Little Chef

Larson helping with the French Toast preparations this weekend. Look, Kate, he finally got a haircut! :)

Brett just came downstairs from checking on him. It's 9:30pm here. Larson's bedtime is technically 8:00, but we've been having just a wee bit of trouble with that one since the days have been getting longer. Last summer, when Larson was 2, it was pretty easy to convince him that it was nighttime: we just put a dark blanket over his curtains to black out the room and he went to sleep at the usual time. Now he's on to us, and his favorite activity when he's supposed to be lying down falling asleep is to sit on the side of his bed, inside the curtains, and "read" at the window. I mean, c'mon, the sun's still up, why shouldn't he be?

And you might think that these late nights mean that he's sleeping later in the morning. Ha ha, au contraire! As far as Larson is concerned, when his eyes open at 7:15 and there's sunshine, it's time to start the day. So far, he seems to be holding up ok with less sleep and did take naps most of the days last week. I'd be curious to hear what anyone else has to say about kids and sleeping when the days are long.

Sweet smiles

Just a few day-brighteners:

Reaching and exploring

Getting into stuff is so much fun! Here's Cora showing off her baby leg-warmers while reaching for Larson's game (please ignore my inadvertantly photographed foot!):

"Hmmm...what's up here? I can't even see it, but I know I want it!"Playing at the train table:

Helping to load the dishwasher (isn't she advanced? Next week we'll be working on cooking dinner, hee hee):
"Oh, hi mom! Getting into the dishwasher? I have no idea what you're talking about."

"What's in here? Oh, look! A fun place to hide out!"

Malia's Birthday

Stephen and Karyn are the first friends we made when we moved here 5 years ago. Their little girl, Malia, just turned 3 and we had a chance to celebrate at her birthday party last weekend. It was a beautiful day to be outside, eating cake, hanging out, and watching the kids carouse in the bouncy house. Thanks for having us over, guys, and Happy 3rd Birthday, Malia!

Larson & Kaleo in the "bouncy"
The birthday girl with her Hello Kitty cake!


Cupcakes with sprinkles!

Malia had wardrobe changes to show off not one, not two, but three party dresses! (the third one being the poufy Tinkerbell dress she got as a gift, natch)

Kaleo looking very sweet before moving on to his next mischief agenda item. This is one smart and crafty kid!

Afternoon at the beach

We had a mini-heat wave out here last week, so on Sunday, we decided to retreat to the beach. Cora got her first taste of sand (literally, actually...) and Larson had a blast running around in the water, throwing rocks and chasing birds.

I love the crinkled nose that comes along with her biggest smiles:

Just as we were about to pack up and head home for dinner, a train came around the bend, whistle blowing and all. Very exciting.

The whole family: (not a great shot, I know, but at least all members are present and more or less looking at the camera...we take what we can get these days!)

Life at 3

It's probably happened a lot more gradually than it seems, but all of a sudden we've noticed that Larson has really turned into a bona fide Pre-Schooler. Full of questions, as ever, and more sophisticated, too: "Dad, if you go up high in the sky, is God up there BEFORE you get to outer space?" Hmm...that one took Brett just a little off guard! Recent achievement: yesterday he finished putting together a 100-piece puzzle all by himself!

Recent snippet of conversation when Larson was *supposed* to be sleeping:

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[Heard from downstairs]

"Daddy!"

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[Brett goes upstairs to find out what the deal is]

"You're my favorite daddy in the whole wide world. You can't go on any more long trips unless you take us all with you, because we missed you and you missed us. And Cora cried."

.

[pause]

"...and Cora cried when she was hungry, and she cried when she wanted more Cheerios, and she cried when she was all done, and she cried when she wanted a nap, and she cried when she wanted her pacifier, and she cried when she fell down..."

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[more talking about taking trips]
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"...and then...we'll all go drive in the car...except....if Cora's napping, then Mommy will have to stay behind."

.

Here's Larson taking stock of his favorite "guys" after painstakingly, lovingly lining them all up (are they arranged by color? Oh, goodness, we know who this child's mother is...):

Larson making a caterpillar with some "treasure" he brought home from school:

Favorite outdoor accoutrement? The hose! Here's Larson making a waterfall:

Eating pasta for dinner. Naked, because his clothes were sopping wet after playing with the hose (and then the big puddle it created) just beforehand.

Larson making a sad face:

Now here's a scared face:

And a happy face!

Goofy

Just a glimpse of how we often spend our time together in the afternoons/evenings, such as

making a fort out of the carseat box:

Giving dad a workout: