Taking it easy

A couple weekends ago, we decided to take it easy and hang around the house. Michael installed new curtain rods in the living room and kitchen so Harrison and I used the time to putter about the deck as well as visit the park.
Remember a few posts ago I mentioned potting some herbs? To keep them alive, I have been watering them often with a watering can and Harrison immediately took a shine to it. Now whenever he steps onto the deck, he immediately walks over to the table (which is out of sight behind a protruding wall) and and says "more, more" and points to the watering can. He walks over to our little maple tree and pretends to water it for several minutes and then asks me to lift him onto a chair so he can water the herbs on the table. And woe be unto she who tries to take it away in less than 10 minutes! Now he also insists we walk into the kitchen and actually fill the bottom with water, which is funny because he can't lift it high enough to pour the water out and I have to do it for him. I love this bit of  Mommy-Harry time together.

After the plants were sufficiently pretend-watered, Harrison and I ventured to a nearby park which boasts a super awesome water play ground. On this day, there were three birthday parties plus the normal park visitors so the place was packed. Harrison doesn't mind crowds but he likes to sit back and observe awhile before venturing into them, so he actually didn't play all that much. That said, he still got a light sun burn on the tip of his nose. This mom is just excited his little Hawaii swim wear gets another use while it still fits!

Father's Day Weekend

I am going to attempt to blog via my cell phone and see if I can manage to write more often during my commute, although I usually reserve this time for reading to make me smarter or sleeping to make me less cranky. So you may get more posts from a sleep deprived dummy, but hey, at least you get your Harrison fix.

Father's Day 2009 found us starting a new tradition - the NW Brewers Festival. Basically a park is used to host 50 local breweries and you can go around and taste different beers and they make it family friendly with music and a kids area with activities, games and root beer.  Michael was looking forward to his 2010 date with Brew Fest for weeks but when the big day arrived it was raining. Pouring in fact.

To stall for time, we took Harrison to an indoor facility with bouncy houses, thinking he could all have some good ole family fun. Michael carried him to the toddler area where they were greeted by a giant, inflatable lock ness monster at which point Harrison begins to whine and a pretty dramatic look of panic enveloped his face. Once inside he clung to dad for dear life. Unable to wrench him free or calm him down, we leave after 10 minutes.

Once lined up, our shoes seemed to represent the three bears

The weather let up just enough that we decided to go to the festival for an hour or so. The rain stayed away for about 90 minutes, just long enough for Michael to have a good time and rub elbows with his buddies while the wives corralled the kids under a small party tent to stay dry from the light sprinkles.

 The Saturday before Father's Day, we invited Grandpapa Hugh, Zaidy Steve and the rest of Michael's immediate family for breakfast at Casa de Fein. Although we often get together for holidays, birthdays, etc. we rarely take any photos so I turned into my mother (take this as a compliment mom!) and insisted everyone pose for family photos. I got some great shots in just a couple minutes; we only wish Aunt Rae Ann could have joined the festivities.

Harrison's "dads"

 The family

The Ladies (and his highness)

 

Harrison in all his cute glory! 

He recently took a shine to crayons; found some orange crayon residue in his teeth a few minutes later

To our dear old dad: dada, we love you so very much. You are the best dad in the world and we are so lucky you are ours! Happy Second Father's Day - and many more!

PS I managed to type half of this on my cell phone and then uploaded photos and finished the end off at home. Not too shabby!

Summer is Here!

Summer briefly flirted with us last weekend so Team Fein took advantage of the gorgeous weather with a trip to the dog park at Marymoore with a stop at the local outdoor mall. For years I had walked by the water fountains that bubble up on warm days, thinking it would be fun to be able to let my kid play in there some day. Here is the result: 

 

As a side note, we still have not found our lost camera and have concluded that it is unlikely to ever reappear. That said, these pictures were taken with our new smart phones and we are impressed by the picture quality.

I was so inspired by the nice weather that I even "gardened." I have a pretty black thumb when it comes to any type of flora, so rather than fail at gardening I just refuse to do it. When we bought the chiminea, I spotted this cool strawberry pot and instantly thought I could plant an herb garden in it so on Sunday I finally spent a couple hours potting the herbs and flowers - I have a farmers tan to prove it!

Aunt Rae Ann's graduation

Auntie Rae Ann graduated from Seattle Prep High School earlier this month and we couldn't be more proud of her accomplishment. In the fall, she will be off to Western Oregon to start college and play on the volleyball team. Since Michael and I each have a large age gap between us and our younger siblings, we can't help but feel like a parent and say "I remember when..." I will take just a moment to say, I remember the first time I met Rae Ann, a fiery little six year old, excited to stay the night in her oldest brother's college dorm room! Here are some of my favorite pictures from graduation night, provided from grandmama's friend Betty.

One last memory... here is a photo I took four years ago when she graduated from 8th grade!