The Miracle Worker

If you live somewhere in the greater Seattle area, chances are you've heard of Susie Gravrock's swim lessons. I've actually been out of town before and overheard strangers talking about Miss Susie and what an amazing swim teacher she is. Ragen did fantastically in her lessons over the past several years. With Maggie, I did a few swim lessons through Water Babies early on and then sort of got busy. Poor 2nd child!! I started the lessons up at the Bellevue Club in the spring and after a rocky start, she did OK. I was able to get Maggie in for a week at Susie's so I jumped at the chance figuring she'd be swimming like a fish at the end of the week.

Poor, poor Susie (and everyone else at class that week)! Maggie screamed like crazy for 2 straight days. She was out of the pool as fast as I could put her back in - about 25 times. Finally on day 3 (of 4), she got in calmly at the start of class. And didn't scream. In fact, Mags was having fun!! She was the first one out of the pool for dives and the diving board. The day before I'd had to drop her off the board screaming like crazy. This day, she jumped right in. On the last day, she actually dove off the diving board! She was so disappointed when the week was over. We headed straight to the Tennis Club after lessons on the last day and when we swam in the big pool, she jumped over & over off the side by herself. She wouldn't even jump in to me holding my hands at the beginning of the week.

I'm so proud of Maggie for overcoming her fear and progressing so well! I really can't say enough about Susie and what a miracle worker she is. Who knows how she does it but she always manages to amaze me!

.Day one - one of the few times she stayed in the pool long enough to have a turn

Day four - such a happy little swimmer!

Jumps & dives off the edge

Maybe she has a future on the dive team?!

Birthday Carnival

If you're looking for a fabulous birthday party theme for your little one, I suggest you have a carnival! My friend Vanessa did this for her 4 year old daughter Ella this past weekend and it was such a hit with the kids! They rented a giant bouncy house, pony rides, several carnival games, a popcorn machine, a sno-cone machine, spin art, sand art, etc...She had her family members man all the different activities and pass out prizes. The kids caught on quickly that the more games you played, the more prizes you got. It was a nice sunny day and a huge success! Happy birthday Ella and thanks for a wonderful party, V!

The carnival scene...

Gorgeous cake with a ferris wheel

The birthday girl!

Ragen, Maggie & Reese have some help with the sand art

Pony rides!

2nd Annual

We just returned from one of our 2nd annual summer trip to Whidbey Island. The Tuckers are gracious enough to have us and 2-3 other families to their house and we always have the BEST time! We arrived at Whidbey Thursday afternoon and for the first day, it was just us and the Tuckers. What a great way to spend quality time together - cooking, playing on the beach, bikes, crabbing, swings, etc. The kids had so much fun! Then on Friday, the Bosch family and Tom & Kalees West joined in the fun. Kalees' dog Bella was a huge hit for the Kiefer kids! Saturday morning the Evans family headed up and our group was complete. We have such a fabulous time at this island getaway every year and we can't wait to go back! Thanks Court & Alex for hosting us!!

.Obligatory ferry boat picture

Been there for 10 minutes and we hit the beach - with a cocktail :)

Crabbing was hit & miss but this particular catch was a huge one!

Ragen adores Mackenzie

Kids before they head off digging for sand shrimp. Connor, Ragen, Maggie, Ryan & Madison

Ragen & Mads with Alex. It's cute how Ragen & Alex are special buds!

Maggie logged alot of swing time.

The guys cleared a horseshoe pit and had a tournament. They took it super seriously.

Another successful trip!!

l to r: Maggie,Keri, Jeremy, Ragen, Madison, Amie, random neighbor girl, Courtney, Mackenzie, Alex, Anna, Ryan John, Alex, Gabe, Willie, & Connor

"Doo-ra" birthday party

Saturday was Maggie's 3rd birthday party. Ever since we planned Ragen's birthday party for last May, Maggie has been wanting a "Doo-ra" (Dora) party so we took the theme and ran with it. I had both kids' 1st birthdays at our house and swore I'd never do it again but I had a momentary lapse and figured it wouldn't be that bad so we had the party at home. We also had Dizzy's Tumblebus visit which was a blast for the kiddos. Since Maggie has a summer birthday, not very many kids could come which was actually a blessing because the party was really mellow and controlled. The best part is that Maggie had a wonderful birthday party and clearly enjoyed her special day!

