Ethan and Willa at the Photo Shoot, hamming it up

Hey, Wake Up!

Assuming the kids aren't wkaing up at 5:30 and thinking it is morning, many days now start this way:
7 am - Ethan wakes up, looks at clock, sees it is 7 and quietly leaves the room (per our discussion a week ago where we told him that if it isn't 7 yet, he should try to go back to sleep if he can, but after 7 he should just get up - as opposed to sitting in bed calling to us to tell us he is awake), and goes to the couch and curls up there.

7:05 - Probably awakened by Ethan's vain attempt at a quiet exit, Willa wakes up, hits the ground, opens door, slams door, clomps downstairs, and, with a "don't-even-think-of-messing-with-me look, demands "Read me a princess story!"

It is good to be a parent.

PS: Willa has been in her big girl bed without a pull-up and without bed rails for about three months, maybe a little longer.  However, about twice a month she either falls out of bed or wets the bad - not bad for being barely three.

Camping

Lots to say about our camping trip to Cougar Flats.  But, most importantly, it was lots of fun.

Went primarily with Ethan's friends, Ike and Carter, and their families.

Karri and I were up late on Thursday packing and preparing, then early Friday to load the car.  Also, I was up late on Tuesday making spaghetti sauce.

Started with overcast Seattle skies and a light drizzle (also a little worry that we would bespending two nights with weather in the low 60's - high 50's.  Fortunately at about Greenwater the skies turned to blue.  Of course, we followed Google directions and started climbing up the side of a mountain on Forest road 70.  Big mistake since the orad ended and did not connect with 410 (we tried to cut off two sides of a triangle.  After our hour delay, we still managed to be the first to the camp site.  Pitched the tent and got set up.  Beautiful location by a river with a good wading spot and lots of logs to cross.

Friday was hot dogs and smores.  Perfect camping food.

Saturday we did a great hike through a cave.  Only about two miles roundtrip, so not too far for little legs, but an opportunity to wear headlamps.  Ethan was a little nervous on reaching the cave entrance but about half way through he decided it was cool and fun.

Willa was a big girl and hiked the whole way, much of it holding hands with Ike and Ethan.  Also hopping by the edge of the trail, which scared the dickens out of her mom.

Back at camp more wading, rock throwing, bug hunting, and fun.  That is until I lost my sunglasses in the water while foolishly jumping in with them on (Karri and I need to work on our hand signals (but not her fault - all mine)).

When we tried to get Willa changed into pants and a clean shirt, a mini fit ensued, but before it got out of hand she fell asleep in my arms - too cute.  ALthough a little grumpy on waking up.

Saturday evening was a big pasta feed (three or four pasta choices, three sauces, garlic bread, salad) and more smores.  I think Ike's parents had never eaten smores before - I was surprised that was possible.  Willa loves smores.

Ethan and Willa were super brave the whole time - walking across logs without a second thought - while my legs wobbled and I was super nervous that they would end up in the river (so walked close behind or holding their hands).  Ethan even ended up on a log in the middle of the river, just enjoying being a big boy.

Willa made a big girl friend and at one point ended up in our car watching Toy Story with her new friend.

Willa rolled out her new phrase "no stank you!" for the trip.  Super cute when she says it.

John and Linda even drove up on Sunday to spend a little time with us before we headed back to the drizzle of Seattle (it was sunny when we drove up, but just as it started raining when I was loading, it started raining while I unloaded).

All in all a really fun weekend.

Ethan's birthday party

June 19 - cloudy with a chance of a pool party.  Lots of Ethan's friends and their sibs showed up at the Mounger pool for a pool party to celebrate Ethan's 5th birthday (yes, his birthday was April 19, but in Seattle you can't have a pool party in April).  I stayed up late building a tie fighter that turned out to be almost as big as the cake (oops).  A little rain, but all went well.  Hot gifts: spy glasses (bulb went out in about 10 minutes, but good fun), Tom Sawyer & Huck Finn books, Lego Buzz Lightyear.  Willa is a huge fan of a ball that has a voice recorder.

That's the point...

This may be Willa's new favorite phrase.  Her new favorite activity may be hopping.  Yesterday she came home and spent the next hour hopping around the house.  She would hop until her jeans fell down around her ankes.  It was hilarious.  Then, when she was in her nightgown, she hopped on the bed for another 15 minutes.

Ethan's new thing is Percy Jackson.

Magic Tree House

We just finished reading the first 37 Magic Tree House Books.  I am surprised that, for the most part, each one is entertaining and I learn something from each one.  Only a little predictable.

