Meeting Thomas the Tank Engine

Ever since Nikolas was two and became a Thomas the Tank Engine fanatic I have been wanting to take him to the Thomas Day Out in Hood River. I have been putting it off each year, though, because the tickets are a bit steep. Now that Nik is five I decided this was the year to do it as his excitement for Thomas is starting to diminish.

This looked like the real deal to me, but apparently I'm an amateur Thomas connoisseur as Nik and Luke both said, "That's not the REAL Thomas."
Say WHAT??!! How could he be any more real?
Oh well, what do they know. They're three and five.

They still enjoyed themselves on the train and Nik was pretty proud of his Jr. Engineer certificate.
Nikolas thought he was pretty cool getting to meet Sir Topham Hat.

While the boys had fun and it wasn't too terribly painful for Tone' and I, I will give a disclaimer to all those thinking of going someday in the future. Here it is: the train was so packed that Tone' didn't even get a seat and if we had been with friends we would not have been able to sit together. The train ride, in my parent opinion, stunk. Half the windows were so full of condensation that we couldn't even see out of them!
You have now been warned.

It was, however, memorable.

Taking Care Of His Wheels

Nikolas rode his bike through some mud puddles the last time it rained and so his bike was good and dirty. He isn't too keen on dirt on his new "Shark" bike so he turned his cap backwards, grabbed a rag and started cleaning his set of wheels.

Five is an interesting age. He seems so grown up sometimes, like when he takes care of cleaning his own toys and when he opens the door for me because he sees I am carrying Estie and multiple other things. He is able to help me out in many ways now and we are also giving him a little more freedom. Then, when I begin to think he has become a rational little person, something will not go his way and he erupts into a sobbing little boy. Part toddler/part big kid. Hmmm, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde come to mind....

I wouldn't trade this time with Nikolas for anything, though. He's my little right hand man and even though there are still tantrums at times I know this phase of his life is quickly fading. I'm going to miss his little boyhood as he grows into a bigger elementary kid. With him being the oldest every stage he enters is still new to me and Tone', so I'm not quite sure what is in store for us every year. What if next year he doesn't need his special "kiki" (blanket) anymore, or what if he loses interest in Thomas the Tank Engine, or what if he doesn't want me to "just sit by me, mama" anymore?

I'm sure I'll enjoy the next stage in many ways as well, but this summer, I'm going to cherish every minute with my little five year old boy.

Decent Family Picture!

Somehow; everyone was looking and smiling at exactly the right time. Now that, is amazing.

4 Months Old!

Our baby girl keeps getting cuter with each month! Little Estie is 4 months old now, but I feel like she's been in our lives a lot longer. Which, actually, she has been in my life exactly 9 months longer...

Estella is now 13 1/2 pounds and 23 inches long. Almost two feet! She is actually smaller than her brothers both were at this age. That is normally a good thing, but my boys are already short for their ages. Hopefully she's going to be over five feet!
You laugh, but I'm only 5'2" and Tone's mom was only 4'11"!!! Oh well, it's fun being short. We can squeeze into small spaces and almost never hit our heads on low hanging lamps.

Comparison of her at 2 months.

This little girl makes me want to have another baby sooner rather than later. She is so easy going and gives out the most beautiful smiles to anyone who will look at her. She is definitely a third child as she has to share me with her two needy big brothers, which means, she has learned to wait. I try not to take advantage of that too much though. Besides, who could resist cuddling with this beautiful baby girl???

Those blue eyes are still there!

She is getting stronger and holding her head up real high. This past week she has been making every effort to roll over! Oh no! Now I won't be able to leave her just anywhere! I can't believe next month she will be getting close to sitting up on her own. It's crazy how fast infants develop.

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Baby smooches from a smitten daddy:)

How incredibly blessed I am to be the mother of these amazing children.

"Hush Little Baby" Lukey Version

Every night for a couple months at least I had been singing "Hush Little Baby" to the boys after the lights were out. It's a different version than the original, and the message is so much better.


Have you ever noticed with the original version it's all about buying the child something to help him/her to stop crying? A mockingbird, diamond ring, looking glass, billy goat, bull and cart, dog named Rover, a horse and another cart are all given to this crying child. I have noticed that when we have given a child something to get him to stop crying it has only resulted in a child who expects a gift each time he cries. They're smart little cookies; crying equals gift. More crying equals more gifts.


Not happenin' in this household!


