Fast and Furious

Life is so fun and busy right now. I have been wanting to take a few minutes to remember what the kids are doing so here's a quick flurry of Echohawk-Hayashi life. Zoey and True both started pre-school and kindergarten. Their were no tears or sad feelings, only happy to be in the classroom, excited to meet new friends and a little shyness from both kids. Zoey has declared that she wants to be the leader that is in charge of the other leaders. True has started official ballet lessons with the Pacific Northwest Ballet Company. It brings me so much joy to see him expressing himself in dance! Both kids are driving me crazy trying to "help" me in the kitchen. Reading this great book called, Happier in the Home - Trying to get rid of clutter and remembering mindfulness. Matt just finished his first week of his last year of grad school. Life is good.

Zoey the WONDEFUl

Zoey is a wonder. Full of good cheer and love but quick to fight for what is hers and give voice to her wants and needs. She will turn three on March 24th and everyday I think about how I want to treasure these moments with her while she is still a two year old. She is not defined by expectations that others might have of two year old angst and so far temper tantrums are nonexistent, she potty trained at 29 months and after a month of wearing undies she quit wearing a pullup to bed. Her bladder control is unreal for a two year old. She wakes up and doesn’t pee right away and will sometimes wait for an hour. I MAY need to make her drink more water.
She is hilarious and keeps us in stitches with her poopy jokes. She loves to play with her brother and bestie, Lolapop. Zoey likes to keep me company in the kitchen and make her own recipes. I can count on her to construct her own breakfast. I put out the bread, peanut butter and jelly and she makes her own “toast”. She also likes to help with preparing veggies for dinner and baking cookies.

We have a lot of nicknames for her. Zo-Bo, Tiny and Zoey-Co are the top picks, she generally likes it but sometimes she protests with “I not tiny, I Zoey!” Which is so cute and I have to keep calling her Tiny.
She likes being a big girl but also enjoys pretending that she is a baby. When we go to Target she wants to lay down in the baby seat that is for newborn – 6 months. I usually let her because it is so funny and I can strap her in.
Zoey loves to eat and is always hungry first thing in the morning. She loves toast, SuperK with strawberries, strawberry yoghurt and eggs. For lunch she always wants to have a sandwich. She usually eats whatever we make for dinner with no fuss. She loves cucumber and salad! But like her brother she doesn’t eat raw tomatoes. She loves her gummy vitamins and I have caught her plenty of times sneaking extra vitamin C.
When she is naughty we put her in time out. She will usually agree and sit down and wait out her punishment with no arguments. I don’t know if it is super effective punishment.
I am crazy in love!

Rants and Raves

Rants and Raves – during our Hawaii Trip
RAVES
• Zoey in a bikini. Cutest possible outfit she can wear! I don’t know what it is about it about her little body in the little, tiny pieces of fabrics but I can hardly stand it. I just want to squeeze her little body and smother her with kisses. Thankfully she doesn’t mind my frantic embraces.
• Brown rice – Hawaii has certainly changed since the first time I lived here in 1995. You can get brown rice everywhere and I see people order it all the time. Matt still is a purist and eats white rice but our kids like the brown rice and so do I. We also see lots of “hapa” rice, brown and white mix.
• NPR – YAY!!!!! Finally, Oahu has a great NPR station. I was so happy to tune in on Sunday morning and hear Krista Tippett and On Being. Nerdy but important!
• True and Zoey sleeping together in a double bed is un-real cute.
• Oahu people are the nicest in the world. Sunshine makes for happy people.
• Matt and I watched Alaska State Troopers last night for a couple of hours and we loved it. It almost makes me miss Alaska.

RANTS
• Why does being on vacation make me feel tired? It seems that the more “rest” we get the more tired I feel.
• I am looking forward to the day when True will finally sleep through the night. Every night or early morning I feel his hot little breath next to me and I am so sleepy I just let him in our bed.
• Oahu coffee is very mediocre. I am writing this post from the “best” coffee shop on the island, Glazers Coffee but I am under-whelmed. The latte art was deftly done but the barista did not know where the beans had come from and was really unfriendly. I will give it a notch above Starbucks but someone needs to open a great coffee shop! I sound like a diva but when you pay $4 for a drink I expect something spectacular.
• I miss cooking. I can’t wait to get home and make Valentine treats for our annual Valentine party.

