December 2009

We've survived yet another holiday season. We struggled again keeping up with the crazy schedule, but it's definitely getting easier.

Before things got into full swing, Kyla started going to basketball practice. Kyla suggested the name that her new team choose, the fearsome-sounding Butterflies. They're going to have a few more practices in January and then they should start playing games.

Blake has started to become envious that Kyla gets to go to school. I'm not sure he knows what goes on there, but perhaps that's part of the allure. Becky drove him past the Montessori and explained that he could go to that school as soon as he learned to use the potty. He seemed interested on Kyla's old pink potty chair for about a day, but has moved on. We'll see how long it takes for this motivation to return.

Our holiday marathon began with Hanukkah on the 22nd with the Hovenkotters (it was a little late, but we wanted to wait for Kyle). Then it was off to the Chambers' on Christmas Eve.

In preparation for Santa Kyla put out some cookies that she baked three weeks earlier (yummy!) and Blake insisted on leaving a cup of soy milk by the front door. The whole chimney thing doesn't make sense when you have a gas fireplace. Santa brought Blake a Cars-themed Geo Trax set and was kind enough to fulfill Kyla's request for Tattoo Barbie, even though when she originally asked for it Santa gave her a funny look and said, "maybe it's time for Santa to retire."

We had our family Christmas in the morning and then the Manis/Saulsberry family came over for brunch. This year Laura, Bryanna, Erin, and Nathan were all in town for the holidays. Then we headed to Grandma Dot's for Christmas with Becky's Dad's family.

On the 26th we headed to Ellensburg for our final Christmas celebration. Our original plan was for Becky and I to go skiing with Cassie and Brian the following day, but the kids were a little over-cooked by this point, so Becky stayed behind. Kyla was very disappointed that there wasn't any snow for Christmas this year (there was a heavy snowfall in Seattle last year), but fortunately the clouds delivered for us in Ellensburg just before we left.

Becky requested that we keep things low-key for her birthday this year, so she went to the gym for a couple of hours and then took a nap to recover from the holidays. Each of the kids picked out some flowers for her and we all gave her a picture of the three of them that we framed.

On yet another New Year's Eve I am left wondering where the past year has gone. I would say that overall 2009 was pretty good for us, and I expect 2010 will continue the trend.

Holiday Message 2009

Greetings once again from the Hovenkotters! We are happy to report that 2009 was another good year for us and we even got out for a little more adventure.

In April we traveled to the Great Wolf Lodge and spent the weekend playing in the indoor water park. Then in May we vacationed in San Diego with Brett's mother, where we toured the zoo, Wild Animal Park, Sea World, and played at the beach. On Memorial Weekend Becky and the kids traveled to Ocean Shores with Becky's mother. Finally in August we camped in Astoria with our neighbors, the Neels, where we ended up in cabins directly across from a giant blow up pillow where Kyla and Asher spent most of their time.

Kyla started Kindergarten in the fall which she really enjoys and is doing well in. This has finally assuaged her parents' fears that her birth that was literally 3 1/2 hours before the school cutoff would put her at a disadvantage. She also keeps herself busy with extracurricular activities including soccer, basketball, and dance. Her first dance recital was in June and Kyla was one of the event's most enthusiastic performers.

Blake turned two this year and is quickly transitioning from a needy toddler into a fun-loving little boy. He regularly sleeps through the night, usually doesn't nap, and now joins his sister when she sleeps over at Grandma Linda's on Saturday nights. Kyla occasionally has a feminine influence on him (they once made crowns together and he ran around the house declaring "I'm a queen!"), but he is definitely a boy at his core as his favorite activity is playing with his trains and his favorite movie is Cars.

This was a big year for Becky who for the first time in five years actually spent the night without children (Kyla first slept at Grandma's on the night of Blake's birth). She even had an entire weekend all to herself, which she spent working on her new project: gardening. She has planted 25 different fruits and vegetables including tomatoes, broccoli, oranges, corn, strawberries, blueberries, as well as apple and plum trees. Becky also spends time helping Kyla with her homework and coming up with fun learning activities for both of the kids.

