Jammer Joey

Joey's official swim season got off to a belly-flop start on Sunday with his first time trials, but despite coming in either last or close to last in every event, he couldn't be prouder of himself. He legitimately completed a lap in freestyle, breaststroke, butterfly and backstroke -- and got to debut his new Speedo Jammers, too.

One day, I'll remind him that he had to be almost forcibly talked into the knee-length Speedos instead of the much "briefer" regular Speedo attire - which is definitely not en vogue for the 6 and under set. In case he questions you, be sure to confirm that these ones make you go much faster.

Here's the whole team - ages 5 to 15 - getting a last-minute pep talk from Coach Matt. 

Just one example of Joey's "dive."

Joey and one of his best buddies, Sebastien, who lives a couple of houses away, had the pool to themselves for this heat of 6 and Under Backstroke.

Here they are celebrating afterwards!

The 6 and Unders get corralled early for every event... here they are walking to the starting blocks as a group. Can you imagine this belly stuffed into a real Speedo?

Joey had lots of down time behind the starting block before each of his races, hanging out with his classmate and friend Will.

And finally, here's a short video of his butterfly race.

Overall, things can only improve from here! As one dad put it, after Joey triumphantly brought up the rear in backstroke and emerged oblivious to his last-place finish: "It looks like baseball is definitely his sport."

My swimmer self took a little offense, while Tim rejoiced. He has definitely logged more practice hours hitting and catching than he has in the pool, but with seven weeks ahead of him of daily swim practice, there's plenty of time for him to "pop" his times!

Seattle: An Instagram Album

Does anybody else hit Seattle on the way to Spokane? No? That's the way we roll...

But we're not completely bucking trends: we've also jumped on the Instagram train. Here's our two days in Seattle, Instagram-style.



Travel-weary Molly, checking in at the Westin



Early morning walk to Pike Place Market, while Daddy did some work.







Daily Dozen Doughnuts lived up to the "evil, evil mini-doughnut" hype!







Fresh raspberries were the bigger hit for Clara Jane, who requested that her carton be washed as soon as she bought it. The worried vendor replied, "You're not going to eat these all right now, are you? Can your tummy handle that?" She gave him a confused look that could only be interpreted as "yes" and "yes."



Lunch that day was BBQ pulled pork courtesy of the most awesome food truck ever, Maximus/Minimus.



The easiest way to see a lot of sights in a short amount of time... a land and water Duck tour!


Joey and Clara with "Captain Chaos."



Joey gazing across Lake Union at the famous "Sleepless in Seattle" houseboat.



The oldest automatic car wash in the country, and super cute to boot!




The Space Needle, which, it turns out, is much more convenient to view from afar rather than up close and personal on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend.










The littlest duckling tries the duck whistle.



That night, the boys took in a Mariners game...



...while the girls enjoyed a room service dinner and late-night swim at the hotel pool...






...and some card games, along with a little wine and "fancy milk."



Waiting for the Monorail




We began and ended the trip with a sleeping baby, the best kind of traveling companion!

Stay tuned for more adventures in Spokane with the Cassanegos!


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Molly at Two: The Stats

Molly at 2

Height: 33 inches (25th percentile)

Weight: 23 pounds (10th percentile)

Head Circumference: 48.5cm (75th percentile)

Favorite Thing in the World: Pockets

Sneak peek from kids' photo shoot at Lake Temescal last wekeend, 

courtesy of Ruth Woodruff Photography

Cousins and Friends

I always remind our kids how lucky they are to have cousins. It's a fact of their young lives, but one day they'll recognize how unique it is to have so many cousins, so close to their own age!

Their cousin friendships will be easier and less complicated than their sibling relationships, more special than their friendships with schoolmates and teammates, and will hopefully be long-lasting momentos of their shared childhood.

I came across a quote at Christmastime this year that sums up the high that little people experience when they're around their cousins. I experienced it myself, and I know my kids do, too:

"At Christmas, cousins are the presents under the tree."

I love the anticipation of cousin visits, the squeals, the frenzied playtime, and the frantic hugs goodbye...and hope this sweetness never goes away.

Each of our kids is lucky to have a built-in cousin playmate very close to their own age, on both my side of the family and Tim's side of the family, and the cousin bond is just now beginning to form between Molly and the cousin closest in age to her, Lucy. Just five months apart, I have a feeling this duo will be having a lot of fun together for a long, long time.

Here they are on two summer-like days in our backyard in the last two weeks, when Grandma brought her little sidekick over to spend a few hours in the backyard.

"A cousin is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost."

Happy Birthday, Molly May!

This year, Molly's birthday festivities collided with Mother's Day, which meant we had twice the reason to celebrate! Just on the heels of returning from a kid-free trip to New York City, Tim and I were travel-weary (but very refreshed!) and kept things simple with a backyard BBQ served alongside cousin craziness.

The one party guest we couldn't do without was "Bo," Molly's absolute favorite character. As far as she's concerned, he's the beginning and the end of childrens' entertainment.

The kids' second cousin Katelin got to join the extended Raley fun... a nice change of pace for this younger-skewing crowd!

Annie and Uncle Kyle

Katelin and Baby Mary

Cake-crazed Clara and Bridget

After cake, Uncle Kyle did some assembly magic in the living room and we surprised Molly with her birthday present -- a pop-up play castle.

She enjoyed being its solo occupant for about 90 seconds...

... before being joined by this crew!

Thanks to all who helped celebrate a special little girl's birthday and Mother's Day!

Morning Mischief

I'm pretty sure this could be the album cover for a kiddie rock band.

Photo credit: Daddy

Time: 6:30am

Stylist: Carters

Liner Notes: Not recommended at home.

The Boys

Anyone else want to blow this up to poster size?

Just me?

Seriously, how cute are they?

Split Personality

When a photo shoot starts out like this...

...it's hard to hold out too much hope for a productive session.

After lots of foot stomping, scowls, and shrieks, we were strongly encouraged to take a 20-minute break by two fed-up staff members. After breaking loose from The Picture People, setting off on a sprint down the mall, and stopping to loudly admire and say hello and goodbye to every mannequin on the way, Molly found The Sweet Factory. We immediately bought a pound of jelly beans. Half the spoils were consumed by a stressed-out Mommy, while the other half was used to lure a willful toddler back inside the photo studio.

Whether inspired by the mannequins, or on a sugar high from the jelly beans, we'll never know... but she finally came to the party!