I think Ethan can relate to Jack - Ethan knows Jack's favorite phrases are "Oh, man!" and "Oh, brother!" and can appreciate that Jack has a little sister that likes to act first and think about things (or plan things out later), while Jack (and Ethan) are both fans of planning.  In fact, one of Ethan's favorite phrases when things aren't going well is "that's not part of my plan" or "I wasn't planning on this".

Just started The Magician's Elephant - Karri's recommendation.  Seems good so far.  From the author of Desperaux (sweet story, but not saccharine, with a good mesage), which we all really liked.

We try to get Ethan to read chapter titles and words, but he thinks "his eyes are tired" more often than not, so I am not pushing it.  Which is hard for me, but doing my best.

Jew-Fro

Haircuts are coming this weekend, but Ethan is currently sporting a great Jew-fro.  Super cute on him.

For those of you out of the loop, even wikipedia knows about the jewfro:

A Jewfro (portmanteau of the words Jewish and afro) or Isro (portmanteau of the words Israel and afro) refers to a curly hairstyle worn by certain people of Jewish descent. Its name is inspired by the afro hairstyle, which it resembles.

The term has its roots in the 1960s and 1970s when many prominent figures were described as sporting the hairstyle. The Los Angeles Times called college football star Scott Marcus a flower child with “golden brown hair...in ringlets around his head in what he calls a Jewish afro style”.[13]

The New York Times in a 1971 article on Harvard University’s “hairy” basketball team, wrote that Captain Brian Newmark, “hasn’t had a haircut since last May and his friends have suggested his hairdo is a first cousin to the Afro...in the case of the Jewish Junior from Brooklyn, though, the bushy dark hair that is piled high on his head has been called an Isro."[14] Novelist Judith Rossner was described in a Chicago Tribune profile as the “grown-up Wunderkind with an open, oval face framed by a Jewish Afro."[15]

Ethan's hand wiping

We are always making progress in the Lapin house.  At meals, Ethan has moved from wiping his hands on his shirt, to his pants, to the towel on his chair.  Hopefully he will soon master the napkin.  He looks totally surprised and bewildered when you suggest to him that a napkin would really be preferable.

SCDS

Ethan got in to SCDS.  Now we just have to figure out how to balance paying for private school, saving for college, saving for retirement, and the occasional vacation.  Not sure how others do it, as I think we can do 2 1/2 out of the 4 on our current salaries, and will be down to 2 if Willa gets in too.  Ethan is enrolled and we are totally excited for him, but it will be a challenge.

A little update

I feel bad since it has been over a month since I did anything besides send pictures from my phone to the blog.  Oh well, none of my readers have been complaining.

Ethan is getting really good at bike riding and I am letting him ride in the street with me (he knows to stay back and to the right of me for safety).  Two days ago Willa went on the third whell for the first time.  She can't peddle, but she can hold on to the handlebars and rest her feet on the peddles.

Ethan has decided he does not like his lunch at school most of the time, so he now has a lunch box and he gets to choose two days a week when we pack lunch for him.  X-wing fighter lunchbox is a big hit.  Willa also gets a lunch on those days, but we still hope she eats at KidsCentre.

Ski lessons are over - overall, not a big fan.  Ethan did not seem overly happy with them and not sure how much he learned.  However, he loved riding the chairlift and skiing down Julie's chair with the harness.  This weekend I think Willa will get her first shot at skiing.  Probably mostly on the magic carpet.  Zayde will come up and ski with Ethan on the harness, while I help Willa out, should be a hoot (yes, a hoot.)

It is back on with birthday season for Ethan and Willa's friends.  Girls this year are getting Princess Stories with Attitude.  In honor of Willa our little princess with attitude.  Boys are getting one of Ethan's all time favorites, the story of Thelonious Chipmunk.

Sometimes we think the kids are conspiring against us, taking turns being the late sleeper (I'm cold, I'm hot, Where's purple bat, Where's baby furrball, I need a drink, I had a bad dream (when he's only been "asleep" for 5 minutes)) or early waker (pre-6 and sometimes pre-5:30).  However, by comparison to what I have heard from others, we have nothing to complain about.

Looks like our next three family vacations will be Maui (fall 2010), Disneyland (spring 2011), and Florence, Italy (summer 2012) plus camping, beach, and grandparents.  No current plans for a kid-free vacation, but I'd like to take Karri to New Orleans at some point, maybe fall 2011.

