#stuffElliesays

We're reading a book on Asian fairy tales and some of the characters eat rice cakes.

Ellie: "Mom, I want to eat rice cakes."

Me: "Maybe someday dear. I don't know how to make them."

Ellie: "I do! You mix rice.... and cake."

#stuffAvysays

"I'm putting ear wax on my eyelashes because it makes them bootiful."

Trying Toddler Time again (Thursday)

We decided to try Toddler Time again on Thursday (it runs every weekday during the rainy season) so Dave and I got up early to get everything ready, woke up the kids and gave them breakfast in the trailers (baked maple syrup french toast and bacon! Roughing it...). We got there with plenty of time to play and lots of kids to play with!

This was Lily and Theo's first time participating in Toddler Time, and they had a blast.

It was Dad's first time in a long while too, and he also was having fun (rolling kids upside down is hilarious!)

We knew that Lily was fine being far away from us, but we were surprised to discover that Theo also was content to sit in a room full of kids without immediate proximity to parents. He would chase a ball all around the gym, sit up, look around for a long time, then finally meet my eyes and very happily power-crawl to me. A few minutes of cuddling, then repeat :)

Yea, he was having fun :)

After Toddler Time ended and everyone left the girls (all three!) burned off some more energy by running/crawling back and forth across the gym. Lily is very spoiled now for how much space she had.

Then back to the same park as before for lunch! Theo likes his lightly dusted with mulch.

Good climbing boyo! Maybe a little backwards but you'll get there!

I told Avy to show off her tutu.

Then back home again for naps for the babies and quiet time for the rest of us. What a great day!

More biking about (Wednesday)

We had grand ambitions on Wednesday to go to a Toddler Time indoor play, but it ran from 9:30-11:30 and we finally got there at 11:15. Oh well! There was a park right next door and we'd brought a towel, so we wiped everything off and let the kids go nuts. Seattle man, if you don't get your kids to being outdoors in a little wet they'll never leave the house.

This (x71) is what happens when you leave your phone in the bike trailer with an Ellie ;)

We took a lovely bike trail up through Bellevue that passes by Larson Lake.

And there are blueberry plants all around. Hard to see but, hi Ellie! Hi Lily!

Basically untouched park.

In the afternoon I was cleaning up and Avy comes running into the kitchen and says, "Mom! I helped you! I cleaned up!" And, sure enough, she thoroughly had. Appreciate that you can see the floor in this picture - that was not how the floor began the day. She had gone through and picked up all of the toys, diapers, clothes, everything, and to the best of her ability put it away. Love that girl.

Theo trying to get into the reading via osmosis.

Night babies! Night Super-Dad :)

Relaxing at home (Tuesday)

We took a day off from errands to get some stuff done around the house. Momma had a science experiment she's been wanting to do with the kids: put a raw egg and a hard boiled egg in vinegar, wait for a couple days then see what happens.

The eggs immediately started to bubble and haven't stopped. They're still in there as of Saturday, but you can definitely see a change in color as the shells dissolve away. I asked the girls to give me their hypothesize. Avy: "The raw one will turn into a fish." Ellie: "No, it'll look like a watermelon!" They're a little silly ;) They started to have a better idea of what to expect after we poured the vinegar over the raw, so when I asked them again for the cooked: Avy: "It'll turn into bubbles." Ellie: "It'll turn a different color!" Both of them have been right so far for those second guesses... we'll just have to see how it turns out!

Daddy had on his to-do list to fix an outlet that has never worked since we moved in. The girls were legitimately helpful: keeping the babies away and handing Daddy tools as he needed them. And, success! We now have a working outlet!

"You want to reeead?" Visiting family, prepare for this to be the chant whenever you're around (sitting, standing, eating, sleeping..)

Nature Pals Exchange

A friend clued me into Nature Pals Exchange where you get linked up with other families around the US and send each other foliage from your area. As you know we were very busy in September but we managed to gather enough in our recent park visits to hit the 10/10 deadline.

It's possible I had more fun with this than the girls did, but we all definitely enjoyed learning about our area. I struggled with ideas for sending leaves without having them get destroyed, and then it occurred to me - use our laminator! I love our laminator.

Starting from top left: Canadian Geese feathers + picture, Horse Chestnut leaves (toxic), Douglas Fir needles, Vine Maple leaves, Himalayan Blackberry leaves, American Chestnut leaf (edible), printed description of Horse chestnut vs American chestnut, printed history of Seattle's blackberries (they're not native!). In the box is a pine cone, a horse chestnut, an American chestnut (closed) and an American chestnut (open).

Links to the printables if you're interested:

• Horse Chestnuts vs American Chestnuts
• The Strange, Twisted Story behind Seattle's Blackberries

Our Nature Pal is also running a bit late so we don't know what foliage in Georgia is like yet, but she's been in touch so it's only a matter of time!

Family Thrift Shop Trip (Sunday)

We've had gorgeous weather here this last week so we've been biking the kids all around for most errands we've needed to do. Last time I bought clothes for the kids I underestimated just how big they were so we piled everyone and a ton of food into the bike trailers and biked down to Value Village in Issaquah. The girls had a blast playing with the toys there and we found a bunch of clothes that should fit all four kids for the next X months (I'm always surprised by how fast they grow...)

The future! Theo feeding himself (briefly)

We accidentally left our windows open over night so it was still cold by naptime. Winter jackets for the win!

Daddy pushing the babies around the store with a caravan in tow.

After the store we biked over to a park and let the kids burn off some more steam, before heading over to the grocery store.

Lily exploring with ne'er a backwards glance.