Kids Clothes

So I've updated the kids' clothing size information since they both seem like they've grown.  Most of the 18-24 months stuff still fits Johnny, they're just beginning to show signs of snugness and almost all of that stuff is summer weight so he will need more stuff when the weather cools down which seems like it will be a while before that happens.  Probably the more pressing need will be getting Holiday set with school clothes.  She has a lot of sleeveless dresses which some of those we'll be able to at least put a shirt underneath it, but Holly really hates to wear layers.  Dresses with short sleeves will work as will long sleeves when the weather is really chilly.  She has a jacket that she can start out the school year with but will need a coat when the time comes.  I still need to go through both of their clothes and shoes to determine what else they might need.

Swim time pictures and the Highland Games

At the wading pool at Van Asselt in Seattle.

Holly did lots of running around.

And splashing.

Johnny liked Holly's hat.

He was well protected from the sun.

Johnny liked the wading pool too.

Little glamour shot.

Checking out the playground.

Little explorer baby.

Lots of fun.

In other news, we went to the Scottish Highland Games this weekend out in Enumclaw.  It's been a while since I've been out that way.  We passed my high school in Auburn and the grade school I went to 2nd-4th grade in Enumclaw on the way there.  We actually didn't see much of the games themselves because the stands were so crowded.  But we did see the parade of clans followed by the dogs.  Saw a little music and dancing, dog agility tests and BAGPIPES!  I had bagpipes in my head all day, even after we got home I just couldn't unhear them.  It was good weather and fairly sunny but we were prepared with sunscreen and hats.  I also had a stash of apple juice for the kids so no one would be getting dehydrated.  Johnny liked the kennel area because the dirt floor had such a fine quality of dirt that it would poof up in clouds when he did a little stomp dance.  Holiday seemed really interested in the harp playing.  Jet and David had themselves some Scottish brew while my Mom and I cruised the grounds with the kids, even got Holiday's face painted.  I got a Clan Anderson t-shirt that I'm pretty happy about (because it fits right).  I realize I married into the name Anderson but it's not like I don't have any Scottish in me.  My maternal grandmother's maiden name was MacSpadden but the MacSpaddens weren't the head of the clan, the MacClean's were.  I figure I sign my checks 'Anderson' and that justified wearing the T-shirt.  I'm pretty much a Euro-mutt with a dash of American Indian when we're talking heritage anyway, there's just specific pieces of my family history that I know about better than the other parts.

What else...oh yes...there's a particular little boy named Johnny that figured out how to shake his head 'no' if he doesn't want something.  He's also quite skilled at feeding himself with a spoon. He has further discovered that he likes the little weiners in the baby food section.  He's a 'meatasaruous'.  Liked bits of sausage and hamburger too.

Summer colds...walking...teething...and spiders OH MY!

Johnny, Holiday and David got through some summer colds last week.  I was miraculously unscathed this time (vitamin D/zinc).  I did stay home with Johnny on Friday because he had a fever and he barfed all over me the night before.  He bounced back pretty quickly as we were able to attend a picnic with our daycare on Saturday at Carkeek park.  The kids really liked the playground, although Holiday was wary of the big tunnel in the shape of a fish.  It's formed like a slide and tube at the same time.  Holiday wouldn't go down it with me, said, "The fish is going to eat me."  Who wants to be eaten by a giant fish only to get pooped out the other end?  I guess not.  A week before that Johnny started really to walk on his own, about 2 months earlier than Holly did.  So now he walks more than he crawls.  He can get going fast if he's after something he wants like a snack, a particular toy or if he sees that someone forgot to close the kitchen baby gate.  He likes to hold on to my finger and walk me around the house, the back yard and the store.  He's tall enough for his age (and I'm short enough for mine) that neither one of us is straining so he walks around just fine.  He likes to take my cell phone and put it to his head like he's going to talk on it.  Does the same with computer mice, they kind of do look like cell phones.  Now he's teething something fierce right now running a low fever every day.  The Tylenol brings it back down but it wears off and it obviously hurts him he's crying so hard.  If anyone heard either of our kids cry as babies you'll know that's hard to pretend it's not happening.  Both upper molars are cut and growing in as is one of the lower molars.  The other lower molar and both upper canines are majorly budding and will pop any day.  I'd imagine the lower canines are not far off.  So basically he's getting another 8 teeth all at once, no wonder he's screaming.  Holiday is just talking our ears off these days.  It's not just all the questions but she's compelled to interject in any conversation that David and I have, usually something completely unrelated.  Especially when we're in the car.  She'll start Pre-K in September and my goodness, if there ever was a kid ready to start school, it's Holiday.  She's been enjoying reading books from the library so much that she scored a free book of her choice.  She absolutely insisted, and I swear to God I had nothing to do with this, she chose a kids national geographic on spiders.  David couldn't convince to pick something else.  It's really funny since when I was 4 years old I started an obsession with spiders, that was when I saw my dad's buddy's tarantula and it made a really huge impact on me.  I drew spiders with a hundred legs on them (they had smiley faces too).  Now Holiday is reading that spider book every day and the girl is so afraid of spiders, bugs and bees.  She screams if anything comes near.  But she loves that spider book...go figure.

