Happy 4th Birthday Addison!!!

Addy had a great birthday! It was a really fun day with family and friends. The kids had a blast on the slip n' slide, playing on the play set, and running around the yard.

We can't believe she is four already it is so fun to watch her grow! She is a wonderful big sister and daughter and we are blessed to be her parents!!! This year we surprised Addy (oh, and Maya too) with a trip to Disney Land, we leave August 12th, she is getting more excited as each day goes by...we are too:)

Enjoy a short slide show from her birthday party.

Sunset at Bayview

Addy and Maya are doing great they are both growing and changing so quickly!

Addy's newest most notable leap has been in her interest in writing letters and people's names. She recently was drawing on our chalkboard in the kitchen and wrote her cousin Ellie's name all by herself (see below for a picture) She loves school and will be changing classrooms when she turns 4, we are sad that she will be leaving her current class because she loves her teachers but fortunately she will probably change with many of her friends.

Maya has started to communicate more with both words and gestures. She really has begun to be quite an entertainer, she makes us laugh on purpose and will do it over and over. She can still be quite dramatic and is trying her hardest, it seems, to get more independent. She still requires a lot of holding and cuddling, which of course we are totally fine with:)! She loves playing with baby dolls, especially putting them in strollers, giving kisses to her cat Jax, and looking at books. whenever she can she sneaks into Addy's room to see what she can find...you know like Barbie shoes and other choking hazards!!!

Day-Trip to PT

Addy, Maya, Liz, and I headed over to Port Townsend for the day a couple weeks ago (Mid-May) to see Maris and Chris who were camping there for a couple of days. We enjoyed a parade, a walk to the beach, and a couple of ferry rides! It was really fun and it was great spending time with some of our favorite people.

Fun in the sun April 2010

From First sunny days 2010

Addison, Lydia, and Maya swinging...it's great to be able to go outside and let the kids play! Maya and Addy could both swing for hours, and it was fun having Lydia over for the afternoon to play as well!

Trip to the Zoo April 2010

From zoo collage

We ended up taking an impromptu trip to the Woodland Park Zoo in April, I know its June but.... we had a great time despite the sprinkles and cooler weather.

Addy really enjoys being able to "direct" us using the zoo map. So as well as seeing some of her favorite animals like the bears, tigers, and peacocks, we got to see some of the spots we have missed in the past which was great! Maya had a great time but most of all she just wanted to be free to roam which unfortunately, as parents who wanted to enjoy the trip as well, we couldn't always allow that...

we got to see a dancing elephant, some pretty pink flamingos, and a young gorilla who was a really big pest to the older ones.

Good times!!!

Maya's First Birthday

It's hard to believe that Maya turned one on March 7Th, time has gone so quickly. We had a fun party with many family and friends. Maya didn't really understand what the big deal was and really didn't like our singing...don't think it was anything personal...she was just scared of all the noise. She ended up eating a lot of her "mini" cake with help from Addy who couldn't stand watching her figure it out. Maya got a lot of great gifts and has loved playing with them since the party.

Maya's One Year Stats:

Weight 20.1 lbs (60Th Percentile)

Height 28.5in (40Th Percentile)

She is talking (babbling) quite a bit and is really starting to understand us when we ask her questions like are you hungry, do you want up, lets go, can you bring it here. She is really funny and likes to make us laugh by being generally silly and sometimes she does a fake laugh to see if we will copy her...which we probably will : ).

Slide Show Maya's First Birthday

Some more shots of Maya's first birthday party...

Family Pictures 2-10

We decided to get family pictures done to both mark Maya's first birthday and my grandma Bess' 90Th (June). Overall things went well, we took several different shots and the kids had to do a lot of different poses. Enjoy!

When asked to lay down on the floor Joel was really annoyed but we all think the picture turned out pretty well...sorry Joel:)

The whole family...

Maya

Maya admiring her big sister.

Tyler, Ellie, Addison, and Maya. (that one was difficult!)

G.G. (Great Grandma) turns 90 this year!