Floor puzzle

Uncle Erik and Auntie Lisa gave Monica this puzzle for her birthday and we had a blast putting it together today. Anton and I are going to get a serious crash course on state capitols and state nicknames. Monica wanted me to comment on each state as we put the puzzle together. I did okay until we got to a few like Missouri and Kansas. It was also hard to explain why Hawaii and Alaska are "next to each other" even though Alaska is cold and Hawaii is hot!!!

Dress Up

Here is the latest from our Tukwila fashion experts.

A Bouncy Party

Today we had a kids' party for Monica at the Renton Community Center. During the first hour all the little ones were in a room full of toys, including an inflatable bouncy thing. It was chaotic, but they all loved it. We were then in a party room for an hour where Monica opened presents and everyone had pizza and cake.

It was a great DORA adventure... from the tablecloths to the cake decorations. And thanks to the generosity of friends, Monica is now equipped with enough Dora gear to open her own outlet!

Overall, the party was great. Despite the kid to parent ratio being somewhat scary, the kids were amazingly well behaved and had a great time. Monica (and we) are so fortunate to have great friends in our lives!

Crazies on the road

It's been a beautiful week in the Puget Sound. Sunny and warm (at least I consider 60 degrees warm for February). We even have several flowers in bloom in the yard. When I went running today I didn't even have to wear my fleece headband to keep my ears warm!
Monica and Jack are embracing the weather with a surge of outdoor interest... they burst out into the front yard any time the door is open, even if they don't have any shoes on. This creates a lot of laundry, but it's pretty cute. Today while I unloaded the Honda, they had some fun...

Happy Birthday Dear Monica

It's the big number 5 for Monica today. She had quite a day, starting off with her preschool class' field trip to the aquarium. Anton (who is still off from work) was able to attend also, and got some great shots of Monica and her special friend Eva, whose birthday is also today!

This afternoon, Monica got a surprise visit from Nanie and Grandpa Gordon who delivered her gift and took her out for ice cream.

Later, we had Monica's favorite dinner: scallops and noodles with red sauce.

Jack enjoyed the meal too!

After dinner Monica opened her presents that had arrived by mail and those from Dad, Jack, and I. Jack REALLY wanted to help open presents and play with all the new things...

But Sister wouldn't hear of it.

Sorry, Buddy, you'll have to wait until August!

Homework!

Monica has two rounds of homework each week now. She has one folder with assignments from her morning preschool class and one folder with work for the afternoon enrichment class that she takes after the morning session on Wednesdays. She is generally very good about sitting down and getting her homework done and usually even enjoys it. Tonight she tried to get as much done as possible (two of the three sheets are now completed) so that she can have it done before her big birthday weekend!

A Day in the Dawghouse

The Huskies beat Oregon State today by 5 and of course we were there to see it.

Monica and I spent most of the day at Hec Ed with Great Grandma, Grandpa Mike, and Nana Barb. We started with the alumni game at noon and didn't leave until the autograph session ended at 4! Anton and Jack stayed home for quieter activities.
Monica had a great time and enjoyed some of her favorite activities at the Dawghouse:
-watching her favorite player: #4 Emily Florence
-eating a hot dog with ketchup AND mustard
-playing ball in the foyer with Mom, Nana Barb, Grandpa, or just throwing it against the wall by herself
-asking Grandpa Mike for popcorn
-eating the popcorn that Grandpa buys for her
-keeping track of where Harry the Husky (mascot) is throughout the game
-commenting on the cheer staff
-guessing what the halftime entertainment will be
-finding Kari (Peterson) Hager in the crowd
-asking if we are ahead, even though she can read the scoreboard
-waiting in line after the game to get autographs from the players

Monica's objectives are somewhat different from MY favorite game-day activities, which include:
-drinking a large mountain dew
-browsing the Husky team shop for essential gear such as car flags and purple beads
-fashion-checking our coaching staff
-seeing how many 80s songs I can recognize from the band's playlist
-catching up with Mom, Dad, and Grandma
-waving at and sometimes chatting with Kari (Peterson) Hager
-yelling at the refs
-watching current highlights such as Katelan's shooting ability, Emily's amazing nose for the ball on rebounds, and Andrea's close range shot
-yelling at the opposing coach to sit down
-yelling at the refs some more
-commentating back and forth with my father
-securing another victory

I especially enjoyed watching the Husky alumni game today which took place before the regular game. While some of the players seemed as good as ever, others looked like they hadn't touched a ball since graduating, making me feel better about my own mediocre performance on Wednesday! Maybe the Husky alums will be sore tomorrow too!