Grocery Outlet

Recently, I have become more aware of the phenomenon and tragedy that is Grocery Outlet. There are now two stores within a 3 mile radius from our lovely neighborhood in North Seattle and I have started hitting the aisles at the 130th and Aurora location a couple of times a month. I have gotten some great deals and a lot of weird and highly unusual items as well.

For instance, we have needed a new umbrella for our table in the backyard. I have been making mentally preparations to spend around a $100. Earlier this summer, I got home from work and lo and behold, Bob had bought us a new umbrella for $14! What the what! Other items that seem to good to be true have been Annie's organic fruit snacks and crackers. I can't remember the exact price but I estimate around 30% cheaper then Target and Safeway. I also got a huge bag of flax seed for around $2. So we have saved some money but I usually do not buy fruit snacks and crackers but I was lured in by the price.

We have also had some major disasters at the outlet. The first time I was there I bought a few cans of beans for a chilli I was making and then looked around for a snack. I grabbed a bag of beef jerky that I think was called ends and pieces. Those pieces of God knows what were HORRIBLE. I think it might have been cat or dinosaur meat that the found somewhere. It was incredibly tough and I know this is going to sound really bizarre but it was kind of dusty or ashy. It felt like I had taken a bite of rotten meat that had been dehydrated.

WOW, after writing that I feel a need to take some deep cleansing breath's.



OK, I am feeling better.

I recently bought toilet paper and the only way to describe it was that it was old. It feels like it had been sitting on the shelves for a long time and has gotten a little soggy and then was re-dried along the way. So freaking weird.

I have more to say, so Jen and Bex get ready for more thrilling posts from the underworld of Grocery Outlet.

Quotable Quotes

There has been some very interesting conversations around my house.

Matt to me at the dinner table
"I think I want to be married to a human, thank you" That might have been because I asked him if he would still love me even if I was magically transformed into a dinosaur.

True in the car
"I think I want to be a fashion designer when I grow up and make you a beautiful dress, Mommy!"

True after he met our friends 12 year old daughter.
"I like that girl Mommy, she is so nice, I want her to be my girlfriend."

Zoey when I asked her if she was ready to go to bed
"No way, Mama"

The knock knock jokes

True has been making up lame knock knock jokes recently.

This morning this one cracked me up.

True - Knock, Knock
Me - Who's there?
True - Chubby face
Me - Chubby face who?
True - Chubby face, actually I am a butt!

I think he heard us talking about a "butt chin" and he made it into his little joke.

Hilfreakingarious!

The Wild Chicken Puppet Show

Zoey - Two YEARS old

Hard to believe but Zoey the dream child has officially turned two year old. Kind of blows my mind a little. Time is flying with by and as she is my last ever bio baby I find myself feeling nostalgic and a little sad that she is growing so quickly. She seems to be pretty ok with being a baby forever, if I tell her that she is a big girl (usually in an attempt to get her to do something) she vehemently denies her big girl status and says, "I baby, I baby". Which cracks me up, she really is the funniest two year old I have ever seen. REALLY, you should see her and her gorgeous comedy, it would blow your hair back.

So, we had a huge birthday party. I sent an evite and then invited a whole herd of people who stormed through our house with joy and stamping. It was uhmazing. Around 70 people to celebrate our girl. She took it in stride and had a great time although there were moments when she needed the refuge of a grandparent or mom and dad. We porked down massive amounts of food - 4 smoked chickens, 15 pounds of Korean style brisket, yakisoba, edamame, gyoza, fruit, salad, cupcakes for the kids and strawberry cream cake for the adults. Crazy delicious.

