A few more good books

It's really fun to see Layla's taste in books develop. She cherishes her time reading with us every night and LOVES picking up new books from the library. Recently, she started 'reading' in bed by herself after we say good night (with our permission) - she picks out some books and flips through them in bed until she decides she's done, then she turns out her light and goes to sleep! It's amazing that she 1) likes to do this and 2) actually goes to bed within a reasonable time-frame (usually). One day when we opened up a new library book I asked if she had ever read it before and she said 'at night by myself but not with you.' So sweet!

Our baby group just created a 'wish list' on Amazon of all our kids' favorite books (each contributed ~4 suggestions). If you're interested, the link is here.

Layla's favorites these days are:

All the weird books by William Steig, including 'Sylvester and the Pebble' (about a donkey that finds a wishing pebbles and accidentally wishes himself into a rock) and 'Dr. DeSoto (about a mouse dentist that schemes his way out of getting eaten by a fox that's a patient of his).

"Ladybug Girl" by Jackie Davis

the "Pinkalicious" books by Victoria Kann

the "Berenstain Bears" books

"Iggy Peck, Architect" by Andrea Beaty

ALL of the Laura Numeroff books - especially the "Jelly Beans" books

"E-mergency" by Tom Lichtenfeld and Ezra Fields-Meyer. This is just about one of the most clever books I've ever read - and the genius is in the illustrations, which, amazingly were done by a high school kid (Ezra Fields-Meyer). The illustrator also happens to be the autistic subject of his father's famous book, "Following Ezra."

Books about TV shoes and movies, like the Pixar movie books, Curious George, Dora the Explorer, Bubble Guppies etc (she often likes the books BETTER than the TV versions, or has never even seen the TV version)

Movie night

Layla's a bit too young to go to a movie theater, but she can watch a movie all the way through so when we saw this ad for a movie night at the community center in our neighborhood we were all in.

We went, and had a blast. Layla did great! We enjoyed dinner, popcorn, and even dessert with a casual group of neighborhood families and the volunteers that hosted it. Nobody cared that Layla had to ask us about every scene or announced 'They're getting MARRIED!' every time the mom and dad in the movie kissed. We went with several of her friends who did not fare so well (one fell asleep, the other asked to leave after the opening scene).

Now she is obsessed with 'super-herios' (the way she says it rhymes with 'cheerios') and wants to wear her cape non-stop. She says her favorite characters in the movie were Frozone (who skateboards) and the baby (who turns into a monster). We'll be looking out for more neighborhood movie nights (there are several outdoor neighborhood movies but since it gets dark at ~10 pm in the summer this goes a bit late for all of us!). Probably soon, when she responds to our suggestion to 'shhhhh!', we'll be able to take her to an official theater.

In the 'hood of Wallingford

We LOVE our neighborhood in Seattle, Wallingford. It's close to everything, super walkable, has a great community, wonderful shops (and ice cream) and is really family-friendly. But there are a couple of perks that are even better than all that.

We have the BEST FARMER'S MARKET in Washington!!! And it really is. It's in the greenspace of a beautiful park in the center of the neighborhood, with lots of room to spread out and a playground nearby. Plus there is DELICIOUS food, like ice cream (our favorite!), quesadillas, pastries, bagels, home-brewed soda, and lots and lots and lots of fresh fruit and veggies. If I had one complaint (or two) it would be that there aren't enough craft booths, or enough booths in general (they keep it small - and now that word has gotten out it's been quite crowded).

Folks waiting in line for ice cream at the Farmer's Market

Our farmer's market starts up after Memorial Day, and we waited somewhat impatiently all winter for the Big Day to bust out to it again - rain or shine. The second week the weather perked up and we were a little annoyed that the entire neighborhood showed up to share our find - yech. But, we found some friends and although the lines were extra-extra-long especially for the quesadillas we still had a good time.

Then, DAVE MATTHEWS SHOWED UP. (Did you know he also lives in Wallingford?)

Like the rest of us, he got in line for a quesadilla, then bought some veggies, took his kids to the playground (where we were) and complained to his neighbors about his yard while he pushed his daughter on the swing. 

I just about peed my pants. Actually, I wouldn't have even recognized him except that one of our friends pointed him out. Then, I stood staring at him with my jaw dropped until Layla noticed and demanded I resume pushing her on the swings... right next to Dave Matthews. To her Dave Matthews is no big thing.

Everyone else was also totally cool about it - after all, he lives in the neighborhood. I've heard that he is spotted everywhere - the grocery store, the bakery, the bars, and a colleague recently ended up having drinks with him late into the wee hours at a neighborhood bar. But I have never been so lucky - until now. Just in time, too!!

