THE THREE MUSKATEERS

Mimi had loads of fun with her grandma and grandpa. Mama had a lot of fun too watching the Seahawks beat out the 49r's.

FAMILY FUN DAY CONTINUED

This evening, grandma and grandpa came over to join our family fun day with us and help celebrate our three year anniversary.

NOTHING SPECIAL

Today was another whopping 60 degrees outside with light rain. So needless to say all the kids stayed inside. Mimi has a real hard time staying inside. She loves the outdoors. To keep her occupied, papa took her to the library for a few hours. When they came home, her friend Erin called and Mimi went over there to play. Later in the afternoon, Blake came over here to play with Mimi. They are now at Blake's house for more play.

This morning Mimi surprised me by reading the word "go" on the PBS channel. She already knows the alphabet front and back. She has already started with writing exercises. This weekend she has her first homework assignment. Mimi will do it tomorrow. She has to look in the kitchen and list everything that is the color yellow and bring it to school on Monday.

On the PBS channel this morning, we watched "Arthur". It was an episode where Arthur's friend (can't remember his name) and his family adopted a baby from China. The baby's name was Mei Lin. Which is the same name we picked for our next bundle of joy and energy. If mama can find this on dvd, we will buy it.

DEATH OF A PRINCESS

Although Mimi still enjoys listening to Disney Princess music, she has decided that her princess days are OVER and she wants to be a "Super Hero" for Halloween. She is pictured here in her "Power Ranger" outfit. Her favorite DVD is "Cars". She likes things that are fast and furious. Papa says that we don't need a boy. We have Mimi.

FAMILY DAY PICTURES

Pictured here is Mimi and papa playing "Harry Potter". The swords are supposed to represent the wands and they are saying their spells.

FAMILY DAY

Yesterday was when our lives was changed forever. It was the day when exactly three years ago we recieved our most precious bundle of joy and energy! We were planning to have dinner at "The Olive Garden" but then changed our minds. Instead Mimi and mama met papa for lunch at our favorite Italian place across from papa's office. After lunch, mama and Mimi went shopping at Uwajimaya for Japanese food. We left for home at 4:00 pm. What normally takes 45 minutes to get home, took 3 hours!!! I must add that Mimi is a early riser. She decided to wake mama up at 4:00 THIS MORNING!!! By the time we arrived home, it was 7:00pm. By then mama was reaallly tired and grumpy!!!

The reason for the backed up traffic was because the main highway leading to our home was closed off both ways. So therefore everyone had to take a detour. Mama was able to call papa on the cell phone and let him know what happened. He was able to go a different way and arrived home before us.

The reason why the highway was closed is due to the fact that the missing Maple Valley woman was found trapped in her car and still alive. She had been missing since the 19th of this month. It made national headline news.

SCHOOL YARD TRIAL AND TRIBULATIONS

Mama found out at school today, that the (8)boys had banned the (2) girls (Mimi and Josie) from their "Pirate Ship" (jungle gym set). Josie says that her and Mimi are not allowed to play pirates with them. Josie's dad had already talked to the teacher about this problem.Teacher says that she and the children already discussed this situation. Hopefully things are worked out. Thank goodness Mimi does not hold any grudges.

When school let out, she was again back to playing with the boys in the hood.

ANOTHER GOOD DAY

Mama took a look at the ten day forecast for our area. Rain, rain and more rain. Today actually was fairly decent. Gray clouds with a little light rain. It makes Mimi happy because she can finally use her new rain coat, boots and umbrella.

Due to the fact that the weather is what it is, the kids stayed indoors today. Mimi went over to Blake's house for the most of the day and the other neighborhood boys (Josh and Cole who are brothers) were there also. Mimi was in seventh heaven.

LIFE IS GOOD

Since the indoor gym was closed today, Mimi went over to Blake's house to play before school. Mama brought pizza over for everyone to share. After school, Mimi invited her new school friend Liam over to the house. Not long afterward, Blake came over too. Mimi was in her element. Sitting between two good looking boys, watching Disney's "Cars" video and having snacks. Life is good.