Brett continues to work for Slalom Consulting where this spring he developed an iPhone app, and if you're interested in learning more about the exciting world of ultrasound equipment you can download it for free! His new hobby is photography (Becky uses the word "obsession," but he is the author of this message so we'll use "hobby"). For his birthday he got his first SLR, but by November had decided that he needed a far more expensive upgrade... and a new lens... and a new flash. He's easy to spot at holiday gatherings with 20 pounds of camera hanging from his neck.

As always we hope that you are enjoying the holidays this year. We definitely are since Becky got all of our Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving!

Sincerely,
Brett, Becky, Kyla & Blake

November 2009

The emperor has new clothes again, and this time they aren't pajamas! Blake spent the night at Linda's, who managed to get him out of his PJs and into sweats. When he came home the next day we rushed to Costco to buy up similar outfits and encourage this new fashion trend. Fortunately they aren't all the same color so he won't have a monotonous look anymore.

We had our parent-teacher conference with Kyla's Kindergarten teacher, Miss Dammers. She told us that Kyla is generally above average academically and that she is the most enthusiastic student in her class. I think that Becky and I are still glowing a bit from that experience.

Becky decided to join Gold's Gym, which has a big kids play area and a cardio movie theatre. Within two weeks three of our neighbors and I signed up as well, making Becky the local trendsetter.

Thanksgiving was pretty typical this year, which was much better than last year when we all got hit with gastroenteritis. We went to Doug's in the afternoon, my Aunt Judy's in the evening, and then to Linda's on the Sunday after. On the Saturday in between we trekked out to North Bend with the Neels and the O'Reillys to cut down our Christmas trees and have an early holiday celebration where the kids did their first present-opening of the season.

Now I think it will be smooth-sailing until Christmas, because Becky has already done all of our shopping (though the kids and I still need to get some gifts for her).

October 2009

This month the leaves turned colorful and then were discarded by the trees, meaning fall is in full swing again.

October began with Salmon Days, the big event in the City of Issaquah. We went this year with the Neels and the O'Reillys to check out the parade, play at the park, eat unhealthy food, and watch dogs jump into a pool. Becky bought Blake a bubble gun that proved to be so popular that she went to get another one for Kyla to avoid a fight.

Soccer practice came to an end, which is something both Kyla and I really enjoy. Kyla because she has fun and me because I get to get some nice action shots.

Speaking of my new hobby (or obsession as Becky likes to call it), I went to the Digital Photography Expo in Lynnwood one Saturday afternoon, where I saw travel photographer Art Wolfe give a lecture and checked out all of the gear for sale, but managed not to buy anything.

We're starting to see the sick season begin. We all got sick at some point during the month (though mine was limited to a throat scratch). Fortunately no H1N1/swine flu yet, but I suppose we shouldn't worry too much as most people who get it have mild symptoms.

Halloween seems to be a multi-day affair, which I can appreciate because it feels like we get our money's worth out of the kids' costumes. We took a trip out to Jubilee Farms with the Neels to pick out pumpkins and then afterwards we all went with the O'Reillys to the Highlands Fall Festival.

Since Issaquah schools don't allow the kids to dress up for Halloween (don't get me started), Becky threw a costume party for Kyla's entire Kindergarten class. The activities included a sight-word themed treasure hunt and orange hair dying, which proved to be a big hit.

On Halloween itself the O'Reillys had a party (Les and Val dressed up too, making the rest of us parents look bad) and we all started out trick or treating together, though Kyla and another girl eventually split off to run from house to house and maximize their haul. At the end of the night Kyla and Blake left some of their candy out in the backyard for the Candy Monster, who exchanged it for toys.

Now the holiday season begins, though I still complain about Christmas decorations coming out before Thanksgiving.

September 2009

September was an active month, but we were definitely able to slow down from the breakneck pace of August, which seems fitting of the month that transitions from summer to fall.

The kids were able to enjoy two fairs this month. The first was the Puyallup where we went with the Neels to enjoy rides, animals, and unhealthy food. Then in the last weekend of the month I took the kids to Yakima with my mother and Bill where we did it all again.

The trip to Yakima was part of an entire weekend where the kids and I went to Eastern Washington while Becky had the house all to herself and experienced life without any demands. She used her time to relax, run, do some yard work, and enjoy a few chick flicks.

September is the month of our anniversaries. Yes there are two of them, the 15th is our wedding anniversary and the 24th is the day when we first met. This year marked exactly 10 years from the day we first laid eyes on each other, which boggles my mind and makes me feel just a little bit old.

