Project 365:: THE END!

I started this project after getting the idea from another blogger.  I thought, "hey what a great way to document our journey through 2011".  It was easy in the beginning to sit down on the computer and post everyday.  As our year got more full and exciting, I found myself skipping days and soon weeks.  But rest assured, I took a photo each day, sometimes two or three, even if I didnt post for a few days.

Looking back, I am so glad I did this project.  I can't believe how fast the year flew by.  It is easy to remember the big events, like joining Teach For America, spending 5 weeks in Phoenix, getting my preschool job, camping trips, and more.  It is easy to remember big milestones for the boys, like first teeth, first crawls, and first haircuts.  All those big events bury those little moments that were sometimes the highlight of my week! Seeing this collage, I remember the little moments, like Kannon breaking into a cereal box, hiding his loot.  I remember laughing hysterically as I watched Kannon dump water on Clark. I remember Kannon falling asleep cuddling his first toy.  I realize how much they really grow in a year!  I look through this project and am reminded of just how much I love my family.  That warm, gushy, feeling showers me as I remember all the laughter, love, and frustrations.  Kannon and Clark are so lucky to have each other as brothers.  All these pictures serve as a reminder of how much they are loved and how much they love each other.  Dale and I are blessed to have found each other to create and share this family together.

This year was full.  I don't think I ever stopped moving.  Now, as I wait for midnight, I am going to stop moving, and remember the year, our journey, and our family.  I hope that 2012 will be just as wonderful.  Best wishes to all of you in 2012!!!

As to whether I will do another Project 365?  I wont be blogging everyday, but being a mother, of course I will be taking photos everyday!  I think I will keep up with the collage tradition, to serve as a reminder of the year.  So, next year, be on the look out!

Project 365:: Day 365

Day 365 Happy New Years!!! I was cleaning the kitchen when I turned around to see Kannon and Clark had emptied the recycling. Their finds?? Two empty beer bottles. They were walking around the house saying "cheers" and laughing at themselves quite proudly. I would like to say that older brother, Kannon, initiated the event, but I know Clark is the bigger trouble maker. Tonight, they sleep soundly in their beds but I know 18 years from now New Years will look a lot different---probably full of real beer bottles. My how they grow up so fast! In the words of Kannon and Clark, "CHEERS!" and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Project 365:: Day 364

Day 364 Our nanny got the boys a set of alphabet legos and Kannon LOVES building with them. He has been very imaginative these days, building something and then telling us its a helicopter or a firetruck. Then he will take it a part and bring it back calling it a boat or an ambulance. I love watching him build and take pride over his work! He is growing up so fast!

PS Does anyone realize that tomorrow will be the last 365 picture I take!!!!! I have loved this project and I cannot wait to make the collage, but I am kinda excited to be done!!! It has been so hard, especially now working, to post everyday!!! Don't worry though, I take pictures daily and upload them to my blog, but to sit down and type something to go with it, takes all my energy!

Project 365:: Day 363

Day 363 Clark is exhausted these days!!! Today he fell asleep in his highchair after taking three bites of yogurt!!!  It was hard not to laugh as he kept nodding off into his dinner!!!  Poor baby, he went to bed shortly after.

Project 365:: Day 362

Day 362 We headed to the Space Needle today to take advantage of some free tickets. The boys LOVED the elevator ride up but were pretty bored once we got to the top. They did like running around in a circle though pretty much losing what ever balance they have. Dale and I got disoriented chasing them around but had fun looking through the clouds at the city. It was super fun! I, of course, white-knuckled the elevator ride even with two laughing and squealing boys.

Oh, and the best part, Kannon was wearing underwear on this trip. I wanted him to go pee before we got in the car, so I let him pee in the gutter behind our parking spot. He was pretty excited to pee standing up!!!

Project 365:: Day 361

Day 361 Monday hardly felt like a day off! I am back to work, working 7-3 this week. After making breakfast consisting of blueberries, milk, and cheerios, my kids were quick to point out my milk matched my shirt. Note to self, dont wear clothes that could ever possibly match the food your 4-year olds eat, unless you want to be called "purple-milk head" for the rest of the day.

In other news, Kannon and Clark will be starting preschool next week!!!! Dale's bosses are going on vacation and pretty much need Dale to be available 24x7. After weighing our options, we decided getting them to my school would be the best option. They will get to ride the bus with me, to and from work, I can peek in on them during breaks, and they will be getting socialization and an education. I just wish it didn't cost my whole paycheck to send them there!!!! Even though, it will still be worth it because I can keep my job (which I love) and the boys will be downstairs from me!