INDOOR GYM

Autum is definetly in the air. This morning it was a whopping 46 degrees. Now at 2:00 pm it is 64 degrees. This whole week is supposed to be the same as today. This morning, Keri and mama took the kids to the indoor gym. The sad news is that since no one turned the heat on this morning, they were closed for today. Another piece of bad news is that they will be closing their doors for good by the end of this month. ;-( Now the kids in this area will not have a place to play when the winter months set in. That kind of sucks.

DINNER AND PICS

Today we were supposed to have dinner at our house with grandpa and grandma .The lasagna was in the oven already when grandpa called to let us know that grandma was feeling a bit under the weather. So therefore we invited Erin and her family over for dinner. That made the girls and Liam reeaaallll happy. A good time was had by all.

As soon as papa clears the memory chip on the digital camera, mama will start taking more pictures.

WHO'S THE BOSS

Our Mimi definetely has a very strong personality. She loves being in charge of every situation. Mama is trying her best to get Mimi to tone it down a bit, but is not having much success. It is quite hard though when her friend Blake likes to "boss" her around too. Mimi says "I like to boss him around". Mama just sighs, hangs her head low and shakes it .

ANOTHER FULL RICH DAY

Today started off with mama waking up late. I had exactly 20 minutes to shower and get Mimi breakfast before Erin and Liam were to come over for me to babysit while their mom went shopping. YIKES!!!

We all had a good time while they were here. We played on the trampoline outside. Then we watched The Little Mermaid while playing inside. Ariel is Erin's favorite doll that Mimi has. We then watched the Disney Princess music video while eating lunch. By then, it was time for Erin and Liam to go home and Mimi had to go to school. I am sooooo happy that Mimi's school is within walking distance. During school time, mama went grocery shopping. It's mama's turn to bring the snacks next week.

Next thing mama knew, it was 3:30. Time to pick Mimi up from school. We didn't even make it pass the park when she saw her friends going out to the juice shoppe. So of course, Mimi hates to miss out on any fun went with them. Mama went home to put the groceries away and then went to the park where she found Mimi having a grand time running with the boys.

At 5:30, it was time to go home for dinner. Next thing I know, Mimi is out the door playing in the street with the boys again. Unlike the neighborhood we lived in back in California, kids can safely play in the street. Not many cars and everyone drives 2 miles an hour. The weather was gorgeous today so everyone is taking advantage of it.

Now at 8:00pm, Mimi is taking a bath and mama is about to drop out of sheer exhaustion. I love it though.

DR. NAOMI "Mimi" PUTNEY

Is there a doctor in the house? Calling Dr. Mimi. She found mama's stethoscope this morning a decided to play doctor with Mulan.

DOODLE BOPS

According to Mimi, this is a picture of Disney's Doodle Bops. Deeny is on the left, Moe is in the middle and Rooney is on the right.

It actually is a very old sweatshirt that mama bought about 12 years ago in Whistler, Canada. It is definetely time to go back to Canada again.

SHE'S BACK!

"Our Mimi's back and you're gonna be in trouble. Hey NA, Hey NA, our Mimi's back". Mimi woke up EARLY this morning and had a good poop in the toilet. Her tummy no longer hurts and she's back to her old self again telling mama what to do and how to do it. And what's more, she's HUNGRY again.

HEAD COLDS AND TUMMY ACHES

This week all of the Putney's have been fighting the head cold. Although we don't have the clogged sinuses and are over the worst, it just seems to linger on forever.

All day today, Mimi was doing just fine until dinner time. She fell asleep right on the dinner table. She did not have a nap today so maybe that is why. When she woke up, she complained of her tummy hurting. Of course, mama being the nurse, checked her tummy. It was soft, no distention, bowel sounds were present. Mama thinks it may be due to constipation even though Mimi did have one small bowel movement today. She did have a slight temperature. So mama gave her some benefiber and st. joseph aspirin. Will have to wait till tomorrow for the medication to work. Mama was able to rock Mimi to sleep tonight.