The children reached their own milestones. Kyla started Kindergarten, which is going well so far. She seems to really like her teacher and has made some new friends. Becky has been working with her to learn new words, and Kyla can now read entire books to us.

Blake has managed to give up his pacifier, at least while he is awake. He's not entirely pleased with this progress, but he's not putting up much of a fight either. While we were in Ellensburg he never once asked me for it.

The warmth of summer is gone and the fall has brought change to the trees and to our lives.

Kindergarten

Right after Kyla was born, the nurse congratulated us on just making it before the school cutoff. Indeed, she just made it by three and a half hours.

Whether or not we should actually send her on time has been in the back of our heads for quite some time, and it came to the forefront over the past year. We were concerned that she would struggle being the youngest kid in her class (except for any kids whose parents managed to get them in early). Eventually we concluded that she seemed ready and her preschool teacher told us that she seemed independent enough for Kindergarten.

Kyla has been longing for the day when she could go to the "big kids' school" that is about a mile from our house. However when the big day drew near, she started getting anxious and worried that it might be too difficult for her. Becky and I assured her that Kindergarten would be fun.

She requested that we give her a picture of Becky for her to take with her for comfort just like she had on her first day of preschool. We were shocked (and impressed) that she remembered that kind of detail two years hence. I printed out a small headshot of Becky and taped it to the back of Kyla's necklace.

The start of Kindergarten is actually a three day process. On the first Becky and Kyla went together to check things out together. Then on the second Becky went alone to learn what to expect. Finally on the third day Kyla actually went to class on her own.

I worked from home that day so that we could all escort her together to Grand Ridge Elementary. Apparently the first real day of school was a big deal to many other parents as well, as there were many cameras there to cover the event.

Kyla was the first in line to go to class and nervously walked into this new phase of her life. I took pictures as she left and Becky struggled to hold it together while her baby walked away both literally and metaphorically (Becky did a great job of staying composed throughout). She must have had a great time because afterwards she was complaining that she couldn't go to school every day of the week, then on her second day she literally ran to get in line for class.

While she was there Kyla helped another girl reach for a pencil and retrieve her mail from her mailbox. This impressed her teacher, Ms. Dammers, who rewarded her with a green ticket, which is her class' means of recognizing good behavior and was a very big deal to Kyla.

I don't think we could have asked for a better start to this new phase of Kyla's life. No doubt school is going to have its ups and downs, but we all know how important a first impression is.

Kyla's 5th Birthday Party

Wow, five already? Yes, she really is growing fast.

Becky tried to think of something original to do for her party this year, but Kyla insisted on a redux of last year's party, so we signed up again for Kidz Bounce. Also as with last year, we combined the event with Asher, which makes sense because there is a lot of overlap amongst their friends.

The kids bounced their hearts out, pausing briefly for pizza and cake. Becky was the coordinator while I did my best to record the event.

Afterwards some of the guests came to hang at our house, where I again showed off a new movie.

Rylee and Alanna stayed after for a slumber party. The girls enjoyed playing with Kyla's new dolls and watching an old movie they found on Apple TV. The nighttime was difficult because Alanna and Rylee struggled to get and stay asleep (Kyla was the first to sleep and the last to wake). The next day the kids were in good enough spirits to put on a mock wedding ceremony where they rotated the roles of husband, wife, and flower girl.

Again, another successful birthday.

August 2009

Perhaps with the exception of December, I believe that August will go down as our busiest month this year. We had two road trips, two weddings, several birthdays, and Kyla's big party to cap it all off.

On our second night off together ever, Becky and I went to her cousin Jennifer's wedding, then on the weekend between our two trips, my cousin Elise had her wedding which we took the kids to. Both were fun events with good food and dancing, and at both I spent a bit of time drooling over the photographer's equipment.

The first trip was to go camping in Oregon with the Neels. Then we went to Chelan to stay at my parents' place and cruise the lake in my mother's new party barge. The weather was very nice, 90 degrees feels pleasant when you're swimming in the lake, and Mom made sure we were very well fed.

Well, we survived our most hectic month of the summer. We are looking forward to a subdued Labor Day.

Camping in Oregon 2009

Back in November, Becky and Leslie decided it would be fun if our families took a camping trip together and choose the Oregon Coast as the destination.

