Why?

We seem to have arrived at that phase of development when just about any statement is met by Charlotte with the question why. In many cases this can be answered by asking her why she thinks x is the case, but a bunch of the time she is simply asking legitimate questions about the workings of the universe, which we feel compelled to answer. Daddy covers questions of atmospheric science, physics, and astronomy, while mama is in charge of biology, sociology, and chemistry. I am seriously curious  what on earth happens to parents with less than 3 graduate degrees between them at this stage! She stumps us all the time. God bless the Internet.

Mama, why can't I hear you when my ears are under water?

Beach House

We had our 2nd annual Knaster Schinfeld Wasse beach house getaway trip this year in Port Gamble, right in time to celebrate Mama's 40th and Uncle's 38th birthdays. There was lots of wading pool action, beach combing, shell gathering, rock tossing, and plenty of relaxing. Ahh.

Summer Fun 2015

It has been a really long and hot summer is Seattle this year, so we've been taking full advantage. Swimming, boating, gardening, berry picking, picnics. Charlotte has been taking swimming lessons, which were going great until a substitute teacher accidentally let her go under. Now the going is a little bit slow :) Charlotte has made so many leaps and bounds this summer- drawing skills, counting, getting dressed, singing entire songs, jumping and balancing, playing board games, memorizing all of her books. And she has been busy sharing the exciting news that she is going to be a big sister! Another girl, due Christmas Day.

3rd of July 2015

We flew down to LA for a 5 day beach trip and family visit. We had lots of beach time, making sand castles and wading in the ocean. And play time with cousins Abigail and Sarah. Plus many delicious meals courtesy of the Feldmans, including an epic July 3rd BBQ at Bubba Linda's.  Julia even flew down from Santa Cruz to join the fun. 

Star Wars

Searching the galaxy for a princess who doesn't suck, I had somehow forgotten about the best princess ever: Princess Leia! It started with a 1980s Leia book and a few movie clips and stills, and progressed quickly to total obsession. At first, we thought, this is awesome, we can play Star Wars pretend forever. But even two huge Star Wars fan parents appreciate some variety :) Luckily Charlotte has thought up a ton of variations on the theme. There's Star Wars babies, which entails taking care of baby Luke and baby Han. There's Star Wars calling, where various characters call her up on the phone to chat. And of course Star Wars bath, where 3PO and R2 get up to various antics in the tub. We recently went to go see the costume exhibit at EMP (awesome), Poppi dug out his original Star Wars pillow case, and Cousin Hattie made Charlotte a Leia costume! We can't complain, it's actually pretty fun for Mama and Dada, way more fun than Frozen. Hoping we can stretch the enthusiasm to Halloween time :)

Mother's Day /Liz's Birthday

Liz's birthday fell on Mother's Day this year so we had a joint brunch celebration with all the littles. (the ladies took her out for grown up brunch and pedicure the day prior). Nannie made blitzes- yum- and Matt made a marzipan Yoda cake upon the birthday girl's request. We made Nannie a calendar full of baby pics which she loved, and Charlotte made me a special card which she managed to hide and keep secret for an entire day. Then Charlotte and Nannie put on a puppet show for the twins! Good family fun.

Vacation from our vacation

Our weekend in Pebble Beach left us in need of some R&R. Luckily, we had planned a trip for Charlotte's spring break to Alderbrook Lodge on Hood Canal.  But mama got sick from the Pebble Beach plague! After 2 days resting in bed, she rallied and we headed off just a day late. After a fun ferry ride, we arrived to our 2 bedroom waterfront cabin. We basically just ate delicious food and relaxed for 3 days- swimming, beach combing, reading- just what we needed. And Charlotte tried all sorts of new foods: fried oysters, raw oysters shucked fresh right on the dock, mussels, crab, and of course sticky toffee pudding.