FIREFIGHTER MIMI

This evening after coming home from the market, there was a fire engine in the neighborhood. The fireman was quite taken with Mimi and gave her a toy helmet. She really liked that.

DOWN FOR THE COUNT

Today again it is kind of yucky outside so the kids decided to watch Disney's "Cars" and wrestle. Blake is the brother that Mimi doesn't have. He seems to enjoy bossing her around (Mimi likes to boss Blake around also) and Mimi is able to stand her ground and not listen to him. Which in turn really ticks him off (good for Mimi, I'm so proud of her). I always tell him "Blake honey, Mimi has her own mind and knows how to use it. So you need to get used to that fact!"

A FULL RICH DAY

Today started with going to the indoor playground with Erin and her family. The weather here today was kind of yucky. Gray clouds all day. Mimi had a lot of fun playing there. Then it was time to go home for lunch and then on to school. One nice thing about taking Mimi to school is that we take the long way with Mimi in the stroller and mama can get her walking exercise. One day mama clocked it and it is a half mile trip to and from school. So each day that Mimi goes to school mama gets one mile of walking in, plus whatever other activities that is going on that particular day. After school it was nap, dinner then on to our first hula lesson with our new friends Michelle and her daughter Katarina. Mama had fun but Mimi, well let's just say that she is not one to be pushed into anything. She is very cautious about new things. She likes familiararity and has to try new things when she feels ready. On one hand, that's a good thing, on the other hand, it can be frustrating. As a result, mama decided to continue with the hula lessons for the women on Monday nights and maybe Mimi will eventually decide to join in, who knows?

OUT OF THE MOUTH OF BABES

Mimi: Dad, you have monies.
Dad: Yes?
Mimi: You need to share with mama. Don't take her money.

GOOD-BYE

Sorry there is no picture today. Mama is feeling a bit under the weather. Allergy season is here and is hitting mama real hard. Mama's head feels as if it is going to explode. She did manage to take Mimi to and from school. Mimi learned a new song today and was singing all the way home. It goes like this: SHA NA NA, NA,-SHA, NA, NA,NA-HEY, HEY, GOOD-BYE.

OBON FESTIVAL

This year with everything that was happening, moving, packing and unpacking and getting settled in, mama completely forgot about the Obon Festival in downtown Seattle. I guess it is better late than never though.

PRINCESS MIMI AND ERIN

This past Sunday while we were out at our Buddhist meeting Mimi was quite upset. She cried and cried for almost 45 minutes straight. Mama could not for the life of her figure out what was wrong. Finally mama found out. Somehow Mimi got it into her head that she would not be able to play with her friend Erin. Mimi said " I don't want to go to your house!!! I want to go to Erin's!" Mama said "first we have to call and see if she is at home". Mimi replied "She is!!!" Mama then told Mimi that we first have to go home, have lunch, take a nap, then call Janet (Erin's mom). If Janet says ok then you can play with Erin. Only then did Mimi calm down.

When we got home, we had lunch and FELL ASLEEP. By the time we woke up, it was too late.
Mimi said "I forgot to call Erin". She was a little upset again, so mama took her outside to star gaze and sing songs. As it turns out, Janet said yesterday that they were not home Sunday so therefore everything worked out.

Yesterday was quite warm outside so mama brought out the swimming pool for the girls. Mimi and Erin had quite a lot of fun playing with the Disney princesses. After about a hour they came in to watch none other than Beauty and the Beast.

BEING SILLY

Papa took the picture of Mimi and Mimi took the picture of Papa.

NORTHWEST TREK WILD ANIMAL PARK

HAVING FUN

After a long day at Northwest Trek, we were all quite tired and when we get tired we get silly.

CLASSIC CARS

On the way up to the park, we all stopped by to see the classic cars that were on display.

