUAL day of his birth, was at Jungle Play Land in South Seattle. It was such a blast. I kind of want my birthday parties to be there! There was something for kids of all ages.

 The babies loved watching the big kids play.

 There was a big trampoline,

 and a bar for swinging.

 "Hold up. Is that cake?" Clem seems to be saying.

 There was a giant rock climbing wall and tons of fun stuff to do.

The party was perfect. We left with full bellies, Clem had pink cheeks and a smile from ear to ear.

7 Months

Our boy is 7 months already. Each month that passes I say the same thing: How did we get here so quickly??

 At 7 months, Dutch is crawling, pulling himself to standing and attempting to "cruise" along the furniture. He has just the hint of his first tooth, sharp as glass. He is eating lots of pureed veggies and has dabbled in fruits. He can say "Mama," mostly when he is upset and needs me to soothe him.

 If there was one word to describe this baby boy at 7 months of age, it would be INTENSE. His teething? Intense.
Nursing? INTENSE.
Play time? Sweetly intense.
Bath time? There's no water left in the tub from all the intense splashing going on.
Bedtime? I*N*T*E*N*S*E*

He even has intensely blue eyes!