Hitting the Hardwood

Tonight I dusted off my basketball shoes and hit the hardwood for a fundraiser basketball game between our staff and the Mount Rainier High School staff. Although we lost by about 20, my main goal was not to go into cardiac arrest so I consider it a successful evening. The event also raised over $4000 for the Gloria's Angels foundation, so that was successful too.
I am home now enjoying my post-game, post-shower mozarella sticks and mountain dew. We'll see how sore I am tomorrow!

Happy Valentine's Day

Monica made her own Valentines this year for her preschool friends. She chose Dora pictures from the computer to print and then glued them to red paper. After I cut them out and wrote the To/From, she wrote each friend's name on the back and signed hers. It took quite a while (there are 14 students in her class) but she was very patient and worked hard.
It's hard to say which is Monica's favorite holiday: Christmas or Valentine's Day. Here are a few pros for each, as she would describe them.

Christmas:
Presents
Presents
Presents
Santa
More Presents
Singing "Jingle Bells" and "Up on the Housetop"
Decorations
Candy and sweets
Singing Happy Birthday to Jesus

Valentine's Day:
So many pink things everywhere
Hearts everywhere
Candy and sweets
Making cards for friends
Decorating the house with hearts
Wearing pink, red, or hearts
It's so close to my birthday!

Give me an OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Here are a few pictuers from our post-caucus party Saturday night. We had tacos, played some games, and of course watched the returns.
Anton and Doug are both delegates from their precincts and will be moving on to the county level on April 13.

As you can see the Obama Fever in our household has reached unprecedented severity. Anton, I think, has the worst case. While this is a relatively new condition spreading across America, it has distinct symptoms.

Here are the ones that Anton is already showing:

-Constant viewing of MSNBC

-simultaneous reading of multiple Obama websites

-wearing of Obama stickers

-online ordering of Obama t-shirts

-donations to Obama's campaign

-reading Obama's books

-ordering Obama yard signs

-creating your own profile on Obama's website

-collecting online Obama "friends"

-Corresponding with other sufferers of Obama Fever across the nation

-Choosing to watch Obama speeches over college basketball (this has been the most devastating effect on our household)

Anton has not yet, but may begin to, suffer from:

-Attendance at Obama events

-Creating his own spread sheet of delegate numbers

-Door to door campaigning

The condition, while exciting, is known to consume all of one's time and energy and is not to be taken lightly. It is also highly contagious, even to Republicans, and anyone wanting to hang out at our house should be aware of the risks of exposure. We hope there will be no cure in the near future!

Fun on the "Ferry"

Katie and I took the kids to Bellevue Square this afternoon. The highlight (for Monica and Jack at least) was playing on the boat. I've always called it the "Ferry" boat, but taking a closer look today it looks much more like a tugboat!

Politics and Playing Ball

It's still a whirlwind around here, at least from my point of view. However, Anton is now able to help a bit around the house and play with the kids a little. He has also been following politics like a maniac. MSNBC is his new favorite channel and he is familiar with all the election webpages. He is even contemplating somehow hobbling his way to the Key on Friday to hear Barack speak. Maybe he can flash his scar to qualify for the "disabled" seating for a closer view-- ha ha!

Work and Play

Life goes on here in Kramerica, even with Anton on the couch. He is feeling better each day and he has had some great quotes while on vicadin:

While watching the news:
Anton: "Wow, Kelly O'Donnell is HOT!" (Inhibitions?)

Anne: "What's the superbowl score now?"
Anton: "It's um, they started late. Yeah, it's just started. So it's tied. I mean there's no score. Wait no, the Giants scored. But there's no time gone yet." (Wow, how did this answer my question?)

So in addition to TV watching, Anton has been resting, reading, and interacting with the kids when possible. It's definitely been busy for me, to say the least. I think I sat down for a total of 15 minutes today! But now as the evening is waning, I have a few moments to post some images from today:

It's not too cold to play outside today!!!

"Can't we play out there too??"

"Hey, forget that outside stuff. Banging lids on the tile floor is MUCH more exciting!"