Kidz Love Soccer!

Bailey's final soccer class for this session was today and the kids all got certificates congratulating them on a session of learning and, most importantly, fun. I think that it's important to note that Bailey surely did pursue the fun. She played soccer - but what she accomplished most was having fun. So much fun that I got a workout chasing after her and trying to get her to participate in the class activities. Occasionally she did. I wonder if this is how Mia Hamm started?!?!

The artist is the art

Performance art or not - discuss:

The Zoo - also known as Pic Overload

We joined half of the population of Seattle (I swear, the parking was just horrible) at the Woodland Park Zoo yesterday. Bailey really enjoyed seeing the animals and if she knew the sound that any animal made she would make it as soon as she saw the animal - the cutest was when she saw the lion. It was fairly quiet in the little lion viewing area and then suddenly this little voice yelled, "ROAR" and was about as ferocious as a tiny kitten. There was a large burst of laughter and, "how cute" comments after. Her favorite animal to see? This one was surprising - she kept wanting to go back to see the Pythons (Snakes mommy - Sssssssss). Here are pics - I just couldn't whittle down any further so this officially qualifies as a pic overload.

Need I Say More?!?!

Happy Birthday Johnny

Yesterday, Bailey got to go visit her rock star cousin for his 6th birthday party! Is he really a rock star, you may ask? Well, as far as Bailey's concerned the answer is YES!! She gets so excited when she sees him and talks about him for days after hanging out with him. It's kind of funny because once they're together they don't actually pay much attention to one another, but as soon as she knows that we're going to Johnny's house or he's coming to play - she just keeps talking about him (and sometimes about his sister "Baby Maisy" and his mom "tree tree").

A funny side note about Baby Maisy and Bailey. Baby Maisy was born just 4 days before Christmas. There's another "famous" baby that we talk about at Christmas - the Baby Jesus. Well, when Bailey saw Maisy shortly after Christmas I was holding them and said, "Bailey, look who it is." And she said, "A Baby Jesus". For a while, Bailey was pretty confused. There were three new babies in her life (Baby Maisy, Baby Henry and Evan) and the Baby Jesus - she just never knew which baby was around.

Back to Johnny's party - she had a blast. We took the bounce house down and she jumped around with Johnny (Cassidy and Maisy tested the house out as well). She also showed Maisy how to play with the flowers on the Sesame Street mat, and saw her Momo. All in all it was a great day - until bedtime - she was a little wound up and had trouble calming down for the night. But, it was worth it for all of the fun that she had. You can see all of the pictures here. I've posted a few of the best to highlight the day below.

If Parenting Magazine knew what they were doing...

...we'd see these covers on the newstand:
Your turn Make a Cover

Summer's Coming!!

We woke this morning not to the expected showers and rain, but a beautiful sunny day!! So, we went to the Kirkland waterfront and played in Lake Washington. Bailey LOVED it and especially enjoyed her first ice cream cone - and if any dogs had been smart they'd have been trailing her because she kept holding it upside down as she walked along and it dripped everywhere!!

Sinuses Sinuses

Well, the ear infection was fun - and is gone. So, what next? A sinus infection! Bailey went back to the doctor yesterday (after finishing the course of antibiotics) and has a sinus infection. She seems to have a bit of a headache as she tells me about her boo boo. She's also running a little fever. The poor peanut is really taking it in the shorts right now!! In spite of it all, she is still having a great time playing and bouncing. We had playgroup today and she ran a couple of miles at the indoor playground. It was great to see our buddies and to burn off some energy - she's rolling into her third hour of a nap right now - Go Bailey Go!!

And - just because - here are some scans of some of her art work!!

Aunt Bea, is that you?

