MarshallAndFamily.com

As Marc was putting Marshall to bed tonight he said, “I have big fun day”.  To give you an idea of what he did today here’s a recap.

After I woke up and ate breakfast – the boys and dogs were already up and fed – I took Marshall down to Carkeek Park for a walk.  It was a bright, clear, sunny fall day.  Perfect for a stroll along the sound.  As we descended the flight of stairs to the beach there was a long train below.  Instant entertainment for Marshall.  After we reached the beach I realized we should have brought hats and another layer.  It was colder and it was also windy on the water.  Marshall had a good time throwing rocks into the water and picking up debris in the sand.

Looking a bit stunned due to the cold and wind.

Throwing a rock into the surf.

He loves being around the water.  You wouldn’t know it from the look on his face in this photo but that’s due to the weather.

Jumping up and down like it’s a huge puddle!

Picking up debris to throw into the water.

After we were sufficiently beached out and cold I told Marshall that we were going to Central Market, then going home for lunch.

I don’t have to mention Central Market at all and every weekend he will ask if we are going there.  He LOVES Central Market.  Whoever does their marketing is a genius for getting the next generation of shoppers hooked.

I think it’s a favourite of his because of:

1.  The red tractor.  They cleverly park it outside the entrance.  It serves as a decoration and a kid magnet.  He’s been sitting in that thing since he was a baby.  Whatever the age is when they are able to point to things that they want/are interested in but can’t vocalize it, that’s how young he was when he noticed it.  Every trip to Central Market with Marshall in tow has either started or ended on the tractor.

2.  The food samples.  Every weekend they have at least a couple of new things to try.  Today they were sampling six types of apples, double chocolate cheesecake, and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.  As soon as we got home and Marc saw Marshall’s chocolate mustache he knew that we had come from Central Market.

3.  The crabs.  They have a large seafood section and a lot of it is live – as in crabs, lobsters, clams, and oysters.  The crabs are a diversion but numbers 1. and 2. above are the big draw.

4.  The right cashier will offer to stamp his hand.  The long time cashiers will do this and the kids really love it.

On the car ride home he asked if we were going to Central Market (!).  I reminded him that we had just left the market and he made a disappointed, “awwww”.

After we returned home we ate lunch and Marc took Marshall to swim class.  I took the opportunity to clean off my desk and do some laundry.

What a perfect Sunday and a Big Fun Day!

Last week at Sing and Play Ms. Taylor introduced the violin bow to the class.  Everyone learned how to hold a bow properly using the “rabbit” hold and practiced doing so.  This week the children had a chance to play on a 1/16th scale violin.

The class usually includes the children picking some songs out of the Song Bag to sing with their pretend microphones.  A random sampling of tunes could be: She’ll be Coming Round the Mountain, Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush, Skidimarink, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

There are also some fun exercises in learning rhythm:

Part of the exercise was learning that the right hand is always the bow hand, even if one is left handed.  The kids are asked to find their bow hand and raise it.  She then comes around the room and stamps each of their hand with a ribbon bow design 🙂

The highlight of the day (at least for us) was watching Marshall try out the 1/16th violin!  Can you see his bow stamp?

We attended a birthday party of another October celebrant two days after Marshall’s 3rd birthday.  A lot of his little friends have birthdays in October because we know their parents either through childbirth class, PEPS, or Mom’s Group.

We went to Sunset Hill community center to watch a puppet show, then afterwards we went downstairs to celebrate Maria’s 3rd birthday with crafts, cupcakes, and ice cream.  It was a fun time and Marshall had a great time.

Daddy adjusting his birthday hat post-puppet show.

Putting together a lion (with help from Daddy).

The photo says it all – love it!

Enjoying himself with the party favours, cupcakes, ice cream.

