Happy birthday Price!

Price's party weekend officially started with a birthday donut in his birthday suit. Grandma came up on Sat morning, his actual birthday to surprise him. She brought goodies and gifts and had a great day with grandma so daddy and mommy could go to their first husky game of the season.

Sunday at 3:00 was his birthday party. His only request was a blue cake. Here is what he got!

Price had so much fun opening presents! He sure got some nice things from his friends. Sissy had fun helping too!

Mmmm....a $20 dollar bill. What will he buy??

 Look at that game face...

One gift he was really excited about was this book from Grammi and Grampy: the Water Hole. He loves finding the hidden animals in the pictures. 

Sissy and cousin Ko Ko had a ball! 

And of course the afternoon was filled with lots of football! 

One of his favorite gifts was a dinosaur set that he could paint himself. I loves it! Thanks Aunt Nancy! And thanks to her for taking such great pictures from the party. 

What a fun birthday! Bring on the 3's! 

My baby is 3!

My little big boy is 3 today! He is hands down my favorite little person on this earth. He has grown in so many ways, especially in this past year. When I think about everything it makes me that much more excited to see what the next few years bring. 

Price is kind of a late bloomer. He didn't walk until 14 months and didn't talk that much until close to 3. But boy, he is a smart one. He is beyond observant. He understands EVERYTHING and now is beginning to ask why about things. He is the kid who during circle singing time at school, doesn't sing or dance but looks at everyone else to make sure they are doing it correct. He is a perfectionist. His Grandma says his daddy was the same way at his age. He wants to do things right and will not do it until he masters it. 

Price is a sweetheart. One of the the most surprising things to me as his mom is seeing the love between him and his baby sister grow. It's precious.  He hugs and kisses her every morning and every night before bed. He thinks she is hysterical, laughing at her and egging her on to be her comical self. He takes care of her. Yesterday, Parker got stung by a bee on her thumb for the first time and he was first on the scene to try to comfort her and to investigate how the thumb looked and felt. When she cries, he runs and grabs her favorite truck or blanket to make her feel better. He loves his sister. That bond will always be there, that makes my heart happy.

Price is incredibly athletic. He can throw a spiral with his football so straight and fast I have a hard time catching it. He is obsessed with his UW husky helmet and loves to watch football with daddy. Sissy even gets in on the action and recovers his occasional fumbles. He loves to go up to daddy's football field at his school to watch the "big boys" play. One day, I do not doubt, he'll be a football player. He loves hitting baseballs, playing catcher, pitching from the mound, swinging at golf balls, playing tennis, shooting basketballs into his hoop, riding his bike and racing down our driveway. He loves to go on jogs with mommy and seeing how far he can run around Greenlake. His new thing that is cracking me up is, "mommy, exercise! What exercise?" He wants me to show him new exercises every day. Push-ups, mountain climbers, knee touches, you name it, he'll do them. He can do an "X, straight!" jumping jack better than my old 3rd-5th grade students! He amazes me with his drive to be active through sports. 

At the same time he still sits down and can read book after book with us. I love that. When he can finally read himself, look out. Kadin and I joke about that. He'll definitely be the kid who has a reading nook of his own in his room where he'll be spending his weekend mornings reading away. His book collection is quite large and expanding....

Probably my favorite thing about Price right now is how big of a lover he is. He now can say "luv you" back to us when we say we love him. He started off by telling me, "best friend mommy" but now everyone from daddy, to sissy to Melbourne our cat, or the baby slug he found on a rock the other day is his "best friend." It's adorable. 

With him being so affectionate and attached to us it was hard for me to send him off to school by himself 2 mornings a week. He seems so little and still a baby in so many ways to me. But after 3 school days, with minimal whimpering at first, he is doing awesome. The teachers say he loves it, no crying, is doing well. When I pick him up, the first words out of his mouth every time is: "REAL good day school" with a special emphasis on "real" so cute. I think he likes his independence a bit when he is at school. 

We sure love this little guy. His birthday party will be tomorrow with family and friends and all he requested was a "blue cake" so a blue, Seahawks cake it is! :) Grandma is coming over this morning to spend his birthday weekend with him and for Kadin and I to go to our first Husky game in the new stadium. Us parents even get perks on Price's birthday weekend! :) 

Happy birthday sweet Pricey, we love you!!!

Getting the Mojo back

This entry is all about me, the mom and trying to get my mojo back. It's starting. There are and will be speed bumps along the way but I think I'm at least on the path of "starting."

Price will be 3 this weekend and Parker just turned 15 months. The moment I decided I needed to make a change was a month ago. She just turned 14 months. I was sleep deprived, moody, my body ached when I woke up in the morning, my self esteem very low and my confidence near zero. I was sick of not having my usual Reenie energy that I've had my whole life. I was sick of going throughout my day feeling heavy and carrying around weight I knew my body was not suppose to have on its frame. I was sick of not feeling my usual endorphines I felt when I exercised hard. I was sick of a lot of things and I missed a lot of things. So a change needed to be made. 

