Good-bye, new Neighbor

About a week ago, I noticed this nest in our front porch. I kept watching it--hoping to see some action but unfortunately, when we finally climbed up to see it--the eggs had already hatched. We took it down on Sunday night and I couldn't believe how amazing it was! Birds are truly amazing. The kids had fun checking it out though and were excited when we found one on the other side of the house--we'll see how that one goes!

Zoo Trip Two!

It was beautiful and sunny when we woke up on Monday morning and so the kids jumped into the car and went to the zoo! (I'm so glad I bought the year pass, so that we can do that!) We visited one section of the zoo: Africa and spent 1.5 hours there. The animals were up and active and so fun to watch! We saw the lions pacing (ok, actually, the lioness was super attentive to this one kid and every time she moved, the lion moved!! SCARY!), elephants bathing/playing in the water, bats eating and one nursing, birds flying over our heads, giraffes eating, the hippo was out of the water--anyways, it was just a great day--and to top it off, I had happy kids! YEAH! So much fun!!

Xander's First Day of Preschool

I feel so blessed to have been offered a spot in a preschool for Xander. Having moved in so late in the year, I thought it would be near impossible to find somewhere for him to go. (most places told me I had to have registered in spring time). I really wanted him to attend some type of preschool because I think he needs that type of socialization--after all, he still has 2 years before kindergarten. Not long after moving in, we met Kim and she had a co-op already organized and invited us to join in. THANK YOU KIM! Xander has been waiting for this day since we got here--he's been dying to go to school since we left Arizona since we told him that after Daddy finished it was his turn.:) Here are a few highlights of the day:

Before School--waffles to fill the tummy and so excited to start the adventure!!

After school--such a happy guy! He was beaming from ear to ear ALL day. He was a whole new kid. Here he is posing with the class pet--Poppy the Penguin. He was so excited to be first to bring Poppy home. We spent a while talking about all the things Poppy could do with us and he just could not slow down. He is especially excited to bring Poppy to Music Makers tomorrow. All of a sudden, he is all about Penguins! I wonder why?
His favorite part of the day was singing, and reading and playing and...and...and. I take it he liked the day! It was so fun to try and engage him and have him explain everything he brought home. This is going to be the start of a great thing for us...yeah for school!

In other news---if you are looking for Eliza--you might find her here--this is where she does most of her #2's right now. No #1's--just #2's. But I'm not complaining, after all, she is only 20 months old. She takes a LONG time though and has to have a book while she goes. It just cracks me up--her favorite book is Nemo. In this picture, she had requested a drink. Silly Monkey! We are so proud of you!

Portland Zoo

I've been debating whether or not to buy a year pass to the zoo here and finally broke down and did so last week. I am so glad that we did! We went with friends Haley and Mckenzie when we bought it and had a blast! The Portland zOo is amazing! I didn't take very many photos but since we'll be returning many more times, I'm sure there will be more pictures in future posts. SO MUCH FUN!

Just like my Mom & First Hair Cut

This is Eliza wearing a dress my grandmother made me.

This is me in the same dress, age 2

Before the haircut
After the haircut.
(Not sure if I'm glad that we did it. Won't do it again for a long time. )

Lambert the Sheepish Lion

Last week, we rented the old school Three Little Pigs movie from the library. Unbeknown to me, the movie "Lambert the Sheepish Lion" was also on the movie. This was a story that my family read and watched all the time (or at least that is what I happen to remember) so I was very excited to share it with Xander. And he sure loved it. So much so that he (after watching me do it once) put together this puppet show. If you don't want to make it all the way through (it's a little long) just watch the second clip of him singing the theme song. Gosh I love this kid!