Probably my favorite relative in my adult years was my Great Aunt Bea. She was a very colorful character (ask me about her comment about a local weather man and you'll see what I mean - it's not fit for print and was said when she was 91 years old). For the most part she lived life in rewind and replay. She would tell you the same thing over and over about her day, "I tell you Kim, some days you wouldn't know if I was coming or going" as she looked over the disarray that was her home. She'd tell you about the events in the neighborhood (if you were a troubled kid you did NOT want to live in her neighborhood because she was the unofficial neighborhood watch and nothing got by her. She'd turned in drug dealers down the street (the police confirmed the raid for her) and burglaries at neighbors' homes. I heard all about her days on the election board and her good friends from there. She told me about her days working for the ferry and nights going dancing. And, when she was in nursing homes, she'd tell you just how much she hated it (I can't repeat those words either - it would go like this, "this is the sh***").

As crotchety as she could get, I just adored her. I had such a lovely time with her and absolutely enjoyed every visit. She never was in the greatest health, that I can remember. She had horrible rheumatoid arthritis, but things got worse for her on Christmas Day in 2003. Adam and I were set to visit her for lunch and she called to tell us that we shouldn't come because she thought that she was going to go to the hospital instead - her back hurt. Well, we just went over earlier, of course, and spent our first Christmas as a married couple at Stevens Hospital with her. She had compression fractures in her back from osteoporosis - it was terribly painful for her. The hospital would only keep her for one night, so she came to stay with us for a couple of nights while next steps were determined as it was obvious that she would not be able to take care of herself.

That time that she stayed with us, while a little stressful, was really special. I DVR'd a few Lawrence Welk episodes (she LOVED Lawrence Welk, "they just don't make entertainers like they used to, Kim") and I played the piano while she "conducted" and sang along (I got out a few books with hits from the 30's, 40's, and 50's). Often she had no idea where she was or who I was, (the middle of the night bathroom visits made for interesting topics as she tried to figure out who I was and why I'd taken her in to care for her - she thought that we were strangers who just took in the elderly and got clients from a list with the state - I went through the entire family tree to try to jog her memory, but no success). We did get her placed in a home and she spent her remaining days there (and she HATED it - it just wasn't home).

A funny little story - I was visiting with her and some of the ladies in her home one afternoon and they were talking about how awful the place was (she was a real instigator). She started telling them about the last home that she was in and how wonderful it was. I was perplexed as I'd spent time with her each time that she'd needed extra care and she HATED every place. She then went on to describe - yup, MY HOME!! She told the ladies about the big Television, and Lawrence Welk, and the kitties (we had 2 at the time), and the food was good (I went and purchased those hungry man dinners for her), and they always took such great care of you and you could watch the country music station all day long (Adam still insists that the sound equipment in the house is gummed up for good as a result of her visit - smile). I smiled - at least her favorite care facility was the Dare residence!!

Anyway - Aunt Bea died about 6 months before Bailey was born. She was nearing the end when we found out that we were pregnant and we went to tell her. Ironically, Bailey was due on Aunt Bea's birthday (Halloween). While Aunt Bea often didn't know where she was or who anyone else was by then, every time that I visited after that she would remark, "and you're having a baby, Kim, and it's due on my birthday. Well, what do you think of that? Have you ever heard of such a thing?" Of course Bailey never met Aunt Bea - but, I think that she has a little Aunt Bea in her. One thing that you never saw Aunt Bea without is a pair of gloves (with the exception of every picture that I have of her - which made me laugh). Her arthritis was so awful and the gloves helped keep her joints warm. Bailey LOVES wearing her "Grums" (as she calls gloves) and can frequently be found wearing them around.





The last time that I saw Aunt Bea alive was the Saturday before she died (she died the day after Easter). Adam and I went to visit her and it was the first time that she didn't recognize me. I knew that was the last time that I'd see her alive. She was mumbling a lot and kept talking about a party. One thing that she always said was that in her next life she was going to get her driver's license. I think that when she went to that party, she drove!! I miss you Aunt Bea - oh, and thank you for passing the fashion tip to Bailey!!