BREAKFAST IN BLACK DIAMOND

BREAKFAST WITH MIMI

Whoever said that girls were dainty eaters has yet to meet our Mimi. By the end of the meal, all of the eggs were gone along with the bacon (2 strips), 3 orange slices, 1 mini blueberry muffin. Mama and papa ate a couple of the pancakes. I must add that this plate is from a kid's menu. Also, I have to add that Mimi does not eat this much eggs at home. Majority of the time breakfast at home consists of cereal, toast and lots of fresh fruit.

SERIOUS CHOCOLATE

This is for the very serious chocoholics.

MIMI AND FRIENDS

On the way home from school today, Mimi stopped by the park to play with her new best friend Erin and little brother Liam. The girls just loved hamming it up for the camera.

Tomorrow we are planning to have breakfast at the Black Diamond Bakery then on to the Northwest Trek Wildlife Park.

HULA LESSONS AND SOCCER

Mimi loves Hawaiin music. Can't tell you how many times I have heard Mimi sing along with Lilo and Stitch plus watching the video. Our neighbor Michelle and her daughter Katarina take hula lessons in Auburn. Tomorrow was supposed to be Mimi's first hula lesson but unfortunately it got cancelled till next week. Monday's are set for the women and Friday's are set for the girls. Originally, mama wanted to do the Monday's and Mimi on Friday's. After some consideration, mama dedided that we will only do the Friday's. It's a bit too much for Mimi to be out too late (7p-9p) on school days. If Mimi does not want to do the hula lessons then we will switch to Monday's only. That way, mama can get her excercise and have fun at the same time. Plus papa does not like dancing and mama does.

Mama also found out that another neighbor Derek is heading up a soccer team. If the hula lessons don't work out maybe the soccer will. Maybe even both. Who knows?!

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Today is Mimi's first day of Junior-Kindergarten. It's hard to believe that our little girl is 4 1/2 years old already. So it is a bitter sweet day for mama. Our baby is growing up way too fast for us. Mimi's class consists of 2 girls and 10 boys, so there are 12 students total. She is pictured here with her new teacher Ms. Hedman, whom she really likes a lot. Each of the kids were given a new t-shirt and school bag (for school work to take home and notes from the teacher).

LABOR DAY FUN

Today the weather was very nice outside. Of course now at this hour we are experiencing thunderstorms. The families in the neighborhood decided to have a BBQ to celebrate the end of summer and the beginning of the new school year which starts tomorrow. Mimi will start this Wednesday. Grandma and Grandpa were able to come and join the celebration.

MIMI AND BLAKE

Mimi and Blake had a good time running the trails. At times Blake would poop out and had to rest, not our Mimi though. Then there were the times when Blake would get upset with Mimi over who is the leader.
Blake: Dottie?
Dottie: Yes?
Blake:I'm the leader and Mimi is NOT LISTENING TO ME!
Dottie: Blake honey, Mimi has a mind of her own so you'll just have to get used to it. (which is what all the dads in our neighborhood tell their sons about the girls in the hood.)
Then all was well in their little world and they went back to running and jumping everywhere.

PAPA AND HIS NEW GIRLFRIEND

Little Bailey is soooo in love with Greg. Wanted to follow him everywhere and cried when she couldn't because mama Keri would hold her back at times. I guess it's just that animal magnetism that he has that turns even the littlest ones on.

DAY TRIP TO MOUNT RAINIER

Yesterday the weather was gorgeous so mama and papa decided to take Mimi and her friend Blake and his mom Keri and sister Bailey up to Mount Rainier. It's too bad that his dad Wade had to work and could not join us. We started off the trip by having lunch at the Black Diamond Bakery which is very popular among the locals here. Mama did not think about taking pictures of the area here until too late. Will have to do that at another time. The area still looks like the old west. Then it was on up to Mount Rainier. We can see Mount Rainier from home, but when you get up close, it is gorgeous. A good time was had by all. Dottie