Nana the rockstar

If you read my blog, you know i've got mad love for Nana. She was in town for pretty much the whole month of July and it was a blast. I've already posted about a lot of our adventures in the various bucket list posts, but I don't want to forget the little moments that are just as fun.

Dinner out for my little bro's 25th!

This woman always makes time for each grand kid. They all have such a special relationship with her.

A fun wacky watermelon day complete with watermelon bowling, watermelon painting, and a frozen watermelon drink!

Gigi & Grandpa stopped by Seattle on their way to Idaho and let us try out their stand up paddle board. 

Nana took the "old" kids on a fun ferry ride to Kingston

One of many park visits

Colter + tire swing = love

Nana took Colter to Edmonds for a special date. They had a blast running around, throwing rocks, watching trains, and finishing off at Old MacDonalds.

We had an adults only game night. Mark is slightly enthusiastic about the game perugo which he happens to win every single time.

Another fun day.. this time frozen treat fun day! Popsicles, spraying cones with shaving cream with a water gun, creating erupting ice cream cones, and painting with fizzy "popsicles."

A definite highlight of the summer was James getting baptized. It was so so special to watch him get dunked and thinking about being in the room when he was born 5 short years ago.

More Nana love

I can't say enough what a gift from God this woman is.

What's going on with those Crowl kids?

It's been a while since i've done a post about our kiddos and what they're up to these days.

Colter is becoming a little boy right before our eyes. One of the biggest changes i've noticed recently is that he's starting to notice and enjoy interacting with other kids. He has always been pretty independent in social settings- not really caring what other kids are doing. Just in the past few weeks, it's been fun to see him try to engage with other kids and play with them.

His language is developing more and more. We are at such a fun stage where out of nowhere he'll say the funniest things. One day he was hiding his nordy doll in the crack in the couch and he said
"and he hid in the darkness for three whole days." (bringing in a little Jonah & the whale story). He will randomly quote books throughout the day  "18, 19, 20. Numbers Numbers they are plenty." It is so crazy how much he picks up from what we tell him. It's bizarre to have a little mini me running around saying things I say all the time like "that will be fun!' "you did it! Good job!"

Another fun development is his relationship with Madison. He continues to pretty much ignore her and he very rarely interacts with her, but his stage of hitting and seeming to be bothered by her is over. He actually seems to like having her around how and will often ask if Madison is coming with us. When we go in to get Madison in the morning, he almost always runs into the room first and lays his head on her belly and says "get her up!" He loves to turn on the music on her various toys and will sometimes bring her toys to play with.

                                 

We've recently noticed a lot of changes in his physical ability. He's becoming much more daring and adventurous and he's FAST! I don't know when it happened, but now I actually have to work to keep up with him when he runs. He's taking on challenges on the playground that freak me out like randomly deciding to hang on monkey bars, or trying to climb up tall poles. It's really hard for me to find the balance of always wanting to protect him from harm, but letting him have some good challenges too.

                                  

He has also entered the stage of wanting to do everything by himself. He never wants to hold my hand when we're crossing the street, and he most definitely doesn't want me holding on to him in order to prevent him from falling in water. He always wants to climb into the car seat by himself and buckle his seat belt.. even when it's 120 degrees in the car and Madison is crying. He likes trying to put his crocs on by himself, and when we cook together, he gets so upset if I try to pour or mix things with him.

                             
His favorite things are trains, going to Edmonds, getting swung around in a blanket by daddy, playing "concert", cooking pretend food in his play house, "driving" in mama's car, going to the park and pretending to sell tickets, cooking, looking at pictures of signal lights on the computer while listening to "go go Thomas", James & Saisha, and eating. This child wants to eat all. the. time. Boy do I love this little guy.

                                    

Our sweet little Madison is growing up too fast. She continues to be a delight in her temperament and almost always offers up a smile. She is in that perfect chubby baby stage, with rolls all over her legs, rubberband wrists, and dimples on her knuckles.

