Lake is ready! Activate: School Readiness! School Readiness is complete! School starts tomorrow!

Lake’s preschool years were predominately defined by free play at home and the local parks with our German au pairs, and big trips to Nana and Baba’s. Lake got a taste of the classroom with Saturday morning Kindergarten at the German Language School and swim lessons as a 3-4 year old, as well as Music Together, the 50 minute weekly class he attended with his au pairs from age 7 months through the beginning of the pandemic. Those were our concessions to our preschooler’s group learning. Michael and I wanted him to have as much of a chance as possible to be a kid and explore the world in his own way.

At the beginning of the summer, Lake procured scissors from the kitchen and proceeded to open his own birthday packages. Inside were Legos that he then endeavored to put together by himself, following the “constructions”. He managed it all on his own. That confirmed for me that he would be able to join the Kindergarten class in the autumn just fine.

When I was a young tot of four years, my family famously had me choose between Preschool and Dance Class. Since I was already adept at using scissors and had taught myself to read, I was supported in my choice to skip preschool and to attend weekly ballet and tap dance classes instead. As a result I gained a memorable year with my dad as his “little partner” after my mom went back to work teaching. I followed my Dad around our compound as he worked on projects, and would get dressed up in my pink Strawberry Shortcake outfit to join him in going to “town” for groceries and errands. That year was so special and helped forge a strong and lasting bond between my dad and me.

The freedom of Lake’s preschool years have similarly allowed Lake to spend heaps of time with my parents, his grandparents. They have a wonderfully close relationship and get on famously. Lake just wrapped up more than two months with Nana and Baba this summer at their lake cabin. We are filled with gratitude as they enact what amounts to personalized and private Outdoor School/Summer Camp for Lake- daily reading, playing on the beach, building trails and forts (“shanty”), as well as going to outdoor theatre, and practicing his letters and numbers with Nana. He relishes the one-on-one love-filled time with his grandparents and comes home an inch taller and bursting with new skills and confidence. “I can make ‘breastfast’ myself. I learned how this summer. I just need a bowl. I can pour the milk and everything.”

You can be proud of yourself, Lake! You did it! You’re all set for Kindergarten. Ready, Set, Go!

 

Lady Kitty is growing up! She grew over an inch in the past two months between our Independence Day and Labor Day visits to Nana and Baba at Point Petite.

Her vocabulary now includes “uh oh.”

I’m so lucky I get to be her mama!

Lady Kitty started saying Mei Mei incessantly this past weekend while we were visiting Nana and Baba. She would point and say “Mei Mei” if it was something she wanted. Nana decoded that she was staking claim, as well as referring to herself as Mei Mei and the name stuck. We all started calling Lady Kitty “Mei Mei.” I couldn’t help it, the name is contagious.

She knows what she wants. (“Mei Mei”). She knows what she doesn’t want. (And she lets us know too by having a huge, short but definitive, bucking bronco fit.) She’s walking and waving and saying a sweet breathy “hi” to all animals she sees. “Hi” to the ducks, dogs, cats, deer, even our neighbor’s plastic swans. Lady Kitty comes up to us now as well, and says her charming honeyed “hi” with a smile and a wave. Hearts melt. A perfect day, we’re all glad we spent it with you!

Lake’s back home! We picked Lake up from the airport on Sunday after he had spent 7 weeks with his Nana and Baba. It was a thrilling reunion at the airport complete with megawatt smiles and theatrical but authentic rushing into each other’s arms. Lake was patched for Mama snugs. At one point after Lady Kitty had a fall, Lake even went so far as to say he wished he’d been the one to fall down and bump his head rather than Lady Kitty.

“Yes,” I agreed, waxing philosophical, “when we love, we would rather take the suffering of another so they can be free.”

“No,” he countered, “I wish I was the one who had fallen, not Lady Kitty, so I could be the one getting Mama snugs right now.”

