Multnomah Falls

Brian had to go in for a case on Saturday, so my parents and I decided to take the kids to Multnomah Falls and the fish hatchery. It was a gorgeous day, perfect for being outside and doing a little hiking. We went to the fish hatchery first, fed the fish and walked around. Like always Ashley was very nervous about the fish and how big they were, but eventually warmed up. After the fish hatchery we drove to Multnomah Falls and hiked up to the bridge. We would have gone further, but we wanted to enjoy a nice lunch at McMennamins without tired kiddos, so we kept it short and had a great lunch outside on their patio.



We were all cheering the fish on the fish ladder. It was so sad to see the weak one goes back down stream after all that hard work.









This big guy's name was Hermon. Ashley wasn't too excited about him to say the least.

Snyder Park

We found this park in Sherwood a few weeks ago and wish we would have found it sooner. We would have spent all summer here! They have a great water/sand area where the kids can build stuff in the sand and play in the water. It's shaded and they have a great playground as well. We brought a picnic lunch and had a lot of fun that day!

I took this a long time ago, but never posted it. I love looking back on these videos and seeing how much the kids have changed.

Quick trip

This was a quick trip up to Seattle. We got up there Thursday night, getting in at 11:30 due to major construction and left Saturday morning to get back for a BBQ, and friends and family visiting that weekend. We went up Thursday night planning on Brian working at a urology clinic on Friday. They ended up not needing him, but still paid him anyways, so he got the day off to spend Friday with us as well as made a little cash! Not a bad situation! It was a good excuse to head up to Seattle to see our friends we miss so much even if it was only for a day and a half. Danielle has Friday's off, so we took the kids to a park near their house with a wading pool and spent a few hours playing. We also celebrated Steve's birthday while we were up there.

Aunt Melissa and Uncle Steve

My Aunt Melissa and Uncle Steve decided to take a road trip up this way from Arizona for a few weeks. They drove up the coast with their two dogs and stopped at various places along the way until they got to my parents house where they stayed for about 4 or 5 days. That's when we got to see them. It was great to catch up and have them over for brunch. They don't have any kids, but were so good with Ashley and Isaiah. From my parents house they headed down to Bend where they stayed at 7th Mountain for the week.

Some friends will last a life time

My best friend from 4th grade came to visit us from Indiana. I've never met her daughter Dylan who is 3 and it was so fun to see her and Ashley play together while Jamie and I got to visit. She and her family decided to make a family trip out here, so they rented our beach house during the week and stayed in Portland for a few nights before they flew out. We got to see them on Sunday and they stayed for dinner. Then on Monday we met back up downtown and had breakfast with her parents and brothers. It was so fun to see all of them. I wish they still lived here, she's a friend I'll have for a life time.






They played so well together

Canning with Gram

Brian got an itch to learn how to can, so he invited his mom to visit for the weekend and teach him the ropes. She brought everything we needed. All we had to do was provide the fruit and lids. Brian had picked 30 lbs of peaches and 20 lbs of apples one day after work and had an assembly line all set up to start bright and early Saturday morning. He had it all worked out, how long each jar was going to take, how many jars 30 lbs of peaches would make and how much applesauce we could get. I just kept the kids busy and out of their way. In the end I asked him if he would be interested in teaching me so we could do it together next year. I think he really enjoyed the bonding time he had with his mom and wants to make it an annual thing with her. I'll just help on a different weekend.




The end result of some very hard work in the kitchen all weekend. Peaches, applesauce, blackberry jam, peach/blackberry jam, strawberry jam, and almost peach honey except for a missed step but that's to come next year!



Isaiah made sure to give his two cents on how what consistency the applesauce should be.

This is how Ashley helped

7 months!

This month has been one of my favorites so far. It seems like he's really starting to understand and explore so much right now. He's sitting up by himself, although we still put the boppy behind him because he gets distracted or tired and falls back. This seems to have opened up a whole new world. Not only are we able to set him down to play, but he can see what's going on and is much happier for longer periods of time. He also tolerates being on his tummy longer and will scoot in circles until he gets frustrated that he's not going towards what he wants. He's discovering how to hold things better and transfer them from hand to hand. He'll hold out a toy and flip it upside down or twist it around. He loves to play peek a boo still and laughs when I read him his "Where's the Baby" book because it says peek a boo in it and I think he thinks we're playing the game. He also laughs and thinks it's play time when I sing to him before bed. He has a copying game that he likes to play when he's on the changing table. He'll shake his head side to side and wait for me to copy him, then he'll do it again. Every time I lay him down he'll do this. He likes to grab your face to give big wet slobbery kisses and still has the biggest smile I've ever seen a baby have. He's very talkative and everyday on his report card from school they mention this. He likes to spit and make bubbles, something about the sound of it he thinks is really neat and funny! He has been doing great with solids. He likes peas, pears, applesauce (Papa's home made!), acorn squash, sweet potato, mango, and of course his rice cereal. The only thing he does not like so far is bananas. He also started sleeping on his belly the last few nights.



I couldn't decide which picture to post, so there are two. I just love this scrunched up face he gets.