                                  

                                   

She is grabbing her feet and can stick them all the way up into her mouth. She seems to see pretty far and is always looking to connect with someone. She loves people.  She laughs easily- blowing on her belly & legs, making funny noises, lifting her high in the air are almost all ways to get her going.

                                 

On the 4th of July, right before I put her to bed I said "all right Madison, how about a 4th of July roll over?" Wouldn't you know it, but I put her down, and she rolled over from her tummy to her back! We were all laughing so hard. She's been really close to rolling from her back to her stomach for a while, and she finally did it when Gigi, Nana, Grandpa & daddy were here!

Her favorite things to do are play in the jumperoo, suck on burp clothes, toys, clothes- whatever. She also loves her play mat, especially the mermaid toy hanging down. Most of all, she wants to be talked to or look in the mirror.

We love our little sunshine.

                                  

Summer bucket list round 3

This is my favorite summer yet! We have been having SO much fun! I don't know if it's Colter's age, but it is such a blast trying new things with him.

Jetty Island. I haven't been here for probably 5 years, and when we went the first time it was cold and super windy. We ended up with a spectacular beach day. I couldn't believe how brave Colter was in the water. There were some small waves that would splash up in his face, and he could have cared less! Perfect sand for digging huge holes, lots of sticks for drumming on logs, and relatively warm water! A bonus is the 5 minute boat ride to the island. We will be back here time and time again!

Surrey ride in West Seattle. We scored a groupon for a rental shop in West Seattle and just happened to decide to go on the day the seafair pirates were landing on Alki. This was such a fun, kid friendly, family activity. Little kids can ride in the front, and a single surrey can fit 3 adults on a bench seat. We had a blast strolling up and down Alki beach.

Tea house with mom & Jess. Another great groupon score. I've been to the Elizabeth & Alexander tea house several times. Their desserts are out of this world- especially the strawberry shortcake. I'm not a huge tea drinker, but with a little sugar and milk, anything tastes better! Such a fun place to do something a little out of the ordinary!

Animal petting park. We tried out a new park in Redmond called   Farrel McWhirter Farm. What a fun find! Totally free and perfect for small kids. There was a farm area with pigs, goats, bunnies, chickens & horses. After checking out the animals, we walked on a wooded trail to a creek where the kids played with rocks & sticks. Then we discovered a huge grassy area with tire swings. I noticed that there are lots of trails around the park to explore. We'll definitely be back. http://www.redmond.gov/ParksRecreation/Farrel-McWhirterFarmPark

Karaoke at Cromwell Park. We weren't sure what to expect when a parks & recreation department puts on a karaoke night at a park. It was awesome. Mostly families in the crowd, with the exception of a trio of guys with long permed hair wearing shades that made it feel like woodstock when they sang. We had a blast. It was so popular, we only had time for one song, but now we know to get there early and get our requests in!

Tugboat story time. I've been wanting to try out this adventure for a while, but wasn't sure if I was brave enough to take both kids on board a tug boat by myself. Luckily Mary & Greg were in town for a couple of days on their way to Idaho, and came with us. Colter listened to about 1/2 of one book before getting up to explore the boat which is what I expected. There was so many fun things to check out- the engine house, the captains quarters, etc. We also went on board another boat that is used as a farmer's market during the summer. After exploring the boats, we had a lunch on the steps of the MOHAI, and explored the beautiful grounds. Lake Union park is fantastic!

Lynnwood pool. Took the little lady & Colter to the pool. Too crazy to take pictures. Little lady wasn't too into the water yet, and Colter was not a fan of getting sprayed in the face by random shooting guns. He did love the hot tub however!

Amtrak up to Bellingham. What an incredible, magical adventure. Brave Nana, armed with 1,000 different snack options, took the three oldest grandkids on a gorgeous Amtrak ride up to Bellingham. We drove up and met them at the station and then ventured to Whatcom Falls State Park for some exploration time. We can't wait to go back to that park again!!! Gorgeous trails, rushing water, endless exploration. We capped off the day with lunch at Boomer's drive in. What an incredible day!