More pictures from around the house and the Klickitat trip

Ta-da! It's Holiday.

Couple of bros chillaxing while drinking beverages.

The sandbox at Aunt Karen's.

More playing outside.

Mommy enjoying the garden.

The third cousins taking in some cartoons.

No, no Tegan...that's Johnny's food.

Holly and her little green bucket.

More chillax time with Daddy.

Some more of Aunt Karen's repurposed satelite dish garden.

Front of Uncle Mike's shop with the mural he painted.

The bar inside the shop.

David would love to have a shop like this.

This is in the newer part of the shop.

Aunt Karen has her own area back there for her projects.

Couple of horses behind the shop.

Uncle Mike, Johnny, and David.

More satelite dish gardens.

Swimming!

It's fun!

Uncle Mike carved that front bumper to make it look like that.

And he painted this mural as well.

More family gathering time.

Formal Pictures of the Kids

Holiday (4 years) John (1 year)

This is my birthday card from Holiday (she got some help from her daycare providers).

Here's Holiday in her ballet best...

...and her whole class.

Hot off the press...we picked up the ballet pictures last night.  Everyone has been doing good.  Holiday doesn't have daytime accidents anymore, just an occasional 'whoops, my dress dipped into the toilet' little happenings.  But that's more like a wardrobe malfunction than an accident.  She typically makes it through nap time no problem, and she's been doing better at nighttime.  We still get her up before we go to bed and have her go one more time just so her little bladder can make it through the night.  Then hopefully we can get her up in the morning before she needs to go.  That's been the tricky part, probably because she doesn't seem to want to leave her room on her own accord, she prefers an escort out.  We keep trying to tell her that if she needs to go potty it's okay for her to get up and go.  We might just need to keep getting up early on the weekends to prevent accidents until she gets that.  Johnny's been taking more steps on his own.  He likes taking us by the hand and leading us all over the house.  He could probably do it on his own (in his own drunken sailor fashion) he just doesn't believe he can do it yet...so close.  My milk seems to be winding down quite a bit so we'll see how long it takes to get John fully onto to cow's milk.  He's starting to dislike baby food and wants more real food and does really well at feeding himself with a spoon.  He still gets really messy but most of it goes where it supposed to.  I try to get him really full before he goes to bed so he sleeps through the night better.

Weekend in Klickitat - John Wayne Anderson's Memorial

Johnny at David's Aunt Karen's house.

Holiday on Aunt Karen's swingset.

There's Daddy on a swing.

Close up of Johnny and I.

All four of us.

Holiday claimed that little green bucket right away.

Daddy doing the hula hoop thing with Johnny watching.

Left to right:  Uncle Kelly, Uncle George, Cousin Tony, David, Tony's son Drew, and Cousin Timmy.

I'm in the pool with our kids and Tony's kids, Drew and Aida.

Holiday wore that swimsuit all day long.

Johnny liked the pool too, but it was pretty dirty at this point.

I think I was trying to keep the peace with all the splashing going on.

Little shark boy.

David with Aunt Karen behind him.

Portrait of David's dad, John Wayne Anderson, the reason we were all gathered there, for his memorial.

This was the place for the scattering of John's ashes.  David and I went with all his aunts and uncles.

It was still difficult for everyone even after 5 years.

Everyone going back to the cars.

Back to Aunt Karen's were the youngest generation of the family are playing on the swingset or the sand box.

It was a bittersweet family gathering.  It was really good seeing everyone again and meeting those for the first time too.