Visiting schools for fall

We're visiting daycare/playcare places for Ava for the fall. Judging by the fit she threw when it was time to leave, this one ranks high on her list. Thankfully, I liked it too.

It was a families-welcome open house (surprisingly, not all are) and there were kids and toys everywhere. Seeing Ava carry on a complex but one-sided play phone conversation, then carefully putting blocks, tinker toys and other items back into baskets and on shelves, a teacher and parent remarked, "We'd love to have her here now!"

And we'd love for her to be somewhere now so that she can stop with the sad face accompanying the daily question, "When can I go to play school?"

Artist at work: her first painting

We'll see what the fall brings. She's definitely ready for some social interaction with people her own age, instead of the adults who populate her world right now.

Sent from my Nokia phone

Dylan smiles

In contrast to Ava, who smiled within hours of birth (and has barely stopped since), Dylan took about three weeks to bust a gummy smile on us. Now, at 11 weeks, he's a smiling machine!

Sent from my Nokia phone

Amnesia day at the park

Seattle is in the midst of some unseasonably warm spring-like weather. It's the kind of day that makes Seattleites forget the weeks and weeks of gray, wet dreariness we've endured.
That sound you hear is my head buzzing from the effort not to explode with giddiness in this sun. Ava and Dylan are pretty stoked too.

Daddy - son bonding

We're at West Seattle's Cactus restaurant - one of our favorite spots. I like that it's kid-friendly, meaning that they automatically bring our toddler water in a lidded cup w/a straw and a coloring page w/crayons.

Conversely, I can always tell when a server at other eateries are not used to kids because they fill a tall, unstable water glass right next to the edge of the table and in easy tipping range of Ava. Sigh.

Just realized it's Valentine's Day. We don't partake, preferring to express our feelings at other random times during the year. As @babdbanana said on Twitter: Valentine's Day is simply a Hallmark tax on the married." Exactly, and since St. Valentine isn't doing audits, we'll pass.