Spring cleaning

Ever since we thought we might be moving to Kansas, we've been planning how to get rid of stuff before we trek across the country. I think we kind of liked the idea anyway - it's soooooo freeing to throw out a bunch of crap (but also so much work!) and moving provides just the right incentive to do it.

To motivate myself I read the 'De-clutter your life' issue of O the Oprah Magazine cover-to-cover (which wasn't much different from the other issues except this time I took a picture to commemorate it).

We started off by skimming all the easy stuff out of our closets and Layla's shelves and hauling a whole carload of stuff to Goodwill. We all cheered as we drove away, but as soon as I got home I started making a list of the harder stuff: our storage area, the bookshelves, the garage, my sock drawer, the man-cave (and all of our college furniture!), Layla's precious collection of books, ugh, I'm already exhausted.

This weekend I got to work. I went through all of our books and recent magazines, and took some to Half Price Books to sell (they didn't even take most of them - definitely time to let them go!). After an hour wait I eeked out $40.

Then we went through all of Layla's baby stuff that I had put into storage. This was super duper hard. Are we going to ever have another one (oh don't even ask)? Should we keep the sentimental outfits? anything Layla might want someday? I deliberated a bunch, made some decisions, then went back and deliberated again. In the end, I gave a TON of stuff to Goodwill (most of it was really a lot more worn out than I remembered), filled up the trunk with the nice-but-not-sentimental stuff for a consignment shop (good advice from a friend: get some money for it now, then use the money to buy another used on when we get there, if we end up wanting it again). We kept just a couple of boxes out of the original 10 or so.

I also cleaned out my sock drawer. That was probably the hardest of all.

Afterwards, we went to Costco. There's nothing like buying a whole bunch of stuff in bulk right after you clear out a bunch of other stuff. Layla brought her friend A and they had such a blast together tearing the place up.

Potty update

Layla is making extra-fast progress on potty training this week. After going in the potty at home for the first time on Sunday, she held out a few days but went in the potty at daycare by mid-day Wednesday. She continued to wet the bed multiple times at night until Thursday night, when she only wet once, at 5:30 am. It was an early wake-up for all of us but we were hopeful that it suggested she was learning how to hold it through the night. The daycare agreed - they had encouraged us to take away ALL the diapers, including the night-time diapers, in the first place. Then, Friday night, she miraculously slept through - and stayed dry - until 7 am! It was the first night ever that she had stayed dry all night.

Layla's bed - nice and dry!

We know there will be lots of nights where she doesn't stay dry but we feel like we've turned the corner on all fronts and are now in the diaper-free zone.

Dumpster-diving for sport

There's a GREAT bakery in our neighborhood called the 'Essential Baking Company' that distributes delicious bread all over the city and also sells it with coffee on-site. Many of us love to buy their bread at the grocery store but apparently there are a lot of people who prefer to find free bread behind the bakery in the dumpster. These dumpster-divers come from all over the neighborhood and greater Seattle, and many are just looking for a loaf or two but some will clear the whole place out, suffering the wrath of the other dumpster-divers who just lost out.

This whole dumpster-diving thing has taken on a fever pitch. I don't think I could do it but it does highlight the point that we are throwing away a LOT of good food. Why doesn't Essential Baking donate their leftover bread instead of throwing it out back? (apparently they also donate, so perhaps the pitched stuff is truly wrecked somehow? if so, then why is there so much, and why are people still eating it?) Is it fair for people who can afford bread to take this great opportunity away from the people who can't? (someone commented on a neighborhood blog post that it's disgusting to see rich hipster kids at the dumpsters when there are clearly hungrier people out there)

One thing is for sure: I'm glad I can afford to buy food at the grocery store.

Have you heard of these?

Little Free Libraries are popping up all over the place and I've been meaning to post about it on the blog. It's so surprising and clever!

Little Free Libraries are little cabinets people put in their front yard and fill with books that people can borrow, trade, or just stand there and look at. Apparently people all over are catching on to this. You can find one in your neighborhood on this map. You can also order one (they're a little pricey!) or make one for yourself!

There are a few in our neighborhood and I spotted my first one just the other day. I was surprised to find the books were in good shape (not dusty or moldy) and there was a great variety including a little section of children's books. I could easily see myself hanging out there for a while or even borrowing a book or two from it.

Little Free Libraries, or LFLs, are touted as neighborhood art, a community-building venture, and a way to share with your friends and neighbors your very favorite books.

Speaking of neighborhood art, there has been some weird stuff in our neighborhood lately. Someone moored a boat in a round-a-bout in an area called Tangletown. It has a traffic violation sticker with 'REALLY?' handwritten on it, and a blow-up doll in the driver's seat. Hmm!!