Notes from Leana

Letter to Santa (3 requests here):

 Birthday card hidden under my pillow:

Fall Colors

These were from last month but I kept forgetting to post.  We try to make it to the arboretum every Fall to see all the beautiful colors!

School Pictures!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Once again, thankful for so many things this year, and right at the top of the list are these 2 kiddos!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Little Biker!

While I was sick in bed last weekend, Jeff took Leana out and helped her figure out how to ride her bike without training wheels! Then this weekend I took her out so I could see her in action and helped her to get the hang of getting herself started.  Now she is zooming around like a pro and already told me she wants to do a triathlon with me :)

Happy Halloween!

 The boys were dinosaurs, the girls Elsas (Zia was an ice cat)

 The Frozen Girls

 The Dino Boys

Elsa Love

At the harvest festival at school and below with her 4th grade reading buddy Kate who took her around the festival.

Sibling Love

They sometimes drive me crazy with their bickering and fighting but then there are moments of sweetness like finding this note Leana made for Juju.

Walls of Fame

Leana is getting famous around town - although you have to know where to look to find her fame.

#1 - Thornton Creek Running Club: 10 Mile Wall of Fame

Leana got to write her name on a foot to add to the 10 mile wall for her school's running club a couple weeks ago.  Every day students have the option to do running club before school where they can run 1, 2, or 3 laps (3 laps = a mile).  They get a foot charm to add to a necklace for every mile run.  Leana is up to 15 miles now.

#2 - Pacific Science Center - Memories Exhibit

Someone on my mom's group sent an email about a photo contest for the Pacific Science Center, a place we love to visit, for a new exhibit about memories.  You were supposed to submit photos that evoked memories or memory making, so I entered a few and one of them was chosen (photo credit to Steve Collins!)

Julian's Birthday Party and 3 Years Stats

On Sunday we had a little party for Juju at View Ridge Park.  The weather was perfect, the kids got to run around and play in the sand and a good time was had by all.

My favorite part was when Juju sang happy birthday to himself along with everyone else.  See video below!  I also included a short video of him playing with his new harmonica, he picked it up and started playing this little tune right away.

Julian's 3 year stats :
Weight: 30 pounds (30%)
Height: 37.5 inches (50%)
BMI: 15 (20%)
Vision: 20/30 (he read the letters by himself)
HR: 100, BP: 94/73

Height, weight and BMI all EXACTLY the same as Leana on her 3 year check up.  Although his percentiles are lower, I guess since he's a boy.
http://picollins.blogspot.com/2012/08/me-big-girl-me-3-now.html

Juju and Dutch on the swings

Happy 3rd Birthday Julian!

Sweet little Juju is 3 years old today! He is talking so much now and it is so fun to listen to him have conversations with himself or his friends.  He's also starting to sing songs (he likes itsy bitsy spider the most right now).  He of course still loves all things transportation and can spend hours playing with his trains and cars.   He also still loves all things music and is really enjoying the music class we are taking once a week.  His favorite part is when the instruments come out.  Some new things he really likes are the Seahawks (he insists on wearing his Seahawks shirt whenever it is clean), bridges, legos, and his tricycle which he rides to school every day to drop off and pick up Leana,  He is also having fun in his new preschool class and loves when we carpool with a friend on Fridays - it's fun watching his social side come out.

Juju in heaven

 Juju's favorite - hot cocoa

 on the bus

Summer Backlog: Finishing Up Summer

Now that it is officially Fall, I realized I better finish posting some of our summer photos.  The last week before school started we had a flurry of adventures in and around Seattle to check things off our summer fun list.  Leana had a list that she came up with, but I had a bunch of things I wanted to do too!

 Visiting Jeff downtown - the last thing that was on Leana's summer fun list.  Riding the bus was a highlight for Juju!

 Jetty Island - a 2 minute boat ride takes you here, a nature reserve only open to the public 2 months every year.  We were there at low tide and the kids loved it.

 Snoqualmie Falls hike and river play.  The river was much more exciting than the Falls for the kids.  It was a steep hike down to the bottom but the big kids made it back on their own.  

Julian's First Day of Preschool!

Juju started his first day of preschool at the EEU on Monday.  Last year and this summer he was in the toddler program for 18month -3 years (2 x week), and this year he gets to do Preschool, for ages 3-5 (4 x week).  He was a little nervous for his first day because he really wanted his old classroom and former teacher Emilie ("I need teacher Emilie!") but he had no problem saying goodbye when the time came.  So far everything I have asked him (Is it fun?  Did you read books?  Did you play with cars?  Did you sit on the potty?  Is your teacher nice?) has been answered with a "yeah".  

 Shy for the camera with his new back pack,  He was whispering "cheese" in these photos.

Auntie Adri was here to help walk him in on his first day.

First Day of Kindergarten!

Here are some pictures from Leana's first day of Kindergarten.  She went back and forth between nervous, scared, excited, and happy the week before school started.  Thankfully that morning was all excitement and happiness!  She spent a long time making her sign and then we still got to school 20 minutes early.  She is Room 1 with Teacher Crystal.  Turns out that Jeff was in the same room when he went to Kindergarten there 32 years ago.  Leana was so excited about that!

We are 4 days in now and everything is going great.  Leana sends Juju and I off each day with a big hug and kiss and an "I love you!".  Then poor Juju asks all day where Leana is and if it is time to pick her up yet.  He starts school next week so hopefully that will help!

Camping Trip: Kalaloch (Olympic Coast)

We had a great time camping this year at Kalaloch on the Olympic coast.  The only downside was that it was such a long drive to get there we would have rather stayed a few extra nights.  The kids definitely would have been ok with this, they both got so upset when we said we were heading home.
Leana: "I wish we could stay here forever!"
Julian: "No go back home, go back campsite!"

We had a total of 7 adults and 7 kids and 3 campsites to spread out on.  The kids loved going to the beach, going on the nature trail (about a mile long loop which Leana treated more as a trail run with 2 of the other kids), playing freeze tag around the campsite, and of course roasting marshmallows and making s'mores. Leana also earned her first "Junior Ranger" badge which was no joke - they had to complete 5 activities from a workbook, go on a nature walk, go to a ranger talk and then get sworn in by the ranger.

 the crew

 football on the beach

 Leana spent a lot of time making beach creations

 Nature trail

 cool beach day

campfire time

 morning at the campsite

 earning their badges

our campsite