So I was happy to find a version that focused more on the things we already have around us and often take for granted.
It goes like this:


Hush little baby don't say a word,
Mama's gonna show you a hummingbird,
And if that hummingbird should fly,
Mama's gonna show you the evening sky,
and when the nighttime shadows fall,
Mama's gonna hear for a crickets call,
and when their song drifts from afar,
Mama's gonna look for a shooting star,
and when that star drifts out of view,
Mama's gonna read a book to you,
and when that story has been read,
Mama's gonna bring you your warm bedspread,
and when that quilt begins to wear,
Mama's gonna bring you your teddy bear,
and if that teddy bear won't hug
Mama's gonna show you a lightning bug,
and if that lightning bug won't glow,
Mama's gonna bring out her old banjo,
and if that banjo's out of tune,
Mama's gonna show you the harvest moon,
and when that moon drifts through the sky,
Mama's gonna sing you a lullaby.

Much better.
Now on to the funny part:

I had sang the song so often that Lukas had started singing the last word of each phrase. I wanted to see how much he could remember on his own so one night I started singing and left off the last word and waited. He immediately caught on and yelled out the missing word.
I continued singing and continued stopping right before the last word so he could say it. It was very cute, made cuter by his little tiny voice.

The song progressed and went like this:

Mama: "and when that quilt begins to"

Lukas: "WEAR!"

Mama: "Mama's gonna bring you a teddy"

Lukas: "BEAR!"

Mama: "and if that teddy bear won't"

Lukas: "HUG!"

Mama: "Mama's gonna show you a lightning"

Lukas: "McQUEEN!"

McQueen???!!!

OOOHHHHH.....Lightning McQueen! From CARS, of course!

Gotta love those three year olds!

Weekend At The Cabin

Tone' and I have just made a pact this year that we are going to start taking advantage of the generosity of my dad. He has had a cabin in the woods on a lake up in White Salmon, Washington for the last eight? or more years now and we haven't really used it much. Now that we have two boys who love to throw sticks and rocks in the water we realized that the cabin is the perfect place for a mini vacation. We have committed to going once a month now and so far we're two for two and planning our June trip.

Truly, it is such a peaceful retreat from this fast paced world we live in. There is no phone, which means no internet. I know! Can you imagine?! Our cell phones don't even work there. We go up there and have no idea what is going on the world. It's really quite funny.

The moment we arrived the boys started collecting rocks and sticks. Who needs toys?!

The best part, of course, is throwing them in the lake to hear "bloop, bloop".

Next up Nikolas took the little red dingy out for a row. We were a little worried about him tipping and falling in, but decided the experience would be memorable, even if it ended in a soggy mess. You could say that's my parenting style: as long as they won't be seriously maimed or worse, then let them explore and get dirty...or wet.

While Nik was rowing in circles Lukas was pouting on the dock. Poor kid, it's tough to be three.

He's not quite big enough to be out by himself on a little boat, yet is old enough to know he's missing out on an adventure.

Just before dinner time our friends, Ed, Emily and their two kids Elly and Evan arrived. They are outdoor enthusiasts as well, so we knew they would enjoy the cabin with us. Elly jumped right into the action and started helping Lukas row the dock. They just may have thought they were going somewhere. You never know with three year olds.

Lukas is only 6 months older than Elly and they are in the same class for Sunday School, but it took this weekend to realize they are both the "same age". I think it's because a six month old is so much further ahead then a newborn and it continues like that for a few months so I had forgotten how close they are in age. This weekend was a hilarious eye opener. They were so cute together and have the same tiny little voices and thought processes. Plus, Elly is the same height as Lukas, which is unusual for his little buddies.

A bonus feature to Ed and Emily coming was that they brought Emily's parents new kayaks!

Combined with Tone's kayak we have at the cabin it made for some fun outings on the lake together.

The guys were generous enough to let us ladies take the first trip out. AAAhhhhh, it was so quiet and peaceful......

Elly having some little Estie time

Lukas had to get in on the cuddling as well

The next morning Ed and Emily took the kayaks out. It was a beautiful, quiet morning and from the smiles on their faces I think they had fun:)

Then Tone', Ed and I took the big kids in our kayaks while Emily stayed with the sleeping babies. It was really fun to be able to go out as an almost complete family as we've never done that having only one kayak. It almost makes me want Tone' to build another one, except that I would not see him for 8 months while he's holed up in the garage.

Last on our list of weekend fun was a hike to the point overlooking the dam.

Three out of five looking isn't too bad!

Now Here's A New One

The moment I was born I began aquiring freckles. I'm pretty sure my face was covered by the time I was eight, so whenever someone points them out to me I am always taken off guard since I don't notice I have them unless I'm really examing my face in the mirror. Those who know me well know that I don't often examine my face in the mirror (I'm a brush my teeth, comb my hair and fly out the door kind of gal), so I really don't think about my skin color(s) too much. Leave it to a three year old, however, to remind me.


Lukas: "Mama, why you have giraffes on your face?"

Mama: "Giraffes?.....OHHHH, you mean freckles!"

Well, it does make sense really. Especially to a three year old.