On August 6th we headed south to make their dream a reality. We camped in cabins at the Astoria KOA. Linda and Sasha came too, setting up at a tent site directly in front of our cabin.

The Astoria KOA was definitely a step up from the one we stayed at in Port Angeles. There was an indoor swimming pool, a free daily pancake breakfast, and a massive inflatable jumping pillow that was conveniently located across from our cabins. Kyla and Asher spent hours on that thing bouncing with the other kids.

We spent some time at the beach, visited the Seaside aquarium, and roasted marshmellows by the campfire. We also brought our bikes with us and my new trailer so we could take the kids for rides with us. I got a kick out of taking them off road to bounce them around a bit (they seemed to enjoy it too).

Overall I would say it was a nice trip. We may try to go back there someday, if only for that bouncy pillow.

The Emperor's New Clothes

Blake's pajamas were starting to really look worse for wear, so Becky took him to Fred Meyer and encouraged him to pick out new clothes, offering anything he wanted.

She was thrilled when he picked out a normal flannel outfit that had the same feel of his comfort clothes. She then explained to him that his jammies would be going bye-bye and he seemed fine with it.

Then on the way out he spotted the pajama rack, and he went straight for it. He found some new pajamas and handed her the other outfit and explained that it was "crummy" and that these new jammies were what he wanted.

Becky bought him two sets of his new uniform. It's not the outcome we had hoped for, but it is still an improvement.

Mommy's Garden

A couple of months ago, I bought the book In Defense of Food by Michael Pollen from Audible, and both Becky and I read (listened to) it. We took the content seriously and it changed our attitudes towards food in significant ways.

I have made it a point to buy food from the Issaquah Farmers Market every Saturday (however I often don't manage to make it) and to read ingredients lists on packaging to avoid processed foods with made with components that I can't pronounce.

Becky on the other hand decided to grow a garden in the backyard. By this I don't mean she planted a few vegetables, she basically repurposed every usable square foot of the backyard to grow food. Thus far she has planted tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, artichoke, cabbage, beans, peas, cucumber, watermelon, honeydew, pumpkin, orange, carrots, corn, strawberries, blueberries, potatoes, onions, chives, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme, as well as planted plumb and apple trees.

The makeover took all of her free time over the course of a month. Finally, she seems to be satisfied with it and is content with just maintaining what she's got for now.

So far I've had a few tasty fruits and veggies from Becky's labor, but it won't be too long before it will yield a healthy portion of our diet.

Raggedy Blakey

Blake finds his comfort zone very important to him. For the past month or so, he has refused to wear anything other than flannel pajamas, and recently he has even limited himself to just one specific outfit.

Actually we have been able to get him into other clothes, usually by driving him somewhere interesting and explaining that he needs to change to get out of the car, though even this technique has become hit or miss.

He couldn't have picked a worse time to attach himself to long-sleeved flannel clothing since the past month has had the hottest weather I have ever seen in Seattle. He insists that he's not too hot. I am very thankful for our air conditioning.

Now his pajamas are starting to really look worse for wear. We sneak them off to the washer whenever we get the chance, but they have several stains that won't come out.

The next time he takes a bath I will be very tempted to run off with his jammies and burn them.

July 2009

It was a record and thermometer breaking month in the Seattle area. In the last week we saw triple-digit temperatures and a lot of cranky people who couldn't sleep in the heat (we slept like babies in our A/C).

We celebrated the 4th with the Neels on the 3rd by lighting off some fireworks that Dan bought in our backyard (illegally). Then on the actual 4th Becky took Kyla to Winthrope to camp with Linda (Becky came back on her own that night), while Blake and I went to the Chambers' to enjoy some sun, barbeque, and more fireworks.

Twice this month Linda took both Kyla and Blake overnight, giving Becky and I our first overnight dates in five years. Blake seemed to enjoy spending time at Grandma's and slept pretty well. Kyla was (surprisingly) really excited for her little brother to join her.

Not to be outdone by my mother-in-law, I took the kids out of town for an entire weekend. We left Saturday morning while Becky went to climb Mount Si with her Stroller Strides group and spent the day in Yakima celebrating Grandma Marian's birthday with my parents, Dale, Mary, Garrett, Ethan, Allysa, and Trevor. Then that night we went to my mother's to sleep and spent Sunday in Ellensburg. When we returned to Issaquah that night both kids were out. Aside from hiking, Becky spent the weekend gardening and enjoying the quiet house.

