Look who's five!

Jasper turned 5 on Sunday!! I am still in denial that he is actually five. Seriously! How did five years pass by so quickly. What happened to my baby boy?

At five, Jasper's favorite things are playing legos, reading books, doing math, riding his bike, being outside, dressing up like superheroes, and playing with his little brother. Jasper is a really good friend. He has so many of them and he loves them all. He is very concerned about moving and leaving these kids he cares about behind. He is very kind hearted. When I'm having a bad day, he never fails to put his arms around me and shower me with kisses. He still loves to cuddle his mommy and daddy, which I love. I hope he never gets too old to crawl in bed with us and snuggle up. Jasper loves playing outside. He is very curious about the world and science. I think Rob and I have had a bit of influence on him ;) He is a very thoughtful, pensive boy. I often find him in his room talking to himself or in deep thought with a serious look on his face. His mind never stops. Jasper is a conversationalist. He loves to talk and ask questions. The other day we were driving somewhere in the car and Rob and I chuckled to one another at the fact that Jasper had not stopped chatting in the 20 min. since leaving the house. He had so much he wanted to talk to us about.

Well, we had a fun weekend filled with watching the Lorax as a family, having Mandy Watson take our family pictures on UW campus, opening presents, and eating birthday cake and ice cream.

Happy Birthday to my dear Jasper!

Egbert dinner time rules

Back in the fall, we came up with some dinner time rules. Dinner time is my least favorite time of the day. Rob is usually gone, the boys are tired, I'm tired, we are all hungry, etc.  I would sit down at the dinner table bracing myself. Seriously. Filled with stress and anxiety and about to snap even before dinner would begin. I asked my parents for advice and they told me to come up with some rules. Kids need rules, duh! They also told me to quit it with the "three chances" thing because you are just telling kids that they have three times to break the rules before you actually mean it. I must say, that their advice has worked wonders in our house. My boys really like having the rules (I'm not kidding!), they have them all memorized, recite them each time we sit down, and never fail to tell company if they are breaking any of the rules ;)

Anyway, thought I'd post the rules up here on the blog. #9 is "no standing on the table". We had to add that one in a bit later ...

Sweet Caroline

I miss Caroline. She's too far away in Africa. I hate that I can't just call her up to chat. She's my dear, dear friend- thoughtful, caring, wise, kind, compassionate, smart. I just love her guts! Just thought I'd post it up here on my blog for her to see :) Come back to America someday, Caroline!!

Seattle in the spring

Yesterday, we had crazy, crazy rain. It poured so hard that I couldn't see more than a few feet in front of my car while driving. When we got home from preschool, Jasper decided (all on his own, mind you) that he wanted to get on his swimsuit, put on sunglasses, and sunbathe inside out apartment. My poor, sun deprived little boy....



Gid followed suit


Today, even though it was cold out, the sun DID make an appearance! It was so nice. My boys got bundled up and spent most of the afternoon outside.





picnic in March:


The boys had so much fun with the hose. They got the giggles watering the patio and me!

Jasper sewing

Trip to the Coast

Last weekend, Rob surprised me with a trip to the Oregon Coast. I have a very generous and loving aunt and uncle who own a delightful house in Cape Meares and let us go stay for the weekend (thank you Aunt Merrie and Uncle Jon!!!). We had the best time! Spent the first two days as an entire family. Played on the beach, took a hike, went to the Tillamook cheese factory. 

On Saturday, Rob had asked my mom to meet us in Portland so we could have an additional two days just the two of us. It was just what Rob and I needed. We were able to get away from all the stress and anxiety we have both been feeling lately. Honestly, we haven't seen much of one another for the past 6 months. It was so nice to talk, play games, take walks, hike, sleep in, make dinner together- all the things that we enjoy but never do together anymore.

this is a very long bull kelp from one end.....

to the other!!

Rob conquering medusa!

On Monday, I drove Rob to the Portland train station and he took the train back up to Seattle. I drove down to Oregon and decided to make a trip of it and stay till Friday. Had such a nice time with my mom and dad :) I love spending time with them and catching up. My mom is amazing. She is the chair for the fundraising committee for the Benton County Historical Museum that is going to be built in downtown Corvallis. She has to raise something like 8 million dollars. While I was there, she fed dinner to 40 people and presented the plans for the new museum to them. She and my dad are always doing interesting and important things for their community. I also got to see Mr. Pool!!! Crazy! We had breakfast at New Morning Bakery and talked about politics, international news, old times, old faces, and our families. It was really nice. I always get a little sad when I have to leave Corvallis. I love that place. 

Mom helping Gid learn to ride his bike!

Jasper the budding photographer

Jasper loves to borrow my camera and take pictures when we are out for a walk, driving in the car, or hanging around at home. Here are a few of his latest:

I was very impressed with the focus on this one

This one makes me smile

reading a book at the library

Rob and blue sky

he has taken TONS of pictures of his legos

Gid having a snack

cool car

boot and leaf

garbage

garbage

garbage