We started taking Marshall to a Baby/Tots swim class when he turned 6 months old.  I actually wanted to swim with him earlier in a class setting but the earliest age they start at the pool is 6 months.  I had called them when he was three months old so I had to wait to start lessons!  He has now outgrown the Tots class and has started a 3 year old and up class in early September ( a bit before his 3rd birthday).  He is doing well and loves the class.  We used to go into the pool with him every week but now he goes in by himself with help from the instructor.  It’s really fun to watch him take a water weight and use it to float/kick around the pool.  He seems to really love being in the water and is even getting used to learning how to float on his back.

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…

Our little big boy is three!  I will say that three is the age when they first really start to know that it is THEIR day.  I had Marshall bring some cupcakes over to Karla’s to share with them in the morning.  I wished him a happy birthday and he smiled and said thank you.  Earlier in the week he told Karla that one gets cake and ice cream on his birthday – did you hear that Dana?!  He’s three and he GETS IT.  From the anticipation and excitement he was really wound up by the time we got home.   When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday dinner he said, “Ice cream cone – mocha chocolate ice cream”.  When I asked again (because that’s not a proper dinner in mom world) he said “pizza”.  So we brought home a pizza for dinner, then had cake and ice cream and of course opened his gifts.

Looking happy as a clam with his milk, mommy, cake, and ice cream.

We live near a small Catholic school and they have a Fall Fair every year near the end of September.  They have a ferris wheel and a few other rides and carnival booths set up in the large parking lot, and crafts, food, and other items for sale at the school.

When we arrived Marshall spied a blue inflatable tent with Blue, the dog from the show Blues Clues.  This is one of the few TV shows he watches so naturally he kept pointing to the tent.  He didn’t understand that the kids were supposed to go inside and jump around so we did our best to point that out.  When he first got into the tent he was a bit hesitant but started jumping more as more kids were let inside.

Walking a couple blocks to the Fall Fair.

We did a lot of watching and observing as Marshall was pretty tired from jumping.  This was a good sneak preview of what he can expect when we take him to the state fair, perhaps next year.

We have been taking Marshall to a once a week music play class for toddlers.  He has been enjoying the classes where the kids sing songs and in the process they learn pitch, rhythm, tone, how to bow to applause, and how to hold a violin bow.  The class is through the Suzuki Institute of Seattle and is meant to expose the kids to the basic concepts of music.  I couldn’t resist but to capture a few shots of his first class.

We had a very subdued and non-eventful Labour Day weekend this year.  I had dental surgery the Friday of the long weekend which meant a lot of sleeping (me) and bumming around the house.    I had slept so much that I really wanted to take a walk so we went down to the local school parking lot to have some fun.   The paved lot is huge (about half a city block square) and fenced off so as soon as Marshall gets in there he really rides his bike at full speed.

It’s been too long since I’ve posted photos.  Here are some snapshots of the last bits of summer.

Sticker boy and sticker dog.  Bella was covered with stars after he was through plastering his leg with star stickers.

Marshall and Maggie playing with a vintage Fisher Price record player.  Remember those from the 70s?  This was a gift from grandma Cheryl.

Eating a salmon hot dog.  Seriously.  How Seattle!

Showing off some of the tomatoes and strawberries he picked from the back yard.

Acting silly with his old baby toys.  Oh, those baby days of yore!

I’ve really fallen behind in my postings. It’s Labour Day already and I have photos from the end of July!

These berry photos were taken at the end of July as we were enjoying raspberries and blackberries by the flat. We are very fortunate to live in a location where raspberries are plentiful and delicious. The ones pictured here are from a local farm that cultivates a particular varietal called “Tulamine” which is renowned for flavour and appearance. They are so perfect looking and tasting that I can polish off onr half of the half flat pictured here.

Marshall enjoying the raspberries and blackberries I brought home from Central Market.

A week later I heard it through the grapevine that Shelly had so many fruit that she was drowning in raspberries. About a gallon a night was what I heard. I e-mailed her and told her that we could alleviate her problem quickly if I brought Marshall over for an hour. When we got there he enjoyed playing with Telly (and Shelly) so much that he quickly forgot about the raspberries. He did however help himself to her strawberry patch as you can see in these photos.