Kyla has been going to preschool during the summer one two week session at a time, but took one session off so she could go to ballet camp to keep her dance skills up before the regular class starts up again in the fall.

Now we are entering the busy month of August with two road trips, a wedding, and Kyla's birthday party.

June 2009

Ah summer. It takes so long to really get here, and then it just doesn't quite last as long as I'd like it to.

In the middle of the month Kyla went on a camping trip with her Grandma Linda and Uncle Wes. She was gone for three days, but she's very comfortable with Grandma so she did fine. Their campsite was right next to a paved patch where Kyla could ride her new bike with the other kids, and she had a blast.

This month marked the end, for now at least, of a couple of activities. Kyla's soccer practice finished with an ice cream party and will start back up in the fall.

I have decided that Blake is done with swim lessons for a while. When we started again in the winter after a six month hiatus, he was lukewarm to the class and refused to dip his head underwater. I figured that we'd stick with it and he'd get past it, but it has been six months now and he's still pretty miserable much of the time. He loves going to the pool and playing, so we'll just do that on a regular basis instead. It's a win-win because he's happier and I spend less money.

Getting Blake his daily nap is becoming more difficult. If he gets a goodnight's sleep, then he doesn't want to nap until very late in the day, and giving him a late nap means a very late bedtime, often after 11:00. So we'll try to keep him awake all day, sometimes this works out, sometimes it doesn't. We're trying to figure out if this is an odd phase, or if he's transitioning away from having a regular nap.

Kyla was gone for Father's Day, so it has been postponed for me (though Becky made me one of my favorite meals regardless) and Blake and I spent the day with my family. My request for Dad's Day this year is for us to take a nice family picture outdoors somewhere as soon as we get a free day for it.

I'm looking forward to July which should also be a nice leisurely month for us, though August is already overbooked.

Butterflies

At Toys R Us, Becky found a butterfly kit on sale and thought this would be something fun for Kyla to have as her first pets. They setup the cage and sent away for the caterpillars.

When they arrived, there were five surprisingly little critters but they grew very quickly, doubling in size almost daily. Kyla named them Heart, Jewel, Heart Jewel, Love, and Love Kyla.

While we were away in San Diego, Kyla gave them to Asher to caterpillar-sit, during which time they wrapped themselves in cocoons for their chrysalis stage. Then while she was away at Ocean Shores, two of them hatched into butterflies. After she returned the other two also came out and she fed and cared for them for about a week.

Then it was time to set them free. We opened up their cage and they all were still for a while, until finally two of them flew away. We tried to get the other two to go, but they wouldn't budge.

So we kept them assuming they just needed more time. Unfortunately they eventually died, but by that time Kyla had completely lost interest in them. I disposed of them when she wasn't around to avoid her getting upset.

Overall it was a lot of fun and an interesting learning experience for her.

Dance Recital

About nine months ago we finally gave into Kyla's begging and signed her up for dance lessons. In her class she learned ballet and tap dancing and has thoroughly enjoyed it.

On June 6th she had her first recital. For weeks Kyla and her seven buddies practiced tapping along to "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now" from the musical Hair.

It turned into a big event, all of her Grandmas were there, as well as Grandpa Doug, Great Grandma Dot, Aunt Lexie, Leslie, Asher, and Rylee (and of course her parents). Becky was backstage as the official mom in charge of her class. It wasn't easy keeping eight four-year-olds in makeup and tap shoes quiet and composed while the other performances were going on, but at least she was prepared with activities to keep them occupied.

Kyla performed very well for her first time in front of a big crowd and danced her little heart out. After she was done she was given a virtual garden of flowers by her fans and we all went back to our house to celebrate.

I think Kyla's found an activity that she really likes and I'll be curious to see how long she chooses to stick to it.

May 2009

May was an extremely busy month for us.

On my birthday I took the kids to my parents' (Marty and Kerry's) house where we played with Blake's new Brio train table (my dad has loved Brio trains since I was closer to Blake's age) and Kyle showed me how to use my new camera. We had celebrated the night before with Becky so she could use my actual birthday to prepare for Blake's big party the next day.