Project 365:: Day 360

Day 360 The boys are still recovering from our Christmas extravaganza. Clark, is in the meantime, loving his new toothbrush. He hums the toothbrush song while he brushes his teeth and sticks out his tongue when he is all done. If only Kannon loved toothbrushing as much as Clark...

Project 365:: Day 359

Day 359 Merry Christmas!!!! We had a wonderful Christmas, albeit, EXHAUSTING! The boys must of heard Santa because Kannon woke up at 1:30am on Christmas morning. We pulled him into bed with us, where he proceeded to poke us in our eyes and noses. So we gave in and let him open a present with CARS pajamas. Kannon was so excited to point out all the characters on his pants. Finally, he fell asleep at 3:30 am only to wake up 6am.

We recorded a video, which I will upload later, of them walking down the stairs. Kannon was all full of "oohs" and "ahhs" when he saw all the presents. Clark, was more confused, but went after a shiny silver wrapped box. Without coffee, clean diapers, or snacks, we jumped right into Christmas, opening present after present.

Some of the boys immediate favorites: Xylophone, Cookie Monster, Fish Aquarium Lamp, these little peeping eggs, and their GREEN TOYS boat & dump truck. They made out like bandits with books, legos, clothes, and puzzles. I already stashed some away for a rainy day.

Christmas got even better when family, Mark & Kristie, showed up with a prime rib roast and cheerful smiles. We exchanged phones calls with moms, dads, grandparents, and siblings. We made dinner, drank wine, and played the Cooking edition of Scrabble after the boys had an early bedtime.

All in all, it was a wonderful Christmas! I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday as well!!!

PS Dale hung the stockings, filled with chocolate, over our gas fireplace. I didn't know what was in them, so I turned the fireplace on. Let's just say an hour later, when our house smelled like a chocolate factory, we realized the mistake. Oooops.

Project 365:: Day 358

Day 358 "Not a creature was stirring....." Okay, not exactly true as Dale, the cats, and myself were up late waiting for Santa. But, after the boys went to bed, we went to work finishing the last of our wrapping and filling stockings with goodness. I can't wait for the boys to see this tomorrow morning!!!

Project 365:: Day 357

Day 357 We are so excited for Christmas!!! The boys have started humming Christmas tunes and Clark likes to walk around the house with his guitar and Santa hat. What a doll! I can't wait for Christmas morning this year, maybe the boys will actually enjoy opening their presents instead of staring at the bows.....lol.

Project 365:: Day 356

Day 356 We broke into our Christmas presents early seeing as these kids needed some reward for staring at all those presents that have been piling under our tree since Thanksgiving. So, when a package from Amazon, sent by loving aunt and cousins, arrived we dug in. The boys loved the fingerpaints and paper. They spent almost an hour finger painting, first on paper, and then on their chairs, body, and hair. I am not going to lie, despite fingerpaints messy appearance, it smells delicious! Not sure if that's good or bad.

Project 365:: Day 355

Day 355 We made recycled snowmen at school today.  The kids loved this project and we so creative using the various materials.  Our snowmen were made out of recycled sweaters, curtain samples, tissue paper, newspaper, wrapping paper, and cheerios.  They had so much fun and our snowmen are happily decorating our classroom.

Project 365:: Day 354

Day 354 We painted those ornaments we made.  I think they turned out pretty cute?!?!

Project 365:: Day 353

Day 353 I am so glad I got Kannon some of his own cooking supplies for his stocking because he wont let me use the whisk!!! We made ornaments and Kannon LOVED this project.  He added cornstarch and baking soda together and then we cooked it over the stove with water.  It was like a science project waiting for the mixture to pull together.  He picked out all the shapes we used, a star, snowman, tree, and heart.  I think he made some good choices.

Project 365:: Day 352

Day 352 As per our usual routine, we went to Revel for breakfast.  Clark made all the diners smile as he waved to everyone on the way to his highchair.  Such a sweetheart!

Project 365:: Day 351

Day 351 I gave Clark cookie cutters to play with and he was quick to dump them into a bigger box and run around the house with the bucket on his head.  Oh, Clark.

