Runnin' with kids

The other day Jairo and I had an afternoon together and decided to take a run. Although it had been snowing that morning, the streets were decent for a run, but the temperature was still quite cold. We figured the kids would do fine all bundled. So, here they are dressed all cozy for the ride. We just started taking them out together in the double stroller and Ethan thinks it’s such a fun thing to do with his sister. The stroller also has a clear plastic cover, which we pulled over them to keep the wind out during the run. As you can see, they must have had a comfy ride because about halfway through the run they were both zonked. It was too cute!

I'm not quite sure how Ethan was breathing with his face smashed against his coat. To our defense, we did try to tilt his head back during the run but it just kept flopping forward. It's a wonder how kids sleep in such seemingly uncomfortable positions!?

Ava's play date

Ava had one of her first play dates with little Kate. Ethan had a few friends over to play and make pizzas and little Kate came along since her big brother Jack is one of Ethan's buddies. Kate is about 3 months younger than Ava. Of course Ava has been around other kids and babies, but I think this was one of the first times we laid her down with another baby and she actually took interest and wanted to interact.

I think Kate's done with Ava!

A Smile for Valentine's

I attempted to get the kids to take some Valentine's photos, but neither were in the mood at the same time ... shocking! When Ethan was being cooperative and smiley, Ava was fussy. When Ava was all smiles Ethan wanted nothing to do with pictures. I need the program where you can swap faces to create a photo where everyone is looking at the camera and smiling together.

We didn't do anything too exciting for Valentine's Day as everyone was just getting over colds/flu. It seems this winter we just keep getting one bug after another. Ugggghh! Ethan did help with making chocolate suckers for his preschool class, which he thought was quite fun. Surprisingly they weren't any more difficult or time consuming than cookies and was something a little different.

Photo Session ... Finally

I told myself that I was going to be more on the ball with baby number two and get infant photos ... meaning within the first few weeks of birth. Well, idealism is great, but reality was I didn't get around to having some nice photos taken until Ava was about 2 1/2 months old. Either way, I loved how they turned out. We even got Ethan to be a good sport for a few photos. It really was hard to get just two kids to look good in the same photo. I don't know how people do it with bigger families.

Holiday Fun in Seattle

We decided to take a trip to Seattle with some of the friends Ethan plays with. What a group we had! It was a touristy day of holiday fun in downtown. We visited the model train village at the Seattle Center, took a ride on the monorail to Westlake Center, had a ride on the carousel, visited the gingerbread houses at the Sheraton, and just had fun running around downtown with all the holiday décor. A long day cruising all over with a group of babies and 3-year-olds, but we all had a blast!

Checking out the model train village with friends Jack and Jayden.

Getting wiggles out with Jack.

Our troop getting ready to ride the monorail.

Riding the monorail with Jayden.

Now to the carousel. Ethan's starting to look tired! While riding the carousel they were filming a local TV show called Seattle Magazine. The host of the show was riding just in front of Ethan and his friend Jayden. The two got their first minutes of fame in background on the show that aired the following evening.

At the Sheraton after viewing the gingerbread houses.

Wandering Seattle streets is much more fun when holding hands with Jayden!

Just being silly with Jayden and Carsen.

Wow! The Space Needle is so tall.