At the Park

21 Months Old

Making a funny face!

Dash got some new rain boots. He loved wearing them around the house!

Dash with his new umbrella. His expression doesn't do this justice...he loves his umbrella and insisted on sleeping with it the first night.

Rain boots and umbrellas are essential items to have to survive the Seattle winter and spring too!

Dash and his friend Rishi at the Children's Museum. The loved playing on this little bus.

So I have again been terrible at maintaining the blog! The toddler stage is super busy. When I do finally sit down after work and Dash duty, I am too tired to upload photos. Lately I have even been slacking in the area of taking photos, although I am sure Dash won't complain down the road. I did put together a photo album of his first year; one whole one just for the first 12 months. I think Kevin was horrified when I said I would do one for each year of his life as he was picturing Dash having to cart around with 18+ photo albums when he is an adult. That may be a bit much so I will have to reconsider. Kevin has one photo album covering most of his childhood. Of course his mom did have five children. His album covers the highlights including the awkward teen years. I'm thankful that when we moved in together, he didn't come in with 18+ photo albums. Somehow that may have seemed a bit excessive and obsessive.

Anyway, here are a few photos of Dash from the last month or so.

What's That?

Trying on Auntie's scarf

Just woke up from a nap

His new favorite thing to do when out shopping...hiding in the racks.

Trying on his dad's head gear

He did this on his own

On the tractor at the zoo

First time on the carousel

Hanging out with Alex and Mateo

Okay, so here are some more recent photos of Dash, and a more serious (not exactly happy) photo of him sitting in his usual pose on the couch for his monthly photo. We tried to get one the other day and he insisted on putting the box on his head. He's got quite a sense of humor.

The title of this post refers to Dash's latest favorite phrase: "What's that?" or "What's this?" This really began a few days ago when he started pointing and asking me to name everything. And I mean everything. I think I am getting some practice for the inevitable questioning that will come in the future, when he asks "Why?" to everything.

20 Months Old

The Little Gym

Here's a quick post so that I have at least one for the month! Tomorrow Dash will be 20 months and then I will try to post some pics from his monthly photo shoot.

In the meantime, here are a few pics from our outing this morning to the Little Gym. This was Dash's first time to an organized gymnastics/exercise class. He was a bit timid when we arrived but soon went off to do his own thing (as most of the kids did....they are all around 2 give or take a few months) and wasn't necessarily following the lead of the instructor. Several of the kids congregated on the parallel bars...the popular station of the day. Dash did a few somersaults, a back handspring (modified of course!), and had a try on the uneven bars (he needed a little help to hold on to the bars with both hands). There was one boy who could hold himself on the uneven bars in the pike position with his feet on the bars. Something to aspire to I suppose. Fortunately Dash has a bit of a weight disadvantage....supporting 30 lbs on those bars is no easy feat. He needs a leaner figure to be a gymnast or I'll have to get him started on some weights!

Aloha from Maui!

Taking a nap at the beach

Touch and feel exhibit at the Maui Ocean Center

Maui Ocean Center

Greetings from Maui! Just thought I'd write a quick post before heading to bed. Dash and Kevin are already asleep (it is only 8:45 PM here)!

We arrived safely on Thursday for the start of our Hawaiian vacation. The flight was a bit trying as Dash only slept about 45 minutes out of the 5 1/2 hour flight. He had his own seat (with his car seat) this time so at least we had some extra room. We did have to keep an eye on him kicking the seat in front of him. But things steadily improved from there. Once we made it to the beach, the relaxation began. Dash has been surprisingly mellow and when not playing in the sand, he has been kicking back on a lounge chair!

Of course Dash is still on Seattle time and has been waking up at 5:30 AM Hawaii time (two hours behind Seattle/PST). He wakes up bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to start his day. It is still dark however, which puts a damper on things. Not to mention that Kevin and I were not quite ready for such an early waking....but I have taken it as an opportunity to get out for a run/walk the last two mornings. This morning we were about 20 minutes from our hotel and Dash fell asleep. On our way back, I stopped for coffee and the barista asked me how I got Dash from his bed to the stroller without waking him. I kindly informed her that I would not have been up at that early hour had he not be awake in the first place! I certainly favor my sleep (and Dash's) over exercise.

Anyway, I am attaching some photos from the first part of our trip.....

Roslyn Winter Weekend Excursion

We spent Sunday afternoon and night up in Roslyn with some friends for a little getaway. Roslyn is about 1.5 hours from Seattle. I think that is also the town where the show Northern Exposure was filmed years ago. Anyway, we had planned to try to take the kids on a sleigh ride and sledding excursion at Happy Trails Adventures in Easton, WA (http://www.horseadventureswa.com/?page_id=1193) but the weather wasn't so cooperative. We had snow last week but by the weekend, the temperatures had gone up and all we got was rain on Saturday. Fortunately Sunday was relatively dry and we managed to get a bit of sledding in with the kids. We decided to skip the sleigh ride trip given the conditions. In retrospect, that excursion may have been a bit much for an 18 month old! Dash was happy (well, maybe not entirely happy since he cried the first two times down the hill on the sled...I am not kidding) or rather satisfied sledding and playing in the snow right by the house where we stayed.

Needless to say, we had fun although next time we will have to stay for two nights. All of that packing for one night was a little ridiculous and exhausting!

We are on the sled although you can't see it, just getting

ready to head down the small hill.

Alex, Dash and Mateo