First Haircut, Friends and Happy Birthday, Opa

Josie had her very first haircut last week. She actually did much better than I had anticipated. I think she was a little scared but she stayed very still and quiet the entire time. She doesn't have a whole lot of hair so it was basically just a trim but it was nice to get all the dead ends cut off and some of her baby hair. Now she has little whispy bangs and it looks healthier
Here is a recent photo of her PEPS friends. They have all been friends since they were 3 months old. It is nice to have such fun friends that we see on such a regular basis.

This is Bryn and Josie. They are the best of friends and see each other 2-4 days a week.

When Josie visited Aunt Liz a few weeks ago she gave us a Riemer family favorite - the game Booby trap. Here is Josie and Marty playing.

And later building really tall towers.

A special birthday song for Opa

The Grand Asian Suite and Big Girl Bed

Our remodel is coming to an end, THANKFULLY!! We were at the stage where we had to be out of the house for 48 hours so that they could finish the hardwood floors with all the toxic stuff. We took advantage of the situation and with Marty's connections we stayed like kings at the Tulalip Resort in Marysville. It was probably the nicest hotel room either of us have ever stayed in. They have several themed suites there. We stayed in the Grand Asian Suite. It was so nice and very relaxing. I even spent a couple hours in their amazing spa.

On our way to the hotel I dropped Josie off in Snohomish to spend some time with Liz and family. It is so evident that Josie has a ball up there. She LOVES all the animals and spending time with Liz, Ed and Stephanie. This time she had an extra special time with Schnitzel, their new puppy, and the new baby goats. This city girl definitely has some country on the inside.

Thanks SO much Liz, Ed and Stephanie. We all appreciated it.
We reconnected with Josie and gang at our hotel. We planned to have dinner at one of the hotel restaurants but decided to thorougly enjoy our room and dining room by ordering room service. How often do you stay in a hotel that has a dining room in it?

We are trying to get out and walk more. There was a break in the crazy, spring weather and so we walked down to Pegasus for dinner.

Marty and Josie peeking through the fully bloomed daffodils. A good sign that Spring is coming even if it doesn't feel or look like it weather-wise. We moved Josie's bed up from the basement and back into her real room. We decided to go ahead take down the front railing. She is pretty excited about her big girl bed and the ability to get in and out by herself. She did pretty well last night and even took a 2 and half hour nap in it today. I know there will be more adjustment but am pleased how well it has gone so far. Hopefully it continues.

Here is Josie with her little friends practicing going to bed. Notice her speaking German as she puts her babies to bed. "ganz schon" meaning "very nice"

SNOW - Again! And Big Girl Pants

We woke up to snow again today. Unfortunately, by the time we got out there it was all rainy and melting. Josie didn't mind, though. She loved jumping in the puddles and eating snowballs. After we were both freezing cold, we warmed up with a little hot chocolate. Her first time drinking (gulping) it in a real cup.

We've been using the toilet a lot more lately.
As you can see, she is very proud of her "big girl pants"

Preschool, Friends and Cousins

I'm the photographer for our co-op preschool and this week I brought the camera in to take a few shots. Here is Josie at the water table. Josie likes all parts of preschool but probably her favorite time is the circle singing time. She rushes through her last few bites of snack to be one of the first kids to the circle and the beloved scarves
After the scarves the kids normally sit in their parent's laps. Since I was taking photos this week, Josie decided to sit in Teacher Sara's lap. Soon after she sat down her two good friends, Lowen and Bryn, joined her.

Josie's new thing is hide-and-seek. She is getting better at hiding but hasn't really figured out that just because she can't see us doesn't mean we can't see her! Here is one of her "hiding spots" Pretty creative but still needs a bit of work.

Josie with her good friend, Boyan

Last weekend Josie and I spent a few days up in Bellingham with the Wileys. Both Andrew and Jonathan were great cousins to Josie. She had a ball playing with all the big kid toys and with her cousins. Jon read books to her and both boys shared their toys with her and made her feel a part of the family. Thanks, Wileys!!

Josie with her "little friends"

Becoming a nightly ritual: Ring around the Rosie in German.


She has been into her "knock knock" flap books lately. While reading it she has to tap on each door before opening the flap. She also has been putting herself in closets or behind doors and demanding we "knock knock" to find her.

Spring

I just noticed the first fully bloomed daffodil in our yard today. Yeah, Spring is coming :)

A couple weeks ago I flew down to Bend, Oregon for my younger sister, Angie's wedding. Congratulations, Kevin and Angie!

We finally are getting our house back in order. The remodel is not fully completed but we have been able to put our rugs back and hang our pictures and photos on the walls. It is feeling more and more like home. To celebrate our house becoming our home again we had Jodi (Marty's on air partner)and her husband, David, over for dinner on Saturday. Thankfully both David and Jodi LOVED playing with play-doh and were quite talented at sculpting. Who knew?? They were great sports and created many different shapes and objects for Josie with her play-doh.

To continue celebrating we had the whole Riemer clan over for brunch on Sunday. Happy Birthday, Eric!

After 8 months of remodeling, Josie has taken to building some things herself. She builds towers with everything these days - tiles, legos, bristle blocks, boxes and of course blocks.

Josie and Marty being silly in bed:

Crab, Cookies and Bubble Wrap

Last Friday Josie and I met the Wileys at the Seattle waterfront for lunch. Josie was so excited when all the crab legs, mussels and clams (still in their shells) were thrown down on the table in a big pile right in front of her. She tried the seafood but mostly just ate french fries and ketchup.

This week Josie and I made Valentine's Day cookies together. We did this at Halloween too and I can't believe the difference a few months makes. She actually did help this time. She helped cut out the hearts...

LOVED shaking the sprinkles on the cookies

but her favorite part was licking the beaters

Family handprints in the play dough

Josie first experience with bubble wrap

San Diego

We spent another wonderful week in San Diego. This was our second year in a row going down there in the winter. Just like last year this year's trip was easy, sunny, relaxing and fun. The hotel had a great pool and because no one else used it but us the entire time it felt like our own private pool.
We ended up walking just about everywhere. We spent some time down at Seaport Village where they were having an environmental awareness display with many different types of globes and ways to decrease the rate of global warming.

Josie was fascinated by the huge kites there were being flown there. The man who own this kite was kind enough to pull it down far enough so that Josie could (tentatively) touch it.
Legoland was a HUGE hit. Josie was pretty overwhelmed at the beginning but she warmed up the the amusement park thing after an hour or two.


Josie went crazy for this climbing fort. She must have gone up and down all the "chutes and ladders" at least 10 times. We all walked away with bruises on our legs after this one.
In "Miniland" they had created a replica of Washington DC during Obama's inauguration. The photos don't do it justice. The detail was amazing.
All of us went on a roller coaster. Josie was very stoic during the ride but as soon it was over she said, "let's do it again!" Thankfully, it was later in the day and most everyone else had already left the park. We were able to get off the ride and walk right back on. No lines at all.
Josie taking a jungle safari

Josie and Marty on an airplane ride:

You can't really tell from the video but when you ran over the dots on the ground it made the music and water go. This was the end of the day and Josie was VERY tired... as were we.

Everynight we were in SD we ended up a frozen yogurt place. After she ate most of both mine and Marty's yogurt she got bored with our conversation and decided to read a magazine.

Josie and her new (hand me down) bikini