For Mother's Day I took the kids out for most of the day so that Becky could get some rest, then Cassie came to babysit while Becky and I went to see Star Trek (which we both loved).

We also had our big San Diego vacation, which is the subject of a separate post.

A few days after we returned, Becky took the kids with Linda to Ocean Shores for Memorial Day weekend. They had a good time playing by the beach and riding on bikes, though I think by the time they came back home they were all vacationed out. I spent the weekend doing yard work, taking pictures, and having a boys poker night.

Now it's time to get everyone back to going to bed at a reasonable time and into a comfortable routine.

San Diego

Since Kyla was born we haven't all gone on a vacation together that involved air travel. Becky had been lamenting this fact last winter when my mother suggested that we all take a trip together. The options we came up with were San Diego and Mexico. Thankfully we opted for the former as we left during the swine flu outbreak (which was generally overblown, but I hear that many of the Mexican resort towns basically shutdown during this period).

The flight down wasn't bad, Becky had to spent a lot of time keeping Blake entertained, but overall it went OK. I picked everyone up in our rented minivan, which disappointed the children because they thought that all minivans had TVs in them.

We stayed at a hotel next to Balboa Park and were immediately upgraded to an 1100 square foot suite (apparently it is a good idea to begin your stays in the middle of the week). We picked this hotel because the rooms have little kitchens so that we could eat in part of the time. We also got a lot of use out of the play structure that was within a block of the place.

We went to the major attractions, the zoo, Sea World, and the Wild Animal Park. Blake didn't last more than two hours at a time, so Becky often ended up with him napping in the van while Mom, Kyla, and I played (I tried to relieve her but it didn't work out logistically). Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves during the periods where both kids were happy.

On the third night Becky and I went off by our selves and walked along Sunset Cliffs which was very pretty, though unfortunately the clouds obscured the area's namesake. On the last night we all went to Coronado Beach and the kids had a blast running around in the surf and playing in the sand.

The plane ride home provided a bad ending to the trip. This time the plane was full and we only had one window seat (on the trip down we had all six seats in the aisle to ourselves). Kyla sat in it and Blake decided he wanted to be there, and Kyla refused to give it up (Blake hadn't yet napped and Kyla was pretty tired herself). Blake wouldn't go to another seat and threw a major tantrum when Becky placed him in her lap. I tried to entertain him with a cartoon on my iPhone, but a flight attendant reminded me that all electronic devices had to be off during takeoff.

The screaming lasted for at least 15 minutes, during which Becky and I tried everything we could think of to placate him. There were two young women in the seats in front of us who complained loudly and made snide remarks about our parenting. Of course there was nothing we could do and they were just making our terrible situation worse (Becky later said that it took a lot of willpower to resist going over those seats and relieving herself of pent up frustration). After we were finally allowed to use electronics I started the cartoon again, which immediately shut Blake up and he was asleep within five minutes.

Despite this unfortunate ending I'm glad we went and had a lot of fun, though it was a lot of work throughout. Becky and I both agree that we're going to wait a while before attempting another major vacation because as the kids get older the ratio of work to fun on trips becomes more favorable.

Blake's 2nd Birthday Party

Blake and Becky go to a music class every Friday while Kyla is at school. This class is in a room in the local fire station, and Blake often spends the entire class looking out the window at the fire trucks.

So Becky organized a fire fighter themed birthday party. To begin with, everyone met at the fire station where the firemen gave us a tour. We saw where the eat, sleep, and watch TV (I was very disappointed that there wasn't a fire pole). Then the kids actually got into the fire truck and one of the firemen put on his gear and let the kids check it out.

Afterwards everyone headed up to our house for the big shindig where we had about 50 guests. Becky and my mother put together a potato bar and we had lots of other munchies. Grandma Jan also made him a vegan cake in the shape of a dog. All of the kids were issued fire fighter hats, vests, and sunglasses.

Once again I was able to show off my movie making talents with a new video of Blake's second year.

We'll see if this is the last big party at our house, as Blake might choose another venue next year, but I'm hoping for one last big house party before both kids are too old.

April 2009

April has actually been a pretty decent month for weather. Ironically on the first really nice weekend of the year, we went on an indoor vacation.

