Zoo Day!

In an effort to make the most of a "stay-home" Memorial Day weekend we decided to do things around the Puget Sound. Saturday, we spent most of the day outside cleaning up the yard, washing cars and playing outside.

Sunday (despite dreary skies) we packed a picnic lunch and all the necessary clothing for our outdoor adventure at the Woodland Park Zoo. Aaden had never been to a zoo, so he wasn't quite sure what we were up to. Thankfully the rain held and it was actually a nice-ish day. The lines were LONG to get in, but persistence paid off and we had a great time.

He enjoyed seeing the monkeys "with their blankets", the sloth bear "who needs a haircut", the Tapir "kind of like a big mouse, elephant" and the arctic fox "looks like Emma"! He hadn't been in his stroller in over a year, but we brought it along and it made the trip so much easier. He was able to walk the shorter distances between exhibits but didn't have to hoof it from one end of the zoo to the other or back to the car (parked a number of blocks away from the zoo to save the $5.25 parking fee)!

By 2:30pm he looked up and said "time to go home for a nap". And we happily obliged. At dinner we chatted about our favorite animals, Kristofer enjoyed the brown bear, Aaden the tapir and I loved the little black monkey that came up to the exhibit window and sat and stared Aaden in the face with his arms crossed. So sweet.

Enjoy a few pictures from the day.

 Patiently waiting in line

 The zoo!

 Sloth bear "needs a haircut"

 Mesmerized!

 Orangutans with their "blankies"

 The monkey that caught Aaden's eye...

 and came to sit in front of him at the window for a staring contest.

 What the!?

 The tapir "elephant, mouse"

 Brown bear

"Kind of like Emma"!

"Look Mom"!

I grabbed the camera today to look at some pictures and couldn't resist snapping a few of Aaden. He was drawing "triangles"! He's getting really good at his shapes, letters and numbers. If you notice in picture two there is a pretty good triangle drawn on the fork!

Baby Bump Update ~ 6

I've been slacking on the bump picture postings. Here is this weeks...nothing new to report other than this boy is a mover and shaker. We all love watching him dance in my belly, even Aaden!

Cousins at Play

My cousin Joanne and her son, Carter met us at Bothell Landing today to enjoy the sun. We both packed picnic lunches and arrived ready to enjoy the sun. Both boys enjoyed swinging, going down the slide and watching the ducks/geese on the river. The Mamas enjoyed catching up on our stroll in the 70+ weather.

Sandman

Aaden has made great use of his beloved sandbox this week. The first thing he asks to do in the morning is "go outside, sandbox". I try and make breakfast/getting dressed a quick process by giving him a smoothie full of his normal breakfast items and changing him while he sips. This cuts the process from 30-45 minutes to 5! An efficient Mama!

His favorite thing to do is make "hot coffee". I don't drink coffee, so he always shares "hot tea" with me and makes himself a cup of coffee like his dad.

I love this series of pictures I took capturing him making his coffee/tea.

 Just getting settled

 Here's your tea Mama

Anyone else need any?

 Hang on while I get 'er filled up!

 Ready!

Special Blocks

Kristofer's grandpa has been taking wood working classes and as a result has a lot of extra wood laying around. He brought Aaden a bunch of beautiful oak blocks from his leftover scraps.

I think they are a hit!

Mother's Day

Sunday, my sweet husband went all out. He and my father spent the morning cooking and cleaning while my mom and I took Aaden to church and Starbucks. Upon our arrival home the house was spotless and there was a beautiful brunch spread. Shortly after that most of Kristofer's immediate/extended family arrived as did my brother and sister-in-law. Everyone contributed to the beautiful Mother's Day feast. It was so nice not to have to worry about a detail! The sun came out and we enjoyed {homemade chicken pot pie, quiche, fruit salad, spinach salad, homemade bread and sandwiches and fresh rhubarb crisp}. Perfect!

We had a lovely time with the family and all of the Mom's felt very loved. After everyone left, Kristofer worked until the house was once again spotless then took Aaden and I out for dinner. So thankful for all of his hard work. I felt loved and appreciated!! {Even got a gift certificate for a pedicure from him}!

 K, slaved over the crust and made a special chicken pot pie! 

 Delicious veggie/ham quiche!

 The Moms

 My Mom's children

 The Bartsch Family

3 going on 4

Happy Birthday Jonner!

My little {big} brother turned 26 on Saturday. We went down to Seattle to his family party hosted by his lovely wife, Megan. Aaden LOVES birthdays and has perfected the happy birthday song. He also insists that all good birthdays include blowing out candles on cake {or in this case pie}. He was so excited that the night before he dug out some candles to practice blowing them out.

In honor of Jonner getting older, here are a few "aged" photos from the evening!

"Ooooh a striped polo"!

Captain Jonathan

Funny Norman and his bear, enjoying the evening

"Happy Birthday to you"!

Trying on Unkie's new loafers

Arlington Airport Appreciation Day

Aaden's Uncle Tim worked long on hard on a fun airport appreciation day. We went up Saturday to partake in the event in Arlington. There were county services there including fire trucks and medical helicopters, face painting and airplane rides. Unfortunately the weather was less than optimal and by the time we got there late in the morning the sky opened up. Aaden was not to be deterred though. He clomped around in his rain coat looking at everything. We walked out on the tarmac to look at all the small planes, he was so excited. {Just what Uncle Tim hoped for}!

The only picture I snapped was in the midst of a hail storm, I crouched under the wing of a plane and took a photo of my son {out in the elements} showing his Papa all the planes. Pure sweetness!

Kudos to Tim for keeping a smile on his face the whole day and making sure everyone had a great time!

Baby Bump Update ~ 5

Hoping for a bit of sunshine for Mother's Day. Hard to believe we're into May, I'm 21 weeks and still wearing a sweater!

Oh Boy!

A late night celebration with my parents...with a little cake!

Let's go fly a kite...

My dad {Papa} was at outdoor school all week, but on Saturday he took the train/bus to Everett. Aaden anticipated him coming all week, talking non-stop of Papa on the train/bus. We promised that once we picked up Papa that he would take Aaden kite flying with his Daddy. Saturday made good on kite flying weather. My brother and his wife joined us for lunch and a great session of kite flying on the bluffs of Everett.

 He got to "touch" the train!

Tulip Festival

Aaden and I were spoiled this past week having my mom {Nana} with us for the whole week. On Tuesday, we took the break in weather as an opportunity to run up to Mount Vernon for the Tulip Festival. It was a perfect day and hardly anyone was out. We had lunch at a little Italian restaurant in town and then headed to Tulip Town. Aaden was immediately struck by the GIANT kites out in the fields. While he thought the tulips were pretty, the kites took the cake. We wandered the fields for a bit and then he spent time standing in awe of the kites.

We then grabbed a little ice cream and Nana bought Aaden his very own kite from the gift shop. He was so ecstatic that he wouldn't let himself drift to sleep on the hour long trip home, instead holding {for dear life} onto his kite and smiling.

Note, that in every picture he is looking at the kites off in the distance.