Matt and his Dad had worked on a puppet theater for Zoey's birthday so I felt compelled to entertain the crowd with a humble puppet show that my dear friend Amber did with me. The crowd seemed to like it although Zoey seems to be a little bored with it.



I love my baby.

Valentine's Day

I don't know how this has happened but over the past two years I have gotten really excited about celebrating Valentine's Day.
Matt and I were never really that into it but now that I have kids it has been so fun to throw a big party and create heart's everywhere for my babies and friends.

AND, to be honest I would really like to buy and wear holiday themed sweaters but Matt and my sisters are horrified at the idea. I am giving them a reprieve but the moment I become a grandma I am buying sweaters for Christmas, Valentines' day, Easter, Fourth of July, and Thanksgiving - I can't wait!






Sadly, I had to make it through this Valentine's day without a festive sweater adorned with pink hearts but I compensated with heart shaped cookies, jello jigglers, cupcakes and homemade macaroni and cheese.

Human, raised by humans

Today in the car True told me, "Mom I was just joking about being an elf when I grow up, I want to be a army man!"

Hilarious! Matt asked him if there could be something in between, like a doctor.

Bowie

Zoey has given True a new nickname.

Bowie!

We love it.

Trying to send an email

True is in the kitchen and he calls out to me, "Mom I will be very very careful with this really sharp knife." He has a huge butcher knife and is trying to peel a kiwi!
Oh LORD!

He was supposed to be playing puppy.

True and Zoey UPDATE

How do my babies grow?

Zoey is getting incredibly big and very capable all of a sudden.

She can do the following with great proficiency

- Feed herself with a fork and spoon and drink out of a regular cup. In fact she is a great eater, she will eat all kinds of veggies and especially loves roasted carrots. Meat and cheese are the first things to be eaten on her plate, then she goes for the rice and finally her veggies. She is eating so much which makes sense with the growth she has been doing. I can't wait to see what her height percentile is when we take her for her well child in March.

- Pretend Play - Zoey has recently started to play with stuffed animals, pretending they are her babies and dragging them around to mother them. It is way cute but the car is more cluttered then normal. :) Pretending to read books is also a favorite past time.

- True still amazes us with this creative abilities. Most recently we realized that he knows how to use scissors with ease. He generally spends at least an hour a day coloring, gluing, cutting and making things"beautiful."

- He is also growing like a little weed. When he was younger we thought he was lactose intolerant and didn't allow him to have much dairy. But when Zoey started to drink milk he would ask me for some and I started to give him little glasses to see how he would react. He loves milk and has had no stomach issues. YAY! Both kids are drinking organic skim milk, at least two glasses a day.

- I have been a little concerned about vitamin D for both kids. I need to research a little about what Pacific Nortwest kids need to be taking in order to not be deficient. They take multi vitamins everyday but I think they need more D. And I need to make sure they get outside even when it is cold. :)






Zoey loves to help me cook. In order to distract her I let her peel the skin of the garlic. She loves it!

My list of thankful thoughts

So much to be thankful for, so I thought I would make a list.

1. Matt, who is so patient and loves me steadily despite my wild ways and crazy antics. What a rock, friend and partner in hilarity and sorrow. I am the luckiest girl in the world.

2. True-Blue, I can't imagine what my life would look like without his joyful spirit bounding around our house. Recently, he spends almost all of his playtime dancing and singing, I could watch him ALL DAY LONG.

3. Zoey-Lala, this girl cannot get enough of me! She constantly wants to cuddle, hug and love on her Mama and I am treasuring every moment as I know it won't last forever.

4. My mom is an incredible piller of strength. We have shared the most intense, crazy moments of our lives and she consistently responds in love, kindness and grace. So grateful to be her daughter.

5. Sisters and brothers! Sometimes I think about having more kids only because I am sad that my kids won't have this community of genuine love and support that I experience on a daily basis. So blessed to have David, Ted, Lael, Abi, Elisabeth, Hillel and Howie as my best friends.

6. Aunt Suzie - What a loyal, loving aunt and friend. She has helped raise and mentor all of us and I am so thankful for her.