I realized that Parker was no longer a newborn and even though I was, and am, still breast feeding, I knew I needed to start doing something for myself. I understood that some things, many things would still be present and frustrating, but I knew I could change one thing, and that one thing was exercise. I'm a personal trainer for God's sake. I work 3 mornings a week from 6-7am leading a hard core boot camp class for hard working ladies who want the same thing I do. I give them all I have. I motivate, educate and have a blast doing it. But I was not working out myself to the point I needed to to release the much needed endorphines and feel the way I wanted to feel. 

As soon as I was given the go ahead at my 6 week post C section appointment after Parker, I wanted to work out and work out routinely. But with everything that goes along with having 2 babies, I was never able to get into a consistent routine that needed to happen to see progress. I knew I only had one choice and that was to workout BEFORE my 6am class. And I needed help. I needed a partner in crime who would motivate me, push me, and hold me accountable. Even trainers need trainers. Everyone needs an extra push, especially this tired mom. So I reached out to a fellow worker outer and she agreed to meet me, 5am. First day was August 19th. On that first monday morning I got through it. I felt more energized to teach my class right after. It was awesome. After our workout, Brett, my partner, said, "what are you doing tomorrow?" I said, "oh, probably taking the kids in the stroller and going for a jog." and then she said, "why don't you have that be extra? meet me here at 5am and we'll do the ferry hill." "Hah?" is what I thought but "yes" is what I agreed to. Best decision ever. We work out 3 mornings a week in my exercise studio, half of the time lead by her husband, Bryan, a fellow trainer who works in the studio. And then Tuesday, Thursdays we go for a run. She is like me, if we are going to do it, we'll do it right, and hard. Hills are often very plentiful in our runs. It's amazing but it's VERY hard.

My alarm goes off at 4:15 and that is after I have gotten up once or twice with Parker. Yeah, I still feed her in the night and wouldn't change that for anything. I enjoy it, it gives her comfort and I'll do it for however long she wants. Well, I'll get back to you on that last statement. We'll re-evaluate that in a couple months:) Anyway, when my alarm goes off it's hard to wrap my mind around how much sleep I actually got or how long the rest of the family will be sleeping before they get up. But I have no other choice. If I decide to work out and have a consistent program, I have to do it at 5. No other options. So there is it. 

The last month I've worked hard but I've also had to skip days, like today because Price had a fever and was up most of the night. I know I do not like running with 20 extra pounds or big, heavy boobs but I know if I keep working hard I'll start to see the changes physically. I've already seen the changes mentally and for me, at this point in time, that is the most important. My mood is better and more stable. I do not have such roller coaster moments as I like to refer to them. I sleep better, when I sleep. I don't hit the 3 in the afternoon wall as hard as before. I hit it, but it's more of a fender bender than a head on crash. I have more energy and am more confident. That all being said, at the same time, where I have been asked 2 times in the past month if I'm expecting. Rough. Not fun, not fun at all, but all part of the process. I'll get there and for now, I'm enjoy the processing of getting my mojo back. 

Wrap up to summer part II

We are a week out from Price's 3rd birthday and summer is still going strong! The temps have been in the 70's and 80's and it's just been beautiful. Even though daddy is back in school we are still having fun! Price and Parker went to their first parade. The lighthouse festival parade in Mukilteo and they loved it. 

Price was doing some warm up laps and Parker was running, of course, in the opposite direction. 

Parker her goofy self

It's been so nice we have been having dinner outside on the deck. They don't look like brother and sister or anything in this picture:)

Price on one of his favorite tractors at Central Market! He's in heaven. 

Even though we've been playing outside a lot, Price continues to love his books! 

This past week was Price's first week at Preschool. Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I wasn't so sure how it would go but it went great! A few tears at first but once I was out of sight, out of mind, he did great the teachers said! I snuck this picture of the class playing with music sticks. Or, just in Price's case, observing. :) But we are so proud of him, he is doing great! I love how he loves it!

Back to school for daddy and Bro Bro means first colds and sissy got it first. Her first fever and cold of the season. She definitely wasn't her pepping self. She did not want to get off my chest, poor baby. 

The next morning she was feeling a bit better so we ventured out in the fogging morning to go on a spider web hunt! We found so many! 

Spider web what?? She wasn't really sure what she should be looking for but she was a trooper. 

Found one!

Sunday morning foggy bike ride break! And then back to the hunt.....:)

Help! I think my toddler is Bi Polar!

Next Tuesday Price starts Preschool. Or Pre-Pre Preschool if you really want to know what it is. Tuesday, Thursday 3 year olds, 9:15-11:45. Last year he did Friday 2 year olds with me, Mommy and Me. This year, he'll be flying solo. All by his shy self. I'm nervous. I know it's the best thing for his personality but it's going to be rough people. 

