What a four year old sees!

These pictures were taken by Colin. It is very interesting to see what captures his attention and how he sees things. I also like to look at the framing and composition from a child, as they tend not to over-think things. Any thoughts?

Long Time, No Blog

Long time, no blog and I completely blame Facebook! I WILL be better. It has been a busy couple of months NB was in her first, big, ballet production and did a wonderful job. It was The Steadfast Tin Soldier. She had two full days of rehearsal and three days of performances. That is six performances in all. It was an exhausting week, but we made it.



Trying to keep the water girls happy and quiet. Quite a feat! There was a lot of energy in that group.



NB and her very good friend Christina!



Here is fire up on stage at the end of the ballet. NB is the third girl from the left. When they have their fire costumes it's hard to tell them apart.



NB greeting her many fans after her performance!



Now on to Christmas! Christmas cookies. I did these cookies as place cards for Christmas dinner. Very cute and easy to use. They are the Message in a Cookie from William Sonoma. You do need to make sure you have a nice firm dough or it is a HUGE mess.



NB getting a ride from Auntie Suzanne



Colin and NB opening their presents



NB portrait of Colin in oil pastel. Pretty good likeness, no?



Then in January our best present of all our new puppy, Madelyn (Maddie) McFluffington! She is a nine week old Goldendoodle. They are wonderful and low allergies, no shedding, wonderful temperment, easy to train, good with kids and cats. We went to Portland to pick her up. The breeder came to to the house and brought her to us. We went to visit my friend Brenda and took Maddie to see Nana. The next morning as I was carrying Colin out I couldn't see the step and fell. Drove home to Seattle and went to the ER and I have 3 fractured bones in my foot. So a new puppy and crutches for four weeks. Not the best combination. Hopefully the next month goes fast!



Now I plan to take it easy and enjoy my new puppy. SHe is a very easy puppy too! No problems and sleeps through the night without having to go potty. Awesome!! Don't we make a cute pair??



Maddie loves the kids! From the very first moment and she didn't need to take time to adjust. Our kitten Aisha LOVES Maddie. She thinks Maddie is her new toy. I will post some pictures of them very soon.

Birthday Celebration!

What does NB get to do for her birthday? Go to the dentist, of course! For most kids this would be really awful, but for NB it was super exciting. She just loves the dentist and the toy box afterwards. We drove straight to school and I said we are drivng to school she said, "It's like a dream come true!". We live super close to school, so she never gets to go in the car and that was a big deal.



At school they had a little birthday celebration. I brought cupcakes and the kids gobbled them up in about two seconds. Of course she loved being the center of attention!



NB table in Spanish class.



We went for Thai food and then home for presents and Trophy Cupcakes. Here is her look of excitement after she opened her new art easel! My cute Petite Artiste!



She is creating her masterpiece.



I got NB a tutu to make herself. Here she is doing a beautiful dance with the new tutu!

Happy Halloween!

On Friday, we went to Moonpaper Tent "Unhaunted House"! It was great and the kids loved it. It was filled with magical fairies, spider fairy and a king. They decorated everything so magically wonderful. We met our friends Parker and Sophie and that made the evening even better. The kids all had a blast. NB had some princess face painting. Moonpaper Tent is a not for profit kids drama and creativity organization.



We went trick or treating with our friends Julie, Brian, Alex and Katie. All the kids are ready to go!!



NB getting all prepped and really wanting a flashlight!



Now they are off to many houses in our beautiful Wallingford neighborhood!



My very cute Burberry cowboy! I say that because he would only wear NB Burberry rainboots!



NB was Alice in Wonderland! We have been reading the original book and she really wanted to be Alice! Very sweet.



NB going up to our neighbor, The Queen Bee! The kids thought her costumes was the best ever! The bees on her lit up. Best costume and set up EVER.



Close-up of the Queen Bee.