Water Weenie!

I heard the chair scraping across the floor and somewhat expected to find her washing dishes. However, I rounded the corner and found her in the sink. In her clothes. And shoes. She's a climber!

Playing in the water is the only thing that made her happy tonight. She LOVES it!

We moved to the bathroom sink next for more fully-clothed play. You'd think the bath wouldn't be needed, but we did that, too.
She must be part fish!!

Kitchen Helpers

Bryan had some helpers in the kitchen today!
Shannon did some dishes.

This chore in no way makes up for her deliberate and fairly constant mess making in the kitchen, but it was a nice gesture.

The kids then helped Bryan make some pizza tonight, aprons and all.

This pizza comes with a special topping, courtesy of runny noses. Should be tasty!

Sick Babies

The kids are under the weather. We were healthy through much of the weekend, but got a cough Saturday night. We now have two puny kiddos, copious snot, chapped faces, fevers and ick.

However, before they got sick, we had some fun outdoor time. Mitch is loving his new bike! He "lays it down" like Lucky Chuck on purpose sometimes, but usually keeps it upright. He wears his glasses and helmet and thinks he's Mr. Cool. 

As usual, Shannon likes to keep tabs on her brother. This time she watched from the wagon, happily bundled and alert.

More Visitors!

We had more visitors this weekend while Bryan was at his baseball clinic in Portland. Alisa, Ben and Kaitlyn came out for an overnight. Kaitlyn is a month-ish older than Shannon and it was fun to see them together again.

We went to the park and the girls got a ride in the wagon.

Mitch rode his new bike there and he's getting really good! It is a balance bike, which lacks pedals. The idea is that the rider develops his balance and will then be able to skip training wheels and move straight to a regular bike. Plus, crashes are less likely since his feet are the power, a la Fred Flinstone.

MBJ soaked up the attention of Ben and Alisa. Ben pushed him in the swings and Alisa was kind enough to do art with him. The glitter glue was a major hit!

Thanks for coming, Waibels!

As a side note, Shannon has now officially learned the word "no". It was blissful before now - why did I not appreciate it more? She LOVES to say no, repeatedly, and seems to relish a negative response to each "yes" I give. Lovely.

Weekend Visitors

We had some visitors here this weekend and enjoyed our time together!

Nina came and played, read books, went on bike rides, fed us, and was lots of fun to have around.

Shannon can even say her name now!

The great grandparents Pobst came by for a visit today on their way to Sun Valley. Shannon got some car time with Grampa and some tickles from Gram.

And here is a shot of her new dress. She looks like a pixie gypsy and I love it! 

A New Year in Bend

After a wonderful week with the Johnsons-LaVines in Ephrata and with some Allstots-Hogues-Anthonys in Spokane, we went south to meet up with more Allstots in Bend. A great time was had by all - in spite of poor health!