Alki Beach

My baby wanted to take us out today.  He took us to Alki Beach.  I practiced using my new 24 mm prime lens on the Seattle skyline (this is my favorite view of the Emerald City).  Then he asked us if we wanted to eat lunch.  He took us to the famous Salty's restaurant for brunch.  We scored the best view in the house.  I felt a little bit like the Griswold's when Cate decided to wipe her shrimp-cocktail-sauce covered hands on my shirt, in front of people! Ha!  Thank God my shirt was navy blue & the sauce came off rather easily!  I love my family more than life.

Woodenshoe Tulip Festival 2012

I had the opportunity to take portraits for one of my sister's close friends at the Woodenshoe Tulip Festival.  They are spectacular, go to my photography blog to check them out!

http://michelledouglasphotography.blogspot.com/

Anyway, the festival has many fun activities for children, so I brought the girls.  My sweet sister (gorgeous girl in the middle of the crowd in the bottom photo) helped me out so much while I took the portraits.  Afterward, we all got to play.  This is a must-do event if you're in the Portland area mid-April!

Portland, April 2012

I love how my girls love my family.  They admire their beautiful aunties, they love to be wherever their grandma is (& subsequently help with whatever project my mom has going on), & they cherish their traditional Shari's breakfasts with their wonderful grandpa (& playing with all the coolest aps on his phone LOL)! :-)

As I was driving back home, I was so grateful to have my girls know my family.  I always want them to know they are loved.  

Thank you, Tashi, Bianci, Mom & Dad for giving me such a great memory.  I love you guys so much.  You are the best.

Easter Sunday

The weather was amazing this Easter!

We pulled out the girls' patio table & set up their Easter egg dying station on the deck.

They had a great time decorating their eggs. Their favorite thing was using the wax crayons to decorate the egg, then dying it to reveal their creation.

Next the girls pulled out the hose & washed off our boots that were covered with mud from our Daffodil Festival trip. Cate got so wet & since it was warm outside I let her strip down to her undies. It was perfect because then she proceeded to catch bubbles.

We had our little neighborhood Easter egg hunt at 3:00, & a turkey dinner at 4:30.

Cheers!

Swiper the Toddler

I was reading the newspaper last night when Cate comes sprinting past me (only the way a toddler can) to the stairs. Something told me she was up to mischief. When I realized she had come from the candy bowl, I knew she was being sneaky. I hopped off the couch & got to the bottom of the stairs.

"Cate! What do you have?"

"Chocolate, mama!" She holds up a chocolate egg wrapped in purple foil.

Then I notice several green discarded foil wrappers behind her.

"Cate, you can't have any more candy, sweetie." Yes, I took the candy. She had had seriously 10 pieces already.

She laid her little head down & cried crocodile tears. Then ran back to the candy dish LOL!

Skagit Valley Trip

I'd been wanting to take photos of our girls for a while now. Today felt like the perfect day. The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival has been going on for a week & it was supposed to be sunny. Conrad & I drove 1 hr to get there. Not a tulip in sight. However, there were plenty of daffodils. :-) I'm going to have to try again when I'm down in Portland next week. ;-)

Daddy's Girls

Cate is definitely growing out of her naps, which means she likes to go to bed early. :-) At 7 p.m. she curled herself into Conrad's arms, with her blanket & bottle, & was out by 7:15. When I laid her in her crib, she stirred & said, "Night night." I smoothed her hair & said, "I love you, Cate." She literally fell asleep smiling.

When I came back downstairs, Bronwen was in Conrad's arms. She said, "Phew! I got my spot back!" Ha! These girls sure love their daddy~

Tender Things

Every time I scoop Cate up into my arms & say, "I love you, my baby," she says, "I not baby; I Cate!" Hahahaha! Now she knows it's a joke (Bronwen & Ava run up to her & snuggle her & call her their baby), so she just laughs & laughs. :-)

Nothing more humbling than a sweet toddler, who when she falls, picks herself up & says, "I fine." It makes me want to cry every time she does that. I don't know why.

The Weekend of Cancellations

Why is it that when there are no expectations you end up having the best time of all? This sums up last weekend.

Cancellation #1: Friday night dinner out with friends

We ended up needed to take my Jeep to the dealership to have the brakes checked out. With one car out, Conrad telecommuted for the day & we had a great time. Our work outs were amazing, we got groceries together & we only had Cate to worry about. Of course after all that running around, we got the call to get the Jeep (less $416 -ouch!) & Cate was done for the day. Let me just say, you know the saying, "The Terrible Twos?" It is not a myth. To top it off, she had an ear infection & no nap. Yikes! There was no way we were going to meet people in a public place for dinner with our toddler. The call went out. Instead, we had the loveliest time eating at home, baking chocolate chip cookies & watching a movie. Bliss!

Cancellation #2: Saturday Outdoor Children's Photo Shoot

Imagine it; Paved brick pathways surrounded by gorgeous cherry trees in full bloom. Japanese Parasols in pale pink & three darling little girls. Now imagine the 30 mph wind, rain, hail & temperatures in the 40's. There was no way that was happening. I had to make the call, but my friend totally agreed. Hopefully the weather cooperates next week. :-)

With Saturday free though, we all went to the gym as a family, got a great lunch from Safeway, changed into sweats & enjoyed relaxing..... :-)

Cancellation #3: Saturday moved to Sunday Photo Shoot

Same thing as the day before. Conrad & I surprised the girls & took them to Chuck E Cheese's in the morning. The place was empty (we got there as soon as it opened up), so the girls had free reign. Ava & Cate loved the pony ride & Bronwen enjoyed it all. Afterward, Conrad took his four Douglas girls to Red Robin. On the way home, we stopped at Starbucks.

This was one of my favorite weekends in a long time.

Dentist = No School

My three little girlies had their dental check-ups a few Mondays ago. Bronwen & Ava did great! Cate on the other hand, was not so pleased with having someone put their gigantic hands in her mouth. Ironically, it actually helped when she screamed & cried because her mouth was open enough for the hygienist to clean her teeth. ;-) Ava, being the great sister she is, tried to comfort "Googs" (the picture cracks me up -"Captain, we are now preparing for take off!"), but was out of there the minute Cate got too loud. Anyway, all check-ups were awesome; no cavities. By the time the appointments ended, it was already near 11. I didn't feel like taking Bronwen to school, so I declared a hooky day!

We went to one of our favorite places for an early lunch, Shari's, then spent the rest of the afternoon playing Barbies, Mario Brothers, going to the park & just spending good time together. It was a perfect day. :-) I love my little girls so much.