7. Friends who are so amazing, constant in their love for Matt and I.

8. My house! Still can't believe that I own a house in Seattle. So happy that Ted and Jill helped us to remodel the carport into an extra bedroom.




Love, love, love!

Bathtub singing

True has gotten in the very awesome habit of making up silly songs. Tomightnin the bathtub he is singing
" my mom and dad are so so sweet!"
"if you see my family they will give you a hug!"

He just realized that I was noticing what he was singing. In order to disract me he just asked me, " mom, when you are in jail do the gates crash?"

Hmmmmmm, I have no idea why he thinks I have been to jail.

But now that he has my attention he has started to sing "my mommy is so beautiful.".

What a little doll!

Haloween and Jesus

We were getting ready to go to church and True asked me if we were going to sing songs about Halloween and Jesus. I said that I didn't know any songs about Halloween and Jesus. True looked at me like I was totally crazy and he said yes you do remember, the bats fly over Jesus!

crazy town!

It is NOT a wonderful day.

This morning True took a look at the cloudy sky and declared, "It is NOT a wonderful day, it's a weird, weird day, Jesus made this day so weird."

Bananas!

Say no to the boob and the great and wonderful Daddy

Three weeks ago I quit nursing Zoey. My sisters were shocked and dismayed because they (especially Lael) really thought I should keep breast feeding until Zoey was at least 5 years old. Can you hear the sarcasm dripping? But, to be honest I was very proud of myself for nursing her this long and was willing to go until she was two. However she was only nursing at night to put herself back to sleep and it was really keeping us both awake at night and made for a tired mommy and a grumpy Zoey so we stopped. She was ticked off to not be able to get in bed with us in the middle of the night and nurse whenever she wanted. Matt would go to her crib at night and talk to her, sing a little song and watch his ipod while she cried with such intensity you would think that we were stabbing her in the legs. She did this for a couple of nights and then got the idea of what was happening and has been sleeping through the night for a couple of weeks now!

Can I hear an Amen? Can I hear dancing and frolicking in the streets?

Free at LAST!!!!!!!

I was getting so tired of being tired!



While I was busy doing the running man, Matt got some amazing bonding time with Zoey. She is wild in love with her Daddy and I love it. She has taken to calling him, Maaaaatttt and when on the plane to Hawaii all she wanted was Maaattt. And, I was so happy because I could sit next to my peaceful little True-Blue and read my book and play on my ipad while Matt wrangled the little diva. I would occasionally glance up from readings and give a benevolent smile while inwardly I pumped my fist and thought not for the first time that I am the luckiest girl in the world!

The diva

So, I am not complaining but.... and I hate to write this down, I hate to think how our lives are going to change but Zoey is becoming, has become, um dare I say the word? A diva, dictator, captain of this ship and we her nervous and jumpy subjects are giving her a wide berth, accommodating this newest and frightening stage of her development. And we certainly are hoping that she will quickly outgrow this diva stage, we are doing "smallkine" discipline to help her "redirect" her reign of terror with moderate success. What sends her into spasms of rage is usually her poor big brother and he is the little diva's main target. If he is holding any toy, she demands it with a shriek of "mine, mine" and if he doesn't give it to her she goes banana's. If True is getting hugs and kisses from Mom and Dad she looses her mind and will push and hit him trying to get him off of us.

Bonkers!

True seems to be pretty nonchalant about the whole situation but it makes me a little edgy.

It's just a stage

and it makes it easier when you see how pretty she is! Her pictures are super cute but in person you just want to eat her up.
and even in this diva stage we are so crazy in love with her that we can hardly stand it!

Jesus and Rachel Zoe

Wednesday morning happenings

True just told me "hey Mom, Jesus can see us, He can put his big head down and look at us right now."

For some reason this just creeps me out!

I just got Zoey dressed for a wam Seattle day, a diaper and a dress. She decided she would like to also wear a night gown over the dress, pink velour pants and one pink rain boot. Somebody call Rachel Zoe because there is some serious fashion mistakes being made over here.