Cousins= best friends

A few weekends ago Zach was gone on a weekend boys trip so Marisa came up w/ the kids to have a slumber party. We had so much fun and the kiddos got along great!  It sure made the weekend waaaay more enjoyable...I was sorta dreading a whole weekend as a single mama but having Ris up here too made it a par-tay!  :). I really loved it--thanks Ris for coming to play with us. We all love you and your babes!

Of course the kids and I had to show them our fave spot--the Station Pizzeria (and Gorman Winery next door). It was a little crazy at din but we took it in stride and then headed next door for some wine tasting while the boys played with the pinball machine. Don cracks me up in the below pic...get into it!

Unfortunately we forgot the Ergo Pack and it really could have come in handy!

Abs thought it was pretty cool that she could stand under the table. She also enjoyed some "water" tastings. :)

Walking back to the car we had to cross the street so Don and Abs held hands. We didn't even tell them to. Could they be any cuter?!?!?

Khaleesi Lou kept messing up her outfits while she was here so Abs shared some of her old clothes with her. Look at this doll-baby...seriously, those eyes and dimples are gonna be dangerous!  :)

We ended the night with bath time. K-Lou was so excited to be in the tub with the big kids. 

After we got everyone down K-Lou decided she wanted to be up with mom and Auntie. She played around on the blow up mattress (aka-Bouncy House) for awhile and finally wore herself out snuggled on Mama. 

I love having slumber parties and can't wait for the next one. Thanks again Ris, Don and Khaleesi Boo!!

Getting ready for school...

Yesterday Abs and I had a fun day preparing for her first day of Preschool. This will be her second year at Vaulting Frogs and she's very excited to get back and see her teachers and friends!  

She kept telling me she needed a hair trim because her beautiful hair was getting soo long and it was always in her eyes...really she just wanted to sit in the Thomas Train chair!

She had to start in a different chair for a sec and thankfully Thomas was available shortly after!

Then we had to go buy her sparkly, light up shoes...she saw them last weekend but they didn't have her size so we had to go to Lynnwood this weekend. She loves them, especially with her new Princess socks. 

She's dancing around to show me how they light up!!  People constantly told her how awesome her shoes were all day. I have to admit, I think they're pretty cute too. :)

After these two outings we had lunch w/ the boys and sent them on their way so we could get our nails done. Abby loves having her toes painted now and actually does really well being patient and still. 

We love our girls days!  Next up will be to get a few new things for her dance class. I'm so excited. It will be a ballet, tap, baton, tumbling mix which I thought she would enjoy as her intro to the dance world!

A day at the Needle

Last weekend the fam decided to play tourist and headed to Seattle for a ride to the top of the Space Needle. We ate lunch first at Buckley's, one of my old fave spots on Lower QA and then hiked to Seattle Center. 

Since we went on a weekend it was a little busy and the kiddos got sleepy waiting in the sun...

Once we got to the top, we had some great views!

Zach got a few pics of me and the kids looking out at my old hood--could Seattle be any prettier--especially on a sunny summer day!

This is a post from my phone which I think I'll try doing more often for quick updates. It was easy!

Pure Happiness. . .

Lovin that we are getting some nicer weather. . .or at least days without rain.  The kiddos LOVE playing outside and we LOVE that it zonks them out when we are done playing.  :)  At the park the two could have us push them on the swings all day.  Abby lets us get her really high!

I love how big their smiles are in some of these pics. 

A trip to B Square always means a few rides on the escalator--it keeps them entertained while we wait for a table at the Nordi's Grill.  :)

Abby's preschool has a gym for gymnastics.  We got there early one day so she got to show Ty and I some of her tricks.  Ty would love to stay there as well but he's just not quite old enough.

Ty LOVES his ice cream.  It makes a BIG mess but keeps him pretty happy while we finish our meals. 

Abby is old enough to actually pose and smile for pictures and tries to help get Ty in them for me too.  It is so fun watching these two play together.  We all call Ty "Buddy"--so freaking cute to hear Abs call him Buddy when she's talking to him.

Again, love how big the smiles are in the next few pics.  These two can really make each other laugh!  So cute.

Seriously, to be a kid again--eyes closed, spinning, spinning=so much joy and happiness!

This bigga boy gets to eat breakfast in the big chair every once in awhile.  He looks so cute and big just chillin with his Shredded Wheat in his mouth.  :)

He loves when Abs is not on her bed--means he gets to play with her toys. . .and she has a lot of them!

The Children's Museum in Everett was so much fun.  Abs could have played at the trains the entire time while Ty could have stayed at the water table.  He got so wet even w/ the apron on, that I had to take his shirt off and have him roll w/ his jacket only for awhile.

Love this pic of Ty--such a sweet boy. . .a busy boy too!

A beautiful day to go to the park.  Abs got us all moving yesterday and even started packing lunches so we could have a picnic.  What a great idea!  We had so much fun and the kids slept great last night after all that running around and fresh air.

Hmmn, someone thinks she is so funny!  Thankfully these markers come off very easy but why, why, why do kids have to color on themselves???

These two were having one of those days where they each wanted what the other had so I got them set up w/ rice and rice krispy's--kept them happy for a pretty long time. . .although it also kept me busy too--we had rice and cereal everywhere so I was cleaning quite a bit. . .oh well!  The things you do to keep your babes happy!

Abs is truly my daughter--just decided to lay down and enjoy the sunshine while we were at the park yesterday.  If the rest of us didn't want to run around I'm sure she would have fallen asleep, she was tired!

And their off!

