Van WinkyDinks

 Today was Van Wingerden's annual Fall Fest. Of course we were there (even CAM!) knowing that Clem would love the games, arts and crafts and candy. And we brought the wee man with us knowing that his new obsession would be in full effect. This boy is OBSESSED with scarecrows. 

Dutch was thrilled to be out of a stroller, no carrier in sight, no carts to contain him. He was a free (wee) man roaming the greenhouses.

 First, he had a one man drum session on the empty sales racks.

 And carried that party on over to the pallets.

 There was much to see for this little fellow. There had to be 50 scarecrows in that place. He was in scarecrow heaven.

 As was shaggy sister. She wasn't excited about the scarecrows, but the candy!

Happy Birthday Taylor!

 These two girls go way back. All the way back to babyhood! Now, suddenly, time has flashed forward and they are both turning 6 this fall! (HOW?? HOW DID THIS HAPPEN??!!)

 Last weekend, Taylor had her birthday party at a local gymnastics place (brilliant!). It was awesome and amazing and fun (Clem's quote). If this place looks familiar--it's because it is! While we were there, I grabbed some brochures and Clem's back in gymnastics now! Woot woot!

 The staff brought out the parachute which was a HUGE hit, naturally.

 And then the kids had a chance to play on the equipment in the gym, too.

 Happy 6th birthday Miss Taylor!

At Our Table

At any given time, this table of ours is busy. There's usually something happening here and for the most part, we're making memories around it. Recently, an almost 6 year old has been doing HOMEWORK here at our table!

And during a break, she may become a walrus, using Trader Joe's Turkey Corndog sticks for tusks.

 And this one has recently joined us at the table as he learned to climb out of his high chair when strapped in and also learned to climb UP his high chair when not strapped in. Welcome to the table Dutchy!

 This has led to some attempted food stealing.

 And fascination.

 And LOTS of goofing around at dinner.

 Recently, I found this at our table. Ahem. Clementine has been learning to write her WHOLE name in kindergarten. Can you tell? We have a permanent memento of this fact, seeing that she carved her name into the top.

And then she added a self portrait.

Chatty Dutchy

Having never had a 15 month old talker, I am shocked (SHOCKED!) at how much Dutch has to say. There's a lot on this boy's mind. Here's some of the highlights:

**Each night before bed, Dutch desperately tries to keep himself awake while I rock and nurse him. "What's that? Right there?" he'll sit up and ask, pointing to the framed painting of boats docked. "Boats." I tell him. "Oh, yeah." he replies. Again and again "What's that? Right there?" "a mirror, a rug, a book, a nightlight, blankets, shhhhhh..."
"Oh, yeah." he says. **

**Dutch LOVES Ernie. As in Bert and Ernie. But only Ernie. He can find Ernie (or Elmo) anywhere, in nearly any one of his Sesame Street books. He points to Ernie and exclaims "Awww....Ernie..." mwa.**

**He first learned Mama, then Dada. Next he gave up Mama and everyone became Dada. Now, he's finally added to his repertoire: like all toddlers before him, he's learned to pronounce his sister's  name as TenTine**

STEM at the Library

I have said it before and I'll say it again: Bellingham Library is amazing. They have SO many family events that are exciting and get kids motivated to learn and they make these opportunities incredibly easy for the community. 

If you follow me on Facebook, you've seen the picture of Clem with her Reading Superstar sign. This summer, Clem read 15+ hours, earning her this yard sign (making Mama proud) as well as a free book, lunch at the Bagel place downtown, free swimming and bus passes. Yeah! I know! For reading! 

 And then last weekend we hit up the library on a rainy Saturday afternoon, knowing that the STEM UNI was going to be there. STEM stands for Science Technology Engineering and Math. Yeah! That has Clem written all over it. This mobile learning is sponsored by the Whatcom Center for Early Learning (Holllllaaa!) that's motto is "You (parents) are your child's first teacher!" That's what I always say! But I substitute first for best, whatevs.

 There were tons of science activities for kids from Dutch's age on up to Clem's having to do with the sciences. Dutch loved exploring sound with the bells and Cam and I got in on the action while Clem worked a balance. Cam and I got a pretty good start on Twinkle Twinkle.

 Clem worked pulleys,

 and then made fraction pie. Her favorite of the learning centers was archaeology. She got to "dig" for dinosaur bones in a tub of lentil beans. Using only a paint brush, she swept the lentils away until she found pieces of bones to re-assemble.

 Dutch was pretty fascinated by the fraction pie she was working on.

A little to fascinated. I love Cam's hand on Dutch's head steering him away from Clem's fraction pie. 

My Kindergarten Baby

 Our girl started Kindergarten. In retrospect, it does seem a bit silly now to have cried so much the  night before since I do teach at the same school and all. But my BABY has started Kindergarten. She's out there in the world and I have to share her with everyone, like it or not.

 While I may not have been ready, this girl SURE was. All sass, enthusiasm, energy and thoughtfulness. Now she has a place to spend it all. We got to school in the first day of Kindergarten right on time, even though her hair ("Princess Leia buns, please.") took a bit longer than I planned.

 We rolled up to the building and there was hardly anyone there. Just teachers and students trickling in two or three at a time. Clem was all smiles and glee.

And then the buses unloaded. Clem got to see what 400 kids in one large play space looked like. She was not amused. "Take me home, mama!" she said. "Or let me come draw in your classroom! I need you!" 

Well, all the crying I'd done the night before paid off as I wanted to take her home/back to my classroom right then. But I put on my confident mom pants that morning and pecked her cheek, promising a fun lunch date together. 

And off she marched to her first day of Kindergarten. She had a bumpy start but held strong. I'm so proud of this girl. 

Artist Point

Today the fam and I crossed the last item off of our Summer Bucket List with a trip to Artist Point! Artist point is the furthermost point that one can drive on Mt. Baker. 

(some of you will recall that I attempted driving this myself 2+ years ago. Cam was too tired to drive and napped in the passenger seat and a toddler Clem sat in the back singing away as I attempted switchback after switchback on the unrailed part of the mountain. In dense fog. Driving so slowly that the cars behind me began honking, waking up Cam. When I pulled over--I couldn't take it anymore--I barfed over the side of the road. I couldn't allow myself to even be driven up that road. The point of this story is that it's STEEP and unprotected. Cam drove this time.)

 We made it to the top this time. It felt like we were on top of the world. So beautiful up there and we picked such an amazing day to go.

While my sure-footed loves were trekking all over the craggy rocks, I took selfies with my baby loves and meandered slowly over the paved trails. 

Finally, it was nearly time to go and Clem got to play (FINALLY! she said) in the snow that was still on the ground.