Project 365:: Day 350

Day 350 We are fully ready for Christmas! My friend made us these beautiful coordinated stockings.  She did such a wonderful job and I love knowing that they will last us through the years!  I can't wait to stuff them!

Project 365:: Day 349

Day 349 Tonight was Clark's turn to help bake.  He was especially helpful when it came to sprinkling flour on the cutting board.  He had so much fun throwing the flour and making a mess by throwing it on the floor.  He is our little trouble maker!!! For all of you getting cookies from us for Christmas--I think I cleaned the kitchen thirteen times including scraping all that flour out of our grooved hardwood floors.  I hope those cookies taste good!

Project 365:: Day 348

Day 348 Kannon helped me make cookies today.  Of course, it was messy and he stuck his finger into every cookie but we had so much fun! He loved measuring and pouring but is favorite was the sprinkles.  He, in usual fashion, picked out the blue, green, and purple sprinkles.  I think those are his favorite colors.

Project 365:: Day 347

Day 347 I came home from work early and was greeted by a very happy (and well dressed) toddler.  We cuddled on the couch with Kannon's new blankets and experimented with different expressions.  This was my personal favorite!

Project 365:: Day 346

Day 346 We went and looked at Christmas lights tonight.  All we heard from the backseat was "wooooh! wooow! and Santa!!" Kannon enjoyed our adventure while Clark slept.  Both were happy with our impromptu stop at Molly Moon's for ice cream.  Delicious!

Project 365:: Day 345

Day 345 We went to REI and Kannon loved exploring the flagship store. He was happy being outside in the bushes but was even more excited to discover the indoor jungle gym for energetic kids and tired parents. We had so much fun we ended up spending two hours here!

Project 365:: Day 344

Day 344 Clark!!! When did you become such a grown boy? Clark is walking, talking, running (trying), and jumping. He marches to his own drum and makes his own path. We went to the park today and Clark couldn't stand staying in the play area. Every time I set him down, he hit the ground running the other direction. Its hard to keep up with two!

Project 365:: Day 343

Day 343 We went and had breakfast at Revel. Kannon, being of course independent, picked out his own clothes, demanded to walk, open doors, climb in his own car seat, and fold the stroller. When he asked to drive, I had to say no--which of course led to a screaming fit.

Project 365:: Day 342

Day 342 Kannon is at it again hikacking the camera, except this time, he looks at himself and says "smile" before snapping a shot. This photo was one 27 in his little photo shoot. What a ham!

Project 365:: Day 341

Day 341 Remember the Fremont Troll that we visited a few weeks ago? Well, our Fremont Chia Troll is growing in our classroom. The kids love watching his growth everyday and love talking about the troll!

My school on the news!

There was a "Trouble in Toyland" report done last month and investigators decided to hold their annual press conference at my preschool! Needless to say we were all excited about the activity! Woot! Here is the link:

http://www.q13fox.com/news/kcpq-trouble-in-toyland-beware-of-dangerous-holiday-toys-20111122,0,5901500.story

Project 365:: Day 340

Day 340 Kannon loves helping me get ready for work every morning. His favorite part? Using my blush. Today, he stared in the mirror for quite some time, smiling, making kissy faces, and dabbing more blush onto his face. What a ham!

Project 365:: Day 339

Day 339 The boys share a room and Kannon has figured out every which way to jump into Clark's bed at night. Not only is this dangerous but Clark gets very angry when awakened by a jumping toddler. So, we talked with our pediatrician, thought some things over and converted Clark's crib to a toddler bed. Now, both boys are free to go in and out of their beds and wander. So far, we haven't had any problems except that Kannon has decided that he likes Clark's bed better than his own. But, they have been very happy and sleeping very well. We especially like hearing them talk for hours in the morning. They have definitely become best friends!

Project 365:: Day 338

Day 338 We got our christmas tree!!! The poor little guy is only two feet tall but he fits perfect on our end table. The boys loved helping decorate and Kannon loved putting the snowman on our tree. Our house looks like Christmas! Now that the boys are getting older, the holidays are so much fun!

Project 365:: Day 337

Day 337 Clark is getting so big! He is very talkative and has a vocabulary almost has big as Kannon. His favorite word? iPad. Yes, he loves the iPad and comes into our room in the wee hours of the morning to use it.

Project 365:: Day 336

Day 336 Kannon was always mischievous but also respected the boundaries when we said "no". Clark is a whole other story. He looks at me while he dumps buckets of toys on the floor and then moves on the smear his lunch on the walls. He creates a path of destruction wherever he goes!!!! I am in so much trouble!

