rut!

since coming home from vacation almost a week ago, everyone (but me) has been sick and i have been doing my best to get settled and into our routine.  i am also feeling super motivated to clean, organize, purge and disinfect!  but i am in somewhat of an activity rut.  bowie has requested to play with her paw patrol play dough kit EVERY SINGLE DAY since we have been home.  i gave this to her on the flight to boston and apparently it was a big hit, since she didn't even touch the other 2 kits i made for her.  so i am just going with it.  we did some crafting this morning, but play dough it is!  this is what it has been looking like every day during ryder's morning nap.

like the christmas dress?  all her favorite dresses were being washed and she helped herself to one of my kitchen drawers for some extra goodies to play with.

mud mountain dam!

today we explored mud mountain in enumclaw and had a great picnic, played on the park, saw the dam, picked blackberries and went on a hike.  bowie was dying to go in the splash pad, but we were not prepared, so we will be back for sure!

water table!

i know summer is coming to an end, but we added a water table to our backyard toy collection.  i tried sensory bins on the deck and the mud kitchen set up for ryder, but they were not working for him.  he liked his new water table, although he kept pulling top funnel piece off until it broke (i think it reattaches?).  after he got himself soaking wet, we all went in for a dip in the hot tub!

minis for my minis!

trader joes mini cones are a hit!

parks!

parks are a crucial part of childhood.  we take advantage of them often and we have some awesome parks close by!  when in doubt, go to the park...what should we do today?  go to the park!  too much energy...go to the park!  need a change of scenery...go to the park!  where should we meet friends...go to the park!  bored...go to the park!  parks are great for gross motor development, social skills and problem solving (just to name a few).

we visited 5 parks in 7 days over our vacation (not to mention the indoor airport park).  this weekend we took dad to the new park in town, he loves to climb right alongside bowie.

bowie sings ryder dances!

ryder has been doing this funny shoulder shimmy when he dances while eating in his highchair.  i tried to get it on video, but bowie started singing instead and this was too cute!

the dead south!

our new jam on repeat these days...

"in hell i'll be in good company" by the dead south

and i like this cover of "house of the rising sun"