The REAL Santa

We've been fielding a lot of questions about Santa this year. "How old is he?", "What if he dies?", "How come Santa is not as fat sometimes?" and usually I turn it around and ask Wyatt what he thinks to save us from outright lies. I'm feeling like this may be one of the last years that he truly believes. We talked as we drove to the mall about how Santa sometimes uses helpers to visit with children since he can't be everywhere at once. Even so, I was so happy that as Santa came into view at a local mall, he looked like this:

Isn't he cute? Real beard and all. He chatted with Wyatt for a full five minutes, pulled out a wallet with some sort of Santa ID and a picture of himself on a WWII jet waving to the crowd (in full Santa gear). Wyatt exclaimed as we walked away, "That was the REAL Santa"!

Dress-up

I like to play dress up, mostly to wear more make-up than any one person should wear...and the fake eyelashes! Luckily, there is Halloween each year to fulfill this need in me. Several people commented that my vampiress was strangely Marie Osmond-ish. Hmmmm, the big, white teeth perhaps? I laughed harder than I have all year seeing Paul in his nerdy English teacher victim costume. And Wyatt...is a pure Power Ranger, don't ya think?

Hallo-Mania!

Wyatt is really excited for Halloween as I'm sure most 5-year-olds are at this time of year. The weather is sufficiently getting cold and the decorations have made their way in the house. Now, deciding on a costume...that's tricky. So far, he's deciding between a robot (box collection since mid-March), a Jedi, Captain Rex (some kind of Storm Trooper guy from StarWars) and a ghost. He's leaning toward Captain Rex and since he already has the costume from his birthday, I suppose that's the easy one, but I sure do miss making his costume. Here are some highlights from Halloweens past...

2005, Age 7 months, Jaguar

2006, Age 1-1/2, Charlie Brown-homemade

2007, Age 2-1/2, The Man in the Yellow Hat from Curious George-homemade except for the George doll.

2008, Age 3-1/2, Super Why!-homemade

2009, Age 4-1/2, Boba Fett-homemade belt & wristbands

Growing Up

Wyatt lost his first tooth last night, just weeks after starting Kinder-
garten. For some reason, this just seems to cap off the end-of-preschool phase perfectly. He's no longer "little". The other day I was watching Regis & Kelly and after he asked me a million questions about the guest Sylvester Stallone (who happened to be a high school crush of mine, but that is another story) and the things they were talking about, I switched it over to PBS. After about a minute of the show (something about dinosaurs) he declared it was a "baby show" and we must go back to the one with the muscle guy. Sigh...


The tooth fairy visited bearing a $2 bill...only to be followed by more questions with shifty answers...:)

Kindergarten...already???

Yes, today was Wyatt's first day. We handled it extremely well if I do say so myself. No tears shed at all. Of course, I was super-busy and so was Wyatt so who has time for tears? It's only when I have those quiet reflective moments that I think too much and realize this is my first & last day to do this particular special thing. Now, inch by inch he starts to gain his independence and I start to loosen those strings. He did hold my hand all the way home...


Wyatt's sweet teacher, Mrs. Perman, has won us over already!




Wyatt and Anna walking to the school. She's a first-grader and has been showing us the ropes!



Wy and his buddy, Isaac are in the same class at John Muir Elementary!


All smiles waiting in line for school to start.



This is how I left him, doing his morning work!

Summer Park Fun

Wyatt had fun today playing at the Spray Park in Bellevue. I realized this might be the last summer he really wants to go there since most of the features are for small kids. He does love climbing up that whale and sliding down it's nose.


A few weeks ago we enjoyed a day at Volunteer Park in Seattle. I thought he might be bored of the knee-deep wading pool, but he spent hours spraying, splashing and playing catch with his friends.

Has it really been 20 years?

Well, I did it. I went to my 20 year class reunion. I really wasn't all that interested until I got into facebook this summer and realized a lot of people I'd like to see were going. It turned out to be a really great time. I had fun seeing old friends and letting them peer-pressure me into dancing and singing karaoke. Some things never change!

Two of my very best friends: Amy and Julie

My prom date, Jayson, and my oldest friend, Kim

Prom Queen and King, David, re-enacting our "Forever Young" dance minus the crowns and fuscia gown, (thank goodness)!

"We got the beat!"

My favorite teacher, Mme Baird. Sorry I didn't keep up the French!