MarshallAndFamily.com

June 17, 2007

My Little Helper

Filed under: — Olga @ 10:54 pm

dsc_6790_blog.jpg Photo taken earlier today, sitting down while Marc was tying Marshall’s shoe.  He was excited because I said the magic word: “Outside”.  He loves going outside, so much that the word “Outside” was the first thing he has said “ehs” (yes) to. 

We were going outside which meant I was going to transplant and divide some plants (it was damp and overcast) and he was going to help.  Trudging between the front and the back yard, Marshall helped me by dragging my mini-spade everywhere.

June 14, 2007

Fire Station Visit

Filed under: — Olga @ 10:48 pm

Karla took the kids to visit her brother at work on Tuesday.  He works at one of the fire stations in Kirkland.  The kids got to handle the gear and sit in the fire truck.  Here is the photodocumentation.

june-059_blog.jpg  Marshall on the back of the fire truck.

june-067_blog.jpg  Getting a hand with the axe.

june-068_blog.jpg  Helping with the hose.

june-081_blog.jpg  Admiring Ella’s fire-fighting gear.

New Food Trend?

Filed under: — Olga @ 3:29 pm

You can’t get much fresher than this.  With all the debate over eating organic and/or locally sourced food, perhaps my young one will start a new food trend:  Eat it while it’s still alive!!! 

I was weeding my small strawberry patch and noticed there were a few ripe berries so I picked them and put them into a plastic container.  I had intended to wash the fruit before they were eaten. Before I knew it, Marshall had opened the lid of the container and had eaten the few berries I had in there.

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I turned back to continue weeding and glanced back to check on him.  This is what I saw:

dsc_6744_blog.jpg I told Marshall to put the fruit down as they were not perfectly ripe yet.  “We’ll pick them tomorrow when they’ll taste better”.  Of course someone that young has no concept of tomorrow. Sensing a losing battle, I quickly got my camera so that I could capture the next few shots.

dsc_6745_blog.jpg dsc_6739_blog.jpg dsc_6746_blog.jpg Talk about efficiency. He didn’t bother picking the fruit off the stem – he just ate it off the plant. 

dsc_6749_blog.jpg dsc_6747_blog.jpg The leaves were getting in his way but he didn’t let it bother him. The leaves make the entire operation more stealth.

dsc_6751_blog.jpg The aftermath. It’s difficult to discern who ate the berry – a bird, squirrel, or toddler.

Bumbo Revisited

Filed under: — Olga @ 1:21 pm

I constantly sort through things that Marshall has outgrown. Sitting amongst the pile of outgrown clothes, toys, and whatnots was this Bumbo seat. It wasn’t long before Marshall saw it and started playing in it. 

The Bumbo is supposed to be used for babies who have enough neck control but can’t sit up yet by themselves, so the target age for this product is 3 months – 8 months of age. I dug out a photo of him in one from April 2006, when he was 6 months old. Beside it is a photo of him in it from last weekend, at 20 months old – a year and a half later.dsc_0660_blog.jpg dsc_6706_blog.jpg

He now sits in it and gets stuck. He signs, “help” and we pull him out of the seat. What a difference a year makes! 

June 10, 2007

Desert Wildlife

Filed under: — Olga @ 11:33 pm

Back to talking about the Arizona trip. As I said earlier, we stayed at a 55+ mobile home resort and I was fascinated. This is a world that I’ve never seen before. A small city of neat, immaculately kept second (or third) homes for people that want to escape the reality of cold winters. An age restriction to ensure that the kids/grandkids don’t over extend their stay. A gated community with a guarded entrance. A lap pool, play pool, and hot tub, with a clubhouse/shower facility so nice that people prefer to shower there over showering at home. This is the life!