Along with the Neels, the Chambers (Tom, Kirsten, and Rylee), and the Kennedys we travelled down I-5 to the Great Wolf Lodge. If you're not familiar with it, the Great Wolf Lodge is a massive hotel with a water park inside. Both Kyla and Blake had a blast, and occasionally a small group of the adults would sneak off to go on the big rides.

Kyla even managed to bring a little present back with her, a case of pink eye. I suppose this is the price of playing in a crowded indoor pool for two days, but the antibiotics cleared it up pretty fast, so I don't feel bad.

On the Saturday before Easter I took the kids to the Chambers' to play and die eggs, though I kept Blake away from the real eggs due to his allergies. On Easter morning the kids found their baskets that the Easter Bunny had brought which included a new tutu for Kyla and some toy cars for Blake. Kyla tried to get up at 6 AM, but thankfully I convinced her to go back to sleep. Finally that afternoon we took the train from Snoqualmie to North Bend with Doug and Dot where we had lunch at Twede's Cafe.

April ended with Blake's birthday, though because of logistics, we actually celebrated mine on his. He has his own party on May 2nd, and Becky needed the 1st to prepare, so she made us turkey burgers and we had a nice evening outside.

March 2009

March is never the most exciting time of year, though there were some interesting firsts this month.

Kyla had her first ever sleepover with her cousin Rylee. The two girls dressed up, enjoyed dessert, and stayed up past their bedtimes (especially Rylee who usually goes to sleep by 8:00).

Kyla also ran her first race. She and Becky did the Snoqualmie Ridge Saint Patrick's Day Run and Kyla ran the entire time (it was only 1K, but impressive none-the-less). Kerry and Doug even stopped by to cheer them on.

Blake's favorite color is now yellow, because that is the first one he learned to recognize and say. Accordingly he wanted everything to be yellow including his bowls, cups, straws, etc, at least for a couple of weeks after which he'd learned what all of the other colors are called and is a little less particular now.

His pacifier issues have managed to crop up again. We're not sure if he's getting his two-year molars, or if he just enjoys chewing them, but we keep having to buy new ones. He refers to a new one as a "good papi," and an old one as a "crummy papi" ("crummy" is a word that Becky uses).

Spring has supposedly sprung though it doesn't feel like it yet. We still wake up to the occasional snow cover. We've got a trip to the Great Wolf Lodge planned in April so we'll have fun regardless.

Put Some Clothes On, Dammit!

One of my hobbies is taking pictures of the kids and then organizing them on the computer. Lately the biggest obstacle to this hobby is the fact that I avoid photographing my subjects in the nude, and Blake has decided that there's no suit like his birthday suit.

Every day he'll at some point demand to be stripped down so that he can run around free. What makes it all the more uncomfortable is that his hands tend to wander south of the border (boys will be boys).

I suppose we're getting used to it so it doesn't seem like a big deal, plus this is just natural, right? On the other hand it's embarrassing when other people come around, though we're pretty good at keeping the mouse in the house on those occasions.

Becky believes this will help us ease him into potty training, which would be a nice side effect. She also bought him some underwear to see if he'll accept that as a compromise.

Eventually I'm sure we'll nip this one in the bud, but I have to admit I'd think it was pretty awesome if he opened the door when a solicitor or religious recruiter came to the door.

Security Sibling

Whenever Blake and I are alone together and he gets upset about something, he'll say, "want Mommy, Kyla." A toddler calling for his mother is what I'd expect, but his sister?

Growing up with an older sibling isn't something that Becky or I can really relate to since we are both eldest children (and in my case the eldest by at least nine years). From the day he came home, Blake has had to share the spotlight with someone else, which has had its pros and cons. The two of them have had plenty of conflicts, but overall Kyla has been a big help to him and he obviously adores her.

I might conclude that he wants Kyla when he's upset because he's just used to her and Becky being a package deal, but she goes to school three days a week and usually spends the night with Grandma on Saturdays, so it isn't like he doesn't get time without her.

Kyla is simply a major part of his life who holds a special place in his heart. I'm sure the two of them will remain close for the rest of their lives.

February 2009

We have entered the quiet time of the year. The calendar's shortest month was fairly uneventful.

On the first weekend in February we invited some of our friends over to watch the Super Bowl. This was kind of a makeup party because we planned one last year as well, but had to cancel due to illness. While we were all healthy for the big game this year several of our guests weren't and couldn't make it, but the Neels and the Uphams came and we still had a good time.

