Doggy Date

Clementine has been asking (ahem...begging) for a dog for at least two years (ahem...forever). She is head over  heels in love with every dog she meets. 

(We are open to the idea of finding a family dog but haven't found a just right fit yet.)

In the meantime, Clem has herself a date. A weekly date. With a big furry Mountain Dog name Takaya. 

Our amazing public library has a program for readers Clem's age and older. They can come and read with dogs who have recently graduated K-9 Good Citizens class. 

 Clementine carefully choose some books to read to Takaya today, on their first date. She chose books about dogs and practiced them last night.

Mostly Takaya listened. But she knew there were treats coming her way and got a little distracted. Clem was fascinated by this big old bundle of sweetness (who is ALSO 6 years old!). She got to read to her as well as feed her treats.
Pretty much, the best day ever.

Rugrats at the Dentist

 Clem is so fond of the dentist, we thought: "Surely if Dutch is able to watch Clem do her dentist stuff first, then he TOO will be fond of the Dentist."

Au contraire. Dutchy was NOT a fan of the dentist. Nor was Dutch a fan of watching Clementine at the dentist.
He was, however, a fan of running amok throughout the entire building--taking pictures off the wall, walking into private offices, climbing office chairs...I could go on.

 Do I look sweaty in these pictures because I was. Chasing a determined Dutchy is major work.

He did eventually come up in my arms and allow himself (hardly) to be held. But not for long. Dentist barely got a glimpse of Dutchy's toofs before a certain wailing banchee needed to be removed from the building. Ahem.

We'll try again this summer.

Thankfully, Clementine was a rockstar as usual.

Adventurin'

Surprise January sunshine=this crew heading for the hills (literally!). We went adventurin' this weekend. And here's what we found. 

 Dutchy loves swings.

 And slides.

 Clem will only monkey bar if her feet can touch the ground.

 And she is extra sassy.

Marina Touch Tank

 Cam and I are both home these two weeks with both kids. The four of us need (NEED!) stuff to keep us out of trouble. I have a physical need called "Getting out of the house each day."

So, on one such rainy day, we took the kids on down to the Squalicum Marina "Aquarium" (we've been here before, remember?)

Once again, Clem watched only. She refused to touch any of the terrifying sea creatures.

 Whereas Dutch would have climbed in if we'd let him.

If you guessed that Dutch tried lapping up the water from the touch tank like a puppy, then you are correct. When Cam intervened, Dutch realized that cupping his hand and bringing it to his mouth could do the trick.

Yup, our visit there was short.

Hello again, old friend

 It's been ages since we hit up our old haunt, the Skagit County Children's Museum. I think Clem had to be 3 or 4 when we were there last. And now we can't remember why we waited so long!

 There's a whole toddler "farm" for wee lads like Dutch...(who by the way ONLY went up and down the two slide-like inclines on this play structure. What gives?)

(and also has been taught by Daddy how to do a perfectly scary bear cub growl, now he loves bears!)

 

...there's also plenty for a 6 year old explorer like our favorite wee lass. 

She loved fishing and playing princess Barbie dress up, 

 She got to play long-shoreman and semi-truck driver.

 Then she rode this gull like a rodeo bull.

And made a snow man frame in the art area. Seriously, I just can't get enough of this place!

Gymnastics Showcase

Last week was Clementine's Gymnastics Showcase. The love of my life went to cheer her on (mama had a meeting! Sad face) while she performed.

Clem's pretty cautious these days with the "dangerous" stunts they teach her (when did THIS happen??) but I love that she is building confidence. I love that she is positively beaming at the end. She is just beginning to dip her toes into the world of gymnastics and I hope it's something she decides to stick with.
So proud of her.

(And so in love with Daddy's Daddy-Pride.)

Winter Concert

My favorite Kindergartener decided to spice things up a bit last week. On Tuesday after school, Clementine decided to hop on a school bus, following all of her friends' lead. The only problem is, she doesn't take a bus home, she comes to my classroom after school. Her teacher, our principal and Dean of Students and I hurriedly scoured the building for her. For 10 nerve wracking minutes no one knew where she was. Finally, our Dean of Students came off of the school bus, Clementine in hand.

 

That's him giving her a "Go get 'em tiger." pat before her concert on Thursday. It's not often we get to see this brave girl looking cautious. But before the concert we did!

 She sang some very cute songs with her kindergarten class. She even got to play jingle bells and bongo drums!

 

 

Here she is singing the Cordata coyote leads the way song!