This was that crazy day from above--I finally just had to throw them in the bath in the middle of the day to try to settle them down. . .It kinda worked for awhile.  :)

 

Life has been pretty dang great lately.  These two babes make me smile so much.  I treasure our weekends together as a family. . .always makes Sunday nights a bit depressing because I want more weekend!  This weekend Zach and I even got a date night in to The Metropolitan Grill.  The kids were excited to have our neighbor, Carol, watch them.  It always feels good driving away without crying kids!  These pics just make my heart want to burst. . .I love you little family!



My sweet babes. . .

Holy Moly I am a bad blogger!  I keep telling myself to get on and post but sometimes getting on my computer after working all day is the last thing I want to do and I post on FB so much that I don't want to just do all the same pics. . .but this is my journal, my baby books, our life. . .that I will not remember as well if I don't document so let's just jump into it!

Christmas this year was a blast since Abby was at the age of totally understanding "asking" for presents.  For quite some time leading up to Christmas I kept hearing about the gifts she "needed".  Her top picks were iPad and Big Buzz (Lightyear from Toy Story).  "We" got the iPad as a family gift and she hardly plays with it!  HA. . .I don't mind at all because watching her use her imagination is priceless!!!  As you can see--Ty did not like Santa. . .he did of course stare the cute elf down beforehand.  He LOVES the ladies.  I'm gonna have to teach him that just standing and staring will get awkward someday even if he is cute.  :)

These guys are so cute together!  Don't get me wrong--they have their moments of bugging each other but most of the time I love watching their interactions.  They enjoy chasing each other around the house and giggle the whole time and they dog pile/wrestle with each other and me or Zach and again, giggle all the time. 

Just out for din one night at our fave pizza place in Woody--Station Pizzeria.  They let Abs play with dough--I think she has a crush on one of the pizza chefs. . .she gets all silly and shy around him.  Makes me laugh every time.

 Abs and I have talked a lot about different emotions and the faces that go with them. . .this is her "happy" face!  Oh, and this is Hussey Family Christmas trip to Alderbrook Resort & Spa in one of the cottages. . .LOVE being there during the holidays--so festive!

Ty DID NOT want anything to do with Santa yet again so Big Sis took care of him.  Gosh, I love these guys.

One of our family night outs to Bellevue for Snowflake Lane and dinner.  My fam looks a little "zoned out" in this pic. . .I think everyone was a little overwhelmed by all the entertainment and people!

 Another night at the Pizzeria!  Just hugs and kisses galore.

New Year's Eve this year was perfect!  We hit up Matthew's Winery for a quick wine taste before going out to din and then home to celebrate w/ the Eastcoast.  This is my little Tin Man.

Abs loves doctors and dentists.  I can't even threaten her with "getting hurt so bad she'll have to go to the hospital" because she WANTS to go!  Love that her little sidekick has to be right there checking everything out too. 

So this shot was taken LATE at night after Ty would not settle down and go to bed.  He was on serious CRACK and I just had to give up and let him release some of the energy. He literally ran in circles laughing and shook his head all around.  I don't know what was up. ..but it sure made me laugh.  He seriously thinks he is SOOO funny  all. the. time.  He is always trying to figure out new ways to make us laugh.

Some little 3 year old is totally potty trained. . .she wears her panties all day and puts a diap on for bed time only.  It was a piece of cake this go around. .. we introduced it to her a while ago and she did good but had a few accidents and then only wanted to wear a diaper and I was not in the mood to push it.. .so glad I didn't cuz she "gets it" this go around and is doing great!  Just rolls w/ the unds in her buns!  love it.

With the holidays behind us, we've had time to just hang out on the weekends as a fam and I absolutely love it.  We are so busy during the week that having no real plans on a weekend makes me sooo happy.  We always just go with the flow and it ends up being the best. . .of course makes me hate Sunday nights and Mondays but WOW do I LOVE Saturday mornings!!!!  My little fam just makes me so happy.  Things are getting a little less crazy, the kids are at such fun ages and Zach and I actually are getting some date nights in.  We still have ups and downs, challenges and stresses here and again but all in all we laugh and smile a lot. 

Today we did a little Valentine art project.  I meant to have it be MUCH smaller than this but the paint got a little out of control and I just had to "let it go".  I'm sooo glad I did--I love what Abby (and Ty) produced!

Tonight these two crazy kiddos were super hyper after bath.  Ty is sooo excited that he can now climb on furniture and jump so of course his older sister had to join in.  Just jumpin around buck A naked. . .kids have the life for sure!

I just had to post these squishy buns and thighs.  Ty is my little tank--cracks me up.  He just runs around chest and tum out first all the time!  (all the clothes in the background are clean--thought the kiddos would help me fold them, not so much!)  BTW--will laundry ever end??? (picture deleted)

And this is how the night with my babes ended. . .snuggled up listening to stories.  Well, Abs stayed up and used her chair as a slide for a bit after this but for the most part they both settled down after their naked jumping.  Before Ty goes to bed I always take him over to Abs and Dad to get kisses and Abby always kisses him and rubs his head, then kisses me and rubs my head and makes me rub her head too (and Dad's).  I don't know how the head rubbing started but I think its pretty cute--we have to do it when we drop her off at school too.  :)  I made the mistake of jumping up into Zach's arms one morning and hugged and kissed him good bye for work. . .I think Abby was just trying to give him a handshake or something so now she likes us to do that every morning as well.  HA

There you go--a quick recap of our life these past few months. . .I promise I will try to be better about updating.  Ty is my little mover and Abs is my little talker. . .well I guess they both move and talk although Ty's talking is more cave man style yelling which then irritates his sister cuz it hurts her ears.  He sure does think he's funny though.  Abby talks and talks and talks and everything she says makes me just want to hang out with her more (well most of the time) because she is so smart and has such an imagination and HUGE sense of humor.  Cheers to the month of LOVE--I love you all but most of all I LOVE MY FAMILY!!!