Also this month we went to the zoo. We had a good time checking out the animals, but it was at our last stop that Blake got really excited. This was at the zoo's new indoor play area called Zoomazium, but Blake never made it inside. Instead he spent half an hour playing with the doors for the kids entry. He would open and shut them whenever anyone needed in or out and couldn't get enough, we eventually had to drag him away.

Blake's speech has been improving rapidly recently. He finally says his own name and pronounces Kyla correctly (previously he called her "Lyla"). Becky has started taking him to a neighborhood music class and now he'll just start humming a tune randomly. He's also learned to identify the letters B and T.

A big relief is that his allergies seem to be subsiding. We've started giving him foods that have milk and eggs baked in and he appears to be fine. The improvements are gradual because he still reacts strongly when given cheese straight up. We're not going to experiment with fish or nuts for a while, because there's a good chance he'll never get over those.

Kyla has been gearing up for Kindergarten, even though it is still six months away. She has started writing out words on her own and even doing written math problems. This is bittersweet for Becky, who is really proud of her, but is worried about her little girl growing up too fast.

We've had a few days so far that were nice enough to go outside, albeit usually with coats and gloves on. We're definitely looking forward to spring.

January 2009

Winter is in full swing, though there hasn't been much snow since December.

Blake has finally returned to swim class after a six month hiatus. We tried to take the kids to open swim at the YMCA on a semi-regular basis, but it was time to get Blake into a formal class to learn to dip and back-float. He started out not really liking it much though he seems to be getting over his initial trepidation. His favorite part is going into the hot tub after class is over.

He is also going through a serious cling to Mommy phase, which has been painful for Becky who often struggles to get stuff done when he won't let go of her. Blake throws tantrums now when he doesn't get what he wants, and while this is a burden these fits are usually over in minutes, whereas Kyla had the endurance to go for an hour or two in her prime (which is thankfully behind us), so we're cautiously optimistic that this is as bad as he'll get.

For the past several months bedtime has been almost exclusively Becky's domain. She would start with both of the kids together in Blake's room to put him down and then move with Kyla to her room. I was involved, but mostly only to offer assistance. The problem with this strategy is that the kids will feed off of each other when they're together and either play with each other or fight over Mommy's lap.

Now we're trying a new routine where Kyla stays with me to play quietly and read stories while Becky puts Blake to sleep. Once he's done she comes to Kyla's room to relieve me and turns out her light. So far it's working pretty well as nighttime conflicts seem to have abated and the entire process takes less time than before.

I no longer have anyone to carpool with to work, so I've been taking the bus from the park and ride. My commute is now over and an hour but I enjoy having time to read the news on my iPhone and I get a little exercise walking from the end of the bus line to my client's office (which is over a mile away) while listening to audio books.

So far 2009 has been pretty quiet for us. In light of all of the economic news, we hope it stays that way.

Kyla's Comfort During Mourning

Sadly Becky's Great Aunt Lois passed last week, which of course this was very upsetting for her.

Kyla could see that her mother was upset, and asked her what was the matter. Once Becky had explained Kyla tried to comfort her by telling her, "that's OK Mommy, you can see her again, you just need to get a shovel and dig really deep."

This made Becky laugh hard, after which she felt better.

Kyla's Reaction to the Inauguration

Last night I told Kyla that today would be an historic day because Barack Obama (whom she's heard me talk about repeatedly before) was going to become president. "No Daddy," she replied, "I want the girl to win." I considered trying to explain that Hillary was going to become Secretary of State and that that was a great honor, but figured it would be to hard to explain what diplomacy was.

Today Becky had Kyla join her to watch the inauguration on television. She sat there quietly for most of it and then out of the blue said, "poor John McCain" (a name that probably hasn't been spoken around her for weeks).

I guess President Obama has his work cut out for him if he's going to win over my daughter.

The Blog Shuffle

In an effort to reorganize my online life a little, I'm moving the Hovenkotter Family Blog to this site (blog.hovenkotter.com) and my personal blog to brett.hovenkotter.com. If you're one of the few (only?) people subscribing to either feed, please adjust your URLs accordingly.

I'm going to try to repost everything from the Family Blog here and move my personal posts the new blog, so you'll soon know if I'm successful.