Ashley at 7 months! Doesn't even look like her.

Does he look happy or what. Papa gave him a task of picking up these rice Crispies one morning and this is the mess he made of them! Not sure if one got in his mouth, but sure kept him busy.

Just chillin' with papa. He's holding the bottle by himself now.

Sitting up like a big boy. He loves this toy. Pretty soon he'll be pulling himself up and walking around with it!

Eating a mum-mum. He was very frustrated when he was done with it.

I didn't quite capture it, but that night it sounded like Isaiah was trying to copy whatever Brian was saying. They would take turns back and forth, it was a riot.

Stache Camping 2010

We almost didn't make it to Mustache camping this year due to an accident I got into with the 4 runner. It had to be in the shop for two weeks, which meant we had no way of getting the camper or any of our stuff up to Olympia where we had reservations with our friends. Luckily a very nice surgeon that Brian works with let us borrow his 4-runner while our's was being worked on. We were able to take the camper, which we just bought from Brian's parents a few weeks prior, so we were really excited that we were able to go. We camped at Sylvania State Park and had a blast. The park had three swimming areas with grass and sand as well as tons of picnic tables, a snack shack, bathrooms, and boat rentals. They also had a ton of hiking trails all around the camprground, so it was nice to go for walks and explore. The weather held up and we even got a little sun to warm us up. It was such a great trip and I'm so happy I didn't ruin the trip!

The boys...

plus the girls...

= the kids.

The group

Back at camp after a nature hike through the trails.

I think Isiah may have pulled Ashley's hair before this was taken, she doesn't look too happy.

D and Isaiah playing trucks

playing at the beach.



Ashley loves to find new things to pick up. Just a little while later we saw a crawdad peeking around one of these seaweeds in the water. She wouldn't pick that one up, but she was very interested in watching it.








Isiah just learned to sit up before this trip, so he was a little wobbly, but he loved playing in the tent with sister.

Nathan was almost walking on this trip. He had fun holding on to Isaiah's stroller though and walking around it playing with Isaiah.

This is how Brody had to sleep in the car because he didn't have any room.

Back to work

I started back to work a few weeks ago. Originally I had planned to go back part time when Isaiah was 6 or 7 months old and well it happened exactly that way. I swear somehow everything always works out for us one way or another. We must be doing something right! I love doing ultrasound and I wanted to keep up my skills, but I didn't want to be working more than being home with the kids. I do love them more than I love my job! I started looking around a few months ago, but didn't find anything. About a month ago I got a call from an imaging center on the east side looking for someone part time. I went in for an interview and after a few things got straightened out I got the job. I work Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 9-5:30, the perfect schedule. It's really working out well. The kids are in a daycare close to our house, so I drop them off and Brian picks them up. Occasionally he has to operate late, so my mom is on call when that happens and she picks up the kids. Isaiah is adjusting to daycare well, although he doesn't sleep all that great when he's there and still has to take a little nap when he gets home. He wakes up easily and sees everyone having fun without him and wants to join the party. They've had to face him towards the wall and put blankets around the crib, but he can still hear them and wants to be in on the action. He's on the same schedule as home (minus the length of naps) which I am really happy with because there's no re-adjusting after the three days he's in daycare. He learned to sit up within the first couple of weeks being of there and has been working on pulling himself up. He has a whole room that is geared toward babies, so he has a lot of fun exploring while he's there. We never had to baby proof with Ashley, but the combination of Isaiah's personality and he's freedom when he's not at home makes for a major need for baby proofing when he gets mobile. Ashley is doing really well also. They knew she had been at daycare before because of how easily she adjusted. No tears at all on the first day, just excitement for something new. In fact after Brian picked the kids up after their first day she called me to tell me how much fun she had. I got tears just thinking about how grown up she sounded. I was very proud at how well they both adjusted. Ashley likes her teachers, Miss Deborah and Miss Geralee, and talks about her friends that she plays with at school. They do a ton of art projects, have a great curriculum, as well as provide meals and snacks. She's even gotten into riding the bikes on the playground at school, which I could never get her to do at home. I guess it's watching the other kids that gets her motivated. They also have a dance teacher that comes and teaches a class on Tuesdays that we're going to get her into. They have a recital at the end of the year to show off their stuff. I think it's a perfect balance for her to be home with me, but also have the socialization of school. Having 4 day weekends is fabulous. I have been able to get us all ready for weekends when we're away and take time for the kids as well as basic house keeping stuff and not feel like all I'm doing is working and laundry! Brian has been amazing. He picks up the kids, goes grocery shopping, and has dinner ready when I get home! I try to do the same when he's off, but he's such a better cook than I am he usually ends up cooking, but at least I can get the stuff and have it ready for him. On days that I work, I'm up at 5:45 to get myself and both kids ready and out the door by 7am. I get them to daycare so early so Ashley can have breakfast there, but also because my commute is about 45 minutes. If I can get there with 30 minutes to spare they have a 24 hour fitness nearby that I can work out at. It a great way to start my day after sitting in the car for 45 minutes.