On a side note, I am finally all up to date with my Project 365! All my posts were ready to be entered but apparently I used up all my storage space with google!!! After $5, another bajillion GB of storage space, blogger is back in action!!! Less than 30 days until we have reached the end!!! Then I will compile everything into a collage to look back on!

Project 365:: Day 335

Day 335 Today, me and 6 4-year olds grabbed a bus to Fremont for a walking tour. They loved seeing the Troll, the Rocket ship, and the statue of Lenin. Their favorite sighting??? The topiary dinosaurs that they spotted along the Burke-Gilman Trail. "Look Miss Kat, DINOSAUR TREE!!!"

Project 365:: Day 334

Day 334 Oh, another beautiful *almost* winter day. How I love Seattle and all its oddities!

Project 365:: Day 333

Day 333 This kid is getting bigger every day. He is so independent, follows directions, and is super helpful around the house. At the moment, I can get him to help me anything! We will see how long that lasts!

Project 365:: Day 332

Day 332 We got some fresh air and headed to the UVillage park today. The boys love coming here to use the little cars and slide. Oops! Traffic Jam!

Project 365:: Day 331

Day 331 These boys are becoming the best of friends. Clark is expertly running through the house to keep up with Kannon and together they make quite the mess. We are going on a Christmas Cruise later today and I hope these two cuties don't cause a scene!

Project 365:: Day 330

Day 331 I love beautiful, cold, clear winter days. Seattle, even covered in construction, is awesome on this rare days! I am going to be taking my class to see this troll next week, and I forgot how impressive this guy is! I hope they like it!

Project 365:: Day 329

Day 329 While Kannon napped, Nana and Papa took Clark shopping for Christmas presents. This kid loved the alone time and was quite the ham!

Project 365:: Day 328

Day 328 For the first time in 52 years, my grandmother didn't have to cook a single thing for Thanksgiving! We did all the cooking! Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and Dale and I have the big feast down to an art. We enjoyed crispy skin-butterflied turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, homemade stuffing, homemade pumpkin pie (yes, even the pumpkin) brussell sprouts, sweet potato souffle, and ham. Of course, we enjoyed some booze, which my grandparents happily contributed to the day! It was relaxing and peaceful and we all slept well!

Project 365:: Day 327

Day 327 I explained to my class that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday: what could be better than eating delicious food, celebrating your gratitude to life, love, and family, and remembering our past? To which they replied...TURKEY! To 4 year olds, Thanksgiving may be more about turkey and pumpkin pie than thankfulness. I have so much to be thankful for this year: family, opportunity, love and friendship. It just gets better and better.

Project 365:: Day 326

Day 326 I have been trying to get one of my kids to try writing their name. It was a struggle and it never happened. One day, he pulled up a chair next to me during naptime and said he wanted to talk. He grabbed my clipboard and marker and told me he loved his mommy and then without being told, he wrote "mom". Seriously, this 4 year old had me crying. I love my job.

Project 365:: Day 325

Day 325 Kannon decided to sneak a marshmallow in his mouth. Of course, he freaked out about its sticky nature while we were driving and demanded I pull over and get it off his hands....silly boy!

Project 365:: Day 324

Day 324 It is almost Thanksgiving! Nana and Papa are here and the boys couldn't be more excited!!! They love all the attention!

Project 365:: Day 323

Day 323 We finally finished the boys activity table. It was a re-purposed coffee table that we sanded, added rails, and coated with chalkboard paint. The boys love making it a boat, train tracks, and hiding their leftovers in it!

Project 365:: Day 322

Day 322 The recliner is serving its purposes. Although, I am pretty sure that the boys use the chair more than Dale!

Project 365:: Day 321

Day 321 Yeah, there should be a bridge there. This cold, foggy, weather has made for some gray rides to work. I am glad I am not the one driving!

Project 365:: Day 320

Day 320 What could be better than playing with food coloring, milk, and soap-dipped toothpicks??? Oh, I love milk motion magic!

Project 365:: Day 319

Day 319 This is what happens when one of your students hijacks the camera. You dont want to see the other 15 blurry preschool images....there was a lot of noses, belly buttons, and ears.

Project 365:: Day 318

Day 318 The boys found our empty six-pack while I was taking a shower. Imagine my surprise when I came out to see this. Oh, how things will change in 20 years.....