The door sign I made which also had a darling banner with Maggie's name on it hanging across my porch but those pictures didn't turn out :(

The kids are ready to tumble! Madison, Alexandra, Emily Anne, Ragen, Ellie, Maggie, Cameron & Nate

Maggie couldn't seem to go down this slide fast enough. She loved the Tumblebus!

Receiving her medal at the awards ceremony at the end.

Poor Mackenzie was too little for the Tumblebus but she was still quite the party animal

Lunch and the darling Dora cake my mom made

It wouldn't be a 3rd birthday in my house without my kids throwing a fit when the birthday cake comes out. Maggie wouldn't even look up at the cake so Ellie blew her candles out for her.

The Dora bottlecap necklaces I made for the favors. Each had the Dora I created for the invites and the kids' names inside. A fun project once I got the hang of it :)

Goody bags! I found the BEST resource for custom cokkies! The Whimsy Cookie Co. is in Tennessee and definitely worth the shipping charges! Her blog features her orders and it was such fun to see all of her amazing creations. I will definitely be using her for other fun cookies! Laurie was fabulous to work with and her cookies are not only super cute but also super yummy!

The fish was THIS big

Ragen went on his first real fishing adventure today and had a blast! He caught his first fish last year up at Whidbey but those aren't "real" fish. This was true blue fishing with gear and everything. My dad has been wanting to take him for his first fishing experience since the minute he learned Ragen was a boy. Today, my dad and Jeremy's dad took Ragen out on the boat for a boys only fishing trip. Ragen caught 5 fish but only 3 were big enough to keep for dinner. Ragen asked if I was going to cook them but I am leaving that part of the experience to my dad. He can clean them and cook them!

She's THREE

Our sweet baby girl turns 3 today! Maggie came via scheduled induction a week early so the day she was born was so much more relaxed than when Ragen arrived. I was so ready to meet our little girl and remember feeling so much more prepared when I held her in my arms for the first time. I recall the first thought I had was how glad I was that Dr. Case had gotten it right way back when (at 11 weeks) when he told us it was a GIRL. You hear those horror stories and since it was only 11 weeks, I was always nervous that I'd get my hopes up for the girl and then we'd actually have a boy. So relieved! Mags was such an easy-going and mellow baby. She just hung out, slept well and was a happy baby. We always thought she'd be a laid back kid and she was...until about 8 months ago. She did everything late - sat up late, crawled late (OK, never), walked late, spoke late...But she sure is making up for lost time now. Maggie is so busy and loves to run everywhere, talk as fast and loud as she can, and does everything her brother does. Literally. It's so hard to get mad at her because she's so funny at what she's doing and looks so cute doing it. I can sense a diva in the making which scares me to death. :)

Maggie girl - I wish you the happiest of birthdays and can't imagine my life without you. You're my best girl and I love how you tell me that even though you're a big girl now, you're always mommy's baby. I can't wait to see what your third year brings as you've grown up so much and developed so far in the past year. I love you all the way to heaven and back (and you always reply with "and heaven is really far - farther than space."). It sure is!

Princess 1st birthday party

Still the princess (in the same crown)

There's a first for everything

Today I tackled a project that not only have I been putting off for 3 years, but I've actually never done it before...I planted pots! (Or did I pot plants?) In anticipation of Maggie's birthday party here this weekend, I decided that it was time. The pots have sat empty next to our front door since we moved in and since my poor yard is as cleared-out as they come, I thought we could use some color in the pots. I'm pretty proud of myself and think they turned out quite lovely. Thanks to the nice lady at Bellevue Nursery for all the input! Maybe this will inspire me to finally re-plant the yard?

I turned this...

Into this...