Our visit coincided with less than 1% vacancy I’m sure. People start leaving for the summer sometime between April and May, usually returning between September and October. With the 104 degree heat I would too. There was not a soul to be seen with empty streets, empty pools, and homes shuttered for the summer. A/C units were shut off, large multi gallon buckets of water were probably left in the homes over the summer so that things don’t crack from the lack of humidity. All foreign concepts to me. 

We took a walk one evening after it cooled down to the mid 80s. As we walked down the middle of one of the the many empty streets , I came across another fascinating observation: There was an abundance of pretend wildlife. Let’s take a tour.

dsc_6692_blog.jpg “Wow Mom, what’s this?”. If Marshall could talk he would have uttered these very words. “It’s a pretend owl, and he will eat you if you get too close. Get back here and let’s keep walking,” would be my response.

dsc_6689_blog.jpg “Look Ma! I found a pile of puppies!”

dsc_6695_blog.jpg The piece de resistance – birds taking a dirt bath in the fountain. Marshall loves water and he ran up to the fountain expecting to stick his hand in the rush of flowing water. Upon closer inspection there was no water but plenty of dirt. He had a tough time deciding which was more interesting -the fountain or the odd-looking plant with razor-sharp protrusions in front of him. I steered him towards the fountain.

June 9, 2007

You’re Going To Hate Me…

Filed under: — Olga @ 11:15 pm

…if you have small children who have trouble sleeping but I have to post this.  I’m documenting it here for the record: Marshall asked to go to bed an hour earlier tonight. You’re probably thinking that I’m making this up but I’m not. Ask Marc. 

Marshall was not his usual self yesterday – crying, clingy, generally not happy with anything or anybody. Karla thought he may not be feeling well. I suspected it had to do with his teething. Later Marc confirmed it when he showed me a small fang that appeared to have just emerged from his gum. Even though Marshall was tired and upset he slept well last night. 

Marshall had a normal day with a two hour nap this afternoon. After the nap he started to get a bit screechy. Several times he was in his room, trying to climb his way into the crib?! Most kids want to climb out. There he was, his feet on the rails, pulling himself up and trying to get in. I thought he wanted his blanket so I gave it to him but he still wanted in. After I plopped him in, he laid there for about 15 minutes until Marc came home. 

We had dinner and finished at 7PM. He signed for a diaper change. Marc changed him and brought him back to the kichen. He then he gestured to brush his teeth – a first! Marc helped him brush his teeth and brought him back to the kitchen. That’s when Marshall said, “Nigh nigh”. He wanted to go to bed! And he knew his routine! (Change diaper, change into jammies, brush teeth, read a book, kiss and say “Night Night”). 

Not only do I have an 18 month old who sleeps 12 hours straight through the night (and has done so since he was 3 months old), he even asks to go to bed early. And he doesn’t even talk yet!

Trip to Arizona

Filed under: — Olga @ 10:35 am

We took a trip to Arizona from May 24th – June 2nd. We stayed in the Phoenix suburb of Surprise and a few days in Sedona. The desert scenery was a big change and so was the temperature. Most mornings started out in the mid 80s in Phoenix and daytime temperatures got up to the low 100s. It wasn’t as bad as it sounds because it was dry heat, but it was still uncomfortable and very sunny. We got a chance to catch up with Grandma Cheryl and Jim, and also see their new home in Sun City West. 

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Photos of Marc and Marshall in the pool at Sunflower Resort, a 55+ mobile home park. It was cool to see a glimpse of life here, even though it was a ghost town. The streets were so empty that we didn’t see one vehicle pass through as we were walking down this street.

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Marshall playing at Sunset Playground in Sedona.  It was about 101F when I took these photos. The sprinklers came on and Marshall made a beeline for them. It was refreshing to stand there and have them spray us but he had this funny look on his face as he kept his hand in the sprinkler.

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A quick snap of Jerome, elevation 5000 ft. It was a former copper mining town. The elevations, views, blue sky, and old buildings reminded me of some of the old cliffside towns in Southern France.

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And of course some photos of the red rocks in Sedona.

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