We went straight out to the organic blueberry farm, much to Lakes dismay. He really was so anxious to be home. We picked more than 10 kilograms of berries to fill and restock our freezer. The ones we’d picked three weeks ago were already eaten!

Lady Kitty is a strong berry picker filling up her bucket! Lake is the one who likes to eat out of my bucket. Both kiddos found a way to walk on the bags of picked berries, so we ended up making a bath of blueberry syrup when we got home.

Now we’ll have blueberries for breakfast before school. That’s right, spoiler alert: Lake’s starting Kindergarten! He came home last weekend for the Kindergarten orientation. He had two days of Kindergarten Jump Start, just enough to get a taste of what’s to come. Initially he was excited, then he was nervous just prior, then after the first day, he didn’t even look back when I said goodbye after dropping him off at Laurelhurst Elementary. He was looking brightly ahead towards the commencement of his scholastic education.

Lady Kitty is leadings the family in hydration during these 90F Seattle days. She absolutely loves to drink water. She drinks it it the bath, she drinks it on the go. It goes right through her… leading to a super soggy bottom. It’s funny just how quickly her diaper gets utterly soaked: it’s practically instantaneous. Since she is always drinking here, there, and everywhere —we have to increase our diaper count with our Baby Diaper Service account!

We hope you’re staying cool and hydrated too! Enjoy these hot summer days— it will be dark and rainy again soon enough. A perfect day… I’m glad I spent it with you!

Michael was working, and Lake is with Nana and Baba, so Lady Kitty and I were the sole Murphy-VanLannen representatives who went north to the hills of Lake Whatcom to do a little weekend glamping with old friends for the quasi-annual Quinault “Family” Reunion. It was wonderful to see so many familiar faces convening in the great outdoors for friendship, connection and laughter. Old friendships such as these are a treasure. Many of the Quinault Family (friends and USDA Forest Service coworkers of my parents) met me when I was about Lady Kitty’s age. Now the Quinault “grand-kids” are playing together! Lady Kitty is such a good sport. She was happy to warm up to the friendly crowd, and waved goodnight to each and every one around the fire circle -twice. She slept “like a baby” in the tent all the night through. It was gorgeous to wake up to her sleeping peacefully next to me, all cuddled up.

Saturday she learned how to communicate the negative. She has been able to reliably grunt assent for a while now and we appreciated her ability to convey her wishes. Now we can be even more certain of her desires, because if she means no, now she will shake her head no. This is a big step forward in clear communication, and possibly the end of all the sweetness. For now, though, she retains her sweetness and simply replies affirmative (grunt) or negative (head shake) as she prefers.

A perfect day. I’m glad I spent it with you.

The Oregon coast was by turns hot and sunny sunny as well as chilly and foggy, and gorgeously ethereal throughout. Lady Kitty made the most of it and still has sand clinging to her scalp! In other brief news, she says “hi” and “bye” (especially while waving and especially to cats), and even said “thank you” and “all done” which I would not believe if not witnessed by Bridget and myself!

Our annual u-pick blueberry excursion with Katie and two of her girls was extraordinarily fruitful this time around! We explored a new farm this year —Hazel Blue Acres, with lovely hospitable farmers. The first variety was just coming into season and there were absolutely loads of berries! We hope to be back in a week or two for subsequent varieties. Let us know if you’d like to join us! A day spent amongst laden blueberry bushes makes for a perfect day— I’m glad to spend it with you!

After a full breakfast we rallied to gets weights and measures. Analysis of the data revealed Lake grew 3 inches in the past year and 3 1/4 inches the year prior when we had first started recording Lake’s growth on the kitchen beam at Point Petite.

It’s a wonderful life. So glad we can spend it with you Lake! You’re growing up so well. You can be right proud of yourself. We all love you very much—you’re perfect at every age.

Wishing all the fathers a very happy Father’s Day. We’re blessed with some exceptional ones in our family. We appreciate you every day.