Dad retired about a month ago - was really great to hear all those people that he worked with say what a good person he was (I was pretty sure he was a good doc and he clearly practiced during a revolution in cardiology, but to hear the people that he worked with speaking so highly of him as a person was great.  Also, kids got to see Boobie as she was in town's for Dad's retirement.  Nice to be able to make that connection for them.

Now, we are just on pins and needles waiting for a week from tomorrow when we get the news on kindergartens.  It would be a big financial sacrifice, but I think Seattle Country Day would be worth it.  Pretty sure UCDS would be a great school.  Evergreen and Bertschi will take some serious family conversations before making the final decision.

Purrball

Ethan still likes to imagine he is a kitten - his name "Little Purrball" to go along with his stuffed dogs who are "Little Furbal".

Does Willa need a new home

I am probably mis-quoting Ethan from this morning, but we were at breakfast when he asked Karri and I whether we should find a new home for Willa.  It was a particularly Willa morning - up early, rocking and cuddling, not wanting to sit on the potty, not wanting to get dressed, not wanting to eat her breakfast.  You get the picture.  At which point Ethan, mimicking what we say to Daphne, said, "Willa do we need to find you a new home."  Priceless.

One month of bike riding

It's been a bit of a busy month as Karri finishes out a mini-busy season. During that time we have done a lot of bike riding at the "usual" playground (Coe), so the bikes have mostly stayed in the back of the car. Ethan now has 2 - 16" bikes, one with Hot Wheels styling that he got from Anthony (who, along with his dads, is moving to Dravus St. -we'll miss them).

We had a trip to Toppenish and the fair. Lots of rides. Both Ethan and Willa had the unlimited rides wristbands - Willa had to stretch to make it appear she met the height minimum. Was a slight issue at the ticket booth, but not a problem for any of the rides. Ethan really liked the roller coaster. I think Karri, Linda, and I each rode it with him.

We joined the Science Center - not too expensive and will give us another rainy day activity.

We signed Ethan up for skiing lessons, which start in January. I am not sure who is more excited, Ethan or Zayde. Ethan will be going to Cascade ski school, same one I went to 30 years ago.

Karri's aunt died, so she went with her family down to Reno for the funeral, which meant I had 2 nights by myself with the kids for the first time. Went smoothly. We are lucky to have such great kids.

On the other hand, Willa still thinks that wake up time is at 6:20, so I have been spending the first 30 minutes of most days reading her stories while Karri gets ready and Ethan sleeps. And, at least once a week, her up time seems to be 5:20 - yikes!

If you call Willa by one of her nicknames Willa-beast, Willa-bean, Wilhelm von Wilhelm, Willie, Wilson, etc. she loves to respond with "I am not X, I am Kathryn Lapin!" Too cute.

I like to ride my bicylce, I like to ride my bike...

This past weekend was an awesome adventure in parenting.

On Friday morning Ethan was talking about wanting a bigger bike and one without training wheels. So I called a few places but decided that $160 for a new 16" bike was excessive. So I checked with Recycled Cycles and they had one used boys 16" bike for $40. I said perfect and told Karri that I would pick it up on the way home. When I got to the store, which took forever because it is in the U District, they had sold it - I should have had them hold it. When I got home without a bike, Ethan was pretty upset, but we span it that we would go to the Goodwill and let him pick his own. This worked like a charm and he was happy. Meanwhile, I had picked up a new inner tube for his 12" bike, but of course had not picked up the tool necessary to get the tube on.

Saturday came and Karri took Willa to Little Gym, which she loves. While they were doing that, Ethan and I went to the Goodwill. Not a big selection of 16" bikes - basically 3 - two were clearly girls bikes. We got the least girly bike they had. Brought it home, pumped up the tires, cleaned it a little, and lubed it up with WD-40. $7. Ethan then rode it a bit in front of the house with me pushing from the seat or holding the handlebars. Once he was on his own for about 4 feet before crashing into a rock. Oops.

Dad came up later in the afternoon and we had lunch. Then, while Willa was napping, I went out and got the tool to fix the 12" tire - good as new now (so we sent the other 12" bike down to Gig Harbor for Micah). Ethan and Dad were entranced by They Might Be Giants' new kids videos and songs, so I had plenty of time. While Willa was still napping, Dad pushed Ethan to Coe on his new bike. Then, when Willa woke up, we came up on her new'ish bike - inflatable tires roll much better than the solid foam ones.