Today was the "meet and greet" with the teacher. A chance to meet the teacher, see the other kids in the class and get to go around the classroom with your parent. Note that he has the same teacher as last year and most of the kids were in his class last year. He got his first piece of mail last week from Miss Stacey and it was a postcard saying how excited she was for him to start school. He was beyond excited! He was running up and down the drive way with the post card in his hand above his head shouting, "thank you Miss Stacey, thank you!" It was one of the cutest things I've ever seen. All morning he was ready for school. I told him today was a mini day, just a chance to say hello to everyone. Well, here comes the start of Bi Polarfest. 

Meet and Greet was an hour long. The entire hour, he sat, outside the door, refusing to go in. No smiles. All the other kids rolled in with their mom or dad, started playing, saying hi to each other. Price, sat himself down and watched, watched everyone. Moms tried to draw him in, teachers tried, kids tried.  Nope. Did. Not. Work. Here was the kicker, I asked the teacher, "I know some kids have a hard time on the first day but has any kid done this before on the meet and greet?" and of course the answer was "um, I don't think so." Fantastic. 

When I told Price the hour was up and we had to go home, of course the reply was a sad, "no." He wanted to stay. But he didn't want to go in. We went home. Not a fun morning. 

When I was laying down with him before his nap he leaned in towards me, put his arms around my neck and said, "you are my best friend." Aww. Bi Polar. :)

He took a good nap, woke up, pissed. "Tuna fish sandwich." Alright, made him a sandwich. "too big!!" I cut the sandwich. "I want it whole!" I then almost picked up the sandwich and threw it across the room but instead I looked at the clock and did the math as to when I could either go to the store to get wine or when Kadin would be home from football. 

Speaking of football, he leaves his sandwich and starts running up and down the hallway chasing Parker. They are both squealing with delight. Hence, why I am able to sit down and write this. Then here comes the best high from the so far Bi Polar Day. Price is running after Parker trying to hug her, which she accepts, and says, "I love you sissy!" 

I still want wine, anybody deliver? 

Wrap up to Summer

Today is the official first day back to school for both daddy and the middle school kids at OV. What that means to Parker and I: we get to spend most of the day now with mommy and she also is telling me that I'm starting school, without her, next Tuesday-which I'm not really sure about yet. We sure did have a fun summer though and here are my favorite memories in pictures:

I have to start with getting my very own Husky football helmet. I am now an official foot ball player just like the ones on the Seahawks, Huskies and daddy's football team.

There she goes! She likes to put my helmet on and run!

One of our favorite things to do is go to the Zoo. I navigated every time by reading the map. I like to start at the Emus.

Mommy was really amazed I wanted to feed the birds at the zoo. I think Sissy wasn't very sure either but I loved it! 

We also barbequed a lot in the backyard. I mean my daddy barbequed a lot and I helped with my own small version. 

Sissy just liked to watch and eat popsicles. 

I got my first big boy hair cut this summer. I didn't really like the procedure but I liked the reward. 

We had a lot of fun in the sun. Look at mommy going down the slip and slide!

One of my favorite memories was going on "Price's day." Mommy and daddy took just me to a special Zoo, called the Northwest Trek. Sissy stayed with grandma. She was too little. We rode on a special bus and saw so many special animals I don't normally get to see at the zoo. It was awesome! 

We are looking at Elk swimming in the lake.

Besides going in our backyard it's like we have an ocean in our backyard too. All we have to do is get into our car for a little ride and we are down at the water where we can throw rocks, look for crabs and play in the sand. We love the beach!

You can even play baseball at the beach! 

Sissy loves swinging at the beach!

One really exciting thing that happened this summer was Grandma and Grandpa left for a year long sail boat trip around the world! Before they left we got to go down to play on their boat. They took daddy and us on a sail. It was really fun.

We took a special overnight trip to Bellingham. We stayed in a special room, mommy and daddy's favorite place for the night. We got to watch the train from our bedroom!

Having lunch at Boundary Bay.

At the hotel I had the big job of feeding the fish in their pond every breakfast, lunch and dinner. Big job. 

We got up really early just so I could throw rocks in the water.

We even got room service for breakfast the next morning!

My cousin Koen and sissy and I decided to fly to Disneyland for a night. Just kidding! It's the Children's Museum airplane silly. One of my favorite places. I hope we get to go there a lot this fall. 

We went up to Grammi and Grampi's farm for the day. Sissy liked to eat their apples from the tree and I had my own place in the kitchen for snacks.

Daddy took me on a boys trip to our friend Nate and Darcy's cabin. Daddy and I went to visit Nate, Emmie and Hayden. We built a pretty cool nest with eggs.

Movie time with the girls! I really liked hanging out with them

My bike was a summer staple. I love my bike but my birthday is coming up and I'm really hoping for a bike with paddles. Maybe Santa will bring it for my birthday?

Holy Cow! Look at our new house we got from Grandma! We built it up in our nature trail in the woods with the trees and the knomes. We get to play in it anytime we want! 

There were a lot of repairs that needed to be fixed.

Pretty much the coolest house ever. 

What goes with the coolest house ever? The coolest truck ever. Just like daddy's. 

I wanted to end with this picture for summer just because my sister is a goof ball.