When we got there Dad was exhausted - and understandably so after pushing a 16" bike with a rider for a half mile. So, it was my turn to push Ethan. This is where it gets good. Ethan quickly got the hang of peddling and steering. So much so that it was hard to keep pushing him and he would get away from me. However, he would look back occasionally to see if I was still holding o, which made him very wobbly. After a short discussion about looking where he was going it happened, he rode on his own for a few feet, then fell. The next time though, he had clearly found his balance point and was riding a two-wheeler on-his-own, no training wheels. WOW!

I think we were all a little surprised at how quickly it all happened for him. But it was awesome. Attached are some pictures of that magic moment.

Not a lot new, but...

Things have been a lot of the same at the Lapins lately.
Ethan eats pancakes almost every morning for breakfast, followed by Jeff Corwin watching, then off to school, home for a couple rides around the block on either his scooter or his bike, stories especially the Fog Mound trilogy, then bed.
Willa is still jumping off the bed and being her crazy lovable self. I think she sometimes likes to be a little naughty. Every Monday is pink dress day. Humpty Dumpty spoons and forks are very important to her. She likes books, but especially pink ones, so Fancy Nancy is a hit. I think Karri said that if she wasn't so cute, she'd be pretty bratty, but it is hard to get angry with her, and of course she knows it.
This weekend we are off to a Mariner's game with our PEPS group. Willa has never been, but Ethan has been each of the last two years. It is Ichiro jersey day, so we will need to make sure we get there on time, although we will likely leave early.

I like to ride my bicycle...

Fourth of July weekend was big at the Lapin's house.
Friday was pretty typical with a trip to the playground, scootering and WeeRiding, followed by a trip to Macrina's Bakery. Karri got a little break and got to ride Grover. Afternoon, no
Saturday was go-go all day. In the morning we did a great hike just past North Bend - Twin Falls. Daphne came too. Picnic lunch. Dipped our feet in the river. We estimated that Ethan hiked about 2 3/4 miles and Willa about 2 1/2.
After getting home, Michael went to a memorial for Dick, who lived across the street. Explaining to Ethan that Dick had died was tough.
Then, when Willa woke up after about half an hour, it was off to Mollie Moon's for ice cream - honey lavender, strawberry, scout mint, and salted caramel.
Then, over to the wading pool at the digger park in Wallingford.
Then, the twins, Nick and Parker, came over to play with Ethan and run through the sprinkler.
Sunday was less crazy-busy. We were at the playground by about 9:30, but that is relatively late for us. It was great because we hooked up the "third-wheel" to my bike and Ethan and I took a long ride all over Queen Anne. He loves it. Then, later in the afternoon, when Willa had woken up from her nap, she decided she wanted to ride a bike too, so we took Ethan's old 12" bike and attached a push-bar and away she went. She is a natural and will probably be going full tilt without any assistance by this weekend.

Father's Day Weekend

Saturday - brewed beer with Dad. It was great to spend 3 1/2 hours catching up, shooting the shit, and brewing beer. Most of the time when we hang out, there are so many other people or there is something to do, this was just us and mellow, which was really nice. On the way up, Dad picked up Willa's big-girl bed and on the way back we picked up a twin mattress at Costco.

Sunday - by 9:30 we had taken Willa's crib apart, built the big girl bed, and made it. By 10, Willa was jumping off the edge, rolling on the bed, and very excited by her "pink" bed. Ethan and Karri went to Up! - the Disney movie (PG). He loved it, but when they came back he had Karri tell me the whole story. While they were gone, Willa and I went to Top Pot and we both had pink doughnuts; we both ate our whole doughnuts. Then when she went down for her nap (she had a little lunch), I took her pacifiers and told her big girls sleep in big girl beds and don't use pacifiers. So far she hasn't asked for one since. Woo Hoo!

Of course there was lots of scootering and a couple trips to the playground. And our monthly trip to Costco.

Did you see that beautiful, beautiful animal?

Ethan did - he likes to channel his idol, Jeff Corwin, when he is playing with his rope (which he calls a cobra) and in the bath when playing with his penguins, seals, and whales.

I'm # 5

Last night Ethan ranked the kissers in our family:

1. Mommy
2. Daphne
3. Willa
4. Daphne
5. Daddy

This morning Ethan took his first packed lunch to school. We put it in his backpack as he doesn't have a lunchbox yet. He was so excited and concerned that it would be forgotten at home that he went downstairs immediately after getting dressed, opened the fridge, and put it on. He was not going to take it off until he got to school.

Birthday

Well, Ethan had his 4th birthday at Pump-It-Up as planned. Many of his school friends and Nick and Parker showed up. Cupcakes were a hit and bouncing was fun. Here are some photos from the